The Beginning

Chapter 1 — The Beginning 

Death is not the end, it is just a new grand beginning.

After a nothingness that seemed to last infinitely, Kim abruptly opened his eyes and jolted awake on a bed.

Huuu….!

As he breathed the stale air, Kim frowned as his temples throbbed painfully.

Confusion, disorientation, and all sorts of feelings surged in his mind.

Where is this place?

Why are my eyes so blurry?

And as if almost instinctively, his hand reached out to the desk next to the bed.

A glasses.

I need to put it on.

With that notion mysteriously popping from his mind, Kim wore the glasses and saw his surroundings becoming clearer.

Where was this place?

Again.

He pondered in puzzlement as his eyes swept the unfamiliar surroundings.

An apartment.

"Right… this is an apartment." 

A strange familiarity rose as he uttered those words, strangely easing the discomfort and nervousness he felt.

"Wait, how do I know?" 

His gaze swept across the room before stopping on a large mirror by the bed.

The mirror clearly reflected the entire room and someone unfamiliar. 

An unkempt teen with a sickly complexion that was further emphasized by his skinny build. 

If it were not for the light of clarity flickering in his eyes, Kim would've thought the guy in the mirror was a ghost.

However…

In that instant, Kim knew that guy was him.

Strangely enough, he strongly knew he was also not him.

Previously, Kim was just a nobody who spent his entire life in the hospital, silently waiting for his death while sometimes using the internet if he could.

This sudden change really stunned Kim for a long time. 

Was this a dream?

No, the most important question should be…

"Did the surgery fail…?"

A surgery with a 95% chance of dying because of its difficulty.

Yet Kim took the chance because there was no other option.

"My last memory was in the bright operation room before being put to sleep…"

Kim then concluded that he died on that day before being reborn in this body.

The only explanation to make sense of his current situation…

As he calmed down and gradually accepted his situation, he suddenly heard a phone ringing near him.

A black phone was being charged on the lamp desk where he got the glasses.

"Thank god. There's no security lock."

After opening the phone, he saw a strange app opening on the phone screen.

Although everything else felt familiar to him, only this app was able to make him feel extremely unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

"Achievement Hero…?"

As the strange app opened, Kim read the golden words displayed boldly above the loading bar.

Ding!

The phone vibrated as the loading screen

finally finished.

[Welcome to Achievement Hero]

"This…!"

Kim sucked in a deep cold breath as he stared at the phone.

The next moment, his movements came to a halt as a piercing headache assaulted his consciousness. 

Then there were voices.

And passing scenes.

Like a deranged person, he was hearing and seeing all sorts of things that he didn't know.

As the pain went past his tolerance and his sanity dropped dangerously, Kim instantly collapsed unconscious on the bed.

Meanwhile, the black phone dropped beside him on the bed.

On its black screen that resembled an infinitely deep darkness, there were shimmering golden words being typed in.

[Kimber]

[Kim Do-Hyun]

[Identity Souls Matched]

[Start Fusion Of Souls….]

[Discarding Harmful Shards…]

[Merging Best Shards…]

[Main Soul Is Evolving…]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[Soul Fusion Complete]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[Good Evening, Hero]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Evening.

"I remember now."

As he opened his eyes again, there was no longer confusion clouding them; only a piercing clarity and pure light that illuminated everything.

"I am Kimber."

He uttered the name of his past that once was the proof of his raging will to survive his life full of pain and hardships.

"Yet I am also Kim Do-Hyun."

Kim Do-Hyun. 

He has now accepted the reality he must live as Kim Do-Hyun in the future.

Yet he would never discard his life as Kimberly.

"My surname Kim. It not only ties me to the present, but it's also a symbol of my past. With my past and present, I will survive to see a good future this time."

Similar to Kimberly, the old Kim Do-Hyun had recently died on the bed. Fortunutely, the mysterious rebirth allowed them to live once again. 

Kim Do-Hyun's eyes then fell to the black phone.

"All the mysteries…"

The black screen lit up.

"...ties into this strange app."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Old Kim Do-Hyun was severely depressed and lacking self-esteem because of the bullying he received from his classmates. All those bullying reduced his originally fine confidence into nothingness just because of a single mistake—His mistake of innocently extending a hand to someone who was being bullied. 

From that day on, his life became a hell.

He became the target of bullying. 

And nothing could ever stop it.

No matter what he did…

School was torture. 

However, Kim Do-Hyun bitterly endured for his family who worked hard to send him to school because school was the only way for him to have a successful life.

They were the sole light in his hell.

And that light was quickly stolen from him.

That night.

His world became a literal hell.

Kim Do-Hyun descended into an abyss of nothingness.

After his entire family died in a sudden traffic accident, Kim Do-Hyun was left alone to struggle in this world.

No friends to help.

No kind relatives to save him.

No one.

That's why Kim Do-Hyun wanted to die.

But he was scared to die.

He wanted to live.

There was still many things he wanted to accomplish.

His dream. 

And his revenge.

The wish of his family.

If he die just to escape, those things would really vanish into nothingness.

Live.

Fight.

Don't regret.

If only…

If only someone extended a hand to him…

If only there was someone to help him…

But there was no one.

Kim Do-Hyun dropped out of school, sold the house left by his parents, and escaped into another distant city.

He escaped from everything that reminded him painfully about his family, locking himself inside an apartment where no one would bother him.

Kim Do-Hyun rotted away.

Slowly being eaten by his crippling depression and growing sorrow. 

That haunted him even if he escaped.

No confidence, no joy, and no strenght—Kim Do-Hyun was left with only a flickering ember to keep living. 

And it too, was about to be extinguished.

Kim Do-Hyun was living on the money from

selling the house left by his parents. As for the insurance money and inheritance they left, he couldn't bring himself to touch them.

However, there was no need for too much money.

An unhealthy way of living.

He neglected his hygiene, ate only instant ramens and junk foods, drunk sodas like water, and spent his entire day on his computer.

Along with inadequate sleep and lack of movements, his body finally gave and became extremely sick.

Death finally came for him.

Yet even in his final moments…

'Kim Do-Hyun' raged with the most fiercest will to survive in his life for the first time.

"Idiot, I really wasted my precious life…"

However, I also don't have the right to judge."

Kim Do-Hyun bitterly smiled.

Life was really hard...

Those words came from the experiences of his two lives.

"This time…"

He swore with his life on the line.

"I'll live well now. So that they can become proud of me."

The people who showed unconditional love for him in his two lives.

Kim Do-Hyun swore to them.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Kim Do-Hyun closely experimented with the strange app.

"Achievement Hero?"

It was the name of the strange app.

And when he clicked on the app again, it displayed a new cartoony window with a heroic theme instantly.

========================================================================

AP(Achievement Point): 150 Points 

[Hero Status] ⇐

[Hero's Diary] (New!)

[Hall Of Achievement] (New!)

[Future Entry]

[Traveler's Shop]

(Other Features To Be Unlocked)

========================================================================

"It's like a game…"

A real life game.

After seeing the golden new alert on the [Hall Of Achievement], Kim Do-Hyun curiously tapped on the tab to see what it offered.

========================================================================

[Hall Of Achievement]

[My Brain Is Like A USB(Unique)]

- Grants Enhanced Memory

[Not Afraid To Get Sick(Unique)]

-Grants Enhanced Immune System

========================================================================

"This is crazy. Game achievements that work for real..?"

It sounded surreal, but Kim Do-Hyun really felt a subtle metaphysical change after obtaining the achievements.

The strange app was something out of this world.

Achievement Hero.

This app compelled him to gather many kinds of useful achievements.

"I'll do it. These achievements will help me with my new start."

Kim Do-Hyun grew determined to obtain useful achievements. Next, he continued to explore the app.

There was a purplish new alert next to the [Hero's Diary].

========================================================================

Hero's Diary

Day 1 | Grand Beginning 

From the infinite depths of nothingness, the 'Hero of Achievement' emerges, awakening from a timeless slumber after the twin stars converge to become the fabled golden star.

Today signifies the dawn of his grand beginning to embark on the noble quest to rescue the world from impending peril!

[Hero has inherited a decade's worth of information in an instant]

[+Unique Achievement, +100 AP]

[Hero has triumphed over a perilous illness]

[+Unique Achievement, +50 AP]

========================================================================

"Why are the descriptions overly exaggerated? It sounds grand, but not in reality…"

[Hero's Diary] seemed to record and rewrite every significant event that he experienced into a grand epic.

This function was automatically connected to the notification and sound system of his phone, so it was able to notify him with a grand powerful voice.

Kim Do-Hyun then checked [Hero Status] which captured his curiosity.

========================================================================

[Hero Status]

-Kim Do-Hyun-

Age: 16

Birthplace: South Korea

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Blood Type: A

Height: 179 cm (5'10)

Personality: Orderly Neutral

[Hero Characteristics]

Social: Devilishly Handsome(Hidden)

Fitness: Pathetic Weakling, Good Immunity

Brain: Good Learner, Excellent Memory

[Hero Skills]

—N/A

========================================================================

The purpose of [Hero Status] was to intricately display the general information of Kim Do-Hyun.

He was able to easily accept the negative remark on his body fitness.

As for the positive signs on the brain and social section, Kim Do-Hyun couldn't help but smile lightly.

I have potential!

Afterwards, Kim Do-Hyun tried the [Future Entry].

…And it failed to work.

He skipped it for now and went to check the [Traveler's Shop].

The interface of the phone switched into a cartoony virtual shop that held various items.

The shop held items ranging from water bottles to clean clothes—It was only full of daily necessities!

Kim Do-Hyun immediately knew he shouldn't waste his points on them.

"A timer?"

He spotted a 24 hour timer on the upper corner of the cartoony shop.

Kim Do-Hyun didn't know its purpose, but he could only see and wait.

Now he has finished checking all of the tabs in the app.

"Today is really crazy."

Kim Do-Hyun did not only experience rebirth, but he also obtained a strange app with mystical powers.

He still needs a lot of time to gradually digest and process everything.

Yet strangely enough…

He went outside his apartment and overlooked the entire bustling city of Honsho.

"I feel like my brand new start is gonna be awesome!"