I opened my eyes and instantly regretted it. A harsh, blinding light hit me, and it took several seconds before I could see clearly.
Something was beeping to my right. It was a heart monitor.
So. I made it. But how?
My last memory was of being hit by a truck as I pushed a girl out of the way. I didn't think; my body simply moved. If that was how I was meant to go, then so be it. At the very least, I was able to save a life.
We were just standing at a crosswalk when a truck decided we'd be perfect for testing its brakes. It failed miserably.
In those last seconds I knew I couldn't avoid it, so I shoved the stranger out of harm's way, thinking maybe I' would rack up a lot of karma… and, fingers crossed, get reincarnated with godlike abilities.
Yeah, ridiculous. Still, an otaku brain was practically wired to expect reincarnation the instant a truck shows up. Though, in hindsight, maybe I should've been more worried, considering it was a twelve-wheeler.
Wait… something's wrong. I couldn't feel anything below my neck.
"Nggh… brlghh…" I opened my mouth to speak, but only a mess of broken sounds came out.
Beep. Beep. Beep… Beep—Beep—Beep!
The monitor sped up to match my rising heart rate.
"Doctor! Something's wrong with him!" A stunning woman with silver hair burst into the room.
She looked like she had stepped out of a fashion magazine — perfect skin, a tiny waist, and well… God did not held back when handing out blessings.
"Son, are you okay?" she leaned over, and damn — my vision went dark very fast, blocked by the sheer size of her assets.
WOW.
My heart spiked for reasons that had nothing to do with fear. Quite the opposite.
I forced myself to breathe and tried to make sense of everything.
Who was this pretty lady calling me her son? Last I'd checked my mother wasn't this hot.
I would have remembered — especially with all those guys suddenly acting super nice just to hang out at my house.
"The doctor will come soon. Don't worry," She bent closer, and her assets accidentally bumped my nose.
'Holy crap!'
They were soft and smelled like lavender. I would've loved to stay put , except I could hardly breathe with the added weight.
Just as I gathered every ounce of strength to speak, a sudden flash blinded my vision.
Memories flooded in, one after another.
This… wasn't my old body. It belonged to Ace Mercer—the only child of an outrageously wealthy businessman.
And the stunning lady leaning over me? His stepmother, Ellie.
Three years ago, a monster horde appeared out of nowhere, and Ace was eaten alive by an A+ rank giant frog beast.
They managed to pull him out, but his body was left badly damaged. Since then he would fall into long periods of sleep — sometimes a week, sometimes a month.
His longest sleep, though, was the last one: a full year.
A memory of his real mother surfaced, heavy with grief. Even I, normally empathetic, was angry and disgusted by the scene playing in my mind.
Tears began to flow. The owner of this body and I were two different people, but for some unexplainable reason, I felt connected to his past trauma.
His mother was the only one who had ever cared about him. Everything went downhill when he lost her.
His story went from that of a wealthy child to a young boy barely acknowledged by his father—a boy who got bullied for being an underachiever, a boy who desperately wanted to be noticed but was constantly ignored.
Don't worry. I won't let her death go unpunished. I'll get her the justice she deserves. It's the least I can do after taking over your body.
As if reacting to my promise, my heart started pounding, and my head jerked uncontrollably until everything went blank.
[Booting System...]
'What's going on? Why can't I see anything?'
Being stuck in complete darkness was even worse than not being able to move.
And the scariest part? I might be stuck here forever.
[DING!]
A glowing red screen materialized in front of me: semi-transparent, futuristic, and annoyingly bright in the pitch-black void.
[System loading]
Jackpot! If I had a body right now I'd probably be breakdancing like a maniac.
These were basically my two biggest dreams: being reborn and getting an overpowered system.
I'm ready! Give me the Dragon System so I can dominate this world with overwhelming power.
No wait... give me the Monarch System! I want to control shadows and summon an endless army!
Better yet, give me a system where I can pick up attributes just by existing — so I could face slap everyone with how easily I learn things.
Thinking about which system I might get was making me restless.
[Analyzing Host: Aptitude, Personality, Skills, Preferences, Mental State...]
It was evaluating me. Great. My chances of getting something decent were plummeting by the second.
Trash stats. Questionable morals. Horny 99% of the time. Mentally unstable. Proceeding anyway.
Bracing for disappointment, I waited to see what fate would toss me.
For the love of god, just give me something that isn't one of those cliche systems.