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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Regression of an F-Class Player - 1
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Everyone holds a spark of genius within them.
It's just that most never discover it in their lifetime.
But what if one were to realize that genius only at the end of their life? How would their life change?
Would it be a late-blooming joy, making their final days happier?
'…No, not at all.'
Lee Hyun-wook could state with certainty.
'On the contrary, it's an excruciating pain.'
In his experience, discovering one's talent so late was like opening Pandora's box. It bound you in a cycle of suffering, where only the torment of hope existed, fueled by unspeakable helplessness and regret.
'Even after realizing my power, I couldn't change a thing.'
Lee Hyun-wook now lay sprawled atop a skyscraper, covered in his own blood.
Around him, his comrades lay scattered like cold corpses. He seemed to be the only one still breathing.
Just then, five or six figures slowly descended from the sky, surrounding him.
'Villains.'
They were human Players who had sold their souls to demons and spearheaded the invasion of Earth.
One of them stepped forward and spoke.
"So the last hero of Seoul, the Steel Great Emperor, has rusted and crumbled."
Steel Great Emperor. That was what the world called Lee Hyun-wook.
'A bit childish, but I was glad to be acknowledged, even if it was late…'
A pair of polished shoes came to a stop right before his eyes.
He struggled to lift his gaze and look at the man. A tall man with pomaded hair—Gordon Price, the head of the global corporation 'Blue Tree.'
"Gor... Gordon, you traitorous bastard..."
Gordon, the man who held the most wealth on Earth and was once the greatest patron of heroes. By the time his identity as a Villain was revealed, countless heroes had already fallen to his schemes.
And that was the very moment humanity's downfall began.
"Hyun-wook, I must confess, you were a truly formidable opponent."
He said, stretching his arms toward the sky.
"The sight of thousands of swords and spears rising at your fingertips, pouring down like a torrential rain... To be honest, the power of the awakened Steel Great Emperor was difficult even for us to handle."
He slowly lowered his arms, a gentlemanly smile on his face.
"So, you see, there's something I've always wanted to tell you."
He leaned in close to Lee Hyun-wook's ear and whispered softly.
"...Thank you so much for not being able to use that incredible power to its full potential."
He grinned.
To be thanked by the man who had annihilated humanity...
Rage boiled within him, but he couldn't move his body. His wounds were beyond recovery.
*Ggrriind—*
He ground his teeth in unbearable fury, so hard his gums ached.
A talent discovered too late was, in this way, the absolute worst.
But for his enemies, it was the greatest of fortunes.
'If only I had realized it a little sooner… if only I had understood how to use this power… would things have been different?'
It was a hollow regret.
About twelve years ago, Lee Hyun-wook had awakened as a 'Player,' gaining the ability to control 300 grams of metal.
Of course, 300 grams was barely enough to move a single dagger.
But like all abilities, he believed it would grow, that the 'amount' and 'methods' of control would increase over time.
Yet, for a full ten years, Lee Hyun-wook's ability didn't change one bit.
The reason was simple. He didn't know how to make it grow.
He practiced moving metal thousands of times a day and even slept in a room made of steel. He tried every method imaginable.
But it was all useless.
'To think that the answer was… to swallow steel.'
To 'eat' and absorb steel. He had stumbled upon that outlandish method just two years ago.
Immediately after, Lee Hyun-wook began to devour steel obsessively.
There was a limit to how much he could eat due to digestion time, but he cut down on sleep to consume more. The weight of metal he could control increased slowly but surely.
Now, able to control 4,145 kilograms, he could toss trucks like toys, shake buildings until they crumbled, and command thousands of steel weapons in a swirling storm.
Thus, he earned the title 'Steel Great Emperor.'
But that was as far as he got.
No matter how great his potential, he couldn't catch up to those who were already far ahead.
"Hyun-wook, if you'd had just a little more time, I wonder, would you have lifted this entire building we stand on and dropped it like a giant meteor? Hahaha... a real shame for you, isn't it?"
Gordon's voice was soft, dripping with sarcasm.
'Yes, it's a shame! A goddamn shame!'
If he had realized it just three years earlier, no, even two, he would have eaten and digested tens of times more steel, allowing him to move hundreds, even thousands of tons of it. If so, things might have truly been different.
"Look over there. Your city, Seoul, is collapsing."
Gordon grabbed his head and forced him to look in a certain direction.
*Ruuuumble—*
With a heavy roar, the buildings of Yeouido began to sink. A thick storm of dust billowed from the site, rolling like a wave over the red-tinged waters of the Han River, which was filled with corpses.
The screams and cries echoing throughout the city merged into a grotesque symphony. That orchestra from hell crawled into Hyun-wook's ears.
His head ached.
*Thump...*
A metropolis where ten million people once lived and breathed was dying a gruesome death right before his eyes.
"Ah..."
Lee Hyun-wook could only let out a small gasp. There was nothing he could do.
"You did well, Hyun-wook. But honestly..."
Gordon let out a cold sneer.
"...you were just too pathetic."
With those final words, Gordon turned away. At the same time, someone strode forward, raising a giant wooden mallet. The man's left foot stomped on Hyun-wook's chest, pinning him down. There was no escape.
The mallet descended upon his head.
*CRACK!*
That was the end.
The pathetic life of a man who possessed a genius-level ability but never learned to use it properly had come to a close.
***
For a fleeting moment, Lee Hyun-wook was submerged in darkness.
The next instant, he saw a light in the distance.
He pushed his head toward it.
"...Hah!"
He gasped for air as he shot his eyes open. He reflexively touched his head.
"Huh?"
His head, which should have been shattered to pieces... was perfectly intact.
'I'm sure it was a direct hit.'
A powerful blow that crushed his skull—Lee Hyun-wook had felt it.
No matter how he thought about it, that kind of damage wasn't something one could easily recover from. No, forget recovery; he should have died instantly.
'What happened? Did I end up in the afterlife?'
He thought as he looked around.
But this place... it was quite familiar.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. This was...
"Crazy..."
It was the barracks where he had served his military duty.
"Why here of all places..."
If he had ended up in the afterlife, it was surely hell.
Just then, the door opened and someone walked in. It was a private first class with a buzz cut, dressed in a black combat uniform.
"Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, are you awake, sir? It's time for evening meal formation."
Lee Hyun-wook shot up from his bed.
"What... J-Jun-mo? Are you really Park Jun-mo?"
"Private First Class, Park Jun-mo! Sir? What are you talking about, sir?"
This was his squad junior who had died fighting a monster during his military service.
"Uh... Yes! Of course it's me, sir!"
Had he really fallen into the afterlife, to be greeted by acquaintances who had passed on before him?
But this guy looked just as clueless as he did back then.
It was as if...
He had gone back in time.
"...Huh?"
*Clang!*
Lee Hyun-wook hurriedly opened his locker and looked at his reflection in the mirror attached to the inside of the door.
'This is insane. What the hell is going on?'
The face in the mirror was definitely younger. It was the face of a man in his early twenties.
He was confused.
"Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, sir? Are you alright? You look pale..."
"...I'm not alright."
How could this have happened?
Lee Hyun-wook reported that he was feeling sick and would skip dinner, then returned to the barracks and sat down.
Clutching his short hair, he wracked his brain to understand the current situation.
"Hoo... I need to think calmly."
But no matter how he thought about it, he had no choice but to accept what he was seeing.
"I've returned to the past. To be precise... 8 years ago, when I was 22."
A 'system message' that only 'Players' could see appeared in the corner of his vision.
- Current controllable 'metal' weight: 300g
As expected, it was still only 300g.
'And based on my past life, this won't change for the next six years.'
For those six years, his life had been a struggle. In seven months, he would be discharged as a sergeant. Then, branded as an F-class Player, he would find a contract job as a handyman in a 'Hunter Guild.'
It was a hard-won job, but in reality, he was nothing more than an extra who supported famous heroes from behind the scenes. An extra who risked his life just the same but received no attention or encouragement from anyone...
'Still, after I figured out how to grow my ability, I was able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroes.'
But...
"...I now know how to change all of that."
There was no need to wait.
He opened his locker and took out a small paper clip.
'Eat metal, absorb metal, control metal.'
A simple yet outlandish method that defied common sense.
He put the paper clip in his mouth.
As it touched his tongue and teeth, the distinct, slightly bitter taste of iron set his nerves on edge.
He felt a wave of nausea.
His past body, not yet accustomed to this strange sensation, was instinctively rejecting this abnormal act.
But his reason, brought from the future, forced the bizarre act forward.
*Gulp—*
And then...
- Congratulations! You have discovered the method to grow your ability.
- Time until metal absorption: (00:09:59) remaining.
A countdown began before his eyes.
When the timer ran out...
- Controllable metal weight: 301g
It changed.
The weight.
It was only 1g, but the amount of metal he could control had increased.
He remembered the first time he saw this message. The infuriating puzzle that had shackled him his entire life had been solved so simply... He had felt both empty and overwhelmed with emotion.
"Hoo..."
He held his breath and closed his eyes. Then, he slowly raised his hands.
*Woooong—*
An alien sensation spread through his fingertips... a tickle, a tingle, a coldness, a heat. These subtle feelings signified a connection to a certain 'object' far away.
When he opened his eyes,
above his palms,
dozens of paper clips were floating and rotating.
"Yes, in this life..."
He extended his left hand, and the clips flying in the air gathered neatly on his palm.
"...I will become a true genius."
The genius that was meant to lie dormant had awakened a little early.
And its impact would be truly immense.