[Trantor - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 1: Regression
Seoul was aze.
Crimson mes dancing ceaselessly atop the concrete ruins.
Amidst countless corpses, a g bearing a two-headed ck eagle fluttered in the wind.
The symbol of the Romanov n, one of the seven great ns of the world and a magical powerhouse that dominated Eurasia.
"Damn the Romanovs."
Yoojin growled, ring at the fluttering g.
His right arm was gone. Blood gushed like a waterfall from a gaping hole in his abdomen. A fatal wound that would lead to immediate death if he lost consciousness.
Gritting his teeth, he strained to maintain his fading awareness.
"Tsk, tsk. Why bother struggling when you could just lie downfortably?"
An old man perched on the concrete rubble chuckled, looking down at Yoojin.
"Whether it''s futile or not, I won''t know until I try, Dmitri."
"My name is Dmitri Andreyevich Romanov. Show some respect, won''t you?"
"Bullshit. How can anyone remember such a long name?"
"Then call me the Mage King."
The incarnation of Odin, the King of Gods in Asgard.
The head of the Romanov n.
Also, like Yoojin, a Transcendent who has reached the 9th Star Rank.
''The one who turned Seoul into hell.''
Yoojin spat out a mouthful of blood.
"You became the eighth Transcendent, but your wings were clipped before you could even spread them."
"And who was it that broke those wings?"
"Hahaha. What can you do? The seven great ns, including our Romanov n, do not wish for the existing order to crumble. Immortal King."
A title bestowed by the system upon reaching the 9th Star Rank.
Immortal King was Yoojin''s epithet, bestowed upon him by the system.
"At least you call me King."
"Because you deserve it."
A sneer curled Dmitri''s lips.
"Honestly, I''m relieved. If you had received the blessings of a constetion, our n would have suffered great losses."
"You know those lofty beings turned their backs on me, don''t you?"
"Of course I do. You are a Necromancer, one who defies the natural order."
[Necromancer]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
A ss that raises the dead to serve as their minions.
Yoojin was the first and strongest Necromancer to ever exist.
The only problem was…
The great beings, whose names were etched upon the stars, did not bestow their blessings upon those who defied the natural order.
"That is the difference between you and this old man."
A golden haze enveloped Dmitri. An aura that manifested when one became the 〔Incarnation〕 of a god, drawing upon the full power of their patron deity.
''A fraudulent ability that reduces the destructive power of all magic-based attacks by over 95%.''
Even a dragon''s breath.
Even a Death Knight''s dark aura.
Even curses and dark magic honed to their ultimate levels be ineffective.
He was beingpletely overwhelmed.
Yoojin sighed and straightened his back.
Tap, Tap, Tap...
Blood poured from the gaping hole in his chest like a waterfall. Unless he transformed into a lich, his body was too far gone to avoid death.
"Do you think it''s over now?"
"A Necromancer without minions is nothing more than a sitting duck."
"I''ll show you why I''ve been listening to your nonsense all this time."
[Dark Magic Regeneration]
[Lunar Eclipse Spell]
[Transcendent Skill - Death Field]
The bones scattered across the battlefield rattled.
The lingering resentment of fallen wraiths gathered, forming an ash-gray vortex.
A magic circle was added, amplifying the already intensified power of the shadow dimension...
An immense wave of Yin energy surged, so powerful that even a Hunter who had reached the pinnacle of magic would feel a chill.
"A Transcendent Skill that uses the soul as coteral."
Dmitri felt a shiver down his spine at Yoojin''s final gambit. The sight of the surging ash-gray vortex made it hard to breathe. An unsettling feeling made his hair stand on the back of his neck.
It was a power capable of shaking the very order of the world.
''Aura alone won''t be enough to counter this. I have no choice but to prepare my most powerful magic.''
sh—!
The Eye of Odin.
A symbol of divine power granted to Dmitri when he became an 〔Incarnation〕.
The rune inscription that appeared on his retina drew in magic, forcibly elevating it beyond its inherent rank.
〔Divine Power〕, a force one step above 〔Magic〕, the foundation of the world, and bordering on thews of the universe itself. A power beyond the realm of mortals, granted only to constetions or incarnations, was manifested.
[Absolute Curse]
[9-Layered Rune Combination]
[Transcendent Magic - Crimson Lord]
Multiple rays of light descended from the sky.
Rune characters, drawing pure destructive power from the nine realms ruled by Odin, intertwined and amplified to their maximum potential.
Divine power resonated and surged.
Energy capable of annihting an entire continent was concentrated into a single point.
"Immortal King. I shall obliterate even your soul."
The crimson sh that poured down like a waterfall tore through the ash-gray storm effortlessly.
The power of a constetion, unattainable by mere mortals.
At the moment his forbidden art, fueled by his very life force, was shattered...
He smiled brightly.
"I''ve been waiting for this."
A worn pocket watch in Yoojin''s hand faced the attack head-on.
[Artifact - Kronos'' Pocket Watch activated.]
[Divine power detected.]
The 〔miracle〕 Dmitri manifested was sucked into the watch.
Tick— Tock—
The watch''s second hand began to move.
[Divine power exceeding that of an Incarnation detected.]
[Activation conditions for Kronos'' Pocket Watch have been met.]
[The timeline is being rewound.]
"What have you done, Immortal King!"
"Why? Something wrong?"
Kronos'' Pocket Watch.
To activate this artifact, which embodied the power to control time, the user had to reach the 9th Star Rank.
Secondly, it required the power of a constetion.
As someone forsaken by the stars, it was an item Yoojin shouldn''t be able to use, but...
''If I can''t do it with my own power, I can borrow it from someone else.''
Yoojin grinned.
Tick— Tock—
The ticking of the second hand grew faster and faster.
The world''s timeline rewound.
His vision blurred.
"See you again, you damn eagle bastard."
Yoojin gave Dmitri the middle finger as a parting gesture.
＊ ＊ ＊
A familiar ceiling.
He blinked several times, but the scene remained the same.
His mind was hazy, as if filled with static. He couldn''t breathe properly, and his vision was unfocused.
"Ugh."
Yoojin shot up in bed as if propelled by a spring.
Thump- Thump- Thump—
His heart pounded at over 180 beats per minute.
His blood rushed, his breathing grew ragged, and his hands and feet trembled.
''Where am I?''
Thest thing he remembered was pushing Kronos'' Pocket Watch into Dmitri''s transcendent magic.
The ticking of the watch filled his ears, and then his vision flickered.
At that moment.
[User: Cheon Yoojin]
[You have been chosen by the system.]
[Please select a suitable ss based on your unique traits and qualities.]
A translucent window appeared before his eyes.
''Indeed. I''ve returned to this day.''
As he stared nkly at the status window floating in the air, memories of the past flooded back.
The day he left the orphanage, found a small apartment, and struggled to survive day by day.
''I saw this message.''
It had been 23 years, but the overwhelming emotions he felt back then remained vivid in Yoojin''s mind.
"Heh."
A chuckle escaped his tightly closed lips.
He had seeded.
A low-probability gamble with everything on the line.
Kronos'' Pocket Watch, an item he hadn''t even considered using because he was far removed from the constetions'' favor, had perfectly fulfilled its role.
''What happened to the watch?''
[Broken Kronos'' Pocket Watch]
Rank: Artifact
Category: Relic
Durability: 1/10
A relic left behind in various dimensions by the ancient constetion who governed time.
Two cannot exist in the same world.
As a consequence of enacting a miracle, time cannot be reversed again at this juncture.
Arge crack etched on the surface. A fissure that wasn''t there before the regression.
''No second chances, huh.''
Yoojin carefully ces the broken watch on the table.
Regression.
The message was clear: the miracle of turning back time to return to the past could not be repeated.
Nevertheless.
Yoojin didn''t throw away Kronos'' Pocket Watch.
''Parents, huh?''
Yoojin had almost no memories from before he was left at the orphanage.
Except for one.
For some reason, the fact that he was holding the artifact [Kronos'' Pocket Watch] was etched in his mind.
''I didn''t realize it was an artifact until muchter.''
It was only after he reached the 9th Star Rank, the realm called transcendence, that he recognized the true value of [Kronos'' Pocket Watch].
Although it became useless after the regression.
He didn''t bother throwing it away.
''Well, I have other uses for it.''
He put the pocket watch in his pocket and grabbed his phone.
? 40 years after the Great Cataclysm. How has the world changed? ?
? Korea''s No. 1 Guild, Arahan, forms an alliance with the Romanov n, one of the world''s seven great ns... ?
? The birth of the first Hunter n on the Korean Penins? ?
40 years since Gates, monsters, and Hunters appeared on Earth.
The world''s flow had been reorganized around Hunters.
The national power of each country was determined by the military strength of Hunter ns and guilds.
And the seven great ns, as they were called, grew into supernatural organizations that wielded absolute power and wealth, surpassing even nations.
''That''s why the Mage King targeted me.''
A 9 Star ranker suddenly appears in Korea, a small country in the Far East?
If Yoojin were to establish a Hunter n, it might emerge as a powerful force threatening the existing order.
''Even though I had no intention of doing that.''
Crack—.
Dmitri, and the Romanov n. I''ll make you regret touching me.
Yoojin suppressed his fury and muttered,
"Status window."
Name - Cheon Yoojin
Gender - Male
Level - 1 (1 Star)
◎ Stats
* Strength: 7
* Agility: 6
* Health: 7
* Endurance: 5
* Mana: 10
◎ Traits
Clear Mind [Unique]
Your mind remains unshaken in any situation. Immune to all mental attacks.
? You have not yet chosen a ss.
? There are 3 ss categories you can choose from based on your unique traits.
Martial / Magic / Priest
These three sses are the basic sses avable to Hunters, and they also serve as the basis for ssifyingbat styles.
''I chose the magic category in the past.''
About 10% of Hunters have magic-rted traits.
Priests also have a low percentage, but he didn''t choose it because it didn''t suit his personality.
''There aren''t only basic sses.''
As your rank increases, you can strengthen your ss to specialize in specific skills or equipment.
There are also sses you can change to by meeting certain conditions in specific Gates.
Like Alchemist, Summoner, Martial Artist, or even Necromancer.
''Let''s get a head start.''
There''s no need to go back down a path he already knows.
He already has the knowledge of how to be a Necromancer.
Yoojin recalled the opportunities he''d seized before his regression and prepared to go out.
[Trantor - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]