What the hell is this? It stings. Can’t I even die peacefully?
A stinging pressure on his eyelids. It was warm, almost burning.
He couldn’t bear it any longer. He forced his eyes open.
He’d expected for it to be blood, or water at best. Instead, he saw a clear blue sky, dotted with pure white clouds.
The stinging was just the sharp sun rays hitting his eyes.
He could feel his body perfectly fine. Not a hint of pain or injury. He pushed himself up and sat up straight.
He was in a forest. A dense one. Long trees, strange bushes, and flowers he’d never seen before surrounded him.
"I’m pretty sure this isn’t what’s supposed to happen when you die," he said to himself. "Unless this is the afterlife."
Ding.
The sound wasn’t in his ears. It resounded inside his head, like a thought but one that wasn’t his own.
An emotionless female voice echoed in his mind.
[Booting Core module...]
[User compatibility: 98.7%]
[Mental State: Slightly Unstable]
[Cognitive Functions: Stable]
[User Accepted.]
[Commencing Synthesis...]
[Analyzing User’s memories...]
[Completed.]
[Analyzing User’s personality...]
[Completed.]
[Customizing the system to be completely compatible with the user...]
[Successful.]
[Genesis System is online.]
"What the fuck?!" Allen shouted.
[Welcome User, you have been granted complete access to the Genesis System.]
System?
Well, he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with this. He’d spent years reading webnovels. Reincarnation. System novels. You name it.
He’d seen this stuff a million times over and still hadn’t gotten tired reading it for one more time.
But for it to happen in real life... it was a little hard to accept.
Hey System, do you have any idea where I am right now? he thought, or rather asked.
[Is that a command?]
Uhh, yeah. I guess.
[Understood. Accessing user’s memories...]
[Processing...]
[You are most likely in a parallel world, different from the one you originally belonged to. After going through your memories, I have concluded that you have been transmigrated.]
Shit. So it really happened.
Deep down, a part of him was happy. There was nothing left for him in that fucked-up world anyway.
And this new world couldn’t be that bad, unless it was inspired from some very specific novels he had read of course.
"Well, sitting around isn’t gonna do anything," Allen said, getting to his feet.
The forest was dense, but not impassable. He could see between the trees.
A thought struck him. If this is a system like in the novels...
"Status," he said.
A translucent white screen appeared before his eyes.
[Unidentified command. Opening Menu instead.]
[GENESIS SYSTEM – CORE MENU]
[STATS]
[WEAPONS]
[AMMO]
[SHOP]
[ARMORY]
[QUESTS]
Well, this is a tad different from what I expected.
"Stats," he said, after thinking about his choice for a few seconds.
[--------STATS--------]
[LVL: 1]
[EXP: 0/500]
[CP: 000]
[HP: 100%]
[STAM: 100%]
[ARMOR: Unequipped]
[WEAPONS: Unequipped]
[BUFFS: None]
Different again. But a few things caught his eye. Armor and Weapon. And also the Armory tab.
Hey, can you explain how this system works, or well "helps me" I guess? It looks pretty different from the ones I’ve read about.
[Understood.]
[The Genesis system is a tactical system that grows alongside you. As you level up and gain CP (Combat Points) by completing quests, the system unlocks more advanced technology and tools tailored to your needs.]
[The system customizes itself based on the User’s memories and personality. In your specific case, it has evolved to give you the ability to unlock and use modern military weapons in this world.]
The cogs in Allen’s brain started turning. A small smirk appeared on his face. He felt a rush of dopamine surge through his body, stronger than anything he’d ever experienced.
It was all starting to make sense.
"Show me the armory," he said, his voice filled with excitement.
[-----ARMORY-----]
[WEAPONS: M9 Semi-Automatic Pistol (loaded)]
[DEFENSE: Light Kevlar Vest]
[RECON: Binoculars (300m Range)]
It wasn’t much. A handgun and some basic gear. But Allen’s eyes were shining.
But before he could say anything, the system pinged again.
[Warning: Hostile lifeforms approaching.]
[Quest available!]
[OBJECTIVE: Eliminate all hostiles.]
[REWARD: +200 EXP, +100 CP.]
[DO YOU WANT TO ACCEPT THE QUEST: Y/N?]
The screen hung in the air, its translucent letters glowing softly in the dim forest light.
The sound of rustling in the bushes suddenly reached his ears.
It wasn’t a distant sound. It was close, and growing louder with each passing second.
"Yes," he said.
[Quest accepted.]
[Warning: User is unequipped and vulnerable to enemy attacks.]
[Do you want to enable auto-equip?]
"No," Allen replied instantly, his eyes scanning the trees as he tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound.
He was trying to gauge what was actually coming toward him. Whether it was some animal, a human, or some wild fantasy monster.
"Equip only the gun and the vest. There’s no need for the binoculars right now."
[Understood.]
In an instant, a cold, heavy weight materialized in Allen’s hands. A black M9 pistol, its metallic finish absorbing the faint light of the forest.
Simultaneously, a Kevlar vest wrapped itself around his torso, the straps cinching tight with a satisfying hiss and molding to his body as if it were custom-made.
But that wasn’t all.
Information flooded his brain. He knew the M9’s effective range, its muzzle velocity, the exact tension of the trigger pull.
He understood how to field-strip it, clear a jam, and compensate for recoil.
The vest’s specifications, its ballistic rating, its weak points. It was all there, as if someone had downloaded a lifetime of training directly into his mind.
Oh? I thought I’d have to practice. This is quite neat.
Just as he was enjoying the feeling, the bushes to his right rustled violently.
Two figures burst out from the dark, their presence suddenly materializing out of nowhere.
Allen’s hands moved with an unfamiliar confidence, his grip on the pistol was firm and professional. The weapon felt like an extension of his own body.
Bang!
Bang!
There was no thought, only instinct.
He didn’t wait to identify them. He didn’t question their intentions.
He took a single step back, raised the pistol and fired three times in quick succession.
The shots were deafening in the quiet forest with each one leaving behind a sharp crackling noise that echoed through the trees.
Pinpoint accuracy.