Julian’s gaze lingered on the glowing script before him. His reward—his next step
➤ Random Attribute Surge
Type: Item ( One time use)
Effect: By using this item, you will receive a random +50 to +100 attribute points. Upon administration, the item scans your body and automatically distributes the attributes where they are most needed.
Julian narrowed his eyes.
"So it scans me... decides where I’m weakest... and fixes it?"
[A correct deduction, Host. But not just that—] Ashi’s goblin voice slithered into his head, smug and theatrical. [The scan will amplify where you are strong as well. The peaks will rise, the valleys will fill.]
Julian tapped the thought away before the creature could gloat further, forcing himself to move on.
Type: Item ( One time use)
Effect: Upon use, the syringe awakens the hidden potential of your body, pushing your current state toward its peak. The effect scales depending on your condition at the moment of use.
Julian’s jaw tightened. His first instinct? Use it now.
But instinct wasn’t strategy.
"This one... best before the surge," he murmured, mind slicing through possibilities. "If I let it awaken my potential first, then boost after... the effect doubles."
[Wise, Host,] Ashi rumbled, the goblin’s tone carrying the smug satisfaction of a teacher pleased with his pupil. [Yet remember—your soul quivers on the edge of its next step. If you wait until after the advance... the amplification could reach heights you cannot yet imagine.]
Julian stilled, pulse heavy in his ears. His soul power—it was true, he felt the pressure inside, coiling, ready to break through.
Using the artifact now would be safe. But if he gambled... if he let himself evolve first, then unleashed it... the results could redefine him.
Type: Item ( One time use)
Rank: Legendary The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Effect: Erases any injury, no matter how severe. However, due to its rank, it only restores up to 80% of full health. Still, it can heal anything—from broken bones to torn ligaments to even cancer.
Julian’s brows lifted slightly. "Eighty percent..." he murmured. Overpowered already. In his last life, such a thing would have been called divine medicine. But here, it was only Legendary. That meant If Legendary restored eighty, then Mythic...
"Must be a hundred," he whispered.
He clenched his fists. This meant one thing: he no longer had to fear injuries as shackles. Even if he broke, he could crawl back.
➤ Final Whistle Miracle
Type: skill ( One time use)
Effect: Active only in the last five minutes of a match. Guarantees a decisive play—goal, save, or assist. Fate itself bends to your will.
Julian’s breath caught. His eyes narrowed.
A one-time skill. A new type altogether.
Not a boost. Not a passive. But a miracle.
"Fate itself bends...?" His voice was low, half-disbelieving, half-awed. He remembered every desperate second he had clawed through with nothing but his body and stubborn will.
Now the system offered him something else. A guarantee. A last-resort blade forged from destiny itself.
It was terrifying. Not because it was too strong, but because it was too tempting. A man who had lived by his fists knew the price of leaning on certainty. It dulled the edge of instinct.
Yet even as he thought it, his heart quickened. If used at the right time... it could change everything.
Ridiculous. Overpowered. Dangerous.
Julian exhaled and nodded, quiet resolve hardening in his chest.
"This one... I’ll save."
For the day the pitch demanded more than his body could give.
After examining the rewards, Julian finally nodded and let out a long breath. The weight in his chest loosened, though not by much.
What mattered now wasn’t the pack. It wasn’t the items.
It was his body. His soul.
The next step was close—he could feel it.
The last breakthrough had forced him to confront his heart demon. He remembered the suffocating darkness, the whispers, the hatred gnawing at him until he cut through it with fire.
But what would come this time?
What awaited him at the edge of this new stage?
A ripple of unease spread across his skin. Sometimes, the enemy wasn’t out there. Sometimes, it was the reflection in the mirror.
And tonight, for the first time, he wondered if that reflection had started to stir again.
He clenched his fists, then slowly uncurled them. After the breakthrough, he’d use the Potential Syringe—and only then the Attribute Surge. He could almost taste it, the shape of power waiting to be reborn.
"Yeah," he muttered to himself. "That’s it."
Julian brought his palms together with a sharp clap, forcing his restless thoughts to still. His body sagged against the mattress. The only thing that mattered right now... was rest.
His muscles throbbed, his skin burned, his head pulsed with the ache of overused skills. The battlefield still echoed inside him.
So he let his eyes drift shut.
And the night wrapped around him, heavy and quiet, as the storm inside him finally dimmed.
But almost as soon as Julian sank into sleep—
He opened his eyes again.
Not in the world he knew.
Clouds stretched beneath his feet, rolling and endless, a pale-white sea. Above, the sky swirled with gray, heavy and thick, as if heaven itself was drowning in storm.
Julian’s chest tightened. "Where... am I?"
The mist stirred. Shapes bent, shadows weaving. And then—
Not the martial artist of his past life.
Not the broken boy of his rebirth.
The figure wore a crimson jersey slashed with black stripes, boots gleaming wet as if fresh from battle. His eyes burned like embers, his grin too sharp to be human.
Julian froze. This wasn’t a phantom. This wasn’t a hallucination. It was intent, raw and sharpened, wearing his face. He could feel its presence like a blade against his throat.
The air around him warped, each breath thick with smoke and iron, as if the pitch itself had been drenched in blood.
The clone tilted his head, smile widening.
"You missed me?" the darker Julian asked, voice low, mocking.