{Somewhere}
{Sometime}
Death.
He knew it wasn't an experience that he would like, but then again, he didn't realize that there was an iota of a chance that he would ever be conscious to ponder on his death. It was all pretty stupid, and if you put a gun to his head, and that wasn't a pun made for dramatic effect, then the easiest way he could describe death would be... quick, far too quick.
The good thing about being shot in the head was you die quick. A flash. And even before you could hear the sound of the gun firing, the concerns about your ridiculous student loan are blasted away by the ball of metal.
'So why the fuck am I still thinking about it,' Ivan stirred as he looked at the darkness that surrounded him. His first thought was that maybe he had escaped, he was lucky, or unlucky that the bullet had grazed him and knocked him unconscious. But that would make his resting place a lot more confusing.
If he survived then why wasn't he in a hospital bed, and even though he knew he was blinking, he couldn't see anything.
'Did I lose my eyes?' Ivan felt a muted sense of despair slowly filtering in at the thought as he extended his hand to feel around. Just by feeling around he could tell he was enclosed inside a pod, something like those advanced hotels in Japan.
The bedding on which he laid was comfy though just a tinge hard, not that he could appreciate it much considering his whole body excluded a muted pain. It was difficult to move around but still, he pushed against the roof.
*Creak*
A sound of wood creaking entered his ears as light flooded in. It wasn't much but considering that he was in a dark place, the tiny slit in the opening was enough for him to realize that he was having a very bad dream. Even ignoring the brimming discomfort that was spreading throughout his body.
'No way...' Ivan couldn't believe it, he pushed harder and the lid opened. He could see the brown ceiling of wherever this place was, looked like a lot of hard rocks jutting out from the ceiling.
It didn't make sense, why would he be in a coffin if he was alive? Was someone playing a joke on him because staring down at the barrel of a gun was the last thing he remembered, and being at the end of a practical joke after that stupid situation wasn't delightful.
After staring brazenly at the ceiling for another 2 seconds he slowly grabbed onto the ledge of his coffin... yeah his coffin, he wasn't seeing things he consoled himself as he pulled himself up. His eyes roamed across the cave. A cave that had 2 torches lightening it up.
His coffin was placed in the center of the cave and from the looks of it, he was the only one around.
~Grrrr~ ~Howw~ ~Howl~
Nothing of which he saw next followed the norms of logic that he was used to. Why was his coffin meticulously placed inside a cave? Why was the floor of the cave glowing green? And why was a pack of wolves that was growling and howling at him standing at the entrance of the cave instead of swarming in to eat him?
While he was glad he wasn't on their menu, the bizarre situation was further highlighted as his gaze fell on his hand. He wasn't vain but he did take care of himself, he had a good skincare routine and although his hands didn't get as much attention as his face they should not be in this condition.
The swarming beasts that were unable to enter the cave were pushed at the back of his mind as Ivan pulled his hand close to examine it. His skin has changed from pale white to violet/grey. There were dark streaks like veins going through it. He pulled his suit back slightly and the pattern followed even up his wrist.
'Okay... something is wrong...' Ivan decided, he looked back at the howling wolf and then decided to examine more. He grabbed onto the edge and pulled, his strength was definitely diminished as it took a bit of effort to stumble out of the coffin. His footsteps weren't steady but he managed to not fall flat on his face by swinging onto the edge. The coffin was ignored as he looked at the floor and then walked over to the wolves.
Having grown up in the modern-day jungle of concrete, Ivan had not seen wildlife up close. At least not enough that the snarling spit of the beast splattered across the black dress shoes that he was wearing. He tilted slightly balancing on one leg as he rubbed his right shoe across the back of his left calf.
As he maneuvered his body, the feeling of movement slowly came back, still, the uncomfortable ball in his stomach kept on increasing. He wagged his index finger at the wolf #1 that was in front of him. Wolf #1 was enraged and rightfully so but still what Ivan was seeing was so unbelievable that he couldn't help but taunt the predator.
He knew that the only reason he was alive... scratch that he didn't know the reason he was alive. The predator once again forgot as he lifted his hand to feel his smooth forehead, no bullet hole marred his face, and unconsciously he took a sigh of relief.
His chest rose and fell, and a deep breath exhaled from his mouth as the realization struck him.
'I haven't been breathing till now...' Ivan screamed in his mind as he touched his chest. He held his breath and deliberately waited to run out of oxygen.
~Grrrr~ ~Grrrr~ ~Howl~
~Howw~ ~Grrrr~ ~Howw~
~Howl~ ~Grrrr~ ~Howl~
The dynamics of how his body had clearly changed as even after waiting for quite a while the urgency in the back of his mind urging him to breathe was no longer there. His brain already knew that the motion of expanding and compressing his lungs was no longer necessary even though the conscious part of his mind was thrown for a loop.
'So I'm dead...' Ivan stared once again at the wolf in muted realization, the words or thoughts that should have driven him to despair weren't that much different than any other thought. The only feeling he had right now was the growing discomfort in his abdomen that had gone from muted muffles to silent screams.
The color of his skin had changed, he was sure about that much. It was something that he had never felt and taking in that deep breath likely messed with whatever was wrong with him. He tried to focus on the boiling... whatever it was and realized that he could move it. Feeling a little constipated he hunched over and retched.
It was an unconscious move and as he prepared for whatever was blocking his system to clear away, instead of vomiting the spaghetti that he last remembered having, a slightly dark mist emerged from his mouth.
The feeling of excluding the black mist was similar to the case of bad breath, but instead of the sting of bile, the sensation was a slight burning of his esophagus. His eyes turned blurry at the sudden pain and he scrunched his eyes and stumbled. The wind whipped toward him and somehow his stumble saved him from being bitten by the sharp teeth that glittered in the low light.
He opened his eyes to look at the melting face of the wolf, its fur now mixing with the sludge as its pinkish skin was slowly corroded away. The aggression in its eyes and stance didn't waver even if half of his face withered away. The black discoloration that was eerily similar to his own continued to wreak havoc on the beast's body as it slowly lost the strength to support itself.
There wasn't even a brief moment of respite as one of the two wolves that were left sprang to take its place, one of the claws of the new predator punching through the melting carcass of the previous aggressor as its eyeball popped.
The sight was gruesome and Ivan backed away, the fascination with the situation he found himself in was pushed aside when he looked into the eyes of Wolf #2. The hate in its eyes was unburdened by the fact that he was stepping onto the corpse of its fallen brethren. Before Ivan could build a conscious thought about what just happened, a hint of blue overtook his vision.
Overlapping the snarling face of Wolf #2 was a blue screen like in one of the futuristic movies, it was slightly translucent giving him a view of what was happening behind it but at the same time, the words were clearly imprinted into his brain. Ivan had just read the first word but somehow he knew what the screen said and although confusing Ivan realized why he was feeling a little bit of Dejavu.
'Am I in Solo Leveling?'
[Killed Wild Wolf Lv-2]
[+20 EXP]
[Title Unlocked!]
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AN - Hi hope you liked the prologue, I hid a lot of things that might be useful later but I guess I should introduce you to Ivan Clayton, art enjoyer, explorer, and serial adulterer.