A week after the demon beast subjugation operations completion

It was only natural that stories about the demon beast subjugation caused an uproar in the entirety of Korea.

It would be strange if the appearance of a demon beast that could turn humans into demon beasts didnt turn into an issue. Foreign countries also raised public awareness as they looked into the incident with great care. In addition, attention was also concentrated on the hero who stopped what would have been an irreversible disaster.

The Lightning Wolf, Gwon Ohjin.

The stories of him being the first to discover the situation and eliminating the boss of the demon beasts alone spread like waves to the point that it even made top headlines of dozens of presses.

Its become hard to go outside thanks to that.

He was currently living in semi-seclusion with the pretext that he was recovering from his injuries, though he did lose consciousness for around three days from the aftereffects of using Exceed.

Lets see

Ohjin picked up his smartphone and entered a famous community site. The most popular posts were filled with stories about the Lightning Wolf. as expected. He clicked on one of them and entered the post.

[WoofWoofKim: Damn, isnt the Lightning Wolf seriously just insane~?!]

JerryM: Its only been half a year since he awakened, does this even make sense? I guess hes a North Stars apostle for a reason;

Butterfly Valley: Sex

WoofWoofKim: Honestly, isnt he at the level of the Seven Stars??

MommyNingguang: Bullshit, hes still not on level of them

WoofWoofKim: Dude, Im not sure about right now but dont you think hell become a Seven Star easily in the future?

Butterfly Valley: Sex

JerryM: Wouldnt the Black Lion become one first?

MommyNingguang: Nope; Do you guys think that title of the Seven Stars is just being thrown around? Theyll get shit on in 1 second even if you bring a truckload of Black Lions and Lightning Wolves.

WoofWoofKim: Thats pushing it; Well, theyll probably get shit on but not in 1 second, dude;

Butterfly Valley: Sex

WoofWoofKim: All the people who write those kinds of comments always turn out to be dumbfucks that havent done it before lmao

Butterfly Valley: Shut the fuck up

Everything was somewhat overwhelming, but

They evaluate me highly, as expected.

For Ohjin, who was approaching the half-year mark since he awakened, just being brought up and compared with the Seven Stars was ridiculous.

Theres still a lot of talk that Im way beneath the Seven Stars, but

It was a given.

There was still a large gap to close until he could match up with the Seven Stars.

Well, I might be able to reach that level soon.

Would it end simply with him rivaling the Seven Stars?

Ohjin had conviction he would be able to reach a realm even beyond what they had reached.

Ill need to be able to do at least that much to maintain my title of Regressor.

The stigma of Lyra and the Black Heaven

Honestly, the Seven Stars were a breeze with just those two.

It was only a matter of time.

I should try my best when the opportunity is given.

What he was aiming for wasnt the Seven Stars.

His goal was something far beyond.

The transcendental celestials and even beyond that.

A realm where not even our Goddess can set foot in.

Once he arrived at that realm

Then

Ohjin put on a fishy smile.

Once that time came, there would no longer be any reason to live on while painstakingly deceiving others.

Well, Ill think about that once I get there.

There was something else he had to focus on more urgently.

The Black Star Organization.

As the recent incident became an issue, the name of Choi Jungchul, who could be said to be the main culprit, spread far and wide. It was only natural that the guild Pandinus was brought up, as it was the guild he was affiliated with, but

Choi Jungchul isnt affiliated with the Pandinus guild.

From what the Pandinus guilds announcement stated, Choi Jungchul was never affiliated with them, and they had never made contact.

Theyre obviously lying.

In reality, Choi Jungchuls name wasnt in the directory they published.

Which meant

They were planning to dispose of him in the first place.

It was outright cutting ties, but since there was no physical evidence that connected Choi Jungchul to the Pandinus guild, it was hard to make an objection to their claims.

The Pandinus guild instead redirected the arrow at the Starlight Lake guild, which Choi Jungchul was once a part of, and denounced them as the masterminds of the incident, claiming they were trying to put the blame for their crimes on Pandinus.

It wasnt a denouncement done with words alone.

They even presented detailed evidence that Choi Jungchul made continuous contact with the Starlight Lake guild after his withdrawal and pressured them.

The Starlight Lake guild announced that they werent involved in the incident and that they only made contact with Choi Jungchul a couple of times during the process of seizing his assets, but public opinion didnt flow in their favor.

Thanks to that, the other top ten major guilds are starting to get involved.

The Starlight Lake guild was a guild where the best healing-type Awakeners gathered.

It was stating the obvious, but healers would rarely go around gates alone.

Due to that characteristic, the Starlight Lake guild would inevitably make a lot of contact with other guilds, with the famous top ten major guilds being amongst them.

No.

At the level the Starlight Lake guild was at, they very rarely got involved with other guildsexcluding famous major guilds.

With the current situation being as it was, the arrows of criticism were loosed at the Starlight Lake guild and all of the top ten guilds that they made frequent contact with.

Was this their goal from the start?

Ohjin, who was observing a couple of news reports, clicked his tongue.

There were barely any stories about Pandinus that should have been the target for the arrows of criticism, and instead the articles were filled with conspiracy theories about the Starlight Lake guild.

Those bastards used their heads.

Smirk

Ohjin laughed as if it was absurd.

Ohjin, didnt you say you were going to the Sanctum?

Ah, yeah.

Ohjin, who was looking at his smartphone, got up from his spot.

Since the situation was more or less organized

There was a need to go report the situation to Vega.

Then Ill come back soon, Ha-eun.

Yeah, yeah.

Ha-eun waved her hand as she saw him off.

I should get there soon, our Goddess is probably worried sick.

* * *

[M-My child!]

As soon as he arrived at the Star of the Weaver Girls sanctuary, Vega rushed out in haste.

It seemed like the restrictions aftereffects were quite severe, as she was maintaining the small size of around 30cm even inside the sanctum.

[Are you hurt anywhere? Is your body okay? Do you feel strange anywhere? What happened to that evil demon beast?]

Questions poured down like a storm.

Dont worry, cant you see that Im fine?

[B-But!]

Vegas eyes teared up as she stomped her feet.

Seriously, why is our Goddess so cute.

Why were you so late, human! Do you know how worried Lady Vega was?

Riak approached him as he furrowed his brow.

I know.

She pulled on my fur every five minutes as she bawled her eyes out.

[I-It wasnt that bad.]

Do you think she only cried?! Lady Vega even engraved your face on the sanctuary wall and prayed for your safety for days!!

As he turned his head around to the sanctuary wall, he could see that his face was actually engraved on it.

[N-No! I have never done such a thing!!]

She even secretly placed her lips on the drawing as she wished you good luck!! How could you be this la!

[Kkyaaaaaaaa!!!]

Crackle! Boom!

Kugk!!

Riak, who was hit by blue lightning, was flung back far away as he rolled across the floor.

Gray smoke rose out of Riaks mouth as his body spasmed.

He isnt dead, right?

[K-Khm!]

Vega quietly organized her messy hair and cleared her throat.

[It seems that Riak has seen hallucinations.]

The details seem to be too specific for hallucinations, though

[A-Anyways!]

Vega hid her heated red cheeks as she continued.

[So what happened after then?]

Ill explain slowly.

He explained what had happened in detail after Vega disappeared from being unable to endure the restriction.

Naturally, he excluded the fact that he used the Black Heaven to absorb the star relics power and the stigma of Aquarius.

[E-Exceed? Are you saying you used Exceed?]

Yup.

Ohjin thought that it was a skill he improvised, but it seemed that it was a skill she knew as well.

[What I-It makes no sense.]

Vegas face stiffened as she opened her mouth.

* * *

[Ha]

Vega placed her hand on her forehead as if she was having a headache.

[Even if its something you experienced once before, this is.]

Is it something to be that surprised about?

Ohjin obviously knew how great of a skill Exceed was since he used it himself, but he wasnt sure if being able to use it right now was something that should be considered absurd even when taking the fact he should be a Regressor into consideration.

[Of course its surprising. Exceed is a skill that can be learned once you reach 7 no, 8-Star at minimum.]

What?

Though it was inferior when compared to the official 9-Star classification of a high-rank Awakener, If one were to be 8-Stars, they would still be amongst the very best.

In any case, it was certain that it was a skill unimaginable for a mere 4-Star rookie to learn.

I guess its reasonable to be surprised in this case.

Lets say that there was an incredibly complicated and hard game.

Would clearing it once change that hard games difficulty to infant-level?

Maybe if it was tens, hundreds of repetitive plays, but just one would not be close to enough.

Butin Vegas perspectiveIm entering high-level boss zones as a low-level and sweeping through them just because I cleared it once.

In that case, it would explain why she was that surprised to some degree.

However

There was one truth she didnt know.

I havent cleared the game a single time.

Just how was he, who was nothing but a 4-Star, able to learn a skill that could only be learnt once reaching the 8-Star rank?

[It can only be said that you were born withnatural talentt in controlling mana.]

Talent Its probably hard to find another word that could explain it.

Its nothing, its just because Ive done it once before.

[No, explaining it with that alone is impossible.]

Vega sternly shook her head and continued.

[It seems almost as if you were born to hold dominance over all stigmas.]

Ohjins face slightly hardened.

I wouldnt go that far. And, well, isnt there nothing bad about acquiring it quickly?

[Hmm. No. It isnt good in this case.]

It isnt good?

Vega opened her eyes keenly.

[Exceed is a skill that places extreme burden on the body. Youll need to reach at least 6-Star for your body to endure it to some extent.]

Ah.

Indeed

Ohjin had entered the overload state when had he used it in the fight against Choi Jungchul.

He had also passed out for three days thanks to it.

[It is my wish that you do not use Exceed in the future,] Vega said as she flew up on top of his head and sat down.

Dazzle

Alright. Ill be careful.

As long as it wasnt a dangerous situation, there was no real reason to use a skill that damaged his own body.

[Pshaw! What I meant was not to be careful, but to never use it!]

Vega flared up as she pulled on his hair.

Ow.

Hahaha! Alright.

[Fuu. The situation is unfortunate when this lady should be keeping a thorough eye on you]

When do you think youll be able to materialize yourself again?

[It seems that Ill have to stay still in the sanctum for around three weeks.]

A total of around one month.

Vega really did push herself back then.

[Sigh. If I had it my way, Id tie you up tight in the sanctuary during that time.]

Youre scaring me, Mama Vega.

[But it appears that its not suitable for the current situation.]

Vega narrowed her eyes.

[It seemed like those malicious apostles of Scorpio held hands with the Black Star Organization.]

Probably.

They were making excuses that they werent, but it was evident that the Pandinus guild and Black Star Organization were connected.

[Those evil beings! Trying to throw the blame onto others despite committing such inexcusable atrocities!]

Vega seemed to have recalled Choi Jungchul as she shouted out in an angry voice.

[It feels so vexing that theres no way to stop their malicious tricks.]

No way to stop their malicious tricks? What are you talking about?

Vegas eyes widened.

[Didnt you just say that theres no evidence to prove their connection?]

I did.

Without a doubt, there was currently no evidence that was able to make the arrows of criticism that were aimed at Starlight Lake point back at Pandinus.

However

As he had always done

What wasnt there could simply be created.

The edges of Ohjins mouth slyly tilted up.

Ill take care of this matter on my own. Dont worry about it.

[But, how]

Really, dont worry about it.

It wasnt anything too difficult.

There was no need to rack his brains, nor was there any need to prepare complicated deceits.

After all its an unlosable game for me anyways

Now, then.

Ohjin stuck his tongue out and licked his lips.

Its been a while since I returned to my main profession.

Of all things

You shouldnt have used scams in front of me.

T/N: Some of the nicknames of the ones who commented on the community site are novel authors.

Butterfly Valley () : Author of Im Not a Regressor and Player who returned 10,000 Years later.

JerryM () : Author of Return of the Frozen Player and The Healing Priest of the Sun

WoofWoofKim () : Author but no works known to an English audience.

MommyNingguang: Just simping for the character Ningguang in Genshin Impact.