How To Use Regressors

33 – Episode 33 – Priest of Time (2)

“Ugh…”

When I regained consciousness, all I felt was excruciating pain in my body.

What I saw was a white ceiling. It seemed like I was in a hospital room.

“What happened…?”

I distinctly remembered being stabbed in the arm by that guy’s dagger.

“And then someone… seemed to be running towards me…”

“Yoo, Yoon-seong!”

“…Seo Yoo-ju?”

“Ugh… Yoo-ju… si..?”

Seo Yoo-ju opened her mouth to me with tears streaming down her face.

“Ar-are you okay? Just lie down for now. Please…”

“…Where am I?… *cough* I’m certain that I…”

Whether they heard my conversation with Seo Yoo-ju or not, my party members rushed into the room.

“Yoon, Yoon-seong oppa…!”

“…Yoo-rim…?”

“Sister… are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine… What happened… ugh…!”

“Please, just stay still, hyung. They said you shouldn’t move.”

I hesitated to get up, noticing the empty left sleeve.

‘Ha…’

I hadn’t exactly prepared for this. I had made the sacrifice of one arm with determination, but I couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in my mouth.

In reality, I had lost my value as a combatant. Perhaps I would no longer be welcome anywhere.

Seeing that I had realized I was missing one arm, the party members all fell silent.

“…. Yoonseong…”

“…… I’m okay. Why are you all like this? Haha.”

“……..”

“I really…”

“Sister, don’t say you’re okay… There’s no way you could be okay after losing one arm…!”

“….”

“…You lost one arm… ugh… You can’t be okay…! Stop saying you’re okay…!”

“… Okay…”

“……”

I opened my mouth to ask Seyooju, as I needed to know what happened while I was unconscious.

“More importantly… Yoojussi, I have a question. How long has it been since I lost consciousness?”

“… Only a day.”

“… Sniff… Can you give me a brief overview of what happened?”

“… Is understanding the current situation the issue? Please take care of yourself first…”

It seemed like the party members were in awe upon hearing that I had regained consciousness.

“… I understand your concerns, but I won’t know what I need to do until I grasp the situation.”

“Haha… You’re being funny.”

Yunyeon entered the hospital room, spitting out her words.

“… Instructor Yun?”

I was extremely surprised that Yunyeon was here.

“Why were your party members frustrated with you in the beginning, I didn’t know, but now I understand after seeing the current situation.”

“Yes..?”

“You’re saying that you want to do it as soon as you wake up? It’s even more ridiculous considering you know that you’ve lost one arm.”

Seeing her discard her usual formalities, she seemed thoroughly angry.

“… What brings Commander Yoon here?”

I asked and Seo Yooju replied.

“… After hearing an explosion, and after I found you, Mr. Yoon, Commander Yoon came to help with the situation…”

“The two of you found me?”

“Yes… If it wasn’t for Commander Yoon, Mr. Yoon Sung might have…”

“I see…”

It seemed that after Seo Yooju found me, Yoon Yean came and dealt with that crazy bastard. I had to express my gratitude to Yoon Yean.

“… Thank you very much, Commander Yoon.”

“Thanks are unnecessary. That’s not what I want to hear. Do you really want to die?”

“…”

Suddenly, her words echoed in my mind.

– She roughly mentioned that the crazy bastard said you stabbed yourself with a knife.

I listened to her words and felt a twinge inside.

– Other people didn’t believe that sound, but I’m different. You can see the status window, right?

“…….”

– Crazy… judging by your reaction, it seems like it’s true. Have you lost your mind?

“…….”

– You know, if you were a bit more unlucky, you would’ve died. Even if I had transferred you to the clinic a little later, you would’ve remained dead. Understand?

I understood Yun Yeon’s words, but at that time, I had no other choice. That was the only way.

‘… Damn it, do you think I want to lose an arm like this…’

Yun Yeon sighed and adjusted her expression.

“Phew…”

“…….”

“Anyway, why don’t you start thinking about your own body? I have some business to attend to, but… Kang Sung-Jun will probably come soon. He’s in quite a daze on that side too.”

“Is that so…”

“Anyway, I have something to attend to. This is for the other trainees, but if anything comes up, please come to Building 4, 4th floor, room 406, across from the main building. That’s my office.”

After the party members thanked her, she left the room.

“……”

As soon as Yoon Yeon left, Kang Yiseo spoke to me.

“…. What I want to say is that, do you really want to die? Please take care of yourself… Damn it… think about it from the perspective of those who are watching over you. Right now, you may have disappeared after receiving treatment, but do you know your face was a mess due to the burn marks at the beginning?”

“I’m sorry.”

From Noble mtl dot com

She stammered, tears welling up at my apology.

“…… No, you have nothing to apologize for… We should be sorry. What you’ve been through… Dammit… your arm… what should we do…”

I, too, had complex thoughts about my arm. To be honest, losing one arm was a significant blow for me, especially considering my lack of talent. Living with one arm made my future seem bleak.

“Damn it… I shouldn’t have gotten involved with a crazy person…”

While pondering my arm, Seo Yujoo approached me.

“Yoon Seong, your arm… I think there’s a chance for recovery if it’s done well.”

I looked at Seo Yujoo in surprise at the idea that my shattered arm, which hadn’t been amputated, could be healed.

“That… Is it really true?”

“Yes… I will explain in detail later. However, the treatment method is not easy, and it requires a favor from the Hwasin Clan.”

As soon as I heard that I had to ask a favor from the Hwasin Clan, I immediately thought that it would be extremely difficult. Normally, I wouldn’t even ask for a favor from a large clan.

“….. Is it really possible?”

“It’s not easy… but we have to try our best.”

“… If it will harm all of you, there’s no need to do it…”

“Hey!”

“Uh?”

Kang Iseo suddenly grabbed me by the collar instead of crying, and when our eyes met, she opened her mouth.

“Damn it! Are you still saying that?! Snap out of it! Shouldn’t you be thinking about your arm first!”

“Pl-please, Your Highness! Please calm down! Yoon Sung is a patient! At least focus on his arm for now!”

“Hey, damn it, look at me! This guy is crazy from the start! This crazy bastard…! Shouldn’t you fix your arm first, you idiot…!”

“G-Gasp… Ugh… That… that’s enough…”

“Speak properly…! Say that you’ll fix your arm. Got it, understand?!”

“Ah, I understand! This…!”

Upon hearing my response, Kang Isu finally released her grip on my collar.

“Phew… This crazy bastard…”

Kang Isu seemed unable to contain her anger and raged for a while.

Observing that no one else said anything to Kang Isu, it appeared that they shared the same thoughts as her but chose not to express them.

“…. So, what about the person who did this to me?”

In response to my question, Seo Yujoo replied.

“Well, I heard that the person was immediately arrested at the scene. I also heard that they have a small prison underground in the training center, just in case trainees or instructors commit crimes.”

“I see…”

They probably won’t kill the guy right away. I’m not sure about the punishment for assaulting a trainee, but it’s likely to be severe.

Just as on Earth, where crimes against minors are punished more severely, here, committing a crime against a trainee is strictly prohibited.

“Of course… Normally, in a big clan, they might just dispose of a couple of newcomers if they feel like it…”

But this case is a bit different. If they had handled it secretly, it might have gone unnoticed, but he was arrested on the spot.

Furthermore, he wasn’t just any trainee; he was caught by the Clan Master of another major clan named Yoon Yeon. The incident has gone too far to hush up quietly.

I heard that the news had already spread throughout the training center within a day, so Kang Sungjun must be in for quite a ride from his perspective.

If only we had stayed quiet, we could have recruited incredible talents into the clan. But because of the crazy antics of that troll, the clan’s reputation took a nosedive.

Lost in thought, Yangban was approached by Kang Seong-jun in the hospital room.

“I’m Kang Seong-jun. I’ll come in.”

Swoosh…

As Kang Seong-jun entered the room, the members of our party cast their eyes upon him, their expressions far from casual.

Undoubtedly, in this place, Kang Seong-jun was the strong one. Yet, he approached with an impassive expression, well aware of the less-than-friendly gazes directed his way.

Kang Seong-jun, seemingly seeing my condition for the first time, involuntarily sighed.

“….. You really… lost an arm.”

It seemed he couldn’t believe the news that I had lost one of my arms. No matter how crazy Ju Seung-ho was, he didn’t seem to think he would go this far.

In response to Kang Seong-jun’s words, Seo Yu-ju spoke to him.

“…. As you can see, Yoon Sung has lost one arm because of the Hwashin Clan.”

“……”

“Even this is after receiving treatment. Before treatment, his rib was broken, his right arm was shattered, and his face was burned.”

“……”

“I found Yoon Sung and was trying to take him to the infirmary, but the other side tried to murder me by throwing a dagger. Fortunately, Instructor Yoon helped me, and he survived, but…”

“….”

“If it weren’t for Instructor Yoon Yeon, both Yoon Sung and I would have died.”

“… I’m deeply sorry. I, I… I don’t know what to say…”

Kang Sung Joon bowed his head as if he had nothing to say, and opened his mouth.

From the fact that he apologized like that, I could clearly tell that he was a good person.

“But the people under Kang Sung Joon might be different.”

Kang Sung Joon cautiously asked me.

“Would it be possible for me to hear exactly what happened?”

“… After the ceremony ended, a trainee came to me late at night and spoke to me. A member of the Hwasin Clan wanted to see me personally.”

“…….”

“I didn’t understand why he wanted to see me personally late at night… but as a trainee scheduled to join the Hwasin Clan, I couldn’t ignore his words.”

“I understand.”

“When I arrived at the specified location, the person from the Hwasin Clan was waiting for me. He told me that this place was where people pass by to some extent and suggested going to a different, quieter place.”

“… Did you accept?”

“At first… I wanted to refuse because it didn’t feel right. Something was off. However, he urged me saying that it was an important matter for Yoo Joo and Yoo Hyun as well.”

The party members all wore expressions of disbelief, as if hearing this story for the first time had ignited an uncontrollable anger in them.

Especially Seo Yujoo. Her face was flushed with blood, so much so that she bit her lip and it started bleeding.

“So I followed him for the time being. Up until that point, his tone had been courteous.”

“That means…”

“Yes, as soon as we got to a quiet place, his attitude changed drastically. He called me a vulture and threatened me, demanding that I immediately go find Instructor Kang Seongjun and cancel my clan membership, excluding all the other party members.”

“…”

“When I refused his words, he started using violence. I took a blow to the abdomen, and then he snapped my right arm. He smacked me across the face with the hilt of his dagger.”

“…”

“Still, even when I refused him, he pressed the blade of the dagger against me, threatening. As I resisted, the blade got lodged in my left arm, and then, though I couldn’t make out the details, an explosion happened in my arm and I lost consciousness.”

As I described the detailed situation of the violence I endured, the party members looked shocked, as if they hadn’t expected it to be this severe. Seo Yujoo, in particular, kept her head bowed, making her expression unreadable.

Kang Seongjun’s complexion grew incredibly dark, perhaps realizing that the situation was more serious than he had initially thought. He’s not an incapable person, so he must have already grasped how this incident would affect his reputation and that of the clan.

When Seo Yujoo raised her head, she continued speaking to him.

“Commander Kang… I have a demand to make as the victim.”

“… Please, go ahead, Trainee Seo Yujoo.”

First of all, I hope that our party members cancel their enrollment in the Hwasin Clan.”

At this point, it’s practically impossible for our party to join the Hwasin Clan.

Kang Sung-jun seemed to be aware of this fact as he responded.

“…. Understood.”

“The second thing is to demand strict punishment for the perpetrator. We want either the death penalty or at least a punishment equivalent to that. Because that person might seek revenge against us.”

Whether Jung Seung-hwan was a valuable asset or not, he hesitated for a moment before Kang Sung-jun finally replied.

“….. Understood.”

He must have realized that it was impossible to protect Jung Seung-hwan no matter what.

“The third one is the core of our demands. Mr. Yoon Sung has lost one arm. He can hardly function normally on this continent.”

“….. I understand that part as well. So, considering compensation, a substantial amount of gold, and… equipment and support that Yoon Sung would be satisfied with…”

Before Kang Sung-jun could finish, Seo Yoo-joo cut in.

“No, I hope you call the Priest of Time to treat him.”