A strong smell of smoke filled the air. The sky above was red like fire, and the land below was dry and cracked. Harvie slowly opened his eyes and coughed.
"…Where am I?" he whispered.
The last thing he remembered was the truck. The pain. The dark screen. Then… that strange message.
> [Skill: "Unlamented" – You will return to yesterday upon death.]
Harvie looked around. He stood on a small hill just outside a burning village. People were running. Screaming. Houses were falling apart. Black beasts, twisted with red glowing eyes, rushed through the village like monsters from a nightmare.
"Is this… Embervale?" Harvie said, eyes wide. He knew this place. It was from the game Epic Conquest. A border village always under threat.
But now it was real. Everything felt real. The heat, the sounds, the fear.
Suddenly, a loud voice shouted through the chaos.
"Evacuate the north road! Protect the children first!"
A young woman stood at the center of the village. She wore red mage robes that glowed like fire, and her hair burned like flames. She threw fireballs with her hands, destroying the beasts in waves.
Harvie's heart jumped.
"That's… Edna."
S-rank fire mage. Proud, strong, and stubborn. One of the strongest NPCs in the game. She wasn't just a character now. She was alive. Real.
Harvie didn't think. He rushed down the hill, toward the village.
A boy was crying beside a fallen tree. A beast with twisted claws charged toward him.
Harvie's legs moved before his mind did.
"Move!" he shouted, pushing the child aside. The beast's claw sliced into Harvie's chest. Blood spilled. Pain exploded in his body. He screamed.
And everything turned black.
---
> [Skill Activated: "Unlamented"]
[Returning to the previous day…]
---
Harvie gasped and sat up.
He was back on the hill. The smoke was still there. The fire, the screaming… but no blood. His chest was clean.
His hands shook. "I died… and came back?"
He remembered the beast. The pain. The message.
It was true.
He had returned to yesterday.
> [Note: Intentional Death Confirmed. System Sync: 5%. Skill Cooldown Reset.]
Harvie took a deep breath.
"So this is my power… 'Unlamented.' I die, and I get another chance."
He looked at the village again. Same people. Same chaos. Same danger. But this time, he remembered where the beast would attack.
He ran down the hill again. This time faster.
He reached the same spot. The same boy was crying beside the fallen tree. And again, the beast appeared.
But now Harvie was ready.
He grabbed a broken spear from the ground and stabbed forward. His body moved on instinct. He hit the beast's eye. It howled and collapsed, dead.
Harvie fell to the ground, panting. His hands were shaking, but he was alive.
> [New Skill Acquired: "Beast's Echo" – Temporary Enhanced Senses]
He blinked. "What… I got a skill?"
Then he remembered another part of his power.
"If I kill something… I can take one of its abilities."
His vision became sharp. He could hear footsteps from far away. His nose smelled the beast's blood clearly. It was working.
He stood up and turned around. The boy was safe. But more beasts were coming.
Suddenly, a ball of fire flew past him and exploded in front of the beasts. Edna appeared, standing tall with flames dancing in her palms.
She looked at him sharply. "You're not from here. Who are you?"
Harvie opened his mouth, but no words came out.
She turned away. "Whatever. Just stay out of the way."
She didn't remember him. Of course she didn't.
This was his first real day. For her, it was the only day.
Harvie stood in the fire-lit smoke, watching her fight. He felt fear, excitement, and something else… a strange feeling in his chest.
"I'm not a player anymore," he whispered.
"I have to survive… and protect her."