The night rain was heavy.
Cold water ran down Harvie's face as he stepped out of the small internet café. The door closed behind him with a soft click. His bag felt light, but his heart was full.
He did it.
After three years… he finally reached 100% completion in Epic Conquest.
No one had done it before. Not even the best streamers.
He was the first.
The game had ended with a strange cutscene—a girl standing alone on a burning hill, her hands glowing like fire. She looked up. Her lips moved. Then the screen went black.
> [NEW CHARACTER UNLOCKED – Hidden Class: ???]
[Access Denied – Error 000X.]
Harvie laughed. It was weird, but that was part of the fun. He loved the mystery. The world of Epic Conquest was like a second home to him. One where he didn't have to talk much. One where no one expected him to be normal.
He was just Harvie there. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, standing under the broken streetlamp, he pulled up his hoodie and stepped off the curb. The streets were dark. Only a few cars passed by.
He whispered to himself, "I wonder what she meant…"
The girl in the final cutscene. The way she looked at the screen… it felt like she saw him. Like she was reaching out.
He looked up at the sky, watching the rain fall through the orange glow of the lights.
Then—
A loud horn.
White lights.
Screaming brakes.
CRASH.
Harvie felt nothing.
No pain.
No sound.
Just silence.
---
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.
He was lying on soft grass, under a blue sky filled with strange clouds that moved too slow. The sun was large and pale. The air smelled sweet.
He sat up quickly.
His body felt lighter. Stronger. He looked at his hands. No scars. No tired bones. He was… different.
"Where am I?" he whispered.
Then it came.
> [Welcome, Hidden Character.]
[Class: ???]
[Skill: "Unlamented" – Upon death, you will return to the previous day.]
[Warning: Do not reveal this skill. Disclosure will result in immediate system wipe.]
Harvie's breath caught.
"What the hell…?"
He stood up slowly. Around him, green hills rolled in all directions. No buildings. No cities. Only nature.
Was this... the world of Epic Conquest?
He touched his chest.
Heartbeat normal.
He wasn't dreaming.
He wasn't in the real world either.
Something had gone wrong—or maybe this was the real reward for finishing the game. A hidden world? A second life?
More system text appeared:
> [Player Recognized: Harvie – Completionist.]
[You hold no known class.]
[Your existence is unstable.]
[Survive.]
The last word hit him hard.
Survive?
Suddenly, the ground shook.
From behind the hill, a loud roar echoed across the sky. Birds flew up in flocks, screaming. The wind turned cold.
Harvie turned toward the sound.
In the distance, smoke rose from a village.
Fire.
Screams.
Shadows moved across the sky—monsters with black wings.
His body moved before his brain caught up.
He ran.
---
The village was burning.
Small houses made of stone and clay cracked under heat. Villagers ran. Some screamed, others cried. Monsters—twisted beasts with dark fur and glowing red eyes—charged through the streets.
Harvie froze.
This was real.
Too real.
He backed up, his hands shaking. He had no weapons. No spells. No HUD menu. Just himself.
And that strange skill.
> "You there! Move!"
A voice cut through the chaos.
He turned and saw her.
A young woman with a red cloak and golden eyes. Her hands burned with flame. Real fire—hot and alive. She was beautiful, but fierce, like a blade.
She raised her hand and sent a wall of fire into the monsters.
They screamed, burned, fell.
"Don't just stand there!" she shouted at him. "Help or stay out of the way!"
Then she turned, leading a group of soldiers toward the town center.
Harvie watched her go.
That was Edna.
He remembered her from the game—but something was different. More real. More broken. Her flames left burn marks on her own arms.
Was that always there?
A cry pulled him back to the present.
A child had fallen. A beast was racing toward them.
Harvie didn't think. He ran. He jumped forward and pushed the child aside—
—and the beast's claws tore into his chest.
Pain.
Real, deep pain.
He coughed blood.
He saw Edna turning back, her eyes wide.
He heard the child scream his name.
Then—
> [Death Detected.]
[Activating Skill: "Unlamented."]
[Rewinding… 1 day.]
---
Darkness.
Then light.
Harvie woke up on the same hill again. The same sun. The same clouds.
His chest was whole.
No wound.
He gasped, heart racing.
> [Skill Activated: Unlamented – Day Rewind Complete.]
It wasn't a dream.
He really died.
And came back.
He could try again.
Save the village.
Save that child.
And maybe...
...get one step closer to finding the truth.