**"One moment I was alive… and the next?"**
The cold steel of the truck's bumper was the last thing I felt. The screeching tires. The driver's horrified expression. My own helpless body flying through the air like a ragdoll. And then—nothing.
Blackness.
Then, light.
---
**Somewhere beyond time and space…**
I found myself floating. The sensation was surreal. My limbs felt weightless. There was no pain. No body, even. Just… consciousness. Everything was white, like an infinite canvas. And standing before me—was *someone*.
No wings. No beard. No thunderous voice.
Just a tall man in a perfectly tailored white suit, sipping tea.
**"Ah, you're awake,"** he said casually, setting the teacup on an invisible table. **"Took you long enough. You humans are so fragile."**
I blinked. Or, at least, I *thought* I did.
"…I died."
**"Correct. Truck accident. Brakes failed. Not your fault. Actually, that one's on me."**
I squinted. "*What?*"
**"Clerical error,"** he sighed. **"My assistant was supposed to delay that driver's shift by five minutes, but she's been binge-watching dramas lately. Anyway, long story short: you're dead, and that wasn't supposed to happen. So, compensation."**
I stared at him. "Compensation?"
He smiled.
**"You get three wishes. And you get to choose which world to reincarnate into. Be smart about it."**
---
### ***Three Wishes***
I wasn't the type to panic or cry. I was always a quiet guy. Observant. Lonely, maybe. But I never feared death—I just never expected it would come so randomly.
Still, I had watched enough anime and read enough manhwa to know what this was.
A cheat deal.
**"I want to be strong,"** I said.
**"Define strong."**
**"Maxed out. Physically. Mentally. Reflexes, agility, stamina, intelligence. The kind of strong that's unfair even in fictional worlds."**
The man smirked. **"All right. Maxed-out stats. No limits. What else?"**
I thought. "No system. No flashy UI. I just want to *be* strong. Naturally. Like it's part of me."
He nodded. **"Understood. Second wish?"**
**"Perfect memory. Perfect copying. Anything I see or experience once—I can use it, replicate it, improve it."**
**"Creative. I like that."**
**"Third wish…"** I paused, then smirked slightly. "I want to never feel pain. Not physically or mentally. No matter what hits me—I don't flinch. I don't suffer."
God raised an eyebrow. **"That's… a dangerous one. Emotionless?"**
I shook my head. "Not emotionless. I just don't *feel* pain. I can still laugh, smile, think, even get annoyed. But I don't *hurt*. Physically or mentally. Ever."
**"You're a scary one,"** God said with a grin. **"Very well."**
---
### ***World Chosen: Lookism + Questism Universe***
**"Now, the world you want?"**
I didn't hesitate.
**"Lookism and Questism. The hybrid world. Let me be there, just when Daniel gets his second body… and Suhyeon gets his system."**
The man clapped his hands once. The white void rippled.
**"Done. Your name will be Seo Jungho. A regular high schooler. No family baggage. No big money. You'll be in the same city as them. Your stats are maxed out. No system. No spotlight. But if someone tries to provoke you?"**
He chuckled.
**"Well, let's just say they'll regret it."**
---
### ***Rebirth***
I opened my eyes to a grey ceiling.
A fan slowly spun overhead. I turned my head. A small, single-room apartment. Faint smell of ramen in the air. Clothes on the floor. My clothes.
I sat up.
And I *felt* it immediately.
My body was different. Not in appearance—I looked like a typical Korean high school boy. Pale skin. Slim build. Black hair, slightly unkempt. Nothing intimidating.
But I could hear the neighbor's footsteps upstairs. I could smell the rust in the pipes behind the wall. I could even feel the fibers of my bedsheet.
My muscles hummed with quiet, immeasurable strength.
I exhaled slowly.
"…So this is it."
---
### ***Day One in Korea High***
I walked into school like any other student.
Head down. Hands in pockets. Cheap backpack slung over one shoulder.
No one looked twice at me.
"Who's that guy?"
"Don't know. Must be new."
"Looks boring."
Perfect.
I didn't want to be noticed.
I sat in the second-last row by the window. Just like all those anime protagonists. The morning bell rang. The teacher walked in. Nothing special.
Until break time.
**A guy two heads taller than me stomped over. Blonde-dyed hair. Muscular. Obvious delinquent.**
**"Hey! You're new, right? I need a punching bag today. Stand up."**
I looked at him.
Quiet.
Still.
And then…
I *smiled.*
Not because I was amused. But because something inside me ticked—like a switch.
---
### ***The First Incident***
I stood up.
The classroom went silent.
My body moved so fast I didn't even see myself do it.
One second, I was standing in front of the guy.
The next second, he was crashing through three desks, unconscious.
Gasps.
Screams.
I walked back to my seat and sat down again.
"…"
No one said a word.
---
### ***After School***
I left the building like nothing happened.
But as I passed the back alley near the school gym, I saw them.
Two guys in school jackets. Holding up some smaller student by the collar.
**"C'mon, just hand over the cash. Don't make us punch it outta you."**
I could've walked away.
I should've.
But instead, I walked up to them.
The shorter thug turned. "The hell you want?"
I didn't answer.
I just placed my hand on his shoulder.
And gripped.
**Crunch.**
He dropped like a sack of bricks, screaming.
The other guy pulled a knife.
Cute.
I kicked it out of his hand and twisted his wrist until he passed out from shock.
The smaller student stared at me.
"T-Thank you…"
I just walked away.
---
### ***New Rumors***
The next morning, there were whispers.
"Did you hear about that new guy?"
"Someone said he knocked out Han Jiho with one hit."
"I heard he destroyed two seniors in the back alley."
"No way. He doesn't even *look* strong."
Exactly how I wanted it.
---
### ***Daniel Park***
A week passed.
That's when *he* came back to school.
Thinner. Taller. Handsome.
Daniel Park.
I could *feel* it. The strange dual presence around him. The original body nearby, sleeping.
He glanced at me once.
I looked back, bored.
He looked away.
---
### ***Kim Suhyeon***
Not long after, I saw *him*.
Kim Suhyeon.
The guy who started getting stronger with every task.
System user.
But I didn't need a system.
I just watched from afar. Sometimes, I'd step in when someone got too cocky and tried to drag me into fights.
And when they did?
They learned what it meant to provoke a maniac.
---
### ***Final Scene: Maniac in the Shadows***
My life continued.
I slept.
Ate ramen.
Skipped cleaning.
Sometimes beat up delinquents when they wouldn't stop barking.
But otherwise?
I was just… there.
An unshakable, unbeatable shadow in the city.
Quiet.
Patient.
Smiling.
---
❤️🔥