LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 2 - I Regressed
I looked into the moldy mirror. Inside the mirror, a man with a messy, unevenly cut bowl haircut and an oversized t-shirt was blinking.
It’s not that I’m particularly ugly if you ask whether I’m handsome or not, but my elongated eyes and thin lips don’t exactly inspire trust. It’s like a face that looks like it could stab you in the back anytime.
If there was a face that was the complete opposite of a free pass for blind dates, this might be it.
Annoyingly, this is my face.
Unlike the past when I somehow managed to look approachable by spending money, now I looked like a disgruntled punk with a lot of grievances against the world.
“What a mess.”
I wiped the remaining moisture from my face with a stinky towel and left the mold-filled bathroom.
The moment I saw the cramped one-room that left no space to even place my feet, reality washed over me.
I’m alive.
To be more precise, I ‘came back’.
Back to when I had just graduated from the Hunter Academy and was barely scraping by as a gate miner.
The penthouse that used to sit atop Gangnam’s prime real estate was gone. The custom-tailored suits worth hundreds of millions of won each, the watches worth tens of millions that used to fill my walk-in closet – there was no trace of them left.
Instead, what filled my vision were scattered instant food bags, clothes covered in lint stuffed in the corners, and dingy wallpaper depressing enough to give you depression just by looking at it.
This was my life before I met Seol Rok-jin.
A loser barely scraping by each day.
But for the first time in years, I could laugh out loud.
Why?
Because I’m free.
I’m no longer Seol Rok-jin’s dog. A life where I had to bark when told to bark, roll over when told to roll over – I had escaped that life in a way I could have never imagined.
The moment the contract that had been strangling my heart disappeared, the first thing I did was unimaginable.
“Seol Rok-jin, you bastard.”
I let out all the curses I had been holding back inside. Seol Rok-jin, you son of a bitch. Vile scum.
That ruthless bastard without a shred of compassion.
But that feeling didn’t last long before an immense sense of emptiness washed over me.
“Ah…”
How nice would it be if this had a happy ending where the slave escaped and lived freely and happily ever after?
But my life was far from such a fairy tale.
Ten years from now, this nation of South Korea is annihilated due to the gate break. That ‘annihilation’ is literally engraved on my eyeballs.
The gates that opened everywhere and the monsters that poured out from them. And the helpless citizens torn apart and killed.
Just thinking about that time still made my heart race madly.
The excruciating pain of my body being crushed was still vividly etched in my memory.
I don’t know why, but there was one reason for my revival that I could pinpoint.
That artifact Seol Rok-jin had told me to bring. The moment the gigantic monster crushed my body, a light burst forth from the ankh I was holding in my hand.
Maybe that ankh was what kept me alive?
I wanted to find and examine that ankh right away if I could, but unfortunately, the gate from which the ankh emerged has not yet been formed. I’ll have to think about the ankh later.
Because there’s something more important.
I’m the only one who knows that the world is going to be annihilated.
If I ignore that fact and run away, if I hide somewhere safe all by myself, then South Korea will follow the same path to annihilation.
‘So what?’
The first thought that came to my mind was shockingly selfish.
I had no lingering attachment to this miserable country either. They treat awakeners who manifest psychic abilities as potential criminals, don’t they? They arbitrarily collect outrageous ‘special taxes’ from awakeners at the drop of a hat. If you want to go out somewhere, they contact you the moment you leave your registered residence.
For a poor, weak awakener like me, this country was truly the worst. For a second-class citizen like me, patriotism became an outdated concept from old textbooks a long time ago.
Yeah, I could just leave this country behind and live well and eat well.
It might not be so bad to build a house by a nice beach and watch the world’s annihilation from there.
Yeah, I don’t have to be the one to stop that annihilation.
It’s already a hellish world where just worrying about myself is hard enough. You want me to walk into that hell? Nonsense.
After muttering like that for a while, I squeezed my eyes shut.
It would be easier to just run away from all of this.
But could I really escape annihilation that way? Would that really be okay?
While by Seol Rok-jin’s side, I had to witness the demise of countless people.
The lawyer who fought for the human rights of mistreated awakeners.
The awakener who was born with S-rank talent, shining brighter than anyone else.
The passionate journalist who dug into Seol Rok-jin’s dealings.
And my most precious friend…
‘Jeong Ho-san.’
The moment I recalled that guy’s face, my breath caught in my throat.
If Seol Rok-jin hadn’t harmed those people, maybe this nation of South Korea wouldn’t have been annihilated. No, it definitely wouldn’t have been annihilated.
Because those people wouldn’t have allowed the world to fall into annihilation.
If I can save those people Seol Rok-jin harmed, I can save the world.
The problem is how to save them.
What can a guy like me, who at best mines mana stones from already conquered gates, do?
Unless my talents changed, it was almost impossible for me to make a living as a hunter.
Maybe something changed with this regression?
With anticipation, I opened my mouth.
“Status window.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Name]: Kang Yi-sin (姜怡神)
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 21 years old
[Talents]: Indomitable Will (S), Truthful Lie (B)
But the status window that appeared before me was exactly as I remembered it.
Even those damn talents that had plunged me into despair countless times were exactly the same, without a single change.
“Ah…”
The hope that had swelled in my chest instantly dissipated, leaving only the taste of ashes in my mouth.
The reason I couldn’t join any guild despite having an S-rank passive potential skill and a B-rank talent was precisely because my talent was ‘Lie’.
Yes, Lie.
-[Truthful Lie]-
Potential: B
Can make any words feel truthful.
Truthful Lie? What kind of an oxymoron is this, like a warm iced Americano?
You can at least drink an Americano, but this talent is utterly useless unless I want to become a con artist or a cult leader. And even that wouldn’t be possible until I removed this identification tag around my neck.
Awakeners who manifested psychic abilities all had to wear identification tags around their necks. The tag detected the mana flowing through an awakener’s body, and it would shine brightly whenever the awakener used their ability. Not only that, but each time an ability was used, the awakener’s location would be reported in real-time to the nearby station.
All of this was because of the Civilian Protection Act passed three years ago. Because of that law, a psychic awakener like me had to live wearing this electronic leash for life.
Physical awakeners probably had their own hardships, but for psychic ability users, it was a world where mingling with civilians was impossible.
But if I could just remove this damn identification tag…
‘Then the story changes.’
To save this world from annihilation, I would gladly become a con artist, a villain, or a cult leader.
The ones I would have to deal with were all the high and mighty who occupied positions of power in this nation of South Korea.
Starting with Seol Rok-jin, the powerful presidential candidate, as well as the government agencies that moved according to his will, and even the guild executives who sold out their promising disciples.
It was a situation where I had to fight against all the powers that be in South Korea, so challenging them out in the open was simply not an option.
If I did that, I would be thoroughly trampled before I could do anything properly.
Those who caught wind of Seol Rok-jin’s misdeeds always ended up raising their voices to him.
“Do you really think the world will follow the whims of a vile scum like you?”
But contrary to their hopes, the world turned without any issues according to Seol Rok-jin’s will. Until its annihilation, that is.
I had no intention of following in their foolish footsteps.
They were not wrong, but they were weak and ignorant.
Goodness alone could not break Seol Rok-jin.
To fight those dirty scoundrels, I needed to become a dirty scoundrel myself.
And you know what? I’m no longer a good person. By being at Seol Rok-jin’s side, I’ve already become a dirty scoundrel.
Under Seol Rok-jin, I committed unforgivable sins, which is why I know better than anyone how to deal with Seol Rok-jin.
I’m going to save the innocent people Seol Rok-jin killed. And by saving them one by one, maybe I can save this world.
I knew my place well.
I’m a coward, an evil, vulgar, and lacking person.
Which is why I can deal with those scoundrels.
In a way that good, ignorant, naive people cannot.
But to do that, I first had to remove this damn identification tag around my neck.
Of course, there’s no ordinary way to remove this tag. The moment I try to physically remove it, a police unit will show up and arrest me.
To remove this, I had to go to the black market, and even in that black market, I had to find a special artisan.
I knew who that artisan was and how to approach them, but the problem was money.
I checked my virtual bank account on my phone. And I opened my eyes wide.
There was only 300,000 won in my account. To be precise, 279,800 won.
“Huh.”
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity. I wondered if I had deposited money in a different account, but no. This was the only account I had.
So… my entire assets amounted to a mere 279,800 won.
279,800 won was all an able-bodied awakener had saved up after working an entire year.
Had I been scammed in the past?
Otherwise, how could I be this broke?
I hurriedly checked my bank statement. Monthly rent. Various utility bills. And credit card charges. I grimaced when I saw the credit card charges.
How the hell was I using a credit card like this when I barely made any money? Was I the victim of a small-scale fraud?
I immediately checked my credit card statement.
Mobile payment_Goobeo Chicken 27,000 won
EatHereToday_Solo Veggie Gopchang Set 23,000 won
AMarket_Beige Long Pants 98,000 won
WhatToWearToday_10 Non-Shrinking T-Shirts Special Sale 108,000 won
I carefully scanned the credit card statement.
And after 30 minutes, I came to a shocking conclusion.
All this money was indeed spent by me. No scams or fraud involved. Furthermore, I hadn’t even spent extravagantly. Well, there was a sense that I might have ordered a bit too much delivery food, but other than that, there were traces of careful spending on necessary items.
It’s just that the cost of living had far exceeded my wallet’s capacity.
‘Was I really this poor?’
While under Seol Rok-jin, I had properly enjoyed the world’s wealth. The word ‘poverty’ had long become something from an unfamiliar world.
But the me who had returned to the past was a penniless pauper who had nothing, and in this state, I couldn’t do anything.
I knew many ways to make money. But to do that, I needed to remove the identification tag, and to remove that tag, I needed money.
“What is this…”
Like a snake swallowing its own tail, I had fallen into a circular dilemma.
How did I make money again?
Having learned only corrupt methods while under Seol Rok-jin, I was now at a complete loss on how to make an honest living.
Then an alarm went off on my phone.
“Oh, damn it.”
At the familiar alarm sound, I squeezed my eyes shut.
You want me to go to that damn gate again?
But for now, that was the only way for me to make money.
I took out a worn-out set of work clothes from the closet and put them on. The clothes that hadn’t been properly dried still reeked of a musty smell.
Catching a whiff of the stuffy scent of poverty, I headed outside.