I opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was my desk.
Scratched wood. Faded pen marks. A familiar crack near the corner.
The low hum of voices filled the air—students laughing, arguing, complaining about assignments.
A classroom.
My classroom.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
This is… my college.
My hands trembled as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. The screen lit up.
June 6.
The date burned into my eyes.
The day the system descends.
The day the world changed.
I slowly lifted my head, scanning the rows of desks. Faces I recognized. Faces that would soon disappear.
Then—
My heart dropped.
He's not here.
Rehan's seat was empty.
I stood up so abruptly that my chair screeched against the floor. A few students glanced at me in confusion.
I walked out of the classroom, my steps uneven.
"Hey," a student said, stopping me in the hallway. "Someone's calling you outside."
"…Thank you."
The moment I stepped out—
I froze.
Rehan stood in the middle of the open ground, smiling like the world was perfectly normal.
A table was set in front of him.
A cake.
Candles.
Rose petals arranged into a messy but obvious path.
He spread his arms wide and shouted, loud enough for half the campus to hear—
"Happy birthday, my Ice Princess!"
My breath caught.
The noise around me faded. The chatter. The laughter. Everything blurred.
My lips curved upward—just slightly.
He's alive.
In my first life, I had been mortified. I'd called him embarrassing. Annoying. I'd said things I could never take back and walked away.
I thought his feelings were temporary.
That he was just teasing me.
That he'd get bored and leave.
He never did.
He stayed.
Protected me when the system came.
Fought monsters for me.
And somehow—made me strong enough to fight back.
A person who only knew books learned how to survive blood and death because of him.
"Hey," Rehan's voice snapped me back. He leaned forward, squinting dramatically.
"…Wait. WAIT."
His eyes widened.
"Did you just smile?"
He clutched his chest exaggeratedly. "Oh no. This is it. I'm dying. The Ice Princess smiled at me. I knew this day would come."
Students nearby laughed.
He beamed. "Did you like the surprise that much? Should I do this every day? I can, you know. Daily surprises. I live to serve."
I stared at him, face carefully blank.
"You're annoying."
He nodded seriously. "Fair. I accept that."
Then he grinned again. "But—birthday rule. At least cut the cake."
Before I could answer—
BOOM.
Fireworks exploded in the sky.
The sound was wrong.
Too sharp.
Too familiar.
The ground trembled.
My blood ran cold.
It's starting.
A chime echoed.
The world froze—for a single heartbeat.
Something dropped from the sky.
It floated.
A small doll hovered above us, porcelain skin glowing softly, fluffy hair swaying as if underwater. Its eyes—polished glass—reflected the crowd below.
"Ah~ greetings, players!"
The doll's voice was cheerful. Too cheerful.
"I'm Vivi, your lovely Curator!"
She clapped her tiny hands.
"It's time for your very first test~ Don't worry, I'll be watching closely. It's very easy."
A massive translucent screen unfolded across the sky.
[Scenario #1 – Survival]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition: Reach the Green Zone
(Green Zone: a temporary safe area designated by the System.
The ground within the zone is circled by green light.)
Time Limit: 30 min
Reward: 100 Coin, Status Window Unlock
Failure: Death
Gasps erupted.
"Is this a prank?"
"Is this AR?"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Vivi tilted her head, smiling wider.
"Ohhh~ don't die! That would be so boring~"
She spun once in midair.
"But it's your choice! Complete the scenario if you want to live. If not…"
She giggled.
"…well."
The doll vanished.
[Green Zone Established]
A timer ignited in the sky.
[29:59]
Panic spread instantly.
Rehan frowned, looking around. "Okay… this is either the most expensive movie promotion ever—or we're in trouble."
Then screams erupted from the street.
People ran past the campus gates, faces pale, voices breaking.
A creature stepped into view.
Green skin.
Jagged teeth.
A rusted knife clenched in its hand.
A goblin.
It lunged forward and stabbed a man.
Blood sprayed.
The man collapsed.
Dead.
Rehan didn't hesitate.
He grabbed my wrist, his grip tight. "Sera, come on. We need to hide—this isn't safe!"
I shook my head.
"No," I said, voice steady despite my pounding heart.
"We don't hide."
He stared at me.
"We go to the Green Zone."
He nodded.
"Alright, Ice Princess."
Students ran in every direction.
Shouts collided with screams as the campus descended into chaos. Someone fell. Someone cried. Someone laughed hysterically.
Then it appeared.
A goblin stepped out from between the buildings, knife raised, eyes locked onto me.
My body reacted instantly.
I reached out—
for a weapon that wasn't there.
…Right ,Not yet.
My hand closed on empty air.
Rehan saw it and panicked.
"HEY—nope, nope, nope!"
He jumped in front of me, spreading his arms dramatically.
"Whatever that thing is, it's clearly here for me."
I could hear it.
The fear in his voice.
The goblin lunged forward.
"OKAY, PLAN B!"
Rehan grabbed the nearest table and swung it like a baseball bat.
CRASH!
The table smashed straight into the goblin. It screeched and fell, its knife skidding across the ground.
Rehan stared at the fallen weapon.
"Oh."
"…Oh wow."
"That's actually a knife."
He rushed forward, snatched it up, and stabbed the goblin on the ground.
Once.
The creature twitched—then stopped moving.
Green blood splashed onto the blade.
Rehan froze.
His hand shook violently. His breathing was loud, uneven.
I stepped closer.
"Rehan… are you okay?"
He sucked in a breath.
Then another.
Then suddenly—he straightened up.
He turned to me with a huge grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Did you see that?!"
He pointed at himself with the knife.
"Ten out of ten performance!"
He laughed a little too loudly.
"I mean, wow. First monster encounter and I already get a free weapon"
He wiped the blade on his sleeve, hands still trembling.
"Don't worry," he said quickly.
"I've got this."
Then, softer—but still smiling—
"I've got you."
He glanced around, puffed out his chest, and announced,
"Alright! Hero Rehan is officially activated."
He leaned toward me and whispered dramatically,
"Rule number one: stick with me, Ice Princess. I'm surprisingly hard to kill."
Then, waving the knife like a baton, he added,
"Now let's go find that Green Zone before something uglier shows up, yeah?"
I watched him walk ahead.
The boy who joked when he was terrified.
Who smiled when his hands were shaking.