Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"I suppose that was it for my little vacation." Lee Dojin rubbed his chin while taking a look at the many shadows that crept out. Some creatures looked comical, like the many small monsters made from the shadow of leaves and flowers, while there were others who gave off a different vibe. Most notably, the shadow standing as tall as him, staring daggers into Lee Dojin—his own shadow.

Lee Dojin cracked his fingers one by one. He grinned, and a great amount of killing intent wrapped around him, seemingly able to distort the air. "Now that's more like it. As much as the short-lived peace was, I've grown accustomed to fighting."

One of the creatures, created from a big dog, growled menacingly, feeling the threat of Lee Dojin from his animalistic instincts. Many other creatures were ready to go too. However, the shadow of Lee Dojin held his hand up, stopping anyone from approaching. it had set itself as the leader. A sharp glint escaped the shadows deep black pupils, his gaze never wavered away from Lee Dojin.

[You have chosen 'Inheritor of the Universe', the affinity of Choice.]

Lee Dojin kept his eyes on the message. In the end, he chose the unknown title. The reason was simple. Even if he took the affinity of light, he'd still just be walking the same steps. The future cannot be changed by repeating the past. Although the affinity was unexpected, that gamble has turned out to be worthwhile.

[Evaluation EX]

His eyes shot wide open. The evaluation was a simple thing. It wasn't a strength indicator. An affinity evaluated at D could still beat one evaluated as A. Rather, it indicated the rarity of that affinity. As such they went from E to S. Never in his life had he heard of EX, let alone seen it.

"If Evaluation S meant unique in the universe, than EX could only mean unique within all the universes." Lee Dojin balled his fist, his knuckles turning wide. He was sure, this was not a trick set by the system. It was the only legacy his mother had left behind, evidence of her existence, as Xh'Endrada, the Concubine of all things parallel.

"Skreeee!" Suddenly, the leading shadow let out a bloodcurdling scream. At once, the surrounding shadows also cried out, and one by one, they started rushing at Lee Dojin.

"Motherfu—damn, I thought you had some honor to you! In the end, you only waited for me to let my guard down." Lee Dojin barely dodged the first attack. The many flower petals surrounding him turned into sharp blades, accurately aiming for his vital spots. A small gash appeared on his neck. "I'm only a normal human right now!"

Naturally, the shadows cared little about Lee Dojins complains. A group of wild animals jumped at him, trying to bite him. He moved around, fighting the animals off. As they died, they turned into black ink, dyeing the ground black. He grabbed one cat and slammed it into another animal. They both shattered into smoke.

"Tsk, I wasn't even done yet." Lee Dojin, within all the turmoil, looked at another window.

[Warrior, after choosing your affinity, please choose your skill. In the beginning, you will only be getting one skill. Please choose wisely.]

Skills were the backbone of all strength. They were based on ones affinity, which were based on ones life. Thus, everything would soon be designated by skills. It wasn't wrong to say that these would be the greatest assets in their lives. Choosing wisely was an understatement. It was an issue of life and death.

Lee Dojin caught the bird which was just about to pierce through his eye. He squashed the shadow in his hand, and black liquid dripped off his fingers. "The problem with choosing skills was that the system never gave you a time to rest. How am I supposed to read everything through while these damn shadows kept their barrage going?" It was so for his previous life too. While everyone was confused by the weird windows popping up, the sudden survival quest started, leaving the people too stunned to choose rationally. There was not a single second for them to think, and they could very well make a wrong decision.

Many more animals arrived from nowhere, as if there existed a portal close by. Suddenly, he heard a buzzing sound arrive from behind him, a swarm of wasps edged closer. Right behind, there were several trees slowly approaching.

[Skill: Parallax Steps

Tier C, Level 1.

Humans live in a 3D world, but see it with 2D eyes. By using the blind spot of the universe, move through the loopholes and shorten distances.]

He read through the first skill and was surprised by the evaluation. Judging from the description, he assumed it was a movement skill. Lee Dojin had rather high standards for those, as he was once the bearer of light. There was no thing faster than light, after all. And he really hoped not to waste his first free choice for something worthless.

The bees coordinated with the trees. The trees swung their heavy branches, turning them into whips. Every time Lee Dojin dodged them and hit the ground, it split the dirt, flinging it into the air. Meanwhile, the bees would fill in the gaps, landing swift attacks onto his blind spots. Though the damage was less than the trees, it was by no way negligible. And slowly but surely, wounds gathered on his body.

[Skill: Absolute Thinking

Tier B, Level 1.

Through the power of the many universes, the user gains the ability to have increased thinking speed by binding his mind to the other parallel existences.]

Lee Dojin wiped his sweat. Thankfully, though the shadows were swifter and sharper, their durability took a dive. Otherwise, he'd never be able to rid himself of those trees, with their tough bark donned as armor. The problem was their sentience, like a hive mind, they worked together, steadily barraging him with attacks. And worst of all, his own shadow stood there, his arms crossed, and only observed.

[Skill: Parallel Eyes of Flaws

Tier D, Level 1.

With every choice made a new parallel universe is created. The user dives deep to see which. for a short time, the user sees the weak-point of his opponent to strike a critical hit.]

"C,B,D. That's rather low." He analysed the abilities offered. They were all reinforcement spells, so he did not think much about it. There was a reason why the system gave these skills. In a soon-to-be game like world, were there were no stats that could raise strength speed or health, no matter how great the attack power of ones skill was, they were still human. If they could not handle the aftereffects of their skills, then it was useless. The system helped them by giving them basic skill to toughen them.

The question now was which one to choose. Meanwhile he destroyed another tree.

As his mind was preoccupied, his shadow started to move. It walked slowly, but the pressure emitted from it was immense. It waved its hand, and a knife appeared, just as black as the rest of the body.

"...That's kind of unfair." Lee Dojin looked at his own hand, void of any weaponry. However, he smiled. "Unfair for you that is. I am the Unarmed King, and you, a mere copy of me, dares take up a weapon?"

Of course, the Shadow did not exchange any words, instead, it jumped forward, trying to stab Lee Dojins eye. He dodged it, and was just about to be disappointed by such a weak attack, when the knife suddenly curled and grabbed his neck.

"You piece of shit, do you have no honor?" He quickly got rid of the strangle, but that unexpected weak spot gave time for the other shadows to surround him. One by one, their shapes changed into a veil and wrapped around him. His arms and legs were chained around tightly, immediately immobilizing him. Like a marionette that had lost its strings, he fell to the ground. The leaves gathered around his face and sealed his mouth and nose shut. Now he could not even breathe. Only his eyes remained open, and there he saw his shadow with a knife in his hand.

"Mphh, mmhp. mhm," Lee Dojin said, but no one understood him. The shadow aimed accurately for his eyes and stabbed right through. Feeling that there was no life left in that man, all the shadows dispersed. However, shock overwhelmed them as the corpse that was supposed to be there had disappeared.

A sudden voice appeared behind the shadow. "I've said I made my choice." There, Lee Dojin stood without any care of the world and patted the dirt of his clothes. Baffled, his shadow swept his head back and as it did so, it felt the many other shadows disintegrating one by one. It could not even see it coming.

The shadow looked at Lee Dojin, and fear started to bubble up inside its mind. It tried to back away, but just as it wished to take a step, Lee Dojin appeared before him. There were no sound of steps, no signs of teleportation, no fluctuations in the wind. He was just suddenly there, right in front of its face, as if he had always been.

Lee Dojin grabbed the shadows head and crushed it in his palm. It, too, turned into a black liquid.

"C rank my ass. If that was only C rank, maybe humanity would not have lost that easily. I suppose that's what happens if your affinity is evaluated as EX," he said wryly. Lee Dojin now knew why the rank of his skills were too low. It was because they were too powerful. A skill that enhanced ones movement to a degree that their opponent could not see the path at all. It wasn't as if he had gained superspeed like with his light ability, or warped through space with teleportation, but he moved through the blindspots between the human eye and the world, thus it seemed as if he dissappeared and reappered at the same time.

He had chosen his skill—Parallax Steps. He was on the fence on whether he should have gone for Absolute Thinking, as it could prove itself better in the long term with its better rank. But he then realized that his skill was absolutely necessary in one of the future quests.

[Congratulations on Completing the Quest. Reward 'Upgrade crystal' will be issued. Please prepare]

And just like the message said, a stone appeared in his hand. But he did not care. Instead, he fell to the ground, his face pointing at the sky. He had felt a throbbing headache after using that skill.

"Shit. I'm really back." For the first time, it really hit him that he had returned to the start. He had complicated emotions welling up inside him. He thought about the people he had left behind. Was his sacrifice worth it? Did they manage to defeat The Mirage? Were they well? His mind swirled with thoughts, some more sentimental than others. He thought about his mother, Athena, Alan, Miverna and many more that he had lost. He hoped they could forgive him. Even after all this time, he could not give up. Even if it meant starting anew without them.

Determination to fight encapsulated him.