Trait Plunderer Episode 1
#1 Prologue
"The era of dungeons and guilds ends today."
Before the Chaos swirling like a black hole, Gang Jun clenched his fist tight.
Eighteen years ago, the world had fallen into disarray after the first dungeon appeared.
But that was only for a moment.
Once the stabilization period began, guilds started making money with people's lives.
Guilds did not step in where there was no money.
Even if people died.
"The emergence of dungeons couldn't defy the logic of capital either."
Only when citizens' lives were in danger could guilds make big money.
That was why guilds did not try to end dungeons.
Because that was how they protected their livelihoods.
While guilds grew fat, people continued to die by monsters.
Gang Jun's parents were among those who had left the world that way.
"I will change the world."
That was the reason young Gang Jun wanted to change the world.
To change the world, he had to stand against the guilds of the entire world.
But Gang Jun did not have such power.
No matter how much of a superhuman he was, it was something one individual could not handle.
Perhaps Gang Jun, too, would have surrendered to the power of capital.
If Titan had not appeared before him.
Titan, humanity's heroes.
They were a group of seven top-ranking superhumans.
When all guilds and superhumans pursued money, only Titan saved people.
Their ultimate goal was to destroy Chaos, the source of dungeons and monsters.
Gang Jun, who had wanted to change the world, followed them and shared their noble will.
Titan's popularity pierced the sky.
Religions calling Titan the messengers of gods had even sprung up.
Naturally, the number of superhumans following them also gradually increased.
They grew into the most influential superhuman group in the world.
And finally, they reached Chaos.
"This is Chaos……."
Titan's leader, Sin Donghyeok, muttered before the swirling Chaos.
It was the moment the era of dungeons and guilds came to an end.
"It's finally in our hands."
No, that was how it should have been, if everything had gone according to plan.
*
The dozens of superhumans following Titan, and Gang Jun as well, held their breath.
They had been waiting for their leader, Sin Donghyeok, to destroy Chaos.
But Sin Donghyeok did not destroy Chaos. Instead, he turned his back on Chaos and spoke with a meaningful expression.
"Begin."
At his words, the hands of Titan's Spear Demon, Chen Kai, moved quickly.
Crunch!
From the powerful impact, Gang Jun was knocked backward.
When he came to his senses, Chen Kai's massive spear was lodged in his right chest.
"Keugh!"
Because the spear was embedded deep into the floor, Gang Jun couldn't even move.
Gang Jun looked back and forth between Chen Kai and Sin Donghyeok's faces.
Their gazes were merely cold.
"Why…… why."
Gang Jun couldn't even guess what was happening.
"Tri-Force!"
Titan's Empress, Yun Segyeong, cast her magic.
Ice bearing coldness, brightly blazing flames, and lightning spraying sparks. Three elemental waveforms chased each other's tails and flew toward Gang Jun.
Swish!
At that moment, mana blades that formed around Gang Jun blocked the magic.
Blade Shield.
A skill where blades acted as a protective shield.
Shhk!
He had blocked the magic, but Titan gave not even a moment's gap.
Titan's veteran. Zhang Wei's long sword cleanly cut off Gang Jun's right arm.
"Kuuaaaack!"
At Sin Donghyeok's gesture, the other Titans all fell back.
"……Damn it!"
Gang Jun tightly grasped the spear lodged in his chest with his remaining left arm.
"Nngh……!"
Squelch!
The spear came out, tearing muscles and skin to shreds.
Now his body could move, but the situation was far from good.
Blood was endlessly spurting from his severed arm and pierced chest.
Gang Jun pressed on his wounds and looked around.
"Kuaaack!"
Gang Jun wasn't the only one under attack.
Dozens of superhumans who had gathered to share Titan's will were being massacred by Titan's mad siblings, Dylan and Sarah.
Vrrrrm!
Dylan wielded a chainsaw, tearing the superhumans' bodies into pieces.
"Kwahaha! This is so exciting! I've been waiting for this day!"
Dylan, who had been humanity's hero just minutes ago, had become a mad killer on a rampage.
'This is absurd…….'
Gang Jun's entire body trembled.
It wasn't because of pain or bleeding.
It was because of contempt and rage.
'Just what have I been fighting for all this time……?'
Many superhumans, including Gang Jun, had worked for Titan.
Sometimes they lost their lives during missions, and conversely, they also took the lives of other superhumans.
'What did my comrades risk their lives for?'
The faces of superhuman comrades who had died flashed through his mind.
"Why……"
Gang Jun couldn't continue speaking due to shock.
Sin Donghyeok slowly approached the fallen Gang Jun. The swirling energy of Chaos enveloped and circled his body.
"There is no place for you in the new world. It is enough for us to reign over the world."
Not a hint of change crossed Sin Donghyeok's expression.
Gang Jun grabbed his severed arm and desperately tried to stop the bleeding.
"New world……? Were all your words about ending dungeons and reclaiming peace lies?!"
Gang Jun shouted, shivering.
"Not all of them. We will reclaim peace. Not by ending dungeons, but based on the immense power of Chaos."
As Sin Donghyeok's palm faced the sky, black energy from Chaos gathered above it.
"Sin Donghyeok……. What is your true identity?"
Chaos was the source of power for dungeons and monsters.
Therefore, a superhuman wielding Chaos's power was an absurdity.
Moreover, it was even more ill-fitting for one praised as a hero of humanity.
"Well…… Should I call myself a new human? No, 'god' would be more fitting."
When Sin Donghyeok clenched his fist, the energy of Chaos vanished. He pointed his sword at Gang Jun and continued.
"Gang Jun. Do you truly think peace will come if dungeons come to an end?"
"At least it would become a better world than now……"
Sin Donghyeok snorted at Gang Jun's words.
"You're too naive for your own good. Peace will come if dungeons disappear? You don't know what you're talking about. Even in peaceful times, humans have repeatedly waged countless wars. Without a powerful ruler, humanity will surely head toward ruin. History proves that……. Now, I will become the god of this world and rule it. That is what will bring true peace."
"You're completely mad……"
The corner of Sin Donghyeok's mouth rose.
"Revolutionaries are supposed to be mad."
The bleeding from Gang Jun's body stopped.
Thanks to him controlling his mana to perform emergency treatment.
'I've bought enough time.'
"You'll regret this moment……"
At those words, afterimages formed from Gang Jun's body.
The split afterimages instantly became five clones.
Shadow Master.
A technique that created clones replicating oneself with mana.
"Die!"
The five Gang Juns simultaneously aimed at Sin Donghyeok's neck and swung their daggers.
His body was tattered.
But it was a decisive strike concentrating all remaining strength.
Perhaps because he hadn't expected a surprise attack, Sin Donghyeok couldn't react at all.
Five daggers flew toward Sin Donghyeok's face simultaneously.
'I have a chance……!'
The moment the blade tips were about to reach Sin Donghyeok.
Snap!
Gang Jun's body instantly stiffened.
'Psychokinesis……!'
Turning his eyes, a girl who looked to be a middle schooler was extending her hand.
The interference of Titan's Oracle of the Future, Tomoko.
Even though Gang Jun's blade was right before his eyes, Sin Donghyeok looked composed.
"It is true that your skill is outstanding……."
Slash!
Thud.
Gang Jun toppled over.
No, 'collapsed' would be a more accurate expression.
Because his upper and lower body had completely separated.
"Ghack…!"
He felt something pouring out from his body.
"What can a human do against a god?"
Sin Donghyeok's gaze seemed to pierce Gang Jun.
It wasn't hostility or wariness.
It was a gaze similar to seeing something dirty or disgusting.
It was close to 'contempt'.
"You sure like the word god……. You greedy, blind, pig-like bastard……"
Gang Jun spat out the words with difficulty.
"Are you any different? You assassinated countless superhumans in the name of peace. Can you stand proud before the superhumans who died by your hand?"
"……."
Leaving those words behind, Sin Donghyeok turned around.
Consciousness gradually faded.
.
.
.
Gang Jun.
Titan's Shadow.
He had removed superhumans who hindered Titan's plans from the shadows.
Killing people was terrible, but he had been able to do it.
Because it was for Titan, the hero of humanity, and because he thought that by doing so, he could save more people.
Because he thought his killings would ultimately restore order to the world.
That was how absolute Gang Jun's faith in Titan had been. And now, betrayed by such Titan. In Gang Jun's mind, only one word was seething.
'Revenge.'
However, Gang Jun had been split in two by Sin Donghyeok's sword.
"Keugh……"
He could no longer even look at Sin Donghyeok.
Strength drained from his whole body, and complete darkness descended before his eyes.
Gang Jun's will for revenge faded away futilely.
He thought that was the end.
[The Cosmos cheers for your noble will!]
[You have been chosen as the Regressor of the Cosmos!]
'Cosmos……? Regressor?'
Gang Jun's consciousness, which had experienced death, was gradually returning.
And the next moment, something unbelievable happened.
It was Reverse Regeneration.
Gang Jun's body, which had been split in two, joined back together, and Sin Donghyeok sheathed his sword.
Sin Donghyeok stepped back with a strange reverse stride, and as Zhang Wei's sword was sheathed, Gang Jun's severed arm reattached.
Yun Segyeong's magic flowed in reverse, and Chen Kai's spear returned from Gang Jun's chest to Chen Kai's hand and vanished.
Everything Gang Jun had experienced was undergoing reverse regeneration.
That strange experience continued for a long time.
'Is this a near-death flashback?'
At first, he thought this was the process of dying.
But for that, the process was far too long and detailed.
It felt like etching past events into his mind.
Two camps waged war in a ruined city.
Countless tanks moved backward and swallowed cannon shells.
Fighters whirled about chaotically in the sky.
And at the front lines were superhumans.
It was a scene from the Superhuman War triggered by China's declaration of war.
'Europe's collapse due to the Second Great Upheaval.'
'The organization of the international guild, IEMO.'
'The unidentified superhuman group, Mulan.'
'The Black Star Group that threw East Asia into chaos…….'
Not only the superhuman war, but events Gang Jun had experienced and people he had met were vividly etched into his mind.
And at the same time, all those events were returning to a time before they had happened.
Finally, the time that had been flowing backward gradually regained its original direction.
People who had been walking backward began to walk forward.
'This, could it be…….'
Gang Jun, having come to his senses, checked the smartphone in his hand.
'2020.'
The year Gang Jun turned twenty-two.
And the year of his First Awakening.
Gang Jun had returned to ten years in the past.