Chapter 7
âForget worrying about magic powerâhaahâI need to rebuild these muscles firstâŚ!â
Even though she had awakened as an S-rank, Sae-byeokâs body couldnât compare to the one she had forged over nearly ten years of survival.
Her newly awakened body was strong, yes, but nowhere near as battle-hardened as before.
âPhewâŚâ
Finally reaching her destination, she took a short break.
She pulled a bottle of water from her inventory and drank, scrolling through online forums.
âYep⌠no one seems to know anything about time regression abilities.â
Since last night, she had been trying to activate Time of Protection (EX) againâ
hoping to rewind just a few hours to find Kang Soo-ho.
But no matter how hard she tried, the same message appeared:
Condition not met.
She didnât even know what conditions had been fulfilled the first time, so she had nothing to work with.
As a last resort, she had posted a question on an Awakenersâ community board.
Of course, she didnât mention EX-rank or the skillâs true name.
She only described it vaguely as a âregression ability.â
The replies?
Nonsense. Jokes. Fake advice.
Nothing useful.
âWell, I guess it makes sense. Even for an EX-rank, rewinding time whenever you feel like it⌠thatâs insane.â
It was safer to assume sheâd only get one use.
She slipped her phone away and turned toward the gate in front of her.
Right in the middle of Gwanaksan Mountain.
Far from the hiking trails, a lone gate stoodâtodayâs true destination.
The moment she realized she could copy the Safe House Key (A) using adamantium, this gate had come to mind.
Gwanaksan wasnât assigned to any guild.
There wasnât even an Association perimeter line set up.
Meaning⌠no one had claimed it yet.
Which also meantâ
âHeh. Jackpot.â
First come, first served.
Meanwhile
âWhaâ?! Huh?!â
âWhat is it?â
Glory Guild Master Kim I-han turned to his vice master, who was clutching his head in panic.
âThe golden light⌠itâs vanishing! Why is it disappearing so fast?!â
Vice master Jin Sung-chul wasnât much of a fighter,
but his All or Nothing title gave him an uncanny sense for luck⌠and money.
He had insisted they hike here, claiming he smelled money.
And nowâŚ
âThis⌠this is crazyâŚ!â
The âmoney scentâ was fadingâfast.
Then suddenly, his expression went pale white.
âW-what theâŚ?! What is this massive⌠overpowering⌠silver light?!â
The scent of money was goneâ
replaced by the strongest luck he had ever sensed.
So strong, it felt like the entire mountain was glowing silver.
Kim I-hanâs eyes lit up with sharp interest.
Back in the Gate
âWow⌠this place is a goldmine. Did the Glory Guild really hog all of this in my last life? Blow!â
Sae-byeok swung her spear, releasing a compressed tornado of wind at a cluster of tiny rock monsters.
They were shredded in an instant.
In her past life, this skill could swallow entire villages.
Now it was only the size of a person.
But it still worked.
[Dungeon Information]
Server: Golma Mine (8H-MW)
Dungeon Rank: B
Objective: Hunt all monsters inside the dungeon.
Progress: Mini Golems 46/80
Boss Golem: 0/1
Time until Dungeon Break: 23 days 19 hours 3 minutes
The monster count rose rapidly.
âAndâŚâ
Whoosh!
With a flick of her hand, dozens of magic stones scattered on the ground zipped into her inventory.
âOh, yes. This is so good.â
A shiver ran down her spine as goosebumps rose along her arms.
Until now, she had assumed she had to physically touch the grid and select each item to store it.
But here, she had simply thought about itâ
and the stones obeyed.
âNo need to shout skill names either. Love it.â
The Association had proven that most combat skills required verbal activation.
Technically, one could activate them silentlyâbut it was harder to focus mid-battle.
Sae-byeok had trained for years to master silent activationâ
but even after a decade, it had been nearly impossible in chaotic combat.
Yet now, her new title allowed far more freedom.
It felt inconvenient at first, but the freedom was intoxicating.
âHonestly, if not for this skill, I wouldnât have dared come here.â
She smiled as she hunted.
In her previous life, this gate had been owned by the Glory Guild.
People had nicknamed it the âJackpot Gate.â
Why?
Because inside wasâŚ
a magic stone mine.
âHonestly, if it wasnât for this skill, I wouldnât have dared to come here.â
Saebyeok thought to herself as she continued hunting.
In her past life, this gate belonged to the Glory Guild.
People called it the âGold Mine Gate.â
The reason was simple.
It was a mana stone mine!
From the outside, this gate was measured as a B-rank.
But unlike other B-rank dungeons, which had C-rank monsters and B-rank bosses,
the monsters here were only E-rank.
So why was it still measured as B-rank?
Because the mana stone mine contained an enormous amount of magical energy.
Dungeon ranks were determined by how much mana flowed from them.
Usually, that mana came from the monsters inside,
but sometimes there were exceptions.
This was one of those exceptions.
âIs that all of it?â
Once all the mana stones in the rocks were gone,
the boss monster finally came stomping over.
It was such a low-level dungeon that even the boss was only D-rank.
Saebyeok swung her branch toward the cute little mini golem.
It was just a simple stick, sharpened to a pointâ
a very poor excuse for a spear.
â<Sprout>.â
<Skill: Sprout (AâC)>
The morning sun awakens nature.
Stubborn wildflowers break through cold concrete,
and drifting pollen covers the barren earth.
Roots shot out from the ground, binding the mini golem in place.
No other skills were needed.
She simply poured mana into the vines,
weaving them together tightly
until cracks spread across the golemâs surface.
!! Alert !!
All monsters in the dungeon have been hunted.
Mission complete.
Reward obtained: Adamantium (1 kg), <Stone Hammer (D)>
âOkay, got my Adamantium.â
Saebyeok placed the two rewards from the boss into her inventory.
!! Warning !!
The dungeon has been cleared.
Gate will close soon.
Time remaining before forced closure:
59 minutes 58 seconds.
The familiar warning told her she had one hour to leave.
She stretched her arms lazily.
âIf I sell everything, thatâs about four billion won, right?â
Looking at the neat piles of mana stones in her inventory,
Saebyeok smiled in satisfaction.
Three hours of work for forty billion won.
No dungeon had better efficiency than this.
âHm-hmm~âŹâ
She hummed a little tune as she stepped out of the gate.
Just as the gate behind her dissolvedâ
clap, clap, clap!
Applause echoed through the empty mountain trail.
No one was supposed to be here.
âDid you clear this alone?
Our sensors said this was a B-rank dungeon.â
A man approached with a bright, charming smile.
Saebyeok almost frowned when she saw his face.
Soft platinum-blond hair.
Green eyes that clearly werenât of pure Korean blood.
But his Korean was flawless.
âOf all people⌠Kim IhanâŚâ
He was none other than the Guild Master of Glory Guild.
And also the third-ever S-rank Awakener in Korea.
âWait⌠Is this the day Glory discovers this gate?â
One day later and she might have lost it to them.
But running into him like this wasnât exactly a good thing either.
In her previous life as an Association Raid Captain,
the hardest guild to deal with had always been Glory.
DanGun Guild was full of fake patriotsâ
easy to manipulate with just a show of loyalty.
Black Dragon Guild looked tough,
but they were bullies who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.
Talk about âprotecting the weak,â and theyâd cooperate.
But Glory GuildâŚ
âTheyâll probably spin some ridiculous story againâŚâ
They didnât care whether their reputation came from good deeds or bad ones,
as long as people talked about them.
They often left gates on the verge of breaking
just to attract attention.
And they loved to hide the truth,
or exaggerate it,
to make their tales more dramatic.
They truly believed,
âBad publicity is better than no publicity.â
âHunter Kim Ihan, what brings you to such a remote place?â
Thanks to her past-life experience,
Saebyeok didnât panic.
She simply smiled.
Realizing she had recognized him,
Kim Ihanâs smile grew even warmer.
âOur vice master said he smelled something delicious around here⌠so we came.â
He took slow steps closer, closing the distance.
His expression stayed soft and friendly,
impossible to read.
âBut I didnât expect that âdelicious thingâ
to be such a beautiful lady.â
His gaze was like a child staring at a piece of candyâ
wanting to eat it right away,
but barely holding back
because he might get scolded.
