Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Reborn Through Regeneration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Cough….”
Blood surged up from my mouth and poured out.
That wasn’t all. There wasn’t a single inch of my body left unscathed. These were injuries that would have killed an ordinary person—no, even a decent hunter—long ago.
“Damn it…. Is this where it ends….”
Gates had broken all over the world at once, unleashing hordes of monsters. I wish I could say I’d fought an S-Rank Monster, but I was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill hunter who had to risk his life just to take down an A-Rank Monster, let alone an S-Rank.
One of the few remaining defense bases in Korea was where I’d been stationed, and a swarm of undead had come charging in. To stop them, every available fighter had been urgently mobilized that evening.
I’d love for this to end with us barely defeating the enemy in a desperate last stand and bringing peace back to Earth. But reality had been brutal. In the end, after a fierce battle, the undead, the hunters, and the soldiers—all of us—died right here.
Thanks to my Regeneration Skill, I was the only one who lasted until the end, fighting on more tenaciously than the undead themselves.
One of our A-Rank Hunters had sacrificed himself to deal a fatal blow to the Death Knight, the leader of the invading undead forces. Seizing that opening, I struck from behind and barely managed to finish it off. But the Death Knight—one of the strongest among A-Rank Monsters—didn’t go down easy. Even as its body shattered under my attack, it counterattacked, leaving me with wounds beyond recovery.
“Hoo…. If only I’d figured out how to use my skill a little sooner, I wouldn’t be dying here.”
As death closed in, all I could feel was regret over my ignorance and weakness. I’d awakened the F-Rank Regeneration Skill but wasted five years without realizing its infinite potential. And even after I did, I didn’t give it my all. I was content with what I had and too cautious to push my abilities, neglecting to grow them. The past year, I’d thrashed about desperately, but it was too late.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Even if I survived here, the world’s done for.”
Monsters were flying through the skies everywhere, and deafening roars echoed from all directions.
The undead horde we’d fought was just the tip of the iceberg compared to the monster legions flooding the Earth. From the broken Gates, S-Rank Monsters were pouring out one after another—ones that even hordes of S- or A-Rank Hunters would struggle against.
My mother, my comrades—all gone. In a world without hope anyway, I had no will left to live.
With everything abandoned, my eyes began to drift shut.
[Your Regeneration Skill has leveled up from B to EX.]
“What? EX-Rank?”
My drooping eyes snapped open at the alert.
[No resources available to regenerate nearby Awakeners’ bodies.]
[Regenerating your life.]
“What does that….”
Before I could grasp the situation, darkness began swallowing my vision.
* * *
“Gasp!”
Like Neo awakening to the real world in The Matrix, I bolted upright from my bed.
Drenched in cold sweat, I scanned my surroundings.
“My old place?”
It was the tiny studio apartment I’d shared with a friend during my senior year of college. Always damp, it reeked of mildew.
“Hey, what’s with all the noise?”
Beside me, my friend Jaewon grumbled, still wrapped up like a caterpillar in his blanket.
“Huh? Jaewon?”
“What, man? Let me sleep. What time is it? Six?! You crazy bastard, why are you up causing a racket already?”
Jaewon checked his phone for the time, irritation etched on his face as he pulled the blanket over his head.
I tore my gaze from Jaewon and looked down at my body, feeling my cheeks and belly.
Soft and squishy—the pre-awakening body of someone who’d avoided exercise and drowned in booze. The apartment where I’d lived for just one year of college. And Jaewon, who’d die a few years later in the Gate incident.
“Regenerating my life meant sending me back to the past?”
I went to the fridge, pulled out a two-liter bottle of cold water, chugged it straight, and slumped to the floor.
Staring blankly into space, I sorted through my thoughts on what had happened.
“Ah!”
A sudden realization hit me mid-daze, and I yelled out without thinking.
“Hey! Let me sleep!”
Jaewon hurled a pillow at me.
“Man…. Touchy.”
Dodging his cranky swipe, I grabbed my phone and headed to the balcony.
“Mom.”
Repeated Gate accidents had claimed countless lives, including my mother’s. If I’d truly regressed, she’d still be alive.
With trembling hands, I tapped the top contact in my phone: Mom.
Heart pounding, I waited through the ringing tones until she picked up.
“Hello? Son, what’s up? Calling me and all?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Huh? That’s sweet of you. But Mom’s at work right now—can you call back later?”
While her lazy son slept in after binge-drinking, Mom had started her day early. Thinking of how she’d toiled until her death in my previous life to support her worthless kid filled me with guilt.
“Yeah. Everything okay?”
“What do you mean? You’re the one acting weird.”
“Nothing’s up. Just woke up and thought of you.”
My voice shook, my vision blurred, but I gritted my teeth to hold back the sobs. The last two years before my death had been pure hell—I thought my tears and emotions had dried up for good. But hearing Mom’s voice again brought them surging back.
“Silly boy. Still, it’s nice hearing from you. I’m busy now, so call when I’m off work later, okay~”
A son who only asked for allowance and never once showed filial piety, yet she was happy just to hear my voice. My throat tightened.
I hung up and stared at my phone for a while.
“Get it together.”
Coming back to the past didn’t guarantee a rosy life ahead. If I couldn’t stop what was coming, hell awaited me and all humanity.
I couldn’t prevent everything, but at least the worst outcomes. And I had to protect the people around me.
Grabbing a pen and notebook, I sat at the desk and jotted down every event from my previous life I could recall. I didn’t want to miss even the smallest detail.
“What are you doing up so early?”
After about an hour of racking my brain and filling the notebook, Jaewon yawned as he approached.
“Been a while.”
Seeing his sleepy face brought a smile to mine. I couldn’t even remember the last time we’d had such an ordinary morning.
“What nonsense? Did you drink too much yesterday?”
Jaewon squinted at me suspiciously, his hungover face scrunched up.
“Something like that.”
“Weirdo…. Ramen?”
“Sure. Make it spicy.”
As we ate the ramen Jaewon cooked, he checked his phone and clicked his tongue.
“What’s up?”
“Rejected again.”
We were both job hunting at this time, but with graduation looming, neither of us had landed anything yet. I’d awakened and quit the hunt, while Jaewon got a job at a small company shortly after.
“It’ll work out. Don’t worry.”
I reassured him. I knew he’d get hired soon.
“What’s with you? Acting all mature—it doesn’t suit you.”
Normally, we’d both be moping together, so my different reaction caught him off guard.
I’d lived over ten years beyond my current age, after all. And not in peace—years of risking my life on battlefields. If that hadn’t matured me mentally even a bit, that’d be the real problem.
“Just got a good feeling today, that’s all.”
“Hope so. I’m heading out first—do the dishes.”
Jaewon sighed, his frustration lingering, and got up.
“Yeah, see you later.”
November 7, 2023.
Watching him leave, I checked the date on my phone again. I remembered clearly: I’d awakened before heading to school that day, cheering alone in excitement.
“Might as well wait.”
While waiting to awaken, I kept scribbling memories into the notebook.
Soon, a pleasant chime rang out, and a translucent screen appeared before my eyes.
[System Alert: You have awakened.]
[Skill Acquired: Regeneration (F).]
The moment had arrived. The chance to start over. Staring at the translucent window, my heart raced as I spoke.
“Status window.”
At the familiar command, a screen materialized.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Lee Ji-seok
Class: None
Level: 1
Strength 4, Vitality 5, Agility 3, Intelligence 6, HP 50, Mana 28
Skills: Regeneration F
------------------------------------------------------------------
I scanned the status window and tapped the Regeneration skill below for details.
[Regeneration (F): Regenerates the body.]
“To waste such a great skill like that…. You idiot.”
The F-Rank Regeneration Skill only regenerated damaged cells for recovery. It wasn’t fast enough to heal combat wounds instantly, and bigger injuries than its capacity could kill you before it kicked in.
Classes provided bonuses to stats or skills, but I had none. To top it off, my stats were so low, it was hard to tell if I was a regular person or an Awakener.
That’s why I couldn’t join the hunters’ glory in combat and spent five whole years as a porter.
I’d considered a normal job, but in a Gate-centered world, portering paid better short-term than some awkward office gig. Plus, lingering hope that my abilities might improve kept me from quitting.
If not for that near-fatal accident inside a Gate—where my skill didn’t level up—I’d probably have stayed a porter until death.
“I was too scared.”
Regeneration only leveled with injuries, but looking back, I hadn’t suffered any major ones in five years—good luck or bad, it didn’t matter. No growth. And no one else had the skill for advice.
This time would be different. No more wasting years. My resolve now differed from before. Back then, the tide was too big for one person; I’d given up. Now, there was real potential.
Before Earth turned to chaos again, mountains of things needed stopping.
And that wasn’t all. How many dirty jobs had I endured for lack of money? I wanted Mom to stop suffering and live comfortably.
To do all that—and more—I needed to power up fast.
First: registration. Had to register as an Awakener, become a hunter, then enter Gates.
I threw on some clothes and stepped outside into a chilly breeze.
From the bus stop near the apartments, I boarded a bus to the city’s Awakener Management Bureau.
“I really came back.”
Gazing out the window at intact buildings lining the streets, it finally sank in.
After a short walk from the bus stop, the Bureau came into view. Fitting for the Gate era, it was massive—flush with budget.
I stared for a moment, then walked inside.