The Utterly Useless EX-Rank God's Company
It's a common saying, but would you believe it if it actually existed? A company from God, completely fucking worthless despite being EX-rank.
One day, a cheeky message popped up out of nowhere for a random bunch of people.
Hello, humans. This is God.
Congratulations! You have been selected as an employee of Hunter Stock Company.
Report to the company by the deadline and conquer the 'floors.'
Whether you show up or not is up to you.
But if you don't, you'll die.
At the same time, mysterious buildings sprouted up all over the world like a bad joke.
A building made by 'God' for his amusement.
That was Hunter Stock Company.
Splurt.
Blood gushed from my chest in a torrent.
If I'd at least gone down to the Abyssal Demon King Behemoth, it might've had some dignity.
But the one who did this? Probably some underling's underling's underling.
In other words, a worthless mob not even worth categorizing—and here I was, in this state.
I never imagined it'd come to this.
Back when I first got my Gift, I felt like I owned the world.
An EX-rank Gift, no less. One of the rare chosen ones in the world.
The problem? I had no clue what it did.
Just a bunch of question marks.
And then...
[Activation Condition: Death]
Some Gifts have activation conditions.
Mine? Death.
What the fuck kind of EX-rank Gift is that?!
Twenty years ago, the moment I confirmed that activation condition, I knew the bastard who gave me this Gift—probably 'God'—was just fucking with me.
To watch me despair in my final moments and get his kicks.
And this was that moment.
I never figured out what my ability was, not even at the very end.
"Goddamn Gift..."
Fuck, fuck, fuck...
But I clung to that one condition—death—and fought like hell to survive.
"At least it'll send me to heaven or something!"
Vomiting blood, I swung my sword, trying to take at least one bastard with me to the afterlife.
As death closed in and my vision blurred, I recalled the resolve I'd made twenty years ago.
I never meant to join this company, but since I was here, I'd aim for the top.
The top, my ass... If this was how it ended, what the hell was the point of my life?
If I'd at least gotten one spirit pill.
Or a decent ascending martial arts manual.
I wouldn't have gone out so pathetically.
I want to live.
You have died.
Activation condition fulfilled.
Reincarnator (EX) Gift activates.
I'm alive.
Or rather, I've come back to life?
I was stunned at first.
What the hell was happening to me?
And I'd regressed to my first day at the company.
I stared blankly at the hologram window floating in front of me.
—Reincarnator (EX)
—Mental Strength (C)
I had two Gifts in total.
I tapped the details for more info.
Mental Strength (C): Your mind does not wear down.
Reincarnator (EX): Regress upon death.
Straightforward explanations.
After actually dying once, I finally understood why the activation condition had to be death.
Everything clicked.
And it felt so damn hollow.
Twenty years in my previous life, busting my ass to figure out my Gift.
All for nothing.
But...
I'm alive.
I've come back.
I know my ability now.
This is my second chance.
Psssh!
Suddenly, a fountain of blood sprayed, snapping me back to reality.
A yellow-haired young man was dying in front of me, his throat slit open.
"...Gasp!"
"Wh-what the hell?"
The rookie employees around me, still reeling in confusion, all sucked in their breaths.
"Gurgle... Heh, heh heh heh..."
The yellow-hair died with a mad glint in his eyes, as if mocking the bastard who slit his throat—or the world itself.
Why the creepy grin when death was staring him down?
Crazy fucker.
The killer casually licked the blood from his hand and spoke to us rookies standing before him.
"Talk shit like that again, and you'll end up the same. Got it?"
Sharp fangs gleamed.
His golden irises narrowed into vertical slits, black pupils chilling.
"Yes."
"Y-yes..."
"Yes, sir!"
All we could do was nod.
And why not? He was the department head of the Safety Planning Department, the one I'd soon belong to.
New hires at Hunter Stock Company get assigned to one of six departments.
To a lowly intern like me, the department head was like a god.
A vampire.
That was his true nature.
I glanced around.
All sorts of people, especially demi-humans, caught my eye.
Folks in martial robes straight out of a wuxia novel.
A pointy-eared race in robes covered in geometric patterns.
No cosplay bullshit.
Beings from all sorts of worlds, all drafted into Hunter Stock Company from their homes.
The department head scanned us rookies, clicked his tongue, and spoke.
"Tch. No decent ones this batch. I'll take half."
He gestured, splitting the group in two.
And just like that, I was assigned to the Safety Planning Department again.
No complaints.
Even if they'd given me a choice, I'd have picked it anyway.
A few days after rookie orientation.
Intern-rank hunter in the Safety Planning Department at Hunter Stock Company 17th Branch.
That was my status once more.
"Jeongha."
I was eating in the company cafeteria when a woman called me.
Choi Heejeong. My fellow newbie.
She had a tragic fate ahead.
She'd die soon after joining.
Despite having a pretty decent Gift, she'd gotten herself killed on the first raid.
"Jeongha?"
Lost in thought, I spaced out, so she called again.
"Oh, yeah. Heejeong."
"Mind if I sit?"
"Go ahead."
She was already sitting.
We got close for no real reason.
On the first day, during department picks, she'd approached me as the calmest-looking rookie.
Eventually, like everyone else, she accepted her fate.
Not fully, but close enough.
"What're you doing this afternoon?"
"Conquering Underground Floor 10?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
We had to.
Fail to clear a floor in time, and it's 'restructuring'—aka, you're fired. Permanently.
The company doesn't need employees who give up on stages.
I gave a half-assed reply.
"Gotta do it. The esteemed department head commands it."
Here, rank is the law.
"Where're you from, Jeongha? I'm from Modern Seoul."
Her face lit up, hoping I was from the same place.
So Choi Heejeong was from my Earth too.
I could feel the sudden camaraderie brewing.
As I opened my mouth to answer—
Crunch!
"Ow!"
She winced, clutching her jaw.
Looked like she'd bitten a pebble in the rice gruel.
Irritated, she grumbled.
"We seriously gotta eat this slop every day? When we're about to risk our lives fighting?"
I shrugged.
"Promote, and you'll get better grub."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
I subtly nodded toward the department head-types in the distance.
She peeked at his tray and nodded, convinced.
"Oh... Yeah, definitely."
His plate was a feast, leagues beyond intern slop.
Of course, in my previous life, I'd never tasted that in twenty years.
I stared at the department head's gourmet meal and vowed never to chew gravel in porridge again.
While chatting with Choi Heejeong, I checked my specs.
"My info."
[Gifts]
— Reincarnator (EX)
— Mental Strength (C)
There was one odd thing about my [My Info].
My stats were exactly the same as right before I died in my previous life.
Twenty years prior, all my stats had been F (0/0).
Regressing should've reset Gongryeok and Maryeok to F (0/0) too.
Was it telling me to keep dying to grow?
I didn't get it, but hey, it worked out.
Who knows how many regressions I get anyway.
This might be the last one.
So here I was, at a crossroads.
Whether to hit Underground Floor 10, like Choi Heejeong brought up.
She asked again.
"So, what'll you do? Underground Floor 10."
"Gotta go."
I've always charged ahead on grit and guts to make up for my shitty talent.
Now I was starting ahead of my previous life.
I had to seize this chance and push further—even if this extra life was my last.
What was on Underground Floor 10 again?
Twenty years ago—memories fuzzy.
"You two."
The department head hunter called me and Choi Heejeong.
"Yes?"
"Clean up the corpse outside. Now."
"Got it."
"Okay."
Like I said, rank is law here.
We headed to the lobby and stood before the yellow-hair's body.
Why was it still there?
Left as a warning for a few days.
"Ugh..."
Choi Heejeong grimaced.
"At least the blood didn't leak everywhere."
Deep gash across the throat, but no blood around.
Like someone drained it all.
This yellow-hair died the exact same way twenty years ago in my previous life.
Acted like a punk during department picks.
A more pathetic dog death than me or Choi Heejeong.
I approached the feet.
"I'll grab the ankles."
She took the hands.
Hauling the corpse to the incinerator, I racked my brain about Underground Floor 10.
Then it hit me, eyes flashing.
Right.
Underground Floor 10 had that.
The supreme spirit pill to bolster my meager talent.
Said to rival Public Clarity Oil.
The inner core of the Floor 10 boss monster, Jade Legged Blood Hand!
Get that, and my stats skyrocket in one go.