~Adrian's POV ~
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
I rubbed my eyes, shut the damn window, and opened it again. Same text. No mistake.
DING
[Skill: Cursed Resurrection]
[Effect: You will die every Friday. Each death strengthens your stats and unlocks new abilities.]
My head dropped back against the pillow with a loud thud. Of all the fucking skills in the world, this was mine? Everyone else probably got fireballs, invisibility, flight... and me? I'm cursed to die like some expendable NPC every damn Friday.
"Fuck you, system," I muttered.
The second I said it, my phone dinged... loud enough to make me jolt upright. I grabbed it, thinking the system was about to fry me for talking shit. But no, it was my class group chat.
And it was chaos.
[School Group Chat — 200+ unread messages]
Maya: DID YALL SEE THAT??!
Tomi: Bro I was picked! I don't even know what's happening.
Chuks: Wait wait, I got a sword skill. It says I can summon blades. HOLY SHIT.
Sandra: Some of us weren't chosen. The system never popped up for me.
Daniel: Same.
Joy: They created another group for the picked ones. Drop ur @ if you were chosen.
Maya: Why tf would they pick ppl at random? THIS IS CRAZY.
I scrolled, my eyebrows twitching. Half of them were flexing about their new "powers" while others cried that they got left out. Someone even said their cousin abroad got picked too. So, it wasn't just our school, not just this country... it was global.
I watched as links flew in. News headlines. Tweets. Government statements.
Breaking News: Over ten million individuals worldwide have been "chosen" for the mysterious Nightmare Game. World leaders urge calm as investigations begin.
Another ding.
It has been confirmed that the President's son is among the chosen.
My chest felt heavy. This wasn't just some side quest bullshit... it had even reached the government. The President's kid? That meant more protection for the famous kid so he won't get killed in the game.
And me? I was just some broke-ass student with a skill that literally schedules my death every week.
The "Picked Only" chat invite came. I ignored it. No way in hell was I about to join a circle jerk of scared idiots pretending they were Avengers. I wasn't close to any of them anyway. I closed my phone, shoved it under my pillow, and sighed into the darkness.
.
The next morning, sunlight stabbed through my curtains like it had something against me. I jolted awake, heart pounding, already late.
"Shit! School! I'm..."
My voice cracked as I scrambled for my towel, halfway off the bed before it hit me.
Thursday.
I froze mid-step, staring at the wall like an idiot. I had no classes on Thursdays.
I groaned and flopped back onto the bed, covering my face.
"Fucking hell, Adrian..."
The glowing system window slid in front of me like it was mocking me.
[Countdown: 6 Day, 14 Hours, 02 Minutes, 10 Seconds until First Game begins.]
The timer ticked mercilessly, seconds bleeding away like my sanity. It wasn't a dream. Everything that happened yesterday really happened.
I dragged my phone out again. My group chat was still buzzing. People bragged about teaming up, forming squads to "level fast." I scoffed.
"Idiots," I muttered. I'd read the book. The alliances never lasted. Trust someone today, and tomorrow they'd stab you in the throat for a gold coin.
Still, I couldn't just sit here doing nothing. I had less than six days before the first game. I needed to prepare.
I splashed water on my face, pulled on my worn-out gloves, changed into my least-ripped jeans, and stood in front of the glowing screen.
"Enter game."
.
The world blinked.
I stood in a white room. It was spotless, endless, blinding. No doors, no windows. Just me and the glowing menu floating in front of my face.
[Welcome, Player.]
[Here, you may customize your character.]
[Options: Name / Identity / Appearance / Class]
I rubbed my chin.
"So... this is like a shitty RPG menu."
Class options flickered.
[Swordsman] [Magician] [Assassin] [Sorcerer] [Archer] [Berserker].
My lips twisted. "Yeah, right. What am I gonna do? Pick Magician and throw fireworks? Or Assassin and die with style?"
I skipped it for now. Not like my death curse was gonna let me live long enough to master anything. Instead, I hovered over the Name box.
Adrian Cross? Nah. Too obvious. I typed in something grim, something that might make people hesitate before messing with me. It's not like I wanted to make my name public to everyone but it's just so no one would know I'm Adrian Cross.
[Name: Revenant.]
It looked creepy enough on the glowing panel. After changing a bit of my physical appearance. I hit confirm.
The light warped... and I blinked into a village.
The air smelled of smoke, hay, and something greasy. Dirt crunched under my shoes. People bustled around in strange clothes... robes, tunics, even some in jeans and hoodies like they'd just been snatched from Earth. The mix of medieval and modern made my head spin.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and started walking. My stomach sank when I saw the prices at the market stalls.
And of course, the currency was old Coins
I checked my inventory and it was empty, except for a rusty dagger, a leather cloak, and a bottle of water.
"Great. I'm broke here too."
I sighed and headed out to the open fields. The place was crawling with newbies. Some were swinging swords at training dummies. Others were zapping weak monsters like slimes, horned rabbits... showing off their flashy skills.
I clenched my dagger tighter. A slime bounced toward me. Green, jiggly, harmless-looking.
"Alright. Easy target."
I stabbed down with all my strength.
The blade cut through slime, but the damn thing bounced my dagger out like I was stabbing a trampoline. I lost balance and fell flat on my ass. Laughter rang out from both sides.
"Hahaha! Bro doesn't even know how to kill a slime!"
"Did you even read the book, dumbass?"
Heat crawled up my neck. I clenched my jaw and scrambled back up, gripping the dagger. And then I remembered... the slime core. That was the weak point.
I steadied my breath, aimed for the faint glowing orb inside the slime, and pierced it. The blob sizzled and dissolved, leaving behind a faint glimmer.
[DING! You've leveled up.]
A slow grin spread across my face.
"That's more like it."
The laughter cut off. People turned away, pretending they hadn't seen anything. Typical.
"Status," I said.
A glowing screen popped up.
[Name: Revenant]
[Level: 2]
[HP: 100/100]
[Strength: 5 | Agility: 5 | Intelligence: 5 | Endurance: 5]
[Skills: None unlocked yet]
Nothing special. Just the starter pack. But tomorrow... after my first Friday death... things would change. I hope so.
I tightened my grip on the dagger.
"I have to get to level 20 by tonight. No excuses, Adrian."
So I spent the rest of the day grinding. Slimes. Horned rabbits. Anything dumb enough to cross my path. My arms ached, my legs felt like lead, and I was dripping sweat, but each ding of a level-up pushed me forward.
By sunset, others were flinging fireballs, conjuring lightning, and swinging giant axes like heroes.
Me? Just a dagger, sweat, and stubbornness. No powers yet.
"I have to head back home and prepare for my evening shift,"
I was packing my dagger back into my inventory when a piercing scream shattered the air.
"Help! Somebody... help me!"
I sprinted toward the sound.
A girl was on the ground, a slime oozing over her chest, melting her clothes. She clawed at it, panicking, but the slime only pressed harder.
"Shit..." I dashed forward, dagger ready.
But someone beat me to it.
A tall man appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the slime with one hand like it was a beach ball. He ripped it off her, tossed it aside, and it exploded mid-air.
He peeled off his jacket, draped it over the girl's trembling shoulders, and didn't even blink at her half-naked state. His face was unreadable, calm, like he'd seen this a thousand times.
Then his gaze slid to me.
For one second, our eyes locked. His lips curved into a small, deliberate smirk.
I froze.
Was he... smirking at me?
The hell was that supposed to mean?