Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: 1st Floor Golden Treasury
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Life is full of ups and downs—like the old saying goes, "Saeongjima," the idiom meaning misfortune may bring fortune, and fortune may bring misfortune.
But there's one contradiction in that saying.
What if a tiny stroke of luck is followed by a massive calamity?
Or if, after a huge misfortune, they toss you a small piece of luck?
Just as everyone's life is different and unfair, luck and misfortune can never be equal.
And for me, misfortune has always overwhelmingly dwarfed any luck I had.
I was born into wealth under parents hailed as heroes and basking in immense popularity.
But before I even turned five, they vanished in the Abyss. Their assets were seized under the label of "traitors," and in the end, my three-year-old sister and I were thrown into an orphanage.
While barely enduring under an orphanage director who ruled through violence and oppression, even my one and only blood relative—my sister—fell victim to an incurable disease of unknown origin.
But by a stroke of heavenly fortune, I awakened.
However, the joy was short-lived. My abilities as a hunter were pathetically weak. All I was allowed was a hand-to-mouth existence, catching goblins day by day without any major incidents.
And in the end, that stroke of luck culminated in my death—a grand misfortune.
.
.
.
.
.
'It's... so comfortable...'
A warmth and coziness, as if I were inside a giant egg, washed over me, and my consciousness gradually sharpened.
Soon after, eyelids I thought would never open again fluttered apart.
"Gasp! Hack! Cough! Cough!"
I spewed out ragged, heaving breaths and bolted upright in bed.
"Wh... where...?"
It was a place as familiar as could be. The tiny rooftop room where I'd lived right before awakening—just big enough for a single body.
"How the hell am I here?"
No, how was I even alive?
Those wounds were definitely fatal. Not even a saintess, known as a miracle-worker, could have saved me from them.
Obviously, no top-rank saintess would ever come to a foreign tutorial zone for recovery.
"Then... regression?"
This was undoubtedly the rooftop room I'd lived in back then.
No chance of confusion or mistake. It was the cheapest place I'd found after hospitalizing my sister and moving.
"No way... actual regression?"
I pulled out my phone and checked the date. Sure enough, a full ten years had rewound.
And right then, as I realized the truth of my regression, system messages popped up as if they'd been waiting.
The Status Window had changed. The question mark that was my unique ability was now visible, and a new category called "Authorities" had appeared.
"Authority—Tower of Gold?"
This had to be...!
Wasn't it the same name as that hidden stage I'd heard right before losing consciousness?
"What the hell is this?"
I could only gape at the inventory window that appeared alongside the messages.
It was literally overflowing with gold and brimming with treasures—a veritable treasury.
The 1st Floor Golden Treasury was packed with infinite resources and potions, from elixirs to countless consumables.
Gulp!
I swallowed hard, rubbed my eyes, and double-checked reality.
"This is insane."
All this was mine?
I scrolled through the message log again, then let out a hollow laugh mixed with pure joy.
"Killed 9,999 of them? Golden Goblins, no less?"
Even one Golden Goblin was said to provide enough money to feed a family for generations.
In the Abyss teeming with countless monsters, they were treated as legendary or mythical beings—rarer than even the constellations.
"In other words, I stormed their hideout, dropped a bomb, stole their house, and looted every treasure they'd hoarded for eons."
But that didn't matter. Monsters and humans were locked in a kill-or-be-killed relationship anyway.
So the system must have acknowledged my claim to the Tower of Gold through this authority.
"With this many coins and mana stones...!!"
I hurriedly reached into the inventory, trying to pull out some of the endless riches.
But the world wasn't that easy.
Purple Coins and above, F-Rank mana stones and higher—everything was locked and couldn't be withdrawn anyway.
All the high-rank items were unselectable, so I'd assumed I could at least take the lowest-grade coins and stones.
"Only one? Seriously?"
The excitement surging to the top of my head deflated in an instant, and curses spilled from my lips.
"Of course. Who did I think I was, expecting too much?"
So how did I increase ownership?
Just as I checked the Status Window for more details—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rooftop room's steel door rattled like it would shatter any second, and a voice that would never leave my mind filled the space.
"Shin Juha! You piece of shit, I know you're in there—open the damn door before we bust it down!"
Bang bang bang!
The door, kicked repeatedly, bent slightly, twisting my face in fury.
"Fuck! Seeing that bastard's face again."
My loathsome nemesis, responsible for 10% of my misfortunes—a loan shark and former high school friend.
"Open up, now!"
I stood and approached the door, recalling the memories.
They'd hounded me mercilessly after I took out a loan for my sister's hospital bills, demanding insane interest rates like a hooked fish.
'Right... it was today.'
The day I officially became their loyal slave.
Before regression, I'd awakened like a birthday gift and, drunk on confidence, confronted the loan sharks.
The result? Utter defeat—I was crushed.
Even if they were non-awakened, they were seasoned fighters, while I had no stats or abilities unlocked—same as before awakening.
They discovered my awakening, and under the pretext of forgiving my debt, I slaved under them for over five years.
If their loan shark ring hadn't accidentally targeted a B-Rank hunter's family and collapsed, I'd have remained their slave until death.
Grind!
Just thinking about it made my teeth clench and rage boil.
'But... I endure!'
This time, I wouldn't go down like that. I steeled myself inwardly and opened the door as it was about to break.
Slam! Thud!
The door flew open, and a flying kick slammed into my gut. I crumpled backward.
"Gah!"
With nothing in my stomach, only bile rose in my throat as I gasped for air. The loan sharks looked down at me like it suited me perfectly.
"Phew~ You reek! Clean yourself up and live like a human, Juha!"
Thud!
As if venting pent-up stress, the kicks kept coming. I closed my eyes and endured the pain.
'Endure... I have to endure!'
I'd regressed, but I still had no power. I could take down these thugs, but I couldn't handle the aftermath.
Loan sharks weren't just these guys—they were mere underlings, nothing more.
So I endured. I couldn't become their dog and scrape the bottom again!
Not until I forged a blade to end them in one stroke—I'd grit my teeth and hold on.
"You're enduring a lot today, Juha. Didn't we tell you to bring the interest on time?"
Kim Moo-sik, the ringleader of these loan sharks, my high school classmate who'd dragged me into this hell, and my personal tormentor, squatted down and met my eyes.
Grind! "You think interest over ten times the principal is reasonable?!"
Of course it was illegal. I knew it, Kim Moo-sik knew it, all of them did.
But what could I do? They had power and influence I lacked.
Slap!
Kim Moo-sik's rough palm struck my cheek.
But I endured. This level of humiliation, this pain—I'd suffered and survived worse.
"So, if you want to save your sister, bring the interest. Ah... I've wanted a taste of her for ages. Here's an idea—sell her to us, and we'll wipe your debt clean. We know where she is and her condition anyway. Just say the word."
"You bastard!"
As my rage flared, he smirked like he'd been waiting—or like this was what he wanted to see—and stood up.
"Say yes? Perfect timing. Boss says this debt's squeezed dry, so wrap it up... Oh, and we'll take care of you and what's left of your sister. We're friends, right? Grateful? Buddy."
Snap!
Something in my head broke.
I could endure pain, insults, disdain aimed at me.
But one thing—mocking my sole family, my everything?
"...Inventory."
"This fucker needs his eyes gouged!"
I shot out one hand and caught Kim Moo-sik's incoming kick. Pain exploded like my bones would shatter, but blazing fury swallowed it. Using his momentum, I hurled him aside and rose.
"Select: Primordial Spring Water."
Kim Moo-sik scrambled up from the floor, face red, glaring murderously.
But I wasn't scared. A Hob Goblin trying to kill me was scarier, and the pain he'd inflicted paled against my sister's suffering.
I uncorked the small vial that appeared in my hand and downed it.
The most valuable item in the 1st Floor Golden Treasury, standing alone at the bottom like royalty, one of the few unlocked mystery consumables.
A heavenly fortune poured down, rivaling the massive misfortune that had crushed me my whole life.
Responding to my single action, my handful of will—inconceivable luck followed.
"You fucker! Die!"
Wishing to dodge the fist coming at me, a small gap in the floorboards caught his foot, sending him tumbling.
Argh!
At the same time, my ordinary punch nailed his vital spot perfectly, knocking him out cold.
"Wha... what the fuck!? L... lucky bastard?"
"Yeah, luck. You damn fucker."
Were they freaked out by my changed demeanor?
Or terrified seeing me perfectly subdue their leader?
Momentum is half the battle. Victory had fully shifted to me.
By my will, their attacks missed entirely; mine struck vitals every time.
Just five slow punches while walking, and I stood alone.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I kept stomping the unconscious Kim Moo-sik, willing every bone to break and leave him crippled for life.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Heaven's luck granted my will, and only then did I steady my ragged breaths and stop.
"Goddamn it!"
I should have endured. Now regret flooded in after the act.
Taking down these five wouldn't end it. The boss's men would come for me once they learned.
And they'd beat me half to death, force me to sign a slave contract.
"No... not this time."
Ptoo!
I spat and turned.
A path to true strength had revealed itself.