The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 258

“Is it true?”

Upon hearing that the Seeker had altered the Myers family’s bloodline—a secret that could upend the entire world—Se-Hoon immediately began questioning the credibility.

“If my memory serves me right, then yes. If you don’t remember, everything I share is based only on things I know.”

Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes. He found no signs of deception in the Seeker’s tone at all.

It’s hard to believe... but it makes sense.

The fact that the Myers family’s unique bloodline had come to be through the Seeker’s experiments was unknown before regression could very likely have been due to how the Seeker had died early on, and how there was no benefit for the Myers family to reveal it.

Rationalizing the possibility, Se-Hoon questioned the Seeker again, “How did the modification come about?”

“I used to be close to William, the head of the Myers family, two generations ago. His beliefs were... rather peculiar.”

“Beliefs?”

“He thought that, with his extraordinary talent, he had to guide the foolish denizens on Earth to the right path. Something like that.”

Se-Hoon made a sour face.

“He sounds like an unpleasant guy.”

“He was, but because of those beliefs, he had worked actively to protect the people, as he saw it as his duty.”

To William, power meant having authority, which also meant protecting. It was an extreme ideal, but when Se-Hoon considered how William was part of the first generation of heroes who fought in the early days of the war against the Demon Force, Se-Hoon could somewhat understand.

“Initially, he aspired to become a Perfect One to govern and protect more people, but he gave up just before achieving that. So, as a backup plan, he chose to modify his bloodline.”

“How exactly did you modify his bloodline?”

“Well, it wasn't easy to pass down his power to his heirs directly, so I designed it around preserving his techniques instead. I developed a genetic material known as Essence of the Sword, which, upon awakening, alters the body to match William's swordsmanship precisely.”

As Se-Hoon listened to the Seeker’s explanation, he recalled the Myers family’s old traditions.

Mana had to be infused from conception until the child turned two, and all children went through a succession ceremony, where the sword aura of William, the former family head, was passed down with Origin. Thinking about them with the information he now knew, Se-Hoon realized it was all done to awaken the latent Essence of the Sword within the Myers family’s bloodline.

“However, if foreign blood is mixed in, the Essence of the Sword could be diluted. So, I also created a device to avoid that.”

By analyzing the blood, the device made sure that the Essence of the Sword would be preserved for future generations.

That must be the device used for the Selection Ritual.

Se-Hoon grimaced.

Well, it’s not like they’d openly discuss human experimentation with just anyone... only the family heads probably know.

It wasn’t intentional, but Se-Hoon had uncovered the secrets the Myers family had been hiding—genetic modification passed down through generations, born from the extreme ideals of a former family head.

However, because of that, the Myers family was able to rise to prominence as a house of swordsmanship and wield immense power for the countless citizens as protectors of virtues.

Still...

Should I call this good... or bad...?

If innocent lives had been sacrificed during that process, it would undoubtedly be evil. But as far as he knew, no such atrocities had occurred.

If anything, the closest thing to wrongdoing was that descendants of the family had been forced into a predetermined path against their will; it was something Jake, the current heir, would also fall victim to soon.

This really isn’t something for me to decide.

He would need to talk to Jake, or perhaps Aria, and let them decide what to do.

Sorting out his thoughts, Se-Hoon moved on and asked a few more questions that had been nagging at him. “Were there other families besides the Myers who underwent similar modifications?”

“There were many. But as of now, only the Myers remain.”

“Are you sure?”

“Publicly, yes. But if any abandoned their names and are living in hiding, that’s a different story.”

Abandoned their names? Though it was just an offhand remark, it stuck out to Se-Hoon.

Could Succession potentially be...?

Se-Hoon quickly shook his head, trying to shake off the possibility that flashed through his mind.

No, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

It was something he could just investigate further down the line. Firmly cutting off that train of thought, Se-Hoon focused on the information the Seeker provided that could be useful for his current plans.

“So, this Essence of the Sword... how exactly does it work?”

“It’s not something you can easily grasp, but...”

“Just tell me. I’ll try to figure it out on my own.”

“Alright. First, the genetic material interacts with the configuration pattern of the mana circuits, which is then exposed to the target’s synesthetic mindscape...”

Listening to the Seeker’s explanation that went on endlessly, Se-Hoon paced slowly around the garden, concentrating on the details. Then, when it was finally over—more than thirty minutes later—Se-Hoon took some time to summarize what he had heard.

“In short, it turns people into living swords. Since an inanimate sword can’t wield a spear or perform martial arts.”

“Well... hm... I guess you’re right. Wow, you're pretty good at summarizing.”

Ignoring the Seeker’s compliment, Se-Hoon stroked his chin.

A living sword, huh...

If that were true, boosting Jake’s skills in swordsmanship wouldn’t be that difficult. Now, the only question was what material would lead to the most efficient results?

Whoosh-

Feeling the gust of wind that blew through the garden, Se-Hoon’s eyes naturally followed the wind.

“...Found it.”

The perfect blueprint for Jake’s new sword formed in his mind.

***

The next day, to forge the new sword, Se-Hoon took Jake, who had been confined to his room, out into the garden.

“...”

Curiously watching the guards walking back into the mansion instead of standing nearby, Jake turned to Se-Hoon.

“What did you tell my father to get me out here?”

“I just said I wanted to make you a sword as an engagement gift. He told me to do whatever I wanted.”

“He didn’t even listen when I asked to be let out...”

Hearing Jake’s grumbling, Se-Hoon chuckled.

“The situation is different now.”

“Different how?”

“If you and I really decide to leave, there’d be no way to stop us. So he’s letting us do as we please.”

“But...”

Though Jake opened his mouth to argue, he soon closed it upon realizing Se-Hoon wasn’t wrong.

Am I the one making things more difficult?

While Jake started to feel a little guilty, Se-Hoon stopped scanning the garden and pulled something out of his void pocket.

“Stop making that face.”

Thud!

Instinctively catching the object Se-Hoon threw at him, Jake immediately inspected it.

“Isn’t this...”

Admiring the object, a green sword wrapped in wind, Jake noticed the nicks and holes in the blade and the oddly familiar handle carved from green crystal.

“This handle... is it from the Luminescent Sword?”

“Yeah. I didn’t have enough time to make a new one, so I combined it with other materials and fixed it.”

Combining materials with attributes of wind mana and Jake’s Fatestone, the Compression Stone, Se-Hoon had finished the repairs within a day.

“What about the blade?”

“That part is from Ewinia, a Legendary sword. I had to slightly adjust it though, since the handle wasn’t a perfect fit.”

“Oh... Wait, what? Legendary?”

Seeing Jake whipping his head around in shock, Se-Hoon nodded.

“Yes, Legendary.”

“...For real?”

“Does it look fake?”

Turning his gaze back to his new weapon, Jake stared at it with trembling eyes. He had been excited to see what kind of weapon Se-Hoon would create, but never had he imagined that Se-Hoon would use a Legendary sword as material.

“This is one of those weapons, right? The ones appraised as high tier but are actually useless, so they just stayed in storage...”

“No. I’ve tried it out a few times, and it worked fine. Anyway, I took it from one of Puppeteer’s Single Numbers, so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“So, you just removed the handle from the original, then...?”

“See the cracks and holes in the blade? Those were the modifications I made yesterday. It can’t be repaired anymore.”

“...”

Far from the relief he was seeking, Jake felt his burden multiply several times over and his stomach started churning with unease.

“You feeling pressured?” Se-Hoon asked with a smirk, noticing Jake’s reaction.

“A lot...”

“Then, what should you do moving forward?”

Letting out a deep sigh, hanging his head for a moment, Jake straightened his posture and replied, “I’ll succeed. No matter what.”

“That’s my boy.”

Se-Hoon nodded in satisfaction. If Jake were getting this worked up now, he wouldn’t be able to handle the even more impressive gear Se-Hoon had planned to make him later.

Pleased with Jake’s resolve, Se-Hoon stepped behind him. “Alright, let’s get started. Move over there.”

Feeling Se-Hoon’s hands on his shoulders, Jake allowed Se-Hoon to gently push him toward the center of the garden, following his lead.

“Hm... there’s a bit of a height difference. Just a little more...”

Though Jake didn’t understand why Se-Hoon made him move a few more steps after Se-Hoon carefully examined their surroundings, he complied without protest.

Then, finally, once Jake found himself positioned in a spot with a clear view of the garden, Se-Hoon issued the next set of instructions.

“Look slightly downward, keep your stance at mid-level, and align the tip of your sword with your chin.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s good. Now, grip the handle with your full strength. Think you can manage that?”

“I’ll try.”

Following instructions, Jake slowly tightened his grip on the sword handle, increasing the pressure.

Creaaak-

The handle began trembling, threatening to break, likely due to the reduced assimilation rate caused by the introduction of foreign materials. However, instead of stopping Jake, Se-Hoon activated Soul Honing.

Woong-

Through his hand still on Jake’s shoulder, Se-Hoon traced the latent Essence of the Sword within Jake’s blood. Usually, such a thing was impossible to detect, even if the genetic material had been artificially implanted, without specialized equipment.

...This must be it.

However, for Se-Hoon, who could embed memories into blood itself, finding it wasn’t difficult.

Crack!

Manipulating Jake’s bloodstream, Se-Hoon directed the Essence of the Sword toward his hands. But when he did so, the sword’s handle began vibrating violently, on the verge of shattering.

Recognizing the urgency at the sight, Se-Hoon swiftly adjusted the power of Boundaries to summon the Seeker.

“It’s all ready to go. Forge the sword now!”

“You crazy bastard. You actually did it.”

Dryly chuckling quietly into his ear, the Seeker complied, creating a new magic array as requested. Then, the second it was completed, Se-Hoon immediately manifested it using Metamorphosing Dreams, directly embedding it into reality.

Now manifested, the complex magic array began etching itself inside the sword’s handle. It would disappear due to the nature of Se-Hoon’s Metamorphosing once the skill wore off, but for now, it was enough.

Drip.

With the etching completed, a thin cut appeared on Jake’s palm as blood flowed from it, soaking into the magic array on the handle. And as soon as the Essence of the Sword filled the magic array—

Boom!

A burst of green light exploded outward, followed by a violent gale.

“Ugh...!”

Reflexively shutting his eyes, Jake opened them slowly only when the light faded, glancing at the sword in his hands.

...It’s the same?

Jake frowned in confusion. He had expected something to change, especially after such a dramatic light show, but the sword appeared completely unchanged.

The only difference is that it doesn’t seem like it’ll break anymore...

Still gripping the handle tightly, Jake examined the sword with a conflicted expression.

Whoosh-

Just then, a gust of wind blew in from somewhere. At first, Jake thought it was his imagination, but soon, the faint winds began gathering around the blade, growing stronger with every moment.

“Uh... huh...?”

Overwhelmed by the rush, Jake tried to release his grip to end the surge, but at that moment, he felt Se-Hoon’s firm hands grip his shoulders.

“Hold your stance.”

Stopped in his tracks, Jake instinctively tightened his grip on the sword.

“Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on the flow of the wind. Watch how it moves.”

Jake fixed his gaze in front of him. At first, he couldn’t understand what Se-Hoon wanted him to see, but as he continued watching the storm that swirled around the garden, he noticed a distinct pattern to it.

Wait, is this actually...

The magically preserved garden shrubs and the holes and cracks on the sword’s blade—these two elements together caused the wind to follow a specific trajectory. And following that trajectory, a certain flow of sword aura naturally formed in his mind.

But just as Jake realized it was a new form of swordsmanship derived from his family’s techniques, his mana ran out.

Bang!

The wind dissipated.

Panting heavily, Jake continued staring straight ahead.

“Huff... Huff...”

So that’s why he wanted me to train in this garden.... something was hidden here.

A bitter smile crept onto Jake’s face as he remembered that his sister used to practice her swordsmanship in the very same garden.

Shaking it off, he looked at Se-Hoon and asked, “Just mimicking it isn’t enough, is it?”

“This is just the basics. You’ll need to master this to bring forth the full power of your sword.”

Jake sighed deeply, contemplating whether it was even something he could accomplish in just a few days.

But then...

“It seems... doable,” Jake said, flashing a confident smile.

***

“...”

Standing by a window overlooking the garden, Aaron silently observed the two figures below.

“No matter how I look at it, that doesn’t seem like an ordinary gift... Are you really okay with leaving things as they are?”

Not responding to Raphael, who stood behind him, Aaron remained quiet, his eyes fixed on the garden.

Feeling ignored, Raphael furrowed her brow slightly and was about to speak again, but at that moment, Aaron’s calm voice cut through the air. “Then what do you want me to do?”

Raphael frowned. It was an unexpected question. But before she could say anything, Aaron continued, “Do you plan to fight that walking bomb? The one backed by three Perfect Ones?”

If they suppressed Se-Hoon by force, the Perfect Ones would interfere. And they weren’t even certain if they could overpower him in the first place.

“Of course not,” Raphael replied, her voice soft. “I was merely suggesting that we try to persuade Jake.”

“Jake?”

“Yes. I’ve had a similar experience, after all.”

With a deep smile, Raphael continued, “Once he hears my story, he’ll understand.”

Aaron remained silent for a long moment, contemplating. He didn’t know what Raphael was talking about, but it was clear it would be anything but ordinary.

“Do as you please.”

Aaron turned away from the window, giving just that indifferent reply.