When it comes to work, being Death was not so bad. Paid overtime, good benefits, and annual leave. Still, like all work, some things were less pleasant. Some ends were more unexpected than others.
Luckily, I was graced by an industry that didn't demand as much. Being the Death of the goblins was a good value for money, one might say.
Goblins were not totally devoid of consciousness, so it was possible to console them. Usually a 'yes, there may be rotten flesh in eternity' would suffice. On the other hand, they were not so intelligent either. Not smart enough to think about the inexorable weight of the cessation of existence.
Of course, to every rule there was an exception. It was in that kind of situation that I found myself in the most unpleasant situation of the year so far. Goblins, like all monsters, were capable of evolution. Levels and XP permeated our world, and it was no different with the little creatures.
So here I was, sending a goblin that had delved the path of magic into nothingness. Intelligent enough to know that someone in black robes and a shiny scythe did not bring joy in a basket.
"But what is there to do after that? Will I finally meet Goblina again?" asked the goblin, who had small gray strands coming out of his chin.
"Sure, you might find it," I lied. It wasn't exactly a lie, because in fact, the possibility existed. I just didn't know how likely it was.
Overtime I could accept. Deviation from work function I could not. I was dealing with life's bridge to the unknown. The unknown must have other employees.
"Um... Hey, what can I call you? Death? Can I say one last thing?" asked the literate goblin.
"Death will do just fine. Sure, go ahead," I replied. Death, the end, the reaper, the harvester, the deliverer of eternal rest. Whatever the name, as long as it meant the end.
"I have someone here with me. Well, more for something. I found a young human girl on the brink of death, almost gone from inanimation. I tried all the medicines I had, but some… Unexpected effects happened. I wonder if you could see about that? She really needs help."
A human? Strange. I looked around the simple wooden house, trying to find some sign of life. The system always warned me when I detected someone, but this time no response came.
"For sure. Where is the human?" I asked. There was no reason to deny a Goblin last wish.
After that, the goblin, who by now was in a blue energy form, pointed to some covers. "I left it hidden, because the other goblins won't understand what I did. It was the only thing I could do. You need to understand."
I moved toward the pointing spot. I removed the covers and found a... something. Although human-bodied, the being had green marks where the blood channels passed, making the skin of the whole body seen tattooed. At least the goblin had the decency to cover the creature.
But something was wrong. The system, even though I was looking directly at the air going in and out of the creature, indicated no life.
I ordered more information to come up.
Unknown problem. Unknown race. Debug team will be dispatched shortly.
"Please save it. That's the last thing I ask," said the goblin, as he disappeared into thin air.
A pity. I was a man of my word. A reaper of my word. Now I would have to help the poor creature. As I got closer to the strange creature, I decided that the best strategy would be to wake it up. With both hands I started poking at the body, to ascertain the situation.
The creature's eyelids opened, revealing two glowing green eyes.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"WHAT. IS. THIS. SHIT!" cried the creature as it looked down at its hands.
A beep indicated a new notification. Before opening it, however, I clicked on the one that appeared right after the goblin's death.
XP gained: +100
Current Level: 134
Progression to next level: 55%
Vitality: 2404
Strength: 205
Intelligence: 212
Agility: 203
Spirituality: 907
After level 100, there was no longer any real progression. Not that it matters. Death was death, regardless of levels and such. But, if I cared, certainly harvesting souls would be one of the most efficient ways to level up.
The critter kept screaming in the background. With a wave of my hand, I ceased the ambient sound.
New species found. Species with no confirmed patron. Apotheosis required.
Requirements: Reach level 100 within one year.
Breed will be deleted if deemed unfit.
Oh. With a new hand movement, I summed up the ambient sound.
"What the fuck? What are you doing? And what is that on my skin?" the thing kept shouting.
"Shut up and listen," I said without patience. The situation could hardly get any worse. "It looks like you were about to die and he saved you." I pointed to the goblin's lifeless body.
"Because of the method, it appears that you are no longer human, but neither are you a goblin. I received a notification from the system that we need to raise you to level 100 before a year, so that you can stay alive."
The incessant screaming gave way to an open mouth. The creature looked at me for a while, incredulous.
"Who are you? What do you mean?" she said.
"I am a reaper. Go ahead, look at your notifications."
After a few seconds of staring at nothing, the creature spoke. "The fuck. How do I do that? I've never met anyone who went through level 50, let alone level 100. I'm Gwen, by the way. Why are you helping me?"
Deep down, even I didn't know. I think that seeing that creature that made the system behave differently triggered a certain kind of curiosity in me. The system was still a complete mystery, after all.
"Put some clothes on and come with me. I'm going to consult a friend to see what we can do," I said. The wise men's death was someone all the deaths went to when they were with some impossible question.
The questions I needed to ask were not impossible. I know they weren't.
They were the answers that I was afraid of. It would be difficult to help the green-haired girl.
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The death of the wise men was strange. And, one death saying that about another meant something.
"There is a way, my friend," said the dark figure. Placed side by side, all the reapers could be easily confused. The uniform of the profession was a black cloak that hid the face in an infinite abyss. This made style a problem, considering that the working hours were long hours.
This made the firm's favorite occasion the end-of-year get-together. Good times.
"How can we do it, brother?" I asked. Soon after, the system notified the existence in front of me.
Death of the wise
Level: 107
Originally, each species possessed its own reaper. But, because of mankind's peculiar taste for dying and reproducing, more than one being was charged with reaping human lives. The requirement to be a wise was advanced age and to be versed in magic.
"Lucky for you, I just checked with HR and everything seems to be in line. We can finally annoy that damned being," said the end of the wises, looking up at the sky.
"Er, how are we going to do that?" asked Gwen. The girl was behaving in a surprisingly calm manner. I knew that look. Death ceased to make sense when the creature had been surviving for years, and not living.
"It is written in paragraph 3, of article four, of the extraordinary vacation law of the deaths of relatively sentient beings:
A vacation from the world of humans is allowed every ten thousand harvests. The official must leave his class behind during that period."
"Does that mean what I think it means?" I asked. I may not be the death of the wise, but I wasn't a fool either. We were going to need to do that. The death of the wise, or Wizzy for short, looked at me with eyes full of excitement. This was why he had been willing to help me for free, after all. Bastard.
"Exactly, brother! After many years, you will finally be able to use all the XP bonuses you have saved up!"
I sighed. Every creature is guaranteed, by the system, additional XP based on the period lived. Since existence was relative for reapers, that means a lot of additional XP.
That, and I would just need to change classes.
"I'm in!" shouted Gwen. Now I was starting to get scared. The girl looked more and more happy.
"So?" asked Wizzy, staring at me.
It wasn't as if I had many options. Word was word.
"All right. Let's do this," I said, sighing.
With the force of thought, I summoned the menu. I opened the query bar and commanded the desired option to appear.
Do you wish to take advantage of your expired vacation?
Time left: 500,608 years;
With a sigh, I clicked yes.
You have additional XP. Additional XP limit: 2x.
With another sigh, I moved on to the next phase.
Now came the hard part.
And the part that I, deep down, was a little anxious about.
To continue, choose your new class.