It would not have been an exaggeration to say that Oh Junseo was currently living through the prime of his life.
Not only had he awakened as a Player and obtained a fairly useful Skill, but it had caught a Scout’s eye, allowing him to join MK Thunders as a trainee.
As expected of a team backed by a major corporation, its support was lavish.
There were ultra-expensive Items that he could never have dreamed of possessing as an ordinary Player, as well as a professional training system and thorough management!
‘At least among Players of the same Level, nobody can keep up with me.’
That was what he had thought.
CRACK!
Until he saw this sight.
The man in the hoodie had sprinted past him.
Junseo had quietly laughed when he saw that the man lacked any proper equipment and carried what looked like a log instead of a weapon.
CRACK! THUD! CRACK!
But there was nothing amusing about the current scene.
Every time the man swung his arm, at least two Goblins burst apart.
“Damn, there are so many.”
He eyed the green dwarves filling his view as though they were neatly packaged chocolates, saliva practically dripping from his mouth.
Then, the moment he kicked off the ground, the man’s figure vanished like a mirage.
All Junseo could see and hear were Goblins collapsing while spurting blood—
“Grrk!”
“Gyaaaagh!”
—and their screams ringing out.
‘What is that…? He’s absolutely not on the same level as me!’
Oh Junseo’s legs trembled.
Normal Matches in the Channel usually matched Players with others of similar Levels or Ranks.
That was to prevent what was known as low-level stomping, in which one Player dominated the game too completely.
That meant the man had to be at roughly the same level as him….
“How could that possibly be?!”
The words slipped from Junseo’s mouth before he realized it.
Whether it was the amount of Mana he possessed or his ability to sweep away Goblins in an instant—
That was skill that required at least Level 20 and an upper Bronze Rank.
Even among such Players, it was uncommon.
“Junseo! What are you doing?!”
“Y-Yeah…?”
“Yeah, what?! If you don’t start hunting, that man’s going to clear them all out!”
Kim Sujeong, who had joined MK Thunders as a trainee alongside him, urgently pressed him.
She was right.
One man was monopolizing every Goblin in the area.
“Damn it… Who is that guy?!”
The two stared in shock at the man’s name displayed in the rankings.
<Rankings>
1. Shin Jaeha (78 kills)
2. Kim Sujeong (5 kills)
3. Oh Junseo (3 kills)
That name was maintaining first place by an overwhelming margin.
Attributes were honest with numbers.
If your Strength was 7, you could exert seven points’ worth of strength. If your Stamina was 6, you had six points’ worth of stamina.
‘Well, because of my Constitution, my Physical Attributes are higher than they look.’
Still, fixed numerical values did not fluctuate.
But there was one Attribute that alone defied that rule.
‘Mana.’
Mana was unprecedented energy to humanity.
It was not merely a resource for using Skills. It could also be used in numerous ways, such as strengthening the body or amplifying the senses.
And when it came to handling Mana—
CRACK!
I could be called a Specialist.
“Another one down.”
The Goblin’s head, struck by my club, had been warped into an indescribable shape.
A sticky mixture of blood and brain matter soaked the ground.
“Grrk!”
Perhaps enraged by what had happened to their comrades, the Goblins in the group fired poison-coated arrows at me.
“How touching. Such tearful comradeship.”
I focused and gathered the Mana concentrated in my arms and shoulders back into my solar plexus.
It felt as though a small orb floated in the center of my chest.
I unraveled it again, this time focusing it in my knees and calves.
BOOOOM!
Then I leaped with all my strength.
My body shot through the air like a cannonball, soaring roughly thirteen meters in an instant.
‘Mana efficiency varies wildly depending on how you use it.’
My Mana was only 6 right now.
It was the lowest possible value, barely different from a basic Attribute.
Yet there was one reason I could achieve performance like this.
My Mana Control was entirely more refined than that of an average high-ranking Mage.
Before my Regression, I had desperately struggled to avoid wasting even a single strand of external Mana, and naturally learned it in the process.
To have no Mana, yet possess the ability to handle Mana better than anyone else.
It was not even a stale joke.
At least, it had not been before my Regression.
“Heheheh…!”
When I avoided the shower of poison arrows by jumping, fear and disbelief filled the Goblins’ eyes.
To catch that many bastards at once—
“This is still the best way.”
I spread my Mana and activated my Skill.
[Activating Gravity Field (D)!]
The Skill’s effect was simple.
It created a zone centered on me where gravity grew stronger.
The problem was that I, too, was affected by that gravity.
HUMMMM!
A round, translucent violet force field spread around me, and my body sank heavily.
For reference, I was still floating in the air.
Which meant—
“Here I gooooo—!”
Because of the strengthened gravity—
I was falling with tremendous acceleration.
This was the technique I had used most often during the early days of my life as a Player.
[Cannonball (Cannonball)]
The Goblins could only stare helplessly as I suddenly fell at incredible speed.
Before they even had a chance to react—
BOOOOM!
My club plowed through the entire area.
[Goblin defeated!]
[Goblin defeated!]
[Goblin defeated!]
.
.
.
The system windows flashed wildly.
I pushed them aside for a moment, then immediately deactivated the Skill.
‘For now, this is the only way I can use it.’
“G-Gyaaaah!”
“What was that?!”
The other Players cried out in horror as they stared at the devastated ground, as though a meteor had struck.
‘Heh….’
A sharp, tingling pain ran through both of my arms.
It was completely bearable—no, it was refreshing.
It felt as though it were telling me that this was reality, not a dream or an illusion.
“Heheheh…! Hahahahaha!”
“W-What is that guy…?”
“He destroyed a whole Goblin group, and now he’s laughing like a madman…!”
I was so happy.
“There are still more left, right?”
I charged into the forest once more.
.
.
.
[The match has ended.]
The match ended shortly afterward.
I wiped the sweat soaking my forehead and stretched my waist.
“Nngh~ Hah! Whew, that feels good.”
It felt as though I had worked out until I was exhausted, then sweated it all out in a bathhouse.
[Announcing the results.]
<Rankings>
1. Shin Jaeha (286 kills)
2. Kim Sujeong (23 kills)
3. Oh Junseo (19 kills)
“286 kills… Not bad, considering I was just having fun.”
I had taken it easy just to get a feel for things, yet I still passed 250 kills.
It was a little disappointing that I had not passed 300.
“286 kills?!”
“Wasn’t first place usually around 50 kills…? Even 60 was a lot….”
“Who the hell is that guy?”
“A trainee from a major corporate team? But his equipment….”
A different sort of murmuring filled the area.
Various eyes glanced my way.
Among them were the gazes of the MK Thunders duo.
Both of their eyes were trembling noticeably.
‘Tsk, I feel a little bad.’
I had been irritated when they laughed at me.
But considering my current level, this had effectively been low-level stomping.
I deliberately met their eyes, gave them an awkward smile, and lowered my head.
“…!”
Their reactions immediately diverged.
The woman nodded back in a similar manner.
“Ugh…! That…! Ngh…!”
The man’s face alternated between red and blue as he ground his teeth.
‘What is wrong with him?’
Well, I had done everything I needed to do, so it did not matter anymore.
[You have achieved first place by an overwhelming margin!]
[You have set an incredible record!]
[Your play has been reflected in the reward system.]
[Your Level has increased!]
[Attribute Point +1]
[Mana +1]
[Strength +1]
“Oh?”
The rewards were rather substantial.
I had expected my Level to rise, but two different Attributes had increased as well.
Considering how one Attribute would barely increase even after an outstanding performance across many matches, it was an incredible gain.
[+1,000C]
On top of that, I had received one thousand Credits!
For an Under Rank Normal Match, that was an eye-opening amount.
Other Players had likely received around 100.
The Thunders duo, who ranked second and third, had probably received around 200.
Players below tenth place likely had not received anything at all.
“This feels good from the very first match.”
Despite having eaten nothing today, I felt full.
‘Burp.’
I patted my satisfied stomach and disconnected.
“Thanks for the meal~.”
A short while later—
FLASH!
Park Yongdae, the MK Thunders Scout who had brought Oh Junseo and Kim Sujeong into the team, welcomed the returning pair with a broad flash of white teeth.
“Welcome back. You’re earlier than I expected.”
“……”
“So, how was your first game as Thunders trainees? With equipment this good, it feels like a completely different world, doesn’t it?”
Chuckling, he tossed a paper cup with a crumpled rim into the trash.
“Who took first place? It was you, Junseo, right?”
“…No.”
“Then you, Sujeong?”
“I-I didn’t either….”
At those words, Park Yongdae’s expression gradually darkened.
“…What?”
Come to think of it, the atmosphere was strange.
Before connecting, they had loudly boasted about who would take first place, but now they were completely crestfallen.
Oh Junseo’s hand gripping his sword was even trembling, as though he were furious about something.
“You two didn’t take first? What do you mean? Don’t tell me there was a trainee from K1 in the same match?”
Right now, the two were rookies who were not even full-fledged newcomers.
The Attributes of Players they could encounter in the same match would all be roughly similar.
To take first place over those two, one needed to be at least a trainee from one of the Three Great Elite Teams.
“Bad luck. Those bastards—”
“No. He wasn’t a trainee.”
Kim Sujeong cut him off.
“He was not even a trainee. His only equipment was a large wooden club. He wore nothing but a hoodie and jeans….”
“What are you two talking about…? Ah, you’re teasing me, right? Stop joking and tell me. I have to report this.”
“……”
The pair were completely serious.
No, rather than being serious, they were so confused that they could barely speak.
The image of the man they had just seen was etched into their minds, replaying like a panorama.
“It will be faster if you see it yourself.”
Kim Sujeong operated the system and opened the most recent match history.
A shocking number was recorded there.
[1. Shin Jaeha (286 kills)]
“T-Two hundred eighty-six…?!”
Park Yongdae opened his mouth wide and rubbed his eyes several times.
But the number did not change.
Exactly 286 kills.
It was a shocking number that could never appear in a match of this level—and should never have appeared.
“The video….”
“…Here.”
The Channel automatically stored recordings of up to the thirty most recent matches.
They could only be recorded from the user’s own perspective, but—
-CRACK! CRUNCH!
-GYAAAAH!
-CRUNCH! SNAP!
-GRRRK!
From Kim Sujeong’s viewpoint, the man’s performance had been recorded.
Dressed in shabby clothes—
he went around smashing the skulls of dozens of Goblins like plastic toys.
Park Yongdae unconsciously swallowed.
“Jaeha….”
He etched that three-syllable name firmly into his mind.
The Korean Player League, K.P.L.
Across that vast battlefield—
“Shin Jaeha…!”
It was the moment his name first became known.