Profit from Skill Copy – The Spoils of Regression

In the pitch-black darkness, it was nearly impossible to see even a step ahead.

Compounding the danger, a monster could lunge out at any moment. Junhyuk moved with extreme caution, taking cover in nearby buildings.

Despite possessing all his past life’s experiences and the formidable ability of ‘Supersenses’ from before his regression, Junhyuk’s current strength was meager.

Having finally regressed and acquired the abilities he desired, it would be utterly futile to cross the River Styx due to a single moment of carelessness.

Therefore, Junhyuk scanned his surroundings with utmost care as he advanced.

Before long, he arrived at the site where Park Kangho had clashed with the monsters.

“Huh!”

Junhyuk couldn’t help but gasp at the abandoned spoils of battle scattered around him.

‘These… holy hell! This is incredible!’

Four Skill Cards had dropped, along with an Awakening Stone—an item rumored to have an extremely low drop rate. Not to mention the monster byproducts like bones and hides, the most crucial discovery was the nine crystals.

Six C-grade and three B-grade.

He could likely live a life of leisure simply by selling these crystals alone.

‘This is no time to just stand here. I need to hurry!’

Junhyuk swiftly began collecting the dropped items from the ground.

‘Heh heh, how much is all this worth?’

With an inward cheer, Junhyuk quickly made his way back to the truck with the collected items.

Naturally, he moved with the same extreme caution he had employed on his journey there, staying hidden as much as possible.

Scanning his surroundings, Junhyuk quickly approached the truck and cautiously opened the driver’s side door.

Click!

He then opened the secret safe hidden beneath the driver’s seat and placed the crystals, Skill Cards, and Awakening Stone inside.

All that remained were the other byproducts.

However, unlike the other items, their considerable bulk prevented them from fitting into the small safe.

“Assuming the items go into the secret safe, these byproducts are the real problem. If I just leave them in the cargo bed and someone else spots them, it could lead to a headache. Tsk, there’s no helping it. It would be best to hide them somewhere suitable nearby and retrieve them later.”

These were not mere low-grade monster byproducts, but those of high-grade monsters. If an ordinary person, not even a Hunter, were found with such byproducts, they could easily become entangled in serious trouble.

Hence, Junhyuk decided to hide them nearby for now and return to collect them at a more opportune moment.

Junhyuk chose the convenience store building across the street from the apartment complex as his hiding spot for the byproducts. It was a place he had already thoroughly cleared out, appearing utterly empty from the outside.

After concealing the byproducts in a secluded corner of the convenience store, Junhyun hurried back to the abandoned apartment building to prepare for rest.

“I can’t drive the truck at this hour, so I suppose I’ll have to spend the night here.”

It was a truly silent night, devoid of even the sound of insects.

If he were to drive the truck in such stillness, the noise would undoubtedly be amplified, attracting any monsters in the vicinity.

There were countless monsters faster than a truck, and even if he were lucky enough to reach a safe zone, there was no way they would allow a truck dragging a trail of monsters inside the barrier.

It was far better to spend the night here and slip away in the morning when Hunters emerged for their hunts.

Once he decided to stay the night, fatigue slowly began to creep in. Perhaps that was why Junhyuk’s eyes gradually drifted shut.

****

Morning eventually arrived, and Hunters began moving throughout Haengsin-dong, one by one, for their hunts.

Junhyuk, who had woken up early, was also busy loading the pre-prepared home appliances into his truck.

“By the way, once I get back, I need to register as an Awakened as quickly as possible. Only then can I sell the Awakening Stone and Skill Cards.”

Junhyuk was loading appliances he didn’t strictly need, partly to deceive others, but also because he immediately required items that could be converted into cash.

Typically, after registering as an Awakened, it takes about three days to undergo testing and receive a registration certificate. Once the certificate is issued, one can use the Awakened-exclusive website to buy and sell various Awakened items. Listing an item there would then take anywhere from one day, if sold quickly, to three days to complete the sale.

Ultimately, this meant he would have to wait for at least four to five days without any immediate income.

These appliances, on the other hand, could be sold for cash as soon as he brought them back. Given his urgent need for money, there was no reason to leave behind items he had found.

“Tsk, the crystals are the problem, though… Haah, if only I could sell the crystals, my life would be set, but I can’t dispose of them right away. They’re like a pie in the sky.”

If they were low-grade crystals, he might have been able to obscure their origin and sell them after registering as an Awakened. However, Junhyuk now possessed high-grade crystals.

These were crystals from high-grade monsters—creatures that required hundreds of Hunters to barely subdue even a single one.

If Junhyuk were to put these up for sale, both the Awakened Association and the government would undoubtedly question how he acquired them.

He might even be forced to sell them for a pittance, practically having them seized without receiving their true value. More importantly, he intended to avoid drawing attention to himself as much as possible until he had secured sufficient power.

Ultimately, Junhyuk decided to keep the crystals hidden until an opportune moment arrived.

“Well, it can’t be helped. Even if I only sell the other items at their proper value, I won’t have to worry about money.”

Just as Junhyuk, having loaded all the home appliances into the truck, was about to set off,

Vrooom!

A familiar truck entered the apartment complex.

“Hmm? Oh! Gicheol Hyungnim?”

It was the truck of Park Gicheol, the leader of the Hyena team Junhyuk belonged to, and the person who should have originally been the owner of the Copy Master skill.

As the truck stopped and Gicheol stepped out of the driver’s seat, Junhyuk smiled and approached him.

“Hyungnim!”

Gicheol, however, looked quite flustered upon seeing Junhyuk.

‘What! Why is this guy here?’

He had naturally assumed no one would be there, so seeing Junhyuk standing prominently was certainly a surprise.

“Huh? J-Junhyuk? Why are you here?”

Junhyuk scratched his head and replied.

“Haha, actually, I was working late yesterday and missed my chance to go back, so I ended up spending the night here.”

At Junhyuk’s words about spending the night in a dangerous area, Gicheol made a bewildered expression.

“What? Spend the night here? Huh! This kid is absolutely crazy to want to die! Hey! I told you to come back with us when we left! You’re lucky you’re safe, but what would you have done if you’d run into a monster?!”

Junhyuk chuckled at Gicheol’s scolding.

“I was actually planning to head back late, but then a monster appeared… so I was stuck. Well, at least I’m safe, right? And I even hit the jackpot, haha.”

Junhyuk spoke with an excited expression, as if he had stumbled upon the items by sheer coincidence.

Upon hearing that, Gicheol subtly glanced at the truck’s cargo bed, and a momentary bitterness flashed across his face.

‘Ah! Damn it. If I had stayed yesterday, all that could have been mine… Ugh.’

Though Gicheol felt regret, he quickly changed his expression, as if nothing had happened, and said,

“Ah! This really will make some money, won’t it? Ha, haha. Well, it’s a relief that risking danger paid off.”

He said the words, but perhaps because the thought that those items could have been his lingered, Gicheol felt a pang of jealousy deep down.

Junhyuk, noticing this, asked Gicheol with a puzzled expression.

“By the way, Hyungnim, what brings you here at this hour? Today isn’t a work day.”

At Junhyuk’s question, Gicheol quickly replied with a flustered look.

“Oh? Haha, w-well… Ah! I just came to check, just in case. Jeongtae kept saying he felt like someone was clearing this place out behind our backs. So I thought I’d come take a look.”

Gicheol offered various excuses, trying to gloss over his real reason, but Junhyuk instinctively knew why he was there.

‘Tsk, he must have hidden more salvageable items somewhere. Well, I’m not one to talk, though. Kekeke.’

Of course, Junhyuk had a rough idea why Gicheol was there, but it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Junhyuk himself had also been stashing away items behind Gicheol and the other team members’ backs during this period. Therefore, he showed no outward sign of his thoughts, merely smiling as he spoke.

“Oh, really? As expected of you, Hyungnim. Haha. By the way, I’d love to stay with you, but I didn’t get much sleep last night. I guess being in a dangerous area made it hard to get proper rest. I’m tired, so I think I should head back first.”

In truth, he had slept well and wasn’t tired at all. However, he had urgent matters to attend to, and his siblings would undoubtedly be worried since he hadn’t returned yesterday, so he had made up a hasty excuse.

At Junhyuk’s words about leaving first, Gicheol brightened and said,

“Oh! Go ahead. Now that you mention it, those dark circles under your eyes are no joke. Go on and get some rest. I’ll stay a bit longer, just in case, before heading back.”

Junhyuk gave a slight bow and immediately climbed into his truck.

“Yes. Then I’ll head back first. Oh, and Hyungnim. I’m sorry.”

At Junhyuk’s sudden apology, Gicheol looked puzzled.

“Hm? Sorry? For what?”

“Haha, it’s nothing.”

Although Gicheol secretly hoarded items from his teammates, he wasn’t a bad person at heart. In fact, he had occasionally helped Junhyuk when he was in difficult situations. That was why Junhyuk offered a verbal apology for taking the ability that rightfully should have been Gicheol’s.

“Huh! You silly fellow. Go on and get going.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be off.”

With that, Junhyuk left the ruined apartment behind and headed towards the safe zone.

****

The barrier stretched endlessly, and within its embrace lay the Seoul Area. In truth, it was difficult to consider it the entirety of Seoul, as the southern side of the Han River was dominated by monsters.

Thus, the remaining northern part of Seoul was fortified with a barrier and designated as the Seoul Area. Of course, even that alone was a considerably vast region.

Upon entering the Seoul Area, Junhyuk soon arrived at his usual trading spot near the entrance. This ‘trading spot,’ however, was essentially a fence for handling the used goods brought in by the Hyenas.

As Junhyuk stepped out of his truck, the owner of the trading spot examined the items in the cargo bed and remarked,

“Well, Junhyuk. You’ve got some nerve, spending the whole night in a dangerous zone. By the way, these goods are quite decent this time, aren’t they? It seems risking danger truly paid off.”

Junhyuk offered a slight smile at the owner’s words.

“I suppose so.”

He had maintained a friendly relationship with this owner even before his regression. Although their contact had naturally ceased when Junhyuk was falsely accused of theft and sent to prison, the owner had always looked out for him in many ways until then.

“Ah! And your siblings are in the office. They’ve been here since the crack of dawn, bothering everyone. Ugh.”

It seemed that after he hadn’t returned all night, they had grown worried and come to the trading spot where Junhyuk usually did business.

At the owner’s mention of his siblings, Junhyuk asked with a surprised expression,

“My siblings? Are they here?”

“Yes, you idiot. Why do you do things you don’t normally do and make your young siblings worry? Anyway, I’ll roughly estimate the value of these. Go on in and see your siblings. You have no idea how much I sweated trying to console them; they wouldn’t stop crying.”

“I seem to have inadvertently caused trouble. Haha, I apologize.”

The owner waved his hand dismissively at Junhyuk’s apology.

“Ah, it’s fine, just go on in.”

“Ah, yes. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Just as he finished speaking and was about to enter the office,

“Oppa!”

“Hyung-ah!”

Euncheol, eight years old and just entering elementary school, and Eunjung, ten years old and newly in third grade, rushed toward Junhyuk.

“Waaah! Why did you take so long to come back?!”

Euncheol clung to Junhyuk, bursting into tears, while Eunjung shyly clutched at the lapel of Junhyuk’s shirt with her fingers.