Chapter 1: Prologue
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: Prologue
Humanity was perishing.
The reason was simple.
It was because he had been a pushover.
* * *
A world turned to ruins.
It was a place where everything had been reduced to ash, where not a single tree remained—a world crumbled by the passage of an eternity.
A man stood alone, gazing out at the wasteland.
“Fuck.”
The word escaped his lips like a primal curse. His eyes wavered as he surveyed the desolation.
“I see you are feeling rage.”
An old monk stood behind him. His eyes, tempered by a lifetime of discipline, were infinitely calm.
“You’ve returned, Great Monk Milarepa. Was there any success?”
“Our world was the only place in the universe where life remained. Regrettably.”
“It’s what I expected, so I’m not even surprised,” the man said indifferently.
Milarepa asked him softly, “What is it that makes you so angry, Kang Jun-hyeok?”
“You know why.”
The man called Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue.
“It’s this goddamn situation itself.”
“Is that so?”
The monk offered a bitter smile.
One day, a message had been delivered to the entire universe.
It announced that the Master of the Universe had changed. It declared that the current universe would be abandoned to make way for a new one. Therefore, every living thing would vanish.
But in the same breath, that being spoke again.
It offered them one final chance.
Climb the Tower, reach the goal, and prevent the destruction.
Every being in the universe moved with desperate strength to stop the end. Since then, an immeasurable amount of time had passed. After countless sacrifices, they were finally approaching the end.
They should have been able to win. They had gathered enough power. In terms of sheer strength, victory was within their grasp.
Yet, Kang Jun-hyeok was certain of one thing.
It was impossible.
“Now that I think about it,” Milarepa asked, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “What are our heroes doing?”
These were the individuals who were exceptionally strong even among the myriad races of the universe—the powerhouses who could turn the tide of war.
They were called heroes. Milarepa asked about the whereabouts of one in particular.
“What is the Hero, the owner of the Holy Sword, doing?”
The great Holy Sword. It was a gift bestowed upon the earth by the defeated gods, who had squeezed out the last of their strength to forge it. The one who possessed it held the power of all the gods. He had more than enough power to be called a hero.
“He’s right over there.”
Kang Jun-hyeok pointed toward the far side of the horizon. Even though the distance was vast, they could see him clearly.
Milarepa murmured as the realization hit him. “He is clutching the Holy Sword and talking to himself incessantly.”
“He was already mentally weak, but it’s gotten worse since he got the Holy Sword. He spends all day holding onto it, seeking comfort. Normal conversation doesn't even work with him anymore.”
“I see.”
Milarepa’s voice was thick with pity. “Then what about the owner of Lemegeton, the Half-Human Half-Demon?”
Lemegeton, the grimoire of black magic. It was said that the one who possessed it could master all dark arts, wielding power on par with a Demon King—standing on a completely different level from ordinary mages.
Kang Jun-hyeok said flatly, “He couldn't handle the fear and committed suicide yesterday. Since no one but the owner can read Lemegeton, it’s been reduced to a fancy-looking collectible.”
“Is that so?”
Milarepa murmured with pity once again. He continued his inquiry.
“Where did the illegitimate child of the High Elf go—the one who contracted with the Four Great Spirit Kings?”
“Where did the Number One in Murim go—the one who consumed the Stalactite Milk, the Great Restoration Pill, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower, and the Imugi's Inner Core?”
“Where is the Esper who reached the end of evolution and can manipulate all psychic powers?”
To each question, Kang Jun-hyeok replied with a sneer:
“Fled to the Spirit Realm. She’s like an ostrich. The Spirit Realm will disappear anyway once the universe is destroyed, but I guess she thinks she's hidden if she just buries her head in the sand.”
“He fled into his inner world through meditation. He’s trying to live forever in there by dilating the flow of time within himself to the extreme.”
“He bolted, saying he’d try to run to the edge of the universe.”
Every single person called a hero had run away. Kang Jun-hyeok lamented, his voice dripping with venom.
“Why did bastards like that get such power?”
“Those are funny words coming from you.”
Milarepa let out a low chuckle.
“Was it not you, and no one else, who handed that power to them? You are the one and only Player in the entire universe who cleared the 100th Floor. The Conqueror of the Tower.”
The difficulty of the Tower had been horrific. No one else could reach the 100th Floor; they had all given up long before.
Except for one person—Kang Jun-hyeok.
He was strong. So strong that he looked at the weaklings around him, took pity on them, and yielded his power to them.
“And thanks to that, I’m regretting it immensely,” Kang Jun-hyeok grumbled. “I shouldn't have done it. Instead of pitying them and giving away the power to survive, I should have taken it all for myself. If I had, we wouldn't be in this mess.”
The vast universe was perishing. All that remained was barely enough life to fill a single planet.
“I see,” Milarepa murmured. “The one you are truly angry at is yourself.”
Why did he give away that power? Why did he feel sympathy for them? If he hadn't—if he had taken everything for himself—the universe might not have had to perish.
“It’s a late regret. The world is already in this state. And those useless bastards have all run away.”
“...Indeed. It has already happened, a regret that cannot be undone. Unless, literally, time itself were to turn back.”
Milarepa spoke in a strange, distant tone.
And at that moment—
Creeeeeak.
The sky split open. Beyond the rift, countless monsters began to manifest.
[Quest starting.]
[We wish you victory.]
The survivors quickly began to prepare for the onslaught. Kang Jun-hyeok stood up.
“Well then, Great Monk Milarepa. If there is an afterlife, I’ll see you there.”
“I shall ascend to Nirvana, so you will not find me there,” Milarepa replied with a smile.
Kang Jun-hyeok chuckled and stretched his limbs. “Get up, you brat.”
“Ugh, uuuuh...”
He smacked the Hero on the head. The Hero staggered to his feet, trembling.
[BUOOOOOOOO!]
The first to appear was a distorted monster with a massive face. Kang Jun-hyeok grimaced.
“The monster that ate the Demon King.”
The master of hell and the king of demons—a monster had devoured such a being. Kang Jun-hyeok made a split-second judgment. Even in this desperate situation, he devised the optimal path to victory.
‘That monster’s power is made of demonic energy.’
And the counter to demonic energy was divinity.
Kang Jun-hyeok immediately charged. The monster unleashed its power, foul demonic energy slithering and surging toward him like a tide of filth.
Kang Jun-hyeok activated a skill.
[Glory of the Lost God.]
Light erupted.
It was a brilliant radiance that erased every shadow in the world. It melted and burned away the incoming demonic energy in an instant, carving a path to the beast.
Kang Jun-hyeok raised his weapon and drove it deep into the monster’s body.
“Explode and die.”
He detonated divinity through the blade. Cracks began to spread across the monster’s massive frame.
[BU! O! O! O!]
But the monster did not die. In its agony, it violently scattered demonic energy, a discharge so potent it threatened to shatter the planet.
‘Damn it!’
Kang Jun-hyeok gnashed his teeth. He possessed divinity, but it wasn't at a level that could kill a monster that had consumed a Demon King. He needed a stronger source of holy power.
“Hero! Finish it!”
The Hero with the Holy Sword could kill this monster. But no answer came.
Kang Jun-hyeok hurriedly turned his head. There stood the Hero, trembling violently while clutching the Holy Sword to his chest like a security blanket.
Kang Jun-hyeok momentarily lost his mind. “You son of a—”
BOOM!
He couldn't finish his sentence. The thrashing monster sent Kang Jun-hyeok flying.
CRASH!
Slammed into the ground, he let out a groan and lifted his head.
[BU! O! O! O!]
The monster let out a roar. The rift in space grew even larger, and other horrors began to emerge.
“I should have finished at least one of them before it came to this.”
Because of that goddamn Hero. Kang Jun-hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
[Buooooo...]
The newly appeared monsters immediately glared at Kang Jun-hyeok. They had instantly identified the most threatening presence on the battlefield.
All of them simultaneously unleashed their power.
RUMBLE!
The forces surged at once. Each attack came from a monster capable of tearing planets apart. Space collapsed, and the axis of time twisted. It was a force literally capable of splitting the world.
“This is a total shitshow.”
With a final lament, Kang Jun-hyeok gripped his sword.
[Nirvana (武極).]
The sword drew a diagonal line through the air.
K-crack!
At that moment, the world itself was sliced.
The powerful attacks that twisted space and time were cut away as if a painting were being torn. The sword strike left a long trail in reality, swallowing everything in its path. The monsters struggled to avoid being sucked into the void.
Kang Jun-hyeok then pointed his finger at a monster.
[Existence Erasure.]
“Die.”
Power was infused into his command. The monster designated by his fingertip began to be erased from existence.
But at that moment, a monster made of countless magic tools moved to protect the target. The immense power was absorbed directly into the magic tool monster. Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue.
“A Mystical Predator, huh?”
A monster that had grown by greedily devouring the Master of the Great Tower of Ambition.
“Normally, the owner of Lemegeton would have handled you.”
But that coward had long since fled his responsibility through suicide. Kang Jun-hyeok shook his head.
“Fine. Let’s do this until the end.”
* * *
Kang Jun-hyeok fought desperately.
Even with destruction staring him in the face, he did not lose hope. He poured out every ounce of power he had to face the monsters.
But it wasn't enough.
He succeeded in making the Mystical Predator explode from overload, but his mana hit rock bottom.
He succeeded in killing the monster from another dimension, but he had exhausted his Internal Energy.
He succeeded in shaking off the alien insects clinging to him, but his Telekinesis was broken.
Because he had yielded his power to others, he was forced to expend his own life force to compensate for their absence.
This was the result.
[Quest Failed.]
“We lost.”
As he murmured softly, his gaze fell upon one person. A man in a martial arts uniform with long hair—the Number One in Murim. He was meditating with his eyes closed, escaping into his inner world.
Kang Jun-hyeok grimaced. “Useless piece of shit.”
Slice.
Another monster approached silently and took off the Murim master's head. Kang Jun-hyeok let out a dry laugh.
“Hahaha...”
He lost. He lost because of his own weakness, more than anything else.
He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have yielded, thinking they looked like they had no strength to survive, or that they would die if left alone, or that he didn't need the power because he was already strong enough.
He should have devoured everything—every single bit of it. If he had, he could have won.
“You are regretting it.”
“I’m sorry, Great Monk Milarepa. It’s all because I was weak.”
“No. It is not your fault.”
Milarepa, dying in a state similar to Kang Jun-hyeok’s, spoke softly.
“You were simply soft-hearted. You merely felt sympathy for others. If that is called a sin, who in this world would be without sin?”
“Even if that’s true...”
If he hadn't been, they might have won.
Kang Jun-hyeok lamented. Watching him, the monk spoke.
“If the you of now were to return to the past, you would no longer leave any room for regret.”
“It’s already over. It’s just a vain delusion.”
“No. It is not in vain.”
Milarepa slowly approached Kang Jun-hyeok. He reached out and handed him a small gem.
“What are you doing all of a sudden...”
“I am about to reach Nirvana. This is an item I no longer need.” Milarepa smiled brightly. “So, I shall give it to you.”
[Returning Gem]
[Returns the user to the time before the incident occurred.]
Kang Jun-hyeok’s expression shifted as he read the description. “Milarepa?”
“Please, this time, do not make a choice you will regret.”
Milarepa smiled one last time as the life faded from his face.
“...”
Kang Jun-hyeok stared silently at the gem. The monsters were slowly closing in.
“...Regret, is it?”
Grit.
Kang Jun-hyeok gnashed his teeth. Rage flickered in his eyes.
“I have no intention of doing that again.”
[Returning Gem activated.]
[Returning to the time before the incident occurred.]
The world began to rewrite itself. Everything started to spin backward rapidly. The monsters weighing down the world, the figure of Milarepa, and even the Hero still blubbering on the ground—all of it vanished.
And at the end of the void—
“...What is this?”
Kang Jun-hyeok had returned.
To the moment before everything began.