Weapon seller in the world of magic

He sat up.

The world around him was no longer his bedroom but instead a barren wasteland, stretching endlessly into the distance. No trees, no buildings—just a broken horizon under a rust-colored sky.

His gaze dropped to his body; he was still in his pajamas that he wore in his bed, too.

”Where the hell is this? What’s happening?”

And the answer came with a shadow falling over him.

As a confused Sungjun stiffly raised his head, he saw a giant humanoid creature, towering over 5 meters tall, standing just a couple of meters away. Its skin was stone-like, veined with glowing red cracks. In its hands, there was a massive club.

”The Hell...”

Ding!

Ding!

[Daily Mission: Failed]

Punishment: Compulsory Physical Trial: Active

Status: Time-Suspended Instance Realm

Objective: Defeat the Designated Guardian Beast to Return

Remaining Lives: 9

Optional Reward Upon Completion: +1 Skill Point

Sungjun couldn’t help but stare as the screen floated before him with a frozen face. ”This... this is the punishment?” he muttered, slapping his cheeks to snap out of his daze.

A thunderous step echoed, all of a sudden, as the towering giant moved.

In no time, the towering giant started charging at him with its spiky club raised high. It moved with surprising speed, despite its hulking size.

As the club swung down at him, Sungjun dove to the right in reflex, almost dodging it completely.

Almost...

The edge of the club grazed his ribs, just a graze... and yet...

CRACK!

He was sent flying like a rag doll. He tumbled across the earth, rolling, before skidding to a halt a dozen meters away. His entire ribcage was shattered like glass.

”Fk,” He gasped, struggling even to lift an arm.

But the shadow loomed again, closer this time.

The giant was in mid-air, its club already coming down at him.

This time, Sungjun didn’t have enough time to move. He could only look up with pain-glazed eyes as he tried to raise a hand, to dodge, to do anything...

But...

CRACK

His world went dark almost instantly. The last thing he saw was a massive foot.

And then, just like that, he turned into a bloody pulp.

Ding!

[You died]

However, a moment later, with a gasp, he came back to life.

Sungjun’s body reassembled itself to its normal state without any wounds or injuries, on the cracked earth where he had first stood.

A new notification hovered above him.

Ding!

[1 Life Consumed – Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 8/9]

The stone giant froze mid-motion, just like how it was in the state for the first time Sungjun saw it. It was paused like a scene in a VR simulator.

Sungjun’s eyes darkened, and almost a growl escaped his mouth. ”Such grave punishment for not doing a workout... this fucing system...”

As the ten-second timer ticked toward zero, Sungjun shoved away all kinds of thoughts and sprinted away in the opposite direction, increasing the distance between him and the frozen giant.

”Show Character interface.”

With a swift scroll down, he clicked on Ability.

[OVERLORD’s AUTHORITY]

Unlocked abilities:

Chain of Command: Current status: 20% strength increase.

Eyes of Dominion: Stored skills: Lightning God Armor.

Sovereign’s Resistance: All damages from Lightning God Armor are reduced by 50%. Elemental resistance increased by 20%

Without much thinking, he clicked on Lightning God Armor. A new holographic window materialized, displaying its details.

Lightning God Armor (Original user: Tempest)

Usage Remaining: 3

Duration: 60 seconds per activation

Sungjun’s fingers hovered for a breath. ”1 minute per usage. That means I have roughly 3 minutes to defeat this monster?”

As he was wondering the strategy, the timer hit zero.

The screen vanished, and the stone giant’s body twitched. It resumed moving.

And then, Sungjun spun on his heel and ran toward it.

At ten meters away, his feet slammed into the earth, and he growled out the trigger.

”Lightning God Armor, Activate.”

CRACKK-KOOM!!

In an instant, his entire being erupted with a blinding flash of light.

When it disappeared a moment later, lightning enveloped his body in sharp plates, and sparks of electricity danced all over his body.

His hair shot upward wildly. Even the air around him began to hum, vibrating with unstable sparks of electricity.

”Let’s see how you like this,” he muttered with his eyes fixated on the opponent.

As the giant continued to move, Sungjun shot off the ground like a thunderbolt.

BOOOM!

He shot straight at the beast’s head with his armored fist pulled back, lightning spiraling into his knuckles. And then, he struck with every bit of strength he had.

His punch crashed against the giant’s face with the speed of sound, releasing a shockwave.

CRACK!

But when the light cleared...

A faint white scratch, a hairline fracture across the creature’s right cheek, was seen.

But that’s it.

”Eh?” Sungjun’s eyes widened, and his face went pale in horror. ”That was everything?”

He didn’t even get the opportunity to land on the ground to attack again as the giant’s hand closed around him like a cage.

CLASP

The Lightning Armor sparked violently, trying to resist the force. But it was no use against the mighty grip of the giant.

Grrrr

The giant growled, tightening its grip again as Sungjun’s ribs cracked under its sheer power.

”Arghh! Gahhhh!! Leave me, you fucer!”

With a sickening crunch, Sungjun’s bones gave way. His eyes rolled back as the armor shattered into shards of lightning. Sungjun was helpless to fight against it. He couldn’t get free from its grip, and eventually, his body ruptured inside the giant’s hand like a popped fruit.

The blackout is here again.

[1 Life Consumed – Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

Sungjun reappeared in the same location as he had resurrected earlier, lying on his back, letting out a loud gasp as he sat up. His body healed instantly as if he hadn’t died and resurrected, but had gone back in time.

”Damn it... even with that power, I could only scratch him...” Sungjun gritted his teeth and squeezed his fists. He stared at the giant, which had frozen again after the resurrection, just like last time.

The countdown began anew above its head.

[Resume in: 00:06]

”Six seconds,” he murmured, eyes narrowing. ”Only six seconds left...”

He shut his eyes and breathed in slowly. Then, focusing his will, he reached into his body and pulled forth mana reserves he had in his body and shaped them.

HSSSSHHHHK

A saber of translucent golden-blue energy ignited in his palm, humming with unstable mana. ”What I need isn’t a fist but a saber...”

A simple conjured blade, rudimentary, yet sharp enough to cut most monsters. Or atleast that’s what he believed at the moment. ”If it can’t be destroyed with brute force, then I must cut it down.”

Taking advantage of its stillness, Sungjun launched himself forward.

The saber glinted as he raised it overhead and brought it crashing down on the beast’s left leg, hoping to restrict its movements.

But... the moment his mana saber struck the giant’s leg...

BOOM!

A ripple of force exploded outward instead of hurting the monster.

Sungjun’s body was flung backward like a rag doll. He struck the ground with a thud, and a massive pain jolted up his spine. ”SHT!”

He hit hard and coughed violently; before he could move further, the countdown vanished.

[00:00]

The giant roared back to life and took a giant leap forward once again, as usual.

CRACK—BOOM!

Sungjun barely got his arms up before the titan’s foot came down on his body.

The world went black for the third time. And a familiar notification appeared.

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

Sungjun’s body reformed again in the dust with his eyes fluttering open in confusion.

”Ugh...” He sat up slowly. But then, as his eyes fell on the holographic screen, he felt something wrong. ”Hmmm?”

He had died three times so far, so the notification should read: [Lives Remaining: 6/9]

But instead, it still read: [Lives Remaining: 7/9]

He blinked. ”Okay, what’s going on?”

Then came the second shock. His mana core pulsed inside his chest.

His reserves were completely full.

Sungjun rose to his feet, blinking rapidly. ”Wait... not only does this death number not go up, but my mana was restored?”

He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. ”Why?”

After a while, Sungjun tightened his grip around the energy saber. He had no idea why his lives weren’t decreasing the last few times. Was it a glitch? A feature? Or some kind of hidden rule.