Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Speed of Light
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Efficiency.
That's my motto. My religion.
I grind nutritional shakes in a blender to save even the time it takes to eat—downed in 10 seconds flat—and handle my business in exactly one minute because even that's too precious to waste.
Games? Story drags? Deleted. Dramas? Frustrating stretch hits? Spam the 10-second skip at double speed and bail.
Life is short.
Cutting out needless waste—that's the only way a broke nobody like me claws victory from this brutal world.
"So, this is the payoff from your 'efficient' life?"
My childhood friend—and Korea's youngest S-Rank Hunter—Yoo Na-yeon propped her chin and asked.
I stripped the meat off a chicken leg with chopsticks in 0.5 seconds and shoveled it into my mouth as I replied.
"Why? What's wrong with delivery gigs? Shortest-route math, lightning-fast drops, fat commission per package. Perfect match for my vibe."
"No, what I'm saying is! With your physical specs, retake the Hunter aptitude test. Twenty-five's not too late—there's still a shot!"
Yoo Na-yeon chugged her 500cc beer mug like it was water, as if her gut was exploding.
Gulp, gulp. Her throat bobbed refreshingly.
A household name across Korea.
The Flame Empress Yoo Na-yeon draws crowds just strolling the street, yet here she was, boozing with me in the dingy corner of a neighborhood chicken shack.
Simple reason: I'm the only one she can vent to without a filter.
"Heeey, Sang-hyuk. I'm worried about youuu... urp."
She's hammered.
Awaken now? Yeah, right.
Odds after twenty-five? One percent.
I tsked and checked my wristwatch.
8:30 PM. Thirty minutes to home, shower, bed. Ditching now maxes efficiency for tomorrow's dawn run.
"C'mon, up you go. You're wasted. I'll get you home."
"Nooo! Not drunk! Drink this! Real pricey stuff... smuggled it outta a Gate just for you... hic."
Yoo Na-yeon fished a shady purple potion from her chest and dumped it into my half-full beer.
Bubble bubble.
Eerie purple foam bubbling up—straight-up "express to the afterlife" vibes.
"What's this?"
"Hehe. Secret. Drink and see. Power surge incoming? Even our guild master's begging for it."
Hmm. Gate-smuggled? Elixir stock maybe?
Normal folks would balk, but I grabbed the glass, no hesitation.
Two reasons.
One: Yoo Na-yeon harming me? Impossible. Over ten years, she's a total pushover for me.
Two: Chug it, placate her, hustle her home—nets me time.
"Down the hatch."
Gulp, gulp.
Hit my throat like fire, then a scorching bloom erupted in my gut.
Like cramming a mini reactor inside.
"...Huh?"
The world stopped.
No—slowed to a crawl.
Ceiling fan blades froze mid-spin. Dust motes in the light hung like a paused frame.
Yoo Na-yeon across from me—mouth agape, staring blankly—shattered into 0.0001-second frames.
EX-Rank? Swiftness?
Time snapped back, and a eardrum-shattering roar erupted from outside.
BOOM!!
The shop's floor-to-ceiling window shattered, shards spraying everywhere.
But to my eyes? Glacially slow.
Glass chunks crawled slower than slugs.
I flicked my head, shifted my body—dodged 'em easy.
CRASH!
Time flowed normal again.
"Kyaaah!!"
"Dungeon Break!"
I turned. A massive shadow burst from a space-tear.
'Ogre?'
Three meters easy, red-skinned brute.
Clutching a streetlamp ripped from asphalt instead of a club—swinging dead at Yoo Na-yeon's crown.
She's S-Rank. But flame-mage DPS build.
Mage durability? Laughable next to other S-Ranks.
Unbuffed like now? Barely civilian-plus.
Eat that raw swing? Head pops like a melon.
'Gotta save her.'
Body beat thought.
Whoosh—
Already wedged between her and the ogre.
Didn't even feel my feet launch.
Body light as down.
Teleport feel like this?
"GRRAAAH!!"
Ogre smashed down with the lamppost.
Yawn-level slow to me.
Leisure to count navel hairs. I balled my fist.
'How to hit back? No weapon.'
Flash: some NewTube thumbnail.
Speed equals mass equals force.
Ever taken a light-speed punch? Jang Gu-gun?
Feather jab at light speed? Tactical nuke.
Power control? Nah—awakened under a minute ago.
Light taps, tons of 'em?
I threw punches.
Target: solar plexus.
One.
Two.
Three.
...
Million.
Ten million.
Senses said about one second.
Landed roughly 100 million to its solar plexus.
Overkill? Arm's tingling.
"Hoo."
Bored yawn, casual step back.
Time normalized. World shrieked.
BOOMMMM—!!!
"GRAAACK?!"
Ogre's yelp? Instant.
Drowned by bomb-blast roar. Three-meter torso? Gone. Vaporized.
Aimed to topple it, but 100 million hits pinpoint? Power off the charts.
Body atomized cell by cell.
'Fist fine, though. Eh, who cares.'
WHOOOOSH!
Belated shockwave ravaged the shop.
Tables flipping, glass exploding—total chaos. I screened Yoo Na-yeon, swatted the dust storm aside.
Hand-block a dust hurricane? Works, apparently.
Clink.
Red mana stone hit the floor, rolled.
Decent size.
Silence...
Customers, cowering part-timer who'd bolted to the corner post-fight, half-sloshed Yoo Na-yeon.
All jaws on floors, eyes ping-ponging between the ogre's headless legs and me, unscathed.
"...Sang-hyuk?"
Yoo Na-yeon lurched up, staggering.
Drunk haze gone—pupils quaking like a 7.0 quake.
First bar-ogre raid for an S-Rank, huh.
"S-Sang-hyuk...? That... you did that?"
"Yeah. Nothing much."
I brushed dust off my clothes, nonchalant.
Ah, home for bed—but clothes toast.
Dusty too. Deep clean? Time sink.
"N-Nothing? That's a Red Ogre—A-Rank mutant! A-Rank party's raid boss!"
"Dunno. Pissed me off, smacked it."
Snagged the mana stone, lobbed it to her.
Chicken tab covered.
Can't claim drops unregistered anyway.
"Sleepy. Heading out. Work tomorrow."
"Hey! Hey! Lee Sang-hyuk! Freeze!"
Her shouts trailed, but I tuned out.
Pushed through the door.
Shattered window shortcut, but whatever.
Swoosh—
Instant.
Body at my front door.
Two klicks. 0.3 seconds.
No crowds or junk? 0.1 easy.
"...Whoa."
Keyed the lock, lips curled.
Delivery grind? Pure cake now.
Next day, 5 AM.
Clocked in at the logistics center, business as usual.
Dungeons pay better? Sure. Riskier too.
Dungeons are wild cards—what happens inside? No clue.
"Heroes" and "saintesses" biting it pointless ain't rare.
TV's current big shots? Mk16 chumps at best.
"Yo, Sang-hyuk? You're beasts lately—dial it back today? Newbie assist yesterday wrecked you, right?"
Manager Kim rubbed sleepy eyes, asked.
By my one-ton Porter—nickname "Hani"—I shook my head.
"Nah. Just 2,000 today."
"What? How many?"
"Not my rig. Lend an 11-ton semi—load it full, done by tonight."
Kim's eyes bugged.
Drivers max 200-300 daily.
My target? Different league.
"Run that by me again."
"About 2,000."
"T-Two thousand? Insane? Today? Humanly...!"
Today? Morning wrap-up.
"On me. Peak condition."
Figured me nuts, tsked—but my dead-serious beg got the spare semi loaded to gills.
E- or F-Rank laborers common. Pegged me same.
"Even Awakener'd struggle... Fine. Your call—I'll trust ya."