Everyone Else is a Regressor

Chapter 7

◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (7)

His parents named him Jun, meaning that no matter what he did, he should establish his own standards and act according to his own justice rather than following others.

It also meant becoming a model, a symbol that others want to emulate.

Certainly, the Chinese characters were different, but perhaps they named him Jun because it sounded nice, and later on, they might have added a plausible story. Nevertheless, Jun was deeply grateful that his parents imbued meaning into his name.

However, living so independently was incredibly difficult.

Rather than becoming a standard for others, it was burdensome to follow the standards set by others.

It was too overwhelming to assert his own beliefs and act according to his own judgment.

To fit in with others, he had to learn how to adjust himself, avoiding expressing his opinions openly. He mastered the art of conforming to others and avoided presenting his own thoughts openly.

He didn't need to rush to conform to standards; he had his own uniqueness, his own standards, and individuality.

That was his special quality.

He knew it existed within him but had been denying it vehemently.

Because he didn't want to suffer anymore.

He knew how difficult and arduous standing alone was.

But in this world, left alone with the Demon Lord, he had no choice but to stand alone.

At this moment, his long-standing mental escape had finally come to a complete end.

"Be careful, handle it gently..."

"Could it be... you hear the voice because it's a rampaging spirit?"

"That can't be true, are you silly? That's inspiration. You'll soon develop additional stats, right?"

Wow, I hit the jackpot in a situation like this? — the Demon Lord marveled at herself and murmured in amazement.

Such an attitude seemed to prove his talent.

Talent that no one could deny.

Talent as a Summoner.

Did he really have it?

What difference would it make to contract with a spirit now that he had inspiration?

He pushed aside such thoughts. Seeing the Demon Lord genuinely happy, he suppressed those weak feelings.

For her support, he needed to discard such feeble thoughts.

Set your own standards.

Instead of belittling himself, he should affirm himself as he was.

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"Demon Lord, teach me Summoning Magic."

"Are you asking a favor? How surprising."

The Demon Lord chuckled and tilted her head.

"Sorry, I can't handle Summoning Magic either. But it's perfect timing. If we manage to soothe the rampaging spirit and contract with it, would you really need to learn Summoning Magic from someone else?"

"Is that easy?"

"Is Summoning Magic easy then?"

Argh! This horned woman! I hate her!

The Demon Lord, poking the cube with her finger, glanced at him and said while struggling to appease the spirit and comfort him.

"Even if there is a trap in the final dungeon of the tutorial, it's not like you can instantly finish it without trap disarming..."

The Demon Lord, joking to break the serious atmosphere, watched KiJun start to focus and stabilize the Rubik's Cube.

There was no way to stop the rampaging spirit without practicing Summoning Magic at this point. The influence of his talent for seeing and hearing spirits must have played a role, but more accurately...

"Could it be... was his talent originally related to his abilities?"

And in a quite new way — it was only natural.

KiJun was originally a tank who was responsible for the party's front line.

In other words, it was only natural that his environmental conditions were appropriate and that he could easily cultivate his Endurance.

The Endurance he had nurtured so doggedly, without focusing on intensive training, had caught up to his extraordinary talent.

Well, thinking about it now, skills like Cooking and Butchery are influenced by talent too. This should be good enough. If he had been born with an Uncommon or higher talent, he might have noticed it sooner.

But potential could easily resurface if the right conditions were provided.

It would be nice if KiJun could fully develop all his potential in this place. — Having such a childish thought, the Demon Lord quietly stepped back to avoid interfering with him.

KiJun managed to raise his talent level to uncommon after two hours of continuously solving the Rubik's Cube.

"Thank you for taking care of it, spirit."

The spirit had become quite friendly with him during these two hours.

While continuously talking and soothing the spirit to prevent it from going berserk, KiJun had managed to gain the spirit's trust over time, even though it had been sealed within the Rubik's Cube for ages.

"What? Is it really over?"

Meanwhile, the Demon Lord, who had been busy stacking cards to build a castle using magic, looked up at KiJun, who had just finished leveling up his talent, with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Even so, it's too quick."

"Isn't ma’am amazing?"

"Spewing nonsense as always."

One of the characteristics of flattery is that the true intention often shows through. Yet, despite that, people still resort to flattery. The reason lies in the effectiveness of flattery; even if one's true feelings are obvious, flattery works wonders.

The Demon Lord was no exception.

"So, what's next? What skill should we focus on growing?"

However, as the Demon Lord enthusiastically entered mentor mode and clapped her hands, KiJun realized he had stepped on a landmine.

After a brief internal struggle, KiJun decided to hide the truth and extended the Rubik's Cube containing the light spirit, offering it to the Demon Lord.

"Let's start with Summoning Magic."

"Open your status window and skill window."

"Ugh..."

―Huh?

―Huh?

KiJun and the Demon Lord's voices overlapped.

Of course, KiJun was well aware that his innate skill allowed him to resist all sorts of debuffs. Yet, he had never expected to bounce away a debuff cast by the Demon Lord herself.

And to think that his resilient regeneration skill would receive a positive adjustment thanks to it.

"Huuuh?"

"Hey?"

KiJun and the Demon Lord exchanged confused glances.

Could this be an additional effect due to its Legendary grade?

If that was the case...

"I'm going to attack now. Hit me a little harder than usual."

"Wait a moment, Hero. Didn't you just deflect my debuff?"

"And because of that, my regeneration skill received an additional bonus. It's like a buff... Anyway, hit me."

"What kind of cheating skill is this... Well, it is a cheating skill, isn't it?"

KiJun reflected on why he ended up being the last survivor in this world while the Demon Lord was still alive. As the Demon Lord hesitated, her fingers twitched.

"Let me try that again."

"Bring it on." 

Without hesitation this time, the Demon Lord pierced through KiJun's abdomen.

“Kuhhhhh――!”

―No, what should I do…!

KiJun's groans, bitten back in pain, caused the Rubik's Cube lying on the floor to vibrate and glow for no apparent reason.

Although KiJun himself was unaware, this was evidence that the spirit sealed inside the cube had begun to communicate with him.

Watching the cube react so strongly to KiJun's suffering, the Demon Lord thought that this might be a good opportunity for KiJun to acquire spirit magic.

Ah! Teaching several things at once, what an excellent mentor she must be!

“Hero, I'll keep going in succession. If you feel like you're about to die, you have to raise your hand, okay?”

“Even if I raise my hand, you won't stop, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard it at the dentist! Aaargh!”

―Ffffttt!

The doctor waved her hands, starting to pierce KiJun more.

Unable to rely solely on regeneration, he tried his best to block her attacks by using his Indomitable Will and even resorting to Metalization. However, his resistance was futile; holes pierced through his body, and blood splattered out.

Although his wounds were healing due to the regeneration, the spirit, unaware of this, started to glow explosively, as if it would explode the Rubik's Cube altogether.

―Don't do this! Don't hurt that person!

“Warrior, you might really die like this. Are you okay?”

“Noooooo!”

Even though his wounds were healing, he couldn't erase the pain. In the midst of this, he had to force a smile, or he couldn't even endure the fatigue of regeneration, so what was this if not hell?

―No... no! Don't hurt that person!

The cube, reacting more violently, began to split into pieces. Seeing this, the Demon Lord smiled with satisfaction.

Of course, seeing KiJun suffer so much made a small part of her heart ache, but... this was all for him.

Villains... were familiar, after all...!

“Hero, you're really going to die like this. Really...!”

“Uaaaaaa!”

As KiJun screamed, surpassing his limits, something extraordinary happened.

―The skill [Persistent Regeneration] responds to a strong will and performs a miracle. All wounds have completely healed!

―The skill [Persistent Regeneration] transcends its limits and evolves into the unique skill [Rapid Regeneration]!

Firstly, KiJun's entire body, which had been torn apart by the Demon Lord's attack, was restored to its original state as if time had been rewound for a moment. Even without checking the system message, it was clear that his regeneration skill had completely surpassed its limits.

―I can't just stand here and watch! Let's defeat that evil demon together, make a contract with me!

Secondly, the cube shattered into pieces, revealing a radiant spirit enveloped in bright light.

To the Demon Lord, it looked like a massive lump of light, but KiJun could see a lovely woman dressed in white silk.

Is that the rampaging spirit? Where did she even see that?

―Quick, take my hand! Please...!

With a desperate voice, the spirit of light cried out. At this point, KiJun could tell that she was strongly deluded, but now was the time to ride this huge wave created by the Demon Lord without hesitation.

―Alright, got it!

The moment he extended his hand, the spirit's hand firmly gripped his.

As the souls of the person and the spirit were tightly bound, one potential inside KiJun, which had been dormant, fully awakened.

―The rare-grade stat [Spirit Power] has been awakened! Spirit Power allows communication with spiritual beings and exerts influence on them, allowing mutual interaction and stronger power usage. Spirit Power (Rare) has reached 10.

―Contracting with the Light Spirit grants the rare-grade skill [Light Spirit Magic]! Successfully calming the rampaging spirit and forming a contract greatly enhances the Light Spirit Magic skill. The [Light Spirit Magic] skill has increased by 19 levels, reaching level 20!