Eren Thorne stood silently in the middle of Blackthorn Forest, staring at the massive body of the fallen ogre lying before him. The creature's enormous frame was half-buried in the dirt where it had collapsed, its iron club lying several feet away like a discarded tree trunk. Blood slowly seeped from the deep wound in its eye where Eren's sword had pierced straight into its skull. The forest around him had grown quiet again, as if the trees themselves were stunned by the sight.
For a long moment, Eren didn't move.
He simply stared.
Then he slowly sat down on a nearby rock and let out a long breath.
"I actually did it," he said quietly.
The words felt strange leaving his mouth. Just a few hours ago—at least from the world's perspective—he had been the weakest adventurer in the guild. A man who struggled to defeat a single goblin.
But that wasn't true anymore.
Not after everything he had experienced.
The truth was something nobody else in the world knew.
Eren had died.
Not once.
Not twice.
Not even ten times.
He had died over a hundred times fighting that ogre.
Each death had been brutal. Sometimes the creature crushed him instantly. Sometimes the battle lasted longer, ending with shattered bones or torn flesh. Every single time the pain had been real.
And every single time…
He returned.
Back to the same moment.
Back to the same guild table.
Back one hour before death.
Eren rubbed his temples slowly.
"Still doesn't make sense," he muttered.
He had no idea why it was happening. No spell, no artifact, no ritual. As far as he knew, he had always been normal.
Until the moment he died.
Eren stood up again and approached the ogre's corpse. Up close the monster looked even larger than before. Its thick green skin was scarred and rough like old stone, and its muscles were massive enough to crush a man with a single swing.
"Guess you're not getting up again," Eren said.
He pulled his sword free from the creature's eye socket and wiped the blade on the grass.
Then something strange happened.
A faint glow appeared above the ogre's body.
Eren froze.
"…what?"
The glow slowly formed into small floating symbols of light. They shimmered in the air like fragments of magic before suddenly shifting into words.
Words that only he could see.
Curse Detected
Condition Confirmed
Bearer Identified
Activating System
Eren blinked.
"…system?"
More glowing text appeared in front of him.
Curse Name: Second Try
Effect: Upon death, bearer returns to a point exactly one hour before death.
Memory Retention: Enabled
Pain Retention: Enabled
Mental Degradation Risk: High
Eren stared at the floating words with wide eyes.
"…you've got to be kidding me."
The text continued.
Warning:
Repeated death may cause psychological instability.
Eren let out a small laugh.
"Well that explains a lot."
He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms while staring at the glowing information.
"So I'm cursed," he said.
For most people that would have sounded horrifying.
But Eren's expression slowly turned thoughtful instead.
"A curse that lets me retry after death…"
His eyes slowly widened.
"…that's not a curse."
A grin spread across his face.
"That's the most broken ability in existence."
The glowing text flickered again.
New Achievement Unlocked
Achievement: Ogre Slayer
Reward: Strength +1
Reward: Endurance +1
Eren felt something strange move through his body. It wasn't painful, but it was noticeable, like a brief surge of energy flowing through his muscles.
He flexed his fingers slowly.
"…did I just get stronger?"
He swung his sword experimentally.
The blade felt lighter.
Faster.
Eren laughed again, louder this time.
"Alright… this is getting interesting."
For the first time since discovering his strange power, he began to understand what it meant.
He wasn't just repeating time.
He was training inside it.
Every death gave him more experience.
Every reset allowed him to retry a battle until he mastered it.
Every victory made him stronger.
Eren looked down at the fallen ogre again.
"So you were basically my training partner."
The dead monster didn't respond.
Eren walked over to the ogre's massive club and tried lifting it. The weapon barely moved.
"…okay never mind."
He dropped the club and began searching the creature's body for anything valuable.
Most monsters carried nothing but bones and scars, but occasionally stronger beasts possessed magical materials that adventurers could sell.
After a few minutes of searching, Eren found something.
Embedded in the ogre's chest was a dark red crystal about the size of a coin.
"A mana core," he whispered.
His eyes widened.
Mana cores were extremely valuable. Even small ones could be sold for a good amount of money.
Eren carefully pulled the crystal free.
"Guess I'm not going back empty-handed."
Just as he stood up, a faint sound echoed through the forest.
Crunch.
Eren's head snapped toward the trees.
His instincts immediately sharpened.
After dying so many times, he had learned something important.
The forest was never truly quiet.
And that sound definitely wasn't made by a goblin.
Slow footsteps moved through the trees.
Eren slowly raised his sword.
"…please don't be another ogre."
The branches parted.
A tall figure stepped into the clearing.
Not a monster.
A human.
The man wore dark traveling clothes and a long cloak that hid most of his body. A thin sword hung at his side, and his sharp grey eyes scanned the battlefield with calm precision.
He looked down at the dead ogre.
Then at the goblin corpses scattered nearby.
Finally his gaze settled on Eren.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then the stranger raised one eyebrow.
"You killed all of these?"
Eren hesitated.
"…yeah."
The man walked closer to the ogre's body and examined the wound in its eye.
"Hm."
His eyes moved back to Eren.
"You're alone."
"Yes."
"And you killed an ogre."
"…apparently."
The man crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"That's impressive."
Eren scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it took a few tries."
The stranger chuckled quietly.
"I imagine it did."
For a moment the man seemed to study Eren more carefully.
Then he asked something unexpected.
"What rank are you?"
Eren sighed.
"F."
The stranger blinked.
"…you're joking."
"I wish."
The man looked back at the dead ogre.
Then back at Eren.
Then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Amazing," he said. "An F-rank adventurer who can kill an ogre alone."
Eren shrugged.
"Life is full of surprises."
The man wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter faded.
"Well, F-rank or not, that was impressive."
He extended his hand.
"My name is Cassian Voss."
Eren shook it.
"Eren Thorne."
Cassian glanced around the battlefield once more.
"You should bring proof of this kill back to the guild."
"Proof?"
Cassian pointed at the ogre's tusk.
"Take that."
Eren nodded.
"Good idea."
Using his sword, he carefully cut one of the large tusks from the creature's jaw.
It took several minutes, but eventually the massive trophy came free.
Cassian whistled.
"That'll convince them."
Eren lifted the heavy tusk onto his shoulder.
"Well," he said with a small grin, "guess I'm heading back."
Cassian nodded.
"I'll walk with you."
As the two of them began walking toward the forest path, Eren couldn't stop thinking about the glowing words he had seen earlier.
The curse.
The system.
The power.
For the first time in his life, the weakest adventurer in the guild felt something he had never truly felt before.
Confidence.
Because deep down he now understood one simple truth.
As long as he kept dying…
He would keep getting stronger.
And one day—
The world would realize that the man they once laughed at…
Was becoming something far more dangerous.