Chapter 1: Let's Start With Some Theft (1)
Prologue
The 1st Attempt. April 1, 2040
E-Class Hunter Kim Ki-Rok—a member of the Hunter Association—had acquired two skills upon his Awakening.
E-Class Skill: Record.
?-Class Skill: ?.
Three years after joining the Association...
...he died after being caught up in a crime committed by an Awakened criminal.
Just before he died, his second awakened skill, ?, was unsealed.
It was the S-Class Skill: Time Rabbit's Luggage[1].
[Time Rabbit's Luggage (S)]
Effect: Transfers user's memories to their past self
Conditions: Triggers upon any death except for those caused by suicide or natural aging
Kim Ki-Rok clutched his neck in a futile attempt to stop the fountain of blood spurting from his slit throat. He died still staring at the hologram in shock.
In an instant, his memories were transferred back to his past self.
***
The 76th Attempt.
"Fuck, this really is a shitty game!" I cursed.
As I watched through my blood-stained vision the endless hordes of monsters rushing towards me, I let out a sigh.
It was a failure this time as well.
Even if I had monopolized all of the chance encounters[2] to become stronger, it would have been useless.
No matter how strong I became, I still couldn't block everything by myself.
Even if I had divided the chance encounters between everybody and made them stronger, it would still have been useless.
No matter how many of these elites become stronger, if their organization falls apart like sand, it would all be meaningless.
"Still, I've finally figured out the path I need to take to reach the ending."
After experiencing countless regressions, I finally managed to find the missing clue.
"I'll definitely break through on the next attempt."
If not, I felt like my mind wouldn't be able to stand this any longer.
I raised a middle finger toward my shitty, inevitable doom and bid farewell to the 76th attempt.
This was Earth's 76th Destruction.
Chapter 1
January 1, 2030.
The day when the Gates were first created...
...monsters began to appear...
...the existence of mana was confirmed...
...and abilities were Awakened.
[Earth has become a nexus connecting different dimensions.]
[Too many dimensions have been linked to Earth. In preparation for the chaos to come, Earth has launched several support systems.]
***
April 1, 2040.
The 77th Attempt.
The memories from the future came surging in at the moment of his Awakening.
"What a... shitty life." Kim Ki-Rok had been staring blankly at the ceiling, but now jumped up from his seat with a low curse. "I'm definitely seeing it through to the end with this Attempt."
This was his seventy-seventh life.
"That's good." Kim Ki-Rok nodded to himself. "It's even a lucky number."
He briskly walked over to his closet, pulled out the brand new tracksuit that he had bought to exercise in, and changed into it. He then lugged from the bottom of his closet a suitcase, which he had last used when moving in, and rolled it out of his apartment.
"At least I've managed to figure out the right direction," Kim Ki-Rok muttered to himself.
From his 4th Attempt to his 24th Attempt, he had spent his lives trying to monopolize all of the chance encounters in order to become the strongest Hunter.
Even if he had taken a wrong path during any of his Attempts and ended up dying, he would just return to the past. And so he abused his skill, The Power of Recording, to undo any wrong choice that he had made.
Yet, it still ended in failure.
He may have grown into an S-Class Hunter, but he still wasn't strong enough to prevent the destruction of the world.
So Kim Ki-Rok had begun training.
During his 25th to his 30th Attempt, he had spent the full ten years during each Attempt to accumulate a whole fifty years of training.
However, his lack of talent had stopped him in his tracks.
He had monopolized all of the chance encounters to compensate for his lack of talent, but he still could not block all the S-Class Gates appearing simultaneously all around the world.
He realized that the world's destruction wasn't a problem that he could solve by becoming stronger all on his own.
Since that was the case, what was he supposed to do?
Ah, he finally realized it—the answer to his question.
If he couldn't solve the crisis by becoming stronger on his own, then the solution would be to become stronger together.
With that in mind, he had begun his 31st Attempt.
Kim Ki-Rok created a guild, gathered every single famous Awakened, and monopolized all the chance encounters.
And the result of this Attempt?
Failure once again.
Between his 31st and 40th Attempts, he had somehow found a way to destroy the S-Class Gates but was unable to destroy the Hell Gates that followed.
He pondered the problem once more.
Throughout the hundred years spent across the 41st to 50th Attempts, he analyzed the causes of his failure.
By becoming stronger together with his comrades, he had definitely been able to destroy the S-Class Gates.
But they hadn't been able to surpass the insurmountable wall that loomed ahead.
Why was that?
Ah... so that was the case.
He had only made his comrades stronger.
In that case, did he just have to expand the scope of whom the word "together" applied to?
Although troubled by these thoughts, Kim Ki-Rok went ahead with his 51st Attempt to test his new theory.
To get the most out of each chance encounter, he had gifted them to all those who showed potential. As a result, however, he was kidnapped by one of the Awakened who had received a chance encounter.
Then he was tortured until his eventual death.
"Aargh! Shit!"
When Kim Ki-Rok recalled this 51st Attempt, which had been an experience no different from falling into hell, he couldn't help but let out a curse.
He shook his head to rid himself of these unpleasant memories, then stopped by the side of the road to take a look around.
He saw a taxi driver standing in front of his car, sipping a coffee he must have bought from a nearby vending machine.
Kim Ki-Rok walked up to the taxi driver and said with a bright smile, "Hi. Is the taxi for hire? It's kind of urgent."
"Of course. Hop in," the driver said with a wide smile as he quickly gulped down his cold can of coffee and climbed into the driver's seat.
Kim Ki-Rok followed him into the taxi and instructed the driver, "East Seoul Bus Terminal, please. As quickly as you can."
"The East Seoul Bus Terminal? Alright, got it," the taxi driver said as he set off.
Though there may have been some slight differences in timing from his 2nd Attempt to his 76th Attempt, Kim Ki-Rok had always made sure to visit that place in order to secure some funds. Because, no matter what his intentions were, it had always been easier to make things work out with enough funds in hand.
It had been the case even when he had used all of his time during a single Attempt for the purpose of training. Even if he wanted to focus solely on training, no matter what anyone said, he still needed ample funds to do so.
As the taxi made its way smoothly to the terminal, Kim Ki-Rok put on his earphones and turned to look out the window.
His skill wouldn't allow him to commit suicide.
If he took his own life, he would no longer be able to return to the past.
That was why, during his 51st Attempt, Kim Ki-Rok had tenaciously clung to his will to live, even as he endured the horrible torture. He was eventually tortured to death after deliberately provoking his kidnapper's anger.
In the 52nd Attempt that followed, he had hidden his identity.
While handing out the chance encounters, he had kept his presence concealed.
He hadn't bothered to create a guild either and gave the chance encounters only to trustworthy members among the talented Awakened.
Naturally, this meant that his own growth had stagnated at A-Class.
However, the result of that Attempt was the best yet.
They had destroyed all of the S-Class Gates and had even managed to withstand the appearance of the Hell Gates to a certain extent.
They had even gone on to defeat the mid-boss.
But unfortunately, that was as far as they managed to get.
What was the reason for this?
There was no need to even give it a second thought.
The problem was that their organization had crumbled, leaving them scattered like grains of sand. With too many captains, the ship had run ashore.
The Awakened whom he had gifted the chance encounters belonged to various different guilds, and when conflicts arose between them, they hadn't hesitated to antagonize the opposition and all of its members to protect their own guild.
After the Hell Gates appeared, the guilds may have hastily joined forces, but the various entangled grudges that had already built up between them weren't so easily mended.
That was why, starting from his 70th Attempt, Kim Ki-Rok had gone back to creating his own guild.
He had gathered and raised any of the Awakened who possessed both talent and an upright personality but had yet to join a guild.
As he arranged for the chance encounters to "coincidentally" appear to the talented members of other guilds, he also strengthened the relationship between the guilds.
With such thorough preparation, he had managed to achieve the best results thus far.
They had destroyed the S-Class Gates while taking minimal damage, and easily defeated the mid-boss of the Hell Gates. Then, they had managed to seriously injure the King of Hell.
Though their raid party was annihilated and they were unable to defeat him, they still managed to inflict deep wounds on the King of Hell, who had seemed like the very personification of despair when he appeared.
"Excuse me, sir. We have arrived at the East Seoul Bus Terminal," the taxi driver spoke up, his voice piercing through Kim Ki-Rok's thoughts.
Kim Ki-Rok unconsciously jolted in surprise and immediately smiled back at the driver. He took a glance at the huge building on the other side of the window. It was the East Seoul Bus Terminal.
"Ah, thank you very much." Kim Ki-Rok bowed his head. "Well, have a nice day."
The taxi driver bowed his head in return. "My pleasure. Thank you very much for choosing to ride with us, sir."
Bidding farewell to the taxi driver with another smile, Kim Ki-Rok climbed out of the taxi, still wearing his earphones.
If he headed straight forward, he would soon enter the East Seoul Bus Terminal. Instead, Kim Ki-Rok turned around and walked toward the nearby traffic lights. After waiting for a few moments, as the red light turned blue[3], he instantly stretched his hand out to the side.
"Aaargh!"
A man fell backward with a yelp after slipping on a piece of trash.
Kim Ki-Rok kept his hand pressed on the man's back to keep him from falling, then said to the man, "Please be careful."
"Ah, yes. Thank you very much," the man replied, his eyes wide with surprise.
The man put his hand on his chest to settle his pounding heart. He quickly thanked Kim Ki-Rok once more and crossed over to the other side.
This man had Awakened with the ability to sense mana, and this made it possible for him to quickly identify the location and situation of Gates.
If not for Kim Ki-Rok's intervention, the man would have simply fallen and ended up with a broken bone. Even though he had already Awakened, this unfortunate accident would lead him to register as a Hunter with the Association only after he made a full recovery.
"Was it around five of them?" Kim Ki-Rok muttered to himself.
In the past, due to his delay in registration, the Association hadn't been as quick to confirm his awakened ability.
As a result, South Korea failed to identify the five Gates that were almost at their breaking point and suffered great losses before managing to destroy these overflowing Gates.
But it seemed that things would be fine this time around.
Kim Ki-Rok watched the man disappear from his sight, blending in with the crowd as he entered the subway station. The former turned around and walked toward the Internet Reservation Kiosk inside the East Seoul Bus Terminal.
***
Cheongju City, Chungcheonbuk Province.
Palbong Mountain, located south of Seowon District.
"Ah, fuck this shit," Kim Ki-Rok panted heavily as he rested during his climb up the mountain. "No matter how many times I do it, this is the part I hate the most."
He could get his hands on all sorts of gold and silver treasures at the end of this light hike, but it was still annoying no matter what.
It would have been a bit easier if he had chosen to climb the mountain after gaining some levels, but he hadn't done so. This time, Kim Ki-Rok was determined to see things through to the end, so he rushed to climb Palbong Mountain without leveling up.
"Why couldn't it have just been right next to the mountain path!" Kim Ki-Rok grumbled to himself as he leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He had finally reached his destination after climbing up a narrow and rough mountain path that had been made by animals rather than the marked trail meant for hikers.
"It really was a pain getting here," he grunted, staring at his target lying right in front of him.
Within a very small opening in the mountainside was an oval Gate that was emitting a faint golden light.
Kim Ki-Rok was a mere level 1 Hunter who, before his Awakening, had been an unemployed jobseeker who didn't have the slightest interest in regular exercise. Given his poor fitness levels, his legs were shaking from the sudden intense workout and his whole body was soaked with sweat from the climb.
However, Kim Ki-Rok still stared at the Gate with a bright smile on his face.
The Awakened—those who had awakened their supernatural powers—were also granted access to Appraisal, one of the support systems that Earth used. Through the use of Appraisal, they were able to identify Gates as well as the properties of items that contained mana.
"However there's no need to use Appraisal this time." Kim Ki-Rok smirked.
From his 2nd Attempt to his 76th Attempt, this Gate had always remained exactly the same every time he had visited it, the only difference being the timing in which he had gone looking for it.
"Urgh!" Kim Ki-Rok groaned as he sluggishly reached into his pants pocket, pulling out his smartphone to check the time. "4:50 p.m."
This was the C-Class Gate: the Treasure Goblin's Treasure Vault.
The owner of this Gate, the Treasure Goblin, would always use its special ability of teleportation at 4:55 p.m. each day to visit other Gates and collect any equipment that was dropped by Hunters, as well as any jewels produced by the Gates.
The Treasure Goblin wasn't a monster with the ability to create treasures all on its own, but one that possessed the ability to detect treasures and teleport to them.
Kim Ki-Rok spent the next five minutes staring blankly at the sky. At 4:55 p.m., he entered the Gate and dragged his suitcase along with him.
Kim Ki-Rok looked around in silence at the interior of the huge cave, which had no other entrances apart from the one he had just entered from.
An artifact enchanted with light magic was fixed to the ceiling, and a bed had been set up on the right side of the cave, though who knew where the goblin had found it.
Kim Ki-Rok spun around as he thoroughly scanned his surroundings.
As expected, the Treasure Goblin, master of this Gate, was nowhere to be seen.
Several things caught Kim Ki-Rok's eye as he looked around: the artifact on the ceiling, a jar used to store food, the bed where the Treasure Goblin slept, and finally, the mountain of treasure.
As he began walking leisurely toward the glittering mountain in the corner of the cave, Kim Ki-Rok passed by the bed and picked up a pouch that had been placed on it.
"Appraisal," Kim Ki-Rok called out.
[Subspace Artifact (B)]
Description: A pouch enchanted with the Subspace Skill
Capacity: 500 kilograms
After glancing at the summary, Kim Ki-Rok waved away the hologram that had been floating in front of his eyes and stuck his hand into the mountain of treasure.
This time, he picked out a ring that was just the right size for him to wear on his index finger.
"Appraisal," Kim Ki-Rok said once more.
[Ring of Protection (D)]
Description: A ring enchanted with the Shield Spell
Effect: Can activate a 2nd-Circle Shield Spell
Cooldown: 1 hour
Kim Ki-Rok equipped the Ring of Protection before reaching for the mountain of treasure once more.
This time, he pulled out a bracelet that granted its wielder access to the Magic Mind Control Spell.
After putting on the bracelet, Kim Ki-Rok used his ring to first create a shield behind the mountain of treasure, then activated the Magic Mind Control Spell via the bracelet.
The spell granted to him by this D-Class artifact enabled him to control any magic of the 3rd-Circle or lower for five seconds.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The Shield stretched to form an "N" shape around the mountain of treasure, pushing it all toward the mouth of the Subspace Artifact that Kim Ki-Rok was holding open.
"If I remember correctly, it was 512 kilograms exactly," Kim Ki-Rok muttered to himself.
That was the reason he had brought along a suitcase.
After filling the inside of the Subspace Artifact to the brim with the Treasure Goblin's hoard, Kim Ki-Rok squatted down, opened the suitcase, and began packing the remaining 12 kilograms of treasure.
1. The Korean term used here could describe many different types of bags, from shopping bags to suitcases, as it literally translates to transport bag. Luggage seemed to be the best fitting term for an English-speaking audience. ☜
2. The author uses a word that has been adopted to describe the cliché scenario of a protagonist stumbling across a lucky opportunity that gives them a sudden power-up—the typical example being a protagonist falling off a cliff, only to find a hidden inheritance that allows them to grow stronger. ☜
3. The traffic lights in Korea use blue instead of green. ☜
Openbookworm & wonsuk's ThoughtsOBW: Thank you to everyone who has followed me here from Damn Reincarnation. I hope that all of you and all the new readers get to enjoy this book. Strangely, it seems that I have an affinity for potty-mouthed characters.
Momo: Let loose, OBW. Eugene would be proud 😂
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