Time Rewinds
Over a hundred hunters surrounded him.
Every single one of them had gathered to kill Dojin.
Dojin regarded the man standing before him with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Why?”
The man Dojin addressed was Kang Seungho, Guild Master of Red Circle, Korea’s foremost hunter guild.
“You already know.”
Seungho smiled faintly beneath the umbrella his secretary held for him. He flicked the cigarette he had been smoking onto the ground.
“What a waste. You were truly useful.”
His gaze toward Dojin turned cold.
Dojin’s eyes likewise sank into icy stillness.
“Money… fame… You’re doing all this for something so trivial?”
Seungho had orchestrated dungeon breaks at precisely the right moments to disguise the deaths as accidents. Even when the monsters could have been completely eradicated, he had chosen not to. If dungeons and monsters vanished, the hunters’ influence would diminish. Yet Seungho shook his head.
“It’s not trivial at all.”
“……?”
Seungho continued at once.
“Money and fame. That is the entirety of this world.”
With those words, he glanced at the subordinates around him.
“I wonder if you can survive even here.”
Seungho looked at Dojin.
“If you do survive, come and put a blade to my throat. I’ll be waiting.”
Then he turned away.
“Kill him!”
At the shout, over a hundred hunters charged toward Dojin.
The first to reach him, a one-eyed man, bellowed with glee.
“Heh heh heh! Finally, the day has come to gouge out your eyes!”
He was an A-Class hunter of Red Circle, possessing both a cruel temperament and strength befitting his rank. Yet before his sword could even touch Dojin—
Thud!
Dojin twisted his body just enough to evade the strike and drove his dagger into the man’s neck.
“Ghk……!”
A grotesque, bubbling sound escaped as the one-eyed hunter’s face twisted in despair. He had never imagined he would fall so meaninglessly.
Shhhk!
When Dojin withdrew the dagger, blood gushed forth. He raised the blood-slicked blade and swept his gaze across the surrounding hunters.
“What are you waiting for? Come at me.”
His eyes were overwhelmingly oppressive. There was no thick killing intent, no fierce aura. It was simply a chilling, emotionless stare that made the hunters flinch.
“K-kill him! Even if he’s strong, he’s alone!”
“Aaaaargh!”
“Die!”
The battle resumed.
More than an hour had passed.
Dojin pulled the sword that had pierced his chest free. Its owner already lay dead on the ground, surrounded by dozens of other corpses.
Thud.
One of Dojin’s knees hit the floor. Over thirty hunters remained, yet none dared approach him. His gaze alone was enough to chill their blood, and the fact that he showed no change in expression despite the sword wound through his chest was terrifying. Still—
Thud.
Dojin finally collapsed completely, strength leaving his body.
‘……I finally found him.’
He should have killed that man. Falling like this without finishing the job was unacceptable. Dojin tried to rise, but no matter how hard he strained, he could not even move a finger.
Thus—
Shhhhhhh!
Beneath the pouring winter rain, Dojin felt his consciousness slipping away.
* * *
Would you like to enter the Awakening Room?
Ha Dojin stared at the message floating before his eyes, unable to hide his bewilderment.
What on earth……
“What happened……? I was clearly……”
Dojin recalled the fierce battle. A hundred elite guards. He had slain more than half, yet in the end he had been unable to overcome the numerical disadvantage. He had been stabbed by the sword of the man who could be called Kang Seungho’s right hand……
“What exactly happened?”
Dojin looked around with a confused expression. He was inside a small studio apartment, barely ten pyeong in size. He knew exactly where this was.
And this message—
Would you like to enter the Awakening Room?
Dojin glanced at the smartphone lying beside him. The date displayed on the screen—
『2024. 01. 01.』
“January 1st, 2024……?”
Dojin’s eyebrows twitched. The year 2024 had been the one that dealt him the greatest shock of his life. In March 2024, a dungeon break had taken his entire family. Yet the date before him was January 2024……?
“No way……”
He did not know the reason, but his heart began pounding as though he had swallowed some strange drug, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Thud.
Dojin dropped the phone. As he reached for it—
His hands shook violently.
Ten years. That was how long he had lived as an assassin. In that time, his emotions had grown almost completely numb. Was it because he had regressed? Or because the family that had been his entire world had come to mind? His emotions refused to be controlled.
‘Calm down…… calm down……’
Dojin clenched both fists tightly and closed his eyes. After repeating the words dozens of times, the trembling gradually subsided.
“Hoo……!”
After exhaling deeply, Dojin picked up the phone and opened his contacts. One name stood out—
『Mom』
He pressed the call button.
Ring…… ring……
Without a doubt, time had never moved so slowly in all his life. One second…… two seconds…… three seconds…… The longer it dragged on, the drier his lips felt. There was no way his deceased mother would answer. Yet—
—Hello?
“Mom……? Is that you, Mom?”
—Yes, son. What’s wrong?
It was the voice he had wanted to hear again even in his dreams. In that instant, Dojin felt something trail down his cheek.
‘Tears?’
Wiping his face, he steadied his emotions and spoke.
“Ah…… Mom. What were you doing?”
—What else? Your father wanted to get some fresh air since it’s the first day of the new year, so we went out.
“Ah…… Really? Mom, happy new year. Tell Dad too.”
If the call lasted any longer, something inside him would burst. Dojin hurriedly ended the call and stared blankly downward.
“So…… I really came back.”
Dojin raised his head and looked at the message floating before him.
Would you like to enter the Awakening Room?
Dojin had entered the Awakening Room on January 1st, 2025. He had passed the trial with the intent to die and become an Awakened. But now……
Crash!
Dojin suddenly began pulling paper and a pen from a drawer as though possessed, scribbling furiously. If he had truly ‘regressed’ to the past, then everything that was going to happen would happen again. Therefore, the first thing he had to do was—
‘Stop the dungeon break.’
The dungeon break that had occurred in a remote area of Yongin had been massive, on a scale never before seen. It had killed everyone in the vicinity.
“I won’t let it happen again.”
Dojin began listing every major incident he could recall. Anything he could not remember precisely, he noted roughly, along with approximate dates for the details. Even so, by the time he finished writing down everything he considered important, several A4 sheets were filled.
Dojin looked at the very first line he had written.
—Prevent the Yongin Dungeon Break in March.
And beneath it—
—Awaken at a high rank.
This was it. No matter what he did from now on, this had to come first. In his previous life, he had only received the blessing of a Rare-grade god. This time……
‘I’ll aim for Epic grade.’
Even by the time Dojin had died, fewer than ten people in the entire country had received the blessing of an Epic-grade god inside the Awakening Room. It required reducing the monsters to near death in a trial where simply surviving was already difficult. The difficulty was absurd. Yet at that moment, Seungho’s words resurfaced in his mind.
—If you survive even here, come put a blade to my throat. I’ll be waiting.
The root of all this evil. Dojin’s expression turned frigid.
“Yeah…… I’ll come again…… so just wait.”
Dojin turned his gaze to the message before him.
Would you like to enter the Awakening Room?
“Enter.”
* * *
Awakened individuals underwent trials inside the Awakening Room. The trial was simple: a single low-grade monster would appear at random, and the candidate had to fight it. The grade they received as an Awakened and the abilities they obtained depended on how much damage they inflicted within the time limit. But that applied only to a special few. Most people simply aimed to survive.
Think about it. If you were thrown into a cage with a starving tiger and told to kill it, could you? Absolutely not. An ordinary person would collapse the moment they met the tiger’s eyes, and even trained individuals would be lucky to escape. And these were monsters. The monsters that appeared in the Awakening Room were creatures capable of killing a tiger with ease.
“……”
Inside the Awakening Room, Dojin looked at the weapon rack before him. Choosing a weapon was the first step. Daggers, long swords, heavy two-handed swords, spears, bows, iron clubs, and shields—every kind of weapon was present.
“The standard choice is…… shield and short sword.”
For anyone entering the Awakening Room, a shield and short sword were not optional—they were essential. A shield was necessary to block even a single attack and survive. That was why Dojin had used a shield and short sword in his previous life. However—
Dojin reached out and picked up a single dagger lying nearby. It was an ordinary dagger with a short, straight blade. He gripped the hilt and gave it a light spin. The dagger danced in his hand. He tightened his grip and nodded.
Though it was only a low-grade weapon provided in the Awakening Room—
‘The balance is quite good.’
A single movement had told him everything. There was another reason he had chosen the dagger. It was because of the ‘bonus’ granted depending on the weapon used. After the trial, a bonus was given to the corresponding class related to the weapon chosen. For a dagger, the bonus applied if one received the blessing of an assassination-class god. Of course, fighting a monster with a dagger in his current physical condition was extremely dangerous. Even so—
“I can do it.”
Dojin gripped the dagger tightly.
“I will begin the trial.”
A countdown appeared in the air.
10…… 9…… 8…… 7……
Watching the numbers decrease, Dojin thought—
‘Last time…… a Green Lancer appeared.’
It had been a long time ago, but the memory was vivid. The creature stood on two legs like a lizard, a lower-grade monster of the Lizardman species. True to its name, it wielded a spear, making its long-range attacks quite threatening. Its most troublesome trait, however, was its hide—so tough and resilient that inflicting even a single wound was difficult.
Dojin pictured the battle against the Green Lancer in his mind. And then—
1…… 0…… Trial commencing.
Along with the words, a low vibration rose from the floor and a gate rippled with black light. From within emerged a creature with green skin.
The Green Lancer.
Dojin gripped his dagger tightly and stared at it. In the past, the mere sight of those gleaming eyes and flickering tongue had made his legs go weak. He glanced up at the timer overhead.
『05:00』
Surviving for five minutes would make him an Awakened. Yet fewer than twenty percent of those who entered the Awakening Room survived to become Awakened. There was a reason simply ‘surviving’ was considered a success. The creature began to move.
“Kieeeek!”
The Green Lancer let out a piercing shriek and charged at Dojin. It thrust its spear with the clear intent to kill him in five seconds rather than five minutes.
Shhhk!
The thrust was obvious. Anyone without combat experience would have panicked at the sight alone. But Dojin had survived countless battles. Even so—
“……!”
Dojin hurriedly rolled across the floor. The Green Lancer’s attack was far faster than he had anticipated.
‘Is the difference this great?’
Reflexes, physical ability—everything was far below the Green Lancer’s level. An attack he had thought he could easily dodge had become lethally threatening. Cold sweat ran down his back. The situation was dangerous, yet—
‘It’s always been like this.’
Nothing had ever been easy. Dojin’s eyes turned cold. Then—
Tap!
Dojin rose and charged toward the Green Lancer.
“Kieeeek!”
Enraged that its attack had been evaded, the Green Lancer screamed and thrust its spear again.
Shhhhk!
A thrust even faster than before. Having experienced it once, however, dodging was no longer difficult. The spear grazed Dojin’s cheek by a hair’s breadth. In that instant, Dojin slipped inside the creature’s guard, eyes wide, and targeted its leg.
‘The Green Lancer’s weakness is……’
Its entire body was covered in tough, resilient hide, but the skin on its calves and the back of its neck was thin. Without hesitation, Dojin lowered his stance and drove the dagger into the Green Lancer’s calf.
Thud!
“Kiaaaaaak!”
A scream unlike any before erupted. The creature dropped its spear in panic and swung its fist at Dojin. He had already retreated. Dojin exhaled.
“Hoo…… Success.”
One success. There was still a long way to go. Dojin met the Green Lancer’s murderous glare. Until now, no one had ever killed a monster inside the Awakening Room and become an Awakened. But what if—
‘This Green Lancer……’
What if he killed it? Dojin glanced at the remaining time.
4 minutes 26 seconds left.
He clenched his teeth in determination. The feat no one else had accomplished—
“This much should be possible.”
Dojin began moving toward the Green Lancer.