I could still hear the roar of the Ice Serpent, feel the ice cracking beneath me as its enormous form lunged, jaws wide to tear me apart. But instead of freezing or flinching, I blinked and found myself here—back in my old room, far from the battlefield, far from death.
My heart pounded in my chest. The cold, the betrayal—it was all so vivid in my mind.
Leo’s cold shrug flashed before my eyes. “You should’ve been more careful with that.”
It wasn’t the words themselves. It was the way he said it. Like I was nothing. Like I was a pawn, easily discarded. Zara’s empty, detached tone followed, “It’s not personal.” But it was personal. It was betrayal—cold, calculated betrayal.
I stumbled away from the mirror, every inch of my body trembling. I had been here before. This day. This room. The System wasn’t new, but something else had interfered this time—something that had dragged me back before the world crumbled.
My fists clenched as the memories rushed back—the rift over the North Pole, splitting the sky, unleashing monsters that tore through cities without mercy. Governments launched nukes in desperation, wiping out monster-infested northern cities and targeting the rift itself. But the rift was untouched, and the monsters only grew worse.
And then came the System, as if the universe itself had decided to turn the apocalypse into a twisted game. Two months after the rift appeared, every human on the planet received it. We became players in a game we didn’t sign up for, split into Physical and Magic classes.
My class: Utility Mage. Not a flashy one like Leo’s Warrior, Zara’s Elemental Sorcerer, or Marcus’ Paladin, but I thought my teleportation skill made me valuable. It saved us all more than once. Yet, when push came to shove, they abandoned me.
They left me to die.
"We don’t have a choice, Adam," Leo’s voice echoed in my mind again. “You’re buying us time. Time to regroup. Time to escape.”
I trusted them, fought for them, and in the end, I was nothing but bait.
But now? Now I was back, standing in a world that hadn’t yet fallen apart. The rift hadn’t opened. The monsters hadn’t poured out. And the System was new again.
I had a chance to stop it all, to make things right. But more than that, I had a chance to make them pay.
My chest heaved as I stepped toward the window, my hands tightening into fists. I could see the world below, bathed in the fading light of the sunset. Innocent. Unscarred by the horrors I had seen. I was going to change that.
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Leo, Zara, Marcus—they thought they could leave me behind, sacrifice me to save themselves. But now, with this second chance, I had the power to rewrite everything.
This time, I would be ready.
This time, they would pay for what they did.
----------------------------------------
I stumbled back to my desk, my breath still uneven. I needed to get my bearings. What year was it? What day was it?
My eyes fell on the calendar. January 2020.
Ten months.
I had ten months before the rift tore open at the North Pole, before the monsters spilled out and tore the world apart. I blinked, my fingers tightening against the edge of the desk. I had regressed. Not just a few weeks or months—but two entire years. Back to the start of my first year in college.
“Ten months,” I whispered to myself. Time seemed to stop for a moment as the weight of it all hit me. Ten months before the world ended, before people I knew and loved were torn apart by those things. And the traitors… they didn’t betray me until almost a year into the apocalypse. That gave me time. Time to prepare.
A sudden ping in my head cut through the haze, followed by a notification in the corner of my vision.
[System Initialized.]
I blinked. Right… the System. This time I was ahead of it. I had the advantage.
---
[Daily Task: Physical Training]
Type: Physical Training
Time Limit: 24 hours
Objective/s:
1. Strength Training:
- Push-ups (50 reps)
2. Endurance Training:
- Squats (50 reps)
3. Agility Training:
- Burpees (30 reps)
---
[Task Completion Rewards]
- Strength +1
- Endurance +1
- Agility +1
I let out a breath, my mind still reeling. The System. It had been a lifeline in those first few months, giving us tasks to survive, to improve. Train, get stronger, adapt. Everyone had taken it seriously—how could we not? The monsters had already torn through cities, slaughtering countless people. No one was ignoring the System's guidance now. It wasn’t just about getting stronger—it was about staying alive. I’d seen how quickly things could fall apart. I’d been there, at the end. And now, with this second chance, I wasn’t going to waste it. I would train, push myself, and use every opportunity the System gave me. This time I'd be ready.
The muscles in my legs twitched. My body was still stiff from the memories of battle, and I knew I’d need every bit of strength I could get. If I could build up my stats now, I’d be leagues ahead of where I was the first time. A head start. I cracked my knuckles. I would train, and this time I would be ready for anything.
I glanced around the room again, my brain finally catching up to the reality around me. The System, the regression—it wasn’t a dream. I was back, and I was still in college.
College.
“Shit!” My eyes snapped to the clock. 7:45 a.m. Classes started in an hour.
I shot up from my chair, throwing open the closet to grab some clothes. My hands moved on instinct as I threw together something halfway decent—a plain shirt, jeans, and a hoodie. It’s my first year of college, I thought to myself. Again. What were the odds that I’d have to relive all of this? Only this time, I wasn’t some clueless freshman.
I rushed to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face to wake myself up. The same reflection stared back at me—just younger, no scars, no signs of the hell I had been through. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to shake the image of the Ice Serpent bearing down on me.
“Ten months…” I repeated under my breath as I grabbed my bag and darted toward the door.
The future was coming, and this time I wouldn’t be caught off guard. I would be ready.