[Transporting soul..15% completion]
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Where am I?
I seem to be floating, how? I slowly opened my eyes, blinking away the blurriness. hm?
"Holy shit"
A vast empty space laid before me.
How did I end up here? Didn't I die? This place looks amazing and all, but i'm getting a little freaked out. Is this the afterlife? Or am I in heaven?
…
'Anyways, what is this thing in front me?' I stared at the blue screen. Doesn't this look really similiar to ones you normally find in fantasy games? And what does it mean by transporting soul? 15%? What's going on? Is this thing taking me somewhere?
[32% completion. Please wait]
"Hey, what are you?" I asked the screen. However, the screen didn't answer. "…why am I even asking this non-animated object?.." Right, why was I even expecting a real being?
I sighed, how long will this take? I wonder what happened with my body..did the hunters finally arrive? Was my body buried under debris or was I eaten? However, I quickly reminded that my body is here, with me. I must've lost my knowledge..
The image of the bee quickly flashed in my mind. I shivered. 'I wonder if I got a phobia of bees now?..' Although, it wouldn't be too strange if I did.
I looked around the place. It wasn't much, really, just empty.. It seemed as if I was floating in the sky. With countless clouds brushing past me, making it hard to see what was beyond. Other than that, there was nothing else to it. Just some clouds and a blue sky, no floor or animals. It was also very vibrant. Almost to the point I might become blind. 'Goodness, why is this place so bright? I feel as if my eyes are being cut open!'
I glanced back to the screen. 67%… It seemed to go by really slow. How long has it been? I wonder what's going to happen to me…will I just disappear into nothing or maybe I might be reincarnated.. If I do, I would want to become a bird, then I wouldn't have to work or talk to anyone.
…
Would Yuna-ssi be on the other side? Will I get the chance to finally apologise for not being strong enough? After her death, I couldn't help but blame my lack my strength. If I was a bodybuilder, perhaps I would've been able to save her…
I shook my head. 'No, get it together Haesung! She's already dead, It's not like an apology's gonna fix anything. And besides, it's not my fault for not being strong enough.. she should've seen the debris coming anyways.'
I checked the screen again.
[86% completion..]
'Not too bad…I'm quite curious on what's going to happen. Hm?' Why is the screen glitching?
[Welcome, player! I am an Ai system that will help you on your journey.]
…
Hey, have I finally lost it? I stared at the system for a while. My mind was overlocking, thinking for something to say.
"Are you a real person?" I blurted out. Wow, out of all questions I could've asked..
[I am merely a robot. Do you have any questions?]
Called it. Anyways, questions? I pondered for a bit, deciding to think it through. In the end, I managed to think of a suitable question.
"..actually, I do, what's happening with my soul?"
[You are now being transported back in time. Do you have any questions?]
Back…back in time? Hey, is this even possible? I only heard stuff about this in novels and stuff. Don't tell me that's going to happen to me now?
'..'
Absolutely not! The idea of being F rank was humiliating enough. Going back to where I was F rank again? No way, I'd rather die again than go through all that struggle!
"Hey! Just take me to the afterlife! I don't want to get sent back in time! Hey, do you hear me!?"
[92%….96%….99%….]
"Don't you dare!" I shouted angrily, who the fuck is in their right mind to kidnap someone to the past?
[100% completion]
Suddenly, a wave of tiredness coursed through me. fuck!.. I could feel my eyes closing against my will. Perhaps this was some sick joke and I was only going through some illusion before my death..right? ha ha…
…
[Transportion complete. We hope you enjoy your new life.]
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And that was the quick summary of what happened to me. Now, here I am, in the middle of my room after waking up a few years back just before the outbreak happened.
With this system.. I wonder if anything would change? This would easily help me get the slacker life I've wanted. I wonder if I could buy KRW with this shop?
…
Nope, I can't. I suppose it couldn't be helped. I scrolled down more. Whilst scrolling, I picked up some horrible news. It turned out that I couldn't spend KRW in order to buy some of these cool artifacts but points instead. Sadly, I wasn't able to find out where to earn points.
I even tried to contact the system but no matter how many times I called for it, there was no answer. "Help me out? Tch, what a joke."
'Hm, to think I was really sent back in time.. I wonder if I'll be able to save Yuna-ssi from her demise…'
There were all sorts of artifacts I found while exploring the shop. Such as {Mirror of Youth}, the item that would allow you to change your appearance to a younger version of yourself. Even though it was only A-rank, many hunters had wanted it to keep their handsome or pretty selves after losing their face from a monster attack or gift it to their lover.
Other artifacts included {Summoning Statue}, an S-rank artifact that allowed you to summon a spirit in accordance to your internal mana. This was highly coveted by priests and hunters with a light ability.
And all of these items were in the shop! Ha ha! How lucky am I? I'll be able to get these items without sacrificing my life again. I hummed. Should I see whether my rank had changed again once this monster break passed? I decided to explore the shop more, tapping away on the buttons to see what other items were on there. Until something had caught my eye.
Oh, sweet! So this is where I earn points? I wonder, what is my first quest?
Quests (Beginner)
Kill 5 monsters in a gate (0/5) Reward: 5 points
Clear a gate (0/1) Reward: 10 points
Purchase something from the shop (0/1) Reward: Bonus box
More coming soon.
Maybe I should just give up.
Does this thing rather want me dead? Back in my days, just fighting a C-rack monster would easily get me hospitalised!
…
Wait, this quest didn't tell me I had to only get higher rank beast.. meaning I could just target F-rank monsters, right? I coughed. 'I'll give up later… yeah, i'll definitely give up later..'
Anyways, what date is it today? I checked the calendar. Huh?
Sweet mother of pearls. I am late to work.
Fuck!
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"Why were you so late today, Haesung-nim?"
Wow, how long has it been since I last saw her? Indeed, my only friend looks the same as always. However, there was a different aura around her. She seems more mature and more…
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Have you seriously fallen for me? I'm afraid I'd have to reject you though.. I already have a boyfriend, after all."
dumb..
I clenched my fist. "Hey, Yuna-ssi, It must have been a while since I last beat you, right?" Raising my fist, I directly went for her head.
"Ow ow ow! I'm sorry! Eeeeekk!"
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"Seriously though, why were you so late?"
"I was busy."
"With?" She questioned, bringing out a couple of snacks out of her bag. She pushed some chips to my side. "Here, have this. We can't have you starving now, can we?"
..But I already have a sandwich? She should look at herself, though?
"…I was sorting something out at home." I took a bite out of my sandwich. At least Yuna seemed patient to wait until I was finished.
swallow
"My room ended up kinda messy so I was merely cleaning it up but I forgot that I had work." I lied smoothly.
Yuna seemed surprised, her eyes widening a bit. "Wow, I never knew you were the type to clean." That sentence gave her another bump on her head.
Sizzle
"You're so rude, Haesung-nim!" She sniffed, clutching her head with her hands.
Anyways, It feels good to see her again. Although, she had a boyfriend? Since when? In the last timeline, she always complained about not having a boyfriend. Maybe it's because I went back in time? 'Eh, who cares? Good for her, I suppose.' I took my phone out.
…
25th August, 2050. A day before the gate break would happen. With new determination, I will definitely make sure my friends survives in this one.
"Yuna-ssi, could you stay in your house tomorrow? I have a bad feeling something bad will happen.." I tried to make myself look pitiful.
"…." Yuna stared at me as if I grew another head. "Hey, have you lost it?" She asked.
…
"Just listen, okay?"
"Okay, fine. I'm not sure why you want me to stay home but you better make up for it."
I nodded, "Yes, I will."
This should be fine. After all, her house is quite far from here. Hopefully, she doesn't go out. Tomorrow, I'll also stay home. It's not like I can help anyways, I have no combat skills.
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Just like in the original timeline, the gate break appeared exactly the same time like usual. However, I stayed home instead of going out to work, I even got fired from my boss when I refused to go work. What if Yuna was mad at me for making her stay home? She might also risk losing her Job.
Well, it's better than putting her life on the line, right? It's not like office Job would be worth anything once she awakens. With a fresh mind, I decided to sleep, ignoring the cries outside.
'Sorry, everyone, but i'm too weak to help!'
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After the gate incident, Korea has been steadily gaining back its status, creating new jobs and building more companies along with new laws. Before long, Korea had managed to get back on its feet.
'Anyways, I wonder if Yuna-ssi managed to make it.' I dialled her phone number.
brring brring briinggg
She picked up by the third ring. "Haesung-nim! Are you okay?" Looked like someone was panicking. I couldn't blame her, though.
"I'm good. And you?"
"I'm doing fine. How did you know that such thing was gonna happen?"
Shoot. How am I supposed to get myself out of this now? "Umm, I didn't.. It was only a feeling." Would she believe me?
"My goodness! It seemed like your intuition managed to save the both of us! haha, thank you! I'm so glad you're alright! I wasn't able to reach you these past few days so I was really worried that something may have happened to you."
"I'm glad you're alright too. I'll see you soon."
"See you!"
I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. I'm glad she wasn't hurt.
'Now, should I get myself checked again? I'm curious to see what rank I've got this time, with my system, It might be possible to get an S rank!'
With a refreshing mind, I went out to the awakening center.