Chapter 2
『 STATUS 』
Player: Izz Putera/ Kim Hyun Ki (현기)
Age: 8 month (28)
Titles: Regressor,Apicem Hominis (EX+)
Lv:1
Mana:0
Health:4
Int:8
Strength:2
Luck:1
Stats:0
‘Well, it's not that bad except that my luck is pretty terrible’ Izz thought to himself then his eyes move to his intelligence stats, it is probably due to the new title, he can probably use that to his advantage since there is no way he could level up by challenging the tower since there is two decades before the tutorial of tower starts, Izz trains of thoughts were shortly cut off by the sudden notification from the system.
Ping!
『 Congratulations! 』
『 You are the first awakened player』
『 You have received three free spin on The Administrator’s Wheel (Gold) 』
I have expected it, but to really be the first awakener makes me feel elated, relieved, and happy. I really have regressed. If being pushed out of my mother’s womb wasn’t enough of a reminder that everything wasn’t a dream or an illusion, the presence of the system reaffirms my will to change our outcome and the fact that the tower will soon fall upon us.
‘Let’s get this done and over with, they sure are being generous with the reward this time... or is it perhaps just a special treatment for being the first awakener’ Izz thought to himself, which reminded him of one player in his past life; she was one of the earliest and perhaps the strongest, but her life ended tragically.
‘Maybe she is the first awakener, but that is none of my business’ he silently mused to himself, because now he is the first runner in the race, and as they say, the early bird gets the worm.
The Administrator's Wheel is divided into five ranks, in descending order, with the highest being diamond, followed by platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. According to the rank of the wheel, one spin can consume mountains of points, and for some players, they called it the wheel of fate, as the reward from the wheel can change someone’s life entirely. However this also led to a problem when people started to become like a gamble addict for the sake of one spin believing it will change them into a better and stronger player. However, soon they were proven wrong around 20th floor when people realized that we (players from Earth01) are not the only ones challenging and climbing the tower, we are facing competitors from other worlds that connected to the tower earlier than us. They are stronger and have been in the game longer than us with vast knowledge about the ins and outs of the tower passed down from generation to generation… yet the question still remains—
‘How can no one climb the 100th floor?’
Even now that he thinks about it, the 99th floor challenge was not an impossible one. In fact, if it wasn’t for their group being too hasty in preparation out of excitement to finally climb the unreachable tower, they might have succeeded. The key isn’t to defeat the All-Seeing-Eyes but to survive.
Their only mistake was to challenge it in a group. The mind attack is fatal when mixed with the chaos and confusion from the enemy, so it’s better to challenge it alone with no room for betrayal. There must have been a solo player strong enough to challenge it, but Izz still couldn’t shake his mind off that idea. He is sure there is something bigger and malicious hidden behind it all.
‘Now, I just need to focus on training this young body’ Izz thought as he lay in the crib, with that he decided to spin the wheel.
『 Would you like to spin the wheel 3 times consecutively in one spin? 』
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.
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Ping!
『 Congratulations! 』
『 You have earned 3 unallocated stats. 』
Ping!
『 Congratulations! 』
『 You have earned a cluster of sky weed. 』
Ping!
『 Congratulations! 』
『 You have earned a Polyglot ability (SS)(Passive). 』
‘For only having 1 lucky stats, I’m quite lucky’ he thought as he looked at the last reward, passive skills are hard to come by as most of them are at least ranked (S) and they are sold for a fortune in system shop as it is a handy skills that helps you communicate with otherworldly player easier without needing a translator and the chance of being con lower.
He decided to allocate the unallocated stats to mana and luck, 1 in mana and 2 in luck.
‘Ah…I’m getting sleepy again’ that is his last thoughts before he fell asleep.
『 STATUS 』
Player: Izz Putera/ Kim Hyun Ki (현기)
Age: 8 month (28)
Titles: Regressor,Apicem Hominis (EX+)
Lv:1
Mana:1(+1)
Int:8
Strength:2
Luck:3(+2)
Skills:Polyglot(SS)
Stats:0
Points:0
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Days passed by, and before he knew it, he’s already old enough to attend kindergarten. If you think high school is bad enough, imagine being an adult inside a 5 years old body having to deal with loud and snot-nosed brats. Of course, not long after he was pull out of the kindergarten after making fellow classmates cry constantly for a month and clearly the school is tired of it.
Being rich did help his situation, as he was home tutored instead. His parents had no problem with their child's odd or eccentric behavior after they were told that their child was a genius and a polyglot. During the past 5 years, he has been training his body as much as he as a kid could, but his mind keep being tormented by his past memories and the ability from the title 『 Apicem Hominis 』 is not helping his mental state either, everything was so vivid as if someone recording everything that has happened, every killing, every betrayal, and every loss has gone through.
Sometimes those memories kept him awake at night, sometimes those memories fired up the desire for revenge in his heart when his heart wanted to yield, and sometimes there were whispers and a desire to lash out at everyone, everything, or the world itself. The countless nights he spends with the thought of killing himself, he cannot do this alone he convinces himself but then he is not willing to trust someone else enough, he knows better what will unfold if he does, human desires are an inexplicable thing. He feels hollow, sorrowful, alone, and misunderstood, as if he is muted from the world and the system no longer notifies him of anything, as if everything was a dream, as if there were no system however, when he called his status, it did appear before him.
Izz never asks the maids or workers in the manor any questions about his parents. Even in his previous life, he understood their responsibilities and how they did their best to ensure the best for him and showered him with as much love as they possibly can outside of their busy schedule, and he is grateful for it. Izz never asks questions about his parents to the maids or workers in the manor. Therefore, when one day his mother kneeled to his height, with her hair kept and clean as she typically would, with eyes full of tenderness and warmth as if it would burst out of it, and with the most comforting tone she questioned him, "My Putera, are you okay? Whatever it is, you are free to share it with me."
There was silence. What would he say? He’s from the future? So he shakes his head, denying that there is anything wrong with him. He’s okay, he has gone through far worse in the tower, no food or roof over his head, compared to his current situation, he now lives like a king. You know, they say a mother's instinct is never wrong.
“Putera look at me in the eyes”
Thus all hell broke loose, the dam from the water spills.
Every emotions he could possible contained all his lifetime, every memories he had remembered vividly, everything. He had told her about the tutorial, the tower, the deaths, the killing, the betrayal, the regression, the system, and the deal he made with the administrator. Now, he is just waiting for her to call for a child psychiatrist after his hysterical episode.
Hic, sniff, hic.
He didn’t realize in the midst of all his cries and yelling, she had been crying too, for him.
“Why are you crying, Ma?”
“I never would have thought my son have to go through that” his mom replied back, while wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her blouse before finally hold both side of his cheeks with her hands and said, “I always thought you were too mature for a kid, you know”
“Wha-
“Your eyes hold so much anger and grief inside them, and I ask myself daily. ‘Did something happen to my handsome prince?’, I asked the maids, the workers, your tutor, and your dad to the point I asked myself, ‘Am I imagining it’ and I know your dad is worried for the both us but he has always been a bit slow,” she cut me off, chuckling a little bit at the end.
"But, isn't that inconceivable?" Izz shot back and he realized that maybe he’s not hiding it better than he thought he would, and as much as he try not to worry his parents, by the end of the day he did cause them a bigger worry.
“It did, I admit but you’re my son and only time will tell whether what you said is true or not, and you have all the time in the world to prove it to me,” she said before finally hugging me in her arms. He slept soundly that night and the night after that.
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.
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Soon after, his mother decided to hand over her position to his aunt and stay at home with him. He did feel bad about it, but she dismissed him, saying that if what he said is true, she should be spending more time with him. Everything seems brighter since that day, although his dad is getting suspicious with the amount of time they whisper behind his back. Having his mom by his side really helped him a lot; he doesn’t need to create excuses for his every action, and there is no one to question him with his mom by his side.
Although she accepted what he told her that day with an open heart, she was surprised when he told her about the major events that did happen in his past life, like the US invasion of Iraq that will happen this year (2003) and the global recession that will happen in 2007. Although he didn’t remember much about events that happened when he was a kid because he wasn’t really impacted, he did remember some major events.
As the years passed, it seems that the future he told her did help his family a lot, especially their company, and his dad did eventually find out about his secret. Everything would have been perfect if he didn’t know of their deaths. Even though, with his knowledge, they were both able to be diagnosed and treated earlier, it was unavoidable as there isn’t any cure for cancer, at least not before the tower.
Just like in his past life, both of his parents passed away when he was 15 after a long battle with cancer, and even on their deathbeds, they were still thinking about and worrying about him. He admits that maybe putting the 2 stats in luck was worth it because he is lucky to have them. Of course, there was some troubles about their wills when a large fortune of inheritance were given to him as he is only a 15 years old boy on paper but unlike in his past life, both him and his parents sadly were prepared for their death so they prepared their will and lawyer ahead of time and his legal guardian after their death.
‘I will never grow numb from the pain of losing a loved one," Izz thought as he looked toward his parents' graves. They are truly a match made in heaven, they are together alive and dead.
“It’s time to move to Korea,” Izz murmured as he left the graveyard. His parents have decided to hand over his custody to paternal grandparents in Korea. He tries to remember their faces but he cannot really recall it as even before he get the title 『 Apicem Hominis 』 he didn’t really remember their faces as he wasn’t that close with them. He could only remember their cold attitude, he didn’t really care much about them. To him, they are only his legal guardian on paper only and he could live by himself after all he is technically an 28 years old adult not counting his current age.
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Sky weed; a rare psychoactive drug that makes the user's mind hazy, raises dopamine levels, and causes you to hallucinate if consumed in large amounts. often used in alchemy to create anesthetics.
Putera; prince
