The Regression of a Challenger-Level Player - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1. The Deathbed Vision seems to have quite a bit more freedom of movement than expected
[Despite desperate efforts… Earth, relegated from the Dimension Cup Division 3.]
[Is this annihilation? The entire dimensional national team has vanished.]
[D-3 until Channel closure. What future awaits humanity?]
Gloomy, ash-colored headlines scrolled up one after another.
“So it’s come to this, after all.”
“Why do you even look at that stuff? You’re ruining the taste of the beer!”
Su Hyeok, his hair half gone, gulped down his beer in long, desperate swallows.
He used to be handsome and well-groomed, but with the world in this state, he’d stopped taking care of himself.
‘Not that I have any room to judge.’
I managed a bitter smile and stared at the pale yellow beer in my glass.
“The entire dimensional national team has vanished? That’s all nonsense! They already got scouted by other dimensions and transferred over there!”
“Just to get relegated to Division 3?”
“Earth’s national team, even rotting, is still worth something, Jae-ha. Even if they can’t make the first division, if they slot them into the second or third, there’ll be some way to use them—that’s probably what they figured.”
Typical of someone who used to coach at a top-tier team back in the day.
His hair may be gone, but his brain still works.
“But still—to betray the Earth they were born and raised on and run away on their own… These traitors!”
…….
I had no response to that.
Earth had been relegated in the Dimension Cup Division 3 League.
Which meant the closure of the Channel, and that meant.
‘Annihilation.’
Our dimension would no longer receive protection from the Outside.
Decades ago, a system called the Channel suddenly appeared on Earth.
[Connecting the Earth Channel.]
[We welcome all Players.]
The Channel was, quite simply, an unknown civilization.
Like a game, you could access it anywhere, anytime; you couldn’t truly die; you could clear objectives given across numerous dungeons and dimensions and receive rewards for doing so.
Scholars analyzed and studied it, but they achieved no meaningful results.
Only one thing was certain.
Only those who had awakened to special power—Players—could access the Channel.
After the Channel appeared, human society changed rapidly.
The status of Players skyrocketed beyond measure, and traditional sports like baseball and soccer declined as something else surged to dominance.
The Player League.
Matches played by teams of the superhuman.
The Player League became humanity’s greatest obsession, and Players naturally became athletes, joining good teams and aiming to win championships in the league.
And if one were to win the World Player Championship, where national representatives from around the globe competed, there could be no greater glory than that.
But humanity would soon realize that all of this was merely child’s play.
[The Earth Channel has been given mandatory participation in the Dimension Cup.]
A league where diverse dimensions competed. The Dimension Cup.
Humanity had been invited to it, practically by force.
A league divided into three total tiers.
[Should a dimension be relegated from Division 3, that dimension’s Channel will be shut down.]
[Once the Channel is closed, protection can no longer be guaranteed.]
Humanity had assembled a dream team to form a dimensional national squad.
But they could not remotely match the level of other dimensions.
[Earth National Team suffers another crushing defeat! Consecutive losses since the Dimension Cup’s opening.]
[What is the problem? The defeats continue, anxiety grows.]
Humanity was, quite literally, a frog in a well.
And then came yet another shocking piece of news.
[South Korea’s National Team Snow Sword Master Baek Ho-young transfers to the Labyrinth Channel!]
Players with real skill turned their backs on Earth and transferred to other dimensions.
Those who’d been hesitant at first, once they realized Earth had no hope, went to other dimensions one after another without exception.
What remained on Earth were those who’d never awakened or Players with neither skill nor value.
For example, me.
“Since everything’s already ruined anyway, I’ll just say it… Don’t you feel wronged at all?”
“About what?”
“Don’t play dumb. Let’s be honest with each other.”
Su Hyeok was chewing on squid legs that looked like leather, working his jaw methodically.
“Your skills—honestly, they wouldn’t fall short even in a first-division team’s starting roster.”
“…….”
“You were on the Earth National Team? Then we wouldn’t have been in relegation danger either! We could’ve even won the Division 2 League…!”
“Hey.”
I cut him off before he could say more.
I felt bad toward someone who’d treated me like a real older brother all these years, but everyone has a past they don’t want touched.
“…Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Su Hyeok’s shoulders sagged.
He wasn’t wrong, if I’m being honest.
I think about it sometimes too.
‘What if I’d been on the national team back then….’
Would Earth have ended up like this?
The more I thought about it, the worse the ache in my chest got. I was about to throw back the lukewarm beer in one gulp when—
Boom-boom-boom-boom…!
The entire bar shook, and a sinister aura descended.
“Damn. Earth really is going to hell if monsters are showing up even in backwater dives like this.”
When Earth’s ranking falls in the Dimension Cup and the league level drops, the Channel’s protection weakens.
That’s when Gates open all over the place, and creatures from the Outside—monsters—appear.
It’s why we have to win matches, no matter what.
“Run, hurry—!”
“No, never mind.”
I shoved my drink aside
and grabbed the large Combat Hammer propped beside me.
Huge—far bigger than my own torso.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Even for you, this is rough. They said a Grade 1 swarm—couldn’t stop them even if a Dimension Cup team showed up.”
“That’s them.”
I hoisted the hammer shaft onto my shoulder and smiled faintly.
“I’m me.”
At the same time, I pulled a blue pill from my pocket and crushed it between my teeth.
Crunch!
A clean, crystalline sensation bloomed across my palate.
Mana seeped into my body, and superhuman senses stirred awake in my flesh.
.
.
.
“This is insane….”
Su Hyeok stared at the devastation in shock.
Monster corpses, mangled beyond recognition.
Each one a Grade 1 beast—said to rival Diamond-rank Players in power.
“Phew.”
To me, they were just slightly firmer tomatoes.
I flicked meat and fat off the hammer head.
“Never gets old…. A Grand Master really is a Grand Master.”
I was about to give him a casual reply when—
Thud!
A massive spasm wracked my chest, and my veins burned white-hot.
“Hhck…! Ahhh…!”
Before I knew it, I was biting my lip and writhing on the floor.
I should be used to it by now, but this cursed body never cooperates.
“Jae-ha!”
“I’m… fine… hyung….”
As the spasm subsided, the tension drained from my limbs.
This is all a side effect of that blue pill I took just before the fight—the Mana Capsule.
A drug that supplies Mana the moment you swallow it.
Usually it’s an item taken by Mages when they lack the Mana stat needed for skills.
‘But for me….’
I don’t use it for replenishment.
It’s purely to supply Mana from outside.
That’s right.
I cannot use mana.
The cause was an illegal Mana Circuit Expansion Surgery recommended by the team I used to belong to.
The team threatened me, saying they couldn’t renew my contract unless I underwent the procedure, and eventually I did.
The result.
[Your Mana Circuit has been permanently damaged.]
[Your ‘Mana’ stat is now fixed at 0.]
I became a defective player—one who couldn’t use mana.
Considering that the Warrior position requires mana to activate skills, it was as though my career as a player had been completely severed.
The team naturally discarded me, and so I fell into the abyss.
After that, Mana Capsules were invented, and through sheer venom and numerous opportunities, I reached Grand Master rank—but….
[The Dimension Cup matches restrict the use of all items except weapons.]
Regrettably, there was no stage for me to fight on.
Without Mana Capsules, I was nothing.
“Only five Grand Masters exist across all dimensions, and one of them is fated to disappear along with his dimension….”
His words dripped with genuine pity.
Su Hyeok held me upright, tears streaming down his face.
A mixture of sympathy for me, fear of Earth’s annihilation, and terror of death.
“…I’m sorry, brother.”
“Sorry? What are you sorry for! You’re the one I feel worst about!”
His jaw trembled.
“If I could go back in time, I’d beat Sky Epic to a pulp for what they did to you!”
“The past is… let’s just drink.”
I dragged myself back and poured lukewarm beer down my parched throat.
This was three days before Earth’s annihilation.
***
[The grace period has ended.]
[This dimension concluded its season in the Dimension Cup’s third division while maintaining its relegation status.]
[It has been classified as a dimension with no further value of existence.]
[Therefore.]
[The Earth Channel will be closed.]
The day of annihilation was more peaceful than I expected.
Except for the screaming that nearly tore people apart, the slaughter, and the inexplicable rituals involving human sacrifice.
“Well, it’s actually quieter than usual.”
At least no one was committing arson while ranting about God.
Screeeech! Screeeeeech!
The crimson sky tore open, and incomprehensible things began pouring through.
Beyond the fissure, dozens of writhing tentacles and eyes split vertically down the middle.
-■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!!!!!!
They shrieked in an unknowable language, gradually destroying the world.
“If today is the end anyway.”
I’ll pour everything into this.
I crammed several Mana Capsules from my pocket into my mouth all at once.
Crunch!
“…Gasp!”
A ferociously powerful mana surged through every corner of my body, stealing my breath.
My vision spun, and searing pain shot through my skull like molten metal flooding my veins.
‘Mana Addiction Syndrome…!’
A fatal side effect that could lead to death.
But I’d already steeled myself to die today.
“Even if I die…! I’m taking at least one shot at you bastards before I go!”
I stomped the ground with all my strength.
Boom!
The earth shuddered, and my body rocketed skyward in an instant.
I drew closer and closer to the creatures beyond the fissure.
I poured every ounce of force into the hand gripping the hammer.
Crack-crack-crack!
My muscles screamed, my senses rang with warning.
I ignored it all and simply soared higher.
“Die…! Dieeeeeeeee!”
I bit my lips so hard the taste of blood flooded my mouth.
Boom!
I hurled the hammer.
Space shattered, reality itself trembling from the force of the blow.
Crack!
One of its tentacles was crushed flat, dropping away in pieces.
-?!???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I felt its panic ripple through its skin.
A sharp, metallic taste bloomed across my tongue.
“Heh… heh… how is… wait….”
But something was wrong with my body.
Why did everything feel so light?
“…Ah.”
My arm was gone.
The recoil had torn my torso apart, and my insides were spilling out in a steady stream.
The moment I unleashed that attack, the Mana swirling within me sparked and detonated.
‘I knew that much power was too much.’
But without it, I never would have crushed that tentacle.
“So… tired….”
Consciousness flickered on and off like a dying bulb.
All I could feel was the sensation of falling.
A message wavered faintly in my dimming vision.
[
‘■■■’
has sustained damage!]
[Inexplicable Achievement!]
[The Channel’s remnant is judging your accomplishment.]
[Congratulations! Your rank has advanced from ‘Grand Master’ to ‘Challenger’!]
[The first Challenger has been born!]
Challenger.
The highest rank a Player could achieve—and a tier that, throughout all of dimensional history, no one had ever reached.
Maybe it shouldn’t matter when you’re dying anyway.
“Challenger… ugh… hehe….”
But it felt good.
My whole life had been nothing but abandonment and rejection.
I tried endless times to prove myself, and failed every time.
Yet in this final moment, I was recognized.
As the one and only ‘Challenger’-class Player in all dimensions.
Not that I could close my eyes peacefully now.
The thought of Earth rotting away like this gnawed at me, and the fact that those who trampled me would gorge themselves in other dimensions filled me with rage.
‘If I could go back to the past like you said…’
I’d change everything.
I’d stake my life on it.
I’d forge a different ending.
“…Damn it.”
With that thought, my consciousness cut to black.
.
.
.
In a world drowning in darkness.
[At last you have appeared, Challenger.]
A warm voice tapped at my soul.
A voice so soft and honeyed that angels and goddesses came to mind unbidden.
[For eons upon eons, I have been waiting for you alone.]
[So begin again.]
[Return to this place. Become the Challenger.]
[You have the potential within you.]
Warmth blossomed outward from my chest.
‘What…?’
[I will be waiting for you.]
[Challenger, Shin Jae-ha.]
That warmth soon swallowed me whole.
***
“…ugh.”
What in the world just happened?
I’d definitely landed one final blow on that tentacled bastard.
“…Jae-ha.”
As I fell, dying, some voice suddenly jolted me awake.
At the end, someone called my name out of nowhere, and my body felt like it was being moved somewhere.
“Shin Jae-ha!”
Yeah, they called my name like that.
Though not quite so irritably.
“Are you ignoring me? Shin Jae-ha, you damn bastard!”
Thud!
Someone kicked me in the stomach.
The heavy impact shocked me back to consciousness.
“Ugh!”
My body tumbled across the floor, and my eyes snapped open.
The surroundings came into focus on my retinas.
The inner walls of a building painted in sky blue, the cutting-edge training systems installed here—
‘The Sky Epic Training Facility?!’
My old team’s place.
The Sky Epic training facility—that enemy lair that had made me a cripple without mana.
And the one who’d just kicked me over was—
“Crazy bastard napping in the training facility? This is why the third-tier guys are hopeless.”
Park Gyubo, the first-tier Warrior who was always tormenting me at Sky Epic.
Despite how long ago it was, that irritating face was absolutely unforgettable.
“What, what is this…? I was definitely dead…?”
“Spouting nonsense like that? Looks like you haven’t been hit enough. I clearly told you to clean up the training facility.”
“…….”
“What? Look at those eyes opening up. You orphan scum should be grateful just to breathe the same air as us. This is a place where others want to be but can’t get in.”
Park Gyubo laughed mockingly.
If my memory’s right, he’d given me only three minutes to clean back then.
Basically, he was just looking for an excuse to beat someone, any excuse would do.
“Tsk tsk, no wonder you’re permanently damaged goods in the third tier. This won’t do. Let me give you a proper education today.”
He cracked his knuckles and came toward me.
“…Ah, I get it now.”
“What?”
“This is it? A Deathbed Vision.”
What you see before you die.
It’s more realistic than I thought. I actually believed I’d traveled back to the past.
“But if this isn’t real… then I can do whatever I want, right?”
A crystal-clear epiphany.
Followed by quick action.
Whoosh!
I darted forward lightly and gouged Park Gyubo’s eyes with my fingers.
“Huh?! Aaaaaaah! You crazy—bastaaaard!”
No matter how superhuman, the eyes are always weak.
Especially at this level, before the Dimension Cup even opens.
“Aaaah! Aaaah!”
“You son of a bitch! Die!”
I stomped down hard between his legs as he writhed on the floor, clutching his eyes.
“S…stop…!”
“Stop my ass! You fucking dog!”
Thinking of all the beatings and harassment I’d suffered from this bastard, this wasn’t nearly enough.
Crunch!
I stamped down harder.
“Grrrgggk….”
Park Gyubo lost consciousness, foam frothing at his mouth from the pain.
Sweat glistened on my forehead.
“Phew. Refreshing.”
He wiped the sweat from his palms, a smile spreading across his face as the long-suppressed tension finally released.
It felt like a century’s worth of stagnation draining away in an instant.
But for a Deathbed Vision, the degree of freedom seems unusually high.
“What—what is this?!”
“Gyubo! What’s happened?!”
“Medical team! Get the medical team!”
By the time the other team members who had arrived late saw Park Gyubo’s ruined state and called for the medical team.
He had already run through several tests on his own and reached a conclusion.
“Huh, um…”
This phenomenon was not a Deathbed Vision.
‘Then… I really have gone back to the past?’
And the very first thing he’d done after arriving.
Was gouging out the eyes of his past enemy and grinding his groin beneath his heel.
“Perfect.”
It was nothing short of the ideal regression.
The Return of a Challenger-Rank Player
Author
: Ki Sa-hon
Production Date
: August 10, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Inc.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media Inc. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder,
and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
This e-book is protected under copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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