"You have successfully defeated your adversary.
You have earned the right to attempt your awakening challenge.
In order to aid you, you have received a new skill.
You can start your attempt by simply stating your intent to do so, or waiting until the time limit is up.
May luck be on your side."
This day just seems to be getting weirder.
I just woke up to find myself floating in a pitch dark void with these words being whispered in my ear over and over again.
*Sigh*
Did I die? Am I dreaming?
But that forest felt too realistic for it to be a dream, so did that fight.
So, how the hell did I get there? And how did I get here?
Even if I hadn't died back home, I should have died in the forest. My wounds were too severe for me to survive.
And did I actually kill a person?
A living breathing human being.
Even though he had tried to kill me first, it doesn't make the thought any less terrifying.
This man might have had a family— no he definitely had one, I saw he wore a ring. Did I really deprive a wife of her husband? He might have had children, did I make them orphans just like me?
*Ding*
Fortunately, before my chaotic train of thought could get any worse, something interrupted it.
"You have received skill: "Sixth Sense"."
That seems like a.... nice skill I guess? Wait a minute, have I be—
"Time limit reached. Prepare to receive adversary's memories."
"...what?"
I have read many webnovels in my life, it is relatively cheap way to have some entertainment—relative to the price of going out and buying an actual novel from a professional author— and you get to read amateur authors write sometimes amazing things and most times steaming garbage, it's like gambling, but you are not losing money, only time.
Anyways, In these webnovels, when a character receives "foreign" memories they usually come with excruciating pain or with disorientation and dizziness.
But what happened to me was nothing like that. I simply blinked, and between closing and opening my eyes, I experienced another life.
******
My name was also William. I was born in a rural city in southern Genland call Nightbor. My father was a fisherman and my mother was a housemaid. I went to a board school until I was about 13, after that I began working as a factory worker.
As the years passed, I got married to a nice girl whose mother my mother had known. We were blessed with two children, Gerald and Mary. Life was decent, at least until the war broke out.
I was 22 when it did. I was concripted and shipped to the Cefran-Megnar border and joined the Cefran soldiers in their fight.
The entire continent was fighting. It was one of the worst wars to ever happen, most called it "The Great War", some optimistic people even went as far as to call it "The War To End All Wars".
I didn't care what they called it, as long as I return home to my family, that's all that matters.
The war was a nightmare. Millions of people suffering in the trenches. Not even counting the war, the living conditions were hell. The food was awful, it always smelled like sweat, piss and shit and the space was too cramped, and that was only the surface level of the suffering.
I have been fighting for a few years now, rumors are saying that the war is nearly over and we will win, but most of us have already been desensitized to such rumors, we had already heard them over and over again and they never came true.
It might even be the opposite.
I overheard from two high ranking people hat the Sursians have surrendered and the Megnars were going to retrieve the soldiers from the Eastern front and launch an attack.
Well, whatever happens happens, there is nothing I can do about it anyways.
I was standing around doing nothing in particular when I was transported to a dark forest with only a rifle and a flashlight on me. Some distance away from me, I could see a slightly tall but thin person slowly standing up from the ground.
For some reason I knew in order to get out of here, I had to kill him.
I didn't think about it much, I just shot him.
"I missed."
Right before I shot him, an intense tingling sensation suddenly appeared in my head, causing my aim to be off.
He started to run between the trees, so I gave chase.
"What the hell is wrong with my he—"
"WILLIAM GET DOWN!"
My memory 'rewatch' abruptly came to an end as I was tackled to the ground, and the tingling disappeared.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING STICKING YOUR HEAD OUT LIKE THAT!"
Disoriented, I wide-eyedly stared at the man that tackled me—who was now sitting on top of me, shaking me like a madman. He wore a military uniform, identical to the one I was wearing. I couldn't make out what he looked like because of all the mud and grime on his face, but I felt— no I knew that I know him.
He was telling me to 'wake up from my stupor' and how 'the bullet barely missed my head', or at least that was what I could make out as I couldn't hear him clearly from the sounds of gunshots and artillery.
Suddenly, everything stopped. The sounds stopped, the man froze in place, and a voice started whispering in my ears.
"Welcome to your awakening challenge.
The Megnars have started an attack on your line.
Your main objective: Survive.
Any more achievements will improve your total evaluation, and therefore will increase your reward.
Time remaining: 23:59:00
May luck be on your side."
As soon as the voice stopped, everything started moving again.
The man pulled me up into a crouch and handed me a rifle.
"We can't die today William, we can't die right before we go on leave."
He slowly stood up.
"I am going to go check on Liam."
He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Try not to die brother, please stay alive."
He turned and started walking away, pushing past soldiers in his way. My eyes remained locked on his back.
I didn't notice exactly when it happened, but it seems he had raised his body higher than he should have.
Suddenly, as he was walking, his head jolted and he collapsed to the ground.
He was dead.