'What... happened? ' Rex thought.
When Rex opened his eyes, confusion clouded his vision. The sterile white ceiling above, the soft hum of nearby machines—it was all too familiar.
Then, like a flood, the memories from the night before came rushing in.
His brow furrowed. His breath turned shallow and heavy. The sudden darkness. The sharp pain in his chest. Footsteps…He remembered it all.
And after that—nothing but blindness. Cold, smothering, endless. He didn't know how he was alive. But he knew one thing for sure—someone had tried to kill him.
Someone had kill him.
He sat up slowly.
Rex tried to stay calm—maybe even smiled at first—but it was cracked, hollow, lifeless. It wasn't joy. It wasn't madness.
It was the smile of someone who had nothing left to lose.
His voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.
'I'm done being their victim. Yours. Anyone's. You don't get to walk away.'
The air around him grew still—unnaturally still. The kind of stillness right before a storm tears the sky apart.
But just as the rage began to boil over—Ding.
The sharp chime sliced through the tension like a blade. Rex flinched. A glowing Red screen flickered into existence before his eyes.
[Useless System]
[Status]
[Race : Human]
[HP : 1/1]
[Strength : 1]
[Agility : 1]
[Skills(1)]
[Quests(4)](New Quests!)
[Notification (1)](New!)
Rex noticed a new section in the system interface—Notifications, Skills, and even a list of Quests.Curious, he tapped on the Notifications tab in mind. It expanded smoothly like a dropdown menu, revealing the latest updates.
[Emergence AI Activation]
{AI decision logs}
{User's brain has been destroyed and heart has been cut—confirmed}
{Determining emergency action}
{User's soul fragments used to craft skill: "Extra Life"}
{Skill set: Heal body to optimal state, as long as soul remains in body}
{Exchange price: User's life force}
{Emergency resolved. Deactivating AI.}
Rex was overwhelmed by the flood of information. From the fact that his brain had been destroyed, to discovering that the System possessed its own AI—and had even created a skill on its own—it was almost too much to process.
What shook him even more was learning that his life force had been used as part of the exchange.'What do I even do now? Can I really find solution to this?'
The mention of Soul Fragments triggered old memories. Rex already knew he had a few, but he had never been reckless enough to experiment with them. His plan had always been to first gather fragments from Beasts, and then use those to forge Soul Tools safely.
'So… the system can craft skills directly from my fragments—and it can even take control if needed. But... it saved me.' Rex narrowed his eyes, thoughts racing. He dismissed the notifications with a swipe of his imaginary fingers and opened the Skills tab.
[Skills]
[Extra Life (Soul Skill)]
{description : Heal body to optimal state, as long as soul remains in body, Exchange life force based on damage healed}
{Remaining life force : 969 days}
Rex froze as his eyes caught the short line beneath the skill description. A chill ran through him.
969 days.
His blood turned cold. Quickly, he counted on his fingers—once, then again, just to be sure.
'Two years and seven months... Are you kidding me?'
He clenched his jaw. Not a single damn thing in his life had been simple. Not then, not now.
'Not a single damn thing gets easier…!'
For a moment, he wondered if some cosmic being had personally cursed him just for fun. With a bitter sigh and a muttered, 'Of course,' he swiped to the quests tab.
[Quests]
[Daily Quests]
[Main Quests]
Already familiar with daily quests, Rex turned his attention to the newly appeared Main Quests tab and tapped it open.
[Main Quests]
[1. Find the killer]
{Description : Uncover the identity of the one who nearly murdered you.}
[Reward : One of killer's soul weapon ]
[2. I Have Skill]
{Description : Repeat physical actions to unlock your first skill.}
[Reward : +1 Blank Stat Point]
[3. I Want to Live More]
{Description : Eliminate 100 enemies of equal power level.}
[Kill Count : 0/100]
[Time Reaming : 969 days]
[Reward : Skill {Life Steal}]
Rex's reaction was bittersweet. Hunting his killer was already on his mind—but now, the system offered a Soul Weapon as a bonus. He couldn't say no to that.
The second quest brought a smirk to his face.
"Now that's more like those cheat systems!" Rex thought, his gloomy mood lifting.
But the last quest was different. It offered a solution to his weakened life force. Just reading it eased the tension that had been gnawing at him since he saw his condition.
"If I get that skill… won't I be, in some sense, immortal?" Rex's thoughts raced, fantasizing about a future that felt just within reach. Without realizing it, his mood had brightened. For the first time in a long while, he had something to look forward to.
His heart beat faster. Fantasies of freedom, strength, and revenge swirled in his mind.
For the first time in a long while, Rex felt something new stirring inside him:
Hope.
---
For a moment, Jean was certain she had a criminal in custody. The boy's expression—cold, sharp, and calculating—matched the kind she'd seen on the worst kind of killers.
But then, just as quickly, it changed.
That icy gaze melted into wide-eyed wonder, like a street urchin stumbling upon a treasure chest.
By the time Rex broke into a grin—rubbing his palms together with a blissful look—Jean could only stare in confusion.
'What the hell is going on with this kid?' Jean thought.
"Name?" John's voice pulled Rex out of his drifting thoughts.
"What?" Rex asked, caught off guard.
Blinking in confusion, Rex looked up, startled to see two strangers standing at his bedside. His eyes flicked to the nurse beside them, silently questioning.
Their uniforms gave Rex a few guesses—cops, maybe investigators.
"Just answer the question," the nurse said gently, trying to recover from her earlier outburst. 'That was definitely an overreaction, 'she thought, her cheeks still warm with embarrassment.
"You don't know me? I'm a patient here." Rex slowly pointed at himself. Hospital definitely had his record, Ray had been here for damn three months.
"He's lying," the doctor chimed in from the back "His face isn't in any hospital records."
Jean stepped forward, brow furrowed, her hand instinctively resting near her holstered gun.
"Now," Jean said in a calm but firm voice, "would you like to try answering that question again?"
"..." Rex.