REAPER SCANS
The Five-Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path
[Translator – Anwen]
[Proofreader – Valirius]
Chapter 64
“R-Really?”
Yeon-Ji asked warily at the unexpected announcement.
As she began to outgrow the famous Heavenly Golden Mountain of this Floor, it seemed that she had begun to take interest in the outside world.
“I don’t think there are any elements here that could further your growth. To become a Dragon Lord, you need to resemble a human to some extent.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I look like a monster right now?”
“So you know! Right now, you’re the very definition of a monster.”
Yeon-Ji frowned when I pointed out the truth.
“There’s no way! I’m a 14-year-old girl. If someone sees me now, they’ll all be busy complimenting how pretty I am!”
Where on earth does that confidence come from?
Well, she did inherit my DNA after all.
Her appearance did bare a striking resemblance to me as a woman.
Of course, given that she took after me, she didn’t fall short in the looks department.
“Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To wash up. See for yourself how much of a mess you are.”
“Isn’t it mostly your fault that I look like this?”
I remained silent at her argument.
“Then you should have kept up with your baths.”
“The rivers in the Heavenly Golden Mountain are overflowing with aura, so it’s difficult to wash up in peace.”
I guess even if she had grown this much, she probably can’t suppress the aura of the Heavenly Golden Mountain like I could.
As Yeon-Ji and I returned to the entrance of the mountain, the figure of the spirit sitting on the rock was nowhere to be seen.
Just as I was thinking that…
Suddenly, an old man wearing a white gi and a satgat bamboo hat appeared before me.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to recognize someone like you.”
The old man was the same guy who had been sitting on the rock earlier.
‘If you had been released from being a restligeist, you should’ve ascended before you were bound again, so why are you still here?’
When I stared at him with a look saying that, he bowed his head to me.
“I wanted to express my gratitude, so I waited for you.”
“Ah, I see.”
I just gestured for him to leave after thanking me in moderation since I didn’t do it intentionally. He gave a small smile.
“By the way, you have a good sword.”
At the mention of my sword, I looked down at the Heavenly Star Sword.
Yes, it was a good sword. Could a dead man be coveting another’s belonging?
With a bewildered look, I looked up to the old man, who adjusted his hat with a smile still on his face.
“I am a Taoist hermit, Do Bok-Ryong. As a token of gratitude, I’ll bestow something good upon your sword.”
Before I could react, the old man snapped his fingers.
The Heavenly Star Sword shimmered and the old man’s form became translucent.
“Wait, what did you do?”
I angrily shouted at him, who was trying to attain Buddhahood without telling me what he had done, for an explanation.
“I hope your belief never wavers before the Constellation who holds the true name.”
At his words, my eyes widened.
‘An Apostle?’
No, that wasn’t it.
An Apostle wouldn’t say such a thing.
A Constellation with a true name. There was no way an Apostle below Floor 50 could utter such words.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 30’, ‘Gentleman That Walks the Sky’, begins to panic.]
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 30’, ‘Gentleman That Walks the Sky’, urgently voices their objection.]
Following after, the Floor 30 Constellation, ‘Gentleman That Walks the Sky’, protested loudly.
But their objections fell on deaf ears.
‘A true name was something only Constellations on Floor 50 or higher have.’
For the Constellations, a true name was a kind of rank.
In other words, the Taoist hermit Do Bok-Ryong was someone related to Constellations on Floor 50 or higher.
‘It’s rare for Constellations above Floor 50 to meddle with the floors below them.’
Was something going on between the Constellations?
Even I, having regressed five times, could not figure out what the Constellations were scheming.
[‘Wooong.’ ‘Heavenly Star Sword’ cries out.]
Then, an unexpected message appeared before my eyes.
As I slowly turned my head toward my sword, it seemed to notice my gaze and vibrated.
[‘Heavenly Star Sword’ is conscious of your gaze.]
[‘Heavenly Star Sword’ expresses joy.]
Hmm, what? Hold on…
My mind went blank.
The Heavenly Star Sword began to speak in a similar manner to the Constellations.
[‘Heavenly Star Sword’ has opened its eyes. It conveys that the Constellations are watching you through itself.]
Opened one’s eyes.
Words that would not normally be mentioned on Floors below 50 were being mentioned by the Heavenly Star Sword.
‘Damn those cursed Constellations.’
I clenched my teeth.
I see.
After thinking what their purpose may be to do this to me, it was to turn my Heavenly Star Sword into a camera they could use to observe me.
Constellations were fundamentally perverted bastards who enjoyed spying and eavesdropping on people’s private lives.
They got excited over new entertainment and would approach it with great interest.
For those guys, amusement was the sole purpose of life.
There was a reason why I, who would be of interest to them, hadn’t caught their attention until now.
The first time the Constellations become aware of a presence was when a designated name is determined, starting from level 50.
From what I remember, there was some kind of network among the Constellations.
Designated names were registered in this network, making those names known between the Constellations, who then began to recognize the participants.
‘And once one goes beyond Floor 50, the intervention of the Constellations begins in earnest.’
Until Floor 50, Constellations could only bestow baptisms and grant power to participants they favor.
However, Constellations with true names that intervene from Floor 50 onward were different.
Beyond baptisms, they could become patrons standing behind the participants.
The power bestowed through baptism was weak.
However, if the Constellations became direct patrons, the participants would be able to use their power itself, incomparable to the trivial power given through the baptism.
That was why it became troublesome after Floor 50.
‘Because Constellations being patrons wasn’t exclusive to us participants.’
The reason why I called the Floors up until 50 a tutorial was precisely because of that.
In the beginning when a participant receives a designated name, Constellations start recognizing them and observing their growth up to Floor 50.
Then, based on the participants’ actions, they decide whether to become patrons or not.
That was why I had not been recognized by the Constellations. I had not yet reached level 50 and received a designation.
Now, all of a sudden, the Constellations had recognized me.
[‘Mocking Cinderella’ slowly bows her head.]
[‘Mocking Cinderella’ apologizes for being a bit rash.]
At that moment, I remembered the words of this particular Constellation.
Did they spread it?
As mentioned earlier, there was a network among the Constellations.
‘Mocking Cinderella’ was the first Constellation to single me out.
No matter how many times one regressed, Floor 1 had always been ‘Mocking Cinderella’. Among the Constellations below Floor 50, ‘Mocking Cinderella’ was the only one with a true name.
So, there must have been Constellations who questioned her choice of me, someone with no designation, and it seemed they found out through the network.
That was probably what happened.
If that Constellation had been spreading rumors about me from the beginning, others would have noticed me much earlier.
The fact that things turned out this way only after I reached Floor 30 meant that ‘Mocking Cinderella’ hid my information.
There was no use crying over spilt milk.
The reason I didn’t bother to get a designated name was because I didn’t want to be watched by the Constellations.
This was something that would happen once I got to Floor 50 anyway. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Since my strength has long been out of the norm.
‘I have no intention of relying on patrons.’
Except for the top Constellations I remembered, I had no interest in the lowlifes.
What turned out unfortunate was that the Heavenly Star Sword, which I’d always cherished in this regression, had become a voyeuristic camera for the Constellations.
[‘Heavenly Star Sword’ is happy to be able to talk to you.]
All the memories I had with this sword crumbled in an instant.
‘Should I just throw it away?’
But it was not easy to find a sword as good as it was.
[‘Heavenly Star Sword’ is curious about your intentions.]
Tsk, I should switch it out as soon as I find another good sword.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 30’, ‘Gentleman That Walks the Sky’, is restraining their anger.]
‘Gentleman That Walks the Sky’ shouted at the intervention of other Constellations on his Floor, but his anger was futile.
If a Constellation without a true name challenges one with, the latter would just laugh it off.
“What are you doing? You’ve been standing there staring into space for a while.”
Yeon-Ji tilted her head and asked. I just ignored her.
Whether the Constellations watch or not, my goal was to clear Crown Road.
That said, focusing on Floor 30 was my top priority right now.
“Let’s go.”
I took Yeon-Ji to a nearby village to bathe first.
Though grumpy and pouting at first, Yeon-Ji eventually committed herself to bathing for about an hour.
Afterward, when Yeon-Ji came out, she finally looked somewhat human.
When I gave Yeon-Ji the clothes I had purchased in advance from the village, she frowned in dissatisfaction.
“Your fashion sense sucks.”
“Do you want to walk around in your birthday suit?”
The girl who was just walking around looking like a beggar should have nothing to say about my sense of style.
Seeing Yeon-Ji look down at her clothes with an expression filled with complaints made me sigh in frustration. I threw a wad of money at her.
“Then you go buy it.”
“Okay.”
With a look that suggested things should have been like this from the start, Yeon-Ji immediately headed to the clothing store.
“What’s the difference?”
I spoke while tilting my head at Yeon-Ji who came back fully dressed with even her hair done.
There was hardly any difference from the clothes I bought.
“The pants are a different color, and the coat is different, too. Are you stupid?”
I couldn’t understand teenagers’ perspective.
To me, it all looked the same.
Shrugging my shoulders as if to say ‘whatever,’ I started walking along the road after leaving the inn.
Yeon-Ji was excited to be leaving the monster’s den for the first time in a long time, so she took happy steps.
“So, what do we do now?”
“Now that you’ve fought monsters, you fight people.”
“There is probably no one who can beat me now.”
Yeon-Ji responded confidently.
Certainly, after roaming around Floor 30 for a year, my thoughts were similar to Yeon-Ji’s.
There were no more opponents on this Floor who could defeat Yeon-Ji.
Continuing to fight opponents weaker than oneself would bring no benefit.
But could it be good luck or bad?
“You guys are watching through my sword, aren’t you?”
[A couple of Constellations are responding.]
As soon as I lifted the Heavenly Star Sword, there were responses.
The Constellations were curious about me, who possessed power that they had never seen before.
So, I decided to make use of that interest.
“Aren’t you curious about how strong I am?”
There had been no other participant like me.
To them, who always expected to see new paths within the framework of the story they had created, I was a fresh and new stimulus.
The Constellations always watched our struggles from behind the screen, laughing amongst themselves.
To them, Crown Road was a kind of entertainment.
Even if participants became as strong as they were over time and were able to interfere with the Constellations, the participants were always mere pastimes for them.
“This Floor is a solo-clear Floor anyway, right? Even with interference, only I would be affected, which means whatever happens won’t significantly disrupt the laws of Crown Road.”
Sometimes, the difficulty of solo-clear Floors was set depending on the abilities of the participants.
As such, the Constellations were well aware that the difficulty of solo-clear Floor could be modified at any time.
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