Chapter 1
Could it be that I’m the only one who returned?
Everything began when I discovered a single skill stone.
Humanity lost cities one by one, powerless to stop the sudden monster wave, until they were driven into complete isolation. The skill stone they’d obtained after barely defeating a legendary monster glowed with an ominous red light.
Lee Hwan glanced at Taesung, who was barely managing to sit upright, then sighed and simply swallowed the stone himself.
A message flashed before his eyes.
[New! You have acquired a new skill.]
- EX Broken Wind-up Clock (1 use)
- Return to the □□□□ □□□ point in time.
- User may □□□ designate 2 people □□ □□□□.
- ! □□ □□□□ □□□□ □□.
- ! □□□□ □□ □□□ □□□□.
EX class. Most of the description was obscured, making it impossible to understand the details, but the word ‘return’ alone burned itself into his mind.
“Kang Taesung.”
Taesung opened his mouth to answer but coughed up blood instead. That earlier hit from the A-class monster must have done serious damage.
“Listen carefully. I think I just consumed a return skill.”
“…There’s no such… cough”
He seemed to be trying to say there’s no such thing. Well, even with awakened individuals sprouting up everywhere, handling security and making money, time-related skills had never been discovered. Let alone one that could turn back time itself.
“I don’t know either. I just saw it now. It looks like the skill user and one designated person can return together. Most of the skill description is hidden, so I don’t know anything beyond that.”
Taesung struggled to his feet. Lee Hwan hurried to support him as he stared at the monsters gathering in the distance, dread creeping over him.
“Return…? If it’s a return skill, when—when would we go back to…?”
“I don’t know. The description is frustratingly obscured. I’m not even sure if ‘return’ means what I think it does. But…”
Gradually, dust clouds rolled in, and everything before them turned black. At this rate, they were all dead anyway. Taesung seemed to realize this too and grabbed Lee Hwan’s hand.
“I think we can both go.”
“There must be… cough… a penalty…”
Every skill had a penalty. Regardless of its utility or power, the more advanced the ability, the greater the penalty.
That’s why Taesung, who’d awakened with an S-class flame skill from the very beginning and shot to stardom, only experienced slight numbness in his hands after using his ability. But Lee Hwan, who’d belatedly acquired a B-class spatial control ability, often bled and passed out after using his.
And now, an EX-class time skill?
“It’s okay.”
When Lee Hwan gave a faint smile, Taesung’s face crumpled. His hand, covered in cuts, gripped Lee Hwan so tightly it made wet, gurgling sounds with fresh blood.
“I’ll find you, Joo Lee Hwan. I’ll…”
There was no more time to wait. While Taesung muttered through his pain, Lee Hwan’s eyes glowed brightly.
B-class spatial control. This was what appeared when he used his skill. He pushed it to the limit. Whether his body was destroyed or not didn’t matter—they were going back anyway.
For about 5 minutes, no living creature could enter within a 10-meter radius without his permission. Already, the plants inside the barrier began to wither and die from rejection.
“There must be a way to stop the monster wave.”
“Kang Dongha…”
“Yes, we’ll stop Kang Dongha too.”
Cough. Taesung vomited blood again.
“See you when we get back, Kang Taesung.”
Anxiety filled Taesung’s eyes as he looked at Lee Hwan. Lee Hwan tried to turn away as he wiped at the nosebleed gushing out.
[Using EX Broken Wind-up Clock (1 use) skill.]
It seemed people weren’t meant to die just yet. To think that a time skill—something that had never appeared in this world before, and an EX-class one at that—would suddenly fall into his hands.
Whatever the penalty might be, if they’d stayed here, both of them would have ended up as corpses anyway. Suspicious or not, they’d gained a chance at a second life.
His vision shattered into tiny pieces, turning to ash and disappearing. Throughout it all, Lee Hwan faced the terror calmly, still feeling Taesung’s hand gripping him tightly.
Finally, the world turned black…
***
—♪♬♩♪
Lee Hwan opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm.
March 8, 2022, 10:50 AM.
Lee Hwan turned off the alarm and took a deep breath, roughly wiping away the sweat soaking his hair. His heart was beating frantically. His hands trembled from the aftermath of battle, and his whole body was so tense that even the wind brushing against his skin put him on high alert.
Lee Hwan looked around several times. There were no monsters.
- He’d gone back a full 7 years. This was when he’d dropped out of university and started working as a supporter after receiving his mana compatibility assessment. He’d lived as a supporter for 4 years before awakening his skill and joining an attack team, where he’d met Kang Taesung.
“Haah…”
He’d truly returned. That skill had actually sent Lee Hwan back. Then…
Lee Hwan threw off his sweat-soaked t-shirt and immediately searched for Taesung’s name online.
Kang Taesung. S-class Hunter belonging to Naru Group.
A stream of posts admiring him appeared, and his videos and GIFs filled the image search.
Flop. Lee Hwan let out a sigh of relief and collapsed back onto the bed. For a moment there, his heart had nearly burst from fear and tension.
In his desperation, he’d used the skill, but that suspiciously named “Broken” Wind-up Clock—with its explanations erased here and there as if taunting him—had left him extremely anxious.
What if something had gone wrong and he’d come back missing something? Like an arm. Or his head…
But he seemed to have returned to the past properly. As those horrifying scenarios faded, Lee Hwan finally felt the tension leave his body. The goosebumps remained on his arms, but his rapid breathing had calmed.
‘At this point, he’d be in his fifth year since awakening, right?’
Taesung had awakened early and captured everyone’s attention. This was precisely when he was just rising to prominence, receiving embarrassingly flowery nicknames like “Flame Grand Duke” or “God’s Fire.”
To think I became close friends with someone like that… Lee Hwan took a breath, thinking that life really was unpredictable.
‘I’ll find you, Joo Lee Hwan. I’ll…’
Taesung even knew about his shabby one-room apartment. He’d probably storm in here within a few hours, grab him, and drag him to Naru.
Lee Hwan groaned as he got up and headed to the small bathroom. First, he wanted to wash off the sweat and greet Taesung looking relaxed.
Next, he needed to prevent the origin of the wave and find ways to survive longer.
Contrary to his expectation of going back just 1 or 2 years, he’d returned 7 years. With such a precious opportunity, Lee Hwan wanted to rest just a little—just for a moment. His back was stiff from tension, and he was mentally exhausted. Besides, there was still plenty of time…
Five hours passed like that.
“Seriously, what the fuck. He said he’d come find me, that bastard.”
Lee Hwan put on his clothes with heavy footsteps and left his apartment. If his limbs were intact and his head was still attached, shouldn’t Taesung come find him?
Thinking of Taesung—who would soon become his sponsor and wave-prevention partner—Lee Hwan hailed a taxi right in front of his building instead of taking the bus or subway. He’d go check if something was wrong and kick him in the shins.
Taesung, being the nephew of the Naru chairman, had been wealthy even before his awakening and had always lived in a nice place. He had no reason to move.
After a long taxi ride, Lee Hwan entered the sprawling apartment complex and headed straight for the penthouse. Befitting an absurdly fancy building with a private elevator, there was a security lock at the separate entrance.
Lee Hwan entered the familiar password and took the elevator up to Taesung’s place. The entrance visible as soon as the doors opened had the same familiar structure but completely different interior.
‘Come to think of it, he mentioned there was a fire once, and everything got replaced.’
Lee Hwan looked around as he stepped off the elevator and entered the house.
Unlike the future where red tones were used as accent colors, Taesung’s current home was dark and subdued. There were even several decorations that hadn’t been there before, like family photos and chess pieces. Lee Hwan examined everything meticulously, curious about these new sights.
Kang Taesung with his parents. Young Kang Taesung. Teenage Kang Taesung. Was it normal to display so many photos of yourself?
Then Lee Hwan discovered a large family photo that seemed to include all the relatives. People who looked like inferior versions of Kang Taesung were lined up. He also spotted a face with downturned eyes—an irritating face.
Kang Dongha.
‘So I’m seeing this bastard here.’
I heard Taesung beat him badly in the end and broke five of his bones. The problem was that still wasn’t enough to vent the frustration.
Lee Hwan clicked his tongue and flicked Kang Dongha’s face in the photo.
This time, he’d stop this guy’s bullshit. He’d block the hyenas who secretly gathered at the unstable gate, and prevent everything that could lead to the wave.
The money, power, and attention needed for that would be handled by Kang Taesung. Thinking this, Lee Hwan moved his hand to Kang Taesung’s face in the photo.
That’s when it happened.
“Ahh…!”
His arm was twisted violently, and a chillingly cold voice came from behind his neck.
“Who are you?”
It was Kang Taesung’s voice.
Lee Hwan groaned from his twisted arm and barely managed to turn his head.
‘This bastard…’
Eyes more youthful than he remembered—more unpleasant, and colder than he’d ever seen—were fixed on him.
“Are you crazy…! You didn’t even come…!”
“I asked who you are.”
“Hey, Kang Taesung, are you insane?”
Lee Hwan, who’d been about to shout angrily, stared directly into his eyes in disbelief. But there was no hint of recognition, no laughter—only an unfamiliar gaze that genuinely didn’t know who he was.
In that moment, Lee Hwan’s heart sank.
“Kang Taesung… are you fucking serious right now?”
