I slowly examined my Status Window.
▶Name: Shin Jaeha
▶Level: 5
▶Rank: Under
▶Constitution: Strong Bones [Strong Bones] (B)
-Receives a bonus to Physical Attributes.
▶Class: None
▶Position: Supporter
▶Strength: 7
▶Stamina: 6
▶Agility: 5
▶Mana: 6
▶Luck: 5
▶Skills Held
-[Gravity Field] (D)
▶Credits Held: 3,000
Compared with the Status Window I had possessed just before regressing, it was nearly empty and pitifully unremarkable.
But merely seeing that my Mana Attribute was not 0 made my fists clench.
“Heh…! Heheheh!”
A smile kept slipping between my lips.
I pinched my cheek in case this was a dream, but instead of waking up, my mind only grew clearer.
At the same time, one question arose.
“Is this really a Regression? Did I return to the past?”
There was no ability or Item anywhere in the dimensional world capable of turning back time.
For a miracle like this to be possible, it would require something at least on the level of the championship reward from Division 1 of the Dimension Cup.
“Come to think of it, after I destroyed that tentacled bastard, I feel like I heard something like a voice….”
I tried to retrace my memories as thoroughly as possible, but failed.
I had thought I was about to die. I had let go of everything, including my consciousness.
‘The only thing I remember clearly is—’
At the final moment—
I had become the first ‘Challenger (Challenger)’ rank in all dimensions.
“After Grand Master, not even a promotion examination appeared, so I had half given up. I never imagined the condition would be attacking that tentacled bastard.”
It made sense now why no Challenger had ever appeared before.
‘Then is my Regression related to becoming a Challenger?’
That was about all I could infer for now.
No one had ever reached that realm before, so it was not impossible for its reward to be a Regression.
“Well, I’ll find out once I reach Challenger again.”
I would find out once I reached Challenger again.
Before my Regression, anyone who heard that would not even have bothered to scoff at such an absurd joke.
But I had already reached Challenger once.
“This time around… it’ll be easier.”
My Mana Circuit was still intact.
Of course, that was still a distant dream.
[▶Rank: Under]
Right now, I was nowhere near Challenger. I had not even taken the Placement Exam, so I was still Under Rank.
“…Tsk.”
Come to think of it, it was fortunate that Suhyeok was not here.
If an Under Rank Player said he would reach Challenger, Suhyeok would have been clutching his stomach and laughing by now.
SMACK!
I slapped both cheeks hard and faced reality.
Before my Regression, things might have been different. But right now, I was only a Level 5 trainee who had practically been kicked out by his team.
‘To prepare for the Dimension Cup, I need the skill and career worthy of being selected as a Dimensional Representative.’
Fortunately, there was still plenty of time before the Dimension Cup began.
Enough time for a mere discarded trainee to become not only a national representative, but a Dimensional Representative.
“Are there two things I need to do right away?”
The first was to take the Placement Exam.
“Tsk… My Level is still too low to unlock Ranked Matches.”
Ranked Matches unlocked at Level 10.
Unfortunately, I would have to put off the Placement Exam for later.
‘And the other thing….’
Was to evolve my Constitution.
My current Constitution was not particularly impressive.
▶Constitution: Strong Bones (B)
-Receives a bonus to Physical Attributes.
It was merely a Constitution that gave me a body slightly tougher and more durable than other people’s.
At a glance, the ‘Warrior’ position seemed to suit it, but there was a reason Sky Epic had placed me in the Supporter position.
It was because of my Skill.
[Gravity Field] (D)
▶Creates a zone centered on the user where gravity increases. (Required Attribute: Mana 5)
It was a Skill that created a gravity zone centered on me.
Its required Attribute was Mana, the main Attribute of ‘Mage’ and ‘Supporter’ positions.
No wonder the coach said my Constitution and Skill did not work together.
“I thought the same thing at first. That my Constitution and Skill were completely separate.”
Skills did not come easily.
That was why countless Players chose their Position according to the Skill they received upon their first Awakening.
But in my case, my Constitution and Skill had completely different directions, so even the team had struggled with how to make use of me.
‘The result was the illegal Mana Circuit expansion procedure.’
Thinking about it again made emotion rise in my chest.
Anyway, I had stood at a crossroads.
Should I follow my Constitution and become a Warrior?
Or should I follow my Skill and become a Mage or Supporter?
And my choice, both then and now—
[Position changed from 'Supporter' to 'Warrior'.]
Was Warrior.
“Once my Constitution evolves, it has incredible synergy with this Skill.”
The combination of my evolved Constitution and Skill was what had practically elevated me to Grand Master, one of the strongest ranks in the dimensional world.
It was only a D-Grade Skill now, but Skills also evolved according to their user’s ability.
My Mana Circuit was still intact in this life, so aiming for a level beyond what I had achieved before my Regression would not be a bad idea.
“To receive the Constitution Evolution Quest, both my Stamina and Strength need to be at least 10… Should I play some Normal Matches to raise my Level, too?”
The Channel was broadly divided into two types of matches.
Normal Matches and Ranked Matches.
Normal Matches were, as the name implied, ordinary games with nothing at stake. Ranked Matches were the real games that determined an individual’s Rank.
“Since things have turned out this way, I might as well farm a variety of Attributes.”
I smacked my lips and activated the Channel.
I selected a Solo Match.
Just as I was about to begin in earnest, I froze.
“Ah, right.”
I had nearly started without a weapon.
My current Credits were 3,000.
“Not much….”
Credits were the currency obtained through the Channel.
They could be used to purchase various Items and resources, and in a world centered around Players, they were worth more than cash or any jewel.
Even so, three thousand was not much.
It was a paltry amount, barely enough to buy a decent weapon.
“Well, it’s an Under Rank Normal Match. I don’t need anything extravagant.”
I searched through the shop and found something that seemed reasonably usable.
[Crude Club] (E)
▶A club crudely carved from wood. Its only advantage is that it is sturdier than it looks.
In the end, I bought the cheapest club that was a reasonable size.
The moment I bought it, a large club appeared before my eyes.
I gripped it and swung it several times, quickly getting used to it.
“Hah, this costs 300 Credits?”
Whoever had set that price was a real thieving bastard.
Still, what could I do?
Being poor was a sin.
[Please set the Sensory Synchronization Rate.]
It was the final setting before the game truly began.
“Synchronization Rate.”
It asked how closely the sensations I experienced after connecting to the Channel would resemble reality.
Even though death in the Channel was not true death, ordinary modern people could not easily fight while monsters sliced up every part of their bodies.
‘At this time, around 40% was average.’
At that level, even if your arm was crushed, the pain would be reduced to no more than an “Ugh!”
You would not freeze up even when a vicious monster stood before you, and dying would not leave any significant aftereffects.
But the lower the Synchronization Rate, the duller your senses became.
“Mine will obviously be—”
I curled up one corner of my mouth and dragged the value all the way to one side.
[100%]
[Warning! A 100% Synchronization Rate may cause severe psychological shock!]
[Warning! A 100% Synchronization Rate may cause trauma or PTSD!]
After pushing the flashing warning windows into a corner—
[Connecting to the ‘Channel’.]
[Prepare for the game!]
I began my first game in earnest.
[Normal - Solo Match]
[Genre: Hunting]
[Map: Goblin Forest]
[Objective: Hunt more Goblins!]
[Time Remaining Until Start: 1 minute]
My vision flashed, and I felt a sudden tug below my navel.
When I opened my eyes, the scenery had changed from my home to a vast field and forest.
No matter how many times I experienced it, connecting to the Channel never ceased to amaze me.
Since the game had not officially started yet, the surroundings were blocked off by translucent walls.
FLASH! FLASH!
As I looked around, other Players began to be summoned into the space within the walls.
“Whoa!”
“Th-That scared me…!”
Some people appeared to be here for the first time and looked around at everything in wonder.
“Yaaawn~.”
“……”
Others seemed to have joined a Normal Match merely to warm up before Ranked Matches.
“Oh?”
A few Players in particular wore rather extraordinary equipment.
One male swordsman carried a keen-edged sword and wore shoulder armor that looked at least C-Grade.
Beside him stood a female Mage whose entire body was covered in various artifacts.
‘Damn. Between the two of them, that has to be worth at least several hundred million won.’
There was only one explanation for being able to wear equipment of that level in a Normal Match.
‘Trainees. Promising ones, at that.’
Sure enough, a team logo was displayed proudly on both of their chests.
A logo shaped like lightning, surrounded by the massive wings of a thunderbird.
It was the emblem of ‘MK Thunders,’ a mid-table Division 1 team.
“Look at those people….”
“Huh, they must be trainees from a professional team! Their equipment is incredible.”
“I’m a Thunders fan… Should I get their signatures in advance?”
Perhaps they sensed the gazes around them.
The swordsman and the female Mage gradually lifted their shoulders with pride.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Spoiling them too much is hardly a good thing.”
For the record, plenty of eyes were on me too.
“Is that guy… a beggar?”
“He isn’t wearing a single piece of armor.”
“That’s a weapon, right? There’s a log that looks exactly like that in the vacant lot in front of my house.”
The louder the murmuring became, the harder I clenched my teeth.
Why did I have to listen to words like that?
Even if I was wearing only a hoodie and jeans, and carrying nothing but a large wooden club.
‘Hmm.’
Come to think of it, perhaps I did deserve it.
“Look at that guy… Pfft!”
“Oh my… Pfft!”
The MK Thunders duo saw me and had the gall to laugh.
If this game had been Survival instead of Hunting, I would have beaten those bastards down first.
“…Whew.”
As I took a deep breath and calmed myself—
[All Players have gathered.]
[The game begins!]
A signal flare burst, and the translucent walls vanished.
Small Goblin heads peeked out from the grass.
“Let“Let’s go!”
“Hyaaa!”
The other Players scattered Mana and Skills as they charged into the grass where the Goblins were hiding.
At the front were, of course, the two from MK Thunders.
“It’s begun.”
I did not set off immediately.
Instead, I let my shoulders sag.
HUMMMM…!
I focused on the Mana stirring within me.
It was only a tiny amount of Mana, barely enough to fill a handful.
‘Others would say that such a small amount of Mana can’t do anything.’
But I knew.
I knew how to use Mana as efficiently as possible.
For almost my entire life, I had operated only the external Mana that quickly dissipated.
SHHHHH!
Controlling my own Mana, which did not dissipate so easily, was incredibly easy.
“It’s all in how you use Mana.”
I sent the Mana gathered near my solar plexus into my lower body.
Through my knees, calves, ankles around the ankle bones, then onward to the soles of my feet and my toes.
After making the flow of Mana fluid—
‘Explode!’
The moment I kicked off the ground, my legs rebounded like springs and produced transcendent speed.
It was output that was impossible to believe came from merely 6 Mana.
“?!”
Startled by the sudden roar, the Thunders swordsman turned around. When he saw me, his eyes widened like lanterns.
“Coming through~.”
After casually tossing out those words—
I tightened my grip on the club and used my speed and strength.
CRACK!
I bashed a Goblin across the head.
The Goblin died before it could even make a sound.
It felt as though I had cracked a walnut shell with my fingertips.
[First Kill!]
[One-Shot Kill!]
[You are the first to kill a Monster in a single blow.]
[Kill Count +1]
[First Kill Bonus Count +1]
Shin Jaeha (2 kills)
Noisy system messages appeared one after another.
Only one name appeared in the rankings.
A satisfied grin naturally tugged at my lips.
I turned my gaze toward the green dwarves filling the grass.
“Shall I begin hunting in earnest?”
I ran my tongue across my lips and smacked them.