The first thing he felt when he regained consciousness was the sensation of being gently dragged over soft wet sand. Michael's eyes shot open and he sat up in an instant, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. His first attempt to inhale air was met with a burning sensation in his lungs and he immediately turned over to empty the salt water he had swallowed during his drowning. The memories of what had happened flashed before his eyes and he grit his teeth in rage.
'That bastard shot me.... He was really ready to kill me there and then....'
It was not often that Michael got angry but now he found himself filled with a cold hatred. But still, he did not allow his anger and hate to cloud his reasoning and logic. He remembered being shot multiple times and yet when he checked his body, he could not find a single wound on his person. He looked down at his hands and found that he was still holding the device he had taken from Victor and injected onto himself moments before he fainted.
Suddenly, a light blue digital interface appeared within his mind.
[Congratulations! Objective: Host Resuscitation Completed!]
[Completion Time: 5:20:45]
[Completion Rank: B]
[Rewards granted:]
[Full Integration with the Wargod System]
[Soul Skill Tree Unlocked]
[Soul Skill: Observe obtained]
[Soul Skill: Foresight obtained]
Michael blinked twice before looking closer at the body of the device. There was no visible marking on it, save for a portion of it where the name 'RISAX' was clearly inscribed. Just what had happened to him when he had fallen into the water? And what the heck was this thing he was seeing?
Attempting to communicate with the strange entity, Michael pushed out a thought in his mind. 'Who... No, what are you?'
[The Host is referring to the Wargod System]
[The System is a prototype product of highly advanced nanotechnology capable of bio-integration on a cellular level]
'Prototype? That means it's one of a kind... No wonder Victor was so mad when I took it. Still, if his reaction was anything to go by, then there must be more to this System,' Michael mused thoughtfully. 'I think I'm beginning to understand this thing a little better. System, the message from earlier, what was that about?'
[The Host completed an Objective and was rewarded accordingly]
[Objectives are tasks or goals which are related to the Host and have been deemed important by the System. Objectives can be triggered by the actions of the Host or that of the people around him, and even by his environment. Failure of an Objective will lead to negative consequences for the Host while successful accomplishments of Objectives will greatly reward the Host both physically and financially]
Michael felt his eyes widen slightly. This thing was biotech on a level he had never seen before. The feeling of having something else in his mind was strangely not as intrusive as he had thought it would be. In fact it felt as if the System was just another facet of his consciousness. If he focused enough, he could almost feel the connection leading from his mind to the Biz-Watch on his wrist. The watch had survived his near death experience without looking worse for the wear, which was to be expected since it was made out of pretty durable materials. Biz-Watches were also biotechnology, made to access the genetic make-up of the user to avoid account hacking and theft.
Since this System could access it, Michael realized that it was most likely capable of rewarding him financially. But that all depended on his own resourcefulness. If he ended up trying to rely completely on the System, he would never move past his current position in life. Michael had zero plans on letting such a fate befall him, especially not now that he had finally obtained a means to change his destiny.
[Host Designation: Michael Grey]
[Level: 5]
[Health: 100%; Energy: 86%; Willpower: 100%]
[Strength: 10; Agility: 15; Endurance: 13; Control: 15; Intelligence: 14]
[Soul Skills:]
[Observe (Level 1): Allows the Host to gain information on a selected target. More information is revealed depending on the level of the Host, the level of the skill and the level of the target]
[Foresight (Level 1): Allows the Host to catch a fleeting glimpse of the future for 2 seconds]
Michael finished reading through his newly obtained status screen in silence as he sat on the sandy beach. Looking around, he noticed that the tides had washed him up right at the edge of the abandoned harbor. He considered himself quite lucky that the waves had not pulled him further out into the ocean. There was no way he would have survived that.
His mind raced with all the possibilities available to him with these new development. This will be just what he had been looking for: a way to get back at his extended family. To get his revenge on all those who were at fault for the condition of his own immediate family and most of all, he was going to make sure that he proved his grandfather wrong by becoming a powerful individual worthy of the Grey name.
But first he had to get back to his family. There was no doubt that his father William would have noticed his absence last night, and since it was already well into the morning and he had still not returned, his father was definitely going to be worried.
Though it did come as quite the surprise when he glanced at his reflection in the water and discovered that his hair has turned snow white in color.
************
Michael was still going over the inner workings and the smaller details of his new power with the System when he reached the street where his house was. As soon as he rounded the corner, he caught sight of a small gathering of people around the location of his house and he immediately got the idea that something was very wrong. He hastened and forced his way through the people until he came to the center of the whole thing.
Never before had Michael ever desired to end someone's existence as much as he had in this very moment as he stared at the scene before him. The sleek black limo was a dead giveaway, but the main event was happening in front of his house. Victor, his own cousin as well as the man who had tried to murder him was currently standing above his kneeling father whimself was standing in front of a crying frail blonde yoho was held down by two well built bodyguards. Victor ung woman whose beauty could not be denied despite her tears.
"Please Victor, you don't have to do this! Whatever happened, I'm sure we....we can find a way to settle things peacefully," Ariana cried and attempted to go to her father.
"Hey now, you should be thankful that you're not there on the ground with him," Victor replied with a cruel smirk and moved to grab her arm. "Don't make me—"
A cold iron grip closed around his wrist just before Victor's hand could touch the young woman's shoulder. He followed the grip back to its owner and was shocked to silence upon seeing the dangerously frigid glare in the eyes of his supposedly dead cousin, Michael.
"If you touch my sister," he began lowly in a voice that raised the hairs on Victor's neck. "I will make sure that you never use that hand again."