The Regressor Can Make Them All-Chapter 339

“To think you were so confident just moments ago.... Well, fine, I’ll start getting things ready first. You take a break until then.”

“Thank you...”

Generously granting a break to Lea, who started begging for some time off, Se-Hoon busily went to handle the tasks he had been postponing in the meantime.

He resolved the pressing matters involving Li Kenxie and Eun-Ha, thanks to the ideal timing to do them aligning with the break.

The Watchers are still reeling from the damage on Succession’s side, and the Ten Evils are preoccupied with the White Whale’s subjugation. This is my chance.

Although the current situation appeared peaceful, now was essentially the calm before the storm. And at such times, it was wiser to strengthen one’s foundations rather than make rash moves that might provoke the enemy.

Recalling his well-thought-out plans, Se-Hoon meticulously executed every step, completing his preparations within five days.

“Alright. Let’s get started.”

“It feels like I’m being dragged back into the story after only a few lines of peace.”

“That’s how it usually goes.”

Ignoring Lea’s grumbling as she followed with bleary eyes, Se-Hoon led her out of the workshop. Then, with Ludwig’s help, they went straight to the underground research lab in Gehenna.

Wong-

Their view changed in an instant.

“Where... are we?” Lea asked, abruptly finding herself in a massive laboratory teeming with undead.

“This is a research lab Chairman Ludwig and President Wurgen set up for me a few days ago.”

“Both of them? Together?”

Lea gawked at her surroundings in astonishment. The sheer amount of undead was peculiar enough, but the revelation that the lab was a joint creation of two Perfect Ones was even more shocking.

She couldn’t help but wonder what purpose such a facility might serve. And just as she had that thought, Se-Hoon casually added, “I briefly mentioned I needed a place for experiments, and they built it right away.”

“...Who did?”

“The Chairman and the President, of course.”

To be precise, the two had only provided the facility and manpower as an investment after hearing his plan, but with no strings attached, they were essentially gifts.

“...”

Lea cast Se-Hoon a look of disbelief. She knew he had connections with the Perfect Ones, but witnessing such tangible evidence of their goodwill was a different experience altogether.

This place is just shouting that he’s the next chairman or president.

Just what exactly did those Perfect Ones think of Se-Hoon? As Lea pondered over it, she soon followed Se-Hoon to the experimental zone within the lab.

“These are the cultivation chambers where the current experiments are taking place.”

“Cultivation chambers?”

Lea glanced ahead, noticing a vast space behind reinforced glass. Inside, a fierce snowstorm raged, obscuring everything in sight; it didn’t seem like an environment where anything could grow.

What could this be for...?

Wondering, she soon recalled the plan Se-Hoon had mentioned earlier.

“Oh, so this is where you’re cultivating the Winterglass.”

“That’s right. I figured I would need some data before enchanting them, so I’ve been running experiments on them in various environments for two days.”

“Interesting...”

Lea’s curiosity grew. She had assumed any cold environment would suffice, but evidently, precise conditions were necessary.

It might turn out to be surprisingly fun material.

With her intrigue as an enchanter rekindled, her previously exhausted expression brightened.

“So, what kind of environment is this, exactly?”

“This first cultivation chamber simulates the power of Utgard.”

“Utgard? That sounds familiar...”

At that moment, before Lea could delve further, a skeletal researcher approached and handed Se-Hoon a clipboard.

“Here you go, sir.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Checking it, Se-Hoon then passed the clipboard to Lea.

“The details are in here. Take a look.”

“Okay, got it.”

Nodding, Lea began reviewing the documentation for the first cultivation chamber.

Cultivation Chamber 1: Utgard This chamber utilizes the power of Utgard, the Planet Devourer that once turned the Middle East into a frozen wasteland. By harnessing its pure cold, it maximizes the purity of Winterglass...

“...”

Lea’s eyes drifted from the document to the chamber, where she finally noticed the shadow of a giant sat hunched and forlorn within the storm—the Planet Devourer Utgard mentioned in the report.

“Is that thing... safe?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s fine. It follows Wurgen’s orders without question.”

Lea very quickly accepted the explanation. After all, it seemed the other cultivation chambers—rooms two through ten—also housed undead controlled by Wurgen, each conducting experiments in their own extreme conditions.

“How are the Winterglass samples progressing?” Se-Hoon asked the skeletal researchers.

“Hmm... We’re taking extra care of them, but they’re not turning out how we expect them to.”

“Achieving a balance with the Netherworld’s darkness mana has been challenging...”

Moving on to chambers nine and ten, which were staffed by undead who were heroes during their living days, Se-Hoon checked the progress of the two chambers, which were actively creating their own frozen environments. They were having even more difficulties than the others, yet they seemed content with their circumstances.

“We’re even getting paid extra for this work.”

“Poker nights with ice cards make time fly.”

“R—right...”

Curious about the setup that resembled a sinister necromancer’s lair, Lea had asked the researchers and found out the reality was far more mundane. That was when she realized she might have misjudged Se-Hoon’s personality.

Sure, he works people hard, but he doesn’t force them into anything.

Feeling reassured, Lea followed Se-Hoon to the final cultivation chamber.

“B-br-brother, can I come out now?"

“Nope.”

“...”

Seeing the shivering young man, Amir, begging for his release from the chamber, Lea looked toward Se-Hoon.

“Um... Se-Hoon?”

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s just whining.”

“I’m not wh-whining... I’mmmm seriously freezing to death hereeee!”

Though Amir was trying to endure the extreme cold using his Frost Alchemy, the additional oppressive black mist of the Netherworld made the task unbearable.

“Just give up. It’ll be easier.”

“Come to us; it’s warm here.”

Continually haunted by whispers from the darkness, Amir desperately appealed to Se-Hoon.

And upon hearing his desperation, Se-Hoon stroked his chin in consideration.

“Nah.”

“You son of a—!”

With renewed vigor, Amir lunged at the glass, but Se-Hoon quickly shut the hatch with the control panel.

Clang.

This... feels a bit illegal.... Lea’s expression wavered.

As fascinating as Winterglass was as material, she couldn’t shake the feeling that what Se-Hoon was doing to Amir verged on human experimentation, which was clearly against international law.

But then, upon noticing her apprehension, Se-Hoon chuckled and waved dismissively.

“You must be misunderstanding something. This isn’t human experimentation.”

“...Then what is it?”

“It’s a training method to cultivate his ability to control the coldness while growing Winterglass at the same time. The experimental results are secondary.”

In fact, when the situation had been explained a few days earlier, it was actually Amir himself who volunteered to train in the cultivation chamber. Motivated by his crushing experience in the recent tournament, he sought to push himself in a harsh environment to achieve personal growth.

“Is that so?”

“Of course. He even signed a contract saying he wouldn’t come out until he’s gained something.”

“He signed a contract...?”

Though what “gaining something” meant wasn’t explicitly defined, the lack of specificity was Amir’s oversight, not Se-Hoon’s, so there was little room for complaint.

“Besides, Wurgen is overseeing and guiding everything inside personally, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Oh... If that’s the case, I suppose it’s fine.”

While it still seemed a bit extreme to her, having a Perfect One directly supervising made it hard to argue otherwise.

“Hmm... It seems you’ll need to experience death at least once to truly understand the chill of the dead. Think of it like an out-of-body experience and don’t resist...”

“...”

Catching unsettling whispers filtering through the walls, Lea unhesitantly erased them from her memory. In situations like right now, it was better to focus on her role rather than meddle in things she didn’t fully understand.

“Anyway, we can only start forging equipment for the others once the Winterglass is ready, so concentrate on the experiments for now. If you need anything, just let the researchers know.”

“Got it. Also... how am I supposed to get back to the workshop—”

“Just call me when you’re done!”

Not letting Lea finish, Se-Hoon left immediately and had Ludwig teleport him to the Paradise Monastery, arriving at the massive circular structure surrounding the sacred tree.

As he walked toward the central plaza, the clergy passing by along the corners all greeted him with respectful nods, which he reciprocated with a weary expression.

Maybe it’s time to step down from Grand Archbishop...

The problem wasn’t that he was pressured into participating in events or fulfilling specific duties—the Pilgrimage Church never did—the problem was the ordinary believers. As the Grand Archbishop, he was akin to Karl’s top disciple and de facto successor, which necessitated every encounter with the believers to be excessively formal, leaving Se-Hoon drained.

Actually... I’ve already eliminated the Apostate. Maybe it’s time to pass this role back to Kamal.

Remembering how Kamal handled the duties of the Grand Archbishop adeptly before his regression, Se-Hoon thought there shouldn’t be an issue if Kamal were to resume the position now.

Musing over it, Se-Hoon arrived at the central plaza, where the Divine Tree stood, and spotted Luize waiting with a scowl.

“You’re ten minutes late.”

“Ah, sorry. The handover process took longer than expected.”

“Then you should’ve at least... Hm?”

She had clearly been about to complain, but Luize paused suddenly and began scrutinizing Se-Hoon’s attire with suspicion.

“Where did you get that outfit? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh, this? It’s a gift.”

“...From who?”

“From Dean Ryu.”

It was the weekend, and it felt wasteful to leave a gifted outfit languishing in the closet, so he decided to wear it out.

For some reason, though, Luize seemed fixated on it.

“Why? Does it look good?”

Se-Hoon knew he didn’t have a strong sense of fashion, but the shop staff had assured him that Eun-Ha had decent taste, so he thought it would be fine.

“...”

Narrowing her eyes, Luize examined him closely.

“It’s tacky,” she declared bluntly.

“What?”

“Don’t you ever wear things picked by her when you meet me from now on. It’s embarrassing to be seen with you like that.”

“Come on, I don’t think it’s that bad...”

He was about to protest further, but Luize turned sharply and headed toward the Divine Tree. She was being so cold that Se-Hoon clicked his tongue internally.

What a temper...

He’d mentioned it was a gift, yet she still called it tacky without hesitation. It was fortunate Eun-Ha wasn’t present; otherwise, there could have been quite a scene.

However, he was understanding—after all, Luize was still young and sensitive.

Thinking such thoughts, Se-Hoon followed her to the Divine Tree.

“Did you practice what I told you yesterday?”

“...I did.”

Though she grumbled, Luize answered promptly, earning a satisfied nod from Se-Hoon.

“The base structural material of your equipment relies on this, so try to focus. If you mess it up and blame me later...”

“As if! Do I seem like that kind of person?”

“...”

“Answer me.”

“Well, not really. Ahem.”

Avoiding Luize’s pointed gaze, Se-Hoon coughed and approached the Divine Tree.

Hummm-

A deep hum resonated as he got closer. The divine mana flowing around the tree was visible to most, but having planted the tree personally, he could sense another force coursing within.

It’s absorbing the surrounding mana nicely.

The Divine Tree, rooted beneath the North Pacific Ocean, drew vast amounts of mana in through its roots and naturally converted it into divine mana. And Se-Hoon couldn’t help but marvel at how efficient it was at that.

I had a feeling this would work, but I didn’t expect it to turn out this well...

By leveraging the tree’s adaptability to environmental factors, he had modified it to produce divine mana from the absorbed mana. It had simply been an experiment for crafting a Divine Mana Conversion Device, but the result ended up exceeding expectations.

Karl infusing his power into it must’ve made a big difference.

Divine mana stemmed from the connection between gods and humans, with Karl acting as a transmitter through his power of Grace. Thus, by infusing the Divine Tree with his own divine mana, Karl enabled it to function as a relay tower for divine communication as well.

It’s a shame it’s not usable as-is... but it’s close enough.

Although the tree did carry the power of Grace, it was only partial; materials like fallen leaves or branches lacked the ability to convert mana into divine mana.

Because of that, Se-Hoon’s plan was to compensate for the shortfall and craft a proper conversion device.

It should be manageable with Luize’s help.

Luize’s unique skill, Mana Assimilation, could serve as the cornerstone for the conversion device. Finalizing his thoughts, Se-Hoon watched as Luize stood before the Divine Tree, took a deep breath, and extended her hand.

“Here goes.”

The process Se-Hoon had taught Luize over the past few days was straightforward: harmonize divine mana with her will, as if using ordinary mana.

It should have been an impossible task for someone barely capable of handling divine mana, but Luize’s unique skill made it possible.

A god is just a glorified machine, after all.

If it truly were a transcendental lifeform, synchronizing with it might be impossible then. But a mechanism that followed pre-set rules? That was manageable.

Focusing on her task, Luize soon thought the unfamiliar divine mana was feeling increasingly familiar. Then, when her palm touched the Divine Tree, two distinct forces became perceptible.

One flowed upward toward the heavens—divine mana.

The other surged from the roots—ordinary mana.

Feeling the two forces aligned under her will, Luize uttered the spell she had prepared.

“Fusion.”

Crack!

The bark beneath her hand turned pure white.

It worked...!

However, the white bark was gradually reverting to its original state as the Divine Tree instinctively corrected the anomaly. But before it could fully revert, Se-Hoon swiftly acted.

Crunch!

With a one precise strike, he severed the transformed portion of the bark, holding up the pristine white fragment to observe.

Seeing his actions, Luize, still tense, asked, “Did it work?”

Though the piece of bark looked different from the rest, its performance remained unconfirmed. Instead of answering, however, Se-Hoon handed her the fragment without a word.

[Divine Tree Fragment]

[Tier: Rare] [Quality: Perfect]

[A fragment from a tree nurtured by Karl Andersen, who witnessed the divine.

It has the ability to absorb mana and convert it into divine mana.

*Absorbs and stores mana.

*Converts stored mana into divine mana]

Luize’s eyes widened as she read the description, and then turned to Se-Hoon, visibly astonished.

The long-sought Divine Mana Conversion Device—one of the Pilgrimage Church’s greatest ambitions—was now complete, decades ahead of schedule.

“It’s time to strike back.”

The foundation to reclaim the territory stolen by the Demon Forces was finally in place.