"Get away from me!" I shouted at the system.
I refused to believe it—absolutely refused—that this thing was still attached to me. Even after five thousand years. No matter how many times I died, the stupid system always followed, dragging me back into the world and forcing me to reincarnate just to complete its meaningless quests. My eyes felt a bit watery. What did I do to deserve this?
I never committed any major sin, I wasn't evil, was this my punishment for being the strongest?
I clenched my fists, fury boiling in my chest.
No, this life I won't hesitate, I'm allowed to lose my mind after all these years.
It doesn't matter who gets in my way. I'm going to crush everything and everyone. My rage will continue to grow as long as this system leeches off me. In this life, the world will feel my pain.
If anyone harms me, I will inflict the same pain on them tenfold.
As I looked in the mirror, my expression turned dark, my vision narrowed, and my body trembled with rage. The mirror shattered from my invisible rage.
"Luke, is everything okay?" a woman's voice asked as the bedroom door opened. I turned instantly, my expression smoothing into a calm smile.
"Of course, but I think the mirror just broke," I replied.
Acting came naturally to me now. After thousands of years and countless lives, adapting to situations like this had become second nature.
I looked at the woman—Luke's mother. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and stood around five-foot-eight. More importantly, she looked tired. Worn down. Whenever I reincarnated into a new body, the host was always dead. This time was no different.
Luke—the boy whose body I now inhabited—had taken his own life. Years of relentless bullying at school had crushed him. His mother had no idea. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I pitied her.
No parent should ever have to carry the weight of losing a child—especially without knowing why.
"Well, you're going to be late for school on your first day, so I will clean this up," she said. "Hurry up, get going!"
"I'll be quick," I replied, already moving past her toward the bathroom.
Once the door shut, my expression darkened. I needed answers. Open stats, I commanded silently. The system responded immediately, a translucent screen materializing in front of me—just as it always had.
[Name: Luke Harold]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 30 / 30]
[Abilities: ??????]
[Attributes: ??????]
[Strength: 8]
[Stamina: 8]
[Intelligence: ??????]
[Total Power Level: 16]
I stared at the screen in disbelief.
"…That's it?"
No wonder the kid broke. These stats were pathetic. In a world like this, weakness was a death sentence. Power ruled everything. Those with high power levels crushed the weak without hesitation. Bullying was just the surface. This world had always been a brutal, dog-eat-dog place.
I let out a slow breath. Looks like I don't have much of a choice. If I didn't want to die again, I'd have to get stronger. I smirked faintly. "What a cliché." This was starting to feel like I'd been dragged into some kind of novel.
And knowing my luck…
It probably wouldn't have a happy ending.
But maybe–just this once, I might get a happy ending.