Chapter 1. Beta Tester

Whenever Junsung looked at me, he said something.

"Untouchable Outcast (不可觸賤民)."

A group isolated and segregated from the mainstream population by legal constraints.

They are also known as slaves or serfs.

As humanity headed towards extinction, those who awakened but did not possess mana, such as porters and corpse cleaners, fell into this category.

The reason I am barely surviving, with my head cracked open by a succubus and my essence being drained, is just one.

I simply wanted to live.

As this accursed game of the gods descended upon the world and approached its end, our fate as corpse cleaners was to become meat shields.

"Cough! Cough!"

Blood spewed out in cups.

I wandered alone, searching through a dungeon that had already been cleared, looking for items or elixirs that could generate mana, or skills.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not overcome the limits of my birth.

Even if I trained my body to its limits and equipped myself with S-grade skills that were now common on the streets, without mana, I could never advance to the next level.

Junsung mocked my efforts.

Perhaps his words made me even more determined to seek out a stroke of luck.

But what was the result?

Crack! Crack!

All the vitality in my body was being sucked out.

A level 50 succubus.

For today's hunters, it was a monster that could be killed with a single finger, but for me, it was impossible.

If I could only hunt level 30-40 monsters, it was clear that physical development alone could not elevate me to a higher level.

The light flickered.

Just as I thought I would meet such a futile death.

The familiar mechanical sound I heard whenever I disassembled corpses echoed.

"…!"

A beta test?

A main game?

It was a message I couldn't understand, but I had no time to think.

My consciousness was rapidly fading, and I instinctively knew that if I didn't seize this opportunity, I would vanish.

I summoned all my strength.

Where did I get the strength when my head was about to explode with brain fluid?

Pressing Y, a sandglass appeared before my eyes.

The sand in the sandglass was almost all gone, and time seemed to have stopped around me.

In the next moment, the brain fluid that had been pouring out flowed back into my head.

The succubus's nails that were striking my head rewound quickly, and my figure, wandering through the dungeon, began to step backward.

The scene of disassembling corpses, the squad leader's stern face, and the world, the entire universe, rewound and reversed.

At the moment when even my soul flowed back to the past.

{Obsession S} {Perseverance S} {Greed S} {Character A} {Frugality S} {Interpersonal Relationships B} {Vision B}……

……

***

My body feels a bit heavy.

The gravity pressing down on me felt like a camel carrying water-soaked cotton.

When I opened my eyes, I was rummaging through a monster's blood-soaked corpse.

Disassembling corpses isn't that strange.

I am the hyena of the hunter world.

Like hyenas that roam the African savanna, scavenging on the remains left by hunters, I survive by disassembling corpses.

A new public servant, a dirt spoon, born in a society where hunters became nobles.

A world where ordinary people could not survive, and the incapable were eliminated and devoured by monsters.

A world where only the awakened could survive.

I was also an awakened, but unfortunately, I was fundamentally different from heroes like Junsung, the Demon King, and the Great Sage.

The moment I awakened with the ability to disassemble monsters (D), my life became one of cleaning up after successful hunters.

Though despised in the hunter world, I was necessary to extract mana stones, the new currency, with minimal loss and to separate monster byproducts to create weapons.

Indispensable yet despised in the newly formed ecosystem.

Disassembling monsters was my calling, and it was my daily routine.

But a goblin?

"Why am I disassembling a goblin?"

"Mr. Han. Why are you like this?"

In front of me, Eunah, known as the "Wise Sage," was blinking her eyes anxiously, looking at me.

Clearly...

Eunah was dead.

Her death was one of the triggers that made me decide to inject mana into my body.

Our connection had started long before the world began to collapse.

During our impoverished college days, she worked part-time disassembling monster corpses.

A daily wage of 150,000 won, which could be considered small but was a significant amount for a college student.

We met during that time.

Disassembling monster corpses is done in pairs. She was an expert at removing skin, and I was an expert at extracting mana stones.

"Ms. Eunah... Is it really you?"

"Shh. Be quiet. What if the squad leader sees you?"

It was a sudden situation.

But I was mentally tough enough to remain calm in any situation.

After the world went to hell, those who panicked couldn't survive.

A clear mind and quick action were always necessary.

Though I was extremely surprised, I quickly assessed the situation.

The damp air and the pungent smell of monster blood in the cave entrance were evidence that the world had not yet fallen.

The suffocating air, filled with yellow sand and smoke, indicated that the outside air was bad, even inside the cave.

I took off my gloves and pulled out my phone.

'20 years ago. That means there are at least three years before the signs of collapse begin.'

I quickly finished assessing the situation.

Before I died, I clearly received a system message about a "beta test" and was asked if I wanted to participate in the "main game."

After that, a suitability test began, and I received the attention of the stars, something only the chosen could enjoy.

"Then..."

I sat on a rock, away from the work area, to organize my thoughts.

Eunah, looking anxious, approached me and fidgeted.

It was too harsh a life to waste time panicking or questioning whether this was reality.

After experiencing 20 years of absurd situations, it didn't take long to accept that I had regressed.

This was the opportunity I had longed for.

A stroke of luck?

I don't know if I was the only one selected for the beta test or if there were others, but I know the future and have a chance.

I knew where the named heroes of humanity obtained their strokes of luck and how they rose to their positions.

Surviving 20 years in that hellish world was proof of my excellent judgment.

Though I made a wrong judgment and died in the end, I ultimately regressed.

A peaceful Earth.

Monsters now only exist in dungeons and rarely cause trouble outside, but I know that in three years, the signs of collapse will begin.

An incomprehensible existence turned Earth into a "game field," and we humans became the pieces on a chessboard.

This is the preparation period.

Most of the heroes who emerged among humanity obtained their strokes of luck during this preparation period.

If I could secure even one of the strokes of luck that future heroes obtained first?

My heart raced.

I could become a hero.

Perhaps I could clear the main game and survive. No, I must.

A smile crept onto my face.

"Mr. Han! We need to go back now. The squad leader is coming!"

Eunah's urgent voice.

She was tapping her foot, unsure of what to do.

Once known as the "Wise Sage" and a leader of humanity, she was now trembling in fear of a corpse cleaner squad leader.

I calmed her with a gentle voice.

"It's okay. Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

In this era, corpse cleaners were subcontractors.

After each guild finished hunting, they cleaned up the remains and extracted and transported the byproducts.

The squad leader was a D-grade hunter, a middle manager of the subcontractor.

We, the cleaners, were F-grade, awakened but unable to use mana.

However, we could feel mana and extract cores from corpses and use tools infused with mana.

The squad leader, able to use mana, was fundamentally stronger.

He could handle a goblin.

"Team 3. Can't you see everyone is working?"

Kim Cheolsu, the team leader of subcontractor Creon, barked.

There was no need to confront him here.

To prepare for the future, collecting talent was essential. So, for Eunah, who could be a valuable asset, I could bow once.

With my future experience and current physical strength, I could easily crush a team leader, but there was no need to cause trouble.

"I was resting. I'll get back to work."

"Huh... You brat. Why do you talk like that? Are you being defiant?"

We returned to our positions.

Eunah sighed deeply.

"Mr. Han. You're acting strange today. Why?"

"Maybe I just got a bit overwhelmed by the smell of blood."

"You've been pushing yourself lately. We get sick if we're too exposed to mana. So, take it easy."

"Can I? My throat is parched. By the way, Ms. Eunah, do you have time tonight?"

"Time?"

We already had a good relationship.

After working together for almost a year, it was impossible not to develop a bond.

"Yes, time."

"It depends on what kind of time."

"I'll treat you to dinner. And a drink."

"Sure."

Eunah accepted the invitation without resistance.

Why wouldn't I collect such a golden talent right in front of me?

I finished the work in a good mood, but a problem arose.

"Kang Hansung."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Get over here quickly."

The squad leader's voice.

A person in a superior position trying to assert their authority.

"I'd rather just let it go quietly."

A sigh escaped me.

I no longer needed to live a cowardly life, so I had no intention of accepting the squad leader's bullying.