In this world, unbelievable things can happen—especially now that magic exists. Most humans, if pushed far enough, can awaken strange abilities: traveling back in time after death, or even crossing over to a parallel world entirely.
According to the Main storyline that strange man handed me—and what I confirmed by digging through it with my Plot Review skill—regressors weren't unheard of.
The first one was supposed to appear in Draft Chapter 8, right when beings like that began surfacing in the chaos, just three chapters ahead of where I am now.
However, the pacing of the chapters has stretched longer than originally intended for a single chapter. I think the story actually began ten years ago, when the chaos was just beginning to ignite.
The screen flickered again, and new words etched themselves onto a fresh panel in front of me:
[The corpse of the wolf has been retrieved by the Hauling Squad. The cleanup squad follows behind, sweeping away the shattered stones and gore left from the battle. Meanwhile, the two hunters are showered with praises for saving the lower district from ruin.]
Another line appeared immediately beneath it:
[It takes a moment for the two to process what Han Seon Lee just revealed. They stand speechless—of course, it's their first time confronting a regressor: someone who knows exactly how the future will unfold.]
I lowered my gaze to the flickering panels hovering before me—two distinct screens, side by side.
One displayed the original plotline, pristine and untouched.
The other showed the new plotline, already branching and pulsing with the ripples of my interference.
"So that's why I couldn't open your system..." Eunseok muttered under his breath. He bought the lie—hook, line, and sinker.
Beside him, Jaemin was practically glowing. He stared at me with those bright, wonder-struck eyes, mouth slightly open like he'd just watched a magician pull the moon from a hat.
Was this really the so-called protagonist?
Above his head, the system stamped him with that familiar label:
[Protagonist]
Slowly, he reached out—hesitant at first—then poked my cheek, his fingertip cold against my skin. His eyes traced every line of my face like he expected me to vanish if he blinked.
"Are you really a regressor?" he asked, voice dripping with childish awe.
"Stop that," I snapped, swatting his hand away—
But before I could even lower my guard, another finger jabbed at my other cheek.
"I just can't believe it... so this is the face of a person from the future..." Jaemin mumbled, his finger still hovering like he was tempted to poke me again.
This idiot—fascinated by a single lie. What kind of shallow writing did that so-called 'original author' slap on this protagonist anyway?
Before I could scold him again, the low rumble of engines rolled over the broken street—heavy, steady, and getting closer fast.
The three of us turned at once.
Coming up through the cleared avenue was the Hauling Squadron at last: armored trucks, reinforced loaders, and cleanup drones in tow.
About time. The fight was done—now the aftermath could crawl in behind us.
[The Climactic Scene has ended]
The text etched itself across the fading battle log like a curtain dropping after a play.
I kept my eyes on the flickering panel, half-listening to the chatter around us. Hunters, faces smudged with soot and fresh adrenaline, gathered near—clapping Jaemin on the shoulder, praising Eunseok's spells, offering water, congratulations, a moment of fleeting hero worship.
"You defeated a legendary grade beast!" one cheered, wide-eyed, like it was the most amazing thing we did.
Only the two basked in it—Jaemin grinning ear to ear, Eunseok giving strained nods, still nursing his drained mana.
I, meanwhile, barely moved. My gaze locked on the far end of the battered street, past the Hauling Squadron's trucks and the clearing crowds.
It should happen any second now—just like the original script said.
A new roar of a cavalry jeep's engine.
The crowd parting.
The one I was waiting for—finally arriving.
The cavalry jeep rumbled to a stop, gravel crunching beneath its massive tires. The crowd, still drunk on adrenaline and gossip, split apart like water around a stone, clearing a path straight to us.
I didn't blink—eyes locked on the door even before the handle twitched.
It swung open with a practiced push. Out stepped a man whose very posture screamed authority—broad shoulders wrapped in a crisp military-grade uniform, the insignia of the Bureau of Hunters Association glinting under the harsh afternoon sun.
Gray hair, combed back so not a strand was out of place. Striking features hardened by years of fieldwork and battles more brutal than tonight's show. Black sunglasses hid eyes I knew were sharp enough to cut excuses in half.
Nam Hyeon Woo.
Vice president of the Bureau of Hunters Association.
As his gaze swept over the three of us, his eyes lingered on each face like he was weighing us on some invisible scale. When they landed on me, I instinctively lowered my eyes and dipped my head in a respectful bow.
"Name?" he asked—his voice deep, each syllable vibrating through the tense air.
"Park Seo-Jun, sir," I replied crisply.
Without a word, he shifted his attention to the other two, repeating the question in that same unyielding tone.
In the original plot, I knew exactly what came next: Vice Captain would offer the standard praise for saving the district, then have them escorted back to headquarters for re-evaluation and re-ranking.
Hwang Jae-Min—golden boy of the Pantheon of the Holy Light, the prodigy with a flawless dungeon raid record—would be officially reclassified as A+ rank. His kill count alone—thirty-eight high-ranked beasts—would earn him the coveted Ace-tier badge before long.
Eunseok, for all his power, would be bumped up to A rank as well, though he'd fall short of Ace. Not surprising. He was a potent mage but reckless with mana; the system loved results, not just flashy spells.
But right now, the plot had veered off again.
"I need the three of you to come in for an evaluation tomorrow," Vice Captain Nam Hyeon said, his deep voice carrying easily over the chatter of the crowd. "Though, truth be told, I really came to thank you for acting so quickly."
He paused, letting his eyes sweep over us with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"If you hadn't moved when you did, the lower district would've been a pile of rubble by now."
He shifted his weight, voice dropping to a lighter, almost amused tone.
"As a reward, drop by the main hall of the BHA and mention my name to the cleric at the counter. You'll each be free to pick a reward—whatever suits you."
With that, he turned on his heel and strode toward the beast's carcass, where the Hauling Squad was busy chaining up the remains.
"Woah! Thank you, sir!" Jae-Min all but shouted, his grin splitting his face as he lunged forward to shake the Vice Captain's hand like an overeager rookie.
Nam Hyeon just chuckled, giving the handshake a firm pump. "No need to thank me—you three just saved us from footing the bill for a full district rebuild. The damage is contained to the lower city, so..."
I felt my eye twitch at that—so what if it's the lower city? The disdain for this place seeped through his words, casual as breathing.
Cheap renovation, cheap lives. Some things about this world's hierarchy never changed, no matter how much the plot twisted.
"Tss." I clicked my tongue and turned away, my hands sinking deep into the pockets of my battered cloak.
Only then did I really look at it—what was left of the Executioner's Cloak. Torn seams, ragged edges, the back shredded wide open where Fenrir's claws had grazed too close. It hung on me now more like a rag than an emblem of my rank.
Still, I didn't stop. I pushed forward through the milling hunters, bumping shoulders without care for the startled glances or muttered protests. If they were too slow to move, that was their problem.
I just wanted to get out of here.
I made my way to the middle district to lay low for the night. My own place was too far, and I didn't feel like dragging my tattered cloak through half the city just to collapse on my own bed.
When I got there, the sight of the sea caught me off guard for a moment. The sun was sinking slow behind the horizon, painting the waves with gold and ember light. It felt oddly peaceful, a quiet lie draped over a world that was anything but.
I found a modest lodge near the boardwalk and paid three gold coins up front—enough for a single room and some privacy. The currency these days had reverted to what it's like back in the old dynasty, a single B-rank essence crystal could be traded for five gold coins, five gold coins equaled ten silver, and ten silver equaled fifteen bronze. A C-rank crystal, cheaper and more common, was worth one gold or its smaller denominations in silver and bronze.
Simple enough.
---
I woke up to a knock at the door and a painfully familiar, too-cheerful voice bleeding through the wood.
"Seo-jun-sii! You there??" Jaemin called out, like he'd known exactly where to find me.
Another voice chimed in—Eunseok, sounding more skeptical.
"Are you sure this is the right room?"
"I think so! But wouldn't it be funny if it wasn't? Ahaha!" Jaemin laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself.
I rubbed a hand over my face, groaning under my breath. Seriously... this clown is supposed to be the protagonist?
Dragging myself up, I pulled on my battered cloak—holes, claw tears and all—buckled my sword at my waist, and shuffled to the door, still blinking sleep from my eyes.
"Hold on," I muttered, more to myself than to them, and cracked the door open.
"How in the hell did you find me..." I mumbled, still half-asleep, their faces nothing but a blur as I squinted at them.
"Oh! We just followed you yesterday when we saw you wandering off," Jaemin said, grinning like an idiot—like this was the most normal thing in the world.
"Come on, we're heading to the High District for our re-evaluation," he added brightly, clapping his hands together.
I let out a long sigh that scraped the bottom of my patience. "...Alright."
The moment I gave in, the screen flickered open in front of my eyes, the text dutifully narrating my misery:
[Morning arrived. The sun shone splendidly for most—except for Han Seon Lee, who woke up grumpy thanks to two idiots pounding at his door.]
Grumpy, huh?
I clicked my tongue and shot the screen a dead look.
Grumpy your face.
With a very real scowl on my face, the three of us left the lodge and began the long trek up to the High District. The Middle District stretched wide—crammed with people, vendors, and half-finished buildings that still bore the scars of the last decade.
It wasn't a short walk. By the time we reached the gates to the High District, the sun had already climbed higher, glaring down at us like it shared my mood.
At the gateway, armed guards were stationed on either side, stopping and inspecting the trucks and armored jeeps rolling in and out. The High District sat at the very crown of the city's tiered blocks—like an ivory ring perched on top of stacked stone and steel.
Half the buildings up here weren't even done yet. Ten years and the city still looked like someone's abandoned blueprint—unfinished, patched, but stubbornly alive.
"Halt!" one of the guards barked as we got close.
I stopped, expression deadpan while Eunseok lifted a hand calmly.
"What business do you have in the High District?" the other guard asked, eyes flicking over the three of us—though lingering on me longer than necessary.
"We're here for re-evaluation," Eunseok said evenly.
"Re-evaluation, huh..." The guard squinted, like he was trying to read something behind our eyes.
"Yeah—" Jaemin jumped in, voice bright, "we're the ones who stopped the beast rampage yesterday. The Vice President himself ordered our ranks to be reassessed."
"Mmm..." The other guard's gaze slid back to me. He tipped his chin, lips curling into a smug sneer. "And this beggar's with you too?"
I swear to every pantheon—I'm going to stab this man in the throat with the sharp end of a B-rank essence crystal.
Beside me, Eunseok chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, no, he's not a beggar. His cloak just got torn up during the fight yesterday—"
I'm. Going. To. Kill. Him.
I shot the guard a stare sharp enough to peel the skin off his smug face before we finally moved on toward the Evaluation Center.
The walk there was anything but quiet—Jaemin's laugh echoed down the stone street, loud and obnoxious.
"Haha! A beggar! Oh god—Seo-jun, your face—!" He wheezed so hard he had to grab Eunseok's shoulder for support.
Watching them lose their minds over it was somehow more infuriating than being called a beggar in the first place.
"Tch..." I clicked my tongue behind clenched teeth, glaring straight ahead so I wouldn't be tempted to hurl one of them into a wall.
When we finally stepped inside the Evaluation Center, a few other hunters were already waiting for their turn, murmuring in low voices.
Some of them glanced our way—no, not our way. My way.
I locked eyes with anyone who dared hold my stare, burning silent threats into their skulls until they looked away.'
("Hey, aren't those three the ones who stopped the rampage yesterday?")
("Yeah, that's them. Wonder what rank they'll get...")
The whispers weren't even subtle. Not that it mattered—I'd rewrite their lines too, if I could.
"Hi! We'd like to take a re-evaluation. It was ordered by Vice President Nam Hyeon Woo," Eunseok said at the counter, his tone polite but firm.
The staff member behind the glass perked up instantly at the mention of that name. Her eyes widened for a heartbeat, then a practiced smile bloomed across her face.
"Oh! So you're the three we've been expecting! Please, follow me this way."
She led us through a short corridor and into a secured wing—an evaluation chamber reserved for elites and special cases. In the original plot, Eunseok and Jaemin were re-evaluated in this same VIP section.
I scanned the room as we stepped inside—exactly as described in the draft I'd read line by line:
A panel flickered to life before my eyes, narrating it back at me:
[A pristine white chamber, lined with exposed cables and gleaming sensors. At its heart stood a massive red crystal, pulsing faintly over a metal platform encircled by safety rails.
To its side, a compact control station flickered with data feeds.
Above it all, a glass-enclosed observation booth loomed—though for today's test, it would remain empty.]
"So... who wants to go first?" the staff member asked brightly, stepping up to the control panel with her clipboard in hand. She glanced at each of us, eyes gleaming with expectation.
"I'll go first," Jaemin said immediately, flashing his usual confident grin. He strode up to the platform without waiting for us to agree.
"Great! Please place your hand on the screen beside you first—it'll read your palm signature. After that, you can touch the crystal to begin the resonance scan," she explained, her voice slipping into practiced professionalism.
Jaemin nodded and did exactly as told. His hand pressed flat against the illuminated screen, a soft hum filling the chamber as the panel confirmed his identity. Then, with a small exhale, he set his palm against the surface of the red crystal.
Tiny arcs of light flickered inside the crystal's core, a golden light shimmered inside, illuminating its blinding colour in the room. The crystal is reacting immediately to the potent energy flowing from him.
I watched in silence. It took longer for Jaemin—the protagonist's power source was immense.
Unfortunately, I'd never been able to read the first chapter of the story myself; the limit of my newly unlocked Plot Review skill only allowed me to peek three chapters deep.
And the beginning, where he first accepted his sponsor's crest... remained locked away from me.
I folded my arms, staring at him through narrowed eyes.
A few moments later, Jaemin's test wrapped up with a satisfied beep from the control panel. The staff noted down the readings on her clipboard, a spark of awe lingering in her eyes.
"As expected of you, Mr. Hwang—please wait over there while we proceed with the next evaluation," she said politely. Jaemin just beamed and swaggered to the side, arms crossed, basking in silent praise.
Next was Eunseok. He stepped up calmly, his expression unreadable as he followed the same steps—hand on the scanner, then onto the crystal.
The reaction came instantly. Brilliant golden flares danced within the crystal's core, flickering and bursting like firecrackers trapped in glass. Sparks crackled along the crystal's veins, proof of his potent mana output.
Yet despite the impressive show, it didn't blaze bright enough to fill the entire chamber the way Jaemin's did.
Even so, the staff's eyes widened in admiration. It was clear Eunseok's rank would climb sharply after this.
I watched quietly, arms folded over my battered cloak, the corner of my mouth twitching at how predictable this all was.
Now all that was left... was me.
"It's your turn now, sir..." she said to me. I stepped onto the platform, following the same steps the other two had done—pressing my hand against the scanner beside the crystal. It hummed softly, scanning my print without issue.
"You can place your hand on the crystal now, Mr. Park," she instructed. I gave a faint nod and slowly pressed my palm against the crystal's cool surface.
I didn't expect much—after all, I was still an E-rank, and just at level 7 in the Ink System.
At first, nothing happened.
"Ah...? What's this...?" The staff frowned, tapping the control panel. "It seems the reading is stuck at fifteen percent..."
She checked the wires, let out a resigned sigh, then shot me a bland look—like she'd already made up her mind about what kind of hunter I was.
"So... what's my rank then?" I asked, faking a hopeful tone, though inside I knew exactly what this was.
Silently, I activated the inner monologue tap. A familiar screen flickered open before my eyes.
[Just as I thought. I sensed nothing from him earlier. How did he even get involved in yesterday's rampage? I'm certain he's the same person who rejected a crest...]
Her thoughts spilled out on the screen, crystal clear, like she was narrating directly into my mind.
[Though... wait... the label above his head... it vanished? Did he beg the deity's—...w...what is this...?]
Her inner voice cut off abruptly. I glanced at her—her eyes were wide, disbelief frozen on her face.
"...S-Seo-jun-ssi... the crystal!" Jaemin stammered beside me.
I turned my eyes to the crystal—
—and froze as I saw it for myself.