1 REBIRTH
NOTE: This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, names, or places is purely coincidental and does not project to anything above in reality.
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1890, Asenguard Kingdom
It rained the whole afternoon and the soil had become muddy. The nobles didn't have any issues with it since they got carriages to ride wherever they wanted to go. Unfortunately, poor people didn't have the same privileges, so they could only stay at home and sip their watery soup.
At least, others got this watery soup to drink.
Amber didn't.
She was lying on the cold ground with people flogging her for God-knows-how-long. She got tired of screaming for help and begging them to stop, so she let them do whatever they wanted to do. She will die anyway.
When she stopped moving with broken bones, chapped lips, and bruised face, her attackers stopped hitting her as well. The noblewoman spat on her and left.
Amber could see nothing but trees – tall trees that seemed to reach for the dark sky. Droplets of rain fell on her face and she tried opening her mouth to get a little drink, but even this little gesture sent thousands of painful bolts throughout her body.
She cried. She wanted to go home. Then, she remembered that her parents, to make sure that she won't implicate them, directly handed her to the noblewoman for punishment. She had no home to return to.
She was only twelve. She still got a long life ahead of her, but it was cut short by the unreasonable woman.
[I didn't do anything wrong.] Amber thought while sobbing silently.
She was only trying to run away from a dog, but on her way to cross the street, the horses pulling a carriage got frightened. The noblewoman inside it got scared and when she found out what happened, she declared that Amber should be punished for scaring her. Who would go against her?
Amber waited for help. She waited and waited, praying that a miracle would happen. She tried to hold on to her dear life, but it was futile. She succumbed to death and left the world with deep grievances.
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2025, Earth
Amber's grocery bags fell on the ground with her. The taxi driver who helped her put her things into the trunk was also lying on the ground – dead.
She touched her side and felt the warm liquid seeping through her clothes. She already had a feeling what it was, but she didn't panic. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked around for help, but all she could see were dead bodies.
She shivered. She pressed her hands on the bullet wound to slow down the bleeding, but she was also losing strength.
[Am I going to die?] She asked herself while listening to the gunshots not too far from her.
Everything happened so fast that when she realized what happened, she was already on the ground with bullet wounds. Her eyelids were drooping, so she pinched her wound to keep her awake from the pain. She didn't want to fall asleep. She was scared. She was scared that she wouldn't be able to open her eyes again.
"Help me," she muttered even though no one would be able to hear her. "Help." She tried again. "I don't want to die. I haven't apologized to my brother yet. I still needed to return the books I took from his room."
Amber knew that she wouldn't get any help like this. She tried to reach for her phone and make an emergency call, but to her horror, the man responsible for manslaughter appeared in front of her. His gun was pointing at her head.
"I... I won't call. Please don't kill me."
"I'm not a god, sweetie."
Amber closed her eyes in fear and waited for the painful shot, but there was nothing.
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1890, Asenguard Kingdom
Soul Transfer: 15%.... 25%....56%....87%....99%... Soul Transfer is successful.
System Installation: 2%….18%….
"What is happening?" Amber asked groggily while shaking her head from side to side. She wanted to cover her ears from the loud robotic sound bombarding her but she couldn't even lift her hands.
System Installation Complete.
Starting body restoration and detoxification.
An unidentified toxin was found.
Warning!!! Warning!!! Insufficient level. The toxin cannot be removed.
She started gasping for air when an intense pain coursed throughout her body. It was excruciating that she wanted to bang her head against the wall, yet there was nothing around her. It was like she was floating in a void. Then, she blacked out.
A few minutes later, Amber woke up but all she could see was fog. "Where am I?" she muttered and tried to get up, but an immense pain coursed throughout her body and she yelped.
System: "Do not move yet. Body restoration is not complete."
Amber looked around to see if there was anyone with her, but she was all alone. "Who are you? Where are you hiding?"
System: "I am hiding in your subconscious mind. I am your guide - a partner. I'm your system."
Amber frowned as she sat still to get her body fixed. "A system? Like those that I have read in my brother's books? What can you do for me aside from fixing my body?"
System: "I can do a lot of things, but let me tell you something. I am not a system that can give you strong powers because that will destroy the balance of this world. I am a system that can help you survive."
"Oh. I was expecting to have the power of invisibility or someone who is insanely strong to fight demons."
System: ??
"Never mind. So, how can I make you appear in front of me? I read in those books that I should have something like a status board... the... the ones that seemed holographic. Are you like that, too?"
System: "Nope. Raise your left hand."
Amber did and as expected, she no longer felt the excruciating pain she felt earlier. However, amidst the darkness, she saw the glowing jade bracelet she was wearing. "I don't remember having this bracelet."
System: "Because that is not yours. Duh!"
"Then, how am I going to return this to the owner?"
System: "The body you have now is the owner. That bracelet is invisible to others. Only you can see that now. If you touch it, you will see the status board that you are looking for."
Amber touched it at once and indeed, a status board appeared in front of her. "Why do I feel that this scene is extremely familiar?"
System: "Like Ben Tennyson?"
"You're kidding me."
System: "I just read what was in your mind. I don't know who Ben Tennyson is."
Amber rolled her eyes and read the information on her status board.
Race: Human / ?
Age: 12
Level: 0 / 100
Space Storage: 1 cubic meter
Health Status: suffered physical trauma {slightly healed), an unidentified poison found in the body (sealed) ...
Amber couldn't continue reading the information for now. She got so confused. "Why is there a question mark next to my race? Am I not human? And what the heck is this age? I'm not twelve."
System: "That is the age of your body right now. Amber Azazinova was just twelve years old when someone killed her."
Amber closed her eyes for a moment to soak herself in all the details she had. She also told the system to recover the original Amber's memories, so she could see what kind of life she was living.
System: "Hide Amber. Hide. I can sense powerful people coming closer."
Amber looked for a place to hide, but there was fog everywhere. She could barely see her hands in front of her and the ground was muddy, too. "Can't you do something like hide my presence?"
System: "I can't. Your level is too low. You have to do some quest to earn points and level up."
"A quest? Like right now? Are you serious?"
System: …
"Fine!" Amber pressed the bracelet and looked for the quests to level up. "How far am I from the enemies?"
System: "We are not sure if they are enemies or not. They are still one kilometer away from you."
Amber didn't say anything in response and just checked the list of quests. There were so many of them. Thankfully, she found something good. "I want to do this set of exercises."
Hip Circle: 20 times
Crunch: 10 times
Reverse Crunch: 10 times
High Knee: 20 times
Woodchop: 20 times
Side lunge: 20 times
As soon as she pressed the start button, Amber moved while gritting her teeth from the pain she felt. She wasn't completely healed yet and now she had to do some exercise to save herself.
System: "Faster Amber. They are getting closer."
"A few minutes more," Amber responded while doing crunches. The muddy ground didn't matter to her anymore. All she could think about right now was to survive.
System: "Quest Completed. You have leveled up. Choose your reward from the item below."
Reward A: Body heals 1.2% faster
Reward B: Mask your presence for 2 minutes.
Reward C: Tame a beast
"Will A and C appear in my reward choices in the future? They look more rewarding than masking my presence."
System: "I don't know if they will appear again, but there is a chance."
Amber chose reward B with grievances. She liked A and C more, but B was what she needed right now. "I only have 2 minutes to mask my presence. Activate it once the enemies get closer."
System: "That is duly noted."
