"System." a weak and raspy voice called out. In front of an old man a system window only he could see appeared Infront of his eyes. A bitter laugh escaped his lips as he read the same message that had accompanied him his whole life.
[System]
|ERROR: SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET. PLEASE FULLFILL ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTIVATION|
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As soon as he finished reading that same message the system disappeared on its own. Soon a cough followed which caused the heart monitor to fluctuate crazily and his vision began to darken as his breathing became more and more strained. He heard the clamor of a nurse and a doctor who attempted to keep him alive, but everyone knew his time had come, even him.
This moment seems to stretch infinitely, and he experience the cliche of your life flashing before your eyes for himself. He recalled the moments throughout his life that he had spent doing anything to find a way to activate his system, he was quite successful and many people would be describing him as living every moment to the fullest. In truth what they didn't know is that every success and motivation he had was a product of him trying to meet some illusive requirements. He wasn't even sure what would happen once he activated the so-called system, but it had quickly become an obsession. He started a successful business, he even got married and had children but not out of love even if he perfectly acted as if though that was his intention, instead everything he did had the sole purpose of activating his system. He joined the military and killed enemy soldiers but that and nothing else he did seem to be enough.
As the heart monitor flatlined the experienced doctor solemnly declared, "Lucius Orwell, time of death 18:07."
The feeling of his consciousness seemed to fall through the very fabrics of reality; he had no thoughts and perceived nothing as his soul slipped from this mortal plane of existence. In a place where time did not exist a system read:
[SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MET. CONGRATULATIONS HOST ON ACTIVATING THE MALICE SYSTEM.]
[PROCESSING, PLEASE WAIT....]
[LOADING SUCCESSFUL. TRANSFERING HOST TO NEW REALITY]
His consciousness was transferred to a new body. A much younger body that couldn't be no older than 13 years old. He looked around at his new surroundings in confusion. "Hadn't I died? This doesn't seem like any afterlife..." he thought to himself.
He seemed to be in some kind of classroom as children in desks akin to his were all around him focused on a sheet of paper. He looked down and saw that the history portion of his test was already filled out and he blinked confused. The questions talked about places and leaders and events he was utterly unfamiliar with. He looked at the rest of the test, and it was all things he was familiar with such as science, English, and math.
Figuring he'd just go with the flow until he figured out what was happening, he picked up his pencil and easily filled out the math section. It was quite simple with most of it being basic algebra and the most complex questions being trigonometry, but he remembered it from his past life. He had even won several nobel prizes in multiple fields in both math and science in attempt to try and activate the system but of course it never activated.
"Wait? The system?" He thought to himself.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind a system page that only he could see appeared infront of him. It read:
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[Malice System]
Current Malice Points (MP): 0
Abilities: Malice Perception (C)
Body Level: 1 (ordinary)
Ability Level: 1 (ordinary)
Spiritual Level: 5 (exceptional)
Malice Point Store (MPS): Currently nothing in stock.
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As he spaced out trying to understand what was seeing he heard a stern voice next to him.
"Quinn pay attention, you only have 45 minutes left and you're not even halfway done!"
His focus shifted to a middle-aged woman with large glassed that rested on her nose seemingly indicating she wore bifocals. Processing that his name was Quinn now he quickly apologized while ignoring some strange glances he got from the other students that saw him being reprimanded. She soon left and he dismissed the system with a subconscious demand and began filling out the test again.
It wasn't long before the time ran out and he barely finished, he hadn't thought about such things, and he felt slightly embarrassed that he struggled with such questions despite the fact in his previous life he had many doctorates branching from all kinds of majors. He turned in his paper along with the others as he followed the other students towards the gymnasium.
As he entered, he found it strange that it was quite big, three times larger than the basketball courts seen at most colleges and inside were many adults with devices and other instruments that he was completely unfamiliar with.
The children were commanded to stand in a single file line as each person was called up one by one. Quinn was one of the last people in line but he overheard some children speaking.
"I hope I have an ability." a boy with brown hair said.
"Doesn't everyone? If you haven't awakened one by now its extremely unlikely you ever will." a girl said sarcastically.
"My dad said that if we do have an ability then they'll let us into the academy and when we graduate we will have the full support of the government to get any job we want. Also the companies will fight to have you if you show interest because they get a considerable tax benefits and also-" the girl was quickly cut off by the other kids seemingly used to her talkative answer.
Quinn thought about the existence of such an academy but before he could ponder too long it was almost time for him to be next in line. A woman in a military uniform and a man in a labcoat next to her with a laptop supported by a small table gestured for him to come to them. "Name?" the young, pretty dark skinned lady wearing a military uniform with a few simple badges asked patiently.
"My name is... Quinn" he answered slightly awkwardly still getting used to his new identity.
The man in the lab coat typed it in and the woman slightly impatiently asked, "And your last name?"