The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 112

The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 112

The dropout space was silent. No one spoke.
No one attempted to start a conversation, and there wasn’t much reason to.
Then—a small sigh broke the stillness.
“...Huh?”
On the screen, Jeong Haein appeared, exiting the hidden point zone.
The door opened, and he stepped through the threshold.
At that moment, someone quietly inhaled.
Once you leave, you can’t come back.
But none of the dropouts had been able to return to the trial.
In other words, Jeong Haein had given up resurrection.
Yu Hana sat with her hands neatly folded atop her knees.
It was the posture she had assumed while waiting to be revived.
But now, that posture meant nothing.
“You might as well keep sitting like that.”
Ha Sion, sitting beside her, twisted her lips as she spoke.
Her tone was mocking, but there was bitterness behind it.
After all, she too hadn’t been chosen.
“...Ah.”
The trip after finals.
That was her only remaining consolation.
***
[Switching Offense and Defense.]
[Current Headcount]
[Blue Team: 77] VS [White Team: 101]
[Current Score]
[4200 pts] vs [3010 pts]
[Switching Sides in 5 Minutes]
[Final Switch]
The watch screen displayed the dropout rankings on the left.
[Rank 1: Kang Arin]
[Rank 5: Yu Hana]
[Rank 4: Cheon Yeoul]
[Rank 19: Ha Sion]
[No Rank: Yoon Chaeha]
“Damn...”
I muttered, looking down at my watch.
This was a mess.
Once this rotation ended, the entire exam would be over.
In other words, what came next was the final battle—last defense.
Normally, the defending team should be ahead in points at this stage.
All they would need to do is hold off the incoming offense and they’d win—a very advantageous position.
But despite being on the defensive, we were behind.
Blue Team: 4200 pts
White Team: 3010 pts
Over a 1,000-point difference.
It made sense.
Several top-ranking members were eliminated unexpectedly.
Kang Arin and Ha Sion had both failed after challenging bosses.
Both teams had lost considerable strength, but the difference came down to quality of the remaining members.
White Team had only one core member left—
Rank 2: Johan.
Meanwhile, Blue Team still had Rank 3: Shin Hyunwoo and Ju Seojun in fighting condition.
Led by those two, the Blue Team had steadily racked up points even while defending.
They even succeeded in taking down the final gold-colored Droplet boss, scoring big.
As a result, despite being the team that had to defend this time, the White Team was already behind in score.
Only one choice remained.
‘Boss Raid.’
The only way to reverse the situation.
Defense inherently assumes casualties.
People are going to be eliminated regardless.
Even if we take down a boss—it wouldn’t be enough if it’s just a silver one.
Even a gold boss might not guarantee a comeback.
So it all came down to one target.
Yu Serin—the Black Droplet.
“...God, I’m tired.”
She was the one I absolutely didn’t want to fight.
And worse, I didn’t even have any teammates on my wavelength.
“I’m gonna scold them later.”
Cheon-freaking-Yeoul and Yu-freaking-Hana, who didn’t listen and challenged Yu Serin on their own—I resented them both.
I opened my watch and pulled up the map.
Yu Serin would move clockwise around the cavern.
A frontal approach was suicide.
Yu Serin’s trait allowed omnidirectional defense—front, back, sides, and above.
It was a perfect counter to Catenaccio.
Except for one blind spot—her back.
“If only I had a team...”
Someone to grab her attention from the front while I attacked from behind.
But it was too late.
No team.
I sighed and scanned the map for possible entry points.
“...Wait a second.”
Maybe it doesn’t have to be a teammate.
As long as someone initiated the fight, drew her focus, and created confusion—
If someone did that—
Surely, there’s someone out there.
Someone desperate to become the protagonist. A wannabe hero.
And someone who’d charge forward without a second thought if it meant turning the tide for his team.
I needed him to make a move.
Johan.
He was the key.
All I had to do—was use him.
A faint smile crept across my lips.
***
In the forest, hidden from the attacking team’s eyes—
A short but heavy conversation took place.
“...We really have to do this, huh?”
A trembling voice.
“Obviously.”
Johan didn’t even turn his head as he replied.
He was firm.
There was no other choice.
Johan and his Crusader unit.
Unlike Ju Seojun of the Blue Team, who moved with all students as one group—
Johan only accepted those who pleased him or met his standards.
[4200 pts] vs [3010 pts]
The score displayed on their watches revealed the brutal truth.
They, too, had reached the conclusion that they had to defeat Yu Serin.
There was no way Gaon would throw in a boss that couldn’t be taken down.
If anyone could do it, it’d be them.
Only five could raid at a time.
If Ju Seojun or another Blue Team member caught wind of this, it’d be over.
Their strategy was to act before the side switch fully took place—before Yu Serin even left the cavern.
From beyond the forest, wisps of black smoke began to rise from the ground.
Yu Serin had started to move.
“Formation.”
“Flashbang right at entry.”
“Johan leads.”
They began sharing tactics one by one.
Johan silently drew his sword.
“I’m going in first.”
With that, five shadows slowly disappeared into the black mist.
And sensing that movement, Yu Serin came to a stop.
She quietly opened her eyes.
As she raised her arm, black chains began to unravel in midair and fall in clinks and clatters.
Fewer chains than earlier—noticeably so.
This opponent was from the defense team.
“...Tch.”
She stretched slightly and muttered.
“Coming again, huh?”
This would be her third fight.
And even then, she had already been fighting with her limiters off.
She had assumed at most two, maybe only one fight would occur.
But the students' competitiveness had far exceeded her expectations.
Cheon Yeoul. Yoon Chaeha.
Kang Arin. Ha Sion.
None of them were pushovers.
Even with her limiter off, they had lasted longer than expected.
Her body felt a little heavy.
A faint fatigue crept in—barely noticeable normally.
“...Getting tired.”
She gently stroked the back of her hand.
Black chains coiled once more around her wrist like snakes.
Rhythmic footsteps.
A tight formation.
“Five?”
It was a well-organized team.
Yu Serin narrowed her eyes.
Then—
“Flash!”
A voice shouted urgently.
Black mist rose from the ground and enveloped her, lifting her into the air.
A flashbang exploded.
A blinding light lit up the cavern.
But she had already risen higher, evading the flash.
Amid the light—
A black figure leapt above them.
“Above—!”
Before Johan could finish his warning, chains lashed down from the sky.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
Two were slammed to the ground instantly and dropped their weapons.
Yu Serin landed lightly on her feet.
She twirled once on her toes, like she was playing.
“Nice to see you again—huh, a familiar face?”
Her eyes looked down.
Three left.
At the center, Johan met her gaze, sword in hand.
A smile crept across Yu Serin’s lips.
Johan charged in and swung his sword—but it was effortlessly blocked by her chains.
CLANG!
Pain shot up his wrist.
In the blink of an eye, the chains twisted around his wrist and retaliated.
WHIP!
CLANK!
His sword flew out of his hand.
‘Damn it...’
Johan grimaced.
His teammates were completely useless.
Just a few strands of chain from beneath Yu Serin’s feet had blocked everything.
Of course, he wasn’t doing much better.
After this trial, he planned to kick all of them out.
Yu Serin, on the other hand, sensed something odd.
‘What is this...?’
She paused for a moment.
Johan’s resistance—
It was exactly what she expected of a Gaon ranker before the exam.
Strong, but within expected range.
However, the students she had fought earlier had been far stronger.
Even with her limiters removed, they were trickier and lasted longer.
So she had adjusted her evaluation of Gaon’s elites upward.
“...Huh?”
Now it was reverting to what she originally expected.
‘Is the gap really this big?’
Yu Serin fell into brief thought.
She hadn’t expected such disparity in power.
“Grr... Arrgh!!”
Johan’s painful groans echoed again.
They clashed a few more times.
Each time his sword failed to pierce her chains, his strength waned.
Johan wasn’t weak—
Yu Serin was simply too strong.
Her chains completely overwhelmed and repelled every attack.
THUD!
CRASH!
All his teammates were already down.
Finally, Johan collapsed to the ground.
He spat blood, utterly exhausted.
His mana had been pushed to its absolute limit—mana exhaustion.
He panted, eyes shut.
Yu Serin looked at him with a slightly bitter expression.
“...Good effort~”
She didn’t have much else to say.
She was also being fed the real-time score.
So she knew—this would be the White Team’s final attempt.
But she hadn’t expected it to end so quickly.
In the end, she wouldn’t get to meet Jeong Haein.
She tapped Johan’s watch with her chain.
[Raid Failed]
Since this was a boss challenge by the defense team, it didn’t mean elimination.
However—
The «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» moment she pressed the button—
Yu Serin felt an enormous presence approaching from behind.
As if it had been waiting for this very moment.
‘Too late—’
She couldn’t even turn around.
KRAAAANG!!!!
Chains coiled up her back as she tried desperately to block the incoming strike—but it was no use.
BANG!
She was slammed into the ground and crashed into a wall.
‘What...?!’
Johan’s eyes flew open in shock.
A massive spear flew straight through the air in front of him.
He hadn’t even noticed it coming.
And he saw it—saw it pierce Yu Serin perfectly.
In that moment, Johan realized how helpless he truly was.
The density of mana. The scale. The speed.
This was no longer on the level of a student.
‘Who...?’
A shadow fell across Johan’s vision.
A man, visibly exhausted.
His shoulders heaved, and his sweat-soaked shirt clung to his skin.
“God... I’m dying here.”
The moment Johan heard that voice, his shoulders flinched.
He weakly lifted his head—
And saw the last person he ever wanted to see.
Jeong Haein.
Johan’s most hated person.
No, to be precise—
The person he feared the most.
Johan involuntarily recoiled.
And then came Jeong Haein’s words:
“Hey, man... why are you so weak?”
It wasn’t mockery.
It wasn’t ridicule.
Just a plain, emotionless question.
But that—
Was even more brutal to Johan.

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Chapter 112