As the team started marching deeper into the thick, lush jungle, Adam suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He crouched down, running his fingers through the dirt like some kind of seasoned tracker. Then, without warning, he stood up, licked his finger, and raised it to the air as if measuring the wind.
Everyone watched in confused silence as he spun in a slow circle, then confidently pointed in one direction.
"This way," he declared.
He took a single step forward before abruptly stopping.
"No, this way."
Another pause. He turned, pointing in the complete opposite direction.
"Actually, no—this way."
A tense silence followed as the rest of the team exchanged looks.
Then, Adam suddenly turned toward a distant hill, his expression became that of certainty.
"...This way."
And this time, he didn't refute it.
Without another word, he started marching forward again, leaving the others with no choice but to follow.
Noah sighed, quickly closing the gap to walk beside him. "Don't tell me you actually are a pathfinder?"
"You blatantly lied to them. This whole situation is a lie from your side—I'm just playing my part. Speaking of which," he turned his head slightly, "what's the plan? What if someone takes the relic before us?"
Noah squinted. "Wait—so we're actually on the right path?"
"I don't know," Adam admitted. "But I feel like I wasn't lying with my last guess."
Noah's steps faltered as a single thought ran through his mind:
Overpowered Brat.
As they continued walking, Noah couldn't help but notice the massive bag Cedric was lugging on his back. It looked ridiculously heavy, yet he carried it without much complaint.
Curious, Noah asked, "Why don't you let Elara carry that? It's literally in her abilities."
Cedric turned his head, giving him a look of sheer disbelief. "What kind of man would I be if I let a lady carry the weight, ability or not?" he said, his voice full of conviction.
Noah internally sighed.
I see you guys are still not familiar with gender equality.
But that wasn't really what he was after—he was more interested in what Cedric was carrying.
"Alright," Noah said, switching tactics. "Then at least let me help. What's even in there?"
Cedric hesitated for a moment before finally cracking a grin. "Ah, well, since you asked..." He shifted the bag around, unfastened it, and pulled it open just enough for Noah to peek inside.
What he saw confirmed his suspicions.
Inside, stacked neatly and secured in place, was an arsenal of weapons—axes, maces, daggers, swords. It was practically a walking armory.
Noah blinked. "You brought a whole weapon shop?"
Cedric shrugged. "A blacksmith should always be prepa—"
His words were cut short as a dagger shot through his throat. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped, and blood poured out in violent, choking spurts.
Noah barely had time to register the attack before a warm, wet sensation splattered against his face—Cedric's blood. It dripped down into his eyes, blinding him instantly.
"Agh—!" He stumbled back, instinctively wiping at his face, but before he could clear his vision, heat bloomed in his throat.
A searing, unnatural heat.
His body convulsed. His voice was gone. His ability to form words also… gone. The only sounds that reached him were the distant, muffled screams of Elara, the desperate shouts of Adam.
His legs buckled. His strength drained.
He couldn't see. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even scream.
His fingers twitched, barely responding as he forced his arms to move. He grasped at his neck, desperate to understand what was happening—his fingers met something small, cold, embedded deep in his flesh. A dagger.
His body collapsed, dead weight hitting the jungle floor.
A notification flickered into view, barely visible through the crimson that clouded his vision.
[You have been poisoned. You are in critical condition.]
Poison.
His vision darkened. The jungle, the screams, the pain—everything faded into nothingness.
Then—
[You died.]
[Innocent shall receive a second chance.]
…
[System Window – Ark]
NAME: Noah Orthar
AGE: 20
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTE:
• Innocent (Divine)
PERSONAL SKILLS:
• Gáe Bulg
STIGMA:
• Innocent Shall Receive a Second Chance (490-->489)
OVERALL STATS:
• Stamina: E (30)
• Strength: E (20)
• Dexterity: E (25)
• Vitality: F (10)
…
Noah gasped as awareness slammed into him like a crashing wave.
He was standing.
The jungle stretched around him, thick mist curling between the trees, the distant crackling of unseen creatures filling the humid air.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his body slick with cold sweat. His hands—gripping his throat so tightly his nails dug into his skin.
That heat.
That unbearable, searing heat. He could still feel it.
I died.
Again
The memory surged through him—the blood in his eyes, the fire in his throat, the distant screams, and then... nothing.
"Noah?"
Adam's voice cut through the haze. "What's wrong? No—more importantly, what are you doing?"
Noah blinked, his frantic thoughts slowing as he took in his surroundings properly. Adam stood in front of him, brows furrowed in concern.
Then, past Adam, he saw them.
Cedric. Elara. Vespera.
All of them alive. All of them here.
Noah's grip on his throat loosened. His fingers trembled as he slowly let go, forcing himself to steady his breath.
As the realization settled, he found Cedric and the others staring at him, confusion clear in their expressions.
His mind clicked everything into place.
This is right before we left. Right before we stepped into the jungle. Right before Cedric—
He swallowed hard, the phantom heat of the poisoned dagger still lingering on his skin.
He had a second chance.
Now he just had to figure out who the hell killed them.
…
Noah's senses were sharpened, his paranoia forcing him to scan every shadow, every rustling leaf, and every unnatural sound.
Somebody is going to ambush us.
But why ?
We did not even secure a relic for them to hunt us.
That thought drilled into his skull, refusing to leave.
They moved through the jungle, Adam leading the way just like before, pointing in different directions before settling on the distant hill.
But this time, Noah wasn't just following. He was watching.
Every sound. Every step. Every possible threat.
Then he stopped.
"Wait." His voice was firm, cutting through the chatter.
The team halted, looking at him in confusion. But the anxiety of social interactions had been completely erased by the sheer weight of what was coming.
Noah took a deep breath. "Can anyone here use weapons?"
Cedric blinked at the sudden question before responding, "I use a short axe."
Elara and Vespera exchanged glances before shaking their heads. "Even if we carried weapons, we wouldn't be able to fight properly," Elara admitted.
Adam shrugged. "I've never used one, but if I had to pick, I guess I'd go with daggers."
Noah turned to Cedric, eyes sharp.
"I heard the sound of metal earlier. Judging from your profession, I assume you have weapons on you?"
Cedric's face lit up with pride, and he eagerly unfastened his heavy bag, pulling it open to reveal its contents.
Swords, maces, axes, and daggers gleamed within, neatly arranged despite the weight he carried.
Noah immediately reached in, grabbing a pair of daggers.
No spears.
He exhaled through his nose. That was a problem, but not an insurmountable one. He stepped toward a nearby tree, slamming the pommel of one dagger against the thick bark until a long, sturdy branch broke free.
Then, kneeling, he used thick jungle grass to lash the dagger to one end. It was crude, but it would work.
It will have to work.
Meanwhile, Adam inspected a pair of daggers before experimentally twirling them.
His movements were quick, fluid. Almost too natural.
He fell into a stance, shifting his weight lightly as he sliced through the air in precise arcs. It was only when he noticed the others staring that he coughed and quickly lowered his hands.
Vespera, watching the scene unfold said. "Will we even need to fight? Do we have to kill other climbers?"
Noah stiffened.
For a moment, all he could see was Cedric collapsing, blood spraying his face, the searing heat in his throat.
He clenched his jaw, shoving the memory away. "This jungle is filled with monsters," he said carefully. "We'll need to fight if we want to survive."
What he didn't say was the real threat wasn't just the monsters.
And this time, he wasn't going to let himself be caught off guard.
…
…or so he thought.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They continued deeper into the jungle, their senses alert, weapons ready. The atmosphere was tense but manageable.
Then, without warning, Vespera was gone.
No one noticed at first. Not until Elara followed.
It happened in an instant—one moment she was walking beside them, and the next, there was only empty space where she had been. The realization hit like a punch to the gut, confusion crashing into them like a wave.
What the—?!
Cedric's head snapped around and his eyes widened Then, his expression twisted into pure rage. He reached back, yanking free a pair of short axes, gripping them so tightly his knuckles went white.
"So you resort to dirty tricks, you bastards?!" he roared into the trees, his voice shaking with fury. "Come at me if you wusses got the balls!"
Noah immediately stepped closer to Adam. Adam's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.
"Noah… do you think another team ambushed us?"
Noah's jaw clenched. "…Yes."
The moment the word left his lips, Cedric screamed.
A flurry of daggers tore into him from the shadows, sinking into his flesh—his chest, his neck, his back—blood spraying as his body convulsed.
Noah barely had time to react before Cedric crumpled like a broken doll, his axes falling uselessly to the dirt.
Noah's breath caught in his throat. His eyes flicked to Adam.
He was already on the ground.
Blood.
Too much blood.
Adam was kneeling his body trembled, his fingers weakly clutching at his stomach where a dagger had buried itself deep. His mouth opened and closed, a choked noise escaping as crimson spilled from his lips.
Noah rushed forward, catching him before he could collapse completely.
Why?
Why wasn't he panicking? Why did his hands move so naturally, supporting Adam's weight? Why wasn't he feeling anything?
His brother was dying in his arms.
He should be feeling something.
But instead, all he could think about was how inevitable this felt. The moment he saw the attack, the moment he knew this would happen, it was already nothing more than a fleeting thought. A possibility.
Something that could simply be erased.
Something that would simply reset.
Adam's hand weakly grasped at Noah's collar, his grip barely there. His lips trembled, forming a single, broken word.
"…L…i…a…r…"
And then Noah felt his neck snap.
Everything went dark.
[You died.]
[Innocent shall receive a second chance.]