What? What is this? She didn't die? Immediately, confusion began to cloud Jenna's mind as she floated aimlessly in the pitch blackness.

It was then that Jenna noticed something in the darkness around her. It was an exquisite white-snow garment, dazzlingly holy. Behind it were what seemed to be infinite runic golden magic circles interconnected with each other. Powerful blitz attacks from the circles left a cloud of dust behind.

Jenna froze. Strange, grand voices echoed within the darkness, catching her attention. As she focused, the once-deep darkness vanished, replaced by a beautiful yet devastating scene that could only be seen in photographs. Everything was vivid and brilliant.

‘Woah, what is this? Why am I seeing things?’ she wondered, her eyes widening in amazement. Could this be a hallucination or the afterlife? The scene was far too vivid to be a hallucination or the afterlife; it felt more like a memory. No, someone’s memory. But whose?

“Haha! How entertaining! To think a mere human had reached my level!” The figure in the white garment laughed.

Its voice was too grand, powerful, and full of astonishing grace. Jenna was certain it wasn't human. Could it be an archangel? Like in myths and legends, she pondered.

From head to toe, the archangel was full of brilliance beyond the realm of mortals. Her long, silky golden hair flowed down to her toes. Her sharp gaze was a pure, bright gray. The gleaming halo on her head shimmered like white steel in the sun.

Her white, satiny, huge wings shone brightly as they spread in the air. Just from those details, anyone could see her glory and ethereal temperament, which couldn't be put into words. However, every time she opened her cherry-red lips, her voice was filled with exhaustion and agony.

“Surprised? I didn't think an archangel would fight it out with a mere human like me.” Another unknown figure responded with a carefree tone.

Yet, Jenna knew her name. The angel in front of her was Archangel Donatella.

Even among archangels, she was a magnificent being who had established her superiority. ‘But how did I know this?’ Jenna was perplexed.

The archangel laughed again.

“Hahaha! How many times have mere humans hunted me down? I couldn't have imagined that you would be able to hurt me this much…”

Upon taking a closer look, Jenna saw the archangel's gleaming halo shattered to pieces, and one of her wings had fallen off. Blood splattered everywhere. Two vivid, long slashes appeared from her shoulders down to her stomach, and blood seeped from her forehead. Numerous cuts and wounds covered her body, some very large. Her dazzling brilliance was drenched in blood.

The archangel chuckled at her current state.

“Kekeke! The transcendence of mortals is allowed for all beings, but for a mere human to damage me to this extent? This world is full of unknowns.”

So much damage? How could such a gorgeous and powerful archangel be hurt so badly? Jenna was more puzzled than ever, curious about who could critically damage an archangel.

“Yeah. Undoubtedly entertaining as well.”

Jenna shifted her gaze to the opposite side of the angel. There stood a long, crimson-haired man with blood-red eyes. Compared to the glowing angel, he seemed far too dull yet full of vigor. He was missing one arm and his lower section, and the other was dripping with blood. He held a white sword tightly. Oddly enough, he remained alive and breathing, yet in a critical state.

“Who is that?” Jenna wondered. The unknown figure was the man, and as she took a closer look, his face seemed familiar. No, she could feel a closeness to his consciousness. “Maybe… that is me.” She doubted this realization, yet felt a sharp thorn in her mind begin to ease when her eyes fell upon him.

“Hahahahaha! But we can't have fun anymore… a bit disappointing… But it can't be helped.”

The angel wished to be entertained for eternity, but she was dying as well. As a transcendent, she couldn't defy death. She reluctantly spoke as blood gushed from the side of her lips.

“That's for sure. I would like to have more fun with you, but there's nothing I can do. Even I cannot escape death as the first species created by a divine god.”

“But, Donatella, I still have a trump card left.”

The dying man wore futuristic robes that couldn't be found in this world; even what was left of them was just the upper section, drenched in blood. He smiled delightfully.

Seeing this, the angel's blurry vision widened in astonishment. She wondered if he was an angel like her; she could have had him as her partner.

Even though she was dying, she still retained her angelic pride. She hid her true feelings and mocked him.

“KUKUKU! The reincarnation magic you acquired when you defeated a demi-god, huh? Do you believe it can save you now?”

“My dear partner, live a long life, and one day I will find you.”

The half-dead man wished as his heart began to glow emerald.

“KUHAHA! I will wait.” At that point, her face smiled as tears rolled down her dilated eyes. She could hardly hide her feelings. “Don't be too late, Great Magic Swordsman Dylan,” she said reverently.

The Archangel expanded her arms and created a thousand-stroke runic magic circle large enough to cover the whole sky, blocking the sun. The golden brilliance from the circle gleamed brightly and thickened as more seconds passed.

Then she unleashed the magic spell, burning all her life force toward the dying man, who also swung his sword, which shone bright crimson-red enough to split a mountain in half with a single stroke.

Both their last attacks collided, and they both had bright expressions, enjoying their final battle. Moments passed as everything seemed to be engulfed in heterochromatic light and immediately exploded, devastating the land and scattering the wind.

‘Huh…’ Jenna couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The familiar man was smiling in the face of death. Didn't she feel like she had died twice? Simply put, she had died twice—once as a man and again as a woman.

In the darkness, her lips pouted in regret as she grabbed her head in extreme pain. Then the darkness immediately dissipated, and what appeared before her eyes was a blue sky swarmed with clouds of dark smoke.

Upon awakening, she finally realized she had reincarnated after all her battles with an archangel, but she had been living the life of a decoy.

"Haaa. It seems that I, the Great Magic Swordsman Dylan, have been wasting my rebirth away. Donatella wouldn't be proud when she sees me." She murmured awkwardly with a faint smile on her bloodstained face.

— — — — — 

‘Hmm…’ Jenna, who had just regained consciousness, felt her head pounding and the bitter taste of blood in her mouth. She groaned as pain coursed through her body, severe yet bearable. Her mind was processing new information—thoughts and memories that weren't hers. No, they were from her past life.

Moments passed, and as the headache subsided a little, Jenna began to inspect her surroundings.

The scene was a wreck: the ruined team headquarters, burning asphalt, and scattered debris. It was total chaos, reminiscent of the day of the collision. The wall she had awakened against was covered in distorted cracks.

Despite all this, Jenna, now sitting up, kept an indifferent expression and sighed. "Ha… What a disaster for a reincarnator to witness," she murmured, wiping the blood from her eyes.

[Jenna Dwayne Higgins, 28 years old. She dreamed of becoming a novelist and a professional author but became a decoy to support herself and her sick father. 

Physical condition is poor, with many bruises and internal injuries from continuous wear and tear. She recently received partial healing but was injured again. 

Diagnosed with a chronic illness, her future is uncertain. Non-Awakened, Non-Adventurer, just an ordinary citizen.]

But that wasn’t all. Another memory surfaced.

[Great Magic Swordsman Dylan from the year 5667 G.C. in the futuristic era of Meddgron. Died at the age of 277 after fighting the Archangel Donatella.]

'To think that the Great Magic Swordsman was my previous life.'

Jenna felt strange that her past as a male and her present as a female were now intertwined. Fortunately, her current personality remained intact, coexisting with her past consciousness. Jenna and Dylan had similar personalities and souls, so their consciousnesses merged 89%, leaving some unknown factors to figure out later.

Now, she was both Jenna and Dylan. However, it was difficult to determine who had more control since both shared one consciousness. Coming to her senses, she sighed. In her past life, she had fought in various terrains and situations, always enduring bloody, brutal, yet beautiful battles as a Magic Swordsman.

“Mmm. I think it's time to live up to my title as a Magic Swordsman.”

Jenna pulled herself together. She clenched her fist multiple times, checking for broken bones. Surprisingly, she felt only the wear and tear of her muscles and her short breath.

"To think I survived without any major problems, despite the bleeding and bruises," she mused, ruffling her hair with a grateful smile. She decided to awaken herself.

First, she concentrated in a lotus position and applied the [Art of Vagrant Interstellar], a special runic breathing technique. It converted the essence of blood into energy, creating a powerful runic energy to circulate through her body. This technique, acquired by analyzing Archangel Donatella's runic energy during their last battle, was incompatible with humans. Jenna knew this but needed it to create a strong foundation for containing mana and aura.

"In other words, instead of twisting the blood flow pace, I simply reversed it." She chuckled lightly, sensing the change and checking every part of her body.

Using this foreign technique for the first time, Jenna felt a thrilling, combustive energy surge within her. Waves of force emanated from her body, causing it to ache. Though only ten seconds passed, it felt like hours.

[System is downloading.]

[Establishing connection to the Monstrille system.]

[Beginning awakening.]

[Welcome, Jenna Dwayne Higgins. You have awakened.]

"What… Awakening?" Jenna stared at the indigo hologram in confusion. "What the fuck is this?" Her eyes widened in astonishment.

The Whispering Star, Monstrille.

A hundred years ago, after the collision, a being introduced itself as the overseer of the planet, a star watching over the world. Monstrille chose adventurers randomly, granting them an ability—an interface—that allowed them to level up with experience gained by slaying monsters and to use acquired skills.

This ability was straightforward, akin to a computer but far more advanced. Humanity adapted quickly, growing infinitely to fight monsters more efficiently.

"But to think this ability was applied to me as well. Probably because my soul and physical body are different entities," Jenna thought aloud, rising from the disheveled ground.

Part of Jenna's soul came from another futuristic world, and the interface's ability didn't belong here. This meant Monstrille descended from a different world.

"Let's see… Status Window." She uttered to confirm. Instantly, an indigo interface flickered into existence like a television screen.

[Name: Jenna Dwayne Higgins 

Race: Human.

Job: None.

Level: 1 

Strength: 5      Stamina: 10

Agility: 18        Perception: 1

Fate: 20          Intelligence:1 

Points: 0

Specialty: None. ]

Agility was unexpectedly high, and Jenna clicked her tongue in satisfaction. She had been running from danger all her life and would have been disappointed if it was lower.

Her Intelligence had increased by one. This meant her mana had risen due to the special technique she used recently. She sensed the mana and knew how to control it.

"Well, this is all expected since I just awakened. However, there's no job yet!" she concluded. After all, she was an irregular.

Jenna flicked her index finger to close the interface. If she could now utilize mana, that was alright. Besides, she needed to do something now that her body was still fresh with mana.

She began to concentrate the little mana within herself. Since this was her first time, her head began to ache, but she wasn't bothered. She directed the flow of mana to her core in her solar plexus and condensed it. Having done that…

"At last!" Her expression brightened as sweat seeped from her body. Her mana formed a rotating orb inside her core.

Black core – Acquire Phrase.

This was the first stage where one could call oneself a real magic swordsman.

[You have acquired the first stage of magic.]

"Hahaha! The ability of a star immediately analyzed my diagnosis." Jenna chuckled as she slowly picked up a rusty yet sturdy pipe and unleashed a simple yet marvelous sword dance.

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[Your job has been changed.]

[You have acquired the job 'Apprentice Magic Swordsman.']

"What? How could the system judge my sword dance as apprentice level?" she scorned. She placed her hand on her chin. "Does the system not have complete information about me?" 

She stirred the mana in her core. Could it be that the system didn't know she was missing some of her memories from her previous life? Jenna clicked on the [Job: Apprentice Magic Swordsman] in her status window, which opened a new mini window.

"Hmm, I don't know if it's an ability of a star or designed by a star," she muttered. "However, there's no need to rush things. I can find out later."

The more she condensed and rotated her mana, the more its presence and heat increased. Blood flowed to that area, filtering out any impurities.

This slow yet balanced way of cultivating trained a magic swordsman to collect mana from impurities. Over time, the next stage would be unlocked.

"Training like this as I move shouldn't be hard for me," Jenna decided.

Since she merged with her past life, she was able to quickly climb to a high level by conducting training in the background.

Then, a notification appeared.

[Mana increased by 0.001.]

"Good. Nice to see my training was effective right away," she said calmly. "Hmm..." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and she inspected the team quarters. Almost all the adventurers were dead, and some of the survivors were crushed by debris, screaming in agony.

The alpha team members that arrived were bloody, and some were critically injured. It was expected that few could survive this terrible ordeal.

"This is disastrous," she sympathized.

Specific hunting automobiles, armored loot vehicles, unrecognized corpses, and other broken fragments were scattered about. Jenna realized that among the low-rank adventurers remaining in the team quarters, almost no one had survived.

She gasped for air. Though she had merged with her past self, her present self couldn't take the ravaged sight. Tears streamed down her widened eyes as she doubled over, vomiting. "It seems… the border reinforcement wall to the monster's expanse ‘had’ been destroyed."

The border-reinforced wall was a strong barrier created with the latest technology of steel and concrete mixed with the reinforcement of magic. It blocked monsters from entering. Currently, the combined forces of the city's army and all levels of adventurers were fighting against hordes of monsters from the forbidden area.

"But it seems the army and adventurers also failed, and their vehicles were falling from the sky," she thought aloud. If the border reinforced wall was destroyed, a monster strong enough to break through the defense had appear.

Some low-rank adventurers who died unexpectedly couldn't even close their eyes in death. She closed their eyes pitifully. 

"It's impossible to revive the dead. Even if I'm a necromancer, these adventurers would be revived as humanoids or skeletons, and that would be…" 

Unable to finish her thought, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

She glanced at the bloody corpses one by one, hoping to find the receptionist, Miss Ciel. But it was to no avail. Suddenly, she chuckled in frustration.

‘What a lousy feeling this is,’ she thought. Her past life and present were mixed. Perhaps it was because she cared for someone who cared for her. Is that why the mood was lousy? Jenna clicked her tongue and kept looking around.

"I will find her no matter what. I didn't properly repay her for the healing," she decided.

It was then that her eyes widened in shock. She noticed a certain distorted and destroyed crystal transport vehicle that had fallen flat. Dazzling fragments were lying on the road from its rear boot.

"Fragment?" Jenna walked toward the fragments, which were crystal fragments.

"This is unexpected," she said indifferently, though her eyes were full of admiration.

Crystal fragments.

A natural source of mana, only obtained from the bodies of monsters.

"I guess this crystal storage—transport vehicle was caught up pretty badly in the explosion for its armored boot to be blasted open," she pondered aloud, picking up a fragment. "Damn, such rich stuff. Perhaps with a piece or two, I could get three hundred gold coins."

"Hmm, let's see." Jenna felt the mana flowing from the crystal. It flared like sparkles of light, followed by concentrated mana.

"In my past life, these were called Monster Cores," she reminisced. As a source of solidified mana, this would be extremely useful for her, who didn’t have much mana.

Inspecting it more closely, Jenna could tell how brightly it shone. "The purity is splendid as well." Tossing all thirty-five crystal fragments into her pocket, she murmured, "What a jackpot."

Then a heavy crash shook the ground.

BAM! SWOOSH!

People rose from the ruins, raking up the debris. Individuals were breaking through with their mana. Some were lifting huge debris with their bare hands, while others raised the rubble with their minds.

Adventurers.

Though bloody and injured, they still rose to survive. Even if all the low-rank adventurers had died, the Alpha A squad was elite in the team quarters. If they survived, they might not have to leave.

“That came out of nowhere, and my bleeding won't stop.”

“Damn it, I thought I was going to die. Who caused this much damage? A monster? Where is it?”

“If not for my physical enhancement ability, I would be dead by now.”

If the monster broke through the reinforced border wall, there's a good chance they won't be able to stop it in their current state.

"Even if they're perfectly fine, the Alpha A squad is mostly close to C-rank. So there's a chance the monster is B-rank to A-rank at best." Jenna shook her head and began to walk away. She thought the best thing to do was to leave quickly.

At that moment, Jenna's heightened perception ran amok. She glanced up at the sky and saw something falling, approaching the ground like a shooting star.

Taking a closer look, it was something huge. It resembled a human. But as soon as the object was bathed in the sun's rays, Jenna realized it was not human.

Her eyes widened in shock. "A White Guardian?"

RUMBLE! BANG!

The giant monster fell, striking heavily and shocking the ground as if a short earthquake had happened.

"Gaaaaaaaaahh!"

As the monster shouted, a gust of wind rose, and heavy clouds of dust flew like a storm. Seeing that, Jenna clenched her grip tightly on the iron pipe and concentrated mana around her body.

"As a Knight of Mana, I declare, defend me! Heart of Armor!" she uttered.

PHAAA!

A translucent armor began to equip itself around her body like a knight’s. Her pipe was also engulfed by the translucent armor. A second ago, she was covered in dust, but the energy surge from the swings of the strengthened pipe dispelled the storm.

She was sent back a few meters from the recoil. However, the armor helped her hold her ground.

[You have acquired the new skill 'Heart of Armor'.]

Ignoring the notification, Jenna looked around carefully. Her eyes narrowed to focus on her surroundings, but it was difficult to see through the thick cloud of black dust raised by the fallen monster. After a few more swings of the pipe, she dissipated it a little.

Jenna began to gasp for air as the physical exertion took a toll on her. But her efforts weren't in vain. In a vacant lot nearby, she saw the huge monster.

“It's a monster.”

“Get in battle formation! Prepare for combat!”

Some adventurers took what was left of their weapons and readied for battle.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

The white-snow monster screamed deafeningly.

"Guardian. No, it's a mutated Guardian," Jenna smiled at the overwhelming sight. From a few hundred meters away, she could see it. The roar of the monster vividly shook the air around.

“KUEK! If I weren't injured, I would end its life before its roar.”

“Damn it! It feels like my eardrums are about to burst out.”

Some adventurers gritted their teeth to endure the terrible scream.

"That thing is larger than a normal Guardian. That's too much for me right now," Jenna murmured, feeling the wind from the monster's shout brush across her face. She assessed the hefty size and shape of the monster.

The giant monster had white-snow fur and deep crimson eyes, noticeably different from its facial appearance. Its physique was so muscular it resembled a man on magic steroids. Jenna looked at the Guardian as if she had seen it before in her previous life.

The Guardian was 6.5 meters tall. It had an attack stat of 65, great stamina of [75], and great physical strength of [81].

But it didn’t have the jumping power to leap so high up in the sky. Guardians are known to jump approximately a little over three times their body height. This indicated that this monster's stats had greatly increased in physical abilities.

The Guardian and the adventurers began to engage in a bloody brawl.

Jenna decided to flee.

"Hmm…" Too bad, she wanted to watch more and observe how strong this mutated Guardian was, but she needed to avoid being found by anyone.

With the new strength flowing through her muscles, she moved swiftly. She didn’t have the training to fight an enemy like this Guardian. If she had any magic items and a good sword like her previous one, it might be worth a try. But now, it was very difficult to fight him.

Momentarily, a weak yet familiar voice stopped her.

“Help… Is there someone…”

It seemed to be coming from somewhere far away.

"Did I hear that wrong?" 

She doubted her ears since she initially thought everyone had died. However, her senses had heightened due to the mana in her bloodstream.

She halted her steps and looked far back in the direction of the sound. She dimly saw someone stuck under the rubble of the team quarters, a few meters from where she had recently found those crystal fragments.

"Help… me!" The voice grew fainter by the second.

‘Ciel, the receptionist…’ Jenna immediately remembered the familiar voice. Her eyes widened as sweat rolled down her cheek.