Chapter 10: Evolution Paths.
Ren's eyes snapped open like a pair of spring-loaded trapdoors, and immediately, his body followed, jerking upright with the fluid panic of someone who just dreamed they were falling off a skyscraper.
His breath came out in short bursts at first, then slowed as he stared around, dumbfounded, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
The blinding white walls, floor, and ceiling were all exactly the same as he remembered. It was still spotless, sterile, and almost impossibly bright.
The same weightless air. The same eerie silence.
He blinked a few times and rubbed at his eyes with both hands, not because they hurt, but because his brain was still trying to reject the ridiculous reality that he was back in that room again.
"No way," he muttered, squinting at the environment. "Did I lose consciousness again?"
At first, he had truly thought this white realm was his cheat; the golden finger every isekai protagonist dreams of.
He'd woken up here on the first day, dazzled by the glowing evolution crystals and practically foaming at the mouth with anticipation.
But then night had come, and he'd gone to sleep... and nothing. Just normal chaotic dreams and a disappointing morning filled with mundane reality.
That experience alone had shaken his belief in the cheat, even though everything about this white room screamed "overpowered protagonist zone."
"So... it only activates when I lose consciousness?" he murmured, eyes narrowing in sharp calculation. "That's a very concerning activation method."