"Am I really going to die like this? Here? Alone, in this desolate and silent place?"
In this vast world, it's special traits that determine a person's value in society. No matter how much willpower, ambition, or skill a person has—it's their Trait that decides their standing.
Is it unfair? Cruel? Maybe. But it's the truth. And when twenty times more people believe in that truth than those who oppose it—who barely number ten or twenty in each town or village—it becomes a truth no one can ignore.
Kaiser Catrelagh, a man in his early thirties, was a knight registered with the Adventurers' Guild—a central hub for individuals with special traits to take on missions and earn rewards.
But for Kaiser, life had never been kind. He was born without a Trait. Just an ordinary human with nothing to distinguish him from others. Even so, he joined the Guild and started his journey as an adventurer—one that could easily be described as "useless"… at least in the eyes of the gifted.
"This... this has to be some sort of cosmic joke. I'm going to die on my birthday? Of all days?"
It was supposed to be a simple mission: hunt a few goblins. The kind of quest fit for someone like him. But luck, or rather misfortune, led him straight into the den of a monster classified as Rank C.
To Kaiser, Rank C might as well have been Rank S—reserved only for the elite. Just one of those monsters was a deadly threat, a gamble with life itself.
In the end, Kaiser fell from a steep cliff. His body crashed through the trees below, but they weren't enough to save him. As if mocking him, one tree offered a final "gift"—a medium-thick branch that impaled his stomach, causing massive internal bleeding.
His body was shattered. If there was a single bone left unbroken, it was a miracle. And now, he was taking his final breaths.
"All I wanted... was to take out some goblins..." he muttered weakly, blood dripping from his lips with every painful cough.
"Is this... your gift to me, world? For my thirty-third birthday?" he said, his voice choked by pain and bitterness.
"I'm going to die here, and no one will remember me... Damn it. I should've at least found a girlfriend..." He coughed hard again, then forced a pitiful smile. "At least someone would've cried for me."
Kaiser had always lived isolated from others. The only adventurer in the Guild without a Trait. To the rest, he was invisible—unseen, unheard, untouchable.
At first, the loneliness was crushing. But over time, he grew used to it. Maybe even found a strange kind of comfort in it. Though he knew he couldn't go on alone, he had no choice. The world had its rules—and like everyone else born without a Trait, he wasn't exempt.
"I've heard... so much crap about people falling from high places... Ugh!" Kaiser said, his voice broken, a new wave of agony hitting him where the branch pierced through his stomach.
After a few moments, he continued, gasping between each word: "People who fell... just like I did... from treetops... and somehow... walked away whole. But me? First time I fall... and I'm skewered. I'm going to die."
His voice carried a sharp, bitter sarcasm—mocking himself, drenched in pain and regret. He had dreams like anyone else. Hopes, ambitions... but life had only given him disappointment.
He left his family to become an adventurer. And once he did, he faced nothing but bullying and discrimination. No loyal friends. No lover. And now... he was dying, impaled on a tree branch. A tragic end to a life that had already begun in misery.
"Just... going to die..." he whispered, eyes fluttering shut. "No point fighting anymore..."
Kaiser closed his eyes, hoping death would take him in a few minutes. He had spent thirty-three years on this earth—and had nothing to show for it. But just then, a strange sound echoed. A buzzing noise—twice in a row—followed by a strange, unfamiliar voice.
Summoning the last ounce of his will, Kaiser slowly opened his eyes. The pain was more intense than ever before—but what he saw stole his attention away from the agony.
Something strange was floating in the air. A semi-transparent blue rectangle, with clear writing on its surface.
[Do you want to start over?]
[Accept] — [Decline]
Start over?
Kaiser blinked, confused, the shock of the message delaying his thoughts. But the question echoed in his mind.
Starting over... it had always been his secret wish. The one he whispered inside every time despair crept in. If only he could go back—maybe things would be different. Maybe.
But then again, what would change? He'd return without a Trait—same as before.
Still… in this moment, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: hope. Maybe this was a hallucination. Maybe not. But he raised his trembling hand, and with a bloodied finger, tapped [Accept].
[Accepted]
[Reviewing user data...] — [Review complete]
[User will be revived five seconds after death]
All of this was happening right before his eyes. "Reviewing? User data?" It sounded like nonsense. Yet somehow… Kaiser knew it was real. He couldn't explain how. He just knew.
He shut his eyes again, surrendering to whatever was about to happen.
Five seconds passed.
A new message appeared in the floating interface:
[User has died] — [Five seconds until reincarnation]
[Processing...]
Kaiser felt himself sink into a dark, silent void. No pain. No weight. No foul smells of blood or rot. He felt... peace. Real peace. He knew, deep down, that he had died. But he wasn't in heaven. Or hell. Just... floating. Waiting. Strangely okay with it.
Then he heard a voice. Strange, yet familiar. His eyes snapped open—blinded by a light that pierced through the darkness.
"Kaiser~ This isn't a place to nap! Wake up!"
It was a young woman. Long blonde hair tied back, soft and kind features, and a short frame that made her look all the more charming. She stood over Kaiser, who—for reasons unknown—was sitting at a table inside a simple tavern.
He blinked several times, disoriented, and muttered in disbelief: "... Lu... Lucia?"
She gave him a mock scowl, placing a wooden mug full of juice in front of him.
"Yep, it's Lucia—here to ruin your dreams again," she said playfully. Then, with a more relaxed tone: "That's your order, on the house. Thought you could use a pick-me-up after getting rejected by the Guild again."
She turned and walked away casually, but Kaiser remained frozen in place, his mind in utter chaos. He knew this moment. He knew this place. This exact conversation.
"I can feel the air in my lungs... the table under my hand... This isn't a dream. And this moment—it's like I've lived it before." He spoke as if in a trance, frantically moving his hands, touching his face, his hair, the table, the mug. Everything was real. Unsettlingly real.
Then, he heard that same buzzing again. He looked up—and there it was.
The floating blue interface.
[Process complete!]
— [Reincarnation successful with no errors]
"W-what? What is this?!" Kaiser thought, his body trembling.
[ User has been returned ten years into the past ]
"...Ten... years... back?" he echoed, barely able to breathe the words aloud..