Geonwoo felt a rush of satisfaction as he watched the clerk’s expression gradually slip out of her professional control.
‘So those credit cards I reluctantly made after joining the company are finally coming in handy. But what’s the limit on these things again? If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve signed up for a few more.’
He felt like he’d suddenly struck it rich.
For Geonwoo , who no longer had a tomorrow, credit cards were as good as cash now.
No matter how much he swiped them, he’d never have to pay anything back.
“Um, how about this style? I think it would really suit you…”
The clerk’s tone was noticeably more cautious now as she handed him the clothes.
“Yes. I’ll take that. Where can I change?”
Without even looking at what she gave him, Geonwoo took the clothes and headed to the fitting room.
He’d never worn anything like this before, never even picked out clothes seriously, so it was just easier to trust the expert’s judgment.
‘No way. This… is really me?’
Geonwoo couldn’t wrap his head around the completely transformed version of himself staring back from the mirror.
Now he truly understood what people meant when they said “you get what you pay for.”
‘Expensive clothes are expensive for a reason, huh!’
Just yesterday, he wouldn’t have even imagined a day would come when he’d be wearing nearly 6 million won worth of clothing all at once.
The clerk was just as stunned.
‘What the heck? I mean, yeah the clothes are expensive, but this guy’s frame is just unreal!’
The clothes Geonwoo had been wearing earlier were a cheap suit he’d bought when he joined the company.
It was wildly outdated, and the fit had never been right. After his awakening, his arms and legs had grown longer, making the sleeves and pant legs too short and downright ridiculous.
But now?
Properly dressed, Geonwoo’s physique and proportions were genuinely impressive.
And when the clerk adjusted the fit and brushed against him, she realized his body was solid—packed with lean muscle like a professional athlete.
‘Now that I look closer, his face is really handsome in a rugged sort of way…’
The dazed expression that had made him seem a bit slow at first now came off as a kind of innocent charm.
If there was anything left to be desired, it was just one last thing.
“Um, excuse me, sir… Would you mind if I did your hair a little?”
“Huh?”
Geonwoo blinked in surprise at her sudden question.
“I, uh… I have some wax on me…”
“…?”
‘What is this now? Sure, it’s early morning and no one else is around, but isn’t this a bit much for customer service?’
He gave her a bewildered look.
But her face was flushed red.
“I-I didn’t mean anything by it! I just thought if we fixed up your hair, the look would be perfect…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it was barely audible.
Even her neck was turning pink with embarrassment, clearly aware of how forward she’d just been.
‘Wait, what the hell is going on here?’
Compared to when he first walked in, the clerk’s attitude had changed drastically, leaving Geonwoo somewhat dazed.
“Uh, if you don’t mind, then… sure, thank you.”
“Great! I’ll just take a moment.”
Her face lit up at his permission.
As Geonwoo sat down, she gently ran her fingers through his hair.
Feeling her soft touch and the faint perfume wafting from behind, Geonwoo’s expression grew complex.
‘She’s definitely flirting, right?’
Even for him, this felt a little too blatant.
[010-0000-0000 Jeong Yuna]
“…Huh.”
Geonwoo stared blankly at the corner of the receipt, where the words were cutely written in pink ink.
Sometime while he wasn’t paying attention, the store clerk had written it down.
“This… is a phone number, right?”
He blinked at the receipt.
In all his 28 years, this had never happened before.
“I just got hit on.”
He racked his brain trying to remember if he’d done anything flirty.
But no matter how much he thought about it, all he did was buy some clothes.
‘Well, yeah… I did spend a bit. Bought everything from head to toe.’
In full, one-time payment, no less.
‘Plus, my body’s in better shape now… and I’m taller, too…’
Money and looks.
An eternal truth.
‘Not that it matters. It’s all credit card debt, and tomorrow’s not coming for me anyway. There’s no future with her.’
“Still… I guess I shouldn’t throw it away. She put some thought into it…”
Clearing his throat for no reason, Geonwoo carefully folded the receipt twice and tucked it into his pocket.
And at the same time, his resolve to break this endless curse burned even brighter.
His body was already in great shape, and as long as he was careful at the final moment when the reset lifted, the credit card debt would all vanish like it never happened.
‘So until then, might as well swipe away.’
At this point, he was already thinking of wearing different clothes every single day.
“Oh? Geonwoo, you bastard. What are you doing here?”
Suddenly, an irritatingly familiar voice rang out.
Geonwoo instinctively turned his head.
A sleek sports car had pulled up next to him.
As the window rolled down smoothly, Choi Woosik’s face came into view—and Geonwoo let out a sigh.
‘Great. Just my luck. Can’t help if our paths keep crossing…’
They had awakened on the same day, and the Gate Keeper had visited them at the same time, so of course their timing would overlap like this.
Besides, if memory served, this was about the time Woosik would swagger into the company in his sports car.
‘I should probably avoid shopping near the office from now on… even if it means walking a bit.’
Ignoring him would have been the best move—but it was never fun having someone bugging you right next to you.
“Wow, Park Geonwoo! You awaken and now you’re buying clothes way outta your league? You charge that on a card? Pfft. Do you even know how much a low-tier F-rank porter makes a month? Huh?”
Choi Woosik chuckled, instantly recognizing the price range of Geonwoo’s outfit.
Geonwoo tried to walk away, since he had places to be.
But when Woosik started moving alongside him in the car, mocking him the whole time, his patience finally snapped.
“Hey.”
Geonwoo stopped and turned a cold glare on him.
“Get out. You bastard.”
Woosik flinched.
Geonwoo, having experienced countless gruesome deaths through endless resets, spoke in a low voice that carried a chilling weight of murderous intent.
Woosik instinctively shuddered at the unexpected intensity, but when he realized he’d actually been scared for a second, his pride was wounded.
“You F-rank piece of trash lost your mind? You don’t order around a D-rank like that! Fine. I’m out. Now what, you garbage tier bastard?”
Furious, Woosik slammed the brake, flung the door open, and stepped out.
But the moment he did—Geonwoo vanished from sight.
“What the—?”
Click.
A soft sound of the car door closing came from behind.
“…Huh?”
Vrrrm.
“…Huh?!”
Woosik stared in disbelief at the sight of Geonwoo’s grinning face behind the wheel of his own sports car.
Geonwoo called out.
“Sorry. I’m just borrowing it for a day.”
“…What?”
“Nice car. I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”
VROOOOM!
Before Woosik could even finish reacting, the car was already gone, leaving him standing there like an idiot, mouth hanging open.
[Star Boxing Gym]
Director Jo Kyungshik was dealing with a very strange customer.
A sleek sports car pulled up outside the gym, and out stepped a young man who looked to be in his late twenties.
Saying he wanted to learn boxing, the man was handed a standard new member registration form.
But that’s when things started getting weird.
“Can I just skip this? It’s a pain… I’ll fill it out tomorrow.”
‘What kind of inconsiderate punk is this?’
Still, in this economy, new members were rare—so Jo held back his irritation just this once.
But the brat kept pushing his buttons.
“I don’t have gloves. Can I borrow a pair?”
“I’ve got the basics down. Can I jump right into sparring?”
“Could you train me personally, Director? I don’t trust the other instructors’ skills.”
This little…!
Just as Jo was about to lay into him, the man spoke again.
“In exchange, I’ll pay ten times the lesson fee.”
“…What?”
Ten times meant two million won.
But Jo had his pride as a director.
There were fixed fees. He had other students to teach. He couldn’t devote all his time to just one person.
He was about to reject the offer—when the man added:
“Or how about 1 million won. Every day.”
“…What?”
He chuckled. “A million won a day, he says.”
Even if it was only five days a week with weekends off, that was still twenty million won a month.
The number was so outrageous that Director Jo missed the perfect timing to get angry.
‘Where the hell did this lunatic pop out from, throwing money around like that?’
Now that he thought about it, the clothes the guy was wearing all looked like luxury brands too.
“I’ll start paying the tuition from tomorrow,” the man added.
Ah. So he’s just crazy.
Recession or not, Director Jo was about to scream at him like he usually would.
But the next moment, his anger melted away like snow in the sun.
“I really want to learn from you, Director. I’ve heard there’s no one in the boxing world as skilled and renowned as Jo Kyungshik.”
“Wha…?”
He knew his name.
And his reputation, too.
“Ahem. So you came here looking for me, did you?”
“Yes. Of course. Who in Korea doesn’t know ‘Gold Medalist Jo Kyungshik’? I want to learn the boxing of a true man.”
The boxing of a true man.
It was a phrase he always emphasized to his students.
“Hmm, hmm… Have you ever boxed before?”
He was weak to compliments.
“Today’s my first time, Director.”
Geonwoo replied with a smile.
Ding!
The bell rang.
Whack!
Stars exploded in his vision.
Director Jo was sprawled out flat on the ring.
‘…Huh?’
When he came to, the ceiling was in his face.
‘…Huh?’
He hadn’t even seen the punch.
It wasn’t just fast.
Flawless defense and evasion, seamless offense-to-defense transitions.
Footwork, weaving, every combination punch—each one was well beyond amateur level.
“Y-You… You said this is really your first time…?”
He asked, staggering to his feet, grabbing onto the ring post.
His jaw had taken a serious hit; even standing was a challenge.
“Yes. It’s definitely my first time today.”
‘Then it must be natural talent!’
Director Jo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Would you consider going pro? With your skills, you could challenge for the championship right awa—”
“No, I’m planning to quit boxing now.”
“A-Already?”
Geonwoo’s firm reply filled Director Jo’s face with regret.
Geonwoo took off his gloves and gave him a polite bow.
“Thank you for everything.”
Director Jo stared blankly at his retreating figure as he left the gym.
“…Wait? Everything?”
Wasn’t today supposed to be his first time?
“I guess I can stop learning boxing now. I wrapped up judo not long ago, I’ve gotten used to mixed martial arts, too. I’ll focus solely on Haedong Kumdo from now on.” *Haedong Kumdo is a martial art that focuses on traditional swordsmanship.
Geonwoo counted the martial arts he had learned so far on his fingers.
‘Taekwondo, Hapkido, boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, judo… I really did learn a lot.’
So much time had passed.
At some point, he even stopped counting how many days it had been.
After countless daily resets, Geonwoo was no longer the average office worker he used to be.
Here was Geonwoo’s typical daily routine:
AM 07:00 – Wake up
– “Oppa, you know… I have something to tell you…”
– “You’re not talking about getting married already, are you?”
– “…”
AM 08:00 – On the way to work
– Call Gatekeeper to report a mutant on the way to the office
– Agents respond and neutralize Manager Ma
– Casualties: zero
AM 08:40 – Arrive at work / Infiltrate underground lab
– Absorb an E-rank core every day
(Consistent +50 mana increase daily)
AM 10:20 – Visit Gatekeeper
– Drop by since it’s right next door to the company
– Get mana levels measured
– Secretly absorb an F-rank core using the mana reader
(Consistent +10 mana increase daily)
AM 11:30 – Visit clothing store “Armani”
– Buy new luxury clothes daily with upfront card payment
– Staff styles his hair after he tries on clothes (he’s had it done so many times he can now do wax styling himself)
– Cashiers regularly write their numbers on the receipt (daily flirtation bonus)
PM 12:20 – Hijack Choi Woosik’s car
– “Nice car. I’ll borrow it just for today.”
– “Hey, Park Geonwoo, you son of a—!”
– Thud!
– “…”
PM 01:30 – Martial arts training at various gyms
– Pays exorbitant fees for private lessons directly from the masters (on credit or via card)
PM 11:30 – Sleep
– If he’s too lazy to go home, closing his eyes anywhere just resets him to morning
Resets returned everything to its original state—everything except Geonwoo’s memories.
Using that, he spent every day going to martial arts gyms, intensely focusing on learning new combat techniques.
He even paid extra for private instruction, separate from the gyms’ standard curricula.
Thanks to this, Geonwoo was able to master a wide variety of martial arts.
Of course, he didn’t perfect every single one.
He tried a bit of everything, then focused deeply on the ones that suited him best.
He prioritized styles that seemed most useful for monster hunting.
It was all very unfamiliar to Geonwoo, who had lived a peaceful, fight-free life.
But he had three strengths:
First: Time.
Until he completed his mission, he had unlimited time. With enough repetition, anything could become second nature.
Second: Physical ability.
With his evolving body growing stronger every day thanks to constant core absorption, learning any martial art became much easier.
Third: His nature as a hardworking prodigy.
From academics to part-time jobs to landing a job, he had always worked relentlessly.
He didn’t graduate from a top university, but he funded himself through school with part-time jobs while maintaining a scholarship-level GPA.
Though his job search had taken a while, he eventually landed a position at the major firm “Core Factory.”
Geonwoo was no genius, but his life had been defined by effort and perseverance.
In truth, that endless effort was his strongest weapon.
And when combined with unlimited time and superior physical condition, that weapon became exponentially more powerful.
What he once thought of as a curse—the reset—had become the perfect stepping stone to greater success.
Geonwoo wanted to become the strongest ability user possible before the reset finally ended.
But then, a new obstacle emerged.
‘Why? Why isn’t my mana increasing anymore?’
When had it started?
No matter how many cores he absorbed, his mana wouldn’t rise past 20,000.
Apparently, his ability to absorb mana wasn’t limitless after all.
Just when he thought he could reach S-rank, Geonwoo’s progress stalled at the threshold of B-rank.
Still, it wasn’t bad.
A B-rank hunter could enter practically any gate in the world.
Geonwoo knew then.
It was time to end this seemingly endless loop.
And so, he began planning the perfect final day—the day the reset would stop.
TL : Bro, If he got 60 mana a day then for 20,000 mana it would take 334 days. How is this guy remaining sane?
