They say when you die, you see a white light.
Me?
I saw gunfire.
And a countdown timer screaming "0:03" in the corner of my vision.
Then came the gunshot.
And then... silence.
---
When I opened my eyes again, everything felt too loud. The floor beneath me was soaked — in blood. Not mine. Hopefully.
I was lying in the middle of an alley surrounded by bodies. Dressed in a black suit, white shirt shredded, pants torn at the knees like I'd been dragged through hell by the ankles. A pistol was in my right hand. My left?
System Notification:
> 🔹 "Tutorial Phase Activated: Survive the Next 24 Hours."
Reward: Gun Kata (Lv.1)
"...What the fu—"
Gunshots rang out nearby. Real ones. Not movie sound design. I flinched hard, heart hammering like a death metal drum solo. My hands shook. I checked the gun. It was jammed. Of course it was.
A glowing HUD flickered into place around my vision, like some glitchy VR overlay.
> 🔹 "System Syncing... Host Identified: Unknown Asset [0000_███]."
🔹 "Body Template: John Wick Activated."
🔹 "WARNING: Host Neural Calibration: 3% — Critical Instability Detected."
Oh great. I reincarnated as John fing Wick*, and I don't even get the skillset? Just the face, the suit, and the body count?
"Hey!" someone shouted behind me.
I turned — way too slow — and a man with a shotgun raised it toward my chest.
No time to think.
No time to pray.
Just instinct.
I dove, the shotgun blast tearing through the space I'd been a second earlier. Rolled. Hit something hard. My face bounced off concrete.
System Alert:
> ✅ "Evaded Death by Reflex: +1 Reflex XP"
🟨 "Kill 1 enemy without reloading to unlock: Reflex Upgrade (Tier 2)"
Gun still jammed. Breath shallow. Blood in my mouth that wasn't mine.
The shotgun cocked again. I looked up.
Another gun was near the corpse beside me. I didn't think. Just grabbed it, rolled sideways, aimed—
Pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The man dropped. Chest open. No scream. Just collapse.
System Notification:
> ☠️ "Kill Confirmed."
🆙 "Skill Acquired: Recoil Compensation (Lv. 0.5)"
I stared at the glowing text in disbelief.
The body twitched once, then stilled.
The smell of cordite and blood was overwhelming.
Somewhere above me, rain began to fall.
---
I leaned against the wall, trying to breathe. That's when I noticed the shattered mirror to my right — cracked, old, ornate. And in the reflection...
It wasn't me staring back.
It was him.
The Babayaga. The real Wick. But his face was twisted. Mouth curled in a knowing smirk. His eyes glowed black.
His gun? Already aimed.
> "System Mirror Syncing..."
"You're not ready."
The reflection pulled the trigger.
But no shot came out.
Only a whisper.
> "You'll learn. Or you'll die again."