The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

When Ravian arrived at his squad’s quarters, the first thing that greeted him was a burst of loud laughter from someone whose voice he knew all too well, followed by another man shouting at the idiot to stop fooling around and get back to work.

Ravian didn’t need to think twice to know that Darius was responsible for the commotion.

’Looks like some things never change, no matter how long I’m away from this place.’

He stepped inside to find most of his squad members busy inspecting their equipment and organizing the supplies they would need if they received orders to leave the camp, while Malrik stood beside one of the tables, reviewing a lengthy list of provisions.

Darius was the first to notice his arrival, and the moment he saw Ravian’s condition, a broad grin spread across his face in a way that Ravian didn’t appreciate in the slightest.

"Bwahahahaha! Look who’s back! Seems the company commander gave you quite the welcome!"

’Are they pretending nothing happened? Or were they instructed to act this way? ...Or is this just Sovereign Pride influencing the sense of belonging among those around me?’

Ravian had no idea what arrangements they might have made during his absence, but he raised an eyebrow at Darius nonetheless.

"Want me to show you exactly what that welcome was like, you damned bear?"

"Huh? No, no! I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much!"

There was a distinctly mocking edge to Darius’s voice, as he was still treating Ravian like an ordinary Awakened.

Darius took a step backward, laughing, but Elias, who was sitting nearby, glanced at Ravian’s arm before his eyes shifted to the traces of dried blood that Ravian hadn’t managed to completely wipe from the corner of his mouth.

"Have you been training with the company commander this entire time?"

"Unfortunately." Ravian nodded.

"And what exactly did you learn after taking such an obvious beating?" Darius asked again, unable to resist the temptation to run his mouth.

Ravian looked at him with an expression of utmost seriousness.

"I learned that certain old men should be forbidden from training young people. That crazy-ass training was insane."

Darius burst into laughter once again, and even Elias couldn’t suppress the smile that appeared on his face. Their amusement came to an abrupt end, however, when a calm voice reached them from behind.

"I could pass those exact words along to the company commander, if you’d like."

Ravian turned around to find Lysandra standing near the doorway leading to the inner rooms, watching him with a faint smile that promised nothing good. The way she was examining his body and face was... extremely strange. No, it was more as though her gaze were telling him that he was the one who looked extremely strange.

’This woman, seriously! Why do I get the feeling you enjoy tormenting me even more than that old man does?’

"I was praising his wonderful training methods, wasn’t I, Darius?" Ravian quickly replied.

Darius immediately nodded.

"Of course! He said he’d never received such amazing training in his entire life!"

"Good. I’ll make sure to tell him that the next time I see him," Lysandra said, nodding in agreement.

"..."

"..."

Ravian and Darius exchanged glances for a moment before Ravian turned his face away, silently cursing his terrible luck, while Darius suddenly pretended he had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation in the first place.

’Why the hell is everyone around me such an asshole?’ Ravian wondered.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on the question, as Claria approached him after finishing with her equipment and grabbed his arm without bothering to ask for permission.

"Your pulse is irregular. What happened this time?"

Her tone resembled that of an angry mother discovering that her child had injured himself while playing, which was practically Claria’s natural manner of speaking after everything she had experienced in the course of her duties.

Ravian glanced at the hand holding his arm before looking up at her serious expression.

"Just a little training."

"That’s not what I asked."

Claria began examining his arm, and when her fingers pressed against the spot Karius had injured during their training, a sharp pain shot through Ravian’s forearm, causing him to instinctively pull his hand away.

"Damn! Are you trying to heal me or finish what that old man started?!"

Claria remained completely unfazed by his complaint. Instead, she grabbed his arm again and gave him a distinctly impatient look.

"If you could stop complaining for a few seconds, I might actually be able to figure out whether you need treatment."

Ravian wanted to tell her that his body would recover from injuries like these on its own and that using healing magic on him would only waste her energy, but then he remembered that nobody in his squad was supposed to know anything about his new physical condition.

And so, he simply stood there and allowed her to examine him while Darius watched the entire scene with a ridiculous grin plastered across his face.

’I’m going to punch that bastard one day. I swear I will.’

While all of this was happening, Ravian failed to notice an exceptionally sharp gaze piercing both him and Claria from the side, for reasons he remained completely unaware of.

In the end, Claria found no serious injuries that warranted concern, but she insisted on using a simple healing spell to relieve the pain in his arm anyway, refusing to let him go until she had also dealt with the remaining traces of blood on his face.

Pure white mana emerged from her hands, purer than any aura or mana Ravian had ever witnessed, before penetrating his body, stopping the bleeding, and healing and repairing his internal injuries.

Ravian certainly didn’t mind receiving free treatment, especially after discovering that being capable of enduring pain didn’t necessarily mean he enjoyed experiencing it. Having an incredibly powerful body was wonderful when he could overwhelm his opponents, but it became a living hell when he encountered someone whose strength exceeded his own and had to endure every single blow with nothing but his physical body, since he had yet to learn how to properly use aura.

Once Claria finally finished treating him, Malrik approached after completing his review of the supply list.

"How are you doing, Ravian?" Malrik began with a simple question, although there was a hint of concealed reproach in his voice.

Ravian looked at him for a moment, noticing his tone, before replying.

"I’m doing fine, Captain. Thank you for your concern."

"Did the company commander tell you when you’ll be returning to duty?" Malrik asked.

Ravian shook his head.

"He ordered me to stay inside the camp and get some rest until he summons me again."

"Then do exactly as he instructed, and don’t even think about going on another mission without permission."

Malrik paused briefly before continuing in a more serious tone.

"There’s something else I want you to understand, Ravian. I don’t know what you went through during your absence, and I have no intention of interrogating you about it now that the company commander has permitted you to return. However, you’re still a member of my squad, and disappearing the way you did forced us to spend a considerable amount of time searching for you."

There was no genuine anger in his voice, only the frustration of a captain who had been forced to deal with the disappearance of one of his soldiers without even knowing whether that soldier was still alive or already dead.

Ravian could understand that much, especially after hearing something remarkably similar from Karius only a few hours earlier.

’Damn it, is everyone going to spend the entire day lecturing me just because I disappeared for a few weeks?’

’...’

His thoughts suddenly came to a halt.

’Actually, now that I think about it, this whole situation seems a lot simpler than it should be.’

Despite his irritation, Ravian made no attempt to argue with Malrik.

"Understood, Captain."

Malrik studied him for several seconds, seemingly expecting some kind of objection or sarcastic remark, but Ravian remained silent this time.

"Good. Go and get some rest, and we’ll discuss your return to the squad’s duties once the company commander gives his permission."

Ravian nodded before heading toward the inner rooms under the watchful eyes of his squad members, most of whom had already returned to their work now that they had finally confirmed he was genuinely back.

He paused at the threshold, listening to the familiar noise resume behind him. For weeks, he had thought of this place as merely useful: a safe base, a squad, and a way to grow stronger. Hearing those voices again made that description feel strangely incomplete.

However, just before he could reach his room, he heard Lysandra calling out to him from behind.

"Ravian, I want to talk to you."

He stopped and turned toward her.

’Here we go. I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape this woman that easily.’