Chapter 1
“……Ugh.”
A heavy groan echoed across a battlefield drowned in blood.
Within that carnage, several figures looked down at the source of the sound and clicked their tongues.
“As expected of the All-Master. Even after taking wounds like that, he’s still alive.”
“The poison of the Ten-Thousand-Year Venom Dragon. The God-Slaying Spear. The Hero’s Sword. The Bow of the War God. Even after being struck by countless legendary and mythical artifacts… and he’s still in this condition.”
“Crushing him before he grew any further really was the right choice.”
“Hmph, I’ll be getting a hefty reward for this job.”
Their appearances were all different.
One looked like a mixture of dragon and human—a draconic humanoid.
Another had pointed ears and a face carved like a sculpture.
Another possessed green skin and a rugged, muscular body.
And yet another was short and stout with a sturdy build.
Among them, only one was human.
“All-Master, Choi Shinhyuk. Any last words?”
The only human there was Shinhyuk—Earth’s sole Challenger-tier player, once known by the arrogant title “Infinite Emperor.”
When the dragonkin asked him for final words, Shinhyuk looked up with an incredulous expression.
“This is supposed to be a cooperative game, and suddenly you all gang up on me… Do you really think you can win a Challenger-tier match without me?”
The place they stood was a Challenger-tier battlefield.
Naturally, the enemies they had to face were also Challenger-tier.
Losing even a single member in such a game was fatal.
Considering that defeat in Challenger tier imposed massive penalties not only on individual players but on entire dimensions, it was an insane act.
Yet the ones who attacked Shinhyuk didn’t care in the slightest.
“True. If we hadn’t prepared beforehand, something like this wouldn’t have been possible.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means that all Challenger players participating in this game agreed to your death.”
“……!”
A total of one hundred Challenger-tier players had joined this cooperative game.
Hearing that ninety-nine of them, everyone except himself, had agreed to kill him left Shinhyuk speechless.
“What the hell did you hope to gain by doing something this crazy to a worthless Bronze-tier dimension like Earth without me?”
“…….”
Earth, the dimension Shinhyuk belonged to, was among the lowest ranked—Bronze tier.
Thanks to Shinhyuk alone it was on the verge of rising to Silver, but even then, it was only Silver.
“The New Human Empire… you’re already a Challenger-tier dimension. What could you possibly lack that you needed to do this?!”
Compared to them, Earth was nothing more than a speck of dust.
That was why Shinhyuk was even angrier.
At that moment, the dragonkin who seemed to be their leader spoke.
“You humans have a saying, don’t you?”
“……?”
“Does a human need a reason to step on an ant?”
“……You lizard bastard, Croden—!”
At that mocking answer, Shinhyuk roared in fury at the dragonkin named Croden.
But that was all he could do.
“Farewell, Choi Shinhyuk. A star born in a backwater dimension.”
“Ugh! Agh! Aaaaaah!”
Even as Croden looked at him with a pitiful gaze, Shinhyuk’s body—pierced by countless weapons and ravaged by deadly poison—could no longer respond to his rage.
Croden raised his sword and spoke coldly.
“Earth will accompany you on your way.”
“……Ah.”
Slash!
At those final words—that Earth would follow him in death—Shinhyuk let out a faint gasp, envisioning the fate of Earth after his demise.
‘Father… Mother… Shinwoo… Sua….’
His parents.
His only younger brother.
And finally, the one friend who had always supported him, cheered him on, and eventually caught up to him.
As their faces flashed before his eyes like a panorama, Shinhyuk closed his eyes.
[Conditions for another chance have been fulfilled.]
[Would you like to receive the reward?]
[Error! Error! Error!]
[Target is unable to receive the reward.]
[Reward will be granted automatically.]
‘What… is this…?’
As that strange system message echoed in his mind, Shinhyuk felt himself drifting away.
And then—
SMACK!
“Hey, you stupid Bronze-trash, have you lost your mind?”
“Go buy some bread, Bronze loser.”
“……?”
A dark back alley.
A stinging pain in his head.
The name tag on his school uniform reminded Shinhyuk of the situation.
[Choi Shinhyuk / Bronze]
‘Bronze? Me? The only Challenger-tier player on Earth… Bronze?’
The copper-colored tag glittered clearly, proving his rank.
And with it, Shinhyuk remembered.
That long-forgotten past when he really had been Bronze.
Back then, his nickname had been—
“Worthless jack-of-all-trades. Have you finally gone insane?”
“Man, with a predicted tier of Bronze, if you’ve lost your mind too, you’ll get placed in Iron for sure.”
Worthless jack-of-all-trades.
A nickname that the future Shinhyuk, called All-Master, could never have imagined.
Yet that was his past.
And now, somehow, his present.
“I’ve returned to my Bronze days?”
Not as the All-Master.
Not as a Challenger.
But as a powerless Bronze.
“Was it all a dream? No… there’s no way everything I experienced was just an illusion.”
As Shinhyuk clutched his head in confusion, the two boys in front of him threw punches.
“What’s wrong with this guy?”
“Let’s just beat him up. He’ll come to his senses.”
Seeing their fists flying toward him—both wearing silver name tags—Shinhyuk laughed at how painfully slow they looked.
Tap—step—
With just two small movements, he dodged both punches effortlessly and countered.
Smack!
“Gah!”
“H-how did a Bronze loser do that?”
They were shocked—not only that he dodged, but that he fought back.
But the one most surprised was Shinhyuk himself.
‘What? I hit them clean in the jaw and they didn’t even pass out? Just how weak was my body back then?’
Still stunned by how frail his past self was, Shinhyuk was interrupted.
—Attention. All students, please return to your classrooms.
“……You got lucky the teacher saved you.”
“See you on placement exam day, Bronze trash.”
The two boys stormed off holding their swollen jaws.
Watching them leave, Shinhyuk followed them toward the classroom.
‘Good thing. I don’t even remember where the classroom is.’
Thanks to those “excellent navigators,” Shinhyuk easily found his way.
As he entered the classroom, dozens of eyes turned toward him.
Ignoring them, he quietly took an empty seat.
“Shinhyuk, what happened?”
“……Ah, Sua. Nothing much. They attacked me, so I hit them back.”
The one person he couldn’t ignore was the girl sitting in front of him—Han Sua.
‘She looks so young… I really did go back in time.’
In the future she would be known as the “Saintess of the Battlefield,” a powerful paladin and the only true friend Shinhyuk ever had.
Her youthful face reminded him painfully of the life he had returned to.
“Shinhyuk, you did that?!”
“Han Sua. If you’re going to talk, go outside.”
“Sorry, sir!”
The homeroom teacher scolded her, restoring silence.
“Today is December 30th. Two days remain until the placement exam on January 1st. Prepare yourselves well.”
“YES!”
The students shouted enthusiastically.
‘December 30th, age 19… two days before the placement exam.’
A test that only occurred once in a lifetime.
The exam that determined everything.
And Shinhyuk remembered his result all too well.
‘Iron. Iron tier 5.’
The lowest of the low.
A result that had once pushed him into despair.
But not anymore.
“Shinhyuk, let’s walk home together.”
“Sure.”
Despite being the only Bronze student in the prestigious Shinwha High School, Shinhyuk walked with Sua.
Then—
“Young master. There is a family gathering at the main house today. Please get in.”
“Ah… that’s right.”
A luxury sedan waited in front of the school.
Today was the Shinwha Group family meeting.
A place Shinhyuk had once hated.
‘Back then I tried to run away and got dragged there by force.’
But this time—
“Get in, you said.”
“……Yes, sir.”
Without hesitation, Shinhyuk entered the car.
“Sua, good luck on the exam.”
“……Okay.”
Leaving her worried gaze behind, Shinhyuk headed toward the family mansion.
Sitting arrogantly in the back seat, he looked out the window.
‘Before wiping out the New Human Empire… I’ll clean up my own household first.’
A second chance.
And this time, he would change everything.
