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Chapter 6
9 AM.
“A recommendation to stop the KSA attack? It’s just a recommendation, right?”
“Team Leader Kim, you know well that KSA rarely gives recommendations. This means their internal situation is unstable.”
“Hmm… This means it’s completely canceled. Does this mean we won’t get today’s wages?”
“What can we do? It’s better than dying recklessly. The porters will feel the same way, right?”
As expected, the awakened ones arrived late and reported the decisions made exactly as Kang Shin-hwa predicted.
It was a notification, not a discussion.
This is because the relationship between awakened ones and porters is strictly hierarchical, a superior-subordinate relationship.
“Eh.”
The porters all looked disappointed.
Today’s dungeon was a D-rank dungeon that would pay the porters 500,000 won per day.
They had prepared and scheduled everything accordingly, so the cancellation due to KSA’s recommendation was naturally disappointing.
“What a pity. I understand. We’ll withdraw then.”
Team Leader Kim, Kim Cheol-geun, clicked his tongue and nodded.
Although it was disappointing, he didn’t push for the attack.
After all, porters cannot independently attack dungeons, and the fear of death was more than significant for porters.
When Kim Cheol-geun signaled to prepare for withdrawal, the raid leader So Jung-hyun added, “Well, we’ll return the K-848 dungeon attack license to KSA. It’s no longer needed.”
“Wait a moment.”
Just then, a man raised his hand cautiously before So Jung-hyun could finish speaking.
It was Kang Shin-hwa, an F-rank porter.
“Kang Shin-hwa, what’s suddenly going on?”
 Kim Cheol-geun looked at Kang Shin-hwa’s face with an anxious expression. He was worried because Kang Shin-hwa had spoken strangely yesterday.
“Commander, isn’t the attack still free during the licensed time?”
“That’s true. What about it?”
“We’re not surrendering the license early, and it doesn’t seem like other raid teams will take it. KSA will conduct an internal investigation anyway.”
“That’s right.”
“Can I personally explore the dungeon? I want to look around inside.”
“Who? You? Hah!”
 Kim Cheol-geun snorted, his eyes filled with contempt and disdain.
That was understandable because K-848 was a D-rank dungeon.
Meaning, it required at least 4 D-rank awakened ones to attempt an attack.
Moreover, with the dimensional energy imbalance that led to the attack suspension, the internal difficulty might have increased.
Typically, when abnormally amplified dimensional energy begins to seep into monsters, their combat abilities dramatically rise compared to before.
“I’m just reluctant to turn away! If possible, I’d like to explore inside. It’s my first time here, and I want to record it!”
Kang Shin-hwa attached reasons like a cunning snake. Of course, it wasn’t his first time.
In his previous life, he had been here not once or twice, but was thoroughly familiar with the dungeon, even having detailed maps in his head.
“Hey, Kang Shin-hwa! Are you crazy? What is dungeon exploration for an F-rank porter? If just a Black Cow appears, you’ll instantly die!”
“This guy seems to have no sense! An F-rank acting like this? Are you trying to commit suicide?”
“Hahaha! If you go in, you’ll probably shit your pants!”
Before the awakened ones could say anything, the porter colleagues started pointing and mocking Kang Shin-hwa.
It was a predictable reaction.
In his previous life, Kang Shin-hwa always thought being a porter was his true calling. He had never been ashamed.
However, among porters, there was a strangely pervasive defeatist attitude.
They saw themselves as a third existence, neither truly awakened nor completely separate from awakened ones.
They believed that surviving meant finding a place within a capable awakened raid team.
Their colleagues’ reactions were an extension of this defeatism.
Ruthlessly dismissing even the smallest pure curiosity, it was a thorough inferiority complex.
“If you want to die, just jump off Mapo Bridge! Why make dying so complicated?”
“Hahaha, that’s right.”
Kang Shin-hwa laughed good-naturedly.
He had no desire to explain his reasons for wanting to enter the dungeon.
Talking would only tire him out.
More than anything, he had no intention of sharing the benefits of regression with these people.
‘In my previous life, I tried yielding with good intentions, showing consideration… But what I got back was indifference. No one knew how to be grateful. As if kindness was an inherent right.’
This was one of life’s subtleties Kang Shin-hwa had learned in his 52 years.
If you can secure things for yourself, unconditional monopolization is best!
This was a fundamental premise proven through numerous past mistakes.
Unlike the mocking porter colleagues, the awakened ones showed no particular reaction.
The raid leader So Jung-hyun carefully added an explanation,
“As you said, there’s no need to surrender the license immediately. But remember, the raid team bears no responsibility for any personal safety issues if you enter despite the recommendation.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Are you really that curious?”
“Yes. This isn’t a dungeon where you can easily get an attack license. It’ll take at least 3 months.”
“How do you know the license is hard to obtain?”
“Well, just rumors I’ve heard.”
Kang Shin-hwa answered vaguely.
The dungeons around Sindorim Station were popular among awakened ones, with many teams waiting to attack.
So Jung-hyun found it strange hearing these words from Kang Shin-hwa’s mouth, rather than directly from the source.
“Remember. No one will take responsibility for your life. We have no obligation to do so.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine with dying, so can I go in?”
“You’re fine with dying? Do as you please. Who can stop a young man’s hot blood?”
So Jung-hyun nodded.
He had clearly given the pre-attack suspension notice and individual warnings.
He had now clearly stated that whatever happens to Kang Shin-hwa is no longer his concern.
“Then I’ll go explore the dungeon! I’ll be back!”
As soon as Kang Shin-hwa finished speaking, he stepped boldly through the dimensional door into the dungeon.
“Tsk tsk, if you’re going to die, die nicely.”
“It’ll be fun to see him come out with shit and piss in his pants.”
The porters laughed.
Their leader Kim Cheol-geun’s thoughts were not much different.
“Forget it. Since everything’s falling apart, shall we have a drink? I brought some soju just in case.”
“Ooh! Really?”
“Commander, if you have no schedule, have a drink! I’ve also prepared Black Cow beef jerky as side dishes!”
“Oh! That expensive jerky? An offer I can’t refuse!”
The strategy was canceled, and there was no time to look for another dungeon, so everyone was in a suspended state of time.
Was it because of this?
Kim Cheol-geun’s untimely afternoon drinking, no, morning drinking proposal began to gather the Awakener and porters together.
Once the KSA practitioner who was about to arrive meets them.
At that time, they were scheduled to receive the license for attacking another dungeon to replace today’s plan.
While everyone was spreading out a drinking party at the end of the holiday.
Kang Shin-hwa alone entered the dungeon and was devastating those visible from the entrance.
* * *
At that moment.
“Kkuwek!”
“Kkeeeek!”
“Why? Do you look light as a piece of paper because you didn’t properly arm yourself before coming inside?”
Kwang! Kwaaang!
I was creating rough explosions at my fingertips and continuously knocking down monsters.
As expected of a D-rank dungeon, D-rank monsters appeared from the entrance.
Normally, to hunt a monster smoothly, at least two Awakeners of the same rank need to be together.
The creatures blocking my path were the ‘Blade Wind Praying Mantis’ classified as D-rank.
Usually, Awakener called the creature Saw Blade Mantis because its two legs were as sharp and powerful as saw blades.
If it crosses its two legs at full power, it could even slice through an Awakener wearing a reinforcement suit, making it an object of terror.
Many Awakeners are distracted by the mantis’s ‘saw blades’, becoming frightened or approaching combat passively.
A single mistake could result in their neck or some body part being sliced off.
However, I knew the creature’s weakness clearly.
All that was needed was bold judgment and destructive power. Nothing else was necessary.
“Kshit. Ksht.”
Although two of its kind had burst from my fist earlier, a blade mantis that had lost its fear blocked my path.
“Reinforce.”
I first condensed magical power across both my entire fists.
Then a blue light spread, and I felt my surrounding muscles rapidly strengthening.
Next,
“Transform.”
By changing the nature of magical power, I induced a power specialized in attacking the blade mantis.
Whoosh!
Flames began rising from both hands.
“Fire Fist.”
In my previous life, my Lord’s colleagues unanimously gave me the nickname ‘Kang Shin-hwa of Fire Fist’ when seeing this.
Water Fist, Stone Fist, Earth Fist, and so many more!
The varieties of transformed states were endless and diverse, but the Fire Fist seemed particularly impressive.
“Keeeak!”
Unable to just watch my transformation, the blade mantis screamed and rushed towards me.
True to a D-rank monster, its movements were fast, and especially impressive were its bulging muscles throughout its body.
At this level, an ordinary F-rank porter would have their body split in half the moment they got entangled.
Even D-rank Awakener belonging to the attack team would need to be extremely tense to safely capture it.
“I see.”
Thanks to the dramatically enhanced vision through transformation, I could see every detail of the blade mantis’s face.
Its weakness is the area below the right cheekbone, equivalent to a human’s.
If struck accurately upward diagonally here, its internal skeleton would shatter, and its head would be devastated like a crushed potato.
“Kehh!”
The blade mantis, filled with murderous intent, used its hind legs to make a large leap and reached its peak.
Then it fell as if to strike down with all its might from above.
Woong! Woong!
I infused additional magical power into my blazing fists and completed another reinforcement.
The flames on my fists instantly harden like rock.
And then.
“Haap!”
With a battle cry.
With a precise aim, I accurately struck upward on the right lower side of the blade mantis’s face.
The next moment.
Puhsuk…!
“…..”
I could see a scene more spectacular than I had anticipated.
It was the scene of the blade mantis—something even two Awakeners of the same rank would struggle to destroy—completely exploding like a firecracker right before my eyes.
My reinforced fist knew no mercy.
The blade mantis collapsed before me, in an even more miserable state than its fallen kin.
“Yes! This is how I should have lived from the start!”
An indescribable thrilling pleasure made me smile involuntarily.
In my previous life, I was busy carrying monster corpses reeking with stench.
Such monster hunting was like a privilege of the magnificent Awakener, something that had nothing to do with me!
But now, that’s no longer true.
“Things have changed. From now on, many things will change.”
With an unexpected gift like this return! My brilliant second act of life was beginning just like this.
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