A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 66

Shuuuk— What I grasped in my hand from within the unpleasant lump was a fragment of a white sword. “That’s….” “…A sword hilt.” For some reason, the blade part was broken off, and only the hilt below the guard remained. In contrast to the plain, unadorned Demonic Sword, the handle was decorated with incredibly ornate designs. A decoration that seemed to depict dragon scales wrapped around the handle, and on the guard, a dragon's head appeared to be opening its mouth toward the blade. [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ advises that while it’s not as good as itself, it should still be usable.] “…This seems to be on a similar level, though.” Contrary to the Demonic Sword's advice that it was merely ‘usable,’ the sword's aura of nobility felt intuitively to be of a very high level. It was hard to be certain, perhaps because it wasn't in a complete state, but it felt as if it would have been on a similar level to the ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ if it were whole. What gave me confidence in this was the information on the hilt I checked through my . ■Name: [Fragment of the Nameless Sword] ■Grade: [???] ■Description: [A sword hilt broken for some reason. It contains an unknown power.] ■Special Ability: [???] [Warning! There is information that cannot be viewed with your current access authority.] [A higher-grade access authority is required.] It wasn't just that the information was unavailable because it was broken. The requirement for a higher-grade access authority meant that its information, when whole, was of a rare level. And one more thing. ‘…I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.’ This weapon, for some reason, felt familiar. I couldn't remember exactly, but I had a feeling I'd seen it sometime during my first playthrough. It was a sword with a rather impressive appearance, so I thought I might remember if I thought a little harder. Unfortunately, I couldn't delve further into my memories. Tiring-! [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ advises you to get your eyes checked again.] “……” [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ expresses its displeasure, telling you not to treat such an uncool thing as its equal.] [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ tells you not to shove that crude blade at it.] …It must have been itching to run its mouth after being shut for hundreds of years. After all, a single comment about them being similar had triggered a barrage of feedback. “…Something feels ominous.” “What do you mean?” “A thought just occurred to me.” “……?” “I have a feeling I'm going to be pestered by something weird—.” [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ says that, come to think of it, its greeting is late.] [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ demands that you perform a deep bow to commemorate meeting the greatest sword in Murim.] “……” [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ says it will forgive your past rudeness with its broad generosity, so hurry up and—.] Clang-! Unable to stand its incessant chattering, I took the fragment of the Nameless Sword I had pulled from the lump and struck the Demonic Sword with it. “…Shut up.” [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ is appalled by your acti—.] Clang-! [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ asks what the hell you think you're doi—.] Klaaang-! [The Holy Relic, ‘The Most Sacred Demonic Sword’ says if it gets scratched—.] Kwaaang-! [The Holy Relic, ‘Most Holy Demoni—.] KWAAAANG-! […….] Just as I was about to increase the output of my mana circuit and fully activate my Trait. Thankfully, the Demonic Sword’s voice stopped. “Orabeoni……” “…Huu.” “…What in the world did you just do? Why were you striking it?” Cheong-yi, who had been silent during the sudden development, asked cautiously. “Establishing the hierarchy.” When I answered curtly, she asked back. “With a sword… you mean?” “No matter what, I can't be giving a deep bow to an object.” “……?” Naturally, Cheong-yi, who had no way of understanding what I meant, tilted her head with a clueless expression. I lowered my voice and spoke to the Demonic Sword. “Look, I'll at least use polite speech with you. If you don't want to be further embarrassed in front of your descendant, let's just agree on that.” […….] “It's not like we're in a relationship where we can determine who's the boss, and if we had to, I, the only one who can hear you, am the one in charge.” […….] “If you try to act high and mighty again, I'll shove you back into that lump.” * * * Trudge, trudge— The experience of being beaten with another sword must have been quite a shock, as the Demonic Sword didn't conjure up any sentences for a while after that. The thought that I might have gone too far, considering the dignity of a soul that once held the title of the strongest in Murim, briefly crossed my mind, but since it was the one that crossed the line first, the thought was, quite literally, fleeting. Thanks to that, the way out of the cave was quite quiet. Rustle— Taking advantage of the brief lull, I opened my notebook and made a mark. [Bucket List #9] 「Project: Rescue Shim Cheong.」……O ‘…For now.’ My business on the Shandong Peninsula was not yet over. Although I called it succeeding the Demonic Sword, what I had just done was also the act of releasing the seal on the 'Primordial Magical Beast'. It wasn't a mechanism where it would revive in a 'flash' the moment the Demonic Sword was pulled, but the residual mana of the sealing technique would gradually dissipate, and the revival of the Primordial Magical Beast was scheduled for the near future. On top of that, considering the turmoil the Shandong Peninsula would experience from the Demonic Sword being pulled, far from being over, the greatest challenge still remained. And most crucially. [Bucket List #10] 『Rebuild the Demonic Cult』 The final bucket list item that would cap off my time on the Shandong Peninsula still remained. Until that was fully accomplished, I could never say it was over. …But putting those things aside, it was true that I felt encouraged deep down. Ssk— In the end, Cheong-yi was the key. “…Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” “No, it's nothing.” “……?” “Just warm up your body. Try swinging that Demonic Sword a bit before we leave.” “…Warm up? Why should I warm up?” “You'll find out when we get out.” ‘…Now it's double digits, huh.’ Was it ‘well begun is half done’? It wasn't a saying I was particularly fond of, but it came to mind. My actions from the Gateway Zone until now had merely been laying the groundwork for the beginning, and the real start would be after I achieved this 10th bucket list item. Scratch, scratch— [‘Isaac Einstein’s’ Intervention] [Discovery of 'Weapon Translation,' an additional ability of the Trait, 'The Chosen One'] There were parts that got unexpectedly complicated, and parts that were unexpectedly resolved. The remaining bucket list items packed tightly in my notebook still felt heavy. Still. “…Not bad.” It felt like a not-so-bad start. * * * “Haaah….” With dark circles hanging down to her chin, Eliya sighed, head bowed, as she left her assigned chapel. “…How can a person's speech be this sleep-inducing?” The course she had to retake due to the 'unauthorized use of an Artifact' incident was 'The Metaphysical Value of Adhering to Regulations in Accordance with the Principle of Good Faith'. It was a course infamous among priests for its fiendish difficulty. In fact, it was the course she had dreaded the most when she was a priest candidate at the monastery. Forced to retake a course she already disliked, she had to do her best to keep her eyes from closing in real-time. After narrowly overcoming several crises, she was able to complete the retake. “…It's a relief there were extenuating circumstances.” It was fortunate that the level of her disciplinary action was reduced to one-third after a post-hoc emergency substantial review. If she had to retake the entire course from the beginning, she might have found herself running out of the monastery without even realizing it. “Priestess Merculurt!” “Ah, Miss Hailey.” One of the things that helped her endure the difficult retake process was the attention from the priest candidates taking the class with her. Of course, a fully ordained priest retaking a course wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but to the priest candidates, the sight of an official priest—their future selves—was an object of envy. Hailey was the priest candidate who had welcomed Eliya the most. Trotting over, she looked at Eliya with eyes full of disappointment and asked. “…Are you leaving right away? You must be tired from the back-to-back classes, you should rest for at least a day….” “I have to go. Huhu. I am, after all, a priest in service to a Hero candidate.” “……!!!” “Miss Hailey, you'll know what it feels like when you're ordained as a priest.” At the words 'a priest in service to a Hero,' Hailey's eyes sparkled again. “What kind of person is the Hero candidate you're serving, Priestess?” To the question asked with sparkling eyes, Eliya briefly recalled U-jin's face. “Hmm….” The period she could call 'service' had been so short that she didn't really know him that well. But in that short time, the image of U-jin that had formed in Eliya's mind was. “Someone whose next move is completely unpredictable.” “……” “Unbelievably reckless.” “……?” “Someone who makes you anxious if you leave him alone, and who only does the things you tell him not to.” “…Eh?” Quite clear. “…And yet, he's someone who pulls it off with strange proficiency.” Hailey furrowed her brow at the strange description but soon nodded and muttered. “Somehow… he sounds difficult, but cool. Seeing as you speak of him that way, Priestess.” Smile— “You think so?” “Yes! He'll probably become a Hero before long!” Answering energetically with the unique vigor of a priest candidate, she, as if sad that their short time was ending, immediately threw out another question. “So, where are you headed?” “To the Murim Empire in the eastern part of the continent. Do you know of the Shandong Peninsula?” “Umm….” Hailey, who had been pondering with her hand on her chin, suddenly let out a small cry of 'Ah!' and then tilted her head. “I remember! But….” “……?” “Isn't that the front line of the War against Demons? I thought I learned that Hero candidates usually build up their achievements by carrying out Magical Beast subjugation requests within The Order's territory….” Huhu— “That's right. That's why I said it earlier. Our Hero candidate is a bit peculiar.” “……” “…He was vague about it, so I don't know the details either, but he probably has something else in mind.” Nodding in agreement at Eliya's words, Hailey suddenly paused and asked cautiously. “Hmm… I see. Won't it be dangerous?” “It probably won't be. I looked into it beforehand, and although it's on the front line of the War against Demons, there aren't any particular dangers aside from the occasional appearance of a few Magical Beasts that have deserted the Demon King's Army.” “……” “It's usually like that for isolated places on the fringes of the anti-demon front line.” Hailey tilted her head at Eliya's answer. “Huh?” “…What is it?” “Have you not heard yet?” In that moment, a chilling sensation ran through Eliya's senses. And just as she expected, Hailey's next words followed. “If I didn't see it wrong….” “……” “I think I heard they went on emergency defense alert this morning due to a large-scale unidentified Magical Beast outbreak.” “……!!!” Eliya couldn't help but shoot up from her seat.