I'm still here in my room, staring at the translucent blue panel floating in front of me. The sunlight streaming in from the half-open curtains bathed the walls in gold, making the familiar space feel both comforting and surreal. I could still hear the faint hum of the air conditioner in the corner, but all of my attention was fixed on the rows of words and icons before my eyes.
One thing that caught my attention immediately was the System Shop tab. It wasn't just a plain list—it looked like an endless catalogue, its categories neatly organized into glowing shelves. Weapons, armor, skills, potions, food, even something called construction materials (reinforced). It felt like browsing through the most dangerous and exciting online store in the world, except I didn't need a delivery guy. I could just… buy, and it would appear.
The idea of being able to sell things was just as appealing. I could dump monster cores or loot right into the shop and get credits instantly. In my previous life, I only had a basic subsystem—it didn't talk, didn't explain, didn't offer variety. It was just a notification pop-up, like some soulless tracker. This one? It was alive. And judging by how confident it sounded earlier, it was far more powerful than anything I'd used before.
I leaned back in my chair, my mind buzzing.
After reading through the system's features one more time, I pushed the blue panel away with a swipe and got up. My legs felt a little stiff from sitting too long. I opened my wardrobe and pulled out casual clothes—jeans, a dark shirt, and my favorite jacket. As I got dressed, I couldn't help but think about how different my life was about to be.
We were well-off before. My parents—both doctors—earned enough for us to live comfortably in this large, two-story house. But they'd died in a car accident on their way home one night. The memory was sharp and cold in my chest, like a shard of ice I couldn't melt. I remembered the phone call, the way the world seemed to lose all color in that moment.
In my previous life, that loss broke me. I barely left my room. I buried myself in video games, drowning in the money they'd left behind. I didn't care about the future—why bother, when the world was ending anyway?
But now… now I had another chance. I wasn't going to waste it. This time, I'd use everything they left me to prepare. To survive.
When I stepped out of my room and headed for the front door, I was greeted by the crisp smell of the morning air. The neighborhood was calm—birds chirping on power lines, the occasional bark of a dog, the faint rumble of traffic in the distance. It was almost strange to see everything so peaceful, knowing what was coming in just three months.
I locked the front door behind me and began walking toward the main street. The sun was warm on my face, and a light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees lining the road. People passed by, smiling, chatting, carrying grocery bags. None of them had any idea of the nightmare that was about to unfold.
My first stop was an estate agent's office. Inside, the air smelled faintly of coffee and new paper. The agent, a neatly dressed man in his thirties, greeted me with a polite smile. After some quick discussion, we agreed to put my house up for sale. The market was good, and with its location and size, it didn't take long for an offer to come in—30 million. Within the day, the payment was in my bank account.
Next, I took out the jewelry—necklaces, rings, and a few gold bracelets my parents had owned. At the pawnshop, the appraiser examined each piece under bright white light, tapping numbers into a calculator. We settled at 25 million for the lot. With that and what was already in my account from my parents' inheritance, my bank balance now read 80 million.
That number used to mean luxury to me. Now it meant survival.
As I walked down the street toward the nearest shopping district, my thoughts drifted to something I hadn't checked yet. In the old apocalypse, there was a status window—a way to see your level, your stats, your skills. I wondered… did I have one now, even before the outbreak?
Curiosity prickled in my chest. I stopped in my tracks and thought the words:
Status Window.
A soft chime echoed in my ears, and a rectangular blue screen appeared before me:
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Name: Exon
Skills:
Wind Strike (Lv. 1)
Wind Slash (Lv. 1)
Flight (Lv. 1)
Tornado (Lv. 1)
Space Domain (Lv. 1)
Teleportation (Lv. 1)
Copy (Lv. 1)
Strength: 3
Mana: 25
Agility: 5
Dexterity: 5
Title: The Reborn One
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I stared at it, stunned. In my past life, I'd only had Wind Strike and Wind Slash. That was it. No flight, no tornado, and definitely no space magic.
And space magic…? That was unheard of before.
I tapped on Space Domain, and a new window popped up:
Space Domain – A personal space unaffected by time where you can store supplies safely. No decay, no spoilage, no deterioration.
I grinned. That meant I could hoard perishable food, medicine, anything—and it would stay fresh forever.
Next, I checked Teleportation:
Teleportation – Instantly travel to any location you can clearly picture in your mind.
My hands clenched into fists. This was huge. I could escape danger instantly, reach places others couldn't, move supplies without carrying them.
Then there was Copy. I tapped it, expecting another generic skill description, but my breath caught.
Copy (level 1) – This unique skill allows the user to permanently duplicate any skill they have witnessed or experienced firsthand. Once copied, it will never be erased, stolen, or degraded, remaining with the user for life.
My pulse quickened. In the apocalypse, rare abilities were everything. With this… if I saw someone use a powerful skill, it could become mine.
I scrolled through the list again, my mind racing. Wind Strike—a focused blast of compressed air. Wind Slash—a cutting blade of wind. Flight—self-explanatory, though I remembered in my past life that flying drained stamina quickly. Tornado—a large-scale wind attack, devastating in open areas.
The possibilities swirled in my head. I felt like I'd just been handed the keys to survival—and dominance.
I closed the window and resumed walking, my eyes scanning the familiar streets. In three months, this peaceful world would be gone, overrun by the groans of the undead. But this time, I wouldn't be a victim. This time, I would be ready.