The Assassin King Reincarnated in a Weak Student

Chapter 003

In despair, Kieran closed his eyes. He no longer tried to fight the exhaustion creeping through his body. There was no light, only dense darkness. 

He tried to accept the worst possibility, that perhaps this was the end.

Then a voice was heard. It appeared just like that in his head, flat and emotionless, like a notification from a device he had never owned.

[Kieran Viremont, do you want to keep living?]

Kieran did not answer immediately. For a moment, his mind was blank. He was too tired to ask who was speaking or how the voice could be there. Yet the question stirred something in his chest.

Want to live?

He thought of the faces that laughed when he fell. The pain that still faintly lingered in his bones, and most strongly, the feeling of unwillingness to accept it.

He was not finished. Not only because of resentment, but because he did not want to disappear just like that.

“I do,” he murmured softly, though he was not sure his lips truly moved. “I still want to live.”

His answer sounded small, but firm.

[Very well.]

There was no dramatic tone nor threat.

[System activated. Start.]

[1%]

[12%]

[47%]

The numbers flashed across his consciousness like a loading bar on a phone screen.

[100%]

[Congratulations, Host. The system has been activated and you have successfully transmigrated into the body of a student named Kieran.]

[Memory transfer has begun. Please wait until the process is complete.]

The words made him want to ask questions, but before he could process anything, his head felt heavy. Not a sharp pain, but as if too much information was being forced in at once. The voice disappeared just like that, leaving a faint hum that continued to vibrate in his ears.

He tried to open his eyes, but failed. His eyelids felt as if they were glued shut. He tried to move his fingers, but there was only a heavy sensation, as though his body were underwater.

Even his own breathing sounded faint.

In that condition, the only thing he could still rely on was his hearing.

There were sounds outside. At first, only the steady rhythm of a machine—beep… beep… beep… slow and regular. Then hurried footsteps, followed by the rustling of fabric, and then a woman’s voice.

“No. I won’t give up.” The voice was soft, hoarse from exhaustion, yet there was firmness in it. “Kieran is my only child. I will do whatever it takes to save him.”

Kieran wanted to open his eyes right then. The voice sounded unfamiliar, yet the emotion within it felt deeply familiar to him. It seemed to be the mother of the body’s original owner.

There was a pause before another voice responded. Another woman, softer.

“The first surgery already used up all your savings,” she said carefully. “The doctor said further treatment is needed. The cost isn’t small. Where will you get that much money?”

Kieran heard the sound of a chair being shifted and a held breath.

“I’ll find a way. I can borrow it.”

“Borrow from whom?” The voice rose slightly, then was restrained again. “From that loan shark? You know what their interest rates are like. If you can’t pay on time—”

Silence hung for a few seconds. Only the machine continued its faithful beeping.

“I know the risk. I won’t involve you. I’m just asking… if something happens to me, please take care of Kieran.”

Kieran felt something tighten in his chest, even though his body could not move. He could feel that not only his emotions were surging, but also those of the body’s original owner.

“Stop talking like that. You think that’s a solution? If he wakes up later and finds out you destroyed your life for his hospital bills, do you think he’ll feel better?”

There was no direct answer. Only unsteady breathing followed by soft sobs.

“He won’t know,” his mother whispered after a while. “As long as he lives.”

Kieran wanted to scream. He wanted to say no. Don’t. He did not need such a sacrifice. He did not want to live at a price paid by someone else, but his body still did not respond.

However, he did not allow himself to sink again. He forced himself, slowly, little by little. That was when memories poured rapidly into his consciousness. Fragments of a life that was not his slipped in without permission.

The first name that appeared clearly: Kieran Nelson.

The owner of this body was also named Kieran, a final-year high school student. Living in a small house on the outskirts of the city. His father was an alcoholic. His mother worked as a daily laborer.

At school, Kieran Nelson was nobody. His uniform often looked dull and yellowed, and he had worn the same old shoes for years.

He rarely spoke and often sat in the corner of the classroom with his head lowered. That was enough for some people to make him a target. His bag was often hidden, his books once thrown into the toilet, and degrading nicknames were tossed around as if it were normal.

He did not fight back. Not because he was not angry, but because he knew fighting back would only make things worse.

Then a few months ago, he thought his life had changed. A beautiful and kind girl approached him. The small bits of attention she gave felt enormous to someone rarely noticed like Kieran, making him fall in love quickly.

They started dating not long after. For the first time, he felt chosen.

But the happiness did not last long. A few days after they started dating, he found out that the girl had never liked him. He was only part of a game between her and her friends. A challenge to make “the poor kid” fall in love, then abandon him.

More than that, the girl cheated on him with one of the students who bullied him the most. They laughed together, no longer trying to hide anything.

That memory left the deepest mark because of the shame and inferiority it carried.

That night, Kieran sat for a long time in his dark room. He told his mother nothing. He only felt tired, tired of being a joke, tired of being a burden, tired of hoping.

The decision he made was not out of courage, but out of despair.

His last memory was jumping from the third floor, and then everything went dark.

The flow of memories finally slowed, but it still left a heavy trace in Kieran’s chest—Kieran who was now inside this body.