The morning sun was exceptionally bright and caused Seol Jihu to cover his face with his hand as he left the apartment complex.

However, that was the least of his problems. For some reason, he felt like a vessel about to overflow with water.

Unfortunately, it was not because of the fatigue caused by the lack of restful sleep or the journey from the casino to Yoo Seonhwa's home.

No, it was something more complicated and precarious—his soul was not far from collapsing due to the multiple annihilation skills or zero-numbering he gained for no reason.

At that, Seol Jihu analyzed what that concept encompassed.

Annihilation skills were those that gave their bearer the power to destroy an entire world or, conversely, become an invincible being that controlled it.

However, he could not stand idly by, confused as to how he could possess such skills belonging to the universe of another web novel different from the one he was currently in.

Otherwise, only death would await him.

Therefore, he began to search for solutions from the information he knew about two universes that initially belonged to fiction.

Reincarnator and The Second Coming of Gluttony.

In the meantime, he headed toward his apartment, which was not far from Yoo Seonhwa's. So much so that it was unnecessary to use any vehicle to get around.

On the other hand, he didn't go directly to apologize to his parents because, in that state, he didn't have long to live. As Noah, he also had another family to worry about.

As with the portal's appearance in that world of absolute blackness, it was almost like an instinct to understand it.

At the same time, this instinct also helped to verify the veracity of the annihilation skills.

Of course, the wounds on his forehead that healed at great speed contributed to this.

And not long after, he found an answer to his problem.

'Quite simply, I must become stronger. As fast as possible. Fast enough before my soul is shattered.'

It seemed like a simplistic solution, but it was the answer she needed to survive.

Again, knowing the plot was helpful, especially since Seol Jihu had carefully and patiently read the dozens of stories stored on his brother's phone; it saved him the time of figuring it all out on his own.

Now, if it were more precise, getting stronger would go hand in hand with the growth of his stats, thus affecting physical and even magical qualities, such as stamina, mana, and agility.

Therefore, along with the growth of his stats, Seol Jihu would be able to bear, both in body, soul, and spirit, the enormous burden of having seven annihilation skills, so prolonging the duration of the candle flame about to be extinguished.

But being the optimistic person he was, the situation did not depress him or make him despair; instead, it motivated him to try even harder. In the end, this issue would last as long as he could withstand the annihilation skills.

As he was about to arrive at his rented apartment, he stopped by a convenience store and bought something to eat, which filled his roaring stomach.

'Shit... I hope I can sleep.'

Because with nightfall, a vestige of Seol Jihu from the future would materialize in what was now the present, like a dream.

Except for the heaviness derived from the zero-numbering skills, Seol Jihu was quite energetic; before, his body was a mess, but with the skill known as Immortal Soul, everything had changed.

This skill turns the user's body into that of an immortal. It can regenerate new tissue and life force, repair broken parts of one's body, and even regenerate lost limbs.

Essentially, it allows him to fight like a 'mad immortal' on the battlefield without worrying about wounds or stamina due to the extreme regeneration granted by the skill.

In addition, it raises the soul and body to the limit. His main power is survival; he uses all skills and everything one has to survive. He can heal the soul with mana and create a base for annihilation skills to grow.

And it was the determining factor that allowed him to stay alive.

Such was the case that without knowing how to use mana, the help and support that the skill currently provided him was immense.

'Well, I have yet to confirm if the how it works is the same or ends up being different.'

Particularly with its growth. In Reincarnator, it worked through repeated use of the skill, represented as a percentage, until it was mastered. As the percentage increased, so did the power of the skill and in some cases its versatility.

Not only that.

Unexpected and uncontrollable situations could occur if he changed anything at this point, so he decided to keep everything as similar as possible.

In the end, besides the annihilation skills, the most significant advantage he had was the information about the coming events and other data.

In any case, he finally arrived at his apartment. The interior, like its owner, was a complete mess.

There were blankets thrown carelessly, dirty clothes on top of ramen boxes, empty liquor bottles on the floor, and cigarette packs lying next to them.

"... I don't have to clean this up, do I?" he questioned himself despite knowing the answer.

Seol Jihu reluctantly looked around the pigsty that he was reluctant to tidy up and then lay down on top of the bed, which, on the surface, was covered with a dirty blanket.

At least the smell was indifferent to him. Seol Jihu, or Noah, had the opportunity to smell something much worse than this.

Like, for example, a dumpster full of corpses, in which he even had to sleep for a few days. And when he compared this apartment with a worse past, his mood improved noticeably.

There was also the fact that his body emitted an odor not too far from that of the apartment. This gave his sense of smell a chance to get used to the stench and not be insufferably affected.

However, unable to fall asleep quickly, he forced himself to do so with a technique used by the military.

Seol Jihu relaxed his whole face, dropped his shoulders and hands, and cleared his mind. And to finish, he repeated the words 'Don't think' for 10 seconds...

He soon fell asleep. But not before mortifying himself as to how he would justify not going to talk to his family; hopefully, something would occur to him after he woke up.

At the same time, hours passed smoothly. So the sun proceeded to set in the west.

Abruptly,

Bzzzz!

A slight buzzing sound was heard, and circular waves formed in the air. The ripples gradually gathered into a single point until they transformed into a blue fragment.

The fragment slowly fell towards Seol Jihu's forehead, finally ending in a crash.

The collision, which resembled a lover's kiss, gave way to the fragment sinking until it completely disappeared.