The taste of betrayal was surprisingly similar to the taste of copper.
Ren fell to his knees, clutching the gaping hole in his chest. Blood, hot and sticky, poured between his fingers, staining the pristine white marble of the 100th Floor's Throne Room.
Splatter.
"Sorry, Ren," a voice echoed from the portal rapidly closing behind him. "Nothing personal. Just business."
Ren looked up, his vision blurring. Standing on the other side of the spatial rift was Lucas, the Guild Master of Golden Dawn. The S-Rank 'Hero of Humanity.' The man Ren had carried luggage for, taken hits for, and served faithfully for ten years like a dog.
Behind Lucas, the Saintess—the woman Ren had secretly loved—didn't even look back. She was too busy inspecting her nails.
Lucas flashed a winning, media-perfect smile. "The Demon King requires a sacrifice of life force to open the exit. And let's be honest... you're just an F-Rank Porter. You were born to be disposable. Think of this as your final contribution to the team."
"Lucas..." Ren choked, blood bubbling on his lips.
"Don't worry, I'll tell the press you died a hero. Or maybe that you tripped. I haven't decided yet."
The portal snapped shut.
Silence descended on the Throne Room.
Ren was alone. Well, alone with the rotting corpse of the Demon King they had just slain, and the collapsing dungeon around him.
"Disposable," Ren wheezed.
He had memorized the dungeon maps. He had cooked their meals. He had identified the loot. He had been the brain behind the brawn of the Golden Dawn guild. And this was his severance package? A hole in the gut and a tomb in the abyss?
Rage, cold and sharp, pierced through the pain of death.
If I had one more chance, Ren thought, his fingernails scraping against the stone floor until they broke. If I had just one more chance, I wouldn't save the world. I would buy it. I would sell it. I would burn it all down.
He crawled toward the Demon King's corpse. A faint, violet light pulsed from the monster's chest. The Core. The SSS-Rank item that Lucas had been too terrified to grab before fleeing.
Ren's hand, trembling and blood-soaked, slapped onto the glowing orb.
"If I die," Ren snarled, his teeth stained red, "I'm taking this with me. Even in Hell, I'll need currency."
[SYSTEM ALERT]
A blue holographic screen, the hallmark of the Awakened, dinged into existence before his dying eyes. But this wasn't the standard interface. It was glitching. Black and red static tore through the blue.
[FATAL ERROR DETECTED]
[Condition Met: 'The Last Survivor of the Final Dungeon']
[Condition Met: 'Consuming SSS-Rank Core with 0 Mana']
[Condition Met: 'Hatred exceeding logical parameters']
[Hidden Trait Unlocked: The Merchant of Time]
[Special Trait unlocked: Future Stock Market]
Ren's heart gave one final, stuttering beat.
[Activation confirmed.]
[Rewinding World Line... 100%]
The pain vanished. The cold stone floor vanished. The darkness turned into a blinding, searing white light.
"Hey! Wake up, trash!"
Ren gasped, his lungs inflating with a sudden, violent intake of air. He jerked upright, his hands flying to his chest.
Smooth skin. No hole. No blood.
He looked around wildly. He wasn't in the Throne Room. He was sitting on a plastic chair in a cramped, humid waiting room. The smell of cheap coffee and sweat hung in the air. A flickering TV in the corner was broadcasting the news.
"...breaking news! The A rank dungeon has been stabilized in Seoul. The government is calling for volunteers..."
Ren looked at the date on the bottom of the screen.
October 12, 2024.
Ten years. He was back ten years. It was the day of the Great Awakening. The day he had first signed his slave contract with the Golden Dawn Guild.
[System Initialization Complete.]
[Welcome, User Ren.]
[Current Assets: $50.00]
[Special Trait: Future Stock Market (SSS) - You can view the market value of items, stocks, and dungeon drops from 10 years in the future.]
[Hidden Trait: The Merchant of Time (????) - ?????????]
Ren stared at the window. He checked his pockets. Fifty bucks. He checked the Trait. Infinite potential.
A corner of Ren's mouth quirked up. It wasn't a smile. It was a baring of teeth.
In his past life, he was a porter. A servant. A dog. In this life, he was going to be the landlord.