[Please select your 'Initial Class'.]
The five options glowed with a soft, ethereal light.
[Warrior] [Mage] [Archer] [Healer] [Support]
Kang Seo-jun stared at the last word, and a phantom pain shot through his back. [Support]. The choice that had sealed his fate. The choice that had led him, step by agonizing step, to a life of servitude and a dog's death in the dark. He'd chosen it because he was a 'team player.' He'd chosen it because he wanted to be useful.
What a fool he'd been.
Outside, the world was ending. The screams were louder now, sharper, laced with a new, primal terror. He could hear a low, guttural snarling from the hallway, a wet, tearing sound. The other gosiwon residents. His neighbors. They were dying.
In his first life, he'd hidden. He'd cowered under his desk for an hour, weeping, before finally, pathetically, choosing [Support].
This time, his hand was steady.
He knew the rumors. The whispers, years later, from the true S-Rank Hunters, the ones who had become 'Constellation' favorites. They all said the same thing.
The System always has glitches. It always has loopholes. It rewards the brave, the insane, and the knowledgeable.
Seo-jun was all three.
He remembered the item. The [Heart of the Void]. The one his party had killed him for. He could picture its description, burned into his memory by ten years of simmering hatred.
[Heart of the Void (S-Rank)] [Description: A fragment of the 'Outer God's' will. It longs for a master. Those who are not of the 'Void' and attempt to claim it will be destroyed. Those who *are* of the 'Void' will be recognized as its Monarch.]
Jin-ho hadn't understood. He'd just seen "S-Rank." He'd touched it, and because he was a high-level, established player, the System had adapted. It had bound the item to him as a "Unique Artifact." It had granted him powerful skills, yes, but it wasn't the item's true purpose.
It wasn't a reward. It was a key.
It was looking for a Monarch.
Seo-jun took a deep breath. His heart was hammering, but not with fear. This was the gamble. This was the moment his entire future—his entire revenge—depended on.
He ignored the five glowing options. He looked below them. In his first life, he'd never even looked. He was too scared.
But now... he saw it. A tiny, almost imperceptible, flickering cursor. A 'manual input' field.
He raised his hand, his finger trembling with anticipation, and touched the empty space.
A keyboard, made of blue light, shimmered into existence.
"I reject the choice," he said aloud, his voice firm. He wasn't just saying it. He was acting. He was taking his one chance.
His fingers flew, typing the words that had haunted his dying thoughts.
Void Monarch
He hit 'Enter'.
The room went silent. The screams outside, the snarling... it all faded into a distant, muted roar.
The blue screen in front of him twitched.
And then, it dissolved into a scramble of corrupted, static-laced text.
[ERROR. ERROR. CLASS @#$%^& NOT FOUND IN INITIAL ROSTER.] [SEARCHING... SEARCHING... HIDDEN PROTOCOL... ACTIVATED.] [...FOUND. PLAYER 'KANG SEO-JUN' HAS SPOKEN THE 'FIRST NAME'.] [...VERIFYING REGRESSOR 'CODE 839G-001'.]
Seo-jun's breath caught in his throat. Regressor Code?
It knew.
The System wasn't just a blind machine. It was aware. It knew he was back. And it was... allowing this. Or, perhaps, it had planned this.
The thought was a chilling, exhilarating spike.
The corrupted text vanished. A new window appeared. It was no longer a calm, inviting blue.
It was a deep, terrifying, royal purple. The exact same color as the [Heart of the Void].
[The System recognizes the 'Regressor's Paradox'.] [A 'Variable' has been acknowledged.] [The 'First Name' has been spoken. The 'Hidden Class' is unlocked.] You have rejected the path of the herd. You have chosen the path of the 'Void'.
[Congratulations, Player Kang Seo-jun. You have acquired the EX-Rank Class: 'Void Monarch'.]
Seo-jun fell to his knees. Not in defeat. In sheer, overwhelming, vicious triumph.
EX-Rank.
Not F-Rank. Not S-Rank.
EX-Rank.
A class outside the system's own scale. A class that meant 'Error' or 'Exception'. A class for a variable.
The purple window pulsed, and new messages began to fly, one after another, faster than he could read.
[Your class 'Void Monarch' is unique. All stats will be re-allocated.] [Strength: 1] [Agility: 1] [Stamina: 1] [Intelligence: 1] [Wisdom: 1]
He smiled. He knew how this worked. In a 'Monarch' class, his stats were irrelevant.
[As a 'Monarch' class, your power is not your own. You command. You rule.] [New Stat Unlocked: 'Authority' (Level 1).]
[Skill Acquired (Class Exclusive): 'Void Storage' (Level 1)] [A pocket of shadow that follows your will. Current Capacity: 1 cubic meter.]
[Skill Acquired (Class Exclusive): 'Monarch's Eyes' (Level 1)] [See the 'truth' of the world. Can view 'Status' and 'Potential'.]
[Skill Acquired (Class Exclusive): 'Devour' (Level 1)] [You can 'devour' the essence of beings you have personally slain. Essence can be used to strengthen your 'Void'.]
He read the last one, and a true, genuine, hungry smile spread across his face.
This was the power Jin-ho had used. But his version, from the S-Rank item, was just a skill. This... this was part of his class. This was his core.
Another window popped up. The final one.
[The 'Tutorial' is complete. Your 'Class' has been chosen.] [First Main Quest Issued: 'Survive'.] [The world has changed. The old laws are gone. Only the strong will see the next dawn. Good luck, Player.]
The purple window vanished. The blue light in his room faded.
It was quiet again.
Kang Seo-jun stood up. He felt... different. He was still in his scandy, weak, 20-year-old body. But he was also... more. A faint, purple energy was coiled in his stomach. A hunger.
CRASH.
The flimsy door to his room shuddered, a splintering crack appearing near the handle.
Outside.
A low, wet snarl. "Meat... meat..."
A Goblin. It had smelled him.
In his first life, this was the moment he had cowered.
Seo-jun looked at his shaking hands. They were trembling, but not from fear. It was anticipation.
He activated [Monarch's Eyes].
His vision shifted. The world was suddenly overlaid with text.
[Rotten Plywood Door (F-Rank Durability)] [...Analyzing...] [Creature Detected: 'Starving Goblin' (F-Rank)] [Level: 1] [State: Famished, Berserk.] [Potential: None.]
Potential: None.
Seo-jun looked at the trembling door. He looked at his own pale, soft hands.
He had no weapon. His stats were all '1'. The Goblin was right outside.
He smiled.
Good.
He needed the practice.