Adam was completely broken. But John Walker still did not stop. For a few more years John enjoyed torturing Adam. Adam wandered the streets like a ghost. He had nothing to eat. He had nowhere to go.
Finally John decided to end his game. He cornered Adam in an alley. John brought his old friends from college with him. Together they killed Adam.
All these memories returned to him.
Adam stood in the quiet park as the past played in his mind. His face was pale with fear. He remembered John's final words. He spoke in a very low voice. "He killed my parents."
Adam said this because John had told him right before he died. John confessed everything. He had laughed. He told Adam that he found his village. He was the one who arranged the fire. He was the one who murdered Adam's parents.
Remembering this made Adam's eyes burn with rage. A fire now burned inside him. It was a fire of pure hatred. He wanted to kill John Walker.
He wanted to make him suffer. He wanted revenge for what John did to him and his family. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.
But then Adam took a deep breath. He forced himself to calm down. He closed his eyes for a moment. "No," he whispered. "Now is not the time."
He knew he had to be smart. He had to be patient.
Adam said this because he finally understood his current situation. He looked around the park again. He saw the bench. He saw his backpack and his books next to it. Suddenly everything clicked into place. This exact situation had happened before. It happened ten years ago.
It was the night he was expelled from U Academy. He had nowhere to go back then. He had no money for a room. So he came to this park. He spent the entire night sleeping on this very same bench.
New memories suddenly flowed into his mind. They were not memories from his past life. They were memories from this body. The memories of the current Adam. He realized that this was not a dream or the afterlife.
He had gone back in time.
He was ten years in the past. He was young again. He was at the very beginning of his suffering. The new memories confirmed it. They told him that last night the dorm manager kicked him out of his room. And with nowhere else to go this younger Adam had come to the park to sleep.
Adam looked at his own hands. They were the hands of a young man. Not the hands of a beaten and broken soul. A strange feeling filled him. It was not just anger. It was not just sadness.
Adam was still standing in front of the park bench. His mind was a storm of thoughts. He had a second chance.
He could get revenge. He could save his parents. But how? He was just a poor student with nothing to his name. John Walker was still the mayor's son. He was still powerful.
Suddenly something impossible happened.
A transparent blue window appeared in the air right in front of him. It shimmered with a soft light. Adam stared at it his mouth hanging open. He was so shocked he stumbled backward.
"What is this?" he whispered his heart pounding in his chest.
The strange blue window did not disappear. It just floated there silently. Adam slowly calmed himself down. He took a hesitant step forward. He looked at the window more closely. There was writing on it. He leaned in to read the strange glowing words.
[Congratulations Host.]
[You have crossed a forbidden zone: Time Leap.]
[The universe grants you a Unique Skill based on your capabilities.]
Adam's eyes moved down the screen. He saw the name of the skill. His heart skipped a beat.
[Unique Skill: Copy and Paste]
He read the words again. Copy and Paste. He stood there in complete silence for a few seconds. His mind went blank. Then the reality of it hit him.
"WHAT!" he yelled.
The shout was loud in the quiet morning park. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. He looked around nervously. The jogger was far away and had headphones on.
The old woman under the tree did not seem to notice. Adam let out a sigh of relief. He had to control his reactions.
He lowered his hand and spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Can I copy things?"
As soon as he asked the question a new window appeared. It replaced the first one. This window had more details.
[The Host can copy any item by sight or by touch.]
[The copied item can be pasted into reality instantly.]
[Copied items can also be stored in the Host's inventory for later use.]
Adam read the details line by line. His eyes grew wide with shock and excitement. He could copy anything just by looking at it? Or by touching it? He could store things in an inventory? The possibilities were endless. Money food weapons books... anything. This was not just a skill. This was the power to change his fate.
Suddenly both windows vanished into thin air.
"Wait! Where did they go?" Adam thought frantically. He looked left and right as if he could find them hiding behind a bush. He needed more information. He had to understand this power completely.
"I need to know more about this skill," he muttered to himself.
He stopped looking for the window. He started looking for something else. He scanned the park with new eyes. He was not just seeing a park anymore. He was seeing a training ground.
He needed something to test his new ability on. His gaze fell upon the trees the grass the dirt path. His eyes finally landed on a small grey stone near his feet. It was a perfect first target.