I wasn’t really dead, of course. Only my Player body was. Stratos had told us at the beginning that death here wasn’t necessarily final, and if our body was killed we could respawn in a new one. Which is what happened to me. I should probably cover what happened in the time between my death and the glorious rebirth, though.

For me, the pain was intense but short-lived. I suppose that’s the upside of instant death. For my friends, on the other hand, there was a period of emotional torment to endure, which can arguably be even more painful.

As they explained to me later, Kiki and her crew buggered off when I died. I guess she got what she was after in the end, but it was not without cost. She had lashed out at Jason for not participating, blaming him for their defeat, then he told her to go do something lewd with herself, quit her team, and stormed off.

They said it took less than a minute for the NPC cleanup crew to arrive, people wearing black cloaks and masks with long beaks like the ones plague doctors wore back in the day. They solemnly wrapped my body in a linen shroud and took it away. My friends had tried to find out where they were going to take me, and if I was going to come back like Stratos said might happen, and if so when and where would I come back? But the cleanup crew remained mute as they carried me up the street to the central courtyard and up into the gazebo.

Then poof: they, along with my corpse, vanished.

Nobody knew what to do.

My friends had gone back to the dojo to check in my room, thinking that would be the most likely place for me to respawn, if I was going to. There was no guarantee I’d come back at all. They met Andy there and told him everything that had happened, then spent the next hour waiting there, wracked with varying degrees of guilt, fear, curiosity, and concern. I was surprised when they told me that Andy was the most distraught, blaming himself for not being with us when it happened, which of course was just silly. Even without his help we’d won the fight, I only died because of a dirty blindside after it was over.

Feeling too antsy to sit around the dojo any longer, Jane had the idea to split up and ask around if anybody knew what happened when you died. Although none of the NPCs in the clan knew anything, perhaps a different NPC might have the information, or maybe another Player had died before me and someone knew when and where revived Players return. Shannon volunteered to wait by my room in case I did appear at the dojo, and the others dispersed with the agreement to return to the clan house in an hour’s time.

Meanwhile, the first thing I felt after I died was the breeze. A soft, warm breeze that swept across a clear blue sky and made the misty tops of the clouds below me swirl around my ankles.

Yes, below me. I was standing on clouds.

In front of me, Stratos stood with their hands clasped behind their back watching something on a System screen floating in front of them. I caught a peek before they swept it away and saw myself — my dead self — lying on my back on the street while those plague doctor characters did their thing.

“I have to say, I did not expect to see you again so soon,” Stratos said.

“Where am I?” I mumbled, still disoriented.

“Right now you are nowhere. Literally.”

“Sure,” I said.

“You died,” Stratos said. “You are dead.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” I said, looking around. “Clouds? Really?”

Stratos shrugged. “Do you not like it?”

“No, it’s fine, I guess.”

“Dying is disorienting enough, I am told. I imagine suddenly appearing amid endless emptiness would only make it worse, so I told System to pull an image of the afterlife from your head and...” They gestured around with their hands.

“Is that what you usually do? Does everyone see something different when they die?”

“Oh no. This does not usually happen. That is why we had to come up with this cloud thing. Once again, you are a special case, Daniel.”

“Why?”

“It was a special request, one that could not be refused.” The expression on Stratos’ face didn’t change, but something in their voice made me suspect they weren’t too happy about this.

“A request by whom?”

An unnamed observer announces itself

“Ah. You again,” I said. “So back to the original question: why?”

An unnamed observer wishes to reward the Player

System: System reminds the unnamed observer that gifts are not allowed during the Tutorial

An unnamed observer points out that the Player is not technically in the Tutorial at this moment

System: Technicality acknowledged - state reward

An unnamed observer didn’t expect this to actually work

An unnamed observer needs a moment to think of something

“Does this observer thing happen a lot?” I asked Stratos.

Stratos didn’t answer me. They opened up a Status screen instead, but I’m pretty sure they were only pretending to read it to avoid the question.

System: Applying penalty

“Penalty?” I said. “What penalty?”

“When a Player respawns they lose some of their abilities,” Stratos explained without looking away from the Status screen. “You did not have much to start with, so you will not lose much.”

They waved their hand and my Status opened.

Daniel Lamont Team Builder Affinity: Life - Novice

Fire - Novice

Ice - Novice

Water - Novice

Shadow - Novice

Earth - Novice Gifts: Good At Everything

Jack of All Trades

Murder Hobo Powers: All Shall Be Revealed - Competent Skills:

Affinity Control - Novice

Brawling - Novice

Cartography - Novice

Game Design - Novice

Karate - Novice

Knife - Novice

Kung Fu - Novice

Laying On Hands - Novice

Spear - Novice

Sword - Novice

Tae Kwon Do - Novice

Teaching - Novice

Trivia - Novice

“See?” Stratos said. “You lost some mastery in a few skills and affinities, but at least your power was not affected.”

“Small consolation.”

“Do not be like that. If you were going down from Master to Expert, that would be something to moan about, but dropping skills from Competent to Novice is not a big deal, especially not for someone with Jack Of All Trades, which I cannot help but notice you are making very good use of.”

“Why does having Jack Of All Trades make a difference? So I can learn skills easily, that only means I have more skills to work on raising. And with Good At Everything I can’t raise anything above Adept anyway.”

“It saddens me to see you looking down on your special abilities, especially without fully understanding them.”

“I’ll admit, Jack Of All Trades is growing on me, but the limitations on mastery level that come with Good At Everything are really, well, limiting.”

“Pity. I thought you were a different kind of Player.”

“Oh? What kind of Player did you think I was?”

Stratos stared at me with that infuriating emotionless look of theirs. “Perhaps instead you should be asking yourself what kind of Player you think you are. Or what kind you want to be.”

An unnamed observer wants to give the Player a Mythic Gift Box

“Mythic? That seems a bit generous,” Stratos said. “All he did was die.”

System: Mythic class rewards are not allowed at this stage

“Precisely,” Stratos said.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

An unnamed observer grows annoyed

System: System did not make up the rules

“For once I am glad that System is so simple,” Stratos said. “Always following the rules.”

An unnamed observer grows impatient

System: System has a suggestion

An unnamed observer is listening

System: System suggests letting the Player choose the reward

An unnamed observer is surprised that is allowed

“An interesting idea,” Stratos said. “In my research into the scenario, I found that when a character dies they often meet a deity who offers a boon for their next life.”

An unnamed observer likes the idea of being called a deity

“Many times the character is asked to choose what boon they wish to receive, especially if they died in a noble way, such as by sacrificing themself to save someone else.”

An unnamed observer sees the parallels here

An unnamed observer wants the Player to choose the reward

“Although...” Stratos said.

An unnamed observer wonders what the problem is now?

“I also found that humans are notoriously greedy,” Stratos said.

System: System did not consider this

System: System thinks this may be a terrible idea and takes it back

An unnamed observer doesn’t care about greed

An unnamed observer wants the Player to choose its own reward

“I really don’t think—” Stratos said.

An unnamed observer reminds the Gamester that there is no rule against it

System: System concedes that this is true

An unnamed observer wants the Player to choose its own reward then

System: System grudgingly awaits the Player’s choice

“Is this for real?” I asked Stratos.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“What sorts of rewards can I choose?”

“That is up to you, but a word of advice: choose carefully. System does not seem very happy about this, especially because it was System’s own idea, and System has been known to hold grudges.”

System: System heard that and will remember

“See?”

“I’m pretty sure this isn’t real,” I said, “but I’ll run with it just in case.”

I wracked my brain trying to remember what kinds of things people asked for when this happened in isekai stories. I remembered one character who’d been ill his whole life and asked for a body that would never get sick. Another who just wanted to keep his cellphone. What should I ask for? What would be very useful but not overpowering?

Then it came to me. I could Murder Hobo the crap out of this.

“I have a thought,” I said.

An unnamed observer is excited and curious to know

System: System has a bad feeling about this

“How about something random?” I said.

An unnamed observer thinks that’s a brilliant idea

“That seems like a fair compromise to me too,” Stratos said.

An unnamed observer loves surprises

System: System is impressed with the Player’s temperance

“System, can you do a gacha reward?” I said.

System: Generating random reward wheel

“Excellent.” Stratos said.

An unnamed observer wishes System would hurry up

System: Random reward wheel generated

All of a sudden, a completely new screen appeared in the air in front of me with a virtual slot machine wheel and a big green button labeled SPIN in bright, friendly letters. Most of what was on the wheel was hidden, but the few slots I could see had the rewards Common Item, Common Chest, Basic Potion, and Reward Token.

Common. Basic. Meh. I rather liked the sound of Mythic. Ah well.

I reached out and pressed the button.

Come on, big money, big money!

The wheel spun with a rapid tick-ticking sound that slowed as the wheel lost momentum. I watched as it ticked through Basic Skill Pack, Reward Token, and Lunch Coupon before finally coming to rest on a slot labeled Random Common Power Pack.

A new power, but only a Common one. Ah well.

Suddenly, the wheel shimmered, and the slots all changed. Now most of the slots were Uncommon, and in addition to the possible rewards there were a few slots that said ‘Sorry.’

System: System wonders if the Player wants to spin again for the chance to upgrade the reward?

“What happens if I land on a sorry slot?”

System: System thinks it is obvious that a sorry slot means no reward will be given

So it really is a sort of gacha. Do I go for a better prize?

Of course I do.

I hit the SPIN button again, and the wheel became a blur. It slowed down, tick tick tick, and landed on Random Uncommon Skill Pack.

That sucks. I can learn skills easily, so this is pretty much worthless.

The wheel shimmered again and now there were some Rare things, but there were also a lot more sorry slots. The potential for better rewards, but more chance to walk away with nothing. It was a no brainer, and I reached out and hit the button.

Whizzzz, tick tick tick.

As it was slowing to a stop a sorry slot was coming up, but thankfully it stopped on the slot before it. Random Uncommon Item Chest.

Well that’s better than a skill, but still just Uncommon. The wheel shimmered again to show a few Legendary rewards mixed in, but every other slot was sorry.

A fifty-fifty chance to get nothing. Ordinarily, anyway. But I had an ace up my sleeve. I put my faith in Murder Hobo and spun again.

“Feeling lucky, are we?” Stratos said.

The wheel spun and the slots ticked by, then it slowed and approached a sorry slot nestled between a Rare Item Chest and a Legendary Power Pack. It slowly moved through the item slot and inched into sorry.

“That is too bad, Daniel,” Stratos said.

But it was still moving. Barely. I caught myself leaning forward and moving my head, willing it to keep going, as though the wind from my movements could push the wheel into the next slot. The pointer crept through sorry, brushing against the edge of the slot, and with the last vestige of momentum only just made it into the next slot.

Random Legendary Power Pack.

I exhaled deeply. Stratos chuckled.

Murder Hobo. The gift that keeps on giving.

Once more the wheel shimmered. Well over half the slots were sorry, but I also saw at least one Mythical slot mixed in as well.

I stood there looking at the wheel. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the glittering gold letters on the Mythical slot.

“Do I dare to eat a peach?” I muttered.

“A peach?” Stratos said.

System: Almost, at times, the Fool

Stratos blinked a few times. “Peach? Fool? I do not understand.”

Stratos may not have gotten the reference, but System did, quoting another line of the poem back to me.

Why did System quote that line? Is it a message?

“I’m gonna stop there, Alex,” I said.

“I find your words perplexing,” Stratos said. “But I get the gist.”

The wheel vanished and was replaced by a glittering rectangle. It looked like a foil-wrapped pack, the kind that collectible game cards come in. An ethereal arrow appeared moving sideways across the pack. I swept my hand in the air following the arrow’s path and the pack tore itself open, exploding in a shower of virtual confetti.

System: You have a new Power: Synthesize

Thank you Murder Hobo!

“Synthesize?” Stratos said. “Oh my.”

That reaction made me nervous, wondering what’s wrong with Synthesize?

Synthesize - Novice: Combine abilities

An unnamed observer is pleased

“System, you did not happen to rig the wheel, did you?” Stratos said.

System: System is too simple to do something like that

“How did this happen?” Stratos said. Then my Status opened. Stratos must have done it, because I didn’t. “Ah. I see now. I did not look closely enough before. When did you unlock your hidden gift, Daniel?”

“You mean Murder Hobo? Back when I killed the Jackalope, why?”

Stratos actually frowned at me. “How did you manage to defeat a dangerous monster like that so quickly?”

An unnamed observer saw it

An unnamed observer thought it was wicked

"Seems I need to keep a closer eye on you, Daniel,” Stratos said. “Our observer may enjoy surprises, but I do not.”

System: You have a new Gift: Hands Off My Stash

“A gift too?” Stratos said.

An unnamed observer is enjoying this

Hands Off My Stash - Extra-dimensional storage space

It’s an inventory!

“What are you doing, System?” Stratos said.

System: Synthesize is a crafting Power

System: All crafting Powers come with this Gift

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

System: It is in the rules

System: System always follows the rules

System: System is simple that way

An unnamed observer wishes more observers were seeing this

A mysterious observer has been watching

A curious observer is also here

Stratos sighed. “Fine. You have made your point. I should not have said that. You are not simple, but this is just too much. Take them back and let us try this again.”

System: Abilities cannot be revoked once given

“Let me guess,” Stratos said, “it is in the rules.”

System: System is glad that the Gamester understands how things work

System: System believes that our business here is complete

An unnamed observer returns to observing with renewed interest

“What just happened?” I said.

Stratos stood there, breathing deeply for a few long moments, the cracks in their composure fading back to the usual impassive expression, and studiously ignored my question. I shrugged and decided to explore my new Gift.

I used a mental command to open my inventory and a small circle, maybe a foot and a half in diameter, appeared in front of me. Kind of like a Status screen, but instead of words inside the circle, there was a blackness filled with vague swirling colors. I felt the vacant breath of some force emanating from it, which are me feel both uneasy and comforted at the same time. Weird.

Knowing what I had to do, I thrust my hand inside it, and my whole arm vanished up to the elbow. I felt around, but the extra-dimensional space was empty. I was just thinking about what I could put into it when Stratos spoke to me.

“I need you to finish your quest, Daniel. The Tutorial is already half over.”

I felt like I was being swept along by powers I didn’t know for purposes I didn’t understand, and it left me feeling rebellious. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then you will lose.”

“What happens to losers?” I said.

Stratos blinked at me. “I have no interest in losers.”

“Then I guess I’d better win.”

“I will see you at the end of the Tutorial. And Daniel?”

“Yes?”

“I would not count on respawning if you happen to die again, so if I was you I would be extremely careful from now on.”

System: Respawning now