Laura's breath came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding in her chest as if trying to escape. She sank back onto the bed, clutching her head as the memories rushed in—a chaotic blur of blood, screams, and monstrous creatures tearing through everything she had fought to protect.
She could still feel the cold, jagged claws of the insect-like Monarch piercing her chest, the life draining out of her as darkness claimed her vision.
And then… nothing. No light at the end of the tunnel, no peaceful embrace. Just this.
She glanced around the room, trying to steady her breathing. It was small, a simple space with white walls, a reading desk piled with untouched textbooks, and a wardrobe that had seen better days. The faint scent of lavender air freshener lingered in the air. It was all so achingly familiar, and yet, it felt alien after everything she had experienced.
Laura gripped the edge of the desk, the cool wood grounding her.
"Why here? Why now?" she muttered, her voice hoarse and trembling. The sight of her own reflection as she approached the mirror made her pause. Her wide, red-rimmed eyes stared back at her. She was younger—barely nineteen.
Her cheeks were fuller, lacking the hard lines carved by years of battle and suffering. She raised a hand to her face, tracing her fingertips along the smooth skin.
There were no scars here. No marks from the countless battles she had fought. It was as though everything had been wiped away, leaving behind a version of her that had never known the horrors of the apocalypse. Her gaze trailed down to her thinner frame, and a bitter laugh escaped her lips. "I'm really back…"
The blaring sound of her bedside alarm jarred her thoughts, and she slammed it off with a shaky hand. The action sent a dull ache through her palm, the pain confirming what her mind had struggled to accept. This was real.
The stale air, the faint hum of the ancient heater in the corner, the warmth of the sunlight filtering through the window—it was all real.
But how? And more importantly, why?
The phone on her desk drew her attention next. She grabbed it, her fingers flying over the screen as she powered it on and checked the date. The digital numbers glowed brightly, displaying today's date: August 16th, 2077. The familiar tension gripped her chest as the reality sank in. She had just over twenty-four hours until the world descended into chaos.
The apocalypse began at precisely 13:00 on August 17th, 2077. She knew this fact with a dreadful certainty. It wasn't a gradual descent into madness; it was an explosion of terror that would happen all at once.
Dimensional rifts would tear open across the globe, releasing hordes of monstrous beings that would make nightmares seem like fairy tales. In less than a day, everything she knew would be gone.
Laura's hands trembled as she set the phone back down. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she felt the urge to scream, to release the fury and despair pent up inside her.
However, Laura clenched her jaw and forced herself to stay calm. There was no time to waste on fear. She had already lived through this once—no, she had died through this. She had watched friends die, fought against impossible odds, and still fell short. Now, she had a chance to do it all again, and she was not going to waste it.
But the question remained: How did this happen? Why had she been given a second chance?
Her fingers instinctively touched her chest, feeling for the wound that should have been there—the jagged gash that the insectoid Monarch's claws had left behind. There was nothing but smooth skin beneath her shirt. She frowned, her mind racing through the possibilities.
There had been rumors about time distortions near the World Gate, whispers among the surviving humans about strange anomalies, but she had never believed them. It was just one of many legends that had sprung up during the apocalypse.
But now, standing here, alive and in the past, she had no choice but to accept that something extraordinary had occurred. It didn't matter why or how. All that mattered was what she did next.
Laura took a deep breath and focused. If she had been given another chance, then she was going to do things differently this time. Her first mistake in her previous life had been choosing the wrong class.
She had ended up as a Hoarder—a support-type class that allowed her to gather and store resources at a much higher capacity than others. It had seemed like a useful ability at first, but in the chaos of the apocalypse, being able to collect things meant little when survival was a day-to-day struggle against monsters far beyond human capabilities.
Now, she would make a different choice. She knew the most powerful class available at the beginning—the Summoner class. It was known for its versatility and raw power, capable of calling forth creatures to fight alongside the user.
She had seen a few summoners in her past life, and the strongest among them were nearly unstoppable. But there was more to it than that.
There were hidden artifacts that could elevate the class from merely powerful to outright broken, and Laura knew exactly where to find two of the most important ones.
"The Heart of the Abyssal Dragon and Merlin's Orb." She murmured to herself. "I'll need those."
With those artifacts, she could achieve something truly game-changing—unlimited mana. As a summoner, infinite mana meant infinite summoning, and that was a power even the Cardinal Monarchs would fear.
Laura's jaw tightened with determination as she looked back at her reflection in the mirror. "This time," she whispered, "I'm going to win."
She walked to her wardrobe and flung it open, grabbing a simple jacket and a sturdy pair of boots. There was no time to lose. She needed to prepare, gather supplies, and choose the Summoner class as soon as the system interface became available.
She knew from experience that just three hours before the apocalypse began, the class selection window would open automatically, granting each person one chance to choose their path. Last time, she had hesitated, lost her opportunity, and ended up picking a weak class. This time, she would not make the same mistake.
With only a day left, Laura's mind buzzed with a plan. There were places she needed to be, people she needed to save, and monsters she needed to kill before they could become a threat.
Her second chance was a gift, and she was going to make sure the world wouldn't fall again—not while she still had the strength to fight.
Laura threw one last glance at the room behind her as she stepped out the door. It felt like she was leaving behind the life of a young, hopeful university student for the second time. But this time, she wouldn't be caught off guard.
This time, Laura Whitecroft was ready!