I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 10

10.

Thirty seconds later, Shin-hwa emerged from ‘Magos’s Room.’

He’d finally resorted to biting and tearing off Magos’s legs to escape the inferno.

Naturally, he’d grabbed all the loot without missing a thing.

That included three top-grade Dimension Stones, the Steel Flower, and Magos’s eyeball.

The Steel Flower, about the size of a thumb, was shaped like tiny petals, just as its name suggested.

It resembled a miniature rose.

The texture was soft, and flowers like this often had a flavor akin to chocolate, promising a sweet taste.

‘Okay, let’s think this through. How to best use the money from selling the Dimension Stones… And I need to take good care of the Steel Flower and the eyeball. Save them for when the time is right.’

Shin-hwa organized his thoughts before stepping out of the dimensional gate.

Then, he composed himself, aiming for a reaction that was neither too calm nor overly excited, and stepped through.

“Hoo! Hoo! Augh, it’s hot! Magos, you bastard! Why did you struggle so much before dying? You almost burned all my hair off. Hoo!”

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Barely escaping the flames had left half his clothes burned.

He had some minor burns, but he quickly applied healing needles, empowered with magic, to heal them cleanly.

“Kang Shin-hwa… You, now, you… How… Did you clear this dungeon alone? The exit dimensional gate only opens if you do that, right?”

Kim Cheol-geun, the porter captain, stared at Shin-hwa, his expression incredulous.

Even after blinking and looking again, there were two dimensional gates open, not one.

One was the entrance gate, always open, and the other was the exit gate, which only appeared after defeating the boss or a key monster.

This proved Shin-hwa had reached the end, whether by defeating a key monster or the boss.

Even the key monster, despite its name, possessed stats similar to a boss monster.

Clearing either was an incredible feat.

Step. Step.

Perhaps because it was a cold winter, steam rose from Shin-hwa’s body with each step, the lingering heat radiating from him.

“No way…”

“S, scary.”

The porters lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze.

The same colleagues who had cast mocking glances before Shin-hwa entered the dungeon now couldn’t even meet his eyes.

They worried Shin-hwa might retaliate for their earlier taunts.

Regardless of the specifics, Shin-hwa was now someone who had cleared a C-rank dungeon.

In other words, he could easily crush them like flies if he wanted to.

The fear of death.

It was a primal fear, a survival instinct that even Awakened Ones couldn’t escape when faced with overwhelming power.

Shin-hwa walked over and locked eyes with Kim Cheol-geun.

“……”

Kim Cheol-geun was speechless, as if he’d swallowed honey.

He remembered his past actions, forcing Shin-hwa to do all the dirty work, especially the unpleasant tasks.

He had treated him carelessly, seeing him as a young guy who couldn’t complain if threatened or pushed around.

“Team leader.”

“……Huh?”

“Remember how you said I was too unskilled, so you could only give me a super short-term contract per dungeon, not a one-year long-term contract?”

“Y, yeah. I did say that.”

Kim Cheol-geun nodded awkwardly, his fingertips trembling involuntarily.

Porters usually signed one-year contracts for stable employment and income.

This was because porters typically worked as a team.

However, Kim Cheol-geun had imposed harsh conditions on Shin-hwa.

The porter contract was renewed after each dungeon cleared.

Sometimes, he even excluded Shin-hwa to save on labor costs, even on the same day.

Shin-hwa, unilaterally told to wait, became unemployed until the next schedule was set.

He lacked the connections to find another team, and Kim Cheol-geun was his only option.

“Team leader, party leader, I’m leaving the party as of today. Is that okay? It was just a short-term part-time job anyway.”

Shin-hwa glanced between Kim Cheol-geun and So Jung-hyun, his tone dry, as he made his announcement.

A porter declaring they were leaving the party!

It was something a porter seeking a stable, lifelong job would never say.

So Jung-hyun, who had been standing beside Kim Cheol-geun, dumbfounded, swallowed hard and spoke.

“Kang Shin-hwa. You… have you been hiding your strength until now? To clear a dungeon alone, you have to be at least B-rank.”

“Whether I hid my strength or not, I don’t think you need to worry about it anymore. Anyway, I’m leaving. Everyone, work hard day and night!”

Shin-hwa smiled brightly and waved his hand vigorously.

It was a farewell to his past life, where he had lived like a ‘dirt spoon’ [Korean slang for someone born into poverty] in the world of Awakened Ones.

There was no one here to thank or owe anything to.

If there had been, this farewell wouldn’t have been so emotionless.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hwa! Don’t do that and stay in our party…”

“Shin-hwa! I, I’m sorry for everything! Are you leaving us like this? Don’t do that and hire us as your exclusive porters…!”

So Jung-hyun and Kim Cheol-geun’s desperate pleas faded behind him as Shin-hwa ignored them and walked away.

He wanted to break the vicious cycle of being a ‘dirt spoon’. A life where being ignored was a daily occurrence.

‘I don’t need to live like that anymore. The enlightenment and knowledge I have will dramatically reduce the trial and error that took 30 years in my past life!’

Shin-hwa clenched his fists.

He planned to head to the Awakened One Exchange first.

He needed to sell the three top-grade Dimension Stones.

The market value was a whopping 2.7 billion won.

But just then.

Unlike the other Awakened Ones and porters who hesitated, fearing to even approach.

Yoon Byeol-i, in a flash, rushed to Shin-hwa and grabbed his shoulder with her right hand.

“Excuse me! Just a moment!”

“Yes?”

The moment he turned around.

Thud!

Seeing Yoon Byeol-i’s hand suddenly appear in front of him, Shin-hwa reflexively knocked it away.

It was an unconscious reaction.

The senses from his past life, honed to react instantly to life-threatening situations, activated.

“Ah…!”

Shin-hwa’s instantaneous response, fueled by considerable power, sent Yoon Byeol-i reeling, clutching her sore hand.

Shin-hwa’s strength was enough for her, a C-rank Awakened One, to feel pain.

“What is it?”

Shin-hwa asked sharply.

He hadn’t recognized her, distracted by So Jung-hyun and Kim Cheol-geun, but it seemed an agent had already arrived.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to attack, but I was in a hurry to grab you… I apologize if you felt offended.”

Yoon Byeol-i immediately bowed her head and apologized. Regardless of the reason, she had reached out first.

Despite her somewhat cold personality, she didn’t disregard manners or act rudely.

However, she was surprised by the power Shin-hwa had unleashed, enough to suppress her own strength.

It was a power that defied his supposed F-rank status.

‘It’s Yoon Byeol-i?’

Meanwhile, Shin-hwa, having examined her features, recognized her immediately.

A connection from his past life.

An Awakened One he had encountered only once when forming a team before the Great Disaster [a cataclysmic event in the story’s world].

She was SSS-rank at the time.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t a top-tier EX-rank like Nine Lord, and ultimately, she couldn’t overcome that limitation and died during the Great Disaster.

Many thoughts swirled in his mind as he recalled her, but.

‘Annoying.’

Right now, even savoring the memories was annoying.

He desperately wanted to rest, especially after his first battle in his regressed body.

“What’s going on?”

“What on earth happened inside? Was there an internal explosion, or was there any change?”

Yoon Byeol-i asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

She wanted to use a detection device to measure Shin-hwa’s rank, but she hadn’t brought it.

She hadn’t anticipated anything like this happening.

“Do I really have to explain that? I don’t think I have such an obligation.”

“That’s not it.”

“If there are procedural issues or if you need individual questions, contact here.”

Shin-hwa handed over a crumpled business card from his pocket.

[Kim Cheol-geun Porter Supply Team]

[Affiliated Porter Kang Shin-hwa]

[010-3498-XXXX]

It was a business card he had cherished in his past life, but now it was a relic of the past.

“Excuse me, Mr. Kang Shin-hwa?”

“I’m leaving. Don’t bother busy people, and check the dungeon status. Also, check if the inside is stabilized with the DS [Dimensional Stability] detection device. The core energy level has to be below 3.0 to be safe, right?”

“……How do you know that?”

Yoon Byeol-i repeatedly tilted her head, surprised by Shin-hwa’s familiarity with follow-up procedures and risk level standards.

Meanwhile, Shin-hwa was already sprinting away from Sindorim Station without hesitation.

It was a super-fast departure from work.

Some time later.

Yoon Byeol-i, having entered the dungeon to check the internal status, confirmed the facts.

“Internal stabilization complete. Core energy level is also 2.3… It’s real. Mr. Kang Shin-hwa cleared the dungeon alone.”

She, who rarely showed surprise, couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

An Awakened One who was an F-rank porter until yesterday had cleared a dungeon requiring at least B-rank to clear alone.

Big News!

Yoon Byeol-i’s mind raced with the thought of reporting this to her superiors as soon as possible.

Something amazing had happened!

* * *

“The current transaction price for a top-grade Dimension Stone is 1 billion won. As you know, after deducting the 10% special tax, it’s 900 million won per piece.”

“That’s good. I’ll sell all three Dimension Stones.”

“2.7 billion won. Should I transfer it all to Awakened One Kang Shin-hwa’s account?”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment. I’ll process it right away.”

Like the ubiquitous cafes near stations, the Awakened One Exchange was present at every station in Seoul.

I stopped by Sindorim KRX, closest to Sindorim Station, and quickly sold the top-grade Dimension Stones.

As soon as the KRX employee said they would process it.

Ding.

Money was deposited into my bank account.

[Korea Bank: Account Holder Kang Shin-hwa]

[Current Balance: 2,704,305,252 won]

“Wow… this is it! Thank you for your hard work. It’s been deposited.”

“Thank you. Please come again.”

The balance, which had only two commas at most, finally had three commas.

In other words, it had transformed into a balance exceeding one billion won!

On one hand, I felt scared, but I was also incredibly proud.

Having regressed knowledge that can see through the future.

With that alone, I had earned a whopping 2.7 billion won in just one day since regressing.

“Let’s change where I live first. It’s a hundred times better than living in the Red Zone [a dangerous, crime-ridden area] and worrying about my life every time.”

I set my first goal without hesitation.

Moving to the White Zone [a safe, affluent area], an area considered heaven due to its unparalleled safety.