Chapter 2
They said Earth wasn’t like this in the old days.
Long before Bang Hyuk-min was even born.
According to the history books, one day, a now-familiar “Status Window” suddenly appeared in the real world.
At the same time, system-generated NPCs, non-human beings, and strangely altered terrain emerged. Dungeons and towers rose from the ground as if trying to pierce the sky.
Hyuk-min had been born after all of this, so it was normal for him.
But back then, the world was thrown into chaos.
NPCs, dungeons, towers, classes, skills—like an RPG suddenly overlaid onto reality—drove countless people into panic.
How many could endure such a sudden change?
Strange groups appeared everywhere.
People who believed the world had literally become a game.
A group called *Marakia* committed murder with the doctrine that “this world is an RPG, and you must die to log out.”
Of course, death here meant actual death.
Anyway—
None of this existed in the past.
== Status Window ==
[Name]: Bang Hyuk-min
[Level]: 4
[Class]: None
[Stats]
Strength: 3
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 5
Stamina: 3
Mana: 1
=======
Now, it’s impossible to imagine a world without game-like systems.
Even Hyuk-min—who had lived his whole life in this system—was about to face something far more unbelievable.
Maybe this is how people from the distant past would feel if they saw the world now.
“…Is this really right?”
The system had existed so long that Hyuk-min had never seen a world without it.
Which meant—
He knew a lot about it.
“Level 4…? Is that correct?”
The system never made mistakes.
It only displayed absolute truth.
“It says 4, not 132. It’s definitely not 132, right?”
And yet—
The system insisted his level was 4.
“Ha… hahaha… hahahaha.”
Laughter burst out.
Not because he’d gone crazy at losing his level and stats—
But because joy was bubbling out of him.
“Hahahahaha! Then that means I’m really in the past!”
A dark, miserable part of his life he had tried to forget—successfully forgotten.
Yes. Hyuk-min was standing in that exact period of his past.
He opened the door and stepped outside.
8:30 AM.
His mom and dad were at work. His younger sister was likely on her way to school.
The living room was empty.
He marched toward the calendar hanging on the wall.
May 2, 2034.
*The last time I robbed Hanbit Capital was December 21, 2077…*
That meant—
He had gone back *43 years*.
“…I’m really… in the past?”
“Ugh.”
A sudden headache stabbed through his skull.
—Please, just listen to me!!!
He remembered the final desperate scream he hurled at God.
He had never believed in God.
His life was too hellish for that.
He had ignored the idea of a benevolent deity his entire life.
So why had he shouted for God right before dying?
He didn’t know.
Even though he knew no one would listen—
He shouted anyway.
Just in case.
And now…
It seemed someone did listen.
“Did you really… listen?”
His hands trembled.
His head slowly lifted toward the ceiling.
Then he clenched his fist—
And forced his head down.
“No. Don’t jump to conclusions. Could be a trick. This might still be hell.”
This reality was too absurd.
Too unreal.
He shook his head hard, went into his sister’s room, grabbed a notebook and a pen, and began writing down everything in his memory.
“I don’t know anything yet. Just focus. Whether it’s real or fake… whether it’s heaven or hell… doesn’t matter.”
Clench.
“I’ll do what I can *now*.”
Three hours later, after filling the notebook with future knowledge, he returned to his room.
“If this is hell… fine. I’ll play along.”
As long as revenge succeeds.
= = =
He didn’t wash. He changed clothes roughly.
He stared at his notebook.
*If this really is the past…*
Inside were countless hidden incidents, secrets, and future events.
He shut the notebook and slipped it into his pocket.
Then put on his shoes.
“I’ll take everything I can get.”
Deep breath.
Everything he needed to do began lining up in his mind.
His heartbeat steadied.
His thoughts sharpened.
His gaze drifted to the calendar again.
*June 5, 2034.*
A memory he could never erase.
The day everything began to fall apart.
*The day my father first went missing.*
It had been a drizzly day.
His father, a construction site facility head, suddenly disappeared.
Then came the breaking news.
—14 workers vanished at the Shindang-dong Department Store construction site.
Authorities investigated.
The result devastated the family.
—A dungeon suddenly formed and swallowed all missing workers.
A “natural disaster.”
No one to blame.
So they tried to accept it.
Tried to bury their grief.
Not knowing…
It was the beginning of their destruction.
—He has passed away.
Three days later.
His mother died in a car accident. A drunk driver.
Another nail hammered into his heart.
Then—
“Hic… hiccup…”
His younger sister sobbing at the funeral.
Soon after—
She, too, died.
June 5 to June 12, 2034.
One week.
That’s all it took for Hyuk-min to lose his entire family.
Grit.
He didn’t know back then—
That everything was connected to *those people*.
“I will stop it.”
He remembered everything he did after leaving home.
Begging for food.
Stealing.
Being beaten.
Searching garbage cans, fighting stray cats for scraps.
Swish. Swish.
He shook his head to clear away the memories.
This time—
He had a chance.
He would rewrite everything before June 5, 2034.
But in this world, one thing mattered most.
*Power.*
“Hoo…”
And what was this?
Everything important was already in his notebook.
“I’ll monopolize all of it.”
No more regrets.
Never again.
“Status Window.”
He checked the skill slot he hadn’t looked at earlier.
*It won’t be there.*
It hadn’t existed before.
He had been talentless—called a dullard—until he built power with his bare body.
But—
==========
[Skills]
(EX-Grade) Regression Mode
==========
“…?!”
What?
What is that?
His eyes widened.
Something impossible was sitting in the skill slot that should have been empty.
EX-Grade?
A grade he’d never seen before.
Impossible.
The system didn’t make errors.
‘So this really is an EX-grade skill…?’
He grabbed his trembling hand.
Grade didn’t matter.
A skill was only good if the content was good.
He pressed it.
(EX-Grade) Regression Mode
– Returns to the past self for 2 minutes.
– Cooldown: 120 minutes
“…What?”
He didn’t understand.
Return to the past self? For two minutes?
What kind of useless—
“If I ‘return,’ what past does it mean?”
Before he became a shut-in?
When he was a child?
His eyebrow twitched.
Maybe EX was the *lowest* grade.
He exhaled sharply, disappointed.
“…Whatever. If it’s useless, I just won’t use it.”
He sighed.
“Well… should I check it anyway?”
He circulated the tiny bit of mana he had—
“Regression Mode.”
Silently—
[EX-Grade skill Regression Mode has been activated.]
A timer appeared at the top of his vision.
“…Nothing special—”
He turned—
And froze.
Then—
His lips twitched.
A smile slowly spread—
And exploded.
“C-Crazy!!”
The figure staring back at him in the mirror—
Was his level 132 self.
The monster hunter he became before dying.
A thick beard. Scars. Hardened muscles.
A body forged through decades.
“Status Window!!”
==========
[Name]: Bang Hyuk-min
[Level]: 132
[Class]: Double Heavy Class
[Stats]
Strength: 232
Agility: 314
Intelligence: 188
Stamina: 120
Mana: 140
==========
(T/N : Okay, this is an interesting skill. Its really unique. I thought its your typical regression story but this is a welcome twist )
Now, in the past—43 years earlier—
He looked at the stats and thought:
These numbers alone would make him a monster compared to today’s top rankers.
“This skill is insane…”
Two minutes later—
He reverted.
His huge frame shrank.
His muscles vanished.
His gear disappeared—his coat, his sword, his jewelry.
Everything he’d built over decades was gone.
‘Regression Mode…’
The cooldown was long.
But this proved it.
EX was the *highest* grade.
‘I’m changing the plan.’
He pulled out the notebook.
Things he had once given up on—things he couldn’t obtain as a level 4 weakling—
Now looked entirely different.
A grin spread across his face.
Snap.
He closed the notebook.
His smile faded.
“Two hours.”
Smirk.
He kicked off his shoes—
And went back into his room to start gathering every bit of money he could find.