Breaking the Infinite Loop
Kwaaaang!
“You dare think lowly scum like you could surpass me?!”
Altimoor, one of the demon realm’s Four Heavenly Kings, clad in black armor with striking blue skin, bellowed.
“Altimoor!!”
Undeterred, Evan charged forward, swinging his pristine white sword. As the chosen hero, his swordsmanship was lethal to them.
“Sword of Light!”
Light burst from the already gleaming blade, illuminating even the demon realm’s oppressive darkness.
Paaak!
But when the radiant strike reached Altimoor...
Taak!
It was blocked effortlessly by his arm. One might expect despair at such a perfect counter to a finishing blow, but Evan pressed on without flinching.
“Lucia! Now!”
From the rear, the mage Lucia, mid-incantation, shouted back.
“Fire Blast!”
Roiling spheres of flame hurtled forward.
Perperperbung!
Evan stepped back, waving away the thick smoke. Then a massive man with a giant axe approached his side. Valgas muttered lowly.
“Did we get him?”
“Valgas! That was—!”
Was it because he’d recklessly cast the highest resurrection spell? Evan shot Valgas a resentful glare. And sure enough...
“Kuhahaha! Not even a tickle! Is that the best you’ve got? You think that pathetic power can take down the Demon King?!”
Altimoor stood unscathed.
That was when it happened.
“Kuhk!”
Something was off with Altimoor. His expression stiffened, his eyes lost focus.
Srrek!
His body split into multiple shreds, as if sliced countless times by invisible blades.
From behind the fallen Altimoor, a man stepped forward.
“Yeah, we got him.”
“Hyun-seong!”
“You!”
“I knew you’d come through!”
He was Choi Hyun-seong, summoned to this world for reasons unknown.
‘It’ll just loop back anyway.’
Even after slaying the Demon King, Hyun-seong’s face remained grim. He was trapped in this world.
Hyun-seong had first arrived here ten years ago. Or rather, he’d repeated those ten years hundreds of times—thousands of years, in total.
Back then, he’d clung to the naive hope that killing the Demon King would send him home to Earth.
Mission: Assist the hero party in defeating the Demon King
Progress: Demon King defeated 0/1
Reward: Return [home]
That system window had fueled his efforts. He’d diligently played his role as the party’s supporter, handling the cleanup after battles, steadily aiding the hero’s group.
He figured that after all that, slaying the Demon King would let him return to Earth safely.
But the problem came right after the Demon King’s defeat.
‘The day after killing the Demon King... I was back on day one.’
The memory still made him dizzy. At the grand welcome banquet upon returning to the kingdom, he’d been grinning ear to ear, thinking he’d soon be home.
That’s when it started—when Hyun-seong lost his smile.
“Still, that was a shock. Maybe the chosen one isn’t me... maybe it’s you, Hyun-seong.”
Those were Evan’s words on the road back to the kingdom.
Hyun-seong had soloed the Demon King, so it made sense. But there were reasons for everything.
‘Status window.’
Skills:Puppetry, Puppet Enhancement, Puppet Explosion, Puppet Retrieval, Puppetization, Vision Sharing, Puppet Absorption, Puppet Disposal, Fountain of Mana, Mana Absorption, Mana Surge, Mana Manipulation, Mind Division, Thought Acceleration, Knowledge Storage, Conceptual Magic, Magic Creation, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, Life Magic, Compound Attribute Magic, Illusion Magic, Thread Creation, Thread Manipulation, Clothing Creation, Clothing Repair, Clothing Reinforcement
999
999
999
999
999
All stats maxed out was standard, and he had over a hundred sub-classes. Probably for dozens of loops now.
‘The status doesn’t reset when it loops back to day one.’
What cruel twist of fate. Nothing threatened him anymore, but the real issue was that no loop lasted over ten years.
In one loop, he’d skipped killing the Demon King altogether, just to endure. He’d given up on finding a way home.
After leaving the hero party, he’d leisurely enjoyed the world. But exactly ten years later—back to day one.
Driven mad, Hyun-seong scoured for a return method with burning eyes. He mastered everything learnable, devoting each repeated decade to research.
And finally, he found a clue.
‘Sub-class change.’
Which class would you like to change?
Ding.
He swapped Tailor for Rune Mage. Tailor-related skills vanished, replaced by Rune Mage skills.
Ancient Magic created due to class synergy.
A synergy skill emerged—one possibly linked to his summoning. Hyun-seong methodically researched it, uncovering the existence of transfer magic.
‘Took forever.’
He’d wanted to quit countless times. But he couldn’t.
‘Giving up wasn’t an option.’
He’d slacked off entire decades, smashed the Demon King on whims, even realized it wasn’t the kill that triggered the loop and tried becoming the Demon King himself to end the world.
‘Died too.’
He’d even tested death, thinking it might be better. But nope—back to day one.
Thus, unyielding, he’d scraped together a way.
‘Once I’m back on Earth, everything normalizes.’
He didn’t care if he lost all his powers. Sure, they made life easy, but now he just wanted normalcy. Or rather, to do nothing and fade quietly. He’d lived too long to crave more.
No attachments. Nothing worth clinging to came to mind.
“No, I wasn’t chosen. No matter what anyone says, the hero’s you, Evan.”
“R-right. We wouldn’t have made it without you.”
That was mage Lucia. She secretly adored Evan and defended him to the end.
“Still, I never knew you had that kind of power, Hyun-seong.”
Valgas showed mild interest but nothing more.
“No, this was everyone’s victory.”
Evan stood firm, hero-like, ignoring Hyun-seong’s words.
‘Yeah, that’s you guys.’
Hyun-seong watched them—unchanged across hundreds of loops—with bittersweet resignation.
No regrets, though. Those had burned away when he’d lost control and nearly destroyed the world.
“Tomorrow, I’m going back to my world. Mission complete.”
“Hm.”
“Yeah... Hyun-seong...”
“Suppose so.”
Valgas was stoic, Evan reluctant, Lucia indifferent.
Hyun-seong walked on without reaction.
Then Evan, unable to let go, spoke up.
“Hyun-seong, honestly, I’m not as strong as you. I couldn’t even reach the Demon King earlier. But the world’s still a mess. So much left to fix.”
“...”
Hyun-seong stayed silent. He knew what came next.
“Could you... maybe stay in our world?”
He’d heard it dozens of times. Always answered the same.
“Why would I?”
“Huh? Well, you’re strong, responsible...”
“Responsible? No way I’d feel that for a world that’s not mine.”
“Huh?”
Evan looked flustered. Hyun-seong was resolute. Even for Earth, he’d feel no duty.
“My goal was clear: kill the Demon King to get home. Your world’s not my problem.”
“Hyun-seong...”
“That’s too harsh!”
Lucia, prickly as ever, pounced. And as always, Evan reined her in.
“Lucia, it’s understandable. I asked too much.”
“But!”
“Enough. Not today.”
“...”
“Still, Hyun-seong, what you did wasn’t easy or irresponsible. I know better than anyone. So I get it.”
Hyun-seong nodded faintly at Evan and moved on. Lucia grumbled, but Evan soothed her, and she relented.
The kingdom threw a grand feast for the hero party’s return. Hyun-seong skipped it, making final preparations.
Idling meant looping back to day one. Now, in an empty lot of the kingdom that had summoned him, he inscribed a transfer magic circle for Earth using runes.
He’d prepped before heading to the demon realm; completion was near.
The circular array brimmed with runes in perfect balance and harmony. Runes held power in their inscription alone, exploding with effect when infused with mana.
Each word activated by meaning, forming sentences, then paragraphs—culminating in a complete text to achieve the desired outcome.
That was ancient magic.
Hyun-seong’s was a single, purposeful text: return to Earth. Now mana-ready, he reviewed it.
‘Looks good.’
Inspection done. Time to leave. Nothing to leave behind.
“Well, goodbye.”
Not heartfelt—just words that slipped out.
Hyun-seong gathered mana.
‘Fountain of Mana activate, Mana Surge activate.’
Fountain of Mana
Mana Surge
Skills engaged, he manipulated mana to color the runes on the ground.
One by one, two by two—the circle came alive. Hyun-seong couldn’t tear his eyes from the mesmerizing glow.
‘This is it. For real.’
Paaat!
Fully colored, light rose from the array, enveloping his body.
And at last.
As lights layered into a sun-like blaze atop the circle—
Pak!
Everything vanished, as if nothing had been there.
Twitch. Twitch.
As his eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the harsh fluorescent light, Hyun-seong scanned the room and knew instantly.
‘Hospital.’
Unfamiliar surroundings left him awkward—until a voice called.
“Hyun-seong!”
He recognized the face.
“...Mom?”
His voice was hoarse, but there she was—hand over mouth, tears barely held back. Something he’d left behind, faded over millennia: family, the one lingering attachment.