.....
(System now operating at limited capability)
.....
Joseph cried out in pain, the pain from being shot in the face was too real for him to process.
Was it a nightmare? It had to be a nightmare, but the pain was all too real, Joseph could still feel the the sharp pain of the impact of the bullet piercing between his closed eyes, the flash of the muzzle going off too much for his eyes to handle.
.....
After about three hours, Joseph started to feel less and less of the pain that was tormenting him and was puzzled by this, one would think the pain of being shot would be longer but for some reason it had disappeared. As he looked around he could see the sky covered in dark and ominous clouds as far as the eye could see with occasional streaks of lightnings of various colors, the more Josephs looked around him the more confused he got - "Where am I?" - he kept on asking himself.
Joseph decided to walk around in the hopes of finding some food and something to drink, after all he did not want to be starve or die of thirst in this wasteland, and so he started walking aimlessly. After about 3 hours or at the very least his perception of three hours, Joseph stumbled his way to a river, definitely a river and as he approached he could vaguely hear some kind of sound, a sound of despair and hopelessness. As he looked about he could not see anybody else around him that would make such a sound and so continued to get closer to the river the sound got stronger and stronger.
"Help meee" - "Save mee" - "Please God save me"....
As Joseph got closed these cries got louder in his ears and started make him uncomfortable, the reason being he was yet to see who was crying out so loudly and yet there was no physical person around him that could make those cries. As Joseph got closer to the river and knelt down, he looked down and as he looked down into the water, Joseph was startled to see various people but not exactly bodies, these people seemed to blend into the very river they were in sometimes you could see a person in their entirety and other times you could only see a portion of them.
.....
(System currently running at 5%)
.....
(System functions currently available: Status, Bank, Shop, Quests)
.....
(System Warning: Host please be aware functions are currently limited due to the process of reincarnation)
.....
The robotic voice startled Joseph out of his reverie, for a moment he was lost to the sight before him... "Process of reincarnation ?" Din't that mean he was dead? Wait what was that voice? Was it inside of him?
.....
(Yes, host is dead and currently in the realm of souls would host like to see the log of events?)
.....
"What are you and who are you?"- Joseph called out in a panic, seeing nobody around him.
.....
(Welcome host to the Ascension Merchant System)
.....
"A system? Do you mean like those in novels always overpowered?" - For the first time in a very long time Joseph was excited at the prospect of having a system much like in those novels he used to read. He was already imagining the grandeur of being a god, an over powered god capable of doing what he wished and going where he wished with no barriers blocking him.
.....
(The Ascension Merchant System's purpose is to guide the host to become a mythical figure in the myriad of world and realms.)
.....
"Wait, didn't you mention something earlier about system functions being limited and what was available?" - Joseph was trying to recollect what happened before he got lost in the sight of the souls floating down the river.
.....
(Host is correct, the system functions currently available are Status, Bank, Shop, Quests)
.....
"Hmm, could you show me the Status please?" - Joseph asked uncertain of what would occur and still rather puzzled at his circumstances.
Suddenly inside of his mind a prompt appeared showing Joseph's current status.
[Host: Joseph Lee]
[Status: Dead (Pending Rebirth)]
[Location: Realm of Souls]
[Strength: 0.5/1]
[Agility: 0.6/1]
[Intelligence: 0.8/1]
[Abilities: Developing Merchant Bargain, Developing Merchant Golden Touch]
The more Joseph looked, the more he understood his life had changed rather drastically and by surprise. Rebirth? The very concept was something he din't believe and yet he was going to experience it. And a system? He truly did not expect such things were real much less that he would get one.
The universe certainly works in a mysterious way.
As he got up from the river's edge he started to walk again on the dirt covered broken road.
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