—The Future Development Department has announced new safety regulations regarding the newly opened 18th Layer.
—After the United States cleared the 17th Layer, another opportunity has come to Korea. Voices from various fields are urging to hasten the exploration.
Yuseong sighed.
“Haah….”
Listening to the announcer’s nonsense on the TV installed in the park, it was clear this was from a long time ago.
Back then, Korea was in chaos, debating whether to rush the exploration to strengthen national power or not.
About half a century ago, that is, thirty years from now.
The Earth, already desolate even before the Abyss opened, was completely ruined.
One day, suddenly, all livestock and crops disappeared.
Half of the world’s population died within two months.
Some died from starvation, but a significant number also died from war and violence.
Stored food was limited, and those without it had no choice but to wield weapons and steal from others.
If it weren’t for the infinite Nectar harvested from the Abyss.
And if it weren’t for the ability to turn that into Energy Bars, humanity would have been wiped out.
Those who barely survived began to explore the Abyss.
Because they couldn’t bring modern civilization’s tools inside, it was an exploration carried out by explorers who had received Gifts and made sacrifices.
Civilization was rebuilt through the stones and mysteries collected from the Abyss, and the “Great Exploration Era” began.
Right before his Regression, Yuseong had just escaped all that hell.
“Damn it!”
Unable to hold back his rage, he punched a tree in the park.
crack.
Before, a tree this thick would have shattered with a single punch.
But now, only a few leaves fell.
His once well-trained body had reverted to that of an ordinary person.
Not only that, but as his Energy Bar became increasingly unstable, he couldn’t even eat properly; his body was like a dried anchovy.
“Uwaaaah!”
This time, Yuseong headbutted the tree.
It was an overreaction.
His nose bled from the break, but the tree did not even flinch.
Leaves rained down like a storm.
“That guy must be crazy…”
“Don’t go near him, he’s scary.”
People in the park quietly stepped back.
Yuseong, drowning in despair, ignored them and let tears stream down.
“It’s all a lie…”
He had achieved his lifelong dream of clearing the Abyss.
Finally, Earth was about to flourish again, and the world would return to one where people could live and eat.
People who once looked down on food and survived on Energy Bars would return to normal.
“Uwaaah!”
But unfortunately, he had returned to when he was twenty years old.
Government support, which he had while in his twenties, was cut off, and he barely survived on low-quality Energy Bars.
Now, thrown out of government housing with only 1.2 million won in his pocket, he was back to the most miserable time of his life.
“What’s this mythic nonsense?”
A “Hidden Mythic Achievement,” they said — it was no laughing matter.
Regressing as a reward for an Achievement was certainly a big deal.
But Yuseong himself never wanted any of it.
[Gift: Evil Appetite (Dung Hole)]
That was exactly how his Gift had been.
A Gift that allowed him to consume poisonous mushrooms and venomous insects without dying, absorbing nutrients from them.
Truly useless in every way.
There were no Regression perks to speak of.
—Do you want to become a Hero?
At that moment, a Public Service Announcement began on the park’s TV.
—Do you want to hunt the foul creatures threatening humanity and discover the hidden treasures of the Abyss?
It was a promotional video from the Future Development Department recommending becoming an explorer.
Yuseong watched the video as if in a trance.
Explorers cheering while holding gemstone the size of a human head on a pile of monster corpses appeared.
Though exaggerated, such scenes were not uncommon in the Abyss.
—We believe in your potential. Let’s work together. Future Development Department.
The advertisement ended.
Light returned to Yuseong’s rotten eyes.
He wasn’t enchanted by the childish ad.
Only one sentence had etched itself deeply into his heart.
“Do you want to find hidden treasures?”
Suddenly, something struck him.
“Hidden treasures.”
Now that he had Regessed, such treasures were abundant in the Abyss, but there were also plenty right here on Earth.
And very close by.
The old man at Shin’s Convenience Store, one of the few who had been kind to Yuseong.
“There’s still some left.”
If the treasure the old man had was still here at this point, it must remain.
Yuseong, who had seemed to have lost all hope in the world, felt life surge through him again.
He started running.
The rickety bridge creaked, and his untrained heart pounded violently as if screaming.
But Yuseong ran like his life depended on it, and in less than five minutes, he arrived at the convenience store.
Just then, the owner was outside, confronting two gangsters.
The old owner, surprised to see Yuseong, shouted,
“Y-Yuseong?!”
Law and order had collapsed, and the Organized Crime Groups that had disappeared during the crime wars were creeping back.
Like many small business owners in this era, Shin’s Convenience Store was suffering because of gangsters extorting money.
“Come back later! I’m busy.”
Even the strong old owner was helpless against the burly gangsters.
He motioned for Yuseong to step back, but Yuseong coldly ignored him and approached.
“Grandpa, do you have it? That thing?”
“What? What are you talking about? Go away!”
“I mean, that thing! The one you were going to bring out when your granddaughter graduated from Jia High School! I can’t say it here, but really—”
The gangsters gave Yuseong a bewildered look, as if he were air.
But soon they recognized his face.
“You’re that skinny guy, Anchovy, aren’t you? Are you crazy?”
They knew Yuseong.
Looking at them, Yuseong vaguely remembered their faces.
They were a gang terrorizing this neighborhood.
They had even extorted money from poor Yuseong several times.
“Hey, look at his eyes. I’m gonna punch him.”
“Back off, can’t you see we’re working here?”
As the gangsters prepared to turn their attention to Yuseong, the convenience store owner pleaded desperately.
“Yuseong, I don’t know what you’re saying, but talk later. Go.”
He treated Yuseong with the care of a grandson.
Determined not to let any stray sparks hit Yuseong, the owner’s face was filled with resolve.
“Get outta here, you punk…”
“Move.”
As Yuseong tried to brush past, one gangster grabbed his shoulder tightly.
“Stay back, punk! Ugh, ack!”
At that moment, Yuseong grabbed the gangster’s finger.
crack.
It was bent at an impossible angle.
The gangster screamed in pain.
“Crazy bastard!”
Another rushed at Yuseong aggressively, but Yuseong caught the incapacitated gangster and blocked the path.
The three tumbled to the ground in a chaotic mess.
Yuseong’s foot struck the jaw of one who fell.
thwack.
A kick to the jaw naturally knocked him out.
One was unconscious, sprawled out.
Another clutched his broken finger, tears streaming down his face.
“Take your friends and get lost.”
Yuseong radiated menace.
Until a few days ago, he had been a skinny weakling, but now his eyes had changed completely.
Eventually, the gangsters dragged their unconscious companion away, defeated.
After the storm settled, the convenience store owner stared blankly.
“Crazy kid.”
“Let’s go inside for now.”
Yuseong grabbed the owner’s arm and practically dragged him inside.
The light in his eyes sparkled with the anticipation of the treasure he would soon find.
***
“They won’t leave this alone.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll help you.”
“No, really, it’s not good…”
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Because it’s so satisfying, damn it.”
Despite the grumbling, the owner’s lips never lost their smile.
Yuseong had just dealt a crushing blow to the gangsters who had long harassed them, and it was thoroughly delightful.
“By any chance… have you trained in martial arts?”
“Martial arts?”
“Yeah, like Mu Sul Gi, Ki Poo Too, or a master of Shaolin Quan or something.”
“What? Hahaha.”
This time, it was Yuseong who laughed.
“Don’t laugh so much.”
“No, I have trained, but it’s not that kind of Gift.”
Having wandered the Abyss for so long, Yuseong was no longer concerned about a few gangsters even without a combat Gift.
“More importantly, give me that treasure quickly. I’ll pay.”
“What treasure? There’s no such thing in this convenience store.”
“The one hidden in the freezer. The one you planned to bring out on the day of Jia High School’s graduation.”
At those words, the owner’s expression hardened coldly.
True to his nature, unable to hide his emotions, his voice trembled.
“Y-You, how do you even have that?!”
Without a word, Yuseong pulled out all his money—1.2 million won—and handed it to the owner.
“This should be enough.”
“Where did you get all this money?!”
Yuseong didn’t answer.
His patience had reached its limit.
He strode confidently inside the store.
After entering the owner’s living quarters, he flung open the freezer door in the corner.
“No! Don’t, you bastard!”
The old man tried to hold him back, but Yuseong didn’t budge.
He swiftly cleared away the neatly stacked Energy Bars and finally found it.
“It’s here…”
“Nooo!”
“Yes!”
Carefully wrapped in plastic,
a hefty piece of it.
“Sliced Pork Belly.”
A treasure preserved in the freezer for thirty years.
The very essence of Korean joy and sorrow.
A friend to weary modern humans.
“Hehe… you crazy bastard.”
“You’re not supposed to keep it this long in the freezer.”
“It was vacuum-sealed too!”
“The kid would be happy too. He had enough trouble in the freezer.”
It looked like it had been frozen fresh, with the pink color still intact.
Greed sparkled in Yuseong’s eyes.
“Fire up the grill!”
A burning determination indistinguishable from a rampaging machine.
In the end, even the owner couldn’t stop Yuseong.
“…Alright.”
“You should have said so earlier.”
“But I’m eating too.”
That, even the owner could not concede.
After all, how strong must the owner’s resolve have been to hide a piece of sliced pork belly in the freezer for decades?
Yuseong had no choice but to nod.
“In exchange, I’ll do the cooking.”
That was the condition.
From then on, it was like a battle.
They closed the store and hung a “Closed” sign.
With no gas burner, they pulled out an old-fashioned stove used long ago.
Lighting the solid fuel, a clean iron plate was placed on top.
Yuseong carefully sliced the pork belly with a cleaver found in the convenience store.
The owner watched in admiration.
“If only we had kimchi and rice, this would be perfect. Doenjang jjigae and soju too.”
“You know a lot for a kid. I’m satisfied with just pepper and salt.”
“That’s more than enough.”
There was a solemnity on his face, as if he were a soldier about to go to war.
“Grill it well.”
“Okay.”
Finally, the sliced pork belly was placed on the grill.
The sizzling sound was loud.
sizzleeee.
Could any orchestra in the world be as grand as this harmony?
The owner’s eyes grew moist with complex emotions.
sizzle sizzle.
Fat oozed from the perfectly grilled pork belly and began to crisp quickly.
The savory aroma gently wafted in.
Sprinkling some pepper and salt, flipping it once, the color was a perfect golden brown.
It didn’t take long before it was ready to eat.
“It’s done.”
In his previous life, Yuseong never got to eat this.
The day the owner’s granddaughter graduated high school and came to celebrate,
the nostalgic aroma that once filled the convenience store.
He even resented the owner for having eaten all the pork belly already.
“Here, eat up. Eat one, then grill another.”
But this time was different.
The sliced pork belly would go into his mouth.
Nervously, Yuseong put a piece in his mouth.
“Mm!”
An explosion of umami.
The golden, grilled fat melted deliciously.
A rich, comforting flavor that seemed to embrace every nerve.
On this day of great change,
among all the countless things humans had lost, sliced pork belly might have been the most precious.
An intense emotion surged within him.
It was as shocking as when he first received his Gift and wandered near death after eating poisonous insects.
If only he had eaten this before gaining his Gift, perhaps he would have obtained a different one, not Evil Appetite.
To Yuseong’s ears came a message that could not be heard:
[Conditions met. Gift will now be bestowed.]
“Huh?”
[Existing Gift detected.]
[Regression bonus activated. Additional Gift acquisition confirmed.]
[Selecting additional Gift.]
Additional Gift acquisition.
An unprecedented Achievement began to be realized among explorers worldwide.