Chapter 1: The Regressor Who Carries the Memory of a Destroyed World

The earth is no longer a place where humans can live.

Inside a cave as dark as pitch.

I felt along the wall to find the cloth that concealed the elevator.

Carefully pulling back the cloth, I cautiously placed one foot on the elevator floor and shifted my weight to that foot.

With nothing visible, the only way to check if the elevator was still operational was to put my weight on it.

‘It’s fine.’

The elevator held my weight. The cloth used as a cover was covered in dust, meaning there were no signs of intrusion.

Only after confirming this did I fully step onto the elevator.

In the ruined world, there were no elevator buttons, of course.

Creak-

I pulled the rope to descend, going deeper and darker.

After about 20 minutes, the elevator hit the bottom with a thud.

Removing another cover in the deep underground, the interior space was revealed.

It was the hideout of Kang Yebin.

One of the few survivors in Korea, she had hidden here a year ago.

After confirming that there would be no more visits, I cut the rope of the pulley, and only then did I make a sound.

“Are you alive?”

“Mr. Shinhyuk?”

Soon, a woman’s voice and a light came on.

As a doll approached under the incandescent light, which seemed to belong in the late 19th century, her disheveled appearance was revealed.

Her cheeks were sunken from lack of food, her greasy hair stuck to her face, and her skin was pale from lack of sunlight.

“Give me food.”

It was fitting that she would ask for food as soon as she saw me.

“How long have you been hungry?”

“About four months...?”

“Even if you rationed it, that long?”

“If I rationed it more, I would have been a corpse lying here. Can’t you see my stomach and back are touching?”

Pulling at the back of her clothes, she seemed to emphasize her emaciated stomach, but for someone who had been starving for four months, she was in relatively good condition.

“Exaggeration.”

Four months of starvation was a good state. For an ordinary human, it would have been long enough to die of starvation, but this didn’t apply to the remaining survivors like her and me.

“You would have died long ago if you had starved for four months.”

We were Awakened, and the bodies of Awakened were different from those of ordinary humans.

In terms of performance, we could cut through buildings with simple blades, and her homeostasis was excellent enough to keep her conscious despite four months of starvation.

If not for this, we would have died long ago in a world where monsters had driven humans away.

“This is all that’s left. You know the condition, right?”

I took out rotten meat and expired canned goods from my [Inventory].

“Ugh... the smell.”

Actually, it was closer to trash than food. The smell of decay filled the cave, and these were the only things I had left for her, which no other survivors could have been given.

I offered them to her not out of malice.

It wasn’t because her body was strong enough to eat spoiled food.

Like my ability, which is [Inventory]—

“Anyway, I’ll eat well.”

She, too, was an Awakened with an ability.

It was called [Time Slip].

In the era of civilization, it was a power often seen in movies, the ability to turn back time.

‘Time Travel’ or ‘The Strange Doctor’.

“Do you have any fruits or vegetables? I’m really tired of meat now.”

With a gesture, the trash returned to its original form, like rewinding an old videotape. The meat, which was covered in white mold, turned back to its original red color, and the corroded cans returned to their freshly manufactured state.

Kang Yebin waved away the smell and brought the meat to her mouth.

“At least, it’s not bad if you don’t know what you’re eating.”

“You know what you’re eating, right?”

“That’s just a way of saying it. Everything depends on your mindset. Have you heard of the story of Master Wonhyo and the skull of water?”

Though it’s used this way now...

“This is the last one.”

Her ability was indeed remarkable.

It was no coincidence that I, who was responsible for the current survivors, came here last.

“I know. You always come to me last.”

“I didn’t mean the order, but this is the end. I won’t go back to the surface anymore.”

Just as I cut the rope of the pulley, I had no intention of returning to the surface.

I planned to die here with her.

“What about the others...?”

We have no future.

“They’re all dead. Kang Shinwoo, Im Hwan, and Ha Dae-ho.”

After a year of searching, all the former S-rankers were dead.

“Now it’s just us.”

Even though their hideouts were hidden deep underground, just like Kang Yebin’s.

That means...

“This place is also dangerous. They all died in their hideouts.”

“...How much time do we have?”

“I don’t know exactly, but it’s not immediately dangerous.”

“...”

We had already experienced too many deaths, so we didn’t ask when, where, or how our comrades died.

Like her, who poured the entire can of tuna into her mouth before getting to the main point, we only thought about what to do next.

“...How many mana stones do you have?”

I took out the mana stones collected from the survivors' hideouts. Ten SS-grade mana stones, thirty S-grade mana stones. I didn’t bother with the smaller ones.

The reason I wanted to spend my last moments with her.

Through these mana stones, we were going to attempt a regression.

By detonating the mana stones and pouring the mana into her body, she would use the vast amount of mana to send an object to the farthest past.

The object was a memory vault.

Sending my memories to my past self.

Even if the timeline was slightly off, the memory vault, which had been in my inventory for a long time, couldn’t be taken by anyone, so theoretically, it was perfect.

This is why it’s a regression.

I will die here, but the 20-year-old Park Shinhyuk will remember everything that has happened so far.

“Make sure to punish the turncoats and looters before they commit their crimes, and clear the gate before it explodes. You’ll handle the monsters well, right?”

“...Who are you talking to?”

“To the 20-year-old Shinhyuk who is listening to this conversation now. And Kang Yebin, who will surely be prettier than now, find her first and treat her well.”

Her words to the 20-year-old me.

“Treat her well...”

I didn’t do it like her.

‘Park Shinhyuk. Get out of that engineering department first.’

The thoughts I have now will also be conveyed to my past self.

“Then I’ll start now.”

Soon, a bright light enveloped her body.

* * *

I am Park Shinhyuk.

Outside, I’m a tough guy. I have the title of an Awakened, and I was handsome enough to consider becoming an actor before the gates appeared.

“Park Shinhyuk, you bastard, what are you doing? Can’t you see the battle is over?”

But once inside the gate?

“I’m coming~”

It’s a dead-end job.

With my ability being [Inventory], I’m naturally a porter. As an Awakened, I even get paid a salary, which is the end of the line.

‘The salary is better than a large corporation...’

But because of the salary, there are many competitors, and I often get mistreated.

There are plenty of people who want to be porters even without the [Inventory] ability, so there are plenty of people who can serve the combatants even without me.

The valuable things from monsters are mana stones and special parts that carry mana, which anyone can pick up, which is a shame for me as an Awakened.

If the bodies of ordinary monsters were valuable, I would be treated better.

I can carry much more than other porters.

“F*ck, you. Aren’t you mining the mana stones?”

“I’m coming~”

I took out chairs and tables from my inventory for the combatants to rest on, and then ran towards the corpses to mine the mana stones.

Plop-

I opened the corpse with familiar movements.

As with any task that anyone can do, mining mana stones from corpses was not difficult.

Just cut open the corpse’s belly and dig out the mana stones. It’s a dirty and unpleasant job, but you can get used to it over time.

‘The problem is that not all monsters have mana stones...’

When that happens, I have to roughly tear open the belly to show that I’ve searched thoroughly, to avoid getting scolded.

“This one doesn’t have it either...”

Just as I was about to open the tenth corpse, I heard the combatant, who had been urging me to mine the mana stones, laugh mockingly.

“Don’t even think about cheating. I’m counting them all.”

“Of course. Honest!”

That suspicious guy, by the way, is lying. I’ve never cheated before.

I always mine the mana stones honestly and hand them over as they are.

But why does he say such things?

Punch-

I endured all the violence.

I buried my face in the monster’s belly as the guy wanted.

After the kicks stopped, I lifted my head, covered in the monster’s innards.

‘These guys with bad attitudes...’

Cheating is just an excuse.

An excuse to hit me.

Punch-

“F*ck, you. Do you know how much a mana stone is worth? More than your body. Who would fall over like that?”

Punch-

“Why aren’t you getting up? Don’t you want your salary?”

Punch-

“F*ck- Your back of the head looks like it’s begging to be stepped on.”

Punch-

I endured all the violence.

I buried my face in the monster’s belly as the guy wanted.

“...”

After the kicks stopped, I lifted my head, covered in the monster’s innards.

And I smiled widely with a bloodied face.

“Sorry~ I’ll be more careful not to damage the mana stones~”

“Of course, your perseverance is excellent. That’s why I only work with my brother.”

It’s f*cking terrible. Seriously, f*cking terrible. I’m his brother. I’m an Awakened too...

Being an Awakened made my life even harder. Non-Awakened porters at least get some protection from citizen groups. As a registered Awakened, I can’t even report the abuse for fear of losing my job.

Being an Awakened means the violence is even worse. These guys don’t even control their strength, knowing I’m an Awakened.

If I were a non-Awakened, my head would have exploded by now.

‘F*ck, one day...’

I just swallowed my anger and put the mined mana stones in my bag.

Not in my inventory, but in a bag.

- I’m carrying a weapon, but my brother has light hands?

- Hehe. Can I carry something?

- A porter like you? Would it make a difference if you carried something?

Because they didn’t like seeing me, who has the [Inventory] ability, walking around empty-handed, they forced me to carry a large backpack.

“I’ve mined all the mana stones~ I collected 5 F-grade and 1 E-grade mana stones from 40 corpses~”

“Good job. My brother can rest now. You smell, so it’s better to stay a bit away. Go to the side where the wind doesn’t blow.”

“Should I wash up and come back?”

“Sure, if you want. But if you’re not here when we leave, you’ll get hit again, you know?”

“Yes! I’ll come back as quickly as possible~”

But why do I work under these guys with bad attitudes? They’re moody, but sometimes they drop some scraps.

They take everything they need, but sometimes they give me artifacts that have no market value.

Of course, they package it as if they’re doing me a favor.

- My brother, you’ve worked hard. I get a lot of battle stress, so I sometimes get angry. You understand, right?

What a despicable guy. In a notorious engineering department where porters are constantly changing, it’s hard to find a sandbag like me who consistently comes to work.

I know all the reasons. You f*cking brat.

But paradoxically, that’s why I endure here. I hope that one day, a big find will come from the artifacts they’ve given me.

The gates have only been around for five years, and humans still have a lot to learn, so a big find could come from the artifacts I’ve received from them.

That’s why I opened my inventory while heading to the riverbank I had seen earlier.

“Last time...”

This is what they gave me.

A consumable artifact that I haven’t used yet. Its function is only ‘memory storage and output,’ so I might never use it.

“I might try it when I’m too lazy to write a diary.”

Just as I was about to put the memory vault back in my inventory, a system message appeared that I couldn’t understand.

“Identical? Two of them?”

What the hell is this?

I only remember receiving one.

I’ll have to see it to understand.

So, I took out the new artifact.

“Mythical? SSS-grade? Does that even exist?”

And another SSS-grade.

“What the...?”

Park Shinhyuk? I’m an F-grade hunter?

It was beyond my comprehension.