Episode 2: The Heroine Stole My Regression

Episode 2: Gaon (2)

The one who saved me was the instructor with a single indifferent remark.

“Attention, please.”

“Yes!”

I responded louder than anyone else.

Never in my life had I wanted to be noticed as much as I did in that moment.

“Hm…”

She adjusted her posture as if she’d decided to back off for now.

The instructor stepped onto the podium, brushed back his unkempt hair, and grabbed the microphone. His eyes betrayed a hint of weariness.

“Yes… I’m Instructor Do Han-seong, and I’ll be guiding Class B here at Gaon for the next year. Nice to meet you.”

He cleared his throat once and slowly scanned the room.

“There isn’t much to say on the first day, honestly. The very fact that you’re here at Gaon already proves that you possess exceptional qualities to become heroes.”

Do Han-seong. The name wasn’t unfamiliar. It had been 10 years, so I couldn’t remember everything, but he seemed like a pretty important character.

“Well, anyway, it’s the first day. Starting with theory classes right away…”

He trailed off mid-sentence, glanced at the desperate looks on the students’ faces, and gave a wry smile.

“…isn’t going to happen, of course. We have something else to do today.”

-Cheers!

He turned his head away, leaving the students’ cheers behind.

Then he gestured toward the blackboard, which split open like a door, revealing a massive room hidden behind it.

“Wow…”

Was it always this impressive?

Even though this was a world I had developed in my game, seeing it with my own eyes left me in awe.

The previously cramped classroom instantly opened up to reveal a massive, dome-shaped space.

The ceiling rose high enough to see the sky, and the interior resembled an indoor stadium.

“Let’s go.”

The instructor guided us into the space.

Sunlight poured in through the ceiling, illuminating a vast area where many students were already gathered.

It seemed like not only Class B but all the freshmen from various classes were assembled here.

With one hand in his pocket, Do Han-seong continued explaining in a casual tone.

“From Class A to Class J, you’ll all conduct practical training here. Today, you’ll be selecting your weapons.”

Indeed, students from other classes were already picking out their gear.

We followed and lined up in rows on the seats prepared at one side of the space.

“You’re free to choose the weapons you’ve been using until now, or you can select something completely different based on your newly awakened talents. It’s entirely up to you.”

Do Han-seong spoke slowly, looking around at us.

“However, keep this in mind. You’re not here just to be students anymore. You’re here to become heroes. I hope you’ll remember the weight of that responsibility.”

At those few words, the students swallowed nervously. It was a clear message to take this seriously.

“The process is simple.”

The instructor pointed to a panel installed on one side. Beside it was a separate weapon storage room with glass walls.

He placed his hand on the panel and demonstrated.

“When you place your hand on this panel, it will verify your identity. Once the verification is complete, you’ll hear a notification sound. After that, you can enter and choose your weapon. Multiple people can go in at once as long as they’re verified, so let’s move quickly.”

Do Han-seong looked up at the front row.

“Let’s start with a demonstration. You, the student in the middle of the front row. Come on up.”

He pointed directly at the protagonist sitting in the middle of the front row. The chosen protagonist, Sung Si-woo, stood up and walked forward.

I watched nervously from my seat.

“Please…”

It was a tense moment. I had no idea what he would choose.

In the original story, this was where the protagonist decided on the weapon he would use going forward.

And that decision drastically changed the difficulty of the story that followed.

What weapon should he pick?

Honestly, it didn’t matter much. With top-tier weapons and supreme techniques, he could overcome anything. Essentially, it all came down to “gear advantage.”

But still…

Sung Siwoo’s hand moved toward the tag, and a confirmation sound played. He walked into the weapon storage room as the transparent glass door slid open and began to slowly pace in front of the displayed weapons.

‘Please, just don’t pick a sword.’

It might sound strange. In most games or creative works, swordsmanship is the foundational skill. But this place is different. Swords are inherently short-ranged, lack the advantage of a first strike, and their performance is heavily dependent on the grade of equipment or the sword techniques used.

In other words, it’s all about raw physical ability. The weapon’s effectiveness and potential are dictated entirely by the user’s talent, making it an unforgiving choice.

Sung Siwoo wandered around, circling the room a few times, before stopping in front of a particular display.

The spot where he stood.

On the first floor of the display were daggers, while on the second were curved swords.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

With a confident expression, he grabbed a curved sword in front of him and raised it high above his head.

Seriously?

He looked thrilled, completely oblivious to how much it was stressing me out.

“Ha…”

I clasped my hands together and covered my eyes.

There’s nothing I can do. It’s not like I didn’t anticipate this possibility, so I’ve prepared for it to some extent.

After all, who knows? Maybe the protagonist has some absurd talent that will make it all work out.

Instructor Do Han-seong gave a dismissive gesture with his hand, looking unimpressed.

“Alright, move quickly. Next.”

***

Which weapon is the best?

This has always been a topic of debate. There are countless weapon types, and each user has their unique style, making it nearly impossible to find a definitive answer. Some say swords are the best, while others argue for bows. Both could be right, or both could be wrong.

After much thought and experimentation over the past 10 years, I’ve reached my own conclusion.

Before me stood a spear with a sharp blade jutting upward. Its long reach and adaptability in both offense and defense made it my weapon of choice.

Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up, but now the situation had changed.

Should I switch now?

The loss of my regression ability was messing with all my carefully laid plans, but the weight of the spear felt so familiar in my hand after all these years of training.

In the end, I stopped hesitating and grabbed the spear.

There’s no turning back now. This is my best option. All I can do is give it my all.

As I reached for it—

Thud.

I was blocked.

Someone else’s hand had stopped me from lifting the spear.

“No.”

I looked up, startled by the familiar voice, and saw Cheon Yeoul. She was smiling mischievously, her hand gripping the spear firmly.

“Not the spear.”

Her words left me with a bewildered expression. She kept spouting nonsensical things, and I could feel irritation creeping up. I tried to pull the spear out of her grasp.

Tried.

‘What kind of strength is this…?’

No matter how much force I used, it wouldn’t budge. The unexpected situation left me flustered, and I eventually asked in a low voice,

“Why?”

Just to be clear, I’m not weak. Absolutely not.

Cheon Yeoul continued smiling brightly as if this were nothing.

“It just feels dangerous. Just listen to me, okay?”

“What do you mean, listen to you…”

I was about to argue when she tightened her grip slightly, and my words got stuck in my throat.

“Okay?”

Alright, fine. The stronger person is the older one, I guess.

I was seriously starting to doubt if this was really Cheon Yeoul.

I couldn’t let go of the spear, nor could I pull it free. I could only stand there, stuck in this absurd situation.

So this is what they mean by being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Such useless thoughts flitted through my mind when it happened.

From somewhere, a delicate and pure floral scent wafted over.

“Why not just let him do as he wants?”

I tilted my head slightly, and there she was—a woman with flowing blue hair approaching gracefully.

A refreshing sky-blue aura mingled with the floral scent, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Her presence was so striking that everyone in the exhibition hall couldn’t help but turn their eyes toward her.

“Trusting your… no, your friend can sometimes be the best form of protection.” she said, her tone gentle yet resolute.

‘Yu Hana…?’

When her gaze landed on me, she greeted me with a radiant smile. Then, subtly, she waved her hand in a way that only I could see, as if she were happy to see me.

What’s her deal now?

Yu Hana glanced at the spear shaft still gripped tightly by Cheon Yeoul and covered her mouth with one hand, letting out a faint chuckle.

“And… puhaha, ‘Noona’? Are you serious?”

If anything, ‘aunt’ might have been more fitting.

Her added remark was spoken in such a low tone that only Cheon Yeoul and I could hear it.

For the first time, Cheon Yeoul’s confident smile faltered slightly, a subtle crack appearing in her composure.

“By the way, you’re breaking the rules. You know that, right? This is an encroachment on someone else’s territory.”

Yu Hana kept her warm smile as she looked at Chun Yeoul, but her eyes glinted sharply, like a blade hidden beneath silk.

“Who made those rules? I don’t care about stuff like that.”

Still gripping the spear with one hand, Cheon Yeoul casually inspected her nails with the other, her voice indifferent.

The two of them exchanged words with smiles, making the atmosphere seem deceptively calm. But anyone standing as close as I was could feel it—the electric tension between them.

‘What kind of power struggle is this?’

Neither of them was an ordinary person.

Had their relationship always been this bad? I couldn’t recall anything like that, but why now…?

Cheon Yeoul’s eyes narrowed as she stared down Yu Hana, but I noticed something else—her grip on the spear had loosened ever so slightly.

I seized the opportunity and decisively pulled the spear free this time.

“!”

Cheon Yeoul flinched, belatedly reaching out to stop me, but it was too late.

I held the spear lightly in my hand and lifted my head.

Mixed feelings swirled inside me.

But ever since things went sideways, I’d abandoned the hope that any situation could be resolved smoothly.

“I don’t know why you were trying to stop me.” I said, looking straight at Cheon Yeoul.

But I’ve spent ten years contemplating and refining this path. Ten whole years.

No one, for any reason, in any context, could understand this choice better than I could.

“I’ll handle it.”

You guys can just focus on growing strong with my support. Even if the regression is gone, nothing changes for me.

Cheon Yeoul’s gaze lingered on the spear in my hand, her fingers hovering in the air before slowly falling back.

Her lowered eyes wavered, and her lips trembled slightly.

Her expression was strangely tender, almost sorrowful. She hesitated as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she closed her mouth.

“I’m leaving.” I said.

It was done.

I turned to leave, but just as I did, Yu Hana entered my field of vision.

She stood where I had just been, her hands covering her mouth. Her cheeks were flushed red, her fingers trembling ever so slightly. Suppressed breaths escaped her lips as a radiant smile spread across her face, one she couldn’t seem to hide.

The reddish hue on her face and her uneven breaths gave off an oddly seductive air.

I pretended not to notice, quickly averting my gaze as I walked away.

‘There’s not a single normal person here.’

That was my final conclusion.

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Yu Hana

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