I opened my eyes and instantly regretted it. A blinding light hit me, and it took several seconds for my vision to adjust.
Something was beeping to my right. It took a moment to realize it was a heart monitor.
So. I made it. But how?
My last memory was being hit by a truck while I tried to push a girl out of the way — because apparently my life specializes in noble sacrifices.
Who am I kidding? We were just standing at a crosswalk when a truck decided we'd be perfect candidates for the morgue.
In those last seconds I knew I couldn't avoid it, so I shoved her clear, thinking maybe I'd rack up some 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.
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, felt angry and disgusted by the scene playing in my mind.
I might've been a nobody in my past life, but the least I could do for Ace was fulfill his dying wish—and settle all the resentment in his heart.
Maybe this was the reason I ended up in his body in the first place.
Don't worry. I'll make sure your mother gets the justice she deserves.
As if reacting to my promise, my heart started pounding, and my head jerked uncontrollably until I slowly lost consciousness.
[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.