Chapter 6: Resolve

The morning sun filtered gently through the paper windows, casting a soft golden hue across the tatami mat floor. Jin Ho lay sprawled on his futon, his tiny chest rising and falling rhythmically. But his mind was anything but calm.

"I'm alive... again."

He slowly sat up, the weight of his memories dragging against his five-year-old body. The vivid images of his death—of the throne, the explosion, the melting sword—lingered in his thoughts like phantoms of a nightmare. Yet, as his gaze drifted toward the open door, he saw his mother humming in the kitchen and his father meticulously sorting scrolls for the academy.

Tears welled in his eyes.

"I got them back..." he whispered, clenching his fists. "This time, I won't fail."

Jin Ho had lived fifteen years before death took everything from him. In those years, he had risen as a prodigy, reached Level 5 by fifteen, and faced the wrath of the Dongjin family. But now, he was five once again. A second chance—not just to survive, but to crush those who crushed him.

Yet, the realization came swiftly—he was five. His body frail, his mana core dormant, his neural pathways underdeveloped. Even moving with grace took effort.

He tried summoning mana instinctively as he had in his former life, but nothing came.

His breathing grew ragged. His hands trembled. Panic clawed at his chest.

Then, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Calm down, Jin Ho. You've done this before.

Suddenly, an image struck him—a throne soaked in blood and a dull, pulsing artifact in his hands. That artifact, his father's inheritance... It had been the key.

"Father!" Jin Ho rushed to his father, tugging at his robes. "Do you still have that small gray ball? The one you always kept hidden in the drawer?"

His father looked puzzled. "What ball? I don't remember anything like that, Jin Ho."

It's like it never existed?

Perplexed and slightly unnerved, Jin Ho returned to his room, locking the door behind him. He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began meditating the only way he knew—deep, long breaths synchronized with the pulse of the world around him.

A strange coldness entered the air. The lights dimmed slightly, and a sharp ringing sound invaded his ears.

He opened his eyes.

Floating in front of him was a blood-red system window. Its letters dripped like liquid, elegant and ancient.

[YGGIDRASIL SYSTEM ACTIVATED]

Level Up and Find the True World

Jin Ho's breath caught. His pupils dilated.

"What... is this?" he whispered.

The window flickered again, and a string of text appeared:

User: Jin Ho (Regressor) Age: 5 Level: 0 (Dormant Core) Hidden Trait: ???

A faint voice echoed in his mind. "Grow. Train. Evolve. Become what you were destined to be... or be forgotten."

Jin Ho grinned.

"So it begins."