Riftan’s POV (Under the Oak Tree Side Story) - Chapter 38: Riftan’s POV

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.

Failing at the ceremony, Ethan became a Broken Carrier, the worst and weakest of them all.In this world where abilities had to be created and found through the Patterns, Ethan had no choice but to risk everything to change his fate.“So this is my Construct?” Ethan gazed at the massive gears of his core, preparing to harness a new power.The weakest carriers could always become the strongest, all that was needed were methods, desperate and risky, just like the world itself.

In the wake of the apocalypse, betrayal doesn't just stab you in the back—it bites. Zorvax learned this the hard way. Abandoned by those he trusted, he didn't just become another number in the legion of the undead. No, his fate was far more peculiar.“I thought death was the end... I was wrong,” Zorvax mutters, his voice a gravelly echo of his former self. He's a zombie, but with a twist—he's got his human mind intact. Trapped in a decaying body with an insatiable hunger, Zorvax finds himself in a gruesome predicament that's just the beginning of his ordeal.Enter the 'Zombolution System,' a mysterious power he awakens that's as cryptic as it is potent. “They wanted a monster? I'll show them the true meaning of terror,”Zorvax boasts, with a smirk only a sentient zombie could muster. This dark gift is his ticket to ascend beyond a mere walking corpse, promising to unlock abilities that could crown him the emperor of the undead.As Zorvax hones his newfound skills, the line between man and monster blurs. Will his human intellect triumph, or will the beast within claim the throne? “This world has no place for the weak,” he arrogantly declares, ready to challenge fate itself.