Darkness... void... emptiness...
It wasn't that different from how Zhang Ying had imagined the afterlife. But he wasn't at peace. He could get over everyone else's betrayal, but not Liang Mei's.
She was his closest friend and... lover. Their bond went back to the orphanage, where he protected and cherished her. That's why her betrayal hurt him the most.
What's the point of getting angry now?
Zhang Ying sighed. He was already dead. Cursing the people who betrayed him was all he could do. As a former priest, he should have at least that much power. But judging from his luck, it didn't seem his words would affect them.
Where do I go now?
Zhang Ying looked around, hoping for a sign to guide him to heaven or hell. But nothing happened. Until he got frustrated and turned around, there he was met with golden words that hung in the air.
[Would you like to reverse time?]
Zhang Ying blinked at the strange question. Then, as if he realized something, he began laughing like a maniac before punching the words before him.
"Screwing my life wasn't enough for you?" he snarled. "You can't let me have peace even in death?"
[User seems unable to understand written words.]
[Ding!]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Title: Moron in the making.]
[Effect: The user can understand any written language.]
[Repeating the question.]
[Would you like to reverse time?]
"..."
Zhang Ying was confused. He was familiar with system notifications. Everyone in the Otherworld knew about it. He was confused, as he didn't think dead people could communicate with the system.
"Is this... real?"
[Auto-selecting the correct option because of the user's lack of awareness.]
[All stats have been reset.]
[Phoenix Feather found.]
[Rebirth in progress...]
[Select a time and place for rebirth.]
Zhang Ying scratched his head. He still thought the system was playing a cruel game at his expense. But then he realized playing along was better than being left in the dark. So Zhang Ying chose the time when everything went wrong.
"Trial zone, right before class selection."
[Confirmed.]
[The User will be teleported in 10 seconds.]
Zhang Ying nodded.
Class selection.
Back then, he only wanted to protect Liang Mei, hence he chose a support class. Eventually, he became a priest and helped countless people. But now, he didn't want to do that anymore.
This time... I'll live for myself. No one else.
[Teleporting User to the selected destination in 3... 2... 1...]
[May the Goddess be kind to you...]
Everything disappeared from Zhang Ying's eyes as he faded into darkness.
***
My head...
Zhang Ying clutched his head. His head was hurting like someone hit him a dozen times with a baseball bat. That would be enough to kill him, but it wasn't the first time Zhang Ying had exaggerated things.
That bastard system. It didn't tell me it'd hurt this much.
[Would it change your decision?]
"..."
[That's what I thought. Also, this will be our last communication.]
"Can I ask—?"
[Permission denied.]
[Once I unfreeze the time, all my memories of you will be erased.]
[You might get me as your admin next time. But I hope you don't. Goodbye.]
"...goodbye, I guess. And thanks."
[...]
And just like that, everything changed. Suddenly, Zhang Ying was surrounded by faces he knew—some he hadn't seen in ages. But there were also faces he'd hoped to avoid, especially the one standing before him.
Liang Mei.
An unknown entity gathered people from all around the planet to a strange place. It was a massive chamber with dim lights around it. It was the summoning chamber, but soon it'll be littered with corpses.
[Please select a class.]
The message flashed before Zhang Ying's eyes. But before that, Liang Mei linked her arms with him, getting uncomfortably close to him.
"...Ying-Ying, I'm scared," Liang Mei mumbled before hugging him tightly.
Zhang Ying clicked his tongue. He remembered how happy he was in his past life when this happened. But now, all he felt was disgust.
Back then, it was this moment when he picked the support class to help her. But not this time.
"Liang Mei, it's improper to hug someone so brazenly," Zhang Ying reprimanded her, pulling his hand from her grasp. "Please maintain some distance between us."
Liang Mei looked at him, stunned. It was the first time Zhang Ying had complained about something so trivial to her.
"Brother Zhang—"
Before she could say anything else, another familiar figure appeared before. It was Gao Rong, the red-haired bastard.
It wasn't a secret he always had eyes on Liang Mei. But she always stuck by Zhang Ying's side, so there wasn't much he could do about it. But now that Zhang Ying was acting out, he quickly swooped in to be the knight in shining armor.
"Mei-mei, what happened?" he asked, acting concerned, and turned to Zhang Ying. "You brute! Don't you have any manners? Is this how you treat a woman?"
"A womanizer like you would certainly know how to treat women, won't you?" Zhang Ying scoffed. "You two can enjoy yourselves. Keep me out of your drama."
With that, Zhang Ying left to the other side of the chamber. In this life, he wanted nothing to do with those two. Not until he was ready to take his revenge. Till then, the two of them could enjoy their time together.
Just like two piles of trash.
As he retreated, Liang Mei dropped the act and clicked her tongue. She couldn't help but wonder why her beloved doggie was acting out suddenly. Thankfully, she had someone else to take his place. She could teach Zhang Ying a lesson later.
***
Damn it!
Zhang Ying couldn't help but curse his bad luck. He hadn't been back for even ten minutes and had already made a blunder. When asked to pick a time to return, he said before class selection.
Zhang Ying completely forgot about the step before that, the Path selection.
Path selection and class selection were two entirely different things. Path selection represented a generic path in which they might pursue development.
When they got summoned to the Otherworld, they had five paths to pick: offense, defense, support, dark, and control. Only after choosing one of these paths could they select a specific class.
To Zhang Ying's dismay, he had already selected the support path. Now all that remained was to select a class. His elaborate plan for revenge had already failed. After all, as a supporter, he would always have to depend on others.
Zhang Ying could keep cursing his luck, but it won't change anything. With a deep breath, he calmed himself down. Unlike the last time, he had five options to pick from instead of three.
That's good...
Gently slapping himself, Zhang Ying looked at the list of classes before his eyes.
+++
Please select one of the following classes:
>> Bard
>> Priest
>> Enchanter
>> Druid Master
>> Tamer
+++
With the list displayed came the arduous task. Zhang Ying had to choose a class. The problem was that he didn't see any class info.
A summoned hero would only get to see the class information after they had selected one. It wasn't accidental, but the summoners had intentionally placed such a restriction on them.
Elimination through bad luck.
Since no one knew anything about the classes, it was only natural that people would make mistakes. Hence, came the factor of luck.
Once everyone finished choosing their classes, they'd finally realize their mistake. But by then, it would be too late—monsters would already come for them.
But I already know about these classes.
Taking the first three classes was out of the question. With no one's support, he wouldn't make it out of the chamber, let alone take revenge. Taking the druid class was out of the question as well.
Druids shine in nature's presence. Such a class had no place in the closed-off chamber.
It left him with one choice.
Gambling... is injurious to health, but oh well.
[Select Tamer class?]
"Yes."