Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name was Choi Kang-jun.

Unlike my strong-sounding name, I was not the strongest.

In fact, I was the exact opposite.

“S-Save me!”

“Run!”

“Aaaaagh!”

Flames raged ceaselessly throughout the city.

The Dragon Legion of Death was sweeping across the world.

And I could do nothing but watch helplessly.

After the Gate Incident, how could anyone stop the Dragon Legion, the monsters hailed as the strongest of all?

‘With these pathetic stats, no less.’

My eyes turned toward the status window.

Damnably useless, as always.

[Name : Choi Kang-jun]

[Tags : F-Rank Hunter, Orphan, Powerless, 28 Years Old]

[Strength : 18 / Intelligence : 13]

[Agility : 16 / Vitality : 15]

[Recovery : 10 / Resistance : 10]

Considering that the average stat of an adult man was 10, it was truly pitiful.

It was embarrassing even to call myself a Hunter.

But there was a bigger problem.

[Basic Skills : Interpretation, Translation, Rune Absorption]

[1st Awakening Skill : Mana Absorption (1-Star)]

[2nd Awakening Skill : ???]

[3rd Awakening Skill : ???]

[4th Awakening Skill : ???]

[5th Awakening Skill : ???]

[6th Awakening Skill : ???]

[7th Awakening Skill : ???]

[1st Awakening Skill : Mana Absorption]

-Achievement Level : ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (1-Star)

-Type : Active

-Proficiency : 0/100

-Effect : Absorbs detected mana and randomly increases a stat. You can detect mana that touches your body.

-Cooldown : None

-Special Notes : You can obtain only 1 stat per day. The skill can be turned On/Off, and you can also absorb only the desired range. Upon reaching 9-Star Achievement Level, the 2nd Awakening Skill will be unlocked.

‘Absorb mana? What kind of garbage skill is this...?’

Even seeing it again, it was absurd.

Someone who did not know better might ask why this was a garbage skill, but it really was garbage.

Because even in a world overrun with Hunters, I had never seen anything called mana.

You think that was impossible?

You think I just had not found it?

If anyone said that, I wanted to retort.

‘Then you try finding it, you bastard...’

It had already been eight years since I survived a brush with death and awakened.

I had searched through every possibility.

I had entered high-rank gates, encountered boss-class monsters far beyond my level, and even come into contact with unusual items.

Each time, I approached them and used Mana Absorption, but the message I received was always the same.

[Mana does not exist.]

[Mana does not exist.]

[Mana does not exist.]

………………

…………

[Mana…….]

‘I do not know who designed the system, but this skill is complete trash, is it not?’

It was enough to make the joy I had felt when I first awakened feel ridiculous.

This was why, even after eight years as a Hunter, my skill’s achievement level was still stuck at 1-Star.

‘How am I supposed to raise proficiency and achievement level when I cannot even use the damn thing?’

A sigh escaped me, but I did not even have the leisure for that now.

The world was about to end.

BOOOOM!

BOOM!

It had already been ten days since the dungeon break occurred and the Dragon Legion poured out of the gate.

In that short amount of time, the world had reached the brink of destruction.

Hunters of extraordinary skill had stepped forward to stop the Dragon Legion, but it was not enough.

There was no force on Earth capable of stopping tens of thousands of dragons, each one equal to an A-Rank Hunter.

Even an SSS-Rank Hunter, called a one-man army, was no match for them.

Not against that dragon, as large as a building, which was presumed to be the boss.

“Kroaaaaaaaa!”

Watching the boss dragon destroy an entire city in the distance with a single breath, Kang-jun turned his head.

‘There is no time to stand around and watch. It will come this way soon.’

Kang-jun’s gaze shifted to the people beside him.

“We cannot stay here. Let us move.”

“Understood, Hunter.”

“We will follow your lead, Hunter.”

Together with the people, he hurried down from the rooftop and moved farther away from the boss.

As an F-Rank Hunter, all I could do was help civilians who had failed to evacuate.

A direct confrontation with the Dragon Legion was impossible.

Aside from being able to use Hunter equipment, my body was no different from that of an ordinary person.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Is anyone there? Please help!”

“S-Save me! Guh!”

The cries for help made my steps falter for a moment, but I forced myself to ignore them and ran through the alley with the others.

‘There is nothing I can do in this situation. The Dragon Legion is a group of monsters even A-Rank Hunters can barely handle.’

Thanks to my Hunter equipment, I was slightly stronger than an ordinary person, but in the end, I was still someone who could not even use a skill.

And yet, I had survived ten days in this hell.

Even I thought I was fairly lucky.

‘No, how is this lucky? I am nothing but a fool.’

Even as top-class Hunters from countries all over the world died one after another, I could only watch helplessly.

Even as civilians were killed by the Dragon Legion, I had no choice but to turn my head away.

All I could do was rescue people like this.

Still, perhaps because the fact that I was a Hunter gave them some confidence, the civilians followed me quite well.

We had endured together in the struggle to survive.

But it seemed that ended here.

“Grrrrrr.”

‘Damn it! Damn it...!’

The moment we turned the corner, we came face-to-face with a member of the Dragon Legion.

“Back! Run back!”

“What about you, Hunter?”

“Do not worry about me. Hurry!”

“I am sorry, Hunter!”

As the people ran back the way they had come, pride rose within me more than fear.

‘At least I protected the people I rescued.’

But that satisfaction lasted only for a moment.

‘Fuck. I am dead now.’

I was facing a single member of the Dragon Legion, something even an A-Rank Hunter would struggle to defeat.

It did not feel real.

‘I endured so desperately to survive, only to die this meaninglessly...’

Rather than giving up, I tightened my grip on the hilt of the sword I was holding.

I could not back away just because there was a pit of fire before my eyes.

I had to buy even a little time for the civilians behind me to escape.

“Kroaaaaa!”

“Come at me, then!”

Before I could even raise my sword to respond, the monster’s claw flashed and pierced through my body.

No, it almost pierced through me.

For some reason, just before it reached my heart, the monster’s movement stopped.

‘What? What is happening?’

I stared in confusion at the monster, which had stopped moving as though time itself had frozen.

It was not just the monster.

My body had stopped too.

The entire world had stopped.

That was when an unexpected message appeared.

[You have entered the moment of death.]

[The condition has been fulfilled.]

‘Condition? What condition are you talking about?’

The system did not answer.

It only poured out its own words.

[It has been confirmed that you are an Awakened One with an error.]

[It has been determined that your ability and environment do not match, so a privilege will be granted.]

‘A privilege? What is this?’

An Awakened One referred to a Hunter.

I had never heard of a Hunter receiving a privilege.

[You have received the privilege ‘Reincarnator’.]

[You can reincarnate and begin a new life.]

[Upon reincarnation, it will lead to the privilege ‘Savior of Humanity’.]

[Would you like to reincarnate now? Y/N]

[If you select Yes, you will reincarnate. If you select No, the time stop will be released.]

‘Reincarnate...?’

The system gave me a choice, but who would choose No in this situation?

The moment the time stop was released, I was as good as dead.

‘This is... a do-or-die gamble! I choose Yes!’

It seemed that answering inwardly was enough, for my body was enveloped in a mass of light.

[You have selected Yes.]

[Your abilities have been analyzed, and the optimal location has been found.]

[Reincarnation will now begin.]

***

Blink, blink.

I tried blinking my eyelids.

Wriggle, wriggle.

I tried moving my fingers.

Only after I rolled my eyes this way and that did I become certain.

‘I reincarnated. I reincarnated as a baby!’

The message I had seen at the very end had not been an illusion.

I had truly been given the chance to reincarnate, and I had been born like this as a baby.

‘Everything looks blurry, as though covered in fog, so I cannot see... but I am definitely a baby.’

My hands and feet, wriggling according to my will, confirmed that this body was indeed mine.

It was hard to believe, but I had been given another chance to face the Dragon Legion.

The chance called reincarnation.

‘I will have to start over from the beginning, but that might be better. When I awaken this time, I might get a better skill than before.’

Anything would do, as long as it was not that garbage skill called Mana Absorption.

As long as it was not that, I could grow overwhelmingly stronger.

After all, I possessed the precious asset known as knowledge of the future.

‘Since I reincarnated in a proper body, I probably returned to the past, right?’

Thirty years.

No, even if I had returned only twenty years, I could change the ruined future.

If I acted as a prophet based on my knowledge of the future, I could gather renowned SSS-Rank Hunters and prevent humanity’s destruction.

‘I can do it. If I have regressed to the past and reincarnated as well.’

The key now was how many years into the past I had returned.

I was also curious about which country and which family I had been born into.

But perhaps because I was a newborn, I still could not see properly, nor could I hear well.

‘Well, I will find out gradually.’

I thought I could take my time, but I obtained information much sooner than expected.

It was around the time my hearing must have developed, as I began to hear voices.

‘What are they saying? It is not even English.’

Someone was talking, but I could not understand a word.

‘I do not know which country’s language it is, but at least it is not Korean.’

It would have been nice if I had been born in Korea, so I felt a little disappointed.

‘Still, I reincarnated instead of dying, did I not?’

Rather, Kang-jun could not help feeling excited about starting in a new environment.

No matter which country he had been born in, he would become an Awakened One and prevent humanity’s destruction.

That was what he thought.

Until an unexpected message appeared before his eyes.

[Your hearing has recovered.]

[The basic passive skill ‘Interpretation’ has activated.]

“Honey, is our Zeke not so beautiful?”

“Hahaha, why even ask? Just looking at him makes me smile. He is so lovely.”

“How can a baby boy be this beautiful and lovable? Hehehe.”

“Ah, Zeke has opened his eyes. I hope we did not wake him.”

“Wait a moment, Zeke. Are you hungry? Mother will bring you milk.”

The voices he had been unable to understand were automatically interpreted and echoed inside his head.

‘What is this?’

Kang-jun realized that his name was Zeke, but he was more startled by the system window that had suddenly appeared.

‘The system... already exists?’

That meant he had awakened from birth.

He could not believe it, but as if telling him not to doubt it, system messages rapidly scrolled upward.

[Your vision has recovered.]

[Your stats will be initialized according to the level of an Awakened One.]

[Your tags will be initialized due to the changed environment.]

[New tags have been registered.]

‘What is this?’

When Kang-jun looked at the status window, he was left dumbfounded.

[Name : Zeke McLaughlin]

[Tags : Reincarnator of the Pangaea Continent, The Deccan Kingdom’s Greatest Magical Noble Family, Youngest Son of a Ducal House, Fourth Young Master, Illegitimate Child, Newly Born Cute Baby]

[Strength : 1 / Intelligence : 1]

[Agility : 1 / Vitality : 1]

[Recovery : 1 / Resistance : 1]

[Basic Skills : Interpretation, Translation, Rune Absorption]

[1st Awakening Skill : Mana Absorption (1-Star)]

[2nd Awakening Skill : ???]

[3rd Awakening Skill : ???]

[4th Awakening Skill : ???]

[5th Awakening Skill : ???]

[6th Awakening Skill : ???]

[7th Awakening Skill : ???]

‘Mana Absorption is still here?’

He thought he had awakened from birth, but that was not it.

The existing system had carried over intact into his reincarnated body.

‘...Th-Then I have to live my entire life with this garbage skill called Mana Absorption?’

He was doomed.

That was the only thought that came to mind.

At this rate, he would not even be able to grow properly.

But there was an even more fundamental problem.

[You have received the privilege ‘Savior of Humanity’.]

[Having reincarnated into a new dimension, you have been granted the qualification to save humanity.]

[Grow your strength on the Pangaea Continent, which is filled with magic and aura.]

[Once you possess the power to save humanity, you will be able to return to your original dimension.]

This place was not the Earth he knew, but a fantasy world.

It was not even his original world, and yet he was supposed to grow stronger here.

‘How am I supposed to grow stronger when I cannot even use Mana Absorption? If this is what you were going to do, you should have changed my skill to something else!’

He found it absurd, but only for a moment.

‘Wait. Magic and aura...?’

Kang-jun recalled the message he had heard right before reincarnating.

‘The system said that it analyzed my abilities and found the optimal location. Does that mean...?’

He realized it belatedly.

He had reincarnated into a place overflowing with mana.