1 • Pointless Regression
(A/N: Notice: Chapters are currently being rewriten.)
"In the end, was it worth it? I'm at the top now, but there's no one left to stand by my side."
It was midday, yet the rays of the sun couldn't touch the earth due to all the smoke and black clouds that shrouded the planet in darkness.
A man sat atop a mountain of monster corpses, gazing at the world now left in ruin, flames scorched the earth, bodies of both monsters and humans littered all around. Dark circles shadowed the man's dull yellow eyes, his messed-up brown and white hair waved from side to side due to the barely breathable wind, now toxic from the polluted air.
Suddenly, blue system windows popped up beside the man, accompanied by messages that appeared inside them:
「 The constellation Silent Enjoyer is asking when will the next trial begin.」
「The constellation Mischievous Green says an orc should be the final boss.」
「The constellation Dawn Of Light is saying the player should not dissapoint them.」
"Ah... These bastards, they have taken everything, yet it's still not enough," the man thought, as his dull eyes fell on the messages popping up on the blue windows. He didn't dare to speak up, for these three were his supporting constellations, and he couldn't do anything to upset them, else he could lose their support. In a world like this one where strength was all that matters, one needed to get all the support they could get if they wanted to have a chance at survival.
He then let out a sigh as his tired eyes stared out from below the shabby scraps of his clothing and damaged armor, an obvious sign of the hardship and exhaustion he was currently going through. The man was Ji-Hoon, the last survivor in a world now left in ruin.
Suddenly, a system's voice echoed across the ruined planet.
[Attention all players.]
[The last trial is about to begin.]
[Searching for players...]
[Players found, 1.]
With a heavy heart, Ji-Hoon let out an exhausted sigh. "So, it seems I'm really the last human alive, huh? Is there even a reason for me to keep fighting? Everything... And everyone... is gone," he gritted his teeth, then he yelled, "I should have done more for them back then!" he thought aloud, the wight of his incompetence resting on his sholders, his voice simply a whisper against the ruin that surrounded him. His fingers clenched involuntarily, the memories of never-ending battles carved into his very soul.
Ji-Hoon then narrowed his gaze. "Whatever, regret isn't going to bring them back. I might as well live with it and keep moving forward." he muttered, accepting the sad reality. He rose from his monster corpses throne, gazing down at what remained of his damaged sword that was stuck deep within the monster corpses below him.
Just as he began to move, a system's voice pierced the air once more.
[The last trial will now begin.] The atmosphere itself seemed to shake in response.
Above the ruined word, a massive purple portal opened up, it almost looked like giant jaws that threatened to swallow all hope. Emerging from the portal, a monster beyond imagination landed upon the ruined earth, a black dragon with not one, but two heads.
「The constellation Mischievous Green says they are dissapointed.」
「 The constellation Silent Enjoyer is asking for slience, they are trying to enjoy the show.」
Ji-Hoon let out a sigh as he saw the approaching two headed dragon. The dragon's scales sparkled like polished gold, and its eyes had this intensity about them. "Guess that's my prey," he mutterd with a gallows humor that bordered on madness.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, and his muscles tightned with strength as he slowly crouched down, intending to make a massive jump.
With a sudden burst of strength, Ji-Hoon leaped skyward with a force that shattered the mountain of lifeless monster bodies he occupied moments ago.
Skyborn for a few moments, Ji-Hoon's jump got him really close to the colossal black dragon. He landed with a massive thud upon the scorched earth, a couple feets away from it. A massive crater emerged benith his feets, rippling cracks all around.
His heart pounded in his chest as he faced the behemoth, his voice cutting through the tension that hung in the air like a blade.
"I don't care what you are, or where you came from." He said in a calm commanding tone, his yellow eyes began to glow, and his yellow mana began to emanate from his body. He then added, "All I know is I just want to see the end of all of this, so let's get this over with."
Responding to his tunt, one of the dragon's heads unleashed a monstrous roar that shook the very foundations of the ruined world. The ground beneath Ji-Hoon's feet quivered, and the air seemed to vibrate with the sheer force of the creature's fury.
Ji-Hoon, not the slightest bit intimidated by the dragon's wrath. Took on a battle stance, ready to do battle.
As the massive black dragon prepared to unleash a devastating attack with it's tail, Ji-Hoon's senses sharpened, and time seemed to slow down. He braced himself for the incoming attack, his eyes locked onto the creature's approaching tail as the creature turned around swiftly to swing it.
In that instant, Ji-Hoon leaped forward, covering meters in moments, his figure blurred as he headed straight for the tail, his sword enhanced with his golden aura. Inches away from the tail, he vertically slashed his sword downwards.
Clang!
Sparks flew as his sword made contact with the dragon's scales. Considerably smaller, he was sent flying as the dragon put more force behind its tail. His body skidded across the ground like a pebble across a lake.
Ji-Hoon managed to get back on his feet again and launched himself towards the dragon; the dragon fired off a series of fireballs at Ji-Hoon.
Time seemed to slow down as Ji-Hoon gazed at them. He breathed out slowly, then breathed in. He shifted his weight with his left leg, then swiftly sidestepped to the left, leaped forward, and then sidestepped to the right. The sounds of explosions could be heard as the fireballs landed on the earth behind him.
In that instant, with a sudden burst of speed, he charged for the dragon's legs, enhancing his sword with his aura. His goal was to immobilize the massive monster by cutting the tendons of its legs.
The moment he was in range, under the dragon, time seemed to slow down as he crouched slightly and slashed his sword horizontally at the supposed location of the leg's tendon.
Clang!
His sword instantly shattered under the strength of his swing and the sturdiness of the dragon's scales. Ji-Hoon's eyes widened with shock as he witnessed this.
"Shit!" He muttered, the hint of frustration in his voice. Before he could come up with what to do next, the dragon raised its leg and, in an attempt to keep Ji-Hoon away from it, swung it, colliding with Ji-Hoon's abdomen and sending him flying again.
Ji-Hoon coughed up blood as he felt his ribs crushed under the sheer force, still on his feet. A blue system window appeared beside him, and he put his hand inside it and pulled out another sword. Crackles of electricity could be seen around the system window and the sword as it was pulled out.
And so he charged in again. for what felt like hours upon hours, their titanic clash caused the very earth to tremble. With each powerful sword swing and blast of flames from the dragon, the ruined world was futher being destroyed.
But as the battle continued Ji-Hoon discovered a painful truth, his best techniques, honed through countless battles, had proven futile against the dragon's impenetrable scales. His attacks had left nothing more than shallow scratches on the obsidian armor that protected the beast.
In a moment of brutal clarity, Ji-Hoon understood the harsh reality of his predicament. He had reached the end of the road, his journey was coming to an end in a battle he couldn't win.
Blood went down the sides of his mouth as a faint chuckle escaped his lips, his voice filled with both irony and acceptance. "Seems it's the end of the road for me," He said with a laboured breath, sweat and blood streaming down his face.
「The constellation Dawn Of Light is asking if this is the player's limit?」
「 The constellation Silent Enjoyer is saying that the player should not make this boring.」
"Of course this is my limit you bastards!" Ji-Hoon said in frustration, at this point he didn't care anymore, why should he suck up to some constellations when he was going to die anyways.
「 The constellation Silent Enjoyer is saying that this makes for good entertainment!」
「The constellation Mischievous Green says they have been waiting for the player to snap!」
「The constellation Dawn Of Light has terminated the contract!」
「You have only 2 supporting constilations left.」
「Due to the fact that the constellation "Dawn Of Light" had previously contributed the the player's stats - the player's stats have dropped by 25%」
"Go ahead and leave. I don't need you anymore. Why the hell should I even associate myself with monsters who enjoy watching me suffer!"
Ji-Hoon gazed at the two-headed dragon, a sense of grim acknowledgment coming over him. He let out a sigh and then said, "Since this is where I die... I might as well go out with a bang."
He channeled the last reserves of his power into his sword, the blade igniting with a brilliant, fiery red glow. The blade continued to grow and expand until it became gigantic. Ji-Hoon then leaped into the air, intending to cleave the dragon in half from above.
"Aghhhhhh!" Ji-Hoon let out a huge battle cry echoing through the ruined world.
The monstrous black dragon, not one to back down from a challenge, answered with a roar of its own. The ground quaked beneath its colossal form as it charged toward Ji-Hoon, the earth itself trembling under its immense power.
But then from above his eyes caught a peculiar sight, "Are those spikes?" He wondered in his thoughts. He had spotted strange black spikes on the dragon's back, and in that instant, they sprung forward.
The attack was unpredictable and too fast for him to counter in an exhausted state, and his stats had just dropped as well, so the outcome of this moment was inevitable. He was impaled several times over.
"Guhaaaa!" he exclaimed, his voice a tortured cry, as multiple of those grotesque, oversized spikes tore through his battered armor and pierced his body. Agonizing pain coursed through him, a searing reminder of his vulnerability in the face of such monstrous power.
With brutal force, Ji-Hoon was sent hurtling backward, his body spiraling through the air like a ragdoll. He landed upon the scorched earth with a bone-jarring impact, his back absorbing the shock as he coughed up blood.
Laying there, he couldn't move a muscle, his blood pooled around him, his eyes slowly lost light, yet, he couldn't help but smile.
"I get to rest now," he whispered, the words barely audible even to his own ears.
Suddenly, a triumphant roar could be heard from the dragon booming all around.
"Keep it down, you bastard," he thought, his mental voice tinged with ironic humor. "At least let me die in peace." And with that, the last player bled to death.
[Player ET-75578; Ji-Hoon has died!]
[Planet number ET-75578 has failed the trial!]
[Awaiting the trial master's final decision.]
[A re-evaluation is in order!!]
[Beginning restart!]
Hearing these words in his head, Ji-Hoon couldn't help but muse, "What the hell?"
And then, as if torn from one reality and thrust into another, his eyes fluttered open once more. Gone was the ashen, desolate earth where he had faced the colossal dragon. Instead, he found himself in a place that defied all reason.
It was a massive classroom, rows upon rows of seats filled with people wearing ordinary, everyday clothing. Ji-Hoon's brows furrowed in confusion as he looked around his surroundings. "Isn't this college?" he thought.
He turned his head, and the sight before him confirmed his suspicions. A lecture was in progress, and the students in the room were paying rapt attention to the instructor. The hum of whispered conversations, the rustling of notebooks, and the faint glow of smartphone screens created a scene that was anything but apocalyptic.
Ji-Hoon felt dizzy, torn between blurry memories of battle and the surprising reality he faced. He had been fighting for his life, expecting death, and now he was in the most ordinary place. The sudden change from chaos to normality left him confused, wondering if he had entered a completely new and bewildering chapter of his life.
As the lecture went on and the students stayed focused on their studies, there was a sudden interruption that broke the calm atmosphere of the classroom. A woman, sounding a bit out of breath, apologized for being late. She opened the lecture hall doors and entered with a bit of dramatic flair, catching the attention of both the teacher and the students.
"Sorry, I'm late," she managed between panting breaths. She stood out in the lecture hall, with her short brown hair framing a beautiful face and pink eyes. Her dress, matching her eyes, was a burst of color in the otherwise ordinary room. She wore a white backpack on her shoulders.
"Miss Seo-Yeon, you're late," the lecturer admonished with a hint of sternness.
"I'm sorry, Miss Minhee," she replied, her voice filled with sincerity. "I won't let it happen again."
Ji-Hoon felt a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions as he witnessed the strange scene unfolding. "Isn't that... Seo-Yeon?" he thought, finding it hard to believe. "But she died three years ago." His memories clashed with what he saw, leaving him confused.
Fumbling his hands around in a daze, Ji-Hoon searched for his phone. With trembling fingers, he located it in his jeans pocket and pulled it out. As his eyes fell upon the date displayed on the screen, he was left utterly dumbfounded.
"September 19, 2025," he whispered to himself, the words catching in his throat. "That's... nineteen years ago when the apocalypse started. Don't tell me... did I regress somehow?"
