Hey, This is new fanfic from me, Nine_Clouds~!
Hope you guys enjoy it
--- Chapter 1 ---
A man walked on the side of the road, listening to random music playing in his earbud.
He's 22 years old bachelor's graduate named Baek Ain.
He is around 179 centimeters and has a decently handsome face for the average person in this country. He appeared skinny outside because of the baggy clothes, but Ain built quite a muscle under them.
Oh yeah, he currently wears jeans and a white t-shirt with a black hoodie on top of it.
To put it into perspective, Baek Ain is "literally." blessed with good genetics from his late parents. And being the only child caused him to inherit quite a sum of money.
Of course, Baek Ain is thankful for his deceased parents. He hoped his father and mother to gain eternal peace in heaven.
"Country road..." Baek Ain hummed on the way home.
"Take me home."
"To the place, I belong~!"
"West Virginia-!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, KID!" A rugged man shouted from afar, having a homeless man's look. He glanced at Baek Ain with annoyance and seemed ready to jump him anytime.
Baek Ain smiled helplessly and replied, "Sorry, man! I was too excited for my package."
The homeless man frowned and huffed, staring at Baek Ain's back.
Before Ain left the street, the homeless man shouted, "Hey! Do you have some dollars to spare?"
"Tonight is quite cold. I need two more dollars to afford a blanket from DykeMart."
Baek Ain sighed inside and stopped walking, waving his hand to the homeless man. He saw the homeless man's excitement as he recalled his parents' teaching to treat everyone kindly.
No, it's not making Baek Ain naive enough to trust everyone.
However, this homeless man doesn't show and post real hostility toward him.
Baek Ain pulled some spares dollars bill from his pocket and handed them to the homeless man. "Keep yourself warm, man. Get some hot coffee from the nearest restaurant." He smiled while walking away.
"Yeah. Thank you, man!" The homeless man replied with a thankful look.
"You're welcome." Baek Ain smiled, humming the song again.
The homeless man remembered something and warned, "By the way, the ninth block has been shady these nights. I advised you to change the street. I heard some gunshots and screaming last night."
"Okay." Baek Ain nodded, putting the warning into his note.
...
...
As Baek Ain walked to the street, he saw lightning flashing in the sky and frowned at the tower it struck.
BOOM!
A lightning clap echoed throughout the block.
All the street lamps on the side of the roads got turned off and left Baek Ain in a weird spot. He shuddered instinctively and entered a stance as running steps came from the left.
He moved his gaze to the left and noticed a running figure. It was a woman in a weird-looking cloak getting chased by several shadowy figures.
Baek Ain knew he was fucked up, feeling a tug on his chest as the woman ran past him. He caught a glimpse of the shadowy figure and cursed inside because they weren't human. Behind the shadow-like robe, he glimpsed an insect-like feature on the chaser's face.
'Run!' Baek Ain thought to himself.
He kicked the ground with all his might and ran as if his life depended on it, reaching home after five minutes. He locked the door and hurriedly went to the sink, opening his hoodie and t-shirt.
Thud!
Baek Ain stumbled to the floor after seeing his bare chest, seeing a weird-looking tattoo on his left chest area. It shouldn't be there because he never gets himself tatted.
"What is this?"
"What the fuck is this?!"
The tattoo is a unique blend between a crow and a white tiger intertwined with green vines, causing a throbbing sensation in Baek Ain's chest. Crow possessed black eyes, while the tiger had fierce golden eyes.
[Ding! The "Goddess of Opportunity." has chosen you as her champion] A voice suddenly appeared on Baek Ain's head.
[Please confirm your status and innate skills]
[Keyword: "Open, Status."]
"..." Baek Ain.
"I'm not signing up for this shit! Leave me alone!" He complained while slamming his hand on the floor. He was angry because he was just an honest-living citizen and a lazy bachelor's graduate a few minutes ago.
"I want to live peacefully!!"
Baek Ain only wanted to make his parent proud by graduating from university and getting a sustainable job for his carefree life. And He didn't even have a girlfriend because he was single from birth.
Fate is playing around him.
'Why me!' Baek Ain cursed, clenching his hand tightly.
He is only a regular and lazy guy with low ambition. He always treated everyone kindly and barely did anything horrible to deserve this.
Ting! Tong!
Baek Ain heard a ring bell on his apartment's front door, which made his complexion ashen like paper. He swallowed his saliva nervously and checked the camera, seeing the familiar shadowy figure.
He could see drool coming from this guy's mouth.
[Please confirm your status and innate skills] The floating window appeared before his eyes again.
Left with no choice because he could feel a cold sensation looming on his neck, Baek Ain opened his mouth and said, "Open Status."
[Confirming the host's status]
[Bonding with host's soul]
[15%]
[43%]
[69%]
[82%]
BAM!
The front door is flying inside as if a car is smashing it open.
Baek Ain went to the balcony and hid between the wall. He couldn't run away because his damn apartment was on the 4th floor.
"Shard of Universe..." A chill, an almost ice-like voice, whispered to the room. "Where are you?"
"It's a useless attempt to hide from me."
"That sneaky woman planted her blessing on you. She fooled us by running away, but entrusting something like Shard of Universe to a mere human is a stupid move."
"What can you do against me?"
[98%]
Baek Ain looked at the status panel solemnly. He calmed his breath and peeked into his apartment room, freezing on the spot upon witnessing the humanoid centipede with sharp-looking arms on its body parts.
"There." The mysterious man lunged to the balcony.
SWOOSH! BOOM!
"ARGGGHHHHH!!!"
Baek Ain roared in pain as his body flew in the air, falling from the height.
The last thing he witnessed was a white moon in the night sky.
However, his last feelings were unexplained anger and disbelief toward the people who made him experience this painful death.
"F-Fuck YOU ALL!" Baek Ain uttered hatefully.
[100%]
[The host has activated the "Incomplete Sign-In System."]
[Opening Status...]
[Name: Baek Ain]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 22(Irrelevant)]
[Innate Skills: Breathing(F), Synthesize(B), Soul Protection(Unknown)]
[Ding! First Mission issued by the Goddess of Opportunity]
[Quest: Become Stronger]
[Time Limit: None]
[Reward: A Complete Sign-in System]
[Ding! The host has died]
[Innate Skill: Soul Protection activated]
As Baek Ain passed away, his soul flashed out of the living world and arrived at another body in another world.
And that's how Baek Ain died for the first time.