Chapter 01

Translator: Admiral_Blue

Editor: Admiral_Blue

Jin-Hyeok had been obsessed with strength before his regression.

It gave him an immense joy to be the first to conquer dungeons that others cannot defeat and to slay dangerous monsters. He was well aware that one wrong move could determine his ruin, but this only provided to excite him.

There was no greater joy than taking on the most difficult dungeons and successfully completing them. Finding hidden dungeons and being the first to conquer them was also a big encouragement.

Jin-Hyeok became known as the 'Sword King' of Korea over time. People used to tell him that he was a true hero who led people forward against anxiety and fear with his self-sacrificial spirit... or something like that. Jin-Hyeok stated that he simply loved to play, but no one really believed him. That was the honest truth, though.

The NIS[1] hired Jin-Hyeok. In other words, he was a Player who worked for the government. He didn't become a government-affiliated Player for any grand or noble reason. He simply assumed that with the government's support, he would be able to grow stronger more quickly, or that he would be the first to be sent to the most difficult dungeons.

'At least I came to my senses before regressing.'

Jin-Hyeok had a change of heart about how he should have lived his life at the last minute, when he was on the verge of death in the Banyan Tree dungeon. 

His change of mind was brought about in part by the curse cast on him by the Empress of Hell, the final boss of the Banyan Tree dungeon. Looking back on his life in those final moments, he realized how brutal it had been.

'With the constant threat of being assassinated....'

In this new world, there were no all-powerful Mary Sues[2]. The top rankers' skill levels were barely an inch apart—and the top assassins' attacks were always fatal and deadly.

'What was it that captured my interest then?'

The tension he felt from the fact that he could be assassinated at any time thrilled him.

 Furthermore, those who are after his life were more than just assassins; among those were assassins who hunted down specific Players for the abilities they had earned after their Awakening, and whom they also desired his abilities for themselves. He couldn't remember the last time he slept soundly.

'Looking back, I have no idea why I always chose the dangerous and deadly dungeons.'

Jin-Hyeok used to believe that there was no point in playing unless he was willing to risk his life fighting. There was never a time when his life wasn't in danger.

Furthermore, he was often mobilized by force by the game's conscription measures and forced to participate in dangerous quests simply because he was an outstanding fighter class player.

Everyone hated this rule, but he liked it.

Looking back, Jin-Hyeok realized his playing style was pure insanity—but he hadn't realized it at the time because he was surrounded by people who were all like him. In other words, he and his friends had all been lunatics.

He could finally see himself objectively thanks to the curse from the Empress of Hell. It brought him to his senses in those final moments.

When Jin-Hyeok opened his eyes, he realized he had gone back in time.

He had no idea why he had regressed. He remembered being on the verge of death after being struck by the Empress of Hell's curse, but he couldn't remember anything else.

That familiar feeling of excitement overtook Jin-Hyeok when he first realized he had regressed.

'This time, I'm going to be so much stronger.'

Jin-Hyeok possessed all the Sword King's knowledge and experience. His heart raced as he considered becoming a top ranker before anyone else. He was eager to get his hands on a sword.

Jin-Hyeok shook his head on the second day after his regression.

'I will not repeat this madness. Never again.'

He was fortunate to have died in the Banyan Tree dungeon. Had he been just a little unfortunate, he would have kicked the bucket[3] way before that. 

Jin-Hyeok could now look at his situation logically, and it was clear that seeking batsh!t crazy things was just in his nature. He could tell because he was still excited about the prospect of becoming stronger even after he had breathed his last—in fact, even after having been on the verge of death several times before.

He needed to stand firm against his inner desires.

'No... I don't want to get stronger anymore.'

Jin-Hyeok recalled his horrible past, which he had long buried and forgotten.

'Right. If I go insane over power again, I don't deserve to call myself a good person.'

He had been so focused on playing that he had neglected his family. 

While Jin-Hyeok was away conquering a dungeon, his family was murdered by the twisted serial killer, Jeon Nam-Gil. All of Jin-Hyeok's family had died by the time he returned home from the dungeon. Jin-Hyeok then tracked down and murdered Jeon Nam-Gil.

In other words, Jin-Hyeok had all the strength he needed to save his family but couldn't. He could have saved his family if he had paid just a little more attention to them.

Jin-Hyeok vowed never to go insane again. If he did, he truly lack conscience.

'I'll get stronger, but not too strong this time.'

Jin-Hyeok was determined, as if he were brainwashing himself.

'In seven years, the Catastrophe will occur.'

He began to make his own plans.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

His regression lasted seven years.

"D@mn, you're a terrible son. When are you going to grow up?"

Jong-Cheol, Jin-Hyeok's old friend, gave Jin-Hyeok a hard time from the start.

Even as he was scolded like a bad son, Jin-Hyeok had nothing to say in retort. Jin-Hyeok had left home seven years ago to live in the Gosichon[4], claiming he was going to study for the national civil service exam.

'What makes this restaurant's seasoned bean sprouts so delicious?' Jin-Hyeok pondered absentmindedly.

"It's been seven years since you entered the Gosichon with the intention of becoming a government official, but here you are streaming your game for just one viewer, if you even have one. What in the world are you doing?" Jong-Cheol criticized him once more.

"…"

"How old are you now? Huh?" Jong-Cheol persisted.

Jong-Cheol babbled on, but it fell on deaf ears—Jin-Hyeok was not paying attention to him as usual.

"So what if your number one in a game that no one plays? For f*ck's sake, even if it's a dead game, don't you think there's something wrong if no one is watching when the number one ranked player is playing? Do you remember the last time you interacted with another user on there?" asked Jong-Cheol.

'This stir-fried chili pork is also tasty.' Jin-Hyeok thought.

"Thanks for the meal," he stated.

"Where are you going?"

"To stream."

"Man, this guy has lost it…"

"You should pay for the meal because I listened to your nagging," Jin-Hyeok said as he left.

"Hey! Hey! Jin-Hyeok, Cha! You b@stard! Stop right now!" Jong-Cheol chased him after.

Jin-Hyeok returned to his Gosichon room and sat at his desk after his meal with Jong-Cheol, only to discover a hundred thousand won in his bag. It appeared that Jong-Cheol had slipped it in without knowing it.

Although Jong-Cheol was frank at times, he genuinely cared about Jin-Hyeok—not just this time, but last time as well. Jin-Hyeok was grateful to his friend for that.

'I will make it up to you.'

Jin-Hyeok logged into the Eltube streaming platform and checked his total number of streaming hours.

'Approximately 49,998 hours.'

He only had two hours until he reached fifty thousand hours. He could achieve this by the end of the day.

He turned on the stream and went on air after taking a deep breath.

His streaming setup consisted of an old camera and a desktop computer. His preferred streaming content was The Dark Hill, an old game that was a shell of its former self.

'Can I even say I had a former self?'

It was a doomed game, as Won Jong-Cheol said.

The Dark Hill was an MMORPG. There were rumors that a third-generation chaebol[5] used to play this game as a pastime, but it had become abandoned. The owner appeared to have a lot of money, as this server was still up and running, despite the fact that only Jin-Hyeok was playing this game.

Jin-Hyeok began streaming. There were still no viewers.

"Today I'm going to raid Balongdua."

Balongdua was a monster that resembled a massive black bull, and it was difficult to raid alone. However, Jin-Hyeok had already played this game for nearly 50,000 hours, so it wasn't too difficult for him.

[YY entered the stream.]

[YY: what the hell, this moron is still streaming? ROFLPMP. My annual salary has increased to 70 million won. ROFLPMP. I respect your effort. Are you making enough money to eat? LOL]

[YY was forced to leave the stream.]

'It was the same jerk again. This crazy son of a b!tch came to Jin-Hyeok about twice a year, when he got a raise or a bonus.'

[p!ssoffwithyourban entered the stream.]

[pissoffwithyourban: Am I getting on your nerves, little piggy? Am I upsetting your insecure ego?

There's nothing you can do about me? Huh? Lmaooo.]

What a display of effort from that b@stard. He had returned with a new account and IP address.

Jin-Hyeok was about to kick him out again when he decided not to.

[pissoffwithyourban: Why won't you kick me?]

"Today is my last time streaming."

Today was the day Jin-Hyeok would stop doing these pointless streams. He double-checked his total time streaming on Eltube settings.

'49,998 hours...'

There are only two hours left. It had become a little uncertain near the end whether he would be able to reach his goal before the Catastrophe, but he was almost near the finish line. Jin-Hyeok's only viewer is 'Babyshark.'. He had been grateful to his only viewer, but he didn't show up today. Perhaps they were busy.

'D@mn... I really wanted to say goodbye.'

It was unfortunate, but it is what it is.

This had been a seven-year-long and challenging journey. Jin-Hyeok had been streaming for more than eighteen hours per day.

[pissoffwithyourban made a donation of 100 won.]

[pissofwithyourban: There you go. You may not be able to join a good company like mine, but you will be a contributing member of society.]

[pissoffwithyourban was forced to leave the stream.]

Jin-Hyeok ended his stream and went to bed.

He slept for two to three hours nearly every day because the rest of his time was spent working to earn the bare minimum to pay his bills. He'd been through hell, but he was finally done.

Jin-Hyeok spotted a cockroach crawling across his ceiling. He was tired but couldn't sleep because his heart was racing.

It is currently the 7th of May 2022 in Korea, marking the 2,782nd day since his regression.

'In four hours, it will be midnight.'

Eventually, midnight arrived. It was 12 a.m. on the 8th of May 2022, Korean Standard Time—2,783 days after Jin-Hyeok's return.

At the same time, a message window appeared out of thin air in front of everyone.

[A new server, Earth, has been added to the game.]

[The Open Beta service for the new Server, Earth, has begun.]

The world they knew had changed.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

NIS[1]: National Intelligence Service, South Korea's main intelligence agency

Mary Sues[2] A fictional character who is often depicted as a young woman who is too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws.

Kicked the bucket[3] An informal English idiom that means to "die". 

Gosichon [4]: A street, or so-called 'village,' in Korea that is filled with a cluster of cheap rent residencies housing students who are studying for academic exams that need to be sat to move into a profession, education, college of repute, etc. Residents look for such places where they can fully concentrate for long hours, long-term. These residencies are generally infamous for their poor-quality facilities.

Chaebol [5]: A member of an extremely rich family that runs a conglomerate. Similar in vibe to the Japanese term zaibatsu.

ROFLPMP[6]: Rolling on the floor laughing peeing my pants