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The discovery of fire, the discovery of electricity, the development of science; there were countless discoveries in Earth’s history. However, if forced to choose one event that changed humanity, everyone would undoubtedly pick the discovery of the Abyss.

A different dimension and monsters that had only existed in one’s imagination… New powers awakening within people… And Players; those who explored the Abyss.

‘Damn it... If only I had awakened my powers…’ Taehyun hastened his pace and hid behind a pillar in front of him.

Even now, the screams of the Players battling Asmodeus did not stop. Excluding porters like him, the expedition team consisted of elite Attackers and Supporters from the Unilight Guild. The majority of them were S-Rank, with some SS-Rank Players among them.

However, they were no match for Asmodeus. S-Rank and SS-Rank Players meant nothing in front of the SSS-Rank monster ruling the region.

All Taehyun could do was hide behind the pillar and watch the one-sided massacre, hugging his arms in an attempt to stop the trembling. ‘Fucking awakening, fucking loser. Taehyun Kim, you useless fucker.’ He tightly clenched his eyes, cursing himself for his helplessness.

The potential rank he was given at birth was Unknown. That term meant many things, and Taehyun’s parents were both anxious and happy. These days, awakening as A-Rank guaranteed a life in the upper classes. And if one awakened as S-Rank, they would have enough money to uplift a family that had broken down.

In the end... Taehyun's parents passed away in a car accident and they never saw his awakening.

In middle school, Taehyun moved from one relative’s house to another until he was legally allowed to live alone. He then found a job at a company that specialized in dispatching Abyss porters, believing that one day his powers would also awaken. As such, he came here to witness and experience the Players’ skills and combat abilities.

What had been the problem? Now aged thirty-five… Taehyun had still not awakened his powers.

"You’re the last one." Amodeus approached Taehyun with its crimson eyes, its voice sounding like the scraping of metal. Taehyun was unable to breathe from the sinister mana the monster emitted. It had eliminated all the other Players at some point.

If Taehyun had known that this was Asmodeus’ territory, he would never have participated in this expedition. However, it was too late now.

“Damn it!” Taehyun instinctively leaped to the side. Yet one of his legs disappeared, making the fifteen years of his porting experience seem worthless.

“Urghh…” Holding back a scream, a moan slipped through his throat. His vision blurred from the blood loss. ‘Damn it... Is this the end…? Without even awakening my powers?’

Perhaps it was due to the pain, or because he felt it was unjust, he couldn’t tell the difference. No, maybe it was both, but… tears streamed down his eyes. “FUUUUUCK!”

Just when he screamed out in anger… A miracle happened.

Ding. The status page, which only the Awakened could see, appeared right in front of his eyes.

[Name]: Taehyun Kim

[Age]: 35

[Rank]: ?

[Skills]

– Gate Creation: Open a gate leading to the King (1/1)

“Hah... Hahah…” He laughed emptily. This had been the moment he’d been waiting for his entire life. But… why did it have to be now of all times? Were the conditions for his awakening a near-death experience?

‘This fucking awakening... You were useless up to the last moment…’ He finally awakened his powers, but the only skill he could use was some useless gate-creation ability. And it was a consumable skill that he could use only once in his life.

Crunchh! With a wave of Asmodeus’ hand, his other leg burst. “You motherfucker! Why are you going this far?!” Taehyun screamed out, half out of his mind, yet Asmodeus smiled wryly as if it were playing with a toy.

Taehyun exploded with manic laughter. Feeling that there was no chance he’d make it out alive, he might as well use the skill he had tried so hard to awaken in the past.

He had seen others use skills countless times before, including gate-creation skills. He outstretched a hand towards Asmodeus, and without any hesitation, used the skill.

“Gate Creation!”

Grumbleeee. Power drained from his body, and the space between Asmodeus and Taehyun began to waver.

The gate was a bit different from the ones Taehyun knew.

***

A moment later.

“Now, what is this place?” A man walked out of the gate. He had crimson hair and red eyes, with crimson mana swirling around him like a haze. His attire was different from anything Taehyun had ever seen.

“Oh, hey. That’s Asmodeus.” The red-haired man alternated his gaze between Taehyun and Asmodeus as he spoke. Yet as he did so, Asmodeus showed no sign of movement. It was as if time had stopped for everything except the man and Taehyun.

“Ha... Hahah... What is…” He stopped an SSS-Rank monster. Taehyun thought back to the description of the skill.

Gate Creation: Open a gate leading to the King (1/1)

‘Open a gate leading to the King?!’

After comprehending the situation he was in, the man spoke once more. “I see. You’re one of those so-called Players, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I have summoned you,” Taehyun replied with difficulty, struggling to identify the man.

“Oh… It seems there are all sorts of strange abilities these days. Is this also a part of his plan?” The man contemplated something briefly, but Taehyun could not just sit and wait for him.

Because though time had stopped, his bleeding hadn’t. He was on the verge of losing consciousness, so he needed to deal with this situation before that happened.

“Are you… the King?”

“King, you say... Yes, some have called me that. You can call me whatever.”

“What can you do for me?” Most Gate Creation skills were of a supporting type, with a minority being a summoning type. Taehyun assumed his skill was of the latter type.

“What, do you want me to deal with Asmodeus?” the man replied as if it were no big deal.

Gulp. Taehyun couldn’t help but swallow back his bloodied spit nervously. This being had spoken as if he could easily kill Asmodeus, an SSS-Rank monster. Who was this man?

“But that’s too boring, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“I can see that you’re in pretty bad shape.” The man’s crimson eyes met Taehyun’s dulling eyes, and at that moment, Taehyun’s head throbbed. He could tell that the man was reading his memories.

It wasn’t too surprising that he could use a psychic-type skill; after all, he even stopped time.

“My life ended long ago, I don’t wish to continue living.”

“Hmm... You aren’t speaking your mind. Still, I respect the hard-working life you have lived.”

“Don’t talk as if you know…” Angered, Taehyun had been about to shout at him.

But the man raised his hand and stopped him. “All right, this must also be fate. I will use the King’s power on you.”

“What...? King’s power?”

Suddenly, the man’s mana left his body and surrounded Taehyun. The mana was a combination of red, blue, white, and black. No, it was a flame.

It didn’t even surprise Taehyun that his bleeding stopped.

"I recommend that you don't hope for a miracle like this to happen again. But if you manage to survive until we meet again, it may be of use to you, Player kiddo.” With those final words, the man disappeared. The gate had also disappeared at some point.

“Hey, I don’t understand! Explain!” The man didn’t stay to listen. So, just as he was about to pour out his frustrations, time began moving again.

Even after using the skill he awakened, nothing had changed. Asmodeus’ mana engulfed him.

“Dam…!” The mana was overwhelming; Taehyun hadn’t even been able to scream properly.

And his…

Consciousness…

Faded.

***

It was dark, and he felt dizzy and weak.

“Hey, this guy’s fucking asleep.”

“Kekeh... Is he trying to escape reality? Then it’s our job to bring him back.”

He heard the voices of young boys. ‘What is this...?’

Phuck. He was still getting a hold of his bearings when a sharp pain flared in his side, and his eyes shot wide open.

“Hmm…?” His eyes moved busily to adjust to the sudden bright environment.

“Are you awake now, loser?”

“We told you to come to the roof, and you’re fucking sleeping? Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson again.”

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, what came into view was a familiar background and two boys wearing familiar clothes. “Huh... What in the…?” Witnessing an unforgettable setting and faces, Taehyun was dumbfounded. They were the bullies of his school days, Taesik Jo and Bummo Koo.

Taehyun lowered his gaze to look at his slender body and found a familiar school uniform. “Is this... a dream?”

“This guy’s still got his head in the clouds.”

Slap. Smiling wryly, Taesik Jo approached him and slapped him across the face. As his frail head snapped to the side, his mind also snapped back to attention. He had just thought of a way to confirm this situation.

‘Open Status Page.’

[Name]: Taehyun Kim

[Age]: 19

[Rank]: E

[Skills] 

– Devour (0%)

It was the status page he had seen before being killed by Asmodeus. As he skimmed over the information, Taehyun laughed with exasperation. “Ha... Hahah... I can’t believe it…”

The page was in its basic form, so there wasn’t much information to read. However, the difference was even clearer because of that. The age had changed from 35 to 19, he was given an awakened rank, and he owned a skill. ‘Did I really regress to the past...?!’

“That’s unbelievable...” The unbelievable had happened, and he tried speaking of that fact.

“Bummo. This bastard’s got a weird look on his face,” Taesik Jo smirked as he spoke, his hand clutching Taehyun’s collar.

Taehyun opened his mouth. “Hey. Shut up for a moment.”

Flinch. 

“What?”

“What did he just say?” Stimulated by the reply, Taesik Jo raised his hand.

‘It’s slow.’ That was likely because of the time he worked as a porter. He had long since graduated such flimsy attacks.

Stab. Taehyun’s two fingers poked exactly where Taesik Jo’s eyes were.

“Aaaaahhh! My eyes!”

Seeing Taesik Jo roll on the ground with his hands over his eyes, Bummo Koo pulled his mana. “You little fucking loser!”

Fireball. 

A ball of fire the size of a fist manifested before him.

“Un-fucking-believable…” Those under the legal age did not have a Player License, so their abilities were clumsy and untrained. ‘It’s embarrassing that I used to be scared of a shitty skill like this.’ 

Letting out a sigh, he took a step towards Bummo Koo. He would learn what ability the new skill he obtained was in due time. ‘I won’t need to use a skill to deal with guys that can’t even be considered third-rate.’

Most of his tone muscles had disappeared, but maybe because he was younger, his body felt light. And although he hadn’t been a Player, Taehyun still had 15 years of experience in the Abyss.

And so… “Hey, this is self-defense, all right?” Taehyun stretched his hands and smiled sinisterly.