The Protagonist Already Knows

Chapter 2: First Time

"I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!"

"I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!"

Yelling like a toddler as three security guards in black tuxedos dragged me out of the penthouse, I eventually found myself outside the skyscraper I had once stood atop.

How the great have Fell.

"Great, now, I’m homeless."

Sitting on a patch of grass beside my former building, I paused and seriously considered my next steps.

What kind of life did I want to lead?

Although I had put this question aside for the past week, lazing around in the penthouse for as long as possible, I now had to consider my future.

I knew the future...well, so did someone else, but in a different way.

This book’s premise was relatively simple.

The protagonist, Ren, had tried to save the world...but ultimately failed. Even with his extremely powerful gift and amazing skills, he had failed.

However, he was given another chance.

Time Travel.

Ren had regressed back in time.

With his knowledge of the future, he prevented countless tragedies and gained even more power than in his previous life, becoming the most powerful hero without a doubt.

And, in the end, he defeated the God of Dreg, otherwise known as the ruler of the dimension where the monsters, which were coined "Dregs," come from.

Thus, gates no longer appeared and wreaked havoc on the human world.

Of course, there were unforeseen situations that arose due to Ren’s changing of the timeline.

The butterfly effect.

I was one of those.

In the novel’s original timeline, prior to Ren’s regression. I had stumbled upon a trap left by a powerful Specter on a school-sponsored trip and had been consumed by it.

As a result, I killed many, including a member of the main cast, before dying at Ren’s hands.

Thus, in the novel, Ren made sure to keep an eye on me. However, Ren’s overconfidence in his prophet-like knowledge led him to forget about me.

Once again, the Specter’s inheritance consumed me, and I went on another rampage, killing that same main cast member Ren had sworn to protect after his regression.

It was ironic: I was one of the few characters who had met the same end in both of Ren’s lives: pre-regression and post-regression.

Perhaps, it was fated.

Shaking my head, I glanced at the light-blue sky.

So, what was I supposed to do in this world? It already had a peaceful and happy end, right?

Well...at the very least, I didn’t want to end up being consumed by a Specter’s soul Inheritance and dying like the novel.

All I had to do was not trigger that trap now that I knew about it and let someone else do it.

Then...what? For half a year before and forty-plus years after, what did I want to do in this world?

Should I try to return to my Earth? Was such a thing even possible?

Or...I could stay here, utilizing my own knowledge to become extremely rich and live lavishly, investing in companies I know will succeed.

*DRIP~DROP*

*DRIP~DROP*

Feeling an onslaught of rain begin to barrel down from the now dark-blue sky, I cleared my mind.

Currently, I just needed to find a place to stay until the academy began. With "Fell" as my last name, things in this world would naturally become easier.

Sighing, I clutched the stack of money in my pocket and slowly walked toward the nearest train station; however, before I could even take 10 steps, the ground below me suddenly began vibrating.

*BZZT*

*BZZT*

The people beside me momentarily paused as well and looked down at the concrete sidewalk in confusion.

"Hm?"

A moment later, an ear-piercing shriek suddenly blasted through the air, instantly sending my mind into a world of pain.

Fighting to even remain conscious, I instinctively raised my hands and cupped my ears, only to feel a slimy...and thick sensation envelop my palms.

My palms...they were covered in blood.

Struggling to even form a thought, I glanced around, noticing it was just me...no one else seemed to hear the shriek.

"Ah..."

In that instant, as the air grew thicker and a suffocating feeling overtook my body, I stumbled backward and fell, my eyes instantly closing at the pain of my body hitting the cement.

But...as I looked up, a pillar... no, an arc slowly formed in the spot where I had just been standing.

The silver arc appeared with no regard for human life, impaling the man who had been standing beside me a moment ago and pushing his corpse aside.

It was...a gate.

Cars and humans alike were flung upward into the air and smashed through buildings with no mercy as the street transformed into utter chaos...although, perhaps because of my "hero" status, I remained still.

*BANG*

"HELP!"

"AHHH!"

"SAVE ME!"

A cacophony of sounds reverberated throughout my ears as every window on the street shattered in an instant, as humans were trampled by cars, and as crimson red painted the sidewalk.

Sirens blared around me, resembling those of an ambulance, and pained and desperate humans’ screams filled my ears.

It...it was horrifying.

Adrenaline filled my body as I managed to stand up, my feet immediatly pulling me the opposite direction.

The gate...it hadn’t even started sending out beasts, and yet, the entire street had been destroyed.

It was...pure carnage. Blood everywhere, corpses lying around me, and humans dying like ants.

Vomit threatened to fly out of my mouth as I ran...and I ran in the opposite direction. Behind me, a light-blue hue slowly appeared under the silver arc, forming a portal to another world.

The dregs were coming.

There was a third answer to my question earlier.

Death.

Only then did the reality of this world hit me. This world wasn’t a game; it was a world where gates could appear at any moment and massacre humans.

I could die at any time.

This wasn’t Earth. The average lifespan here wasn’t 60+ years old.

My life here was never guaranteed. I didn’t and would never know everything.

All it took was one small slip-up...like this.

Yet...I couldn’t die here. I didn’t want to.

I wouldn’t.