Reborn To Conquer The Malivic World

CHAPTER 2

Darkness swallowed Lein whole. Cold acid burned across his skin. Every nerve screamed. 

Something razor-sharp raked his side, ripping flesh from bone. His body twisted uncontrollably as he was flung through the air like a rag doll.

Then, impact. The ground struck him with brutal force. Ribs cracked. Spine jolted. Vision shattered into white noise.

A roar shook the forest like thunder. The Dire Crawler King, a monster the size of a wagon with serrated mandibles and eyes glowing like hellfire, stalked toward him through the mist. 

Its dozen legs moved in horrible harmony, each step sinking deep into the earth.

Lein tried to breathe, but air refused him. Blood pooled in his throat, forcing him to cough violently. 

His fingers clawed at the soil, but they barely curled. His limbs felt foreign, useless. He was dying. Again.

So soon. So easily. So pathetically. The system’s emergency alerts exploded in his mind like fireworks.

[HP: 1%]

[Skeletal Integrity: 30%]

[Organ Stability: 18%]

[Warning: Any further damage will result in Termination]

Lein’s heart pounded desperately. He tried to crawl, but his limbs quivered and collapsed beneath him. It felt like his entire body had turned to leaking sacks of pain.

The Dire Crawler King lowered its head, steaming saliva dripping onto the soil. Where it landed, the dirt sizzled. Acid.

Lein swallowed hard. He had no weapon. No armor. No escape. He was a Shadeworm Thrall, a creature designed to die.

The monster lunged. Lein squeezed his eyes shut, and everything faded. He died.

There was no heroic struggle. No last attack. No dramatic resistance. Just a clean, brutal, humiliating end. But death wasn’t the end. Not for him. Not anymore.

Lein gasped violently as air surged into his lungs. His eyes snapped open again. The sky above looked exactly the same: foggy, gray, oppressive. 

The sting of cold soil beneath him felt unmistakably real. He was alive. Again. He jerked upright, but pain shot through his ribs so sharply he nearly passed out. 

He grabbed his chest, expecting broken bones, but nothing. His ribs were intact. His body was whole. 

The wounds were gone. He looked down at himself, trembling. “What… what just happened?”

A chime answered.

[Malivic Depth System]

[Death Conversion Complete]

[Reward Acquired: Minimal Stat Retention]

[You have died: 1 time]

[Pain absorbed and stored]

Lein stared at the notifications, stunned. He died… and revived… at the same spot.

But not empty-handed. A faint warmth pulsed inside his chest. He gained something.

He wasn’t sure what. A fraction of power? A hint of resistance? A sliver of courage?

Whatever it was, it was real. The system spoke again.

[Explanation Unlocked:]

[Because your death was directly caused by Malivic World before, your existence now triggers a unique phenomenon: The Death Loop.]

Lein’s skin went cold. Death… loop? The system continued:

[Every time you die in Malivic World, your suffering, pain, and emotional collapse will be converted into strength.]

[Death will no longer reset you. It will build you.]

[However]

A long pause.

[Your deaths will get worse.]

[Each death will become more painful than the last.]

[This is the price of the Depth System.]

Lein froze. Gain strength through dying… but suffer exponentially every time?

It was a cruel system. But it was his. And it was the only chance he had. Before he could react, the ground trembled. The Dire Crawler King screeched in the distance.

It was coming. Again. Lein’s blood ran cold. He was weak.  He couldn’t fight.  He couldn’t outrun it. He clenched his fists. “I refuse to die the same way twice.”

His voice shook, but determination flared. He scanned the forest frantically. Trees. Rocks. Roots. Holes. Every detail mattered. Every breath mattered.

He spotted something, a narrow crevice between two decayed roots, a tight opening barely wide enough for his frail body.

He sprinted. Pain surged from the earlier beating. His legs wobbled, threatening to drop him. He forced them forward. Forced them to obey.

Behind him, the Dire Crawler King roared. Its legs thundered closer. Lein dove into the gap. Roots scraped his skin raw.

Earth pressed against his back. He wedged himself deep into the crevice, chest heaving.

The monster stopped just meters away. He could hear its breathing, wet, heavy, violent.

He held his breath. A shadow fell over the crevice. The Dire Crawler King sniffed. Sniffed again. Acidic saliva dripped past the opening, sizzling the dirt inches from his face.

Lein trembled uncontrollably. “Don’t see me… don’t see me… please.”

The monster screeched and rammed its mandibles through the gap. Lein yelped, jerking back,  the mandibles missed his face by a hair.

The roots held. Barely, but the monster wasn’t done. It kept stabbing. Over and over.

Each strike splintered the wood, sending shards flying at him. A piece sliced his cheek, drawing blood. The monster smelled it. It screeched louder. Lein’s breath grew ragged.

He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t run. He couldn’t fight. He had one option.

The most terrifying one. He closed his eyes. “If I die… make it worth it.”

The system chimed as if acknowledging him.

[Death Trigger Activated]

[Emotional Stability: Broken]

[Fear Overload Detected]

[Death Conversion Ready]

The roots cracked. The mandibles lunged, and everything went black. This time, it was slower. More painful. More humiliating.

When he awoke, he screamed. Not from wounds,  But from the phantom memory of them. His body wasn’t hurt. But his mind was.

He curled into himself, shaking violently as the pain replayed in waves. The system was merciless.

[Death Count: 2]

[Conversion Complete]

[Stats Increased: +2 Strength, +2 Endurance]

[Hidden Trait Progress: 4%]

Lein gasped for air. Two deaths. Two gains. Two agonies. The realization stabbed him:

He was going to die again. And again. And again. Because he was still too weak.

He was still prey. He forced his shaking hands to steady.  He inhaled slowly. Exhaled slower.

He stood. Barely. But he stood. His legs didn’t buckle this time. His body didn’t collapse. Strength, small but new, pulsed in his limbs.

The Dire Crawler King screeched in the forest again. Lein looked toward the sound with wide, haunted eyes.

He couldn’t face it head-on, but he could learn. He could adapt. He could use the world itself.

He scanned the environment quickly, mind racing. This area. This forest. This part of the map.

He knew it. He played Malivic World for years. He died because of Malivic World. And now, this knowledge was his greatest weapon.

“This is the Ashroot Grove region…” he whispered. “Dire Crawler Kings don’t leave their territory… unless triggered.”

And he triggered it. Twice. “Meaning.”

He turned. Behind him, deeper into the forest, the faint glow of blue mushrooms shimmered.

His breath caught. The Mourning Pits. A deadly zone for players,  but a safe zone for thralls.

Because thralls were too insignificant for the creatures there to bother with. And beneath the surface…Lein felt his pulse quicken. “Cave entrances.”

He sprinted toward the glowing mushrooms. Branches snapped under his feet. Leaves slapped against his face. His lungs burned, but they didn’t give out.

He wasn’t the same weak creature he’d been minutes ago. The Dire Crawler King roared behind him, crashing through the forest.

Lein didn’t look back. He dove past the blue mushrooms. A circular pit gaped before him, a crack in the earth leading down into darkness. The entrance to one of the Caves of Life.

A place where death loops were common. A place where everything wanted him dead. A place where dying meant growing stronger.

He didn’t hesitate. He jumped. Wind whipped past him, darkness swallowed him,  A sickening lurch seized his stomach, 

Then, impact. He hit the ground hard. Pain flared, but he didn’t die. The fall wasn’t deep enough.

He groaned, pushing himself up, blinking in the faint blue light. The cavern stretched endlessly, filled with glowing veins of living rock and bioluminescent plants. 

Strange whispers echoed through the underground, unsettling but strangely familiar.

He swallowed hard. This was it. The first Cave of Life.Where he would suffer. Where he would grow. Where he would evolve.

A soft ripple of water drew his attention. Something small, luminous, and fish-shaped floated near him, gliding through air, not water.

A koi fish. Golden. Translucent. Gentle. His breath hitched. “The… Koi of Fate.”

It circled him. Studied him. Observed him like a curious spirit. The system chimed softly.

[Depth Companion Detected]

[Bond Level: 0%]

[Koi of Fate has taken interest in you]

Lein stared at it. Something about this creature felt ancient. Powerful. Meaningful. “Why… me?” he whispered.

The koi flicked its tail, leaving glowing particles in the air. Then, it darted into the darkness, its glow fading. The system offered one last message:

[Follow it.]

Lein exhaled shakily. “Follow a floating fish into a death cave… right. Perfect logic.”

But he did. Because he had no choice. Because survival demanded it. Because revenge required it.

He stepped deeper into the cave. Cold air wrapped around him like a shroud. Strange chittering echoed through the tunnels.

His instincts screamed. Something was watching him. Multiple somethings.

A guttural growl echoed behind him, from the pit entrance. The Dire Crawler King had found the pit.

It perched at the rim, head lowered, mandibles clacking in rage. Lein’s stomach dropped.

The creature hesitated, sniffing the air. It knew he was down here. It knew he was hiding.

And then, with a terrifying, earth-shaking lunge, the monster hurled itself into the pit.

Lein froze. His breath vanished. He took one step back, two,  three,  The monster fell faster than he could run.

He looked upward. The Dire Crawler King’s massive shadow blocked the cave mouth, descending toward him like a falling mountain. He stumbled, terrified. The system screamed:

[Warning: Third Death Imminent]

[Death Pain Multiplier: x2]

[Death Benefit Multiplier: x3]

[Survival Chance: 0%]

Lein didn’t have time to think. The monster fell, mandibles spread, acid dripping, eyes blazing,  Lein’s pupils shrank. “Not again.”

The Dire Crawler King lunged. Lein screamed, as an enormous shadow slammed down on him.

Darkness swallowed everything.