Arin gasped.
Air rushed violently into his lungs as if he had been drowning for years.
His eyes snapped open.
Bright sunlight blinded him.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what was happening.
He was alive.
But that was impossible.
The last thing he remembered was a sword piercing his heart.
Betrayal.
Pain.
Death.
Arin slowly sat up.
The ground beneath him was soft grass.
A warm breeze brushed against his face.
Birds chirped somewhere in the distance.
This wasn't the dark rainy battlefield where he died.
"This… isn't Earth."
His voice sounded unfamiliar, younger.
Arin quickly looked down at his hands.
They were smaller.
Cleaner.
Younger.
"What the…?"
His heartbeat accelerated.
He rushed to a nearby lake and looked at his reflection.
A boy stared back at him.
Around sixteen years old.
Black hair.
Sharp eyes.
But the face… wasn't the same one he had before.
"I… reincarnated?"
Before he could process the situation—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his head.
[Infinite System Online]
A glowing blue window suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
Arin froze.
"What… is that?"
The window displayed several lines of text.
[Host: Arin]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 5]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Ability: Locked]
[Skills: None]
Arin's breathing grew heavier.
"This looks like… a game interface."
The mechanical voice spoke again.
[Welcome, Host.]
[You have been chosen by the Infinite System.]
Arin's eyes widened.
"Chosen?"
[The Infinite System allows unlimited growth.]
[All abilities can evolve infinitely.]
[No limits.]
No limits.
Those two words echoed in his mind.
Suddenly, memories of betrayal flashed through his thoughts.
Lena's cold eyes.
The leader's mocking smile.
The sword piercing his chest.
Arin's fists slowly clenched.
"If this power is real…"
His voice turned ice cold.
"I will never be weak again."
But before he could say anything else—
A warning message appeared.
[Danger detected nearby.]
Arin frowned.
"Danger?"
The bushes behind him suddenly rustled.
Low growling echoed through the forest.
Arin slowly turned around.
Two glowing red eyes stared at him from the shadows.
And whatever was hiding there…
was definitely not human.