Ancient Ruins: ???
Seojin's chest heaved with ragged, desperate breaths as his eyes darted across the twisted, mocking faces surrounding him. Blood smeared his armor, his muscles screamed in pain, but it was the cold, cruel amusement in their eyes that hurt him the most.
At the center stood Kang Hyunwoo, his former best friend—and beside him, Shin Eunha, his girlfriend. Both wore the same smirk, savoring his suffering.
"Wh—cough… cough… why?" Seojin rasped, coughing up blood.
"Hahaha, look at this pathetic bastard asking why," Eunha said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
"You know damn well why we did this!" she shouted, stabbing her sword into Seojin's chest.
"Giving most of the guild's money away and making me live like a beggar, bowing your head to every useless bastard over small mistakes… making me look weak and pathetic in front of my friends! How can my boyfriend be this pathetic? I'm embarrassed to even call you that. It's all your fault we're not in the top 10 of the leaderboard—even with the great me in your guild!"
Seojin still couldn't believe what was happening. One moment they were celebrating after defeating their first-ever mythic-level boss, and the next, his girlfriend had plunged a blade in his back.
"But finally," Eunha continued with a twisted grin, "I can stop pretending to be your girlfriend. Do you know what a pain in the ass it was sticking with you? If you weren't good at the game—and didn't have a handsome face—I'd have left you long ago. You should be thanking me that I stuck around this long."
Sticking with me was a pain in the ass? Seojin thought, memories flashing of all the times they fought and bled together, all the moments he believed were real.
Seojin's eyes swayed towards Hyunwoo. He wanted to ask him—to understand why all this happened, how could his best friend do this to him—but he had no strength left.
Hyunwoo stepped forward and swung his sword down.
"In your next life," he said with a mocking smile, "don't be so naive. Don't trust people so easily. Live for yourself a little."
…
"Boss, we've collected everything that'll fit in our inventory, but there's still some loot left," one of Hyunwoo's goons reported.
"Then tell someone to carry it and let's move. We need to get back to the guild and report that the bastard's dead."
"B-but Boss, will everything be alright? Even if he was pathetic, the guild members liked him. Will they really accept you as the new leader?"
"Haha, don't worry," Hyunwoo laughed. "If I tell them it was his dying wish for me to lead, they'll accept it. I was his best friend, after all. Hahahaha!"
"Don't worry, I'll shed a few tears and everyone will believe it," Eunha chimed in with a giggle.
As Hyunwoo and his goons planned their rise to power, a loud crash echoed through the cave.
Crash!
"Oi! What's going on? You idiots can't even carry the loot properly?" Hyunwoo barked.
"S-sorry, Boss! This guy tripped over Seojin's head."
"Even when he's dead, that bastard causes trouble," Hyunwoo muttered. "Oi, newbie—pick everything up and move out!"
The terrified newcomer quickly gathered the scattered loot and ran after the group, afraid of being left behind.
No one noticed the two golden orbs that rolled out of one of the boxes the newbie carried. Slowly, they drifted toward Seojin's head. When they reached his head, a blinding golden light filled the cavern.
When the light finally faded, both Seojin's body and the orbs were gone—as if they had never existed at all.
South Korea, Seoul
A man suddenly shot up in bed, gasping for breath.
"Haah… haah… wh—what was that? A dream?"
As he had just woken up, he was still a little drowsy and thirsty. So he went to the fridge and gulped down some water, but still felt a little disoriented. He stumbled to the bathroom sink to wash his face, but when he looked up, the reflection staring back at him made his blood run cold—two golden eyes glowed faintly in the mirror.
"Wha—"
Before he could react, a shock shot through his body. His confusion evaporated, replaced by perfect clarity.
"I was reborn… wasn't I?" Seojin muttered.
He snatched his phone and checked the date.
"I've come back… ten years. To when everything first began."
The memories of betrayal burned vividly in his mind. Sorrow flickered within him, but anger burned brighter.
Just as he was lost in thought, the doorbell rang. And knowing who it was, his frown deepened.
When he opened the door, a familiar figure leapt into his arms.
"Did you miss your cute and lovely girlfriend?" Shin Eunha asked sweetly.
Seojin looked at her face—so innocent now, but in his mind, he saw her laughing as she drove a sword through his chest.
Disgust twisted in his gut, and he shoved her away.
The sudden roughness left her stunned; he had never treated her like this before. His next words shocked her even more.
"I don't ever want to see your face again. We're done," Seojin said coldly and slammed the door in her face.
Eunha stood frozen, disbelief etched across her features. A moment later, she scoffed, assuming he was just in a bad mood.
"Seojin, you can be upset all you want, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on me! Don't think I'll forgive you later, even if you come crawling back!" she shouted.
As she was leaving, she thought to herself with a smirk, 'See how I embarrass you later when you come to apologize.'
She had completely ignored the breakup as if it had never happened. The idea that someone could leave her never crossed her mind.
"Crazy bitch," Seojin muttered, collapsing onto his bed. 'How did I endure her all these years?' Seojin asked himself and sighed.
Though he had just woken up, he felt drained. His mind drifted to his past life—to helping Eunha survive those early days, helping Hyunwoo and his friends, giving them rare items, dying again and again just to protect them, losing countless opportunities for their sake.
When did I ever live for myself?
He remembered Hyunwoo's last words: In your next life, don't be so naive. Live for yourself a little.
After thinking for a long while, Seojin opened his golden eyes again—burning with determination.
"I don't know how I came back," he whispered, "but that doesn't matter. Since I've been given this chance, I'll live it to the fullest. I'll be greedy. I'll be selfish. And I'll become the strongest."
His lips curled into a dark smile.
"And those bastards who betrayed me…" he murmured. "I sure as hell won't give them an easy death."