Reborn Before The System: My Copy Talent Is Bugged

The teeth tore into her shoulder. Olivia Crow did not scream because she had no breath left. The smell of blood and rotting meat filled the air around her. Through the glass door of the bunker, she looked right at Mark. He stood inside the safehouse she had spent her life savings to build, holding a can of food in one hand and her shotgun in the other. He looked at her through the glass without a single hint of guilt. He just looked relieved. "Sorry, Liv," Mark’s voice was muffled by the thick door. "There isn't enough food for both of us. The system said no new supplies will appear for three months, and you are too weak anyway since you don't have a power." Olivia pressed her bloody hand against the glass, leaving dark red streaks as her fingers slid down. It was Day 10 of the apocalypse. She had worked three jobs to buy this bunker, dragging Mark inside the moment the sky turned red and the monsters came out. She had given him half her food, but the moment things got bad, Mark unlocked the door, pushed her out into the alley, and locked her out to die. Another monster bit her leg, tearing a piece of flesh away. The pain was sharp and blinding, turning her vision black at the edges. She stared at Mark through the window and moved her lips, though no sound came out. If I get another chance, I will kill you first. Mark turned around and walked into the kitchen, leaving her behind. The monsters dragged Olivia down to the ground, and everything went black. Olivia gasped. She sat up fast with her heart beating hard against her ribs. She immediately slapped her legs, her shoulders, and her neck, checking for wounds. There was no blood, no injuries, and no pain. She took a deep breath and noticed the air did not smell like rot anymore. It smelled like fresh coffee. She was sitting on a cheap wooden kitchen chair in front of a small table. On the table sat a plate of toast and her favorite coffee mug. Olivia picked up her phone and the screen lit up. 7:00 AM. Thursday, September 24, 2048. Her hands started to shake as she checked the year again. It really was 2048. She was back, and she was completely alive. Suddenly, a sharp bell rang inside her head with a cold, mechanical sound. [System Setup in progress...] [Global Integration countdown: 01:00:00] [Host found: Olivia Crow.] [Waking up talent...] Olivia froze. The System was not supposed to start until 8:00 AM. In her past life, she did not get this notice until the sky turned red and monsters broke through her office ceiling, so she couldn't understand why hers was waking up now. A blue screen floated right in front of her eyes. [Talent Awakened: Copy (Bugged)] [Rank: F] [Description: A useless talent. Allows the user to look at another person's basic stats. Cannot be used in a fight and cannot help you grow.] Olivia stared at the text. In her past life, she had a Rank F talent called 'Inspect' which did exactly this. It was the reason Mark called her weak, and why she had to hide while everyone else fought. But then, the words on the screen started to blink. The letters shook and changed, and new red text appeared line by line. [Warning: Talent Code Error.] [Recalculating...] [New Description: Any power that fails to kill you, becomes yours.] [Rule 1: If you survive an attack from a talent or monster, you copy that power forever. It becomes stronger based on your body.] [Rule 2: The copy only works if the attack leaves you almost dead (5% health or less).] [Rule 3: You cannot copy the same person twice.] Olivia stopped breathing for a second. Any power that failed to kill her became hers. The System still labeled it Rank F because it used to be 'Inspect,' but this was a massive, game-breaking glitch in the world rules. "Liv? Who are you talking to?" The voice made Olivia's muscles tense up. Mark walked out of the kitchen wearing his old sweatpants and a blue t-shirt. His hair was messy from sleep, and he looked totally normal as he held a spatula in his hand. "I thought I heard you shout," Mark said, walking over to the table. "Hey, did you get your work bonus yesterday? I need you to give me some cash because I want to buy those new car parts today." Olivia looked up at him. The image of him holding the shotgun while watching her get eaten alive flashed in her mind. Her fingers curled into tight fists, and she wanted to pick up the coffee mug and smash it into his face. But she forced herself to stay perfectly still. She had exactly sixty minutes left. At 8:00 AM, the internet would stop working, the power would go out, and money would become worthless paper while monsters dropped from the sky. If she killed Mark right now, the police would come and she would waste her remaining time in an interrogation room, losing her head start. Mark was simply not worth it. "Olivia?" Mark frowned when she didn't answer. "Are you listening to me? I need the money now." "I heard you," Olivia said, keeping her voice flat and calm. "I have to go out." Mark blinked in surprise. "Go out? Now? It is seven in the morning, and I am already making eggs for breakfast." "Eat them yourself," Olivia said. She stood up from the wooden chair without looking at him again. She walked straight to the closet, grabbed her jacket, and took her purse with her car keys inside. "Hey, what is wrong with you?" Mark followed her to the front door, sounding angry. "You are acting weird. Just transfer the money from your phone, it takes two seconds." Olivia opened the door and saw the bright morning sun on the quiet street. Neighbors were getting into their cars for work, and none of them knew that in one hour, most of them would be dead. She turned back to Mark one last time. "I will handle it," she said. She stepped outside and pulled the door shut before he could say anything else. She had no time to waste on a dead man, so she got into her SUV, started the engine, and drove away fast toward the big supermarket warehouse three miles away. Fifty-five minutes left.