Today... one last time (1)

Kim Gongja floated in the darkness.

It was always like this. The empty, silent space where only he and the cards existed.

Two of them hovered before him.

One was bronze. A shitty color. Literally.

The other…

He frowned.

The second card was unlike anything he had ever seen.

It was half-gold, half-transparent, flickering between existence and nothingness.

Always there, yet just out of reach. A faint rainbow light pulsed from within as if it were alive.

''This is new.''

He reached out, hesitant.

''Which one do I pick this time?''

''Zombie Kim.''

A deep, thundering voice came from above.

Kim Gongja sighed.

Floating, seated in the air with his arms crossed, a burly man stared at him.

Tanned, muscular, absurdly broad. With wild hair flowing down to his waist and piercing red eyes, he looked like a demon straight out of an ancient legend.

The Sword Emperor.

''You took your time.'' Gongja grumbled.

''No. You just died too slow.

Gongja faked a laugh.

''Haha. Hilarious. I'm dying of laughter.''

The Sword Emperor ignored the sarcasm and pointed at the cards.

''So... you're thinking about taking the gold one.''

''I am.''

''Without even knowing what it is.''

''Precisely.''

The man snorted.

''You're an idiot.''

''An idiot who's still alive. Cut me some slack.''

The Sword Emperor raised a thick eyebrow.

''Are you, though?''

Gongja opened his mouth to retort… then shut it.

Because he knew exactly what the other was talking about.

This time, death had been different.

It wasn't just a blade piercing his chest.

It wasn't just a fleeting pain before the world rewound.

For a moment, it had been colder than the others. Almost as if it were final.

That guy… the spearman fighting alongside him…

He realized something mid-battle.

And so, at the last moment, he changed targets.

''He didn't kill me by accident.''

The Sword Emperor nodded.

''And if you had killed yourself first?''

''There was a chance I wouldn't have come back.''

''Exactly.''

Silence.

Gongja clenched his fists.

Before the fight, the Sword Emperor had told him not to die immediately.

Because that masked man's aura…

It wasn't normal.

He suspected that if Gongja died under the influence of that rotten thing, there would be no return. The Emperor had even considered the possibility that, just by being near it, Gongja was already doomed.

And that, consequently, death would have been real.

And the spearman…

Somehow, he realized it too. He knew it was best to avoid risks.

But, contradicting that, he took the gamble of killing Gongja at the last moment.

Gongja exhaled.

''I need to find that guy again.''

''You don't even know his name.''

''But I remember his face.''

The Sword Emperor sighed.

''Alright. Let's see what you got this time.''

He snapped his fingers.

The bronze card spun and revealed its contents.

The Sword Emperor blinked, hand on his chin.

The skill's name appeared before them.

[Low-Quality Spear Technique]

Below the title, a description appeared.

He read it out loud.

"A rudimentary form of spear combat, consisting of basic movements executed in the worst way possible. The user may try to look skilled, but any observer with even a little knowledge will see they are just flailing the spear aimlessly."

Silence.

Gongja raised an eyebrow.

''Was this written by a pissed-off five-year-old?''

The Sword Emperor burst into laughter.

''HAH! Now it all makes sense!''

''What does?''

''The way that guy fought! Stiff movements, rough stances… he seemed to know what he wanted to do, but his body couldn't keep up.''

Gongja scratched his head.

''So that's what he was using?''

The Sword Emperor nodded, still chuckling.

''He had good combat decisions, but his execution? Pathetic as hell.''

''Huh.''

Gongja looked at the second card.

The golden one.

Still flickering between real and unreal.

His eyes narrowed, greedy.

''I'm taking this one.''

''You really are an idiot.''

Ignoring the comment, he reached for the mysterious card.

But as soon as he tried to touch it—

Nothing happened.

He frowned and tried again.

The Tower responded with a notification.

[This action cannot be processed.]

This hadn't happened even with an EX-rank skill.

''What?''

He tried again.

And then, the card flashed—

A pulse of energy blasted him backward.

''WHAT THE HELL?!''

The impact was so strong that he spun in the air before stabilizing himself.

The Sword Emperor nearly fell from his seated position, laughing hysterically.

''HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!''

''What the fuck was that?!''

The Emperor wiped a tear from his eye and grinned.

''Seems like the Tower doesn't want you to have that one.''

Gongja growled, frustrated.

He looked at the golden card.

It pulsed.

As if mocking him.

He clenched his fists.

He didn't understand why, but maybe he could get answers if he found that guy again.

For now, he gave up.

[The hunter has acquired the skill: Low-Level Spear Technique.]

He sighed.

[You are currently an E-Rank hunter.]

[You have received a penalty due to your skill.]

What? This had never happened before.

[Attempting to recreate the trauma of an opponent who killed you.]

The Tower remained silent.

[Error! Unable to execute action.]

[As compensation, the next penalty will be upgraded from a 'minor penalty' to an 'intermediate penalty'.]

And then, the darkness around him began to shatter.

Reality rewrote itself.

[The world will rewind 24 hours.]

_____________

My body jolted upright.

My chest burned.

Air flooded my lungs, and for a full second, all I could do was gasp.

This time, the world's reconstruction didn't kill me.

But a sword through the chest? Yeah.

And it wasn't a quick death.

The adrenaline and rage had clouded my mind at the time, but now… Now, it felt like my head was splitting apart.

Not just from the memory of the blade piercing me or the grotesque pain that followed—but also from the barrage of notifications flooding my vision.

Luxxion wasted no time.

[User has finally awakened.]

I groaned, pressing my temples.

''If this is awakening, I might prefer staying dead.''

[Your grim humor has been recorded. Would you like to activate Gothic Emo Mode?]

''What?''

[Error. The System attempted to be funny. User appears to be irritated.]

''Appears? Luxxion, I was rotting from the inside out. I have the right to be irritated.''

[Confirmation: User was rotting from the inside out.]

I sighed.

The notifications kept piling up, flashing in my vision.

[Stats increased!]

[Strength: 1 Star (49% → 56%)]

[Agility: 1 Star (50% → 68%)]

[Endurance: 1 Star (35% → 44%)]

[Perception: 1 Star (23% → 46%)]

[Spirit: 2 Stars (52% → 69%)]

[Luck: 3 Stars (60% → 73%)]

I was a little confused. Happy, but confused.

Spirit had only been increasing little by little. Same with luck. But now, it had skyrocketed?

''Luxxion.''

[Yes?]

''What made my spirit rise so much?''

[User, in a way, resisted a death that should have been absolute. Your spirit strengthened by enduring the sensation of annihilation.]

The memory of decay crawling through my veins hit me like a punch.

My expression tightened.

''Great. Now I'm an undead with more willpower.''

[Correction: A potential undead.]

''…Should I be worried that you're already assuming I'll die again?''

[Yes.]

''You're really starting to hurt my feelings, man.''

[The user has feelings?]

I ignored him.

And then, the final notification appeared.

But this one was different.

It wasn't from the System.

It was from the Tower.

[The Tower acknowledges your efforts.]

[Despite your overwhelming mediocrity, your resilience has been noticed.]

[Against all odds, you remained standing.]

I blinked.

Was the message… insulting me?

[The Tower asks: Would you like to accept a reward for your struggle?]

I didn't hesitate.

I pressed "YES."

And the air around me shifted instantly.

Something invisible had awakened.

And then, out of nowhere, a card materialized before me.

It pulsed with a faint golden glow before imploding into light.

Several notifications appeared in succession.

[The weak who challenge the strong—their existence is a mistake, yet their efforts have been acknowledged.]

I blinked.

''Is this a compliment or an insult?''

[Probably both.]

''I wasn't asking for your opinion.''

[You were.]

I scoffed, ignoring it.

My fingers touched the card, and the title shone before my eyes.

[Skill Acquired: "Defying the Impossible"]

[Description: The strong are strong. The weak are weak. But some rare exceptions challenge this logic. When a weak one refuses to yield, when they face the impossible without retreating, they do not fight alone—they fight against the very reality that condemns them.]

[Effect: The stronger the enemy, the greater the user's attribute boost.]

I was silent for a moment.

Then, I smiled again.

''Now this is useful.''

[This might compensate for some of your mediocrity.]

''Luxxion.''

[Yes?]

''Shut the fuck up.''

The card dissolved into light, absorbed into my body.

I took a deep breath.

''Show me my skill window.''

The screen appeared instantly.

[Skills:]

[Low-Quality Spear Technique (Level 3).]

[Defying the Impossible (Level 6).]

The effect remained the same.

So a gold card was equivalent to a level-6-skill?

The thing was that… now I had a real chance to fight.

I stood up, rolling my shoulders.

Every muscle ached, but the sensation wasn't bad.

It was a reminder that I was still here.

That I was still alive.

And that I still had a certain lunatic to find. 

''Let's go after Kim Gongja.''

[Yes.]

With one last glance at the cramped cubicle, I stepped outside, ready to face another day.