Jinwoo Rael sat at the edge of his bed, drenched in cold sweat. The soft light of dawn bled through the curtains, but it felt like another world entirely. His heart pounded like war drums. He looked around his small room — cracked wallpaper, flickering ceiling bulb, a broken fan turning slowly.
It wasn't a dream.
He had died.
And come back.
His eyes flicked upward, and the transparent blue screen floated in front of him again:
[System Active]
[Current Level: 1]
[Skill: Shadow Veil (Uncommon)]
[Weapon: Blade of Mourning (Bound)]
[Quest: Begin Your Journey]
Beneath the system text, a strange flame-like icon flickered — faint and dark, yet pulsing with warmth. It was labeled:
[Core of the Fated Star – Dormant]
He reached toward it instinctively, but the screen disappeared as he moved.
Footsteps outside his door.
"Oppa?" Ara's voice, soft and sleepy. "Are you awake?"
Jinwoo forced his voice steady. "Yeah. Come in."
The door creaked open. His sister stood there in her too-big pajamas, rubbing her eyes. Twelve years old, thin as a twig, but with a smile that could heal the world.
"You look weird," she said, blinking. "Bad dream?"
He smiled, ruffling her hair.
"Something like that."
She flopped beside him. "You're not going to work today?"
He hesitated.
He remembered the old timeline — this exact day, ten years ago, was the last time she smiled before she got sick. The day their landlord raised the rent. The day he started his second job and barely saw her again.
"No," he said finally. "I quit."
"You got fired, didn't you?" she said with a sly grin.
"Maybe," he chuckled.
"You're bad at lying, oppa."
His hand tightened slightly.
"I'm gonna try something different," he said. "Something that might change everything."
She tilted her head. "You're not joining the Tower, are you?"
Silence.
Her smile faded.
"Oppa, please don't…"
He looked at her, eyes gentle but firm. "This time… I have to. But I promise — I'll come back. I won't be like those other people."
Ara didn't understand what he meant. How could she? She hadn't seen the towers. The corpses. The broken cities on Floor 19. The cries of children begging for someone to save them.
But Jinwoo had.
And now he had the chance to do something different.
---
Later that day, he stood in front of an old, condemned training hall on the edge of the city.
A rusted plaque read: "Azure Fist Dojo."
This was where he'd first awakened in the original timeline — two years from now. But this time, he wouldn't wait.
He opened the creaky door and walked into the dust.
> [Quest Started: Awaken Through Struggle]
Defeat the Phantom of the Azure Dojo
Reward: +1 Level, Stat Boost, New Skill Unlock
A sharp chill swept the room.
A figure materialized — ghostly and armored in cracked martial robes. Its face was hidden beneath a broken mask. The air distorted around it.
> [Enemy: Phantom Sensei – Level 5]
Jinwoo's heart pounded. This was no illusion. The System was already crafting trials tailored to his fate.
He reached into his inventory.
A blade materialized in his hand — long, black, and curved like a fang.
> [Weapon: Blade of Mourning – C-Rank (Growth)]
A weapon that remembers death. Feeds on pain. Evolves with emotion.
"Let's begin," Jinwoo whispered.
The phantom lunged forward.
---
The battle was brutal. Jinwoo was faster than before, but the phantom was trained. It struck like lightning, its ghostly fists glowing with old techniques. Jinwoo dodged, rolled, swung — again and again.
He bled.
He gasped.
He screamed.
But the System whispered in his mind.
[Shadow Veil: Activated]
[Evasion +15%, Movement Speed +10%]
[Energy Drain: 2 HP per second]
With a final surge, he sank his blade into the phantom's chest.
It staggered, let out a howl — and vanished into motes of light.
[Quest Completed!]
[Level Up! – Level 2]
[Stat Points +5]
[New Skill Unlocked: Death Echo (Passive)]
[You are evolving…]
Jinwoo collapsed to his knees, panting.
He felt it — strength rushing into him. His muscles were tighter. His grip firmer. His vision clearer. The power that had always been locked behind the ceiling of F-Rank… it was gone.
For him, the ceiling no longer existed.
---
That evening, he returned home with a quiet smile.
Ara was reading on the couch, her eyes lighting up when she saw him.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded. "Just training."
"Your face…" She frowned, touching a scrape on his cheek.
"I'll be okay," he said gently.
"You're not going to disappear, right?"
He looked her in the eyes, his voice low but sure.
"Not until the end. I swear."
She hugged him tightly.
Jinwoo hugged her back — stronger now. More certain.
And far more dangerous.
---
Elsewhere…
In a black tower within Korea's capital, a masked woman watched a holographic map flicker.
"Something strange is happening," she said.
One of her agents approached. "A new guild rising?"
"No," she whispered. "Someone awakened… but their soul pulse is changing. Not like the others."
She turned toward the window.
"Send a scout. Find the anomaly."
To be continue...