Cyrus buried himself in games. Besides his handsome face, black hair, and piercing eyes, there was nothing particularly interesting about him.
Living alone, with nothing to do, he had played countless games. But eventually, they all became boring—just repeating the same thing over and over.
This endless repetition took a toll on his health. Days passed in dull cycles, until finally, one game caught his interest.
"The Last City." He read the summary: A survival game. The player must survive in a city full of lurking dangers. The longer you last, the harder the game becomes. Monsters grow stronger, the environment crueler.
Intrigued, he bought it.
Just then, in the middle of the night, something bizarre happened. A sudden knock at the door.
My lazy state turned into full alert. I carefully opened the door and saw a box. Inside was the game.
Cyrus, knowing this was bizarre beyond reason, already had a gut feeling that playing it would be a bad idea.
But he didn't care. His lazy, empty life had worn him down.
"Let's take a look at this game," he muttered.
He inserted the disc and started playing.
Almost immediately, his vision blurred. His whole body felt dizzy, like he was floating in the middle of space.
Days passed. Weeks? Months? He didn't know. Time felt meaningless.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room.
Instead, he stood in the middle of a chaotic street. Cars were overturned, buildings destroyed, highways cracked, and the ground torn apart.
Cyrus stood there frozen, like a statue.
"What the fuck?" he cursed. "I knew I'd get transmigrated, but this is way too soon!"
He knew nothing about what was going on. He only knew one thing: this place could kill him at any moment.
With no knowledge or plan, he cautiously walked and explored.
Eventually, he found what looked like a shelter. It was completely sealed off, but there were lights inside.
If not for the light, I wouldn't have thought anyone was living here.
He couldn't shout for help—doing that would attract monsters.
Exploring blindly was dangerous, but just standing around was worse.
Minutes passed. Nothing happened. He continued moving, carefully mapping out the area in his mind. Hours went by.
He found a supermarket.
But the moment he stepped near it, he noticed something was off. It was dark—unnaturally dark.
Too dark. Outside, at least, he could see something. But this place? Entering it was like asking to die.
Shaking his head, he turned to the nearby cars. "Maybe one of them has loot," he thought.
But as he turned, his stomach churned and his face twisted in horror.
A humanoid creature stood behind a car, holding two rotten, severed heads in its hands. The heads were long decayed.
The creature itself was grotesque—its body stained with blood, its face featureless. Its arms ended in fleshy, sharp claws. Its legs were covered in coarse black hair.
Adrenaline surged through Cyrus. Only one thought remained: Run.
But his body wasn't in great condition either.
With two choices—run into the dark supermarket or escape through the car-filled street—he hesitated.
The humanoid creature took a step, but it looked like it had moved several meters instead of one.
Panicking, Cyrus bolted toward the street, hoping to use the cars to block its path.
But then he heard crashing sounds—the creature was sending the cars flying behind him.
He ran, lungs burning, sweat pouring down his face.
The pressure grew heavier. Closer. Closer.
Then—darkness.
His head had been sliced clean off. It happened so fast, he couldn't even process it.
But then he opened his eyes again.
He was back—at the exact same spot he was when he first arrived.
In front of him was a black screen.
---
[First Loop Begins] (Points: 0)
[Choose a Reward][First Reward: Very small knowledge about the City]
[Second Reward: Very small increase in Physique +0.5]
---
First, he touched his neck. Then looked at the panel.
"First Loop," it said.
It snapped. I came back in time.
He chose the first reward. A 0.5 stat boost didn't mean much compared to knowing the city's layout.
---
[First Reward chosen: Very small knowledge about the City. Your past knowledge has been transferred.]
---
Suddenly, everything became clear. His memory of exploring the area was now sharp and vivid.
Had he not chosen the first reward, he might have forgotten it all.
He yawned and stretched, already aware that surviving in this apocalyptic world wouldn't be easy.
Just as he began to move, the system rang again.
---
[System has detected the Host has no talent. A Bronze Lottery Talent Ticket has been granted.]
---
His smile widened. "Well, I guess this system isn't as useless as I thought."
He activated the lottery ticket.
---
[Host has received: "Better Physique"]
---
By the name, it's just what I expected, he thought.
He clicked the description.
---
[Better Physique: Your physical condition improves by 50%.]
---
Immediately, he felt a difference. His once-weak body now felt lighter and stronger.
With a previously bad physique, this makes a huge difference.
He asked the system how to get more talent lottery tickets.
The answer came quickly: By gaining points. And to get points, he had to absorb energy from monsters.
His eye twitched.
Absorb monsters? I can't even touch them, let alone kill them.
Still, he checked his physique again. It felt... decent. Average, maybe.
The humanoid creature had easily outrun him before. But now? Maybe he had a chance.
With that thought, he set off.
Finding a proper shelter seemed impossible for now, but he remembered the one with lights. If he stayed in the light, his survival rate might improve.
The night here seemed endless. Hours passed, yet there was not a hint of sunlight.
I was lucky in my first life that I didn't encounter a monster immediately—or I'd be stuck in this loop forever.
He looked up at the pitch-black sky.
Then, determined, he kept walking—until he arrived once more at the shelter with the lights still glowing.