Of Arms and Arcane - Chapter 89

Outer yard disciple of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, Xu Xiaoshou, had average talent. However, after coming out of his death seclusion, he realized that everything had changed. He had received a Passive System with many strange, miraculous passive skills: He would become stronger with every breath. He would become stronger when he got attacked. He would become stronger when he got mocked… Xu Xiaoshou was forced to shout, “Oh God, I don’t want to be like this either. Everything I did was because I was being forced to! I am so passive!”

On the dawn of a fresh New Year, an ominous figure emerged, shrouded in a guise of an angel but harboring the malevolence of a devil. With a chilling voice, it proclaimed, [Every month, you humans will be thrust into a perilous quest. Your survival hinges on overcoming 20 grueling rounds.]Suddenly, I found myself ensnared in this dangerous survival game, a grotesque merry-go-round where every turn carried the stench of death. Yet, I was not without any defenses. I possessed an unusual power: the power to regress 100 times, a chance to rewrite my fate.I stand on the precipice of my final regression, and I swear, ‘This time, I will conquer it. I will emerge victorious.’I’m no longer the insignificant shuttle that I once was. Today, I shed my former self, the one who had reached the pinnacle of power. Today, I am reborn for the last time as Black Scythe, a rookie player, a novice that once again will be become the Grim Reaper!

Adam begins as an ordinary high school student whose life is shattered when his parents vanish. The police later declare their deaths a double suicide, a conclusion Adam refuses to accept.His persistent quest for a real investigation leads him into a dark conspiracy when two corrupt police officers kidnap, torture, and murder him. In his final moments, they reveal his parents were also murdered by an untouchable, powerful entity.Instead of dying permanently, Adam awakens with a new reality: he has been granted a 'System' and the supernatural ability of 'Return by Death,' forcing him to relive his final days.Confused, Adam tries to confide in his trusted teacher, only to be betrayed and killed once again. This time, he learns the staggering reason for his persecution: a $100 million bounty has been placed on his head, making everyone a potential enemy.Dying again and again is horrible. The pain changes Adam completely. The sad, normal boy he once was is gone. He becomes a cold and ruthless killer. He trusts no one. If he even suspects someone might be a threat, he will kill them without a second thought. His only goals are to survive this deadly game and get revenge for his parents.During one of his loops, while investigating, Adam crosses paths with a female classmate being tormented by bullies. He saves her in a moment of detached action and quickly forgets the incident, focused only on his own war. For the girl, however, this act of salvation ignites an intense and devoted love.This devotion becomes a tragic and recurring element in his nightmare. The girl, willing to do anything for him, repeatedly throws herself in harm's way to protect him, often dying in his place across multiple loops.Adam is now trapped not only in a fight against a vast conspiracy but also in a cycle of watching an innocent person die for him, further cementing his transformation into a hardened protagonist who has lost nearly everything, including his own humanity.

When I died I meet with this being who offered me a new chance at life, to actually become someone important and I agreed and was reborn as none other as the First Man.But to think that everything that I ever knew was nothing more than a lie, what am I going to do to survive in such a world?