The sun was starting to dip behind the high-rise apartments of Seoul, casting long, thin shadows across the school's concrete playground. In my old life, this time of day used to fill me with dread. It was the "pre-dark," the hour where the monsters in the ruins started to wake up and the scavengers like me had to find a hole to hide in.
Even now, standing in the middle of a peaceful schoolyard in 2026, I found myself checking the shadows. Old habits didn't die just because you got a younger heart.
I walked toward the back of the gym. My left arm was still a bit stiff from the wolf bite, but the skin was smooth. The "Heart of the Forest" was still working inside me. Every time I took a step, I felt a strange, electric buzz in my muscles. I wasn't just walking; I was gliding.
I turned the corner and saw them.
Lee Jin-soo was leaning against the brick wall of the equipment shed, tossing a lighter up and down in his hand. He was surrounded by his two usual followers—Park and Choi. They were laughing about something, looking like the kings of the world in their expensive sneakers and tailored uniforms.
In five days, Jin-soo would awaken a "Fire Element" talent. He would use it to burn anyone who didn't bow to him. I remembered seeing him five years into the apocalypse, sitting on a throne of charred bones in a fortress he built from the ruins of a mall. He had called himself the "Flame King."
To me, he wasn't a king. He was just a memory of a monster.
"Oh, look who showed up," Jin-soo said, snapping the lighter shut. He held up a black notebook. It was my old school journal—full of math notes and embarrassing teenage thoughts. "The Zero actually came back. I thought you jumped the fence and ran all the way home to your mom."
I kept walking until I was exactly six feet away. I didn't say anything. I just watched his eyes.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, loser," Jin-soo growled. He looked confused. Usually, I'd be looking at the ground, apologizing, or shaking. But I was looking him straight in the eyes, my face as flat as a stone.
"The notebook," I said. My voice was low. It didn't sound like a kid's voice anymore; it had the cold, dry edge of a man who had seen cities fall. "Give it here."
Jin-soo barked a laugh, glancing at his friends. "Hear that? The Zero is acting tough. Maybe that jump out the window scrambled your brain." He flipped the notebook open and ripped out a page. "You want it? Go fetch."
He dropped the paper and stepped on it, grinding his shoe into the dirt.
The Relic in my chest hummed. A blue blur flickered in my vision.
[ EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY DETECTED ] [ SYNC RATE: 5.1% ] [ RECOMMENDATION: ELIMINATE THE THREAT ]
I ignored the system's cold advice. I didn't want to kill him—not yet. Killing a student in broad daylight before the apocalypse even started would ruin my plans. I needed these last four days to gather resources, not to be in a police station.
"Jin-soo," I said softly. "You have no idea how small you are."
"What did you say?" Jin-soo's face turned red. He stepped forward, raising his hand to shove my shoulder. It was the same move he'd done a thousand times.
In the old days, I'd have stumbled back. But this time, the world seemed to move in slow motion. I could see the way his weight shifted. I could see the tension in his wrist. I could see the arrogant smirk on his lips.
Before his hand could even touch my shirt, I moved.
I didn't use a punch. I simply grabbed his wrist and twisted.
CRACK.
It wasn't a bone breaking, just the sound of his joint being forced into a position it wasn't meant to go. Jin-soo let out a sharp yelp and dropped to his knees. The notebook fell into the dirt.
"Get him!" Jin-soo screamed, his voice cracking with pain.
Park and Choi lunged at me. They were bigger than me, but they moved like they were underwater. I stepped to the side, letting Park's clumsy swing miss my head by an inch. I planted my palm into his chest—just a simple push, but with my 5% Sync strength, it felt like he'd been hit by a motorcycle.
Park flew backward, his feet leaving the ground, and slammed into the brick wall with a dull thud. He slid down, gasping for air, his eyes rolling back.
Choi stopped dead. He looked at Park, then at me, his jaw hanging open. He didn't even try to fight. He just backed away, his hands shaking.
I turned my attention back to Jin-soo. He was still on his knees, clutching his wrist, staring up at me with pure terror. This was the "Flame King"? This was the man who would later rule over thousands with an iron fist?
He looked like a pathetic, spoiled child.
I reached down and picked up my notebook. I brushed the dirt off the cover and tucked it into my bag. Then, I leaned down, getting close to his ear.
"Listen carefully," I whispered. "The world you think you know is ending. In five days, money won't matter. Your father's influence won't matter. Only the things you can do with your own hands will keep you alive."
I gripped his chin, forcing him to look at me. His eyes were watering.
"If you ever look at me again," I said, my voice dripping with the frost of twenty years of survival, "I won't just twist your wrist. I'll make sure you don't live long enough to see the sky turn purple. Do you understand?"
Jin-soo nodded frantically, a tear finally escaping.
I let go of him. He scrambled back, tripping over his own feet as he ran toward the school gates, leaving his two "friends" behind. Choi wasn't far behind him.
I stood there in the quiet of the gym's shadow. My heart wasn't even racing.
[ THREAT NEUTRALIZED ] [ SYNC RATE: 5.2% ] [ NEW ATTRIBUTE UNLOCKED: COLD BLOOD (LEVEL 1) ]
I looked at the "Cold Blood" notification. It was a passive skill—one that helped keep my heart rate steady during combat. It was a scavenger's skill.
I checked my phone. 05:15 PM.
The sun was setting for real now. I had finished with the small stuff. I had closed the book on my school life. Now, the real work had to begin. There was a construction site three miles from here where a "Silver Rift" was scheduled to appear at midnight.
In my old life, that rift was where the first "Iron Core" was found. If I could get that, my Sync Rate would jump past 10%.
I walked out of the schoolyard, my shadow stretching long behind me. I didn't feel like a teenager anymore. I felt like a storm that was just beginning to brew.
The end of the world was coming, and for the first time, I was the one who was ready for it.