Renzo Valerius sat on the edge of his bed, breathing slowly.
His heart was racing.
The small apartment around him looked exactly the same as he remembered.
Peeling paint on the walls.
A cracked window letting in the noise of traffic.
A cheap metal table in the corner.
This was his apartment from twenty-three years ago.
Back when he was nineteen.
Back when everything had just begun.
Renzo rubbed his face.
"This… is real."
His body felt light. Strong. Young.
No old scars.
No damaged joints.
No years of exhaustion.
For a moment, he simply sat there in silence, letting the reality sink in.
He had died.
He clearly remembered the crushing weight of the Oblivion Tyrant's claw. The sound of his bones breaking. The cold darkness that followed.
And then…
Those voices.
Renzo slowly raised his hands.
On his palms, faint golden marks glowed softly.
One symbol looked like a blazing forge.
The other resembled the edge of a blade.
The moment he focused on them—
A deep voice echoed inside his mind.
"Hmph. He finally notices."
Renzo froze.
Another voice followed, sharper and lighter.
"You should at least greet the mortals properly, Vulcanos."
The first voice snorted.
"I am not the social one."
Renzo's eyes widened.
"You're… real?"
Silence filled his mind for a brief moment.
Then the second voice laughed.
"Oh, he doubts us."
The first voice spoke calmly.
"I am Vulcanos, Sovereign of the Star Forge."
The second voice followed.
"And I am Kensei-Ryu, Spirit of the First Edge."
Renzo stared at the glowing marks on his hands.
"So… I'm not hallucinating."
Kensei-Ryu chuckled.
"If you were hallucinating, your imagination would have better taste in gods."
Vulcanos ignored the comment.
"You were chosen."
Renzo leaned back slightly.
"Chosen… why?"
The forge god answered first.
"You endured."
Kensei-Ryu continued.
"In countless timelines, the strong rose quickly."
"The talented conquered the dungeons."
"But you—"
"—survived."
Renzo frowned.
"Surviving isn't exactly impressive."
Kensei-Ryu laughed.
"Forty-two years as an F-Rank porter in a world that eats the weak?"
"That requires something rarer than talent."
Vulcanos finished the thought.
"An unbroken will."
Renzo fell silent.
For a long moment, he simply stared at the floor.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"So you sent me back."
"Correct," Vulcanos replied.
Renzo clenched his fists.
Images flashed through his mind.
The dungeon.
The betrayal.
Alistair Vance walking away.
This time…
things would be different.
But before he could think further—
A faint blue screen suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
SYSTEM INITIALIZING
Player Identified.
Name: Renzo Valerius
Age: 19
Class: Survivor
Rank: F
Level: 1
Passive Skills Detected:
• Adaptive Body (F)
• God of Maker (S) [Hidden]
• God of Sword Martial Arts (S) [Hidden]
Renzo stared at the screen.
"So it's the same system."
Kensei-Ryu hummed.
"But slightly improved."
Renzo raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Vulcanos answered.
"You possess three foundational passives."
"Every ten levels, the system will generate three skills."
"One for each passive."
Renzo nodded slowly.
So the gods hadn't replaced the system…
They had simply inserted themselves into it.
Clever.
His mind immediately began calculating.
If he remembered correctly, the first dungeon tutorial gates would begin appearing within the next few weeks.
Guilds would start recruiting soon after.
That meant he needed money.
Equipment.
Preparation.
Renzo stood up and walked toward the small metal table near the window.
A pile of junk items sat there.
Scrap metal.
Old electronics.
Broken tools.
The leftovers of things he used to salvage for extra cash.
Renzo stared at them.
Then something strange happened.
A whisper.
Soft.
Almost like the objects were speaking.
"Low-grade iron."
"Cracked copper wire."
"Damaged alloy casing."
Renzo blinked.
"What…?"
Vulcanos spoke calmly.
"Material Whispers."
"One of the gifts of the God of Maker."
Renzo slowly picked up a broken metal spoon.
The whisper returned instantly.
"Cheap steel. Weak structure. Low potential."
His eyes widened slightly.
"So I can… analyze materials?"
"More than that," Vulcanos replied.
"You can understand their potential."
Kensei-Ryu added,
"And eventually reshape it."
Renzo's gaze drifted across the table.
Then he noticed something he hadn't paid attention to before.
A small rusted watch.
The glass was cracked.
The hands were frozen.
Completely worthless.
Or at least…
that was what most people would think.
Renzo picked it up.
The moment he touched it—
The whispers became louder.
"Old steel."
"Worn gears."
"Memory of motion."
But beneath those whispers…
something else echoed.
Possibility.
Vulcanos spoke again.
"Focus."
Renzo frowned slightly.
"On what?"
"The potential."
Renzo closed his eyes.
He concentrated on the rusted watch in his hand.
Slowly…
an image formed in his mind.
The watch breaking apart.
Metal melting.
Gears reshaping.
Edges sharpening.
His eyes snapped open.
"I see it."
Kensei-Ryu sounded amused.
"Then stop imagining and start forging."
Renzo hesitated.
"Here?"
"In your apartment?"
Vulcanos replied simply.
"You do not require a forge."
"You are the forge."
Renzo looked at the watch again.
Then he took a deep breath.
"Alright."
He tightened his grip.
"Let's try it."
The moment he focused—
Golden light exploded from his hands.
Heat surged through the room.
The rusted watch began to glow.
Metal liquefied like molten sunlight.
The broken gears melted and floated in the air.
Renzo's eyes widened.
"This is—"
"Divine Forge," Vulcanos said.
The molten metal spun slowly in the air.
Renzo instinctively moved his hand.
The metal responded.
Stretching.
Lengthening.
Sharpening.
Kensei-Ryu's voice grew serious.
"Focus."
"The blade must have purpose."
Renzo remembered the boss monster.
The claw.
The moment of his death.
His grip tightened.
"I won't die like that again."
The molten metal flashed.
The shape stabilized.
A slender curved blade formed.
Dark steel.
A thin silver edge.
A small guard engraved with faint circular patterns resembling clock gears.
The golden light faded.
The weapon dropped gently into Renzo's hand.
A blue screen appeared.
Item Created
Name: Chrono Fang
Type: Katana
Rank: F+
Description:
A blade forged from a broken watch.
The metal remembers the time that was lost.
Effect:
• Slight increase to reaction speed.
Renzo stared at the weapon in silence.
His first forged blade.
Kensei-Ryu sounded pleased.
"Not bad for a beginner."
Vulcanos added,
"The first strike against fate."
Renzo slowly gripped the katana.
The blade felt… natural.
Like it belonged in his hand.
He swung it lightly.
The air parted with a soft hiss.
Renzo smiled faintly.
In his previous life…
he had spent twenty-three years carrying weapons for other people.
This time…
He would create his own.
And one day—
He would return to that dungeon.
Return to the man who abandoned him.
Renzo looked at the blade again.
"Alistair Vance…"
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
"This time…"
The edge of Chrono Fang gleamed under the sunlight.
"I'm not the one dying."