“Come on, it wasn’t my fault—”
“Don’t come back here again asshole!”
“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to—”
“They increased the rent because you kept coming here! So just **** off already!” The coffee shop manager scowled as he pushed Greg outside. Veins bulging out of his forehead, the shop manager slammed the door behind him, the bell chiming as it shut.
Greg sighed as he dusted off his leather coat and popped up the collars. The stares he received from people nearby stabbed into him like pointed daggers. He sped up to make a quick escape from the situation.
As he neared the curb of the busy intersection, Greg reached into his pocket and opened up his mint-condition 2009 flip phone.
There was a message.
It was from the mafia.
[4:31 PM - Hahahaha]
[4:33 PM - Where you going to get your coffee now?]
[4:44 PM- You daddy’s little bitch XDD]
Greg’s hands trembled. He wanted to fight back. But his very life laid in the palm of their hands. Unless he found a way to magically pay off eighteen million dollars of debt, then he would remain a slave for the rest of his life.
It was his evening break, and he would usually get coffee from the nearby shop. It was good, quick and cheap. Every other place served mud. The man at the front counter was also friendly—the same man who had just kicked him out. Yet what do the mafia do? He didn’t even know they owned the place but—they had increased the coffee shop’s monthly rent by a few thousand dollars!
Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Greg didn’t even notice that it was a red light as he marched off the curb and onto the crosswalk.
“Hey, watch out!” A man yelled.
Onlookers watched in horror as Greg headed into oncoming traffic.
Greg heard the man and looked up.
He froze and turned. A blaring horn screamed at him as a wall of whiteness encompassed his entire vision. Wheels screeched and onlookers screamed.
In that instance, Greg felt…relieved.
The driver behind the wheel smashed his foot against the brake. On the left, being a crowded side-walk, the semi trailer could only swerve right into the other lane.
But it was too late.
Greg was pulled underneath the truck like grass to a lawnmower.
To the driver, it was as if he had gone over a small speed bump.
Greg’s soft, malleable skull was crushed in an instant. Flesh was ripped apart and bone was fractured. Blood spurted everywhere, soaking the truck and its tires in a bright, red paint.
By the time the truck came to a halt, Greg’s body was disfigured beyond any point of recognition.
The intersection came to a stop as a few other people crashed and dozens of others were left stuck in the aftermath.
Greg was now a mashed paste of organ tissue and a tangle of broken limbs. A small river of blood trickled down into a storm drain on the side of the road. Everyone looked on, shaken to their core.
Greg was dead.
His life was over.
No longer would he have to work sixteen hours a day on minimum wage, hopelessly chipping away at an unpayable loan that only rose higher with each passing month.
Even if he had ten of himself, it wouldn’t be possible to pay it all off. No longer would he be beaten in his apartment by sadistic gangsters. No longer would he have to cry and whimper in fear.
He wouldn’t be in pain anymore. He didn’t have to try so hard survive anymore. He didn’t have to cling on to hope anymore.
He was dead now. So he could rest.
He was finally free.
However, within the dying remnants of Greg’s remaining brain cells that could still muster up any resemblance of consciousness, a blue, holographic message appeared.
[You Have Died!]
[Recalling Soul in 3…2…1]
***
Greg woke up in an infinite void of darkness.
He didn’t have a body. He existed as a soul that encompassed the space in its entirety, feeling everything but also nothing—for there was nothing to feel. There was no sound, light, matter, or energy.
Just nothing.
And then a series of messages appeared.
[Welcome [REDACTED], Eternal!]
[Calculating life…]
[Trivial Credits Earned: 64]
[Calculating accomplishments…]
[Strongest Creature Killed: Rat - 1 Credit awarded]
[Stay Awake for 96 consecutive hours - 3 Credits awarded]
[Resilient - Beaten up over 1,000 times - 6 Credits awarded]
[Bankrupt a Deca-Millionaire - 10 Credits awarded]
[Accomplishment Credits Earned: 22]
[Total Credits Earned: 86]
[Calculating stars earned…]
[Die For the First Time - 1 Star awarded]
[Total Stars Earned: 1]
[Calculating rating…]
[Age: 29]
[Life: 1st]
[World Level: E]
[Adjusting rating based on parameters…]
[Rating: F+]
Greg was unsure how to respond or what to think.
He would’ve been staring with his mouth wide open if he had one—but he didn’t. For some reason, any desire to reflect and mourn over his previous life was absent.
He studied the messages and couldn’t help but be perplexed.
When he was alive, he had been a stock broker…for the mafia. So he wasn’t fazed when he saw that he had somehow bankrupted a deca-millionaire. He could be pretty good at sales over the phone. Just not face-to-face. That wasn’t his thing. He would’ve felt sorry if it weren’t for his sudden absence of emotion. His eyes skipped over the next accomplishment, not wishing to recall the countless beatings he had gone through over his life. The “Stay Awake for 96 Consecutive Hours” accomplishment was involuntary. Those had been the longest four days of his life.
Killing rats was something he did very often. If he saw them in the kitchen or dining room—no problem. But in his bedroom, that was a different matter altogether.
‘So my life is just a game? An F+ too? Heh, I’m pathetic. I mean…they’re not wrong. I was just a slave my whole life. I didn’t accomplish much either. All I did was fill the pockets of some greedy assholes.’
Nothing happened for a while. Sometime later, Greg had a thought, “I don’t know if this is hell or something else, but I wish I had my body back because this is is weird.”
[Domain is restricted!]
[Would you like to spend 10 credits to open the domain?]
Am i in a game?
Greg nodded—or at least he tried to. The system…or game…or whatever it was, somehow registered this.
[Acknowledged]
[10 Credits Deducted]
[Domain has been opened!]
[Remaining Credits: 76]
Suddenly, Greg appeared on the ground, and all human sensation came flooding back. He felt the cold stone ground, the blood flowing through his veins, the air in his lungs.
And with that, a wave of emotions crashed into him.
He hit the ground and gasped for air. He was in total shock.
He had just died!
His body trembled as he slowly recalled what happened. He was kicked out from his favourite coffee shop, he saw the message from the mafia, and then he walked a red light. And then…a truck hit him. He had died. Now he was at this strange place that was like some sort of video game.
He was still in disbelief of the situation. He asked the game-system his voice echoing into the void, “Did I just die?”
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
[Yes, your life has ended. But do not worry, for you will reincarnate.]
Oh, so that was it then?
All of it was gone like that.
I can't believe I didn't see the red light.
Greg hated his life, but to face such an abrupt end to his life bummed him out. He looked around at the endless void upon which he stood. This did not look like heaven one bit. This was definitely not heaven. So what was it?
Greg tried to remember his short and unfulfilling life. Several hours passed as he stared into the black sky. Regardless of whether or not he had a good life, the biological instinct of survival kicked in. He wanted to live. He didn’t want to stay in this place for eternity—which is what he assumed.
And then Greg remembered what the system had said to him. Did it say something about reincarnation?
[Would you like to reincarnate?]
[Warning: The system advises against this as you have yet to spend any credits. Preparation is key, Eternal. And you do not want to step into a new world ill-prepared]
[Would you instead like to check out the System menu?]
Greg immediately panicked as he jumped to his feet, “No, no! Not yet! I’ll check out the menu instead…if that’s what you want me to do.”
[Acknowledged]
Greg gave out a sigh of relief as yet another screen appeared in front of him.
*Menu*
[Reincarnate]
[Shop]
[Domain]
[Locked options are hidden]
It really is some game.
Seeing that he could only choose from the first two options, and making sure to avoid [Reincarnate], he pressed on the [Shop] option with his finger.
Space twisted around him as he was suddenly teleported away from the void and into a run-down building with shelves and two short aisles. Everything was completely bare and there was nothing in stock. It was only slightly larger than his own studio apartment. It looked like the remains of what was once a shop.
Sitting behind a counter that ran wall to wall on the opposite side of the shop, a frail young man with long black hair smoked on a pipe. He rocked back and forth as he keenly observed Greg with shining red eyes. He wore nothing but brown rags and white breeches.
Greg felt like he was being penetrated by the man’s gaze. This only made his heart pound harder. Walking from the front of the store—which had no front door and was just a shelf—he came up to the desk. Greg was apprehensive as he thought of what to say.
His eyes stuck to the ground and his hands shoved inside the pockets of his black jeans, he stuttered as he greeted the man.
“H-Hello.”
“Hello,” the Shop Keep returned his greeting with a deadpan expression.
“You…” Greg looked around at the empty shop, “Sell anything?”
The shopkeep replied, still lacking any emotion but with a hint of amusement, “Of course, son. I’ll have the system pop up a list of the stock for you.”
A green list appeared in front of him.
[Inventory]
[Workaholic (1): Work efficiency increases by 50% - 25 credits]
[Danger Sense (1): Become vaguely aware of incoming danger, traps, threats, and killing intent - 50 Credits]
[Sturdy Body: The impact of blows are reduced. Light blows are nulled - 50 Credits]
[Deep Sleep (1): Reduce need for sleep by 10% - 25 Credits]
Greg looked at the options before him, a series of thoughts churning out one after the other. He noted that everything was strangely relevant to him. Was this on purpose?
The system answered him.
[Yes. Perks are generated based on Eternal’s past lives and their most noteworthy aspects, accomplishments, deeds, and actions]
Greg dismissed the message and inwardly thanked the system for answering him. At the same time, he was unnerved that he was already casually dismissing messages from the video game—or system—whatever you call it.
In his past life he had worked sixteen hours a day, six days a week, for the past thirteen years of his life. He had been a stock broker. He had been an avid boxer on his day off. He was beaten by the mafia on a weekly basis. And his sleep was worse than a pile of shit. Everything made sense when he thought it all out.
Greg asked the shopkeep, “What is all of this for? Aren’t I dead?”
The shopkeep puffed on his pipe and blew a cloud of smoke, “You’re an Eternal. You’ll reincarnate. And this stuff right here is what you call ‘perks’. They’re pretty handy—and permanent.”
After the Shopkeep answered, so did the system.
[Perks bought from the Eternal shop strengthen the Eternal. They are permanent and cannot be sold, traded, stolen, or removed under any circumstance. They are just as Eternal as you.]
Dismissing it with his conscious will, the shopkeep explained, “You can ask me for help if you need to. That is why I am here in the first place.”
Greg, his eyes still stuck to the ground, asked, “What perks do you think I should—umm—buy?”
Noticing the customer’s attitude, the shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. A tall and lanky, fully grown man was acting like a scared, little boy.
This fellow isn’t even going to make it past his tenth life, the shopkeeper thought.
But the shopkeeper, despite his judgment and his low opinion of the fledgling Eternal, had a job to do.
“Advice from me will cost you a whopping 1 credit. I know. Very expensive.”
Greg furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the stock. He did some calculations in his mind and felt that this was far too much of a coincidence. Once he paid the shopkeeper, he would have 75 credits left over. That was just enough for a perk worth 50 credits and then another worth 25. That would then leave him absolutely broke.
Greg was usually stingy with what little money he would have, but as a newcomer to this place, he was clueless as to what was valuable and what wasn’t. Something that he thought would lead him to a life of wealth and luxury could instead be a complete waste of money.
“Alright. I’ll pay for your advice,” Greg decided.
[1 Credit Deducted]
[Remaining Credits: 75]
Exhaling hot clouds of smoke that blew into Greg’s face—much to the other person’s displeasure, the shopkeeper suggested, “Buy Workaholic and Danger Sense.”
Greg eked out a small whisper, “Why?”
As if a peasant had spoken up to a noble, the shopkeeper replied, “Why? Firstly, “Workaholic” because you can scale crazy with any non-fighting class. Secondly, “Danger Sense” because you need to live as long as possible—it’ll help you build some character if you live a couple hundred years. You might not trust me because you’re just a boy, but if you don’t follow what I say, you might as well just throw yourself into the void.”
Greg pursed his lips. Holding onto his advice, Greg then went on to pace around the shop for half an hour, every now and then checking the shop’s stock. Eventually, he came to a decision.
“I—I’ll buy Workaholic and Sturdy Body,” Greg stuttered.
Surprisingly, the shopkeeper wasn’t angry at him for going against what he said.
As if reading off a script, the shopkeeper asked him, “Would you like to confirm your purchase?”
Greg nodded, his eyes still looking at the ground. “Yes.”
[Acknowledged]
[75 Credits Deducted]
[Perk: Workaholic (1) - Acquired]
[Perk: Sturdy Body - Acquired]
The shopkeeper snapped his fingers.
Greg then heard something from behind him.
On the wall to the left in one of the long, vertical showcases was now a full set of leather armour. And on a top shelf on the right wall was a glowing white ball of light, pedestalled upon a black stone.
The perks had coalesced into reality. From the look of it, was he going to have to wear the armour for the perk to work?
[No. The items in the shop are merely physical representations of your perks]
Greg dismissed the message and felt silly. That was plainly obvious. But he was always someone to second-guess and confirm things.
“If you’re done ooing and aaing at your stuff, you may leave now.”
Greg stiffened up and gave a nod. Before he did leave, he checked out the pedestalled ball that represented his Workaholic perk. Then with a snap of the shopkeeper’s fingers, he was back in the infinite black void.
He scratched his head and opened the system menu with a thought.
*Menu*
[Reincarnate]
[Shop]
[Domain]
[Locked options are hidden]
So I just think and it opens up. And it's inside my brain. That’s comforting.
Greg opened up the [Domain] tab.
*Domain*
[14 Chest Drive, Unit 8 – 50 Credits]
Greg stilled, staring at the green text before his eyes. That was… his apartment. Was it saying that he could buy back his apartment and live in it? He wondered if it came with the rats. Probably not. He doubted the TV would work either. Would the electricity even work?
He sighed.
He closed the Domain tab and returned to the main menu.
The [Reincarnate] option stared at him. He closed the menu, his stomach churning and heart pounding as he thought of the possibility of reincarnating. The absurdness of the situation caught up to him.
How was any of this real?
He was to reincarnate? Where would he reincarnate? Africa? Asia? Europe?
[Stating Rule 8: Eternals cannot re-reincarnate in or interact with past worlds. Any attempts to do so will result in severe punishment]
Greg’s heart skipped a beat. He was to reincarnate in another world? He fell to his knees. He found it difficult to even breathe.
“Wait…” Greg then realised something “Am I going to reincarnate again? Even after my second life?”
[Eternals never die]
[Your destiny is to be born anew amongst endless Samsara. You will come to hold profound strength and an indomitable will. Even the mightiest emperors and wisest sorcerers of the void will bend before your might.]
[But Eternals are outlaws. Do not attract the attention of higher powers unless you want to bring about your end. You have just been born and still require thousands of years of training to stand a chance]
[Have a steady and wise temperament. Have discipline, courage, and strength. Do not fear death. Do not grow arrogant. Be a student. Be patient. Be Eternal.]
[You have been warned!]
Greg stared at the screen in awe before dismissing it. That was quite… much.
He found that a part of him was also excited. That was basically immortality!
He imagined a new life where he wasn’t a prisoner to others. He could live life how he wanted to.
He was finally getting at what this was all about now.
Greg proceeded to do some walking, losing himself in his thoughts and pondering upon what awaited him on the other side. After several hours of walking, he eventually mustered up the courage to open up the system menu and confront the [Reincarnate] button.
“W-What happens when I…reincarnate?” Greg asked out loud.
[You will reincarnate into another world]
That was obvious. Greg prodded further.
“What kind of world could I get reincarnated in?”
[The possibilities are endless]
[Eternal may also pay credits to reincarnate into a specific type of world or within certain restrictions or circumstances. This option, however, is currently unavailable to Eternal.]
“I see,” Greg nodded his head.
After that, Greg also remembered that he had received a star. He didn’t know what for but he asked the system what they were and what he could use them for.
[Stars are withheld until the completion of Eternal’s 3rd life. Stars will continue to be locked until Eternal has lived out their 3rd life.]
Greg sighed. Well, that was pointless.
It seemed that he had delayed for too long. Rightfully so. Voluntarily reincarnating yourself was a scary thing to do.
Cause the instant he asked to get reincarnated—boom, he would be whisked away to whatever world this system deigned. He didn’t know where or what he would even be. It didn’t specifically say human, so being a tree or a cat wasn’t off limits.
Greg did his best to not think of such a possibility and prayed that he wouldn’t get a bad roll of the dice.
“Reincarnate me.”
[Acknowledged]
[Selecting random world…]
[World Found!]
[Selected World: #H86DDA9917]
[Pre-life world information locked until completion of 5th life]
[Would you like to proceed with your reincarnation?]
Greg took in a deep breath and, in firm voice, replied, “Yes.”
He closed his eyes as hard as he could as the system silently counted down to zero.
[Reincarnating in 3…2…1]