For two weeks, Julian did one thing:
He locked himself away, blinds drawn, headphones in, eyes fixed on the glowing screen.
He played video games.
To Crest, this wasn't strange.
After all, the old Julian had lived in front of screens.
This was normal. Familiar. Comforting.
But for Julian, the reincarnated soul within—
It was more than play.
It was training.
It was research.
It was war preparation.
Each click of the controller was a strike. Every match, a sparring session. Every pixel on screen—data.
Under Ashi's guidance, Julian learned quickly.
He mastered the use of smartphones.
Navigated computers with ease.
His fingers, once weak and trembling, grew steady. His focus sharpened, honed like a blade.
And through dozens of simulated matches, he dissected every sport—bit by bit, layer by layer.
He memorized formations. Studied player roles. Noted tactical variations across different leagues.
Today, he finished the final career mode.
The screen flashed.
[Quest Complete]
Play Football Career Video game
Play Basketball Career Video Game
Play American Football Career Video Game
Play MMA Career Video Game
Play Baseball Career Video Game
Reward: 1 x Mana stone
[ Accept Reward? ]
Julian pressed [Yes].
A faint glow appeared in his palm.
A stone, pulsing with a dim azure light.
Warm. Alive.
Like a heart made of magic.
Julian's breath slowed.
Mana.
The key to everything.
The key to repairing this cursed body.
But before that—he had a decision to make.
He had done more than just play.
He had read.
Studied.
Absorbed the history, the legends, the leagues.
In this country—the United States of America—certain sports reigned supreme:
American Football. Basketball. Baseball.
Each had power. Fame. Rich infrastructure.
Each had millions of fans.
But none of them called to him.
Not like football did.
Not like soccer.
He remembered a Champions League final he'd watched one night, long after Crest had fallen asleep.
The roar of the crowd.
The tension. The artistry. The way the world stopped for ninety minutes.
He remembered the matches he'd watched.
The electrifying chants of crowds.
The way players danced across the field like warriors with invisible swords.
Fluid. Tactical. Ruthless.
A game of blades without blood.
It was beautiful.
It was brutal.
And it was global.
"This is it," he thought.
"This is the battlefield I was born for."
[Host, do you want to choose your sport now?] Ashi asked, floating beside him.
Julian looked at the glowing screen in front of him.
Then at the stone in his palm.
Then up toward the ceiling, where sunlight spilled through the window.
He inhaled slowly.
His voice, though still weak, came out steady:
"Yes. I choose football."
[Confirming selection…]
The air around him shifted.
Faint currents of energy pulsed through his limbs.
Something deep within him stirred—
Julian's chest tightened.
He could feel it.
Something inside him had shifted.
This wasn't just a game anymore.
It was his battlefield. His path.
And he had just taken his first step.
…
[ Listing Host Attributes… ]
➤ Stat Scale Reference:
Average Human: Total Stat 70
→ 5–10 per stat
→ Untrained adults with no formal athletic background. Basic strength and coordination.Average Teen Athlete: Total Stat 70–140
→ 10–20 per stat
→ High school-level players with basic physical development and sports training.Youth League Elite: Total Stat 140–280
→ 20–40 per stat
→ National-level youth athletes or elite academy members. Professionally trained. Highly scouted.
[ Higher tiers are locked until Youth League level is achieved. ]
Half of an average man.
Less than a teenager.
Barely functional.
A dying flame inside a broken vessel.
Julian's hand clenched tightly around the faintly glowing mana stone in his palm.
"Before I can chase greatness… I need to walk. Breathe. Move without pain."
[System Quest Alert]
Repair Your body
Achieve at least 70 in Total Stats
Reward: 1 x Skill
[ Accept Quest? ]
[Yes] [No]
Julian didn't hesitate.
He pressed [ Yes].
The quest locked in. The floating text faded.
And the mana stone pulsed in his palm—steady, alive.
But even as the light warmed his fingers…
Julian's mind was somewhere else.
This world had no mana.
No spiritual particles in the air.
No ley lines. No sacred grounds.
Not even a trace of natural energy flowed through the earth.
All the traditional cultivation techniques he knew…
Would be suicide here.
In his past life, he had studied countless arts—
Breathing methods. Inner energy circulation. Meridian expansion.
But every single one relied on mana to nourish the body and purify the soul.
Without mana, the human body would collapse before progress could be made.
"If I tried to force those techniques here... I'd just burn myself out."
But then—
His eyes narrowed.
There was one technique.
One path.
A forbidden method he had once encountered.
Rare. Dangerous. Pure.
It had no name—just warnings etched in forgotten texts. Practiced only by the desperate, the mad, or the truly indomitable.
Cultivation through Soul Power.
Unlike other methods, it did not draw from the world.
It drew from within.
It required a powerful soul—one forged through hardship, tempered in death.
And Julian's soul... had crossed worlds.
He didn't just have a strong soul.
He had a monstrous one.
At first, even soul-based cultivation required a spark of mana to ignite the engine.
That was where the mana stone came in.
One stone. One chance.
Enough to light the fire.
"I'll use the mana stone to activate it... and from there, my soul will carry the rest."
It was a slow path. Painful. Lonely.
But it would work.
And once his body was restored—
He would rise.
Not as a boy chasing a dream.
But as a warrior reclaiming a throne.
That night, after the house went quiet…
After Crest had said goodnight and turned off the lights—
Julian sat alone in his room.
He opened the palm of his hand.
The mana stone glowed faintly in the dark.
Blue light danced across the walls, like waves in deep water.
He closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
"Let's begin."