The scent of blood vanished. The cold vanished.
The pain, gone.
Sung Daeho shot up with a gasp, drenched in sweat. His chest heaved like he'd just surfaced from drowning. His eyes darted wildly—until they landed on the familiar, peeling wallpaper of his bedroom. The dim light from the street lamp outside leaked through the curtains. Everything was… normal.
He touched his face, arms, chest—no wounds, no blood. He was alive.
"What...?" His voice was shaky. Did I survive? Did the dungeon collapse? No, I saw it… I died.
And then it happened.
A flash.
A soundless flicker in the air, like static lightning, burst in front of his eyes.
A translucent screen appeared in mid-air.
But it wasn't the familiar blue interface he'd seen in guides, videos, and other awakened people's displays.
It was red. Crimson. Like blood on fire.
And it hovered before him with pulsing intensity.
> 🔴 [Status Interface - Unique Awakening Detected]
Name: Sung Daeho
Age: 19
Rank: EX (Locked - Hidden)
— Special Abilities —
① Regression (EX Rank): Return to previous morning upon death. Cooldown: 30 days.
② Corpse Copy (EX Rank): Copy one ability from any dead human or monster. Cooldown: 30 days.
③ Clone Creation (EX Rank): Create one clone of any creature or form. Clone lasts until killed or dismissed. Cooldown: 30 days.
Daeho stared in stunned silence.
"...What?"
His heart began thundering again, but this time not out of fear—out of awe.
After two years of feeling like a defect among the awakened… he finally saw it. His special abilities.
And they weren't just rare or high-tier. They were EX rank.
Abilities that didn't exist in any known classification. Even SSS-rank hunters had never reported abilities like these.
He fell back on the bed, laughing breathlessly.
"I actually... have powers. Real ones. And they're broken as hell."
He read the descriptions again and again just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Regression… that explained why he was alive again. He had returned to the previous morning.
Corpse Copy… he could steal powers from the dead? Monster or human?
And Clone Creation... he could summon a creature or clone anything?
And they were all once per month, but that didn't even matter. Even a single one of them could shake the world.
Just as he was about to open more tabs within the red panel, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.
> 📞 Lee Jinho - Incoming Call
He stared at the screen. His breath caught.
Jinho. The arrogant C-rank. The one who got impaled by the chameleon. The team leader who'd dragged him to that doomed dungeon.
Hands slightly shaking, he answered.
"Daeho," Jinho's voice snapped. "You're not at the meeting point. What the hell are you doing? We're entering the D-rank dungeon today."
Daeho's eyes narrowed.
So it was the same day. He had actually gone back to the morning before the dungeon.
He swallowed. "I'm not coming."
A pause. "What did you say?"
"I said I quit the team. I won't be a part of your dungeon runs anymore."
"You little worm—do you know how hard it is to find porters these days? You think you have the luxury to refuse?!"
"I don't need to explain myself. Good luck with that dungeon."
Click.
Daeho ended the call and exhaled, the tension bleeding out of his body. A small smile curled on his lips.
He had just changed the future. That team would still walk into death, but he wouldn't be with them this time.
No more being a disposable pawn.
It was time to test something.
He stood in the center of his room, opened the red panel again, and focused on the third ability.
> [Clone Creation: Active - Choose Form]
A circular diagram appeared with various customization options. He could design a clone from scratch—or choose a familiar template.
He selected: Monster > Beast > Wolf > Summoned Combat Variant (C-rank)
A flash of light burst in front of him—and a moment later, a massive, black wolf stood before him. Its eyes glowed faint red, and its fur shimmered like living shadow.
It looked identical to a famous summoning beast that only top-tier summoners used—and cost over a billion won to acquire via summoning scroll.
Daeho's eyes sparkled with disbelief.
The wolf snarled lightly but then knelt, as if acknowledging him as its master.
Then, another line popped up.
> [Linked Connection Established]
You can share sensory input with clone.
You may transfer any of your learned abilities to this clone (excluding EX rank).
Daeho blinked.
So not only can I summon this beast, but I can also see and feel what it sees?
He placed his hand on the wolf's head. For a second, his vision blurred—and then he was seeing from the wolf's eyes.
He was inside his own room, from two angles. It was surreal. He ended the link.
"Okay… this is way beyond anything I imagined."
He opened the interface again and saw a prompt:
> Would you like to transfer any ability to clone?
He didn't have any regular abilities yet to transfer. But once he copied something…
That wolf wouldn't just be strong—it could wield real powers.
"Alright," he said, grinning. "Let's find something... to test the second ability on."
He grabbed his jacket and left the room, the summoned wolf walking beside him like a silent shadow. He didn't know where yet—but somewhere out there was a monster or human corpse waiting to be looted.
And when he found it, he would take its power—and become unstoppable.
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