For a moment, the clearing was frozen.
Not a sound, not a breath. Just the sight of Friel's corpse crumpled on the ground—his lifeless eyes still wide in shock, Ren's severed arm grotesquely embedded in his chest.
Then—
"He killed Friel…"
"With his own arm…"
"What is he…?"
The murmurs began to rise in volume, panic slowly blooming among the disciples. But the masters… they stood still, staring at Ren with eyes not of disdain, but fear.
True fear.
Master Caron's face was pale beneath his dark hood. His lips trembled slightly as he whispered, "That boy… he's no longer just a disciple."
"He's something else now," Master Derek added, voice hardening. "Something we cannot allow to live."
Without another word, both masters raised their hands.
One crackled with cursed black lightning. The other shimmered with golden force.
"Kill him!" Derek barked.
Magic surged forward—raw, merciless. A bolt of black lightning shot toward Ren's chest, while a slicing arc of golden energy followed, meant to bisect him clean in two.
Ren's instincts screamed.
He dropped and rolled, his movements clumsy but fueled by desperation. The black bolt scorched the ground inches from him, exploding in a blast of dust and flame. The golden arc whistled overhead, shearing through the trunk of a tree like paper.
Pain flared again from his missing arm. His body screamed at him to stop.
But he ran.
He turned, bolted into the trees—staggering, stumbling, his feet barely catching the earth.
"Don't let him escape!" Caron growled, launching another spell.
The forest edge was meters away. Each step Ren took left streaks of blood behind, his vision blurring. Bark tore at his skin as he crashed through the underbrush, thorns digging into his flesh. Branches lashed at his face, roots tried to trip him.
But he didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
Behind him, more explosions rang out—trees shattered by spells, ground scorched by fury. A beam of force missed him by inches, slamming into a boulder and reducing it to dust.
Ren didn't look back.
He knew if he did, he'd die.
The forest swallowed him whole.
Darkness enveloped him—thick, humid, endless. The deeper he went, the quieter the world became. The voices, the spells, the screams—they faded behind the trees.
And finally, when his legs could carry him no more, Ren collapsed.
Face-down in the moss, surrounded by towering trees and the whisper of wind.
His body trembled violently. His severed shoulder throbbed with every beat of his heart. He was losing too much blood.
But he was alive.
Barely.
…
[Mission Completed!]
[Main Mission: Survive – SUCCESS]
[Side Quest Completed!]
[Side Quest: Kill Friel – SUCCESS]
[You Have Gained:]
Pain Resistance: Lv. 1
Super Reflexes: Lv. 1
Super Senses: Lv. 1
Regeneration: Lv. 1
[You Have Gained Titles:]
Psychopath – Your detachment from pain and morality has manifested.
Ruthless Killer – You ended a life without mercy.
Unknown – You have become something that defies current classification.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Status Window!]
Ren twitched slightly.
"Ahh… Just let me rest…" he mumbled faintly, and then the world went black once more.
…
Darkness.
Silence.
Then pain.
"Ugh… such an intense headache…" Ren muttered as he stirred. His eyes opened—still the same dull grey, still blind.
Or rather—the body was blind.
And yet… he could see.
Floating in the darkness, shimmering faintly in dark gold, were words.
Stats. Titles. Notifications.
Something familiar… yet utterly unreal.
As he read through them, a strange memory surfaced—a past life, one of many, but this one in particular stood out.
He'd once been a professional gamer… and was murdered by a jealous rival.
With a spoon.
A damn spoon.
That memory should've made him laugh. But now?
Now, what floated before him… was better than anything he had seen back then.
"Was I being prepared for this?" he murmured, his voice drifting into the night.
The forest was silent. It was deep into the night—not that he could tell with normal sight. But the air had changed. He could feel it… sense it.
"Can I… see the Status Window?" he asked aloud.
And the gold text shifted.
| STATUS WINDOW |
Name: ….(Ren )
Age: 17
Titles: Psychopath, Ruthless Killer, Unknown
Race: Human (???)
Class: Unawakened / ???
HP: 14 / 127
MP: 30 / 30
Level: 3
EXP: 41 / 100
Attributes:
Strength: 11
Speed: 18
Agility: 19
Endurance: 10
Perception: 20
Willpower: 25
Luck: ???
Skills:
Pain Resistance (Lv. 1)
Super Reflexes (Lv. 1)
Super Senses (Lv. 1)
Regeneration (Lv. 1)
Death Intent (Passive – Locked)
Special Traits:
Fragmented Soul (Effect Unknown)
Past Lives Memory (Dormant)
Madness Bloom (Dormant)
Ren stared at the screen in silence.
His lips curled into a small, tired smile.
"Heh… looks like this life's going to be fun after all."
And then, once more, he let himself drift into unconsciousness—this time not from pain or terror, but from possibility.