Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, soft and unassuming. Jin lay in bed, eyes open, unmoving. There was no urgency, no reason to spring out of bed like before—yet his body moved on autopilot, following the rhythm of his daily routine.
He got up, brushed his teeth, splashed cold water over his face, and changed into workout clothes without thinking. Each motion was mechanical, like grooves carved deep into stone.
As he opened the door to leave for his morning run, his eyes flickered instinctively to the apartment across from his own.
The door was shut.
closed—final.
A stillness hung there now. One that would never be disturbed again by the creak of hinges or a soft chuckle. Muten-san used to open that door every morning as Jin left as he pick up milk bottle .
"Work hard, Jin," the old man would say. "When I was young, I didn't care if it rained or scorched—I ran anyway."
Jin used to just nod, give a half-smile, and jog off with a muttered thanks.
But now, the air was quiet. The corridor empty.
Only one day had passed.
Yet the place already felt... desolate.
A pang of loneliness pressed against his chest, sudden and unwelcome. He stood frozen, staring at that door. Hoping. Expecting.
Nothing.
A voice rose in the back of his head.
"Maybe I should skip today."
He almost nodded.
But then—he clenched his fists.
"No," he whispered aloud. "I can't. If I start feeding that impulse, I'll lose everything I've built. Discipline is everything. Let's go."
He took the stairs two at a time, the silence of the early morning city echoing his footsteps. As he jogged down the familiar route, his thoughts churned beneath the rhythm of his breathing.
"I won't stop."
"I can't."
"There's too much I left unfinished in my past life. I'm not wasting this one. I'll get stronger—harder. I'll cut away weakness at its root."
Jin's eyes sharpened.
He remembered a quote that had stuck with him—David Goggins, :
"You don't know me, son. Let's go."
That lit the fire.
He ran harder.
When he returned, his shirt was soaked through, sweat dripping from his brow. After a cold shower, he sat down to eat breakfast—but something was different.
No book.
Instead, floating in front of him was a glowing digital window, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
======
[TEMPLATE STATUS]
Tae-sik Cha — 97%
=====
Jin leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly.
"Real combat really does push the bar," he murmured. "No amount of training compares."
He dismissed the status screen and called up the next interface.
"Slot window."
Three rectangular icons blinked into view in front of him. Each one shimmered faintly, as if waiting for his command.
Three slots. Time for the next step.
He stared at them, eyes narrowing. His hand hovered in the air as he made his selection, one by one.
====
[NEW TEMPLATE SELECTION]
Red Riot – (My Hero Academia)
Daredevil – (Marvel)
Rex Splode – (Invincible)
====
He sat still, letting the gravity of the moment settle in.
Each one was a monster in their own way. Red Riot—an unbreakable wall of willpower and grit. Daredevil—pure instinct, honed through pain, moving through darkness like a devil. Rex Splode— the power to turn anything into a weapon , later it could be big .
.