Wake Up With A Screen In Front Of You And It Changes Your Life

The first thing that hit me was how sore my throat was. I'd been held in a chokehold before and the feeling was something I'd never forget - and what I was feeling right now was the after effects of said move.

But that couldn't be right.

Why? Because I'd just died. Cancer had appeared in my life on my sixteenth birthday and ravaged me completely by the time I was seventeen.

I should be dead. Either in Heaven or Hell, or in complete blackness. I wasn't religious, so I don't really believe in an afterlife and I always thought that after I died I'd just disappear into nothingness. Not even a landscape of black where I could rest but pure nothingness. No thoughts or personality. The same as before you were born.

And yet I was wrong. Memories flooded into my head and I groggily opened my eyes, readjusting the glasses on my face out of pure instinct before stopping myself. I didn't have glasses.

I turned to the new memories and soon figured out I was in a new body. Looking down at said body, I couldn't help but be disappointed. Short, scrawny and unathletic. Why couldn't I be like one of those protagonist who gets everything he could ever need from a body? I withheld a sigh and shuffled back across the ground until I could lean against a nearby wall.

Absentmindedly, I lifted a hand up to my neck and gently massaged it hoping to rid the area of the soreness and aching. While I did so, I looked through the memories in more detail and quite frankly, I was shocked by what I found.

The first coincidence that wasn't a coincidence, was my new name. Kim Soohyun. A name shared by a protagonist in a webtoon I used to read called 'Quest Supremacy'. Then came the mother and sister who shared the same names as that protagonist's mother and sister. Then the fact that I went to the same school as the protagonist in that webtoon...and at that point the similarities were too glaring to be passed off as mere coincidence.

It took surprisingly little on my part to accept that I was Kim Soohyun, a character in a webtoon. But I guess that with all the evidence in my head, it'd be a little redundant to try and refute it.

Then came the final nail in the coffin.

[Quest Window is being activated.]

[Would you like to start The Quest? Yes/No]

"...Of fucking course," I said in fluent Korean despite never once having spoke the language before in my past life, "And here I go speaking languages I shouldn't know," I gave a weak chuckle before trying to speak English, "Hello?" I said and felt at least some relief. At least I hadn't suddenly lost the ability to speak the language from my first life. It at least proved that I was me, in the body of Kim Soohyun, and not some type of situation where I'm a mentally ill version of Kim Soohyun.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, still not used to having glasses, and lifted a finger to press the 'Yes' on the screen in front of me. What? This world is fucking crazy, if I remember right. Gangsters and people who can fight supernaturally well. I mean, teenagers who can rule schools with nothing but the strength of their fighting ability? They've gotta be at least a little superhuman, right?

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That's my new motto. As such, I'll take every advantage I can get...which includes the Quest System.

[Starting the Quest System. You will receive a {Card} by completing any given quest.]

[A tutorial quest is being created.]

[Get revenge against the person who killed you. Fight and beat Choi Changdong (0/1). Reward: Platinum Card (x1) & Silver Card (x3)]

Of course it's a hard quest as well. "System, can I ask a question?" I decided to go out on a limb and see if there were any changes to the system. I can't remember the original Soohyun doing anything like asking questions directly to the system but it can't hurt to try.

[Yes.]

"Really?" I asked with genuine surprise before smiling, "Can I do anything to Choi Changdong as long as I win? Are there any limitations?"

[No. All you need to do is fight and beat Choi Changdong to complete the mission and earn the rewards. Do you have any other questions?]

Humming, I scratched at my chin while I thought and looked up at the blue sky above, "Is it possible to see my stats? A lot of games have menus like that. Kind of like a progress bar or a way to see how you match up against others."

No new screen appeared from the system as a text answer but a screen displaying my stats did.

Woah. How much different is this compared to the original? Is it safer? Better? More dangerous? Worse? Argh, I'm gonna go fucking crazy if I keep asking questions like that. Best to just assume the worst.

[Strength: E]

[Speed: E]

[Potential: S]

[Intelligence: B]

[Tenacity: S]

[Stat Skills: Tenacity (+) & Potential (+)]

...Again, woah. What's up with these stats? Two S-Rank stats? Pretty sure the highest stat the original had was a B! Right?! Fuck, okay. Changes. And what about those stat skills? I clicked against on the '+'s and out popped a screen explaining what it was.

['What are you made of?!' Your skin, muscles, bones and organs are all much, much harder and more durable than they should be! Meaning it takes an unholy amount of strength to hurt or damage you! Also adds to striking power due to hardness of body.]

['Are You Really Human?' You learn at such an advanced rate that any active skills you own gain proficiency at over ten times the normal rate!]

I'm gonna stop questioning it. These changes are good. One of the skills makes me a human-shaped rock and the other makes me a genius at grinding skills. All of this makes my first quest all the easier and all the more important. Pushing my glasses up, I pushed myself up onto my feet and made my way back to West Gangbuk Highschool.

I had some cards to collect.

. . .

What matters most in a fight? That's a pretty complicated question with loads of potential answers. Some people would answer strength because if you have the power, you can pummel whoever you go up against. Others would answer speed because what use if another person's power if they can't touch you? And a lot of people would say technique. That technique can outmatch power if used correctly.

But the truth is, is that these are all wrong answers. For me, anyway. These answers are add-ons. They're nice to have...but you don't need them to win a fight.

What you need, is the desire to hurt people. Say if you had two people - they're the same height, weight, skill-level and they have identical physical stats. One of these people is a nice person who is kind and calm. The other is a vicious little shit who's willing to do anything.

Who wins? It's obviously the latter. Because being willing to hurt the person your fighting is more important than anything. A lot of common people (you know, those of us who aren't in gangs, the military or a shady organisation) tend to hold back in fights. They don't hit certain places, don't use certain moves and limit their power because they don't want to permanently hurt the other person because of fear. Fear for how others will perceive them, fear for the consequences and fear that they'll lose their status as a civilised person.

Yet if you peel back a person, layer by layer, you'll get a level of aggression that doesn't care for the consequences or for what others think.

You usually see this when a bullied kid finally snaps. Or when a husband finds out his wife is cheating on him. They all end up in horrendous crimes, sure, but in that instance you see a level of aggression that doesn't mind hurting people. If you can tap into that level of aggression, that level of willing to hurt other people, you can pretty much win any fight.

And you know, after dying once to cancer and dying a second time to bullies as Kim Soohyun...I've found it's pretty easy to tap into that aggression.

"Oi, Choi Changdong!" I gave a shrill shout down the hall to the fat lummox and his two cronies, "Get over here you two-bit gangster, chickenshit-looking motherfucker!" it all just rolled out of my mouth, a mixture of the original Kim Soohyun's indignation and hatred for these bullies and my own confusion at how to actually call someone out for a fight. In my past life, before cancer, I did some kickboxing but that was all a combat sport. You didn't really need to work on trash talk, you know?

The school hallway went silent, everyone looking at me like I was either mentally ill or just downright stupid. I get why. Choi Changdong, while fat, is still way taller than me and he has his two buddies backing him up as well - to everyone else in this hallway, I'm practically dead meat.

The man in question I'd called out, turned with wide eyes and disbelief written all across his face. But when he saw me, his fat face warped into a sickening smile.

"Kim Soohyun," he said as he turned and began making strides towards me, "Is that really something you should be saying to a friend of yours--" he stopped as he got in front of me, his two buddies not too far behind him. It was now or never. He went to slap me and part of me - the part that the original Kim Soohyun resided in still - wanted to freeze up. But I didn't let myself.

I stepped forward, into his space, grabbed his school blazer and pulled him toward me. Or rather, I pulled myself toward him as there was no way I'd be able to move his fat ass with the pitiful amount of strength I currently had.

But strength isn't something you need when you're aiming for a weak point.

The weak point in question? His balls. My weapon? My knee. I thrust my knee with everything I had and when I made impact, it drove the air out of Choi Changdong's lungs. His mouth opened and he silently gasped for air, his slap stopping mid-air. I didn't stop at that though and pulled my knee back before planting it a second time in his gonads.

He fell to his knees after that and yet I didn't stop. I pulled my knee back again and planted it right in his face, his nose crunching with a sickening noise. Again and again I did this until his nose was pouring with blood and what little brain activity was occurring in that thick skull of his just went out.

Unconscious. Not dead. I don't wanna get put in juvie as soon as I got a second chance at life, okay?

Letting him drop to the floor, I let out a pent up breath I didn't know I'd been holding and finally realised that my heart was hammering away in my chest like I'd just ran a marathon. A faint amount of excitement flooded through my veins and I looked to the downed whale's friends with what can only be described as a crazed smile across my face, "You want some of that you fucking pricks?" I asked and they flinched, backing up and I scoffed before gesturing to the downed whale like the trash he was, "Take your boyfriend and get him to the infirmary, and tell him when he wakes up that if he comes after me I'll do much worse that what I just did. Got it?"

They nodded like chickens pecking up food and I couldn't help but shake my head. How had the original ever been scared of dickheads like that? They were as typical as typical could get when you think about bullies. Act strong around the weak and act weak around the strong. Cowards.

I rubbed at my slightly sore knee but mainly to get the blood off my trouser leg, "Tch, it's all dirty now," I mumbled to myself before making my way to the nearby bathroom. Everyone gave me looks and no one got near me but I didn't really mind.

Not like I needed their express jubilation over me winning.

Entering the bathroom, I got into one of the stalls and locked the door before looking at the screen that appeared in front of me when I willed it.

[You have completed the tutorial quest.]

[You have also completed a secret tutorial quest.]

[As per the rewards of the tutorial quest you will receive: Platinum Card (x1) & Silver Card (x3)]

[For completing the secret tutorial quest of not getting hit while fighting, you will receive: Gold Card (x1)]

"Quite a fucking bounty, ain't it?" I smiled in self-satisfaction before leaning back against the toilet I was sat on, "Reveal the cards, please, System."

[Revealing cards...]

As soon as the screen appeared, a flash of light nearly blinded me and when I opened my eyes five cards were floating in front of me. It felt almost like playing a gacha game. Taking the cards from out of the air, I held them in my hands and shuffled the silver cards to the front - start with the worst and finish with the best. Classic pack opening strats.

[Attack Card, Boxing - Jab - You can now jab. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

[Attack Card, Boxing - Cross - You can now throw a cross. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

[Attack Card, Boxing - Footwork - You can now perform footwork. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

Pretty decent cards for silver. Should help in future fights if I grind them up enough. Maybe I should ask if I can get a membership at a boxing gym...that should help with levelling up the skills. Sort of like a boost you get in a game for working under a certain NPC and doing a specific action.

Either way, onto the Gold Card!

[Gift of Adonis (Incomplete) - Who says making two Goddesses fall in love with you is easy, eh? This rare Gold Card will improve your appearance, add 5cm to your height, get rid of any blemishes, scars or old injuries that didn't heal correctly and adjust your body to be the perfect representation of masculinity! This card will not effect stats.]

...Didn't Adonis get gored to death by a Boar? Fuck. If that's how I'm gonna go I don't want this bloody card!

Sighing, I shuffled the Gold Card to the back of the pack and looked at the Platinum Card, hoping it wouldn't be the complete version of the Gold one. I wasn't disappointed.

[Athletic Body - Tired of being scrawny? Of being weak? Well, no more need to worry! This super rare, super exclusive platinum card will add 15cm to your height over the next week, increase your Strength and Speed stats by two ranks and improve training speed by five times! It will also fix any issues with eyesight, hearing or sense of touch.]

Thank God that at least one of the cards effects my stats. Those E's in my status were gonna bug the shit out of me--why didn't the original Soohyun ever work out after getting the system? Would've made his fights waaay easier if he wasn't such a lazy idiot at times.

And 20cm increase in height? Sorry original Soohyun, but I'm joining the 170 club and in a week I'll be joining the 180 club. Guess my luck is just better than his. Wait, doesn't that mean that in a week I'll have gone from 5'6" to 6'2"? Jesus, that's gonna be hard to explain. I'll have to talk to this body's mom--my mom, now--about getting some new school uniforms.

[Will you use these cards?]

"Yes," I answered with little to no hesitation. I spoke a big game but who can turn away these cards? They're great compared to what the original MC got.

Instantly I felt the difference. Clothes got a helluva lot tighter. I guess that first growth from the Platinum Card was added instantly as well, so I grew 6cm and a bit, got broader too. Muscle mass increased by a noticeable amount too...and now my glassy make my vision blurry.

Taking them off, I stood up and instantly my trousers and shirt made ripping noises. Fuck.

Stripping down to just my undies and vest, I looked over my improved body and could help but give an approving hum. Then I looked at my crotch, "Jesus Christ!" I said in English, my shock being just that intense. Reaching a hand into my boxers, I felt the snake now in there and my eyes went wide before I collapsed back down onto the toilet seat, "The dick that captured Aphrodite. 'Perfect representation of masculinity'? Cards don't lie about that shit, I guess."

I let out a laugh and slung my ripped uniform, trousers and all, over my shoulder and left the stall. I didn't bother bringing my glasses as I didn't need them anymore. Catching my face in the mirror, I posed a little and poked at my face as I did so.

"Handsome as ever, Soohyun. Handsome as ever," I smirked and then turned to leave the bathroom.

I had to get home and get some new school stuff. After that, I needed to work out an exercise regimen. That Platinum Card did say I'd have five times training speed, right? Time to abuse it. But first I had to walk through a school half-naked. Though it's not like I had anything to be embarrassed about - one look at the bulge in my boxers and it'd be an ego killer to any lesser man who looked.

Ah~ Who knew that to truly live you had to die twice?