The Dream Demon God's Gift
“Hngh?!”
A short scream escaped as his eyes snapped open. At the same time, a biting winter wind swept over his body.
“Th-this is……”
Seo Joo-hwan's hands trembled as he took in the scene before him. Young men in their twenties, dressed in familiar military camouflage, stared at him with puzzled looks. To make matters worse, they were all holding K-2 rifles.
“Sergeant Seo, what's wrong?”
“Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan?”
Voices called out from all directions. He spotted young men with diagonal streaks of brown, black, and green camouflage cream smeared across their faces. The sight of that damn camo cream made curses spill from his lips unbidden.
“Fuck.”
He had to admit it.
Yeomra, you son of a bitch……
He had regressed back into active duty as a soldier.
*
Before his regression, Seo Joo-hwan was a man who had no luck whatsoever due to a karmic error that had been wrongly assigned to him. In other words, he was plagued by misfortune, which also meant he had no share in strokes of good fortune. Because of this, he was cautious in everything, never relying on luck, and always striving to prove himself through skill. People called him overly careful, but that caution gave his abilities stability and minimized minor errors. Even so, his innate misfortune prevented him from receiving proper recognition……
Anyway, the old Seo Joo-hwan had been like that. But now, he was making mistake after mistake.
Not only were his movements sluggish and unhurried like a recruit's, he was standing blankly in the middle of the path as if he had no idea what to do, even blocking others. It was inevitable that the company commander would eventually snap.
“Seo Joo-hwan, what the hell are you doing?!”
Her high-pitched voice rang out sharply. In a military full of men, a woman's shrill tone immediately drew all eyes. Realizing her own mistake, Jeong So-ra pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration.
“Haa.”
She had always avoided using her naturally high-pitched voice in the military collective. Especially in bad situations like this, she was extra careful. As a woman in the army, there were all sorts of things to watch out for. Jeong So-ra spoke again in a calmer tone.
“Joo-hwan, you're the senior sergeant and squad leader. Where the hell did you leave your head? You're not rebelling on purpose, are you? What, pissed off about training in your last days so you can't even function?”
Her voice had lowered, but her tone grew even sharper. Even the soldiers who weren't the target shrank back. Just a few weeks ago, some seniors from another company had tried using their vacation during training week and gotten royally chewed out.
Regressing right into getting yelled at, huh.
From Seo Joo-hwan's perspective, it was incredibly unfair. Until moments ago, he'd been envisioning a bright future in his regressed life. But suddenly, he was thrown back to his military days—right in the middle of winter training, no less. And for some reason, his whole body ached like he'd been beaten. Anyone would have blanked out in that situation.
“No, ma'am! Sorry!”
But this was the army, and the army didn't care about personal sob stories. Right now, the only right answer was to apologize without excuses.
“You… Never mind. Pull yourself together and finish sorting.”
“Yes, ma'am! I'll get it together!”
“You answer well enough. Act well too, for once.”
“Yes, ma'am! I'll act right!”
“Fine, go help the guys already.”
“Ma'am, yes ma'am!”
“……”
She let out a hollow laugh, deflated by his cheeky salute and energy.
Did he have this side to him?
Puzzled by the unfamiliar sight for a moment, she quickly joined in sorting the supplies.
*
Seo Joo-hwan moved with fervor to make up for his blunder. Seeing their top senior hustle like a newbie spurred the juniors on, speeding everything up. Thanks to that, they finished sorting quickly. Satisfied with the unexpectedly swift work, Jeong So-ra announced,
“Everyone, good work. Head to the barracks, unpack, and wash off your camo. Shower order will be broadcast from the command post—follow that.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
“Joo-hwan, you unpack and come down to report any issues.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Jeong So-ra headed to the command post, and the soldiers went up to the barracks. As Seo Joo-hwan turned to follow, someone grabbed him.
Looking back, it was a soldier who'd been sorting with him.
“Sergeant Seo, send the kids ahead and smoke one with me?”
They were in the same company, so the face was familiar. But from Seo Joo-hwan's view, it had been ten years— he didn't recognize him right away. Only after seeing the rank and name did it click.
Lee Jeong-hoon? Oh, Jeong-hoon hyung!
Lee Jeong-hoon was a junior by four months but three years older. One of the few people Seo Joo-hwan had genuinely liked during service. Though after discharge, they'd drifted after a few contacts from Seo Joo-hwan's side.
Click.
They lit up and took deep drags. Seo Joo-hwan let out a satisfied groan at the taste of his first post-resurrection cigarette. Seeing it, Lee Jeong-hoon laughed.
“Haha, that good? Yeah, smokes after training are the best. Right?”
“Yeah. All that frustration just melts away.”
Seo Joo-hwan took the casual speech in stride—it was around this time they'd dropped formalities. When alone, he used polite speech with the older man, despite Lee Jeong-hoon's insistence otherwise; the age gap made it more comfortable.
“But hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“You didn't call me just to smoke, did you?”
“……That obvious?”
“Well, the others are smoking too, but you picked me specifically.”
“Haha, nothing big. Just… cheer up. Don't sweat getting chewed out in front of the kids.”
Lee Jeong-hoon grinned awkwardly and patted his shoulder encouragingly. Watching him, old memories flooded back to Seo Joo-hwan.
Jeong-hoon hyung always looked out for me.
Technically, Seo Joo-hwan was the senior and squad leader, but three years was three years. Back then, he was squad leader in name only, quite withdrawn during service.
With misfortune dogging me like a curse, living together over a year……
Bad rumors were inevitable. Seniors and officers chewed him out plenty, and juniors avoided him. Without Lee Jeong-hoon watching his back, insubordination might've happened.
But now's Seo Joo-hwan was different. Pre-regression, he'd been 32, with some corporate experience. Crucially, the curse-like misfortune was gone.
Shrugging it off casually, he said,
“I'm fine. It was my fault anyway.”
“……Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, then……”
“Haha, no need to make a fuss. Everyone gets yelled at for screwing up sometimes.”
Lee Jeong-hoon looked surprised. The Seo Joo-hwan he knew couldn't brush things off so easily.
“Let's head up. Late report means I get it again.”
“Oh, right.”
Lee Jeong-hoon watched Seo Joo-hwan dash off with a puzzled expression.
*
Seo Joo-hwan adapted quickly, accepting reality. Now, after reporting and showering, he lay in the barracks.
Regressing as a sergeant? Could've been worse.
Yeomra Daewang could've given him just one more year—disaster. Better to see it as a chance to sort his thoughts calmly for mental health.
That thing earlier, though? Something about a system……
He recalled the regression moment. Right after, a message had popped up. The real reason he'd blanked.
Oh, same name as the demon god. Rust System or something……
> [Update complete.]
> [Lust System partially activated.]
> [Status window activated.]
> [Start package received.]
> [Tutorial quest arrived.]
『Learn About the System (1)』
▶ Open your inventory and use the start package.
Reward: None.
His eyes widened at the sudden messages. Calming himself, Seo Joo-hwan sat up.
“Guys, if anyone's looking for me, say I went to the bathroom.”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
In the bathroom, he checked the messages again.
Come to think of it, the demon god said he'd give a gift.
This system seemed to be it. He decided to follow the instructions.
“Inventory.”
> [Only items obtained through the system can be stored in the inventory.]
> [Items can be used just by thinking, without opening the inventory.]
Use start package.
The messages flew up relentlessly. The last one extended the previous quest.
『Learn About the System (2)』
▶ Check items and blessings from the package.
▶ Use items from the package.
▶ Check status window, skills, blessings, talents.
Reward: None.
The quest was detailed and user-friendly, like a game tutorial. Seo Joo-hwan followed step by step.
Use random skill box.
Pheromone?
Hard to tell from the name alone. While checking, he pulled up every available window.
Seo Joo-hwan's eyes darted nonstop, absorbing the info. Luckily a fast reader, he finished quickly. But no sooner had he than a new message appeared.
『Activate the Lust System!』
▶ The Lust System is not fully activated.
▶ Fully activate the Lust System to unlock locked functions.
Achievement Condition: Have sex with any woman.
Additional Condition: Have sex with a woman excluding prostitutes.
▶ Reward: Full system activation.
▶ Additional Reward: 1,000 LP.
“Haha……”
Seo Joo-hwan finally let out a hollow laugh.
I've hit the jackpot.
The abilities and blessings already obtained were amazing, and there were hidden functions too. Bewilderment faded into excitement—what else was there? His heart pounded like he'd won the lottery.
But why's the quest condition like that?
Come to think, it wasn't just any demon god, but the Dream Demon God. And the system's name was Lust.
……Gonna have to go on leave and hit up a brothel?
Of course, he was a lifelong virgin. At 30, he couldn't even pitch a tent—what more to say? At least now he was pre-erectile dysfunction. Small mercies.