The sound of something being slammed on the wall resounded from a dark alley, but there was no one to hear it.

A man whose features couldn't be made out sat slumped on the ground on one side of the wall. His whole attire turned red from the blood leaking out from the many holes he had in his body.

But even after sustaining such heavy injuries, he was still breathing, and his gaze was focused.

The man, who was covered in blood from head to toe, looked at the black-haired man in front of him. The man who had filled his body with bullets.

He still held the gun in his hands as he looked at the bloodied man before him. He wasn't the only one there; two of his friends had also come. 

Although it was a foolproof plan to kill the man in front of them with the gun, he still had lingering fears of the past. He didn't want to take the risks.

"Hehe, You played a good game this time, Arnold. Congratulations, you won!" 

The black-haired man, Arnold, scoffed as he said, "Heh, you're already on your deathbed and still have this attitude of yours."

Seeing that the bullets had worked and the man in front of him wasn't in the condition to even move, Arnold walked towards him.

One of his friends tried to stop, but Arnold shrugged off his hand. He crouched down in front of the dying man and said, "You know what, Raj, this attitude of yours, this arrogance, has brought you to your death. Don't you feel something?"

The bloodied man, Raj, smiled and, with a speed that Arnold wasn't able to even react, caught Arnold's neck in a tight clutch and brought his face closer to his.

Arnold was startled and scared; in fear, he fired two more bullets at Raj. They hit his belly, which prompted Raj to cough even more blood.

But even in that condition, Raj still looked directly into Arnold's eyes. His vision was getting blurry and he knew he was in the world only for next few moments.

"Look into my eyes and tell me, do you think I even care about all this?" Raj said. "You asked how I'm feeling, well, aside from disappointment, nothing. I'm feeling nothing."

His grip on Arnold's neck loosened as his hand dropped to the ground. Arnold immediately scrambled away in fear, his eyes showing nothing but pure primal fear.

Arnold looked at the dying, bloodied man in front of him with his eyes wide open, his body trembling, and his breathing heavy. In just that single moment, he had seen his own death. Raj's words played in his mind like a horror movie.

One of his friends instantly came close to him and shook him. He said, "Hey Arnold, we should leave now. He won't survive now, so let's go."

Arnold nodded and again picked up his gun with his trembling hand. He stood up and fired one more bullet right at the heart of Raj.

"We can't take any risks with this man," Arnold said. "I'm sure he won't survive with this many bullets in his body."

He wasn't telling that to anyone but just consoling himself. He turned towards his friends and said, "Let's go before anyone arrives here. Also, make sure nobody even comes close to him."

His friends nodded, and they all retreated from the place where they had just murdered one of their own. 

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Raj's body twitched slightly as he again coughed up blood. He thought as his vision began to fade away, 'I really fucked up this time.'

As he waited for his death, he cursed, 'Damn it! Who the fuck said that in dying moments, we get to see our life flash away? I at least wanted to see my amazing life one more time.'

As he thought of many things in his mind to distract himself from the terrible pain, he heard the sounds of ting reverberating in the alleyway.

'Aghh! Can't you let me die in peace? Who's sending messages now?' Raj grumbled and slowly took out his ringing phone with his hand, which was still operable.

There were many messages there that he couldn't see due to his blurred and fading away vision. He could only barely make out the last two messages.

[The beta testing for Insane Levelling System is over.]

[As a reward for being the only beta tester, we have decided to offer you the chance to be the first host of Insane Levelling System.]

[Do you wish to assimilate with the Insane Levelling System?]

[Yes] [No]

'Oh! Looks like the rumors about hallucinating at the death were true.' Raj thought as he felt his consciousness slipping away. 

'Well, goodbye to the world then. Don't cry about losing someone as awesome as me.' Raj thought as he unconsciously clicked on yes on his phone.

The next moment, his phone exploded in a small explosion, which engulfed Raj and his surroundings.

Just like that, the world lost a genius like Raj.

...

[???'s POV]

Aghhh! What's going on? Did I survive again?

I tried opening my eyes and moving my body, but even a slight movement brought intense pain to me.

Guess I have no other choice than doing nothing.

[Ding! Host's new body is damaged.]

[Ding! Healing the body to its perfect state.]

What's this feeling? Am I in the hospital? Is this some new kind of treatment?

I felt like drowning in the vast sea of water, but instead of suffocating, I felt liberated. I felt free.

But this intense pain was still bugging me. Guess those bullets really did break my body. 

Damn! That bastard. Since when was it fair to bring a gun in hand-to-hand combat? Well, why am I cursing him? It's my fault to actually trust him.

Welp, who cares now that I'm dead? Or am I not?

Honestly, I don't even know what state I'm in, but just to distract myself from the pain I was experiencing, I'm just ranting to no one.

Should I tell my life story then? Well, it wasn't really good or awful.

I was born in a middle-class family where my parents had disputes over something. I lived a few with them, but then I was diagnosed with some heart disease.

I was bound to die, and keeping me alive would be expensive, so they simply abandoned me without even thinking twice.

Cliched, right? Well, everyone's life is already cliched, so you can't really complain. From childhood to old age, everyone just follows the old cliched part.

Anyways, why am I speaking like those influencers saying escape the Matrix and all?

So yeah, after I was abandoned, I was left to survive on my own, which I did. Fighting others for food and sleeping places was a norm for me.

It was at that time I discovered my love for fighting; the thrill and adrenaline rush I get while fighting was something nothing can match. 

That's why, after surviving all those harsh years fighting and spending time with various women. That became a habit of me.

It was at that time I met Arnold for the first time. He was like a cockroach that refused to die, heh sometimes I even called him a protagonist of a shonen anime. He was just like that, I beat him and he again comes to fight me.

Then something happened, and he disappeared for two whole years, I honestly began to miss that punching bag of mine. That's why when, after two years, he called me to a fight, I was thrilled and went to his designated location.

I had thought we would have another hand-to-hand combat like we used to, but the first thing he did was shoot my leg. Really? I could actually see he was aiming at my little brother.

What did he have a problem with my little elephant? Anyway, he didn't stop at one bullet; he riddled my body with several bullets.

All those people saying that you can defeat a person with a gun just because you're good in martial arts are nothing but motherduckers.

Well, atleast someone who had trained with gun and is standing at a distance would surely kill you no matter how good you are in martial arts.

This was something I didn't like, if we're having a fight, let's fight. I found it unfair but never really complained. 

Why, you ask? Oh! So you don't! Ahem, I'll tell anyway since I'm alone.

I never complained because defeating someone who had an obvious advantage is always thrilling.

Well, that cost me my life, though. I still don't understand why he even bothered to kill me. I was going to die anyway.

And if these doctors...

[Ding! Host's new body is in optimal state now.]

[Ding! Checking Everything.]

[Ding! Everything is working correctly.]

[Ding! Host, would you like to assimilate with Insane Levelling System?]