Chapter – 02
Only My Status Window Levels Up
An intense headache slammed into my brain.
“Ughhhhhk.”
Then came a thirst so severe it felt like sandpaper scraping my throat.
“W-water…!”
I was going crazy.
Had I ever wanted a single glass of water this badly?
I steadied my dizzy vision and, relying on pure instinct, staggered around desperately searching for water.
‘The fridge!’
I yanked the door open, pulled out a water bottle, and brought it straight to my mouth.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
My throat rippled like waves as I drank.
It was the coolest and sweetest water I had ever tasted.
Even the precious elixir known as the ‘Silent Forest’s Spring Water’ didn’t feel this refreshing.
“Puha!”
Only after emptying the entire 2-liter bottle did the fog in my head begin to clear.
I let out a deep breath, and a bitter alcoholic scent lingered in my mouth.
“…Alcohol?”
A sensation I could never forget even if I tried.
Back in my wastrel days, I drank so much that the smell of alcohol never left my body.
‘Now that I think about it, this headache, thirst, and nauseating feeling…’
It’s a hangover?
Did I drink?
‘No way.’
After the apocalypse began, I didn’t touch alcohol — or even soda — at all.
I wanted to distance myself as much as possible from physical and mental pleasures.
Later on, even if I wanted to drink, my body wouldn’t let me.
My liver had been destroyed by all kinds of elixir doping, making alcohol more lethal than most poisons.
“Now that I look around…?”
A massive living room reminiscent of a soccer field. Clothes and empty liquor bottles scattered across the floor. Balcony windows tightly sealed with blackout curtains.
“This is my house.”
Just to be sure, I slightly parted the blackout curtains.
The vast panorama of Gangnam that unfolded before me was…
“…Huh.”
This was impossible.
This was Korea.
Korea before the apocalypse.
I urgently dug out the smartphone buried in the sofa and pressed the power button.
[2025/3/17]
The date displayed in the top left corner.
Year 2025.
Eight years before the ‘Cataclysm’-level Gate appeared.
I had regressed, turning back time and defying the apocalypse itself.
***
The first thing I did was verify information.
I couldn’t be sure this regression was real.
If I had been thrown into a similar but different world, my eight years of memories would be useless.
Fortunately — or unfortunately —
“It matches the past I know.”
This was indeed the world I used to live in.
The internet articles on the screen:
[Blue Dragon Sword Sect Leader, Sword Emperor ‘Seong Yong-ho’ departs abroad today]
[(Breaking News) Major Gate discovered in Jeonju. Estimated to be at least A-rank]
[South Korea drops to 15th in global Hunter rankings. 3 spots lower than last year… Is this okay?]
Everything matched my memories.
Especially this one.
[Lee Tae-hyun in seclusion for 3 months… Is the death rumor true?]
“……”
To think I returned exactly at this timing… Quite the impressive coincidence.
Right after the moment my life truly began plummeting into the abyss.
During this period, I had holed myself up in my room and drowned myself in alcohol.
I chose the easiest and most foolish way to forget the horrific memories from inside the Gate.
“Pathetic bastard.”
After throwing a curse at my past self, I opened my status window.
[Name: Lee Tae-hyun]
[Potential: F]
[Owned Skills] (2)
▷ Reinforcement €
▷ Limit Break Program (EX)
[Status]
▷ Stamina: 10
▷ Strength: 10
▷ Agility: 10
▷ Magic Power: 10
▷ Wisdom: 10
▷ Resistance: 10
▷ Luck: 10
[Status Window Level: 1 (0/1) Exp]
The stats were still pathetically low.
F-rank potential and one insignificant E-rank skill.
But there was one skill that caught my attention far more.
“Limit Break… Program?”
I had never heard of this skill name before.
In fact, I had never obtained any skill other than Reinforcement.
There were two main ways to obtain skills:
One was to achieve enlightenment through personal realization, and the other was to use extremely rare skill books that dropped inside Gates.
But that so-called “enlightenment” was ultimately a product of talent and potential. No matter how hard an F-rank like me struggled, I could never gain new skills.
“And it’s even EX-rank.”
I slowly examined the skill’s detailed information.
[Limit Break Program (EX)]
▷ A program designed for the proof of a species. It removes the limits one possesses.
“Hmm…?”
The exact details were still unclear.
However, there was one noticeable change.
[Status Window Level: 1 (0/1) Exp]
“My status window gained a level.”
It seemed to be the effect of this skill.
‘…The status window can grow?’
Was something like that even possible?
The thing below it was probably experience points.
It looked like a game system where accumulating a certain amount of EXP would let it level up.
“How do I gain EXP?”
As if answering my question, a new window popped up.
[Achievement List]
- I’ll Show You, A Completely Changed Wastrel
▷ Condition: Open the door and step outside.
▷ Reward: 1 Exp
- Recognized Person
▷ Condition: Be acknowledged by at least 3 people.
▷ Reward: 5 Exp
- Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
▷ Condition: Exercise intensely enough to feel exhausted for at least 3 days.
▷ Reward: 3 Exp
……
A catalog organized by number, with conditions and rewards listed.
“I see, so it’s like this.”
It was more intuitive than I expected.
Moreover, the first achievement was extremely simple.
It felt like a tutorial.
‘Nothing to lose anyway.’
I lightly brushed off my knees and grabbed the front door handle.
Beep! Ding-dong~
The door lock played a cheerful melody as the door swung open.
The moment I took one step outside—
[First Achievement ‘I’ll Show You, A Completely Changed Wastrel’ Cleared!]
[You have obtained 1 Exp!]
A message appeared.
At the same time, the first achievement disappeared from the list.
[Required experience for leveling up has been fulfilled.]
[Status Window Level has increased!]
[Status Window Level: 2 (0/100) Exp]
“What the—?!”
The requirement suddenly jumped by 100 times.
As if the first one had only been a taste, the EXP bar had expanded dramatically.
“Tsk…”
I clicked my tongue and checked the new blinking window that had appeared beside it.
Then, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
[From now on, Stamina, Strength, and Agility will be merged into the Body stat.]
[From now on, Magic Power and Wisdom will be merged into the Technique (技) stat.]
[From now on, Resistance and Luck will be merged into the Mind (心) stat.]
[Potential has risen from F to D.]
[Growth limit has increased!]
“W-what?!”
I widened my eyes and checked my status window again.
[Name: Lee Tae-hyun]
[Potential: D]
[Owned Skills] (2)
▷ Reinforcement €
▷ Limit Break Program (EX)
[Status]
▷ Mind (心): 10
▷ Technique (技): 10
▷ Body : 10
[Status Window Level: 2 (0/100) Exp]
My jaw trembled.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Setting aside the fact that the status window itself had leveled up…
‘My potential increased.’
The potential rank, which was supposed to be permanently fixed at the moment of awakening, had risen.
It was unbelievable.
Potential wasn’t simply a measure of how strong or weak an Awakened was.
It literally meant “potential.”
It was a numerical representation of how far one could grow.
Having S-rank potential didn’t automatically make your stats rise.
Conversely, someone with low potential would eventually stop growing no matter how desperately they trained.
Potential showed the limits of a person.
‘In my first life, what held me back the most was my F-rank potential.’
F-rank.
The lowest ceiling.
No matter how hard I struggled, I could never cross a certain threshold.
To overcome that, I consumed elixirs like they were candy and trained my body to the brink of destruction.
Even then, D-rank was my limit.
That was how hopeless an F-rank body was — even if you consumed an S-rank elixir, the absorption rate was less than 3%.
It was like trying to pour more water into a sponge that was already completely soaked.
‘But now it’s different.’
D-rank.
I had jumped up two whole ranks.
It was still on the lower side compared to the average Awakened, but…
In my previous life, even with an F-rank body, I had managed to reach the level of a D-rank Hunter.
And that wasn’t all.
“I can still level up…!”
Although the EXP requirement had increased dramatically, it wasn’t an impossible amount to gather.
Level 2 wasn’t the end for the status window.
If my potential kept rising alongside the status window’s level…!
“…Khh!”
I forcefully calmed my surging heart.
My insides were tingling.
My heart, muscles, and bones were all trembling with excitement.
My entire body was screaming to start training right this instant.
But it wasn’t over yet.
‘Stat Merging.’
Stamina, Strength, and Agility → merged into Body .
Magic Power and Wisdom → merged into Technique .
Resistance and Luck → merged into Mind (心).
The seven individual stats had been reduced to just three.
Which meant—
‘If my Body stat goes up by one, Stamina, Strength, and Agility will all grow at the same time.’
Each stat originally had different growth conditions.
To raise them individually, I would have had to focus intensely on only one out of seven.
Now, that was no longer necessary.
Training just one of the three categories would raise all the included stats at once.
“And this is only the effect of Level 2?”
The corners of my mouth kept rising uncontrollably.
If Level 2 was already this good, what would Level 3 and 4 bring?
‘This is a golden opportunity I gained along with my regression.’
There must have been some cause-and-effect that brought this into my hands.
I couldn’t afford to be purely optimistic, but…
‘I’m going to squeeze every last drop out of it.’
If I could become stronger.
If I could prevent the future apocalypse.
If I could become strong enough to kill the Iron Blood Lord.
“I’ll use it as much as I want.”
There was no time to waste.
The hangover had already vanished, so it was time to start training.
I quickly changed into the most comfortable clothes from the closet and headed outside.
It was early morning.
As I breathed in the refreshing air and entered the apartment complex—
“Young Master.”
Men in black suits appeared.
The Cheonseong Group emblem on their chests.
They were the Cheonseong Group security team.
“Where are you going so early in the morning?”
“I was thinking of exercising.”
“…Exercise, sir?”
“Yeah. I’ve been cooped up inside for so long that my body feels stiff.”
The bodyguards exchanged glances with flustered expressions.
Of course they would be surprised. They probably never imagined I would walk out on my own two feet instead of dying inside the house.
“Ahem.”
My face felt hot for no reason.
A few seconds later, the man in the lead suit spoke.
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to postpone your workout.”
“…Why?”
“The Chairman is looking for you.”
“Ah.”
Right.
I had forgotten the most important thing I needed to do first.
The reason I had returned to this point, overcoming the apocalypse.
I had to apologize to my father and family… and prove myself.
‘That I’ve changed.’
Of course, I’d have to keep quiet about the regression and the apocalypse.
Otherwise, I might end up locked away in a mental hospital for Awakened people.
“……”
Noticing my face hardening, the bodyguard beside me stepped forward.
“Young Master, you really must go this time. The Chairman is a generous man. If you apologize now…”
“I’ll go home for a moment first.”
“Young Master…!”
“I’m not running away.”
I gestured to my current state.
A shabby hoodie and hair clumped together from not washing it.
“I can’t meet Father looking like this.”
“Ah… I understand.”
“I’ll wash up quickly. Can you wait here for about 10 minutes?”
“Yes, of course…”
I gave them a light smile, then took the elevator back up.
***
After showering, I picked out the most modest and neat suit I could find.
There was no point wearing clothes worth tens of millions of won right now.
I rode in the car driven by the bodyguards, weaving through the dense forest of skyscrapers.
The highest floor of the tallest building among them.
“Whew.”
I took a light deep breath and knocked on the firmly closed door.
“Come in.”
Fortunately, nothing flew at me the moment the door opened.
However, an even colder and sharper gaze pierced straight through my heart.
“…Father.”
There he was — the father I had longed to see again in the flesh.
He looked cold, but no one loved me more than him.
The father who had died protecting me until his very last moment.
My father, who had been silently staring at me, moved his lips.
The voice I hadn’t heard in so long made tears well up in my eyes…
“You son of a bitch I should just kill.”
…Father?
