Lucas woke up to the sound of an old fan creaking above his head.
For a moment, he didn't move.
The air felt warm. His body felt light.
"…Where am I?"
He slowly opened his eyes.
And saw a low ceiling wall, its paint peeling at the edges. Sunlight slipped through thin curtains, dust floating gently in the air. The smell of an old mattress and detergent filled his nose.
His breath caught.
This wasn't the small rented room he bought near the factory.
This was..
"My room…?"
Lucas pushed himself up and sat on the bed. It creaked softly beneath his weight. His eyes moved around the room an old wooden desk, schoolbooks stacked in the corner, a small mirror hanging loosely on the wall.
Everything was painfully familiar.
His heart began to race.
"No way…"
He stood up and walked to the mirror.
The boy staring back at him looked no older than seventeen. His face was thinner, his eyes still dull from poverty and exhaustion but there was no beard, no fade lines carved by years of tension.
"…I'm back."
His legs weakened, and he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Memories surged like a flood.
Dropping out of school. Endless shifts. His mother collapsing from illness. His younger brother forcing a smile while pretending not to be hungry.
And then,
That day.
His chest tightened.
It was still summer break.
Just before it had started… he had confessed.
Lucas remembered it clearly.
The school gate.
The heat.
Students laughing as they passed by.
And Sophia Blake standing there, her uniform neat, her bag expensive, her expression impatient.
He had stood in front of her wearing worn-out shoes and a faded uniform, his heart pounding like it might burst.
"I… I like you," he had said, bowing slightly.
For a second, she simply stared at him.
Then her lips curled.
"…Are you serious?"
Her eyes swept over him from head to toe.
Disgust.
Clear and unmistakable.
"You?" she scoffed. "A poor guy like you thinks he can confess to me?"
People nearby slowed down. Some stopped.
Lucas felt his ears burn.
"I...I just wanted to—"
"Stop," she snapped, her voice sharp with irritation.
"Do you even have money for college?"
"Or are you planning to work your whole life like your mother?"
The words stabbed deep.
"Know your place," Sophia said coldly.
"I don't date poor people."
She turned around and walked away, leaving behind whispers, laughter, and a boy who felt smaller, than he ever had in his life.
That humiliation never left him.
It followed him into adulthood.
It whispered to him every time he failed.
Lucas clenched his fists.
"So this is where I came back to…"
Poor, Powerless, Looked down on.
A sharp sound echoed in his mind.
[DING]
[Life Growth System Activated]
Host: Lucas Cole
Age: 17
Mental State: Depressed
Physical Condition: Weak
Financial Status: Poor
System Evaluation:
→ mental devastation.
→ humiliation.
→ Pushed to breaking point.
Today's Beginner Mission:
✔ Accept reality.
✔ Stablise your mental state.
✔ And go for a simple run.
Reward:
+1 Mental Endurance
+Minor Emotional Resistance
Lucas let out a slow breath.
"So… even the system knows."
Then he looked toward the door and stared at it for some time and after some minutes he got up from him bed and walked out of his room.
After getting out of room he walked in front of kitchen.
Beyond it, his mother,Maria Cole is preparing breakfast, looking tired but still healthy.
His younger brother Daniel is still smiling.
This time, he still had time.
"I won't chase people who look down on me anymore,"
Lucas said quietly.
"I'll build something myself."
"I will not except that reality
Where my family has to suffer"
They would never have to lower their heads again.
Outside, cicadas cried loudly.
Summer had just begun.
And so had Lucas Cole's second life.