They say the world changed forever in 2029.
Some say it started with the rift over New York. Others say it was the one that cracked open above the Gobi Desert, spilling monsters across the sand like water bursting from a dam. Either way, it didn't take long for the world to understand that something had shifted—something big, something ancient, something impossible.
The sky split, and magic poured back in.
Currencies collapsed. Governments panicked. Civilization scrambled to rebuild itself from the ashes. And yet, through all that chaos, humanity did what it always does. We adapted. We learned. We evolved.
Now, fifteen years later, we live in a new age. Mana is real. Magic is real. Monsters are real. The world isn't ruled by money or status anymore—it's ruled by strength.
And that's why I'm here.
My name is Grey Anderson.
Ordinary student. New to the world.
That's what people see, anyway.
What they don't know is that this isn't my first life.
I don't talk about it. There's no need. No prophecy. No burden. Just… knowledge. Memories. A sense that I've lived a full life once already—a life in a world with phones and cars and dull routines, where everything was predictable and safe and slow. I died quietly there, in that other world. No explosions. No heroism. Just stillness.
And then… I opened my eyes here. In a world that crackles with mana, where high schoolers train to fight monsters from beyond the rifts, and where your future is decided by how well you wield your power—not by the numbers in your bank account.
Honestly?
I prefer this one.
It's not perfect. It's dangerous. Sometimes terrifying. But it's real. Every step forward feels earned. Every decision matters. And for the first time in both of my lives, I feel like I'm moving toward something.
I wasn't born into a noble family. I didn't awaken some hidden ability. I didn't arrive in this world with some divine cheat code. I have two loving parents, a little sister who keeps "borrowing" my mana charger for her school projects, and a quiet house near the city edge. That's it.
And that's enough.
Because this time, I'm not living someone else's dream. I'm not drifting through life waiting for something to happen. I'm here, now, and I've got a chance to write my story from the ground up.
Today is the first day of classes at Manilly Hunter Academy—one of the top three Hunter schools in Skyhaven City. The kind of place where students learn to track mana signatures, fight monsters, and someday walk into rifts and come out alive.
The kind of place that turns teenagers into legends.
Or corpses.
But I'm not scared.
I'm excited.
The gates of Manilly rise before me—tall, metallic, glowing faintly with mana circuits woven through steel. A soft hum runs through the air as the enchantments scan each passing student. Some walk confidently. Others stick to their groups, whispering excitedly about who made the entrance rankings and what kind of classes they'll get.
I just walk.
Not slowly. Not too fast. Just steady.
This is my starting line. No more past lives. No more regrets. Just a future waiting to be built—spell by spell, fight by fight, choice by choice.
"Alright," I say under my breath, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Let's begin."
The gates slide open.
And I step forward into a new chapter of my life—
one I plan to live to the fullest.