The sun blazed over Busan Middle School, cherry blossoms swirling like pink fire across the courtyard. Kim Joon-ho stood at the gate, heart pounding, the rune on his palm throbbing like a war drum. "Survive the first trial or lose everything," the system had warned, and he felt it in his bones. This was it. The weekend had been a grind textbooks piled high, piano keys clacking in the alley, soccer balls thumping against the wall while Hye-rin cheered. His second chance demanded everything, and he'd give it.
At home, his family fueled his fire. Last night, Dad Kim Dae-sung had gripped his shoulder, barley tea steaming between his calloused hands. "Teacher says you're the smartest kid here," he'd grunted, pride cracking his stern face. Mom Park Soo-mi had smiled wearily, ladling seaweed soup, her market-worn hands trembling. Hye-rin, all pigtails and giggles, had danced around him. "Oppa, teach me your moves!" she'd begged, and he'd obliged, hiding the rune's pulse behind a grin. In his past life, a drunk driver's crash rain, screams, gone had stolen them at 20, driving him to a crane's fatal jaws. Now, alive again, he'd shield them, conquer the world, starting today.
The school bell shattered his thoughts, thrusting him into the spring festival a chaotic clash of academics, leadership, and sports. Class 2-B's victory hinged on him, and the rune flared as the system's voice hissed: "Trial Initiated: Prove Your Influence. Lead or Collapse!" The courtyard buzzed with tents, judges barking orders, and students buzzing like bees. Cherry petals rained down, a natural spotlight, and Joon-ho's 32-year-old mind forged on construction sites locked into gear. Fail, and he'd lose his gift, his family, his life. No pressure.
Tae-min slapped his back, eyes wide. "You're doing it all? Math, strategy, soccer? You're nuts!"
"Gotta start big," Joon-ho shot back, smirking. The crowd thickened, Min-soo's sneer cutting through from 2-C's side. "Let's see your brain save you now, genius!" the bully taunted, his cronies snickering. Joon-ho met his glare, unflinching. He'd faced worse foremen's roars, steel near-misses. This was his stage.
The festival kicked off with a relay gauntlet: a class-wide showdown where each leg built the score. First, a lightning quiz. Joon-ho strode to the chalkboard, Mr. Park firing questions algebra, geometry, a history twist. His mind ignited, solving a quadratic in seconds, recalling a battle date with precision honed by years of mental math. "Correct, correct, correct!" Mr. Park stammered, stopwatch beeping. The crowd gasped, clapping wildly, but the rune seared, a screen flashing: "Academic Leadership: 25% Complete. Time: 2 Hours." Numbers glowed in his vision, the system sharpening his focus. He turned to his team, voice firm. "Next leg strategy. Let's crush it!"
The strategy game followed a mock council debating a "school crisis" resource split. Joon-ho took the lead, his construction-site command kicking in. "Food first, then shelter vote now!" he barked, guiding his classmates with a calm only experience could forge. Min-soo's team stumbled, bickering over trivialities, while 2-B united, earning top marks. The crowd cheered, and the screen updated: "Leadership Influence: 50% Complete. Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes." His head spun, the enhancement fading, but pride surged. Influence wasn't just smarts it was unity.
The final leg loomed: a soccer shootout, five minutes to seal the win. The courtyard field thrummed, cherry petals swirling as Joon-ho joined his team. Min-soo cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Time to break you, bookworm." The whistle shrilled, and Joon-ho moved precision guiding his small frame, instincts from a laborer's life taking over. He intercepted a pass, dribbling past a defender, the ball an extension of his soul. Tae-min yelled, "Go, Joon-ho!" but the trial spiked. The air shimmered, the field's edges glowing faintly, unseen by others. "Physical Prowess and Team Victory. Time: 5 Minutes," the system growled.
Min-soo charged, tackling him hard. Pain exploded in Joon-ho's side, but the rune pulsed, energy flooding his muscles. "Physical Prowess Enhanced!" He rolled up, faster than before, rallying his team. "Stay with me! Pass to the open!" His voice cut through the chaos, and the boys synced, a pass to Tae-min, a feint, a goal 1-0. The crowd roared, but the screen blinked: "3 Minutes Remaining."
Min-soo snarled, signaling a dirty play. A 2-C brute shoulder-checked Joon-ho, sending him crashing. Pain flared, but he stood, the enhancement surging again. He stole the ball, dodging Min-soo's lunge, and scored 2-0. The team erupted, but 2-C fought back, tying it at 2-2 with 2 minutes left. Min-soo tripped Tae-min, the ref missing it, and 2-C scored 3-2. The crowd booed, but Joon-ho hauled Tae-min up. "We're not done! Together!" His leadership ignited them, and with 30 seconds left, he intercepted, passed to Tae-min, who scored 3-3. The whistle blew, a draw. The shimmer vanished, the screen flashing: "Trial Complete: Partial Success. Influence Gained. Reward Pending. Next Test Imminent."
Panting, Joon-ho dropped, Tae-min slapping his back. "You're a monster! Where'd that come from?"
"Guts," Joon-ho lied, his palm throbbing. The rune dimmed, but the system echoed: "Influence grows. Prepare." He scanned the crowd, and there she was the mysterious girl, by the cherry tree. Her eyes glowed with the rune's light, her smile a icy blade. Tae-min squinted. "Who's she?"
Before Joon-ho could speak, she raised a hand, and the rune flared, pain stabbing his skull. A screen blazed: "Secondary Objective Unlocked: Uncover the Overseer. Time Limit: 7 Days. Failure = Erasure. Reward for Success: Enhanced Intellect." Erasure his family, his life? The courtyard spun, and she vanished, petals cascading where she'd stood.
Joon-ho staggered, Tae-min catching him. "You okay, man? You're white as a ghost!"
"Yeah," he rasped, mind racing. The overseerher? The system's mission deepened, stakes soaring. Influence was his path, but survival demanded her secret. As the crowd thinned, he clenched his fist, the rune a burning vow. He'd lead, he'd uncover, he'd triumph. The rune pulsed again, a whisper slicing through: "The next test nears. Face it or fade."