Betrayed by the man he trusted most and left to die inside a deadly tomb, Jooheon receives one impossible miracle—a chance to travel fifteen years into the past and rewrite his fate before the age of relics begins.
The episode 1 of Tomb Raider King anime starts with Jooheon Suh desperately fighting for his life inside a mysterious tomb after being betrayed by his employer, Chairman Taejoon Kwon. Trapped beneath a gigantic serpent relic and suffering fatal injuries, Jooheon realizes his body has already been split apart. Even in his final moments, his only wish is revenge against the man who used him for years before abandoning him to die.
As death closes in, a mysterious crow suddenly appears and begins speaking to him. Unlike ordinary relics, this one possesses intelligence and seems fascinated by Jooheon's talent. The crow tells him that dying here would be a waste and offers him one final opportunity. Before Jooheon can fully understand what is happening, the crow grants him a chance to become the "true king" and everything around him fades away.
Moments later, Jooheon wakes up completely unharmed inside a police station. His body has been restored, his injuries are gone, and both of his legs work perfectly again. At first he believes he experienced some kind of hallucination, but the conversations around him quickly reveal an impossible truth. Someone casually complains about the first day of 2025, making Jooheon realize he has somehow traveled fifteen years into the past.
The revelation completely changes his outlook. This isn't reincarnation or a dream—he has returned to the exact moment before the world fell into chaos. Remembering everything that happened during the next fifteen years, he immediately understands the incredible advantage now in his hands.
The incident that landed him at the police station also plays out differently this time. Fifteen years earlier, Jooheon had been bullied into accepting blame after defending himself from a violent high school student. Unable to afford the enormous settlement demanded by the boy's wealthy family, he had humiliated himself by begging for mercy.
Now, armed with years of combat experience and confidence, he refuses to repeat history. Instead of apologizing, he blocks the aggressive mother's attack with ease and openly exposes her son's role in starting the fight. His movements are much sharper than before, making him realize that although his younger body lacks strength, all of the combat techniques he mastered over fifteen years remain intact.
Jooheon quietly celebrates this unexpected advantage because he knows ordinary people have no idea what is about to happen. He explains that later in 2025, massive earthquakes will shake the entire world. Ancient tombs containing relics from myths, legends, folklore, and famous stories will suddenly appear across the globe. These relics possess extraordinary supernatural powers, granting incredible abilities to anyone capable of controlling them.
The appearance of relics transforms civilization overnight. Governments lose control, powerful organizations emerge, and countless people risk their lives searching for treasures capable of changing the balance of the world.
In his previous life, Jooheon was lucky enough to discover the Archaeologist's Relic, which gave him unmatched knowledge about tombs and relics. Believing his miserable life was finally improving, he devoted himself to excavation work.
Instead, everything became worse. The powerful TKBM Corporation, led by Chairman Taejoon Kwon, monopolized tomb exploration and prevented ordinary people from entering newly discovered ruins. Jooheon's extraordinary excavation abilities caught their attention, and he was recruited into the company.
From that moment onward, he spent years doing every dirty job imaginable. He smuggled relics, infiltrated restricted tombs, stole priceless artifacts, and risked his life countless times, while Chairman Kwon accumulated enormous wealth from Jooheon's hard work. Although everyone viewed him as the chairman's loyal dog, the truth was that he endured endless humiliation simply to survive.
In the end, none of his loyalty mattered. Chairman Kwon sacrificed him inside a deadly tomb without hesitation, leading directly to the betrayal seen at the beginning of the episode. Back in the present timeline, Jooheon realizes history can finally be rewritten.
Just as he begins planning his next move, mysterious words suddenly appear floating before his eyes. A status window introduces him as "Tomb Raider Jooheon Suh" while humorously insulting his abilities. Moments later, another screen reveals his first basic skill, Spy, an F-Rank ability capable of detecting everything within a one-meter radius.
The mysterious system then assigns him his very first quest—to unlock all four hidden Tomb Raider skills required to become a complete relic hunter. Although confused, Jooheon quickly notices something incredible. The Archaeologist's detection ability from his previous life has somehow remained with him despite traveling back in time. Combined with the new system, he now possesses knowledge that no one else in the world has.
Even so, he remains suspicious. Throughout his previous life, relics never helped humans without expecting something in return. Whatever game the mysterious crow is playing, Jooheon knows there must be a hidden purpose.
Leaving the police station, he reunites with Detective Geonwoo Kim, one of the few people who genuinely treated him with kindness during his miserable past. Curious about the timeline, Jooheon casually asks whether anyone has displayed supernatural abilities yet. Geonwoo laughs the question off, confirming that relic users have not appeared.
That answer is exactly what Jooheon wanted to hear. The tombs have begun appearing, but the age of relic users hasn't started. This tiny window gives him the perfect opportunity to seize legendary relics before powerful corporations can claim them.
His biggest obstacle, however, is money. He remembers that many of the earliest and most valuable relics appeared throughout Europe and the Americas, meaning he'll need enough cash to travel before history repeats itself.
That's when fate delivers another opportunity. He encounters Kyeongtae Park, a violent thug who exploited him for cheap labor during his younger years. In his previous life, Jooheon silently endured beatings and humiliation because he desperately needed money.
This time, things unfold very differently. Jooheon immediately resigns, demands every unpaid wage and his severance, then effortlessly defeats Kyeongtae's gang using fifteen years of accumulated combat experience. Although his younger body lacks raw power, his precise techniques completely overwhelm multiple attackers.
Cornered and desperate, Kyeongtae pulls out a mysterious knife. The moment Jooheon sees it, he instantly recognizes the weapon as a relic. He explains that not every relic remains sealed inside ancient tombs. Some escape and secretly hide among ordinary humans long before the world realizes their true value.
Instead of fearing the weapon, Jooheon smiles confidently. Knowing exactly how priceless relics will become in the future, he declares that the knife already belongs to him, setting the stage for his first major treasure hunt and the beginning of his quest to dominate the coming relic age.
 Episode 1 Recap: The Birth of the Ultimate Relic Hunter){kind=link}