A message popped up.
---
You have died.
Activating Skill – 2nd Chance by the Priestess of Time Herself.
---
Darkness swallowed everything. No sound. No ground. No body. Just endless black.
"Where am I…?" he muttered. "Am I really dead now? Did my plan fail?"
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then—
A small light flickered in the distance.
It grew.
And grew.
Until it tore through the darkness like dawn breaking the night, swallowing the void in radiant brilliance.
He narrowed his eyes, a faint smile forming.
"…Looks like no."
---
You have been revived.
Ability under Cooldown – 60 Days.
---
He opened his eyes.
Warmth.
Pressure.
Dark red flesh pressed against his face.
The smell hit him next.
Rotten iron. Acid. Decay.
"…It reeks," he muttered, nose wrinkling.
Something pulsed around him. The walls tightened, trying to crush him.
Then he grinned.
Excited.
"Time for some fun."
He drove his sword upward.
The blade pierced through thick flesh. Hot blood poured over him instantly.
The goblin general's muffled roar shook the chamber outside.
"Oh? That hurts?" he laughed.
He slashed sideways, carving through muscle. Organs ruptured around him. The creature convulsed violently, stumbling as it screamed in agony.
The stomach walls clenched, trying to digest him.
"Too late for that."
He thrust repeatedly—up, down, sideways—turning the inside into chaos. Each strike connected perfectly. No hesitation. No miss.
The goblin crashed into walls outside, roaring in pain. Its movements grew frantic.
He stabbed upward with all his strength.
The blade tore through the abdomen.
A crack of splitting flesh echoed.
Light burst in from outside as the stomach ripped open.
He forced his way through the opening, tearing the wound wider with his hands and blade.
With one final brutal cut, he split the creature's belly open.
The goblin general collapsed, its roar dying into a wet gurgle.
He stepped out, drenched head to toe in blood and gore, breathing heavily.
The massive body twitched once.
Then went still.
He looked down at it and wiped blood from his eyes.
"…That," he said with a satisfied grin, "was refreshing."
"Yet too disgusting," he said with sarcasm, frowning. "Shit… I am never going to do that again."
He looked at the massive corpse beneath him.
"For a moment I thought I was done for."
A message popped up.
---
Temporary Invincibility 10 Seconds has Ended
---
"Ten seconds… ended."
He stared at the screen, then at the corpse beneath him.
"If it wasn't for my ability…" he muttered quietly, eyes narrowing at the fading notification.
---
Not long before this—
He thought this might work, staring at both his skills.
"Fuse 2nd Chance in 100 Years with Grow Fast! You Dumb Kid."
---
Activating – Fusion
Fusing 2nd Chance in 100 Years with Grow Fast! You Dumb Kid
Compatibility Rate – 24.09%
---
"…What? Only 24%?"
---
Warning – Low Compatibility Rate
High Risk
Confirm Fusion to Continue
---
"God damn it," he muttered. "Just how bad can my luck be?"
He let out a sharp breath.
"Whatever. Since when have I ever chosen the safe option?"
He swallowed, heart pounding.
"Confirm. Continue the fusion."
---
Access Granted
Continuing Fusion…
Fusion Successful
New Skill Created – 2nd Chance by the Priestess of Time Herself
---
---
Skill - 2nd Chance by the Priestess of Time Herself
Description - After erasing her kindness, after accelerating her own time to strip away love, trust, and mercy, the former Priestess of Time no longer resembled the girl who once healed the sick.
She wandered the world as a silent observer, neither saving nor condemning.
Kingdoms rose. Kingdoms fell.
She watched them all age into dust.
But even one who walks beyond emotion cannot escape hostility.
Those who feared her power called her a calamity. Those who coveted it called her a weapon. Eventually, the world united—not out of righteousness, but out of fear.
Armies marched. Heroes gathered. Relics meant to bind time itself were forged.
They did not come to slander her this time.
They came to erase her.
The battle lasted days. Mountains shattered. Seas boiled. Time itself fractured under the strain of powers colliding.
And for the first time since abandoning her heart…
She was struck down.
Her body torn apart.
Her soul dragged toward oblivion.
Yet even in that collapsing moment, she felt nothing. No fear. No anger. No regret.
Only calculation.
Death approached like an inevitable law.
So she rewrote the law.
Instead of resisting death, she stopped it. The very second of her demise froze. Blood halted mid-air. Sound vanished. Even the collapse of her body paused within an unmoving instant.
Within that suspended fragment of eternity, she reversed her own time. Not the battlefield. Not the world. Only herself.
Wounds sealed. Flesh reformed. The fatal moment unraveled as if it had never occurred.
When time began to flow once more—
She stood there.
To the world, she died.
To time… she simply corrected it.
That was the day she understood something profound—
As long as time flows, she cannot truly end.
Thus, she refined that phenomenon into a deliberate miracle.
A controlled defiance of death.
A Second Chance.
Not born from kindness.
Not granted from love.
But created from someone who transcended emotion and chose to exist beyond the concept of an ending.
Simplified Description – When the user dies, time around the user reverses to a state before death. Upon revival, the user gains 10 seconds of invincibility.
Cooldown Time – 60 Days
Current Cooldown – N/A
---
His mouth fell open in shock, eyes wide. "What the fuck… this is actually insane." A laugh escaped him. "Finally. Finally my hard work paid off."
"So I can revive… hmm. This is a total game changer… but—" He narrowed his eyes at the screen. "How the hell do I use this in the middle of a fight?"
Think. Think.
Then it hit him.
A slow grin stretched across his face.
"If I can't kill it from the outside… then I'll just kill it from the inside."
He tilted his head slightly, calculating.
"If I'm not wrong, the boss has to be some huge monster."
A pause.
"And if it's not…" he shrugged lightly, smile turning reckless, "then I'm dying either way."
He thought… but it's still going to hurt like hell.
His expression stiffened at the sudden realization.
Even if I revive… I still have to die first.
"Yeah… no thanks," he muttered under his breath.
He let out a slow breath and steadied himself.
"Fine. I'll try to beat it normally first," he said, eyes sharpening. "This will be my last resort."
---
Present—
"Phew… I finally killed it," he breathed out, shoulders dropping. "But… but that was hell. My whole body melting in that damn stomach acid… that was worse than getting cursed by that monster last time."
He walked up to the fallen Goblin General and kicked it hard.
"Take this. And this, you piece of shit."
He exhaled sharply, tension leaving his body.
"Aw man… that was relieving."
A message popped up.
---
You have completed the hidden task – Kill the Dungeon Boss
Reward – Loa… Loading
---
"What the hell, again with the hidden missions?" he muttered, wiping blood off his chin. "This better be something insane."
---
Reward – Fire Element Heart from the Dead Legendary Dragon
Item Description –
Long ago, there existed a Legendary Dragon said to possess seven hearts, each governing a fundamental force of nature. One burned brighter than the rest—the Heart of Eternal Flame.
When the dragon finally fell after an age of devastation and glory, its seven hearts were scattered across the world. Six were claimed, sealed, or destroyed.
But one vanished.
It was said that the missing heart did not extinguish. Instead, it continued to beat somewhere in silence, waiting for a new vessel capable of enduring its flames.
Simplified Description –
Grants the user control over fire magic.
Power output depends on the user's mana and proficiency.
Can be used on target, provided with suitable mana is founded.
---
A massive, fiery heart materialized in his palm. It burned crimson and gold, flames curling around it—yet strangely, it gave off no heat.
It was beating.
Thump.
Thump.
"What the heck is this?!" he shouted in panic, staring at it.
For a second, instinct told him to throw it away.
But he didn't.
He swallowed.
"Wait… if this is really a Legendary Dragon's heart… I could sell this and become filthy rich."
His breathing quickened.
"Hell yeah… finally something actually useful."
A grin spread across his face.
"I'm gonna be rich. Rich again. Rich!" he started humming nonsense like a fool already counting gold coins in his head.
But the happiness lasted exactly three seconds.
A message popped up.
---
Fusion System
Suitable fusion material found…
Confirming material –
Fire Element Heart from the Dead Legendary Dragon
Fusing material with user's body…
Not compatible…
Using force to fuse…
Fusing…
Fusing…
---
"…What?"
The heart in his hand began to dissolve into particles of red light.
"What—don't go!" he cried, clutching at empty air. "What about my dream of becoming rich? What about my luxury life? My mansion? My servants?!"
The heart completely vanished.
---
Fusion successful.
---
He stood there frozen.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Then—
Pain.
A sudden, violent surge tore through his body as if molten lava had been poured directly into his veins.
His muscles locked.
His vision blurred red.
It felt like something was igniting inside his chest.
"AAAAAAAH—!"
He screamed, dropping to his knees as the burning sensation spread through every nerve, every bone, every inch of his body.