I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 2

The only silver lining was that my studio apartment was close to the station.

The Red Zone’s evenings were notoriously ‘wild’.

Pickpocketing and muggings were commonplace; being dragged into dark alleys and beaten senseless was practically a nightly occurrence.

Being a crime-ridden area, it was also notable for having hardly any women living there.

Drrrrk.

My smartphone vibrated, and a text message arrived.

[Rent overdue. Please deposit ₩750,000 (approximately $600 USD) by tomorrow.]

It was a curt message from the landlord.

The rent was due by 6 PM on the 25th, and as soon as that time passed, he immediately sent the message.

₩750,000 for rent!

“This is truly hell.”

Hell wasn’t far off.

I had to pay ₩750,000 to live in a room of about 100 square feet for a month. Including maintenance fees, it was over ₩800,000 (approximately $640 USD).

Maintenance fees, my foot!

There was nothing they maintained.

I checked my bank balance.

In my past life, I always checked my balance to enjoy the satisfaction of how wealthy I was, but now the situation was different.

[Korea Bank: Account Holder Kang Shin-hwa]

[Current Balance: ₩5,252 (approximately $4.20 USD)]

“Even if I add my daily wage of ₩300,000 (approximately $240 USD), it’s not enough to cover the rent. I… I really had it good back then.”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped me.

I could accept that the comfortable life I had dreamed of in my past life was gone with the regression.

The problem was how to escape the ‘hell life’ of my present.

‘Until I met that Nicholas guy, I wandered around aimlessly for more than five years from this point on.’

Looking back, I clearly wasted that time. It was the most precious time of my life.

But now it’s different.

I know exactly what will happen to me in the future.

And that’s not all.

I can awaken the ‘talent’ that I couldn’t cultivate after wasting years, right now, immediately!

My colleagues called me a ‘seasoned player’ in my past life.

It was praise for being the best Awakened, who knew everything inside and out. And it was true.

I spared no effort to improve my skills and didn’t shy away from hardships and trials.

Thanks to that, my fifty years were a constant series of struggles and challenges, and that experience remained as knowledge.

‘I used to complain that there was never any breathing room in my life. But that relentless life has become incredibly valuable!’

Only I know the future.

Also, I possess all the future knowledge that can dramatically change my present.

‘Maybe I can enjoy a comfortable life much sooner this time around?’

The possibilities unfolded in my mind!

I smiled brightly.

Anyway, the day of the Great Disaster is still far off. It’s 2052, so there are still 32 years left.

Then, since I’ve been given a second chance, why not make a lot of money, gain fame and power, and retire early?

Don’t I have the ultimate advantage of future knowledge?

‘Wouldn’t three years be enough?’

A definite plan began to form!

After enduring for three years.

I would buy uninhabited islands in the South Pacific and turn them into a paradise on earth, enjoying a glamorous retirement.

The upcoming Great Disaster?

No worries.

There’s that Nicholas guy who called himself a ‘Regressor’.

When he regresses again, he’ll take care of everything, find a solution, and solve it all. That’s what he did in my past life.

‘This is so easy!’

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

I had been focusing on how I had returned to the worst period of my life and was feeling discouraged.

No. I was wrong.

I had regressed with a jar full of honey. Now, I just need to open the jar and enjoy the sweetness!

A hum escaped my lips.

Of course.

‘No matter how I try, I can’t get used to this environment, not really.’

The reality was still grim.

Finally, I arrived in front of my building, a five-story studio apartment.

My apartment was on the top floor.

Of course, there was no elevator.

And it was a place where the smell of cigarettes and other unpleasant odors from the lower floors permeated, likely due to the ventilation shaft’s design.

I had requested repairs from the landlord several times, but he never even bothered to respond. It was a truly awful place.

‘Let’s just endure today. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to completely rewrite my future!’

With such grand ambitions, I was about to enter the entrance of the shabby studio apartment building.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hwa. Coming home from work?”

Someone grabbed my shoulder roughly.

It wasn’t the friendly touch of a close acquaintance; it was an unpleasant grip that felt like a weight pressing down on me.

I turned around.

Then, I saw a familiar face.

It was the face of Park Do-won, a dark figure from this period that I could never forget.

His completely bald head with bulging veins made him even more memorable.

He was also the boss of the ‘Dowon Brotherhood,’ a violent gang that acted as the neighborhood bullies in the area where I lived.

I don’t know what he was thinking when he came up with such a name, but if Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei [famous figures from the historical novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*] knew about this, they would be furious even in the afterlife.

“What is it?”

I replied curtly.

If I remember correctly, Park Do-won’s rank is D. Mine is F.

Clearly, there is a gap of two ranks, which means a significant difference in power.

If an F-rank has about twice the physical ability of an ordinary human,

a D-rank is at least four times stronger than an F-rank Awakened.

“Huh…? You little punk, are you talking down to me right now? Did your brain suddenly get scrambled after working as a porter in the dungeon?”

The die has been cast.

If I want to live comfortably here, even for a day, I have to deal with Park Do-won decisively.

Otherwise.

He will constantly come after me, extort my daily wages, and harass me. Just like in the past.

This is why I always shudder when I think of the five years I spent as a porter in my past life, considering it a period of utter misery.

Whoosh.

I quickly drew upon the magic power located in my core and began to circulate it throughout my body.

I didn’t know how to manipulate magic power at this point in the past.

But now I know everything.

Even with an F-rank body, there is a way to explosively draw upon a small amount of magic power and deliver a devastating blow.

‘I was mistaken about many things in the past.’

At that time, I thought of myself as an Enhancement-type Awakened who could only simply strengthen the body.

So, I didn’t consider using other abilities and just relied on brute force. I only depended on my strength.

‘But my talent is closer to a Transformation-type, which can transform various things, with Enhancement as a base!’

So, if I control the magic power effectively, I can selectively alter only the necessary parts!

That’s what I’m trying to do now.

Recalling my past life, I finished preparing to activate ‘Explosive Fist,’ one of the best options for a counterattack.

‘The fact that there is no wind-up means that the timing of the attack is completely unpredictable.’

That is the strength of Explosive Fist.

I learned Explosive Fist from a guy named Mook-cheol who came from the ‘Moo-gang Continent’ [a fictional martial arts realm] in my past life.

I remember clinging to his pant leg at the time and begging him to teach me, giving him almost all of my savings.

Because it was the martial art that was most optimized for me to incorporate.

The connection between the Moo-gang Continent and Earth will happen at the dawn of the new year in 2030. It’s still a future event that hasn’t happened yet.

Anyway, with the magic power I have now, I can barely implement Explosive Fist Chapter 1, but that’s enough.

“Are you scared? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Park Do-won smiled when he saw me standing silently.

He seemed to think that I was intimidated and had become a docile sheep.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think I’m a joke?”

He asks again.

“…….”

I waited a little longer.

To take him down in one shot, the position of both arms needs to be a little lower.

He’s still a D-rank Awakened. If he reflexively raises his hand to block, the power of the attack will be halved.

“Okay, let’s check today’s balance.”

Soon, the moment Park Do-won approached me, saying that he would check today’s wages as he pleased.

A gap opened in his defenses.

“Die, you little punk!”

I punched him without hesitation.

[Explosive Fist, Chapter 1 – Violence (暴)]

In an instant, my entire clenched fist was strengthened as hard as steel.

Immediately, it turned bright red and began to heat up intensely.

It was like a high-temperature lump of iron heated in a blacksmith’s furnace, emitting explosive heat.

Not only was the fist strengthened, but even its properties had changed.

Thwack!

“Cough!”

Before Park Do-won could even react, the Explosive Fist landed squarely in the middle of his face.

Because he was so obese, the surface area of his face was at least twice that of an average person.

The target is wide, so it’s much better.

Even though it seemed like I just threw a punch, it hit his face accurately.

Kuahhhh! Kwang!

Park Do-won’s body, which flew like a bullet, was embedded more than halfway into the outer wall of the studio apartment.

It left a clear imprint on the outer wall in the exact shape of his body.

“Ugh…”

Park Do-won’s face, where the boundaries between his eyes, nose, and mouth were already blurred due to the layers of fat,

was completely smashed by the Explosive Fist.

The completely broken nose, the collapsed eye sockets, and the shattered teeth made his face a grotesque mess.

It felt like looking at the face of a slimy cephalopod.

“Kkeugeuk.”

But his condition still seemed to be stable enough to regain consciousness.

‘Since he’s a D-rank Awakened, I expected this much durability.’

I silently walked towards Park Do-won, repeatedly drawing upon the magic power still remaining in my body.

“Mo, more, how… how could… how could you…?”

Park Do-won barely managed to utter those words, probably because of the blood pouring out of his mouth.

Park Do-won’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

That’s right.

It is impossible for an F-rank Awakened to knock down a D-rank Awakened in one blow. That’s common sense.

But regression is not common sense.

The things that will happen to me, who will enjoy the benefits of the Regressor thoroughly and wisely, are naturally beyond common sense.

‘Hit hard and fast, then get out! Retire quickly without getting involved with these kinds of jerks.’

I reaffirmed my resolve.

And I had a sacrificial pig for the future right in front of me.

‘Just by using Explosive Fist now, I’ve shortened the time by 10 years. From this moment on, it means I’m already surpassing my past self!’

Looking back, it was clear that I was enjoying tremendous privileges.

This is the power of the Regressor.

A guy like Park Do-won is no longer an insurmountable obstacle, but just an existence that will fade into the back alleys of my dark history.

“Haaap!”

With a shout, I inflicted another blow of Explosive Fist on his face.

The next moment.

Kwaaaang!

With a shockwave that shook the entire studio apartment building, Park Do-won’s entire body was completely embedded inside the outer wall.

It was over.

Park Do-won, whose body was broken and fractured from head to toe.

“Keuk…”

Fainted on the spot.

It was the moment to perfectly sever the terrible relationship that had always tormented me by assaulting me, extorting money, and threatening my life in my past life!