The pain did not recede even in his dreams. It was like a fiery serpent, wrapping tightly around his body, squeezing the life out of him. He let out painful gasps, but the more he tried to ignore it, the more it occupied his thoughts.
After what felt like an instant and an eternity, Daniel woke up with a start. What greeted him wasn’t the greenery of the forest nor the decapitated head of a monster. Instead, he gazed upon a scantily lit room surrounded by stone walls. The lanterns on the wall burned with a blue light that never flickered, casting long shadows on the floor.
The room housed a mirror, a wardrobe, and what appeared to be a chamber pot. Thankfully, it was empty. Next to the bed was a finely carved chest, adorned with the sigils of a blue dragon. In there was his torn shirt, a blue button-up.
Propping himself up from the bed, he glanced at his left shoulder. No sign of injury was apparent, almost like he hadn’t encountered a dreadful creature in the woods. Alas, pulling up the status screen once again convinced him he wasn’t dreaming.
Slowly, he stood up, peering out of a thick and murky window. Three things stood out to him - a training yard with colours flashing every few seconds, a black tower that rose to the sky, and a stone wall with unfamiliar symbols engraved on it. He watched the figures throw spells from their fingertips until they abruptly stopped. From here, Daniel couldn’t tell who the winner was. He could’ve kept watching for hours if not for the footsteps outside.
He whirled around as the creaking of the door revealed a young woman in embroidered blue robes, the same sigil of the azure dragon on her. She had scarlet red hair, and unless it was dyed, that was another oddity belonging to this fantasy world. “He’s awake!” she screamed, bolting out of the room before Daniel could get a word out.
“How pleasant.”
Scratching his head, he sat back down on the bed, processing his thoughts. Whoever these people were, they had saved him from certain death. Unconscious and alone in a forest, he would’ve been a light snack for any wolves. Besides, he knew practically nothing about where he was or how to fight. It was best to be polite.
Mentally, Daniel counted to two minutes before a group of what looked to be wizards burst into his room. They all wore the same blue robe, though one figure had a medallion strapped to his chest, depicting a wizard’s tower. That same older figure was leading the four young apprentices, a serious expression clashing with the uncertainty of others.
“Ah. This is the young man brave enough to go into the Emerald Woods alone. I congratulate you on your survival.” The rough voice matched his scarred face. His short black hair and his patchy beard did nothing to hide the judgemental eyes, looking Daniel up and down.
As he formulated a response, a thought popped into his head. The language he was hearing wasn’t English, nor was it something he had heard before.
“Thank you,” he said, listening carefully to his own words. It was still the same English he had spoken for 22 years.
The older man nodded.
“My name is Lucius, and I am an instructor at the Crowned Dragon guild. You’re very lucky that we found you at the time that we did. A few more hours and you’d have to say goodbye to your left arm,” he spoke in a stern tone that didn’t accept no for an answer.
“I’m very thankful for that, sir. It was a terrifying experience, and I’m glad I survived in general. My name is Daniel,” he said, standing up and bowing to the man.
The apprentices behind him excitedly whispered about something unknown.
“Good, by all means, we should be letting you rest, but the trainees here were too excited by your presence.”
They winced as he shot a quick glance at them, all except one. The youngest of them stood with a slouched back and messy green hair, his eyes idly wandering across the room. Daniel recognized that look from his previous school years. It was utter boredom.
“Now, I have something important to talk to Mr Daniel over here. You’ll excuse us, won’t you?” This time, he didn’t even need to look at him.
They scattered like roaches, leaving them alone in no time flat. Daniel met Lucius’ eyes, his brows narrowing.
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“Right. I have no interest in knowing what you were doing in those woods, but you’re clearly too low-level to be hanging around there. I also hope you realise the Emerald Woods are a property of the Crowned Dragon, and to train there means getting a permit. One we didn’t find on your body.”
Perhaps Danial was being foolish, but after dying and reincarnating, none of these issues seemed as concerning to him. He had almost died a second time, and the first thing he heard was about permits? Ridiculous.
“I don’t believe the Crowned Dragon will try to pursue any action for a single Redlight Deer, but don’t think that any further action will be tolerated,” he said, crossing his arms.
“Regardless, that’s not what I came here to talk about. It’s about reimbursement,” he paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling.
“The healing potion was fifteen crowns. The cleric’s services for the shoulder - fifty. If we’re being generous here, the deer is worth thirty crowns in materials alone, which we took to the guild. That’s thirty-five iron crowns coming from my own pocket to make sure you’re alright.”
Money was a more serious issue. Although he didn’t know how much thirty-five crowns could buy, it didn’t sound like chump change. Daniel scratched his head, thinking of excuses, but none came to his mind. He was extremely familiar with the process - the hospital syphoning money from his family was a frequent argument he heard when they thought he was asleep.
Daniel sighed, meeting the man’s gaze once again. “I’m sorry, but could you give me some time? This is a lot to process, especially considering I just woke up from near death.”
Lucius startled, avoiding eye contact. “Ah, I have to apologise as well. That was incredibly rude of me. I didn’t consider your well-being. Please, you may rest here until you’ve fully recovered. Dinner will be served in two hours. We can discuss the matter after a hearty meal.”
With that, he turned his back to Daniel and left, his steps even and unwavering.
Daniel fell down on his bed, looking at the ceiling above him. Finally, a moment of peace and quiet. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and sleep forever, but that would be running away from reality. He had done plenty of that in the past.
“Alright. Soul Reaper,” he whispered, clearing up his thoughts. He was given the role of harvesting souls, whatever that meant. He hoped it wouldn’t involve him massacring innocents later down the line. The idea of fighting wasn’t unappealing, however. Daniel’s body was healed and better than ever. Even now, it burned with unspent energy, urging him to do something, anything.
He could find a job as a waiter in some tavern or learn some trade skill and settle down, but deep down, he wanted a sense of adventure. It would be a long and arduous journey of overcoming his fears, but he was given an immense opportunity. He would be a fool not to utilise it. Besides, death wasn’t as scary now that he knew what awaited him.
Concerning the debt he owed to Lucius, he could slowly pay it off. Even though the man was stern, Daniel saw genuine emotion in the last bits of their conversation, a showing of humanity from the man that had saved his life. A goal to work towards was more than Daniel could ask for.
“Status.”
Name: Daniel Willow
Class: Soul Reaper (Legendary)
Level: 2
Job: None
Stats:
STR:10
VIT:15
DEX:10
INT:12
WIS:12
LUK:8
Available points: 0
Skills:
Gate of Reincarnation (Legendary)
Reaper’s Eyes (Rare)
Soul Scythe (Common)
List of Souls:
1x Medium Soul
Before he could do anything else, he had to understand his other abilities. Soul Scythe had saved his life, and that was only a common ability. Luckily, it was incredibly easy to activate a skill.
“Reaper’s Eyes,” he said, immediately regretting his choice. His mana was quickly draining, but it was the headache that put a stop to his joy of using a new skill. It was like a sharp needle stabbing into his brain, going deeper the more he looked around.
Still, what greeted him was a bizarre world. His surroundings turned monochrome, like a grey filter over a photo. Specs of colours dotted the surroundings, the walls posing no obstacle to his view. The colours were in various sizes and shapes, but all of them were ghastly blue, just like his soul scythe. They moved around in rhythmical ways, though never once did they intersect.
It took a few moments to piece together his thoughts through the headache. Even though most of them were hazy, the moving specs resembled human outlines. Ah, what he was seeing was souls in their purest form, still attached to their mortal hosts. They mimicked mundane actions, but they were almost always a beat too slow compared to their shells.
Daniel blinked and the world blurred into colour, vertigo hitting him like a hammer.
“Apparently peering at human souls is a taxing thing. Noted,” he chuckled, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
And then, there was only one thing to do. He was mentally exhausted, and what he now knew to be his mana was empty, but he would be damned if he didn’t try a legendary skill after what a rare one did.
Breathing in, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“Gate of Reincarnation.”