Chapter 53: Chapter 53: End of the First Life Simulation?
*Booom! Boom! Booom! Boom!*
Hundreds of thousands of loud collision sounds echoed.
Both the earth and space itself trembled under the tremendous power of these two deities.
Luan knew he couldn’t stay there, but he simply couldn’t take his eyes off it.
The scene of the two titans clashing was too epic!
His heart was beating even faster than when he went to watch the World Cup final, with his country fighting for the champion title.
"Incredible...!"
He placed his hand on his chest, feeling his own heart beating.
It was simply fascinating!
’Will I be able to reach this level one day?’
This thought made him clench his hand on his chest as his heart beat even faster.
"Luan!!"
Catharina shook him, bringing him back to reality.
Turning to her, seeing the anxiety stamped on her expression now without the veil, he replied: "Ah yes, yes, let’s get out of here..."
Before placing the unconscious horses in the back of the wagon, Luan looked up one more time.
That scene had almost a magnetic power pulling him, like fire attracting a moth.
If he were alone, perhaps he would have approached to see this epic scene up close.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a deep breath.
"Let’s go!"
He turned and helped Catharina pull the carriage, moving away from the location of the fight between the Red Rose and Hephaestus.
"You are persistent!!" The Red Rose’s voice echoed: "Cemetery of Roses!"
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
"Huh?"
## --
Earth, residence of the Armstrongs.
Luan slowly opened his eyes.
"Urgh..."
His body ached as if it had been crushed by something extremely heavy.
It took a while until he recovered his breath.
Luan lowered his eyelids. In his heart, there was a confused feeling, but strangely it brought him an extreme emptiness.
’What happened?’
The last thing he could remember was hearing a very loud explosion sound, after that...
"Urgh...!"
As he tried to remember, a terrible pain began to hammer his head.
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[You died and the Host’s first Life Simulation has ended!]
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"!!!"
He got up.
"I died!?"
If someone heard him now, they would be asking something like: "What is this crazy guy talking about?"
But even if there was someone listening, Luan wouldn’t care.
At that moment, his head was full of Catharina.
’What happened to her? Is she okay? And...’
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[The Host died at 292 years old from natural causes and reached Lv3.]
Congratulations to the Host for earning the following rewards: [EXP Capsule 999x], [Physical Training Capsule 400x], [Void Fragment 6x], [(First Life Simulation Bonus) Magic Bag]
[EXP Capsule]: Each EXP Capsule grants the user a buff that increases the amount of EXP gained by 5 times (can stack up to 10x). Duration time of 12 hours.
[Physical Training Capsule]: Each Physical Training Capsule grants the user a buff that increases physical training results by 7 times (can stack up to 8x). Duration time of 12 hours.
[Void Fragment]: Void Fragments can be used when starting a new life simulation. With this, the Host can choose from suggested options, ensuring a better start in the next simulation.
[Magic Bag]: A magical item that can store items in another dimension. Currently has 10 cubic meters of capacity (can be upgraded).
Note: All items the Host received were automatically stored in the Magic Bag.
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"But what?"
Luan was shocked.
While he couldn’t process the fact that he had died at 292 years old from natural causes and reached Lv3, a leather bag suddenly appeared in the air and began to fall.
Mechanically, he extended his hands and caught the bag, which was about 20 cm in height, 30 cm in width, and 10 cm in depth. The strap was longer, approximately 60 cm.
Even as he accepted the bag, he was still stunned.
’Did the Book of a Thousand Lives erase decades, even centuries of life from my memory?’
That was frightening beyond words.
Memories are what shape them.
Without the memories that seemed to be missing, he felt an emptiness in his chest.
But no matter how hard he tried to recall something, all he could remember was hearing an explosion and... That was it, there was nothing else.
When he realized it, he had returned to his body on Earth.
’Was that some defense protocol created by the Book of a Thousand Lives?’
He tried to stay positive.
’Or maybe something happened that caused my memory loss?’
Taking his smartphone, upon seeing the time and date, his entire world began to spin.
’How is this possible?!’
## --
"Keep lying down."
Black and white.
Those were the colors Luan saw when he opened his eyes.
When he tried to get up, a hand touched his chest, forcing him to lie down again.
"Mom?"
"Yes, son, I’m here." She held his hand, she said softly: "You had a high fever and fainted."
"I..." His mouth was dry, his lips were cracked.
"Thirsty? Wait a bit..." She let go of his hand.
Luan remained lying down, looking at the familiar ceiling.
’Was that real, or a hallucination?’
Closing his eyes, he tried to enter the Book of a Thousand Lives.
Reckless, yes, but... He was desperate!
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[ERROR! Next Life Simulation unavailable.]
[Time remaining until the release of the Second Life Simulation: 694:01:32]
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’So all of that was real...’
He gave a sad smile.
The ’lost’ memories did not return.
His sadness only increased, and it wasn’t because he had to wait a period of one month to be able to go to the next Life Simulation.
’At least I would like to know what happened to Catharina...’
For a brief moment, just a flash of memory, he seemed to have seen Catharina holding what should be his aged hand with tears streaming from her eyes.
’Right now, I...’
He tried to force his brain to work, but the feeling of fainting consumed him again, forcing him to stop.
It seems that he aged and Catharina remained young, even if more mature than he remembered.
His hands clenched into fists.
It was too frustrating not being able to remember.
"Here is your water."
His mother’s gentle voice brought him back to the present moment.
"Thank you..." He sat up with difficulty.
He was thirsty.
Even after drinking a full glass of water, Luan still felt thirsty.
Anticipating that this would happen, his mother brought a pitcher of water.
"Here, drink more." She filled his glass.
