How the Regressed Munchkin Chews Up the Tower - H.R.M.C.U.T Chapter 2 (Part 1):

The distorted space unfolded wide- once more, revealing the familiar interior of the Tower that Yujin had seen before.

The distance from floor to ceiling was roughly 100 meters?

He wasn’t sure about the exact dimensions.

Yujin hadn’t explored every inch of this place, known as the Tutorial Floor, after all.

Still, there was no doubt it was a colossal space, so vast that its scale was hard to grasp.

‘Big enough to fit a small city, maybe?’

Recalling memories from his first run, it felt about that size.

Or perhaps even larger.

Keeping his composure, Yujin first took stock of his surroundings.

He saw others who, like him, had been forcibly summoned to the Tower by the 【Akasha System】.

Every single one wore a bewildered expression.

Their faces showed they had no clue what was happening to them.

‘Well, that’s the normal reaction.’

Hadn’t Yujin reacted the same way at first?

Of course, that wasn’t the case anymore.

“What the hell?! How did I—?!”

“Who, who are you?”

“What are you people! How did you…!”

“Kyaaaah!”

What a damn mess.

After blinking in confusion for a moment, the crowd descended into chaos, spewing screams and curses.

Some, consumed by panic and fear, even started throwing punches at each other.

It was a scene of utter pandemonium.

Not that Yujin couldn’t understand.

‘Still noisy as ever.’

Yujin furrowed his brow but didn’t stop observing his surroundings.

‘It’s exactly the same as back then.’

There were precisely 100 people in this space with him.

Later, it was revealed that there were over 200 such Tutorial Floors in Korea alone.

A simple calculation suggested that around 20,000 people had been chosen by the 【Akasha System】.

Expand that to the entire world, and the number ballooned to tens of times more.

‘And yet, they were all damn idiots.’

He didn’t know the selection criteria, but it didn’t seem particularly strict.

Despite so many players climbing the Tower, Yujin had been the only one to reach the top.

A sigh escaped him, but he couldn’t dwell on the past forever.

‘There’s still a bit of time left, so let’s check what needs checking.’

Mentally summoning his 【Status Window】, the 【Akasha System】 displayed Yujin’s information before his eyes.

■ Name: 『Sung Yujin』

■ Level: 『1』

■ Trait: 『King of All Arms [S]』

■ Alignment: 『Neutral』

■ Title: 『None』

■ Skills: 『Hourglass of Chronos [EX]』, 『Lantern of Life [S]』

‘Hmm.’

This was definitely different from his first run.

The traits and skills he had earned by defeating Apocalypse and conquering the Tower’s summit were still intact.

‘I don’t get it.’

He had returned to the past, yet the rewards from his first run remained.

Meanwhile, the levels, traits, and skills he had personally built up were all gone.

‘What’s the damn logic here?’

He racked his brain.

As expected, no clear answer came to mind.

Yujin wasn’t exactly the sharpest when it came to thinking things through—he was better at physical action.

‘Whatever. What’s the point of figuring it out? What matters is that I’m in a better position than last time.’

Scratching the back of his head—scratch scratch—he turned his attention to the new rewards he’d been curious about.

‘Let’s see…’

■ 『King of All Arms [S]』: Grants the ability to wield all weapons proficiently.

The S-rank trait came first.

Its description was short.

As always, it was so simple it felt almost unhelpful.

Yet Yujin’s eyes widened.

“This is insane.”

He blurted out his thoughts without realizing, but luckily, the chaotic crowd paid him no mind.

‘This is seriously good.’

Glancing around cautiously, Yujin’s lips curled into a grin.

He didn’t need to dwell too much on the word “all” — after all, he was already capable of handling most weapons.

What stood out was the word [proficiently].

The 【Akasha System】 was rarely generous with its evaluations.

If anything, it leaned toward stinginess.

Even when he had soloed the 60th floor’s boss and succeeded in its conquest, the system had only deemed his efforts [clumsy].

But [proficiently]?

It was a descriptor he hadn’t seen even once until he defeated Apocalypse.

With an evaluation like that, he could wield even an unfamiliar weapon with the skill of a player in the high 100s.

‘Guess that’s what sets an S-Rank apart.’

Over the past decade,

Among countless traits Yujin had gained, the best had barely made it to A-Rank — and only three of them.

He’d heard of S-rank traits and skills but had never seen one until now.

‘Freaking amazing.’

Suppressing his pounding excitement, Yujin moved on to check his skills.

■ 『Lantern of Life [S]』: At the brink of death, project all forgotten memories into reality for 15 minutes. Single-use only.

“Uh…”

He didn’t fully grasp it at first.

But with ten years of player experience, he was well accustomed to the 【Akasha System】’s infuriatingly vague descriptions.

He rolled his sluggish brain and tried to piece together its meaning.

“Wait, no way?”

A shocked expression spread across Yujin’s face.

He seemed even more stunned than when he’d checked the S-rank trait.

‘If I’m understanding this correctly…’

The word “amazing” wouldn’t even begin to cover it.

‘Does this mean I can use the power from my first run?’

Only for 15 minutes.

And just a one-time skill.

Yet its value was beyond words.

The power Yujin had amassed in his first run was so immense that even the Transcendent-class Boss, Apocalypse, had fled in fear.

If he could wield that power, even briefly, it meant he could escape death’s grasp at least once.

‘Not that I expect to need it.’

Still, depending on when and how he used it, the possibilities were endless.

And he already had an idea in mind.

“Hmm.”

With his review of the rewards complete, Yujin nodded.

『Hourglass of Chronos [EX]』 went without saying, and the other two were exactly to his liking.

An extra item would’ve been the cherry on top, but that might be asking too much.

‘This time, I’ll grow faster and stronger.’

And along the way, he could pick up a few decent people to train.

“Alright.”

Having roughly sorted his thoughts, Yujin scanned the area.

The chaos hadn’t subsided.

It would likely calm only after the Tutorial Floor’s administrator appeared.

In the meantime, Yujin checked the crowd for any familiar faces.

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novels: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" & "The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring " If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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