Restore Point Zero

When the System arrives, Earth does not become a game. It becomes a salvage yard with health bars. Everyone gets a Class. Soldiers become Wardens. Athletes become Blades. Billionaires immediately try to monetize the apocalypse, because apparently even the end of the world needs premium access. Noah Vale gets Restorer. On paper, that means he can fix broken objects. In practice, it means his first great heroic act is arguing with a vending machine while monsters eat the office staff. Then the machine rewinds itself by thirty seconds. Objects remember what they were. Ruins remember being whole. Weapons remember every hand that ever used them. And one broken subway station remembers yesterday. Now Noah has a restore point no one else can see, a class the System keeps trying to delete, and a city full of monsters that learn from every reset. He does not need to be the strongest. He just needs enough tries, enough duct tape, and preferably one snack that does not cost three dollars and his dignity.