Exactly fifteen days passed.
Joo Do-gyeom forgot about Oh Jin-seok.
If the future unfolded as he knew it, the man would die on his own anyway.
Instead of dwelling on him, Joo Do-gyeom worked to improve his physical condition so he could enter a dungeon.
He completely overhauled the haphazard diet he had followed to save money and combined it with exercise that would not overtax his body.
To focus on that, he even paid for a fairly decent training center, though it was quite far away.
On top of that, he bought and consumed a considerable number of expensive supplements that had begun to be developed around this time.
They contained mana-based ingredients that produced visibly noticeable physical growth.
As a result, he had already spent more than four million won in fifteen days.
And that was despite cutting costs wherever he could because of his limited funds.
“Tsk.......”
A click of the tongue escaped him, but he had nowhere else to pull more money from.
As mentioned before, both his parents were dead, and this was a time when he had neither friends nor credit.
The only place he could obtain more money was another loan shark.
That reminded him of Oh Jin-seok, whom he had forgotten about.
‘Come to think of it, is it today?’
If everything went according to the original schedule, he would die tonight.
Should I go ask him to lend me more?
‘That probably won’t work.’
Then should I use another loan shark?
Joo Do-gyeom shook his head.
There were plenty of loan sharks in the Red Zone, but few were as evil as Oh Jin-seok, who charged such vicious interest and even trafficked organs.
More precisely, Joo Do-gyeom did not know of any.
That was only natural.
Even though he was a regressor, he had not gone around memorizing the personal circumstances of every loan shark from this era.
In any case.
He had no qualms about cheating a bastard out of his money, but he could not bring himself to cheat someone he knew nothing about.
So revisiting a loan shark was out.
‘In the end, I have to make do with this two million won for now.’
No.
Not even two million.
One million of it already had another use.
A stock investment.
In early March, which was now only a few days away, an American pharmaceutical company whose shares were still worth only three dollars would develop an emergency mana recovery drug for Hunters.
After receiving FDA approval, its stock would skyrocket for twenty consecutive days.
It would soon fall out of use after the drug proved less effective than expected and became even less effective with repeated doses.
In the short term, however, investing one million won with the maximum possible leverage could produce a considerable return.
It was one of the opportunities Joo Do-gyeom, currently a poor young man, could not afford to ignore.
‘I’ll have plenty of things to spend money on from now on.’
In the distant future.
After even Europe and the Americas fell and people crowded into the final fortress, money would lose much of its meaning.
Until then, however, money would still wield tremendous power.
In fact, surprisingly few problems could be solved with strength alone.
That was why he needed to make the greatest possible use of information like this.
The butterfly effect caused by a regressor’s choices?
‘I should keep it in mind, but there’s no need to get too caught up in it.’
Bluntly speaking, he also found it difficult to believe that using maximum leverage on a mere one million won would cause a butterfly effect.
In truth, something far more important was his unusually vivid memory, which had already come up several times.
This was another example.
Exactly ten days from now, on March 2, the pharmaceutical company Ardent Bio Science would begin its surge.
The moment when it would be revealed that the company’s new drug was far less useful than expected was—
‘March 21, at eight in the evening, Korea time.’
Remembering the date was understandable.
It had been a major incident, and Joo Do-gyeom had watched the news with a strong impression at the time.
But it was strange that he remembered even the exact time.
Rather than simply being a regressor’s privilege—
‘Vivienne.’
There was a high chance her grand spell had caused some kind of effect.
Memory was naturally extremely important when it came to maximizing the benefits of regression.
‘I’ll understand once I meet her and ask.’
Even at this point in time, she should at least be able to understand regression and the grand spell she had created.
Joo Do-gyeom did not waste time worrying about unnecessary questions.
Instead, he only considered how to make the greatest possible use of his remaining money and time.
As had already been repeated several times, the first thing he needed to obtain was—
‘The Heavenly Killer.’
Absolute power capable of killing anything, obtained in exchange for planting madness inside his brain.
He focused solely on that.
As Joo Do-gyeom continued exercising, his mind eventually entered a state of pure concentration.
***
Late that night.
Joo Do-gyeom was returning home after finishing his workout at the training center.
It was an ordinary alley in the Red Zone, lined with streetlights that no longer worked, whether because they were broken or because the electricity had been cut off.
From within that narrow gap, where there was not even a single CCTV camera—
“Huff, huff......!”
A thick reek of blood rushed in alongside the sound of ragged breathing and struck Joo Do-gyeom’s nose.
He turned toward it.
A man covered in wounds was running through the darkness.
The moment the man met Joo Do-gyeom’s eyes, his face brightened and he shouted urgently.
“You......!”
“It’s Joo Do-gyeom.”
“Right, Joo Do-gyeom!”
The man approached while calling his name.
He was Oh Jin-seok.
A vicious loan shark and organ trafficker notorious even within this neighborhood’s Red Zone.
He spoke in an urgent voice.
“Y-you borrowed money from me not long ago, right? H-help me. All right?”
Joo Do-gyeom was not listening to him.
His thoughts had become complicated.
At this point in the original future.
Oh Jin-seok was supposed to be killed by an unidentified Hunter.
Joo Do-gyeom would later hear the news through neighborhood rumors.
That was all.
Yet Oh Jin-seok was now standing before him.
He had clearly been attacked by that “unidentified Hunter.”
Even so, he was still alive.
Several possible reasons came to mind.
‘Because I borrowed money from him?’
Or was it because Joo Do-gyeom had been moving around at a time when he had not originally done so?
‘Even a single small action can change the future.’
When he thought about it, that was only natural.
It was also something he would need to keep in mind during his future activities.
He had regressed, but that did not mean everything would unfold exactly as he wanted.
Joo Do-gyeom accepted that and nodded inwardly.
“Y-you fucking bastard! Are you listening to me? I said help me! This isn’t the time to stand around like this. Somewhere to hide! You only have to find me somewhere to hide! Then I’ll waive the interest on what you borrowed! You’ll only have to repay the principal, and we’ll be even.”
Joo Do-gyeom nearly let out a hollow laugh.
‘Even now, he won’t offer to waive the principal.’
In a way, the man was impressive.
That was probably how he had become a notorious loan shark even in this brutal Red Zone.
“Hey! Answer me, you fucking bastard!”
“You’re loud.”
Joo Do-gyeom shook off the hand Oh Jin-seok had placed on his arm.
Oh Jin-seok stared at him, his face filled with confusion.
“What I owe you is money. Not my life.”
If Oh Jin-seok wanted to beg for his life, he could do it elsewhere.
Had the man ever even tried to live like a human being?
Oh Jin-seok did not understand Joo Do-gyeom’s words.
In truth, he had not even heard them properly.
His momentary confusion had transformed into rage, blocking out every other sound around him.
His eyes turned bloodshot with murderous intent as he drew a sharp knife from inside his clothes.
‘Fine, fuck it. So much for getting help.’
He would stab Joo Do-gyeom to death.
After killing him, he would drag the corpse across the border into China.
He could make money by selling it.
He had changed his mind.
Joo Do-gyeom frowned as he watched him.
“That doesn’t seem like a good choice.”
He did not know the exact situation, but would running away not give Oh Jin-seok a better chance of survival?
Joo Do-gyeom could at least clear a path for him.
“SHUT UUUUUUP—!”
Oh Jin-seok screamed as he charged, aiming the tip of his knife at Joo Do-gyeom’s heart.
He was fast.
After all, he was not an ordinary person, but a Hunter.
Even if he was only F-Rank.
Had this been the Joo Do-gyeom of the original timeline, he would have died before he could even react.
The difference in physical ability between an ordinary person and a Hunter was not something that could be overcome through exercise.
Furthermore, the killing intent Oh Jin-seok emitted was genuine.
It was the thick, clinging killing intent that could only come from someone who had killed several people.
In the past, Joo Do-gyeom would probably have frozen simply from facing it.
But to the Joo Do-gyeom who had become a regressor?
It was not even worth laughing at.
He casually let the killing intent trying to constrict his body wash past him and read Oh Jin-seok’s movements.
The direction of his feet, the strength in his shoulder, the position of his fingers, and the destination of his gaze.
In a single instant, everything was read by the mind of Joo Do-gyeom, the man once called the God of War.
Then it was simple.
No matter how fast his opponent was—
WHOOSH—!
Joo Do-gyeom could avoid him simply by turning lightly to the side.
“......!!”
As Oh Jin-seok recoiled in shock.
Joo Do-gyeom released his own killing intent.
As mentioned before, it was the thick, clinging killing intent that could only come from someone who had killed many people.
The difference lay in its concentration.
No matter how many people Oh Jin-seok had killed by this point as a vicious loan shark and organ trafficker—
‘That era.’
The future Joo Do-gyeom had endured.
It was an age of despair in which monsters and calamities trampled humanity while villains steeped in selfishness and personal greed continued to spread chaos.
After surviving all those years and returning here, Joo Do-gyeom was still the God of War.
Could Oh Jin-seok’s killing intent possibly compare to his?
Naturally, they were not even comparable.
Joo Do-gyeom merely revealed it in full.
“H-HIEEEEEK—!”
CLATTER—!
Oh Jin-seok let out a shriek, dropped the knife he was holding, and collapsed where he stood.
His eyes met Joo Do-gyeom’s black gaze.
Within them, emotions churned as though he had seen something he should never have witnessed.
Oh Jin-seok spoke.
“S-spare me...... just spare me.......”
He began rubbing his hands together and begging desperately.
Joo Do-gyeom silently looked down at him for a moment.
Then he slowly turned around and headed home.
***
A short while later.
A figure descended to the ground, long hems fluttering, and tilted its head.
“......What?”
Within the figure’s view, Oh Jin-seok was curled up against a wall in one corner of the dark alley, trembling violently.
Click.
The figure deliberately made its presence known as it approached.
Only then did Oh Jin-seok slowly raise his head.
“Heh, hehe...... hehe.......”
His unfocused eyes accompanied a hollow laugh.
He had gone mad.
The shadow slowly drew a sword and aimed it between Oh Jin-seok’s eyebrows.
“......What did you see?”
What in the world had he witnessed for a man who had fled after abandoning even all his subordinates to be reduced to this state?
“Heehee, heeheehee...... dogshit...... those dogshit bastards.......”
The answer failed to meet expectations.
That had been anticipated.
It was foolish to expect a sane answer from someone who had already gone mad.
The shadow nodded.
“Hmm.......”
At the same time, the shadow let out a short hum and swung the sword, severing Oh Jin-seok’s neck.
THUMP—!
Oh Jin-seok’s head fell.
The shadow spoke coldly.
“Merely going mad cannot serve as atonement.”
It might have been different had some other part of him broken while his mind remained intact.
Having completed the execution, the shadow sheathed the sword.
Its gaze turned beyond the dark alley.
A peculiar gleam lingered in its eyes.
‘Who could it be?’
Not even a trace of lingering mana remained, making it impossible to form so much as a guess.
Once again, the figure regretted that this was a Red Zone where even a single CCTV camera was difficult to find.
“Hmmm.......”
The shadow drew out a long hum and left the alley.
Only the faint scent of peonies remained in the deep darkness before quickly scattering.
***
The next day, Joo Do-gyeom heard the news.
The gang belonging to the loan shark Oh Jin-seok had been wiped out.
Oh Jin-seok, the boss, had reportedly been found as a decapitated corpse in an alley.
‘The location was slightly different, but.......’
In any case, events had followed the direction of the future Joo Do-gyeom knew.
‘This should be good enough.’
That was all.
Joo Do-gyeom truly forgot about Oh Jin-seok and returned to focusing on his training.
Time passed again.
And passed.
Saturday, March 7.
Exactly thirty days had passed since the point of his regression.
Inside the tiny rented room, Joo Do-gyeom examined himself in the mirror and nodded.
‘This should cover the basics.’
What did that mean?
It meant he had reached a condition where he could enter a dungeon immediately without any problems.
There was no reason to hesitate.
Joo Do-gyeom opened his mouth.
“Enter Dungeon. Set destination: Cannibal’s Mansion.”
At that instant.
『User Joo Do-gyeom is entering the designated dungeon, ‘Cannibal’s Mansion’.』
A system message appeared.
Then Joo Do-gyeom’s body vanished instantly from the cramped room.