Shun POV:

Seung Byeol.

She died at the young age of 36.

Those who knew her attended the funeral. Those who were touched by her positivity and outlook on life came from Hibe, Shako, Chunhae, Patari, and other cities in Sharir to pay their respects.

The eulogy that Minji read revealed the hidden hardships Byeol went through. It spoke about the difficulties she encountered behind closed doors. Minji wanted them to remember her right. She wanted them to know that Seung Byeol was only human: a human who needed support the same way everyone else does.

Despite her circumstances, Byeol never changed the way she treated people. That was what made her so special, and that was why everyone cried once Minji’s mouth closed.

Dark clouds no longer held the rain back. They let it fall. They let it crash against the graveyard, offering their own condolences at the loss of a bright star.

But I didn’t accept it.

That was why I stood in front of her grave.

“Codex.”

I flipped through the massive book in my mind until I arrived on the most suitable ability to use here.

“RevLifer.”

As the name implied, it was an ability that allowed me to revive someone from the dead. There was no need for me to add it to the Codex in Providence, but I did in the end.

A vibrant green window popped into view. Nature swirled around its frame before vines suffocated the edges. They threatened to encroach upon its midsection, waiting for the right time to sink their thorns inside.

‘…’

[Please enter the name of the target for revival and be within a 1-metre radius of the body.]

I typed in Byeol’s full name on the virtual keyboard that appeared. The enter key turned green, confirming the entry was valid.

[‘Seung Byeol’ has been dead for over 2 weeks.]

[An additional cost will be added to make up for the time interval.]

[Calculating...]

Water dripped off the ends of my hair before joining the hidden streams. A harsh wind pushed the cold toward the area, displeased with the attempt to go against natural order.

[Calculation complete.]

[Please choose the method of Revival:

• Human Sacrifice

• Monster Genocide

• Lifespan Offering.]

I selected the third option without hesitation. It was the only choice I had since RevLifer’s restrictions meant the success rate of other methods was less than 0.000001%.

[‘Lifespan Offering’ has been selected. The process will now begin.]

‘!!’

Bright green leaves formed a hand that sank through my chest. It gripped something; it grabbed hold of the life inside me and made my entire body tremble. Blood spewed out of my nose before it coated quaking hands. Haziness blurred the grave, but the name on the gravestone remained crystal clear.

A transparent orb of Ki formed in front of me. It grew in size with every injection of life force. Skin aged, then sagged. Bones creaked, then fractured. Electrical impulses didn’t prick the mind but speared into it instead.

‘Take as much as you need.’

The sound of the rain phased out of existence. My teeth wobbled, now unsure about their placement along the gums. The cold seeped into my bones, pleased with the opening it was able to take advantage of.

Time chose to crawl past. It thought that I would change my mind on the decision I made. It thought that I would accept this outcome once I saw the state of my own body.

But it was wrong.

[Over 98% of your current lifespan has been extracted. A progress bar will now be shown.]

[Revival Rate: 0%...]

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The urge to rest my legs and give the aching back a break assaulted my mind, but I declined. This took priority first. Once Byeol was back, I’d find a method to rejuvenate my body.

[Revival Rate: 20%...]

Then I would continue my preparations to kill Chloe Ravendawn. After that, I’d kill Koli, and… if Phoebe was still interested in me…

[Revival Rate: 40%…]

Memories of Gerard and Byeol interacting with one another flickered through my mind. The sagging cheeks rose because soon they would be united again.

[Revival Rate: 80%...]

The rainfall avoided the grave. The dark clouds forced their trajectories to curve around the life force travelling past the soil, yet still the heaviness remained the same.

[Revival Rate: 99%...]

[Revival has failed.]

“...Why?”

[The target has been dead for too long.]

[The additional lifespan sacrificed was insufficient.]

[Your Ki Stage is too low to revive Seung Byeol.]

[Everything offered will be returned to you.]

White wisps grew from the grave. Their heads twisted and turned in search of their owner before rushing back into a debilitated frame. Vitality circulated the old man in the rain, restoring him back to his youth with time.

I knew the success rate was low even with my own lifespan. Even if I met all the requirements...

0.01%.

That was the best this ability could offer me.

Successive uses of RevLifer within a 24-hour period doubled the requirements. However, the additional cost added wasn’t enough to offset the time interval in the first place.

‘Damn it.’

[Transfer complete.]

The green window fizzled out of view, and the Codex took its place. RevLifer was only one ability, despite it having a higher rate of success than most.

“Krazy Roulette.”

A large wheel materialised not far from where I stood. Its light blue colour matched the clothes a small clown wore beneath it.

“Ha-ha! Welcome to the Krazy Roulette! There are 24 options, and each one will give a different benefit or... Penalty.”

The numbers lit up across the wheel; each had a different colour until a skull took the place of the 24th slot. There was no stability within the roulette. It meant that the number 8 could double all physical attributes for 2 hours or cut them in half. It could triple my Ki Reserves or reduce them by 1/8th.

In other words, it was random.

“But wait! There are three bonuses available to you to use. However, be wary of th—“

“Rate Bonus on number 7.”

Rate Bonuses locked in one specific benefit that often appeared on a certain number. However, the drawback made death multiply to the same degree.

Beads of sweat rolled down the clown’s annoying face. He shifted his gaze to the number, now glowing blue. Death took up 7 extra slots on the wheel; its white skull replaced the panel with a black background.

“...Look, if you land on the skull, you’ll die. You do know that, right?”

“Did I ask for your opinion? Spin the damn wheel.”

“...Yes, Sir.”

Clowny wore dungarees that merged into breeches. Shades of blue added variety to oversized Converse shoes. White skin and light blue makeup completed his irritating attire.

He flicked his chubby fingers toward the roulette. It gained momentum with time until the numbers became a blur. Once that happened, I had the option of saying ‘stop’ or waiting for the wheel to slow down by itself.

“Spy.”

“S-Sir! That’s cheating!!”

Clowny stomped his small feet into the earth since my heightened senses, combined with Hawkeye, allowed me to perceive the blur in detail. All I had to do now was utilise the previous calculation of its fading speed to make the red pointer land on the number I wanted.

“This is why I hate when you use this ability!! You’re a cheater!!”

He grabbed his blue hat and slammed it into the ground. I ignored his tantrum and continued waiting for the right spin rotation.

“Stop.”

The wheel began to slow down. The ticking sound of the arrow flapper rolling over each segment stood out from the rainfall.

“...Congratulations. You landed on... number 7.”

“Revive Seung Byeol.”

Clowny clicked his tongue while dusting off the muddied hat. He turned his attention to the grave and splayed his hands forward. Light blue Ki flared out of his small frame before coating the area in front of him.

“...”

He lowered his arms seconds after raising them. The clown creaked his head in my direction; sweat accumulated on thick blue brows, prompting him to think twice about what he should say next.

“T-too much time has elap—“

I gripped Clowny by the throat and peered into his round eyes. Death looked back through the bright reflections they contained before a single gulp croaked out of his mouth.

“Revive Byeol.”

“I-I can’t! I really can’t!”

A deep sigh greeted the cold air. Fingers tightened the chain around Clowny’s neck, and I parted my lips once more. This time, I would hear what I wanted to hear.

“Revive her.”

“Y-you idiot! Why would I lie, huh?! Do you think I want to get beat up by you aga—“

My heel embedded the clown’s head into the earth.

“I-I spoke out of line!...”

I picked the annoyance up by his strapped top and dashed his useless body to the side.

“Guawawa!!”

He rolled several times before jumping back to his feet.

“Sir... It’s just beyond your capabilities. Let’s... Let’s imagine if you could revive Miss Byeol. You would need to give up an equal amount in exchange!”

“Say the rest.”

Clowny avoided Death’s gaze. He coughed several times before narrowing his round eyes.

“F-furthermore, over two weeks have already passed. Someone of your calibre should be grateful revival is even a possibility, regardless of the abysmal chance of success. You’re strong... But strength doesn’t bring back the dead!”

I dispelled Spy and reopened the Codex.

“What are you doing...?”

“Evolving my ability.”

“...Huh? Y-you can’t just evolve an ability like that!!”

Clowny gripped his two buns of hair. His head flopped around, aggravated by his concern for my health not being recognised.

“There’s a process, dammit!! All these abilities doesn’t mean you can skip procedure!!”

He continued to ramble on while I scanned each page of the Codex again. If two abilities weren’t good enough, then I needed three. If three still couldn’t do it, then I needed four.

“Bookmark.”

I placed down a bookmark within the range of Krazy Roulette before turning to another page further ahead.

“Bookmark.”

Another black bookmark tried to press against the binding, but the Codex rejected it. The repulsion ran through my body with a pain that struck the nervous system directly.

“S-Sir!! Stop i—“

“Bookmark.”

“STOP IT!!”

“Bookmark.”

...

..

.

Blood poured out of every orifice of my body; there were no exceptions. I peered down at the whiteness of my hands when the clown’s chubby fingers grabbed hold of them.

“Wawa... Sir... Wa... Stop... it...”

My gaze fell with the falling rain. All these abilities, yet none could bring Byeol back.