The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 579

Clang. Clang.

The familiar sound rang in his ears. Then the impact from hammering iron reverberated through his entire body, followed by the feel of the hammer in his grip, the dull metallic smell, and the scorching heat of the furnace stinging his skin.

“Ah.”

The sensations of the body he hadn’t felt properly until now snapped into clarity. Along with that, the initial murkiness in his vision also vanished entirely into a sharpness.

Naturally, ■■■ immediately looked around the workshop that felt familiar yet strange, like a place in his memories. And at that thought, he remembered he had been in the process of making something.

Hmm, what am I forging again?

He couldn’t recall no matter how hard he tried, but he was certain of one thing: it was something precious. Because of that, ■■■ followed his intuition and kept forging instead of obsessing over the hole in his memory.

Clang. Clang.

He heated the iron, hammered it into shape, quenched it, then finished it with a rough polish. Yet… every time he completed something, it somehow felt lacking.

This isn’t it either…

Although he could tell it wasn’t what he meant to make, he had no way of figuring out what he was missing.

At a loss, ■■■ was about to sink into deeper frustration—

“It’s too dull.”

■■■ turned to look at the owner of the flat voice, who was a young man who had just stepped into the workshop.

“It felt soft on some ends, but when it came time to decide, it never hesitated. You should know you can sharpen it more than that.”

The young man’s face was blurred, as if wrapped in a haze, but for some reason ■■■ knew for certain that he was a regular customer.

Because of that, ■■■ didn’t get needlessly wary and just plainly asked, “Was it that sharp?”

“Not sharp… more like… yeah. It had some backbone.”

The young man looked down at the item on the anvil.

“It wasn’t a dangerous edge that cuts everything just by touching it. It was more like something reliable by your side. Something that can cut anything when you choose to put strength into it.”

“Reliable….”

For some reason, the description made ■■■ feel oddly embarrassed. It wasn’t even about him, so why did it make his face heat up?

“Ahem. I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, what brings you here?”

To answer, the young man produced two cracked short spears and held them out.

“I tried fixing them myself. Didn’t go well. Can you repair them?”

Thanking the spears, ■■■ gave them a quick once-over.

“This? Not hard at all. Hold on.” His voice was full of confidence.

Whoosh!

Starting immediately, ■■■ fed a small stream of mana into the flame, adjusting its temperament, then heated the cracked spears one by one while lightly tapping the fractured sections.

Woong-

The two spears resonated with each other and repaired themselves at breakneck speed, returning to their original shapes in the blink of an eye.

However, just as ■■■ was about to finish the final touches, the young man pointed at the red spear.

“That one needs a bit more work.”

“Hm? Wasn’t it originally like this?”

“I changed it recently. It suits me better that way.”

In truth, despite the young man’s words, ■■■ was still half unsure about just how accurate that was. But regardless, ■■■ refined the red spear again…!

■■■ froze, eyes widening upon seeing the completed result. It fit the young man so well it couldn’t even be compared to the weapons ■■■ had made for him before.

“Who would’ve thought such a spear would suit you…. I never would’ve imagined it.”

“Time changes everything.”

The young man accepted the two spears back and looked at ■■■ in the eyes.

“You’ve probably changed a lot too. Try not to let those changes roll back.”

With those final words, the young man headed out of the workshop. Beyond the shimmering doorway he left through, ■■■ stared at his figure receding, growing smaller and smaller, for a long while.

Only once the young man was fully gone did ■■■ look back at the thing he had been attempting to make.

“…Should I try again?”

Sharp, yet reliable.

Turning the advice over in his mind, ■■■ raised the hammer once more to fill the workshop with the sound of iron being struck again.

Clang. Clang.

■■■ worked intensely, so deeply immersed he forgot the passage of time—a cool chill swept across him.

“Aren’t you rushing a bit?”

The voice, polite yet sly, was also familiar. Also, like the other young man, the face of the new visitor wasn’t clear, but ■■■ remembered that he was another regular… and a close sworn brother.

“…What is it? As you can see, I’m busy right now. So come next time—”

“No. You should rest now. You’ve overworked yourself.”

“What are you talking…?”

His objection trailing off, ■■■ felt a chill wash over him. It cooled the heat in his head, bringing his surroundings back into focus.

Slurch-

The workshop was melting, unable to withstand the furnace’s heat. While he’d been absorbed in his work, the furnace flame had risen so unnaturally high that it started melting the entire place.

“…Damn.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll tidy things up. Sit down and rest for a bit.”

Pushed by his sworn-brother, ■■■ sat in a chair and watched as ice pillars sprouted around the furnace. With the source controlled, the temperature finally lowered, which in turn tamed the madness of the flames.

“Let’s see… this side’s fine… ah, there’s a hole here.”

His sworn brother moved around, busily repairing the melted areas with ice.

The entire time ■■■ just watched in silence.

“Don’t you have anything you want me to make?”

And before he knew it, the words had already slipped out of his mouth.

“Me? I don’t think so. Thanks to you, I already figured out what I’m lacking.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Yeah. Well, it’s more so… you were a great counterexample. Seeing a workshop blazing like that snapped me right awake.”

With that teasing reply, his sworn brother finished the repairs and then approached ■■■ again.

“So focused you don’t even notice your own body burning—if that’s you being you normally, then sure. But what meaning could any answer have if it’s found like that?”

“…”

“Try to take better care of yourself. Like you always told us to.”

Smiling gently, the sworn brother handed him something, then waved and left the workshop.

Again, ■■■ watched his back as he left, only lowering his gaze to the ice mirror he’d been given once his sworn-brother was gone.

“…”

The face reflected was covered in pure noise. No matter how long he stared, he couldn’t tell what he looked like.

However, he could find the injuries that had appeared without his noticing. So, following the recent advice, ■■■ began checking himself in the mirror and taking breaks between bouts of work.

Clang. Clang.

A long time passed again, but unlike before, a single object had eventually been completed. The item in ■■■’s hand looked like a clock hand yet also like a crude dagger—a shape so strange that it couldn’t be defined as one thing or the other.

At the ambiguous shape, ■■■ made a conflicted face.

“Mm… I don’t think there’s anything left to fix…”

Despite the conflicted feelings he had at the ambiguous shape, ■■■ thought that from here, it wasn’t about refining the shape anymore. Instead, maybe it was about what he defined it as.

“…”

Staring at the clock-hand dagger in his palm, ■■■ thought for a long time, then rose.

I should head outside first.

Everything he could do in this workshop was done. Taking the ice mirror, ■■■ carefully stepped out through the door.

“Ugh….”

Blazing sunlight poured down. Shielding his eyes, ■■■ looked around to see that down the slope, neatly lined fruit trees were stretched out in rows.

“This place is….”

It turned out that the workshop he had just exited was on a mountain ridge in an orchard. Unlike the inside of the workshop, though, everything he was seeing now felt unfamiliar.

“Jason! Don’t you remember Dad told us to start harvesting over there!”

While staring at the alien scenery, ■■■ soon heard unfamiliar voices ringing out around him.

“What? Yesterday he said to start here.”

“How would I know what Dad’s thinking? Hurry before you get yelled at!”

“Ah, damn it…,” grumbled a boy in a straw hat—Jason—as he gathered his things before running past ■■■ and down the slope.

He can’t see me?

Jason hadn’t even glanced his way.

Confused, ■■■ watched his back with a strange expression. And before he realized it, he was already following. While he didn’t know why, his instincts were telling him he had to.

“Jason! Mom says come down, she’s going grocery shopping!”

“Jason! Little brother keeps bullying me!!”

“Jason Diaz! Didn’t Mom tell you to clean your room!!”

As they walked down the slope through the orchard, the family’s voices rang nonstop. Each time Jason complained… only to still run toward wherever he was called. By all definitions, the family was a warm and ordinary one. Each of them fought, got mad, argued with each other, and made up in the end.

■■■ watched the peaceful scene from behind Jason quietly—

Something changed all of a sudden.

“A-a monster showed up?”

“Yeah! Bruno from downstairs got attacked by some weird monster… Jason! Run back up, grab a gun with your brothers, then come down! Also, tell your mom to hide in the house with the little ones!”

Completely startled, Jason ran off to obey his pale-faced father’s command.

Meanwhile, further down, a fight was already unfolding: monsters were swarming into the orchard.

Bang! Bang!

Muzzle flashes lit the dark orchard as grotesque creatures—each like a cross between a dog and an octopus—charged forward. Everyone from Jason’s family to the villagers who’d survived earlier attacks was there, all making a desperate stand.

Alas, the monster numbers showed no sign of thinning.

“Aagh!”

Soon enough, some of the beasts broke through the line and tore into the people. And from then on, the muzzle flashes winked out one by one. Jason, too, found himself in front of one of those beasts. His hands were trembling, preventing him from properly reloadin—the blood-slick monster opened its jaws and lunged.

Panicking, Jason’s fist swung out in a last, desperate spasm.

BOOM!

A sound far louder than any gunshot exploded from the tip of his fist. The monster’s head was completely crumpled, its life snuffed out instantly. It was so thoroughly crushed that it looked as though it had been smashed by a gigantic hammer.

“…Huh?”

Jason’s eyes went wide. That should have been impossible. Was it a lucky stray bullet? Was he having a dying hallucination from being bitten? Unable to process it, he stood there blankly staring at the black blood on his fist.

“!!”

Seeing more monsters rushing toward his family, Jason ignored everything around him and charged. And unlike before, he saw, dodged, and struck the creatures which adults could barely handle even with guns—none of them posed a threat to him.

They’re slow?

Movements that were faster than a motorcycle had slowed down in his eyes. They were basically crawling, allowing Jason to see exactly where to evade and hit.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The gunfire that had been constant had fallen completely silent. Instead, from across the orchard, the sound of bones being pulverized rang out.

“…”

It was only when every monster that had climbed up from below lay dead that Jason appeared again, standing under the moonlight spilling through the clouds.

He stood there blankly, drenched head to toe in black blood.

Watching him, the boy who had killed dozens of monsters without a single scratch, the villagers held their guns tensely—

“Jason!!”

His family dropped their weapons and ran to him, pulling him into a crushing embrace.

“You did it!”

“You little—if you had some superpower, you should’ve told us earlier!”

“Bro, are you hurt? You rushed in without warning! I almost shot you!”

“Uh… uh…”

Seeing Jason flustered, smiling awkwardly, the villagers exchanged looks before all approaching with visibly eased expressions.

Meanwhile, the man watching it all from behind put together what he had just seen.

Early on after the emergence of the Tower of Heroes, beasts attacked the villages. It seems Jason awakened by sheer luck and took them all down.

During the aftermath of the appearance of the Towers, there were a few who had instinctively awakened mana. Jason was apparently one of them.

“Mr. Diaz. What if we go rescue the people still trapped in the village?”

“Mm… isn’t that too dangerous?”

“You just saw it. With Jason’s strength, we can save those who couldn’t escape.”

Looking at the villagers who still had families down there pleading, Jason’s father looked at his young son.

“Jason. Can you fight them again, like you just did? If you can’t, then I—”

“I’ll go.”

Jason’s voice was full of confidence, having seen his father’s worry.

“I think… I can do it right now.”

“…Alright. Then let’s go together.”

With Jason leading the way, the others followed him down the orchard towards the village.

“So what am I supposed to do with my fists again?”

“You press it in, then smash like you’re making it explode all at once. Then your whole body gets chills, everything slows down, and your fist gets crazy strong.”

“Press it in and explode it…? I can’t make heads or tails of that….”

Like that, time passed, and the orchard became a training ground and then a fortress. Jason had now grown from boy to young man and was now teaching others how to fight while guarding the village.

BOOM!

Thanks to him, the village could repel beast attacks with minimal damage, and more and more awakened people continued to appear.

The settlement was only growing with each passing day as word had spread that there was a safe village protected from monsters. Naturally, people from nearby areas came flocking.

“Jason. Are you sure it’s okay to keep taking people in like this?”

“If we were short on resources, then no. But we’re fine. And some of them might awaken like I did. I think it’s better to take in as many as we can.”

“Mm… well, when you put it that way.”

Jason had learned firsthand that people were the most important asset of all. And because of that judgment, the village amassed so many awakeners that the village rose to become a regional power.

Everything was going smoothly until…

“A monster that swallows mountains?”

A massive calamity was imminent.

“Yes. This is what it looks like.”

Focusing, Jason watched as the awakened man from another faction pulled out a laptop and played a video of a huge, slime-like creature—easily a hundred meters tall—crawling over and blanketing a mountain.

Swish-

Anything the slime touched dissolved. Any scraps that remained were devoured by beasts circling it.

“…”

It wasn’t like the animalistic beasts they’d fought before—it was something else entirely, a true monster.

Realizing the implications, Jason and the villagers stiffened. In the meantime, the old awakened man who’d brought the news had unfolded a map.

“It’s moving north from the south, targeting survivor strongholds. We didn’t know until now because there were no survivors left to report it… but rumor says that dozens of strongholds have already been destroyed.”

“Dozens….”

“It’s about five hundred kilometers from here. If it keeps attacking other strongholds on the way, it’ll take roughly a week to reach us. We have time to evacuate.”

He looked directly at Jason, expression grave.

“But even if you run now, it’ll come again later—with more beasts than before in its wake. Also, by then it’ll be stronger than anything we can imagine.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Lend us your strength to eliminate it.”

Jason’s face hardened as the villagers cried out in alarm.

“Fight that thing? Are you out of your mind?!”

“If we leave, who protects the village—”

“We don’t need help from other awakened individuals.”

Despite the outcry, the old man’s gaze had never wavered from Jason.

“The only one we need is the strongest awakened in this entire region: you, Jason Diaz.”

“…”

“If you clear a path by cutting down the beasts flanking it, we’ll kill the monster itself. So please… lend us your strength.”

The old man and his group bowed.

“…”

The villagers were conflicted. The monster was clearly a deadly threat, but sending Jason outside the village felt unthinkable.

No one dared to speak, causing a heavy silence to settle.

“I’ll go.”

Jason finally answered the old man.

“Jason, you—”

“Like they said, even if we run this time, next time we might not even get the chance. So it’s better to gather strength and bring it down while it’s still weaker.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take it down and come back soon.”

Hearing those words, the villagers couldn’t help but worry… but they still rallied behind his decision quickly. It was the right choice for the village’s safety, and with the other awakened staying behind, they figured they could endure a few weeks.

“Come back safe!”

“Brother, don’t you dare get hurt!”

“Go kill that weird slime!”

With family and villagers seeing him off, Jason left the fortress built above the orchard alongside the awakened group.

However, ■■■ stopped at the gate.

“…”

He wondered what would happen after Jason went? He could learn it just by taking one step forward… but for some reason, his foot wouldn’t move.

■■■ hesitated for a long time, but eventually stepped beyond the fortress gate.

Thud.

In front of an orchard reduced to ruins, Jason’s knees gave out.