The autumn moon hung over the vast training field like a watchful eye, casting pale light over thousands of aspiring hunters scattered across the grounds.
In a secluded corner, far from the sparring rings and evaluation zones, a group of trainees surrounded a single figure—a young man with expensive designer training gear now torn and stained with blood.
"This crazy bastard is still smiling!"
Park Min-ho's fist connected with the young man's jaw, but instead of crying out, the target—Kang Ye-jun—grinned even wider.
"You psycho! Are you actually enjoying this?!"
Another trainee, Kim Dae-sung, aimed a vicious kick at Ye-jun's ribs. The sickening crack echoed, but Ye-jun's expression never wavered. If anything, the smile grew.
"This masochist is broken in the head! Everyone, don't hold back!"
What the attackers didn't know—what no one knew—was that Kang Ye-jun wasn't the original owner of this body.
Three months ago, the real Kang Ye-jun had died from a training accident. And into his corpse had transmigrated the soul of Lee Jun-woo, a 22-year-old Korean webnovel addict who'd died after an all-nighter reading session went horribly wrong.
His phone had literally exploded from overheating and killed him.
What a way to go.
The group finally tired of beating him and left, spitting curses.
Ye-jun—or rather, Jun-woo in Ye-jun's body—coughed blood and slowly pushed himself up. His vision swam, but his eyes focused on the translucent blue window floating before him.
[Daily Compulsory Task: Endure physical punishment for 10+ minutes without retaliating — COMPLETE]
[Day 100 of 100 Completed]
[All Awakening Conditions Met]
[WARNING: Find a private location immediately to begin Innate Talent Awakening Process]
Jun-woo's lips trembled—not from pain, but from overwhelming relief.
"Finally... finally!"
For one hundred days, he'd endured this nightmare. Getting beaten, humiliated, mocked by everyone in the training camp. All because of the mysterious system that had appeared the moment he'd transmigrated.
The *Absolute Evolution System* had given him one command: Suffer 100 days of physical humiliation to unlock your innate talent.
No shortcuts. No explanations. Just a cruel, non-negotiable quest.
So Jun-woo had done what any rational person would do when given a system in a world where Hunters, Gates, and Dungeons existed—he'd followed the damn instructions.
Every single day, he'd provoked the strongest trainee groups he could find. Cursed them out. Insulted their mothers. Did everything possible to get himself beaten within an inch of his life.
The entire camp now knew him as "Masochist Kang" or "MM" for short.
But it had all been for this moment.
The luxury tent provided to him—courtesy of the Kang Family's wealth and influence—was mercifully empty.
Jun-woo collapsed onto the silk bedding, his entire body screaming in agony. Broken ribs, fractured jaw, internal bleeding... his status would've horrified any normal person.
But Jun-woo had lived his previous life as a bullied high schooler. Pain was an old friend.
"System," he whispered hoarsely. "Begin awakening."
[INITIATING INNATE TALENT AWAKENING SEQUENCE]
[WARNING: Process will be extremely painful. Host is advised to—]
"Just do it."
[Acknowledged.]
[Awakening Progress: 1%... 3%... 7%...]
The pain that followed made the beating seem like a gentle massage.
It felt like his bones were being dissolved in acid and reformed from molten steel. His blood boiled in his veins. Every cell in his body screamed as they were torn apart and reconstructed.
Jun-woo bit down on his pillow to muffle his screams. If anyone heard, they'd think he was being murdered.
In a way, he was—his old weak self was dying.
[Awakening Progress: 45%... 67%... 89%...]
Sweat poured from every pore. His designer training clothes were completely soaked through. Blood leaked from his nose, ears, and eyes.
[Awakening Progress: 97%... 99%...]
[100% COMPLETE]
[CONGRATULATIONS! You have awakened an EX-Rank Innate Talent!]
[Innate Talent: 〈Absolute Counter Evolution〉 - EX Rank]
[Description: Every attack you receive makes you stronger. Every humiliation you endure evolves your abilities. The more you suffer, the more you transcend.]
[Current Evolutionary Skills Unlocked:]
[〈Masochist's Blessing〉 (Passive) - Rank: C]
- Converts 50% of damage received into permanent stat increases
- Each instance of humiliation grants +0.5% to all base stats
- Accumulated suffering can be converted into skill experience
[〈Retribution Counter〉 (Active) - Rank: B]
- Stores 100% of damage received over the last 24 hours
- Can be released in a single devastating counterattack
- Damage multiplier: ×10
- Cooldown: 72 hours
[〈Evolution Trigger〉 (Active) - Rank: A]
- When HP falls below 10%, automatically activates temporary evolution
- All stats increase by 300% for 5 minutes
- Skills rank up by one tier temporarily
- Cooldown: 7 days
[〈Trait Absorption〉 (Passive) - Rank: S]
- 5% chance to permanently absorb a random trait from anyone who damages you
- 0.5% chance to copy a skill from your attacker
- 0.05% chance to steal a talent fragment
[Additional rewards for 100-day completion:]
[Title Acquired: 〈One Who Endured Hell〉]
- +25% resistance to all mental debuffs
- Immunity to fear effects
- Other hunters will instinctively sense your determination
[Bonus Stats Granted:]
- Strength: +50
- Agility: +50
- Endurance: +100
- Magic Power: +50
- Luck: +25
[Special Achievement Unlocked: 〈Masochist's Pride〉]
- You have willingly endured 100 days of humiliation for power
- Effect: All evolution-type skills are 50% more effective
[Your previous suffering is being calculated...]
[Total accumulated damage over 100 days: 847,293 HP]
[Converting to permanent stat increases...]
[Strength +423]
[Endurance +424]
[Total humiliation instances: 1,847]
[Base stats increased by 923.5%]
[EVOLUTION SYSTEM REPLACING TRIAL SYSTEM]
[You may now view your Status Window]
---
Jun-woo lay there, trembling. Not from pain—the awakening had completely healed his injuries—but from the sheer overwhelming power now coursing through his body.
He slowly raised his hand. It no longer shook. The fingers that had been broken just minutes ago now looked... perfect. The skin had a faint luminous quality, like polished jade.
"Status Window."
A translucent blue screen materialized:
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Kang Ye-jun (Lee Jun-woo)
Age: 19
Rank: F-Rank Hunter (Awakened)
Title:〈One Who Endured Hell〉
Stats:
- Strength: 523 (E-Rank)
- Agility: 150 (F-Rank)
- Endurance: 624 (D-Rank)
- Magic Power: 150 (F-Rank)
- Luck: 125 (F-Rank)
Innate Talent: 〈Absolute Counter Evolution〉 (EX-Rank)
Skills:
- 〈Masochist's Blessing〉 (C-Rank)
- 〈Retribution Counter〉 (B-Rank)
- 〈Evolution Trigger〉 (A-Rank)
- 〈Trait Absorption〉 (S-Rank)
Traits Absorbed: [27 traits available - View Details?]
Accumulated Retribution Damage: 847,293 HP (Ready to Release)
Jun-woo stared at the window, then slowly began to laugh.
It started as a chuckle, then grew into full-blown laughter that echoed through his tent.
"Those bastards... they have no idea what they've created."
He clenched his fist, feeling the raw power contained within. With his current strength stat, he could probably punch through reinforced steel.
And this was just the beginning.
In the original timeline—the one Jun-woo remembered from the webnovel he'd been reading before dying—Kang Ye-jun was supposed to be a minor antagonist.
A petty young master from a wealthy Hunter family who bullied the protagonist, Kim Si-woo, out of jealousy. Ye-jun would eventually try to assassinate Si-woo during the academy entrance exam and get himself killed, dragging his entire family down in the process.
A pathetic, forgettable villain who existed only to make the protagonist look good.
But Jun-woo had no intention of following that script.
"Kim Si-woo..." he murmured, thinking of the protagonist. "In the novel, you're supposed to awaken an S-Rank talent tomorrow during the final evaluation. You'll become the academy's star student, recruit all the heroines, and eventually become the strongest Hunter in Korea."
His eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
"But things are going to be a little different this time."
Jun-woo stood up and walked to the tent's entrance, pushing aside the flap. Outside, the training camp buzzed with activity. Hundreds of trainees prepared for tomorrow's final evaluation—the test that would determine who got admitted to Hunter Academy.
In the distance, he spotted several familiar faces.
Park Min-ho, the trainee who'd led today's beating. In the original novel, he'd become one of Kim Si-woo's loyal subordinates.
Kim Dae-sung, who'd kicked his ribs. Another future ally of the protagonist.
And there, sitting alone near a campfire, was a girl with long black hair and sharp eyes—Nam Yu-jin.
One of the main heroines. A future S-Rank Hunter. And in the original story, Kang Ye-jun's fiancée... until she broke off the engagement after he tried to have the protagonist killed.
Jun-woo's lips curved into a smile.
"System, show me the absorbed traits."
[ABSORBED TRAITS - 27 TOTAL]
From Park Min-ho:
- 〈Berserker's Fury〉 (D-Rank) - Increases strength by 20% when enraged
From Kim Dae-sung:
- 〈Swift Footwork〉 (D-Rank) - Increases dodge rate by 15%
From trainee Lee Sang-min:
- 〈Iron Stomach〉 (F-Rank) - Increased poison resistance
[Additional 24 traits listed...]
Jun-woo's smile widened. Every single person who'd beaten him over the past 100 days had unknowingly donated a piece of their power to him.
"This is perfect."
He checked the accumulated retribution damage: 847,293 HP stored and ready to be released as a counterattack with a ×10 multiplier.
That meant his next punch could deliver over 8 million damage.
For context, an average F-Rank Gate Boss had around 50,000 HP.
"Tomorrow's evaluation is going to be interesting."
As Jun-woo turned back into his tent, a new notification appeared:
[MAIN QUEST UNLOCKED]
[Quest: Rewrite Destiny]
Objective: Surpass the protagonist Kim Si-woo in the Hunter Academy entrance evaluation
Reward: Skill Evolution Token (Rank: S)
Failure Penalty: None (But where's the fun in that?)
Time Remaining: 14 hours, 23 minutes
Jun-woo's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Kim Si-woo... I'm coming for your protagonist seat."
He cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing ominously in the quiet tent.
"And I'm going to enjoy every second of it."
[To Be Continued...]