It was a noisy classroom.
A short and robust teacher dressed in a gray suit stood at the front, but the students behind him paid him no mind, busy with their own jokes and discussions.
In a corner of the room, a red-haired student relaxed at his desk, deep in sleep.
The robust teacher ignored the chatter for the moment.
He picked up a marker and wrote his name on the whiteboard.
Then he turned to the noisy classroom and flashed a confident smile.
"If you pay attention to my class, I can teach you how to become a master at satisfying women," he announced.
The noisy classroom instantly fell silent.
Students who had been slouching quickly straightened up, their eyes fixed on the teacher.
Those who had left their seats rushed back.
As this was an all-boys classroom, a topic like that was, naturally, very appreciated.
The teacher's smile widened.
"I'm Mr. Maxwell, your new biology instructor," he introduced himself.
"If you pay attention in my class, you'll learn how biology can actually help you in real life—like preventing erectile dysfunction and boosting stamina."
"Yes, that means you can finally run laps without gasping for air... or, you know, impress your girlfriend. Either way, science wins."
The students exchanged excited and curious looks.
"Is this guy for real? Can I finally break free from my twenty-second curse and last longer?" one whispered.
"That is what I like to hear, teach on!" another shouted.
"If you fulfill your promise, I'll buy you a Lamborghini when I'm older," a third yelled.
As the questions poured in, the smile on Maxwell's face grew wider. His trick had worked.
"Of course. Everything about the human body, even superhuman strength and stamina, can be achieved with the right understanding of biology."
Saying this, he picked up the marker and wrote the day's topic on the whiteboard.
PLANT REPRODUCTION
The students' eyes furrowed as they looked at one another. How could plant reproduction help?
Maxwell expertly ignored their dumbfounded expressions and proceeded with his teaching.
Even though his topic was different and had nothing to do with what the students so desired, they still listened.
None of them disturbed the flow of his teaching, scared that they would piss him off and make him stop sharing the information they so desired.
Nevertheless, as the class continued, the red-haired student remained asleep.
Then, all of a sudden, he began to shiveruncontrollably.
Cold sweat broke out on his face and other parts of his body.
Abruptly, he lifted his head as if waking from the scariest nightmare.
As the quiet classroom came into focus, his blue eyes furrowed, and he gradually came to a realization.
Afterward, his eyes widened in surprise.
'What is happening? How am I alive?'
He lifted his hand to touch his face, to feel if he was real. And he was indeed real.
'How is this possible? I should be dead. Are those heavenly bastards playing a trick on me?'
He felt the desk and even his backpack. They felt eerily real.
'It can't be.'
Memories of a blood-soaked battlefield replayed in his mind.
That was the place where he had taken his last breath.
But now he was here, in his classroom, back in time to the place where it all began.
"Desmond, you're acting like you've seen a ghost or something. What's happening?" A student sitting behind him tapped his back and said.
Desmond, the red-haired student, turned to the speaker, and his eyes widened.
He recognized him instantly: an important player who was one of the top contributors to their survival of the fifth chapter of the apocalypse. His friend. Rowan.
Desmond's lips parted.
He wanted to call his friend's name, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He could still remember the painful way he died and the weeks-long grieving period he had.
But here he was, alive and healthy, oblivious to what awaited him.
Rowan lifted an eyebrow as Desmond neither responded nor turned away.
"What date is today?" Desmond asked.
Rowan's eyebrows lifted further. "September 6th. Why the heck are you asking?"
"What year?"
"2030. Is there any reason for all these questions?"
Desmond did not respond. He faced forward, eyes fixed on the front of the classroom, where Mr. Maxwell was still enthusiastically lecturing about plant reproduction.
His mind was in shambles. He was back—three years before the great fall—plunged into the moment where everything had begun.
His dying wish—to get a second chance—had been miraculously fulfilled.
But he did not know if he should react happily or sadly to his realization.
The world would soon become hell.
Getting a second chance simply meant he got to experience hell all over again.
Going through the horror-filled chapters of the apocalypse.
Meeting nightmarish creatures.
Engaging in life-or-death battles for survival.
Watching his comrades and loved ones die.
Everything would repeat itself.
Desmond was deep in thought, recalling certain events which made his heart churn in agony.
After some time passed, he heaved a long sigh, pushing all those conflicting memories to the back of his mind.
The apocalypse would begin exactly at noon.
He checked his smartwatch. 11:46. He still had more than ten minutes to do the only thing hing he wished he could have done in his past life.
He quickly excused himself from the class to find a quiet place.
After reaching a secluded area, he dialed the number of the only family member he had in this life, his twin: Rex Blackridge.
In his last life, Rex died alongside billions of others who failed to pick their first awakening path at the beginning.
He could not allow that to repeat itself again.
"Desmond, you decided to call today. What's poppin'!"
From the speaker on his smartwatch, the voice he had sought but never heard for over three years reached his ear.
"Rex..." Desmond's voice lowered.
"Did you say something? I can't hear you."
Desmond felt a feeling of nostalgia. The voice of his twin, he had missed it a lot.
Unfortunately, he had no time to show affection.
"Rex, in a few minutes, the world will change." In a serious tone, he began.
He mentioned the details of everything that would happen in the first two minutes of the apocalypse, the events that would decide if one would get a chance to participate in hell or die immediately it descends.
After he concluded, Rex's voice trailed off, confused as to why Desmond would call him randomly and tell him something so unreal, something only possible in movies and novels.
He even concluded that his brother might have been drinking and attempted to talk him out of it.
Desmond simply listened to the yapping of his twin and then repeated his warning once more with an even more serious tone before he cut the call.
He stared at the screen of his smartwatch for a few seconds.
'I hope he survives this time.'
He turned the smartwatch screen back to the normal time display and strolled back to the classroom.
He walked past a few classrooms and even spotted a few familiar faces.
When he finally arrived at his classroom, it was already consumed with noise.
The students were currently complaining to Mr. Maxwell, who was nearing the end of his session about how he hadn't mentioned a thing about the information he promised.
A pitiful smile flashed on Desmond's face.
This was the state of the class before the apocalypse began in his past life.
He took his seat and stared at his watch as the last few minutes of peace slowly drifted away.
A minute went by.
Two...
Five...
And then it happened.