Everyone has genius within them.
It's just that most people never discover it in their lifetime.
But what if you realize your 'genius' at the end of your life? Would your life change?
Would late-arriving joy make life happier?
'… No, it's not.'
Lee Hyunwook could assertively say this.
'It's actually a terrible pain.'
From his experience, discovering talent late was like opening 'Pandora's Box.' You are bound in the shackles of agony, where only the torment of hopelessness and regret exists.
'Even realizing my abilities couldn't change anything in the end.'
Hyunwook was now lying defeated atop a skyscraper, his body covered in wounds.
Cold corpses of his comrades rolled around him; him being the only one still breathing.
Then, about half a dozen figures slowly descended from the sky and surrounded Hyunwook.
'Villains'
They were human players who had sold their souls to devils and led the invasion of Earth.
One of them spoke.
"The last hero of Seoul, the Steel Emperor, has finally rusted and fallen."
'Steel Emperor', that was the name the world gave to Lee Hyunwook.
'It's a bit cheesy, but still, it felt good to be acknowledged, albeit late….'
Then, a boot reached right in front of his eyes.
He struggled to look up; it was Gordon Price, the tall man with pomade hair, the CEO of the global corporation 'Blue Tree.'
"Go, Gordon, you treacherous bastard…."
Gordon, once the largest sponsor of heroes and now the wealthiest man on Earth, was revealed as a 'Villain' only after many heroes had already been wiped out by his actions.
And that's when the downfall of humanity began.
"Hyunwook, I have to confess, you were a really tough enemy."
Gordon raised his arms towards the sky.
"The sight of thousands of swords and spears rising at your fingertips and pouring down like torrential rain… The awakened power of the Steel Emperor was frankly hard for us to handle."
He lowered his arms slowly, smiling courteously.
"So, I always wanted to tell you this."
He whispered in Hyunwook's ear.
"… Thank you, really, for not being able to utilize that amazing ability fully."
He grinned.
Hearing a thank you from the person who led to the extinction of humanity…
Inside, a boiling rage surged up. But he couldn't move. He had sustained irrecoverable injuries.
Gritting his teeth in unbearable anger, his gums seemed about to sink in.
Realizing his talent too late was the worst-case scenario.
However, for his enemies, it was a great fortune.
'What if I had realized how to use this ability a little earlier… would things have changed?'
It was a vague regret.
About 12 years ago, Lee Hyunwook awakened as a 'Player' and gained the ability to control 300g of metal.
Of course, 300g was barely enough to move a dagger.
But like all abilities, he believed that the 'quantity' and 'method' of what he could control would gradually improve.
However, for a full 10 years, Lee Hyunwook's ability did not change at all.
The reason was simple. He did not know how to grow his abilities.
He practiced moving metal thousands of times a day and even slept in a room made of steel. He tried countless methods.
However, they were all in vain.
'Who could've thought eating steel really was the answer?'
Lee Hyunwook 'ate' steel to absorb it. He realized this bizarre method two years ago.
Shortly after, Lee Hyunwook obsessively began swallowing steel.
Since there was also a digestion time, he couldn't eat indefinitely, but he reduced his sleeping time to continue eating steel. The weight of the metal he could control gradually but indeed increased.
He could now control 4,145kg, tossing trucks like toys, toppling buildings, and manipulating thousands of steel weapons like a storm.
Thus, he gained the title of 'Steel Emperor.'
But that was it.
No matter how great his potential was, he couldn't catch up with those who had gone far ahead.
"Hyunwook, if you had a little more time, wouldn't you have lifted this entire building and dropped it like a giant meteor? Hahaha… you must find it quite regretful."
Gordon sarcastically taunted him.
'Yes, I do regret it! I regret it like crazy!'
If he had realized this even 2 or 3 years earlier, he would have consumed tens of times more steel and controlled hundreds, maybe thousands of tons of it. Then, the situation might really have been different.
"Look there. Your city, Seoul, is crumbling."
Gordon grabbed his head and turned it somewhere.
A heavy sound echoed, and buildings in Yeouido began to sink. The dense dust storm that rose there engulfed the Han River, which was filled with corpses and red waves.
Screams and howls rang out throughout the city, intertwining into a bizarre symphony. That orchestra from hell crawled into Hyunwook's ears.
His head hurt.
Millions of people who had lived in the large city were dying horribly before his eyes.
"Ah…"
Lee Hyunwook could only let out a small sigh. There was nothing he could do.
"Hyunwook, you've worked hard. But honestly…"
Gordon sneered.
"…you were pathetically inadequate."
Gordon turned away as he finished speaking. At the same time, someone approached with a large wooden hammer raised. His left foot stepped on Hyunwook's chest. There was no escaping.
Soon, the hammer fell onto his head.
Crash!
That was the end.
A life that had incredible ability but could not use it properly had come to its pathetic end.
* * *
For a fleeting moment, Lee Hyunwook was shrouded in darkness.
The next moment, he saw a light in the distance.
He leaned his head towards it.
"…Huh!"
He took a ragged breath as he opened his eyes. At the same time, he reflexively touched his head.
"Huh?"
His head, which should have been shattered, was perfectly intact.
'I was sure I got hit right.'
Lee Hyunwook felt the powerful blow to his head.
No matter how he thought about it, the damage was not something that could be easily recovered from. No, he should have been killed instantly.
'What just happened? Did I end up in the afterlife?'
He looked around with that thought in mind.
But this place was quite familiar.
Rubbing his eyes and looking again, he was…
"Damn…"
It was the barracks where he had done his military service.
"Why on earth…"
If he had fallen into the afterlife, he must have fallen into hell.
Then, the door opened, and someone entered. It was a private with black combat gear.
"Corporal Lee Hyunwook, are you awake? It's time for dinner."
Lee Hyunwook sprang out of bed.
"What… Ju, Junmo? Are you Park Junmo?"
"Private Park Junmo! Sir? What are you talking about?"
The guy was a junior squad member who had died fighting monsters during his military service.
"Ah… Yes! Of course, it's me!"
Did he fall into the afterlife and meet old acquaintances who had gone before him?
But this guy still looked as naive as back then.
It was as if…
He had gone back in time.
"…Huh?"
Thunk!
Lee Hyunwook hurriedly opened the locker and looked at himself in the mirror attached inside.
'What the hell is happening?'
The face reflected in the mirror was definitely younger. It was a face in its early twenties.
He was confused.
"Corporal Lee Hyunwook? Are you okay? Your face looks…"
"…I'm not okay."
What was going on?
After reporting that he couldn't eat dinner due to feeling unwell, Lee Hyunwook returned to the barracks and sat down. He sat down and thought deeply about the situation while holding his short hair.
"Phew… I need to think calmly."
But no matter how he thought about it, he had no choice but to accept the reality he saw.
"I've gone back in time, specifically… 8 years ago, when I was 22."
Soon after, a 'System Message' that only 'Players' could see appeared in his field of vision.
Currently controllable 'Metal' weight: 300g
It was still only 300g.
'And if I go by my previous life, this won't change for the next 6 years.'
For those 6 years, his life was nothing but miserable. He would be discharged as a staff sergeant seven months later. Then, branded an F-grade Player, he would get a job as a contract worker in a 'Hunter Guild'.
It was a hard-earned job, but he was nothing more than an extra, just a sidekick to famous heroes. An extra who risked his life just like them but received no attention or cheers from anyone…
'I was able to stand beside those heroes only when I realized how to grow my abilities.'
However…
"…I already know how to change all that, don't I?"
There was no need to wait until then.
He opened the locker and took out a small clip.
'Eat metal, absorb metal, and control metal.'
It was a simple but outlandish method.
He put the clip in his mouth.
As it touched his tongue and teeth, the unique metallic taste stimulated his nerves.
He felt nauseous.
His past body was still not used to this unfamiliar sensation and instinctively rejected this abnormal action.
But his reason for the future forced it down.
Gulp-
Then…
[Congratulations! You've discovered how to grow your abilities.]
-Time left until metal absorption (00:09:59).
A countdown started in front of him.
When that time was up…
[Controllable metal weight: 301g]
It changed.
The weight.
It was only 1g, but the weight of the metal he could control had increased.
He remembered the first time he saw this message. The terrible puzzle that had plagued him for a lifetime was so easily solved… It was both joy and regret.
"Phew…"
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he slowly raised both hands.
Woong-
An alien sensation was transmitted to his fingertips… Tingles, numbness, cold, heat, these peculiar feelings meant that he was connected to some 'object' far away.
When he opened his eyes,
Above his palms,
Dozens of clips floated and rotated.
"Yes, in this life…"
He reached out his left hand, and the clips that were floating in the air neatly gathered above his palm.
"…I'll truly become a genius."
The genius that should have been dormant had awakened early.
And its impact was genuinely enormous.