I Am the Only Non-Returner

1 – Tutorial Stage

“Could it be because of my ability?”

A phenomenon that could hardly be called an ability.

After a traffic accident in childhood, the damn red numbers that appeared in front of people’s faces.

Because I couldn’t see their faces properly due to the large numbers floating in front of them, my human relationships were not good, and I spent my days as a voluntary shut-in.

“Ugh, why am I the only one on the first stage? I’ll think about that later.”

Quickly discarding the thoughts, I focused back on reality.

“Anyway, I just have to survive in this shelter until the end, right?”

A man, anxiously moving back and forth among the monsters on the opposite side of the street, tapped his phone with his hand.

“Are other people allowed to use their phones?”

I tried touching the phone again, but it still didn’t work.

Staring at the useless smartphone with resentful eyes, my gaze fell on the hand that was holding the basket.

“Should I buy the gray item and the question mark that was on the consciousness list to solve it?”

Since the list seemed endless, I thought I could probably get almost anything. As long as I had the points, that is.

“What about the bathroom?”

As soon as I thought about the bathroom in my head, the word “bathroom” appeared in gray letters.

Restroom (Basic)

Price: 5P

“5P, huh. That’s the cost of one concrete. But I can’t buy it yet, hmm-“

I honestly wasn’t too worried about the points.

Why?

Silver Thread (Lv1) (0)

Owned Points: 783,968

Trait: Observer (Unique)

Thanks to my trait, I’ve accumulated a lot of points. With these points, I was able to buy concrete to the limit and attack monsters from the start.

Glancing over to the opposite shelter, I could see only one attacking concrete among the monsters.

I couldn’t tell if it was just me or if others were the same, as the monsters were not clearly visible behind the cover. Nevertheless, I felt the overwhelming sense of starting with a significant amount of points.

The difference in speed between me and the monsters in other areas was already quite noticeable.

I opened the trait Observer, labeled as unique, once again.

Observer (Unique)

– Able to confirm others’ mana values.

– Gain 1-5P when confirming others’ mana values.

Who would have thought that my habit of idly standing in the bustling streets and counting people from a young age would come in handy like this? I don’t know what criteria determine the difference in acquired points, but it was definitely a good thing.

Just being able to turn my ability on and off since the start of this death game was so touching that it made my nose tingle.

“Now that I can’t see those filthy numbers, and I’m alone…”

It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it?

“What’s the big deal? I’ve lived my whole life alone, so I can just keep living the way I always have.”

– Boooom!

“Ugh, seriously disgusting.”

I was worried that those things outside would keep spitting out debris and pile it up to cover the shelter, but after I died, they turned to ashes and disappeared together.

“Treat my home with care!”

One by one, the guys who were falling down ended up with the last one being hit by a concentrated bombardment of projectiles pouring out from 5 spheres, bringing it all to an end.

＜You have cleared the stage for the first time on Earth. You gain 100P.＞

＜You have passed the tutorial stage. You gain 5P.＞

＜Some items in the shop purchase list are randomly unlocked.＞

Why are they randomly unlocking again?

“Those unlucky ones who only unlocked high-point items might not even be able to do anything and could end up dead, huh?”

Is this totally luck-based or a crappy game?

Hmm, anyway.

“Let’s see what got unlocked~”

– Bathroom (low-grade), live chicken, pocket monster bread, special ticket

“Hmm… what’s with the live chicken… I guess I’d have to eat it if I were really starving, but it’s true that it’s randomly unlocked.”

First, let’s look at the bathroom. Actually, I was a little scared when the monster suddenly came out screaming. Ughhh

Bathroom (low-grade)

Price: 15P

I’m curious about the difference between the basic type and the low-grade one, but there’s probably no need to check it out.

“Inferior Purchase!”

– Ziiing

“Yikes! What a surprise!”

In the corner of the shelter, a restroom was rapidly being constructed in real time. It looked as if it were being swiftly built using an incredibly sophisticated 3D printer.

“Wow… Interesting.”

In just a few seconds, the newly built restroom didn’t reveal its interior like the shelter did. Carefully opening the white door and stepping inside, there was a toilet and a washbasin placed neatly.

“Is this better than my studio apartment for real?”

Looking at the sparkling clean restroom, it felt like my mind was being purified.

“Phew… Let’s take a breather for now.”

– Ssshh

Nodding my head while watching Sojungi, who was diligently doing his own tasks, the only pride left from my time in the military.

“Damn, looks like I won’t really need to use it now. Ah, what a pain to have met the wrong owner, huh.”

After washing up and cleaning myself thoroughly, I stepped outside.

“I’ll have to manage with restroom water for drinking for a while… Is it okay to drink? My stomach isn’t growling yet… Special Ticket? What’s this?”

Unlike the other items, the Special Ticket was shining in golden color all by itself.

“Whoa!! What’s this!”

Numerous lists popped into my head at once, causing a brief dizziness and making me sit on the floor.

– Phew

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I carefully examined the list.

“What is this? It’s mostly question marks or grayed out, isn’t it?”

Anyway, since I could find information other than question marks, it seemed like it would be fun to look at it whenever I was bored.

“There’s a recommended list too. Oh, they’re so kind. I wonder who it is, but they seem to be good at business?”

“Hmm, wealthy? What’s this?”

I opened one of the noticeable recommendations among dozens.

Wealthy (High-grade)

– Attack power increases in proportion to the holding points.

(1%)

So, 1% of the holding points are converted into attack power. I see why they recommended it to me.

Holding Points: 784,058

So, 7840 will be added as additional attack power.

“Wow! This is totally a scam, isn’t it? Did you expect this?”

Even if you look at it, it’s just grey! It’s a torture of hope.

I looked around the shelter again, regaining my appetite. It had been a few minutes since I cleared it, but other shelters were still surrounded by monsters and in the midst of battle.

Upon inspection, not only the shelter across but all the other shelters had only one attack sphere.

“Are there no other people starting with points like me?”

No way… Usually, regressors don’t receive any special abilities, right? Wasn’t it already verified at the registration office? They probably received a skill and regressed with some merit.

At least, just the fact that they tried it in advance puts them in a much better position than me.

I could tell just by their expressions. Except for the man across, no one else seemed tense.

“By the way, why can’t that man keep still alone? Does he need to go to the bathroom or something? Oh, it’s certainly too much to show him pooping in such a wide open space, isn’t it?”

It might have been a huge stroke of luck for my mental health that the bathroom came first. Hmm-

“It’s almost over in other places as well.”

From the start, it was clear that it was just a matter of time before those who were leisurely walking around and unilaterally defeating the monsters would clear the stage.

It had been a few minutes since all the monsters in the surrounding shelters had been sorted out.

＜01:00＞

“Huh?! Are they counting down?”

Seeing the sign that there was one minute left, my heart sank.

“It’s not like I’m happy about not getting attacked, you know?”

And then, one minute later.

＜Finally, the boring tutorial stage has ended! Ugh! It’s only the 2nd round, why is everyone clearing so slowly? Please try harder! It’s so boring to watch, I could die. I’ll move on to the next stage in an hour~ Bye~ ^ㅠ^＞

“So it was a tutorial…

But keep talking about the 2nd round, and I start to feel left out. Could you please look out for me? I’m still in first place, after all..”

＜Tutorial Stage Fatalities: 947,937,710＞

“??? What is this?”

Why? Why did so many people die? I understand that in a death game, failing to clear means dying, but why did so many die?

I looked around the nearby shelters and tried to shout, but it seemed like my voice wasn’t reaching anyone. The people who had briefly shown interest in my gestures were all sitting down or lying down to rest.

So, I came up with a few theories on my own.

Maybe there were people who committed suicide? Or those who experienced unbearable pain while repeating the stage from the first round just gave up on the game altogether.

Or, and this is a rather depressing situation, the game started under the same conditions for really young children? Conversely, there might also be patients who can’t even control their bodies or elderly people. Thinking like that, the numbers made some sense.

Thunk-

“What is this even supposed to mean···”

From the start, my life was a damn mess. I had to focus on my own survival, so I had no room to care about anything else.

Lying on the floor, I try to recall the memories I forcibly closed off earlier.

The childhood experience of a traffic accident.

Losing my parents and growing up in an orphanage all by myself.

The numbers that appeared in front of people after the accident.

Being treated like a lunatic since elementary school, after mentioning the numbers to a few friends. Naturally, I ended up spending a lot of time alone, unable to fit in with my peers.

“It was actually better this way.”

Having a conversation while looking at the red numbers floating in front of their faces wasn’t as pleasant as one might think.

The numbers obstructed the view, making it difficult to maintain eye contact, and my friends who noticed this, like ghosts, gradually distanced themselves, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Thankfully, there were no bullies bothering me due to my unusual growth, so I spent my school days voluntarily like a nerd. After graduating from high school, I was discharged from the orphanage with 5 million won.

It was all part of the plan, so I felt indifferent.

I found the cheapest one-room apartment in the area.

300,000 won deposit and 250,000 won monthly rent.

After that, my life as a part-timer began.

One day, while working at a car wash, a colleague who was quitting gave me a novel he had been reading as a gift. It seemed he was grateful for the times I had covered for him when he slacked off.

The book was about a man who leveled up on his own. It was so incredibly entertaining that I lost track of time.

And as I read the book, I became certain.

“This is it!”

It felt like a breakthrough in the part of my mind that had been stuck since I first saw a fantasy novel.

“So, this kind of world exists!”

I had a certain belief that there was something to the numbers I saw.

Since then, whenever I had spare time, I made a hobby of strolling through the bustling streets, observing people’s numbers. I usually carried numbers between 30 and 50 on my face, but occasionally, I would see three-digit ones.

Finding any connection between people and these numbers was quite elusive. Could it be the number of s*xual encounters? Or perhaps the number of wrongdoings to others?

Yet, even newborn babies had numbers on their faces. I realized that simply observing numbers wasn’t particularly meaningful. Let’s get prepared. Prepare for when the world turns upside down.

But what was I preparing for, exactly?

In the end, I threw myself into exercise. Early mornings and afternoons were dedicated to part-time jobs, and in the evenings, it was boxing. After diligently attending the gym for three years, I somehow found myself working as a sparring partner.

A part-time job where I skillfully took hits from wealthy young gentlemen. They even paid me 50 bucks for a round.

If you’re good at taking hits, they even tip you!

Apparently, I had good punching sensations or something.

Anyway, I spent another year enjoying my time, absorbing web novels related to leveling up, and playing games.

“Why isn’t anything happening?”

I started to grow impatient.

After finishing the sparring job, I learned painting, securing a somewhat stable income for three years.

Slowly, I was waking up from my dream.

Without anything happening, without ever knowing what this damn number meant, I was on the verge of giving up and dying.

But now, something has suddenly erupted.

“It’s more laid-back than I thought.”

After concluding my reminiscence, I stretched my legs and absentmindedly gazed at the unnecessarily clear sky.