The World Cataclysm

Blinded by the lightning flash, Dave didn't have time to understand what had happened. Did just the lightning strike him?

"..." With a flash of lightning, Dave was also struck speechless as he couldn't comprehend what just has happened to him. Even if he was struck by lightning, he should have felt something or even lied convulsing on the floor...

...But he felt nothing! No burning pain. No feeling like he was electrocuted. Nothing at all!

'Have I died? Just like this? I mean what the hell with the world? Why is it so angry with me? Was it because I've returned back in time? Or because my last words before dying were "Fuck the world"? But I didn't mean it! How petty can the world be?' Dave thought in confusion.

No, it wasn't right. He had already died once and it wasn't pleasant at all...instead, it hurt like hell. However, he felt completely different now. Compared to dying, he felt like something gentle was wrapped around him, and he even felt...secure somehow?

Also, he couldn't hear anything, except for the ringing in his ears, nor could he sense anything. And the world had turned completely white, as his eyes were covered by a thin white veil. He was flashed!

However, while he was caught in his sensations, his vision was coming back to normal as a white veil covering his eyes started disappearing into a thin air...until Dave could see new system notifications that had popped up before him. However, compared to the usual blue colour, those system notifications were red and had exclamation marks enclosed in a triangle.

Ding!

[The World has tried to harm its inhabitant!!!]

[Taking the measures to protect that inhabitant.]

[The World is prohibited from interfering or harming its inhabitants.]

[The warning is given to the World: unless it stops harming its inhabitants, the System will be forced to destroy the World.]

'Ha! Serves it right. But...what's with the world's destruction? It can't be about our planet, right?' Dave thought in panic. The whole situation was taking strange turns for him. 'Damn! How does unlocking a skill of mine can lead to world destruction. I've gotten a similar system notification when I tried to warn my little brother about the dangers.'

Retracting his gaze from the system notifications, Dave cast his eyes on the state of his room. Everything was in a mess. All the furniture was either demolished or broken, the window glass was shattered and the wall was close to crumbling as countless cracks had appeared on it, on top with a huge hole on it. It truly seemed like lightning had struck his room. And, on top of everything, his room was on fire as the remains of his furniture burned brightly.

After noticing the most eye-catching things in his room, Dave's eyes fell on a blue barrier enveloping him. It must be the measures taken by the System. 'Hmm...It's kinda similar to my Mana Barrier, but considering that it was able to protect me from the lightning, it must be much sturdier than my mana barrier. At the first glance, it also seems somewhat different.' Dave thought as he observed the barrier protecting him.

Compared to his skill, the barrier enveloping him seemed to be built from numerous plates, probably, made from mana. Each mana plate was adjoined to each other until it formed a bubble around him. Moreover, this barrier was thicker than his skill and looked like a sci-fi energy shield that can be seen in movies.

'Well, at least, I should be happy that I'm alive. On the positive side, I can be proud of pissing off the world. If the world had turned to a game, I would probably have been given some kind of achievement, like "The World Enemy"...Oh, or even better, "The World Pisser"' Dave thought inwardly, trying to retain a positive mindset.

However, despite his positive attitude, he was truly thankful to the System for saving him. At least, someone was protecting his rights as Regressor. If it wasn't for this barrier and the System, his existence would have been wiped out from the planet.

Lightning could strike him and turn him into a retard!

Glass shards may have killed him!

He could have been buried under his furniture!

...

'Interesting, what's with the clouds?' Dave asked himself as he shifted his eyes from the barrier to the sky. The dark clouds were still hanging in the sky as lightning could be seen flashing in them. 'Hmm...is it still observing me? Well, I guess it works fine for me if it can't harm me. But, I'm not gonna back just like that...'

Angrily staring at the sky, Dave raised his middle finger and showed it to the world. He was still mad at the world's attempt to kill him.

Rumble!

Suddenly the skies had rumbled as a thunderclap reverberated through the university. It seemed to be angered by Dave's gesture of "peace". 'Heh...So it can understand me.' Dave thought as he flashed a smile to the skies. He felt like an immortal going against the heavens.

After rumbling a bit, the lightning stopped flashing as the dark clouds started slowly dissipating. At the same time, the barrier enveloping Dave also started fading as it soon disappeared into a thin air. The only thing that had left in the room was a fire burning relentlessly in his room.

"Fire in the building! Dave's room is on fire! Quickly, bring the fire extinguisher." Adam's panicked voice could be heard from the corridor.

"Oh my god! Lightning has struck Dave's room! Is he alright?" Taking the fire extinguisher, Brian also hurried after Adam as they entered the room at the same time.

...

"..."

"..." Both of them were speechless when they saw the state of the room. Freezing for a second, Brian was the first one to exclaim in surprise, "Fuck! Dave, what happened to the room? It seems like a natural disaster has passed through here."

However, nagged by Adam, Brian quickly pulled a pin on the fire extinguisher as he sprayed a distinguishing agent to the fire. Fortunately, the commotion from lightning striking the building was big enough to cause an immediate reaction from them.

"Khe, khe, khe...Dave, are you okay?" Coughing from the remaining gas in the room, Adam asked in worry as he leapt to his friend. Luckily, they were fast to respond, so the fire couldn't spread across the room. They had quickly dealt with it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised a bit. The wall has absorbed most of the lightning energy. But it seems we need to find another dorm to settle in." Dave said as he glanced at the hole in his room. Luckily, there weren't any gas pipes beneath his room.

"What!? And is that everything you can say? You survived being hit by a bolt of lightning! It was damn, fucking lightning! It had enough energy to burn all electrical circuits in the building to the crisp and are you saying that you're okay being in the epicentre? If I was in your place, I would have prayed to my seven ancestors to soothe the anger of the heavens! How can you be so calm?" Brian asked in a mix of amazement and confusion.

"Ehm... To be honest, I'm surprised no less than you. Fortunately, I was able to survive it unscathed." Dave said feigning ignorance. He had a feeling that if he had unclosed the details of why he was hit by the lightning, he would summon another bolt of lightning. Moreover, if he wanted to explain it, he would also need to tell about his Regression and how he could unlock skills from his past. But if he told about it, then he will receive another warning from the System.

A short while later, Rebecca came running with a first aid kit in her hands. She should have found it in one of the rooms. "Dave, are you okay? Are you injured anywhere? I brought a kit with me, so let me examine your body."

Although he kept saying that he was fine, they still insisted on examining his body. So under their demands, Dave finally submitted as Rebecca checked his body for any injuries. But except for muscles he had built over his training, Rebecca found no injury or wound on his body.

They found it strange that Dave had no injuries considering that his room seemed like an armageddon had passed through it, but they could only accept it as a fact that Dave was able to survive the bolt of lightning without any injuries.

"See, I told you nothing to worry about," Dave said with a light smile to reassure them.

Knowing that Dave was fine, they quickly returned to their own businesses. Adam was busy calculating how long their food reserves could last, Rebecca was helping Sara in the kitchen and Brian was trying to work things out with his Small Fireball spell.

With his room devastated, Dave found himself another one, where he pulled a map that he had found in Richard's bag. He wanted to study it before exploring the underground tunnels tomorrow.