'Is this what the religious freaks call The Afterlife?'
'Afterlife is just a bunch of invisible weirdos popping messages on a screen before your face?'
'Where's Void? Where can I see Void?'
Eric thought to himself.
'It sure is dark in here. I know hell when I see one...and this is more hell than I have right to.'
Suddenly, the blue screen he saw earlier appeared before his face again and, without waiting to read the content therein, he swung his hand out to snatch the screen from his face. But each time he tried, he never got hold of anything. His hand went through more easily than a knife through hot butter, yet he tried frantically until the screen disappeared.
'Am I seeing things now?'
'I must be seeing things. It's the afterlife after all.'
'If I'm dead, then Void must be here, somewhere.'
'I think that screen was trying to tell me something. But how can I bring it back now that it's gone?'
Immediately he thought about it, the screen popped up again, coming as a shock to Eric even when he'd seen it happen three times already. Before him, on the screen were signs and symbols that seemed to indicate letters but were alien to Eric. It appeared as just a jumble of carelessly drawn lines.
[Translating System Words to Host's Understanding]
[Translation Complete]
'Whoa...'
[Welcome to ..?.. System]
'Welcome to the... what system?'
[You have been allowed to live a second life due to your strong will to live and be strong. Follow the Tasks listed and make the most of your new vengeful life]
'Oh. Okay. That's some high ranking trash talk right there.'
[Also, the ...?... system requires that you transmigrate after your task in this world is fulfilled]
[You will automatically vanish from this world...]
[Into the world of my choice...where you belong]
'What the fuck is even that? I only want to know where Void is. Thanks for the help, but just tell me where Void is.'
[You Drift in the Silence Between Death and Life. You're in the Void, Eric]
'And how am I supposed to look for Void in a void? Please, just let me see him. Just once. Please.'
[Do You Not Burn To Avenge Void?]
'I do. I surely do, and I wished it more than anything that's happening right now. But what can I do, uh? I'm dead, see?'
[You Are Not Dead...Anymore, Thanks To The ...?... System]
'What a bunch of baloney. I know what living feels like, and this is not it. I'm not dead but all I see is a total darkness and a holographic screen displaying the most unnerving notifications ever? What's worse is, I'm talking back to it.'
'And why the hell are you calling me Host?'
[Because The System Has Claimed You To Be Its Bearer]
Eric was confused. 'Why am I even talking to you? I must be going nuts myself.'
He blanked out and was lost for thoughts.
[It Is Time You Get Your First Task Started, Host]
'Which is?'
[In The Grand Scheme, Getting Your Butt Out Of This World]
[In The Less Grand Scheme, Getting Your Butt Out Of This World]
[That's The Only Scheme. This World You Were Born In Reeks Of Mundanity]
Eric laughed roughly... If whatever he felt he was doing could count as a laugh.
[Am I a Joke To You?]
[Anyway, I'm Starting...]
[You Know How You Warm Your Fingers, Popping Them Before Grabbing The Console For A Deathmatch?]
[Here's Your Warm Up Exercise]
A list opened up before him and on it was a title "Primary Quest." There was another section by the side which displayed "Main Tasks," but it was blurred out and, from Eric's game knowledge, he knew it could not be opened just yet. He would have to unlock some previous tasks before he could reach there.
'This is kinda interesting,' he thought, having a sudden change of mind as the screen suddenly got more engaging with the task bar. 'If only this was a thing while I was alive.'
[Host Seems Unaware Of His New Existence]
'Huh?'
[For The Last Time, You're Not Dead]
[Open Your Eyes, Host]
'It's open, damnit. I can't see anything here.'
[Open Your Eyes, Host]
He finally did, and...
Suddenly, Eric felt like he was in his physical form again, not floating about in a void. He could hear the faint sound of something blaring near him. He could also feel something hot licking at his skin. His back itched irritatingly where he lay motionless. Then slowly, he started opening his eyes to a dim light hanging directly above him. He was in a strange room that was unnecessarily too hot for whatever weather the heat was turned on for.
[First Task Has Been Assigned. Host Must Get Started]
[PRIMARY QUEST: KILL YOUR KILLERS]
'Get out of my head.'
"I need to get out of here. It's too hot. I don't know how I'm supposed to complete a task with this level of heat."
He turned around to examine his environment and only then did it hit him where he was. Around him were about five bodies, butt naked and lined on long tables. The light from the room cast an orange glow on the bodies, but Eric knew the bodies were just pale even with the optical illusion.
'These are dead... bodies.'
"What?!"
'Am I really alive? This is the crematory. Bad hells, I was about to get burnt.'
'I need to get out of here.'
'Wait, where's Void's body?'
He looked into the intense furnace through the transparent cover to see if it was Void's body being cremated, but there was no way of knowing. He just took solace in the fact that he was the next in line for cremation, so the current one in that furnace must be Void's body.
Eric jumped down from the tall table and scurried to the door in a bid to escape, but the door was locked from the other side. He felt something move down his torso, hitting both of his inner laps.
He looked down only to realize he was butt naked as well. He saw a door by his right side which seemed to be a changing room, but when he got there, all he saw were dirty, bloodied clothes of the dead brought here for cremation. He searched the pile of clothes until he saw his own brown sweater.
'Since there are no good clothes to wear, I'll rather wear the one I'm most familiar with, even if it's the one with the most blood'.
He almost broke down again, remembering how Void was killed like some mere beast some moments ago.
'I'll get them, this time, Void. I promise.'
On a separate table were two backpacks which obviously belonged to him and Void. Void's retractable katana had gone missing since he used it against the hunters earlier, so Eric grabbed his friend's own and stuffed it into the pocket of his bag. The dismantled guns followed, and then the dagger. He grabbed Void's black mask and gloves and donned them to hide his face.
'They already deleted my files from the colony as it stands.'
'If I'm reported missing from the crematory, they would at least have a hard time trying to know what my face looks like before they find me.'
Suddenly, Eric heard slow, steady footsteps advancing from the hallway. There was a whistled dirge tune following each steps. Eric rushed out of the changing room and secured a safe spot to hide should that person come in. He bent behind a shelf near the door, waiting.
Soon enough, a burly man opened the door gently and slid into the cremation room with ease. He was on his way to the tables where the bodies were laid. He grabbed some leather gloves on the way and put them on with expertise, all the while whistling the sorrowful tune, like he was holding a proper funeral for the dead.
'Time to go,' thought Eric as he folded his hands into a loose fist, ready to bolt.
"Hell no," Eric heard the man whisper urgently. He must have realized there was a body missing from the rows of bodies. "The dead don't walk, I'm sure."
Eric scampered out of his hiding place and immediately dashed for the door. The burly man sensed the sudden movement, so he turned and went after Eric.
"Get back here, walking dead! You can't leave here like this! You are dead!"
Eric tried to open the door by turning the handle in the proper way he knew, but the door wouldn't budge. He felt his grip loosening under his sweaty palms which just goes to show how afraid he was at getting caught by the advancing rash man.
'What? I'm sure he didn't lock it with a key.'
The man closed in rapidly with his left gloved hand outstretched while he grabbed a long knife from his table as he brushed past. He swung it in his hands deftly, menacingly as he locked his eyes on Eric
'No way.'
"I'm not dead!" Eric yelled, the mask on his face muffling his voice.
"You have been here. You can't leave here until I've secured your ashes in the seal, dead walker," the man said, his voice deeper and meaner the closer he got.
Eric shook the door heavily to break it down, his eyes growing wider and his heart racing faster with each step the man took. Yet the steel door bowed not.
'What should I do now?'
'He's really going to kill me, this man.'
'Will I die a second time now? From the same weapon?'
'I guess I have to fight for my life here. The odds are not in my favor now. But—'
Eric dipped his hand into the bag and brought out the katana just like he did against the three beast hunters. He felt the cold handle tickle his palms and a wave of nauseating nostalgia hit him.
'I better get it done this time around.'
Instead of stretching the katana out and setting himself in a position to face his assailant head on, Eric kept the unretracted katana hidden in his palm with his back pressed to the door as if in surrender.
'...Five more steps.'
'Four...'
The man closed in, quite warily but steady.'
Just then, the holographic screen popped in Eric's face again, displaying more information.
*Chime!*
[A Side Quest Has Been Issued]
[Strike Down The Incoming Threat]
[Reward: +30 AGI]
[+10 STR If Completed With A Single Strike]
[Engage]
'What? I have stats?'
[Everyone Has Stats]
'And it can be increased? That means I can level up, just like in my games?'
No response.
'Of course, it won't say. F--king cocky system.'
Eric couldn't wrap his head around the load of nonsense going wrong with him for a few moments now. He sure was going to settle down somewhere to piece things together and connect the dots. Maybe then it would make sense. But for now, there was only one thing worth fighting for—his life.
'And if this strange system will reward me for fighting for my life, then why not?'
'It's not as if I wouldn't do it for nothing.'
Two steps... One more...
'Here I go.'
His senses tingled as he dashed forward at the target. His sweaty palm gripped the threaded handle of the retractable katana, pressing hard and firm till it hurts.
With a swift yank, he unfolded the katana blade within.
"Gah!" The death-attendant let out a soft yelp filled with surprise at the sudden change in the predator-prey relationship he shared with Eric. For all he knew, he was the predator here and Eric stood no chance whatsoever. Not as he was, defenseless. But the sudden glitter from the blade got the Dead Handler's eyes wide as his mouth opened in a deadly surprise.
Eric felt lighter and swifter than he had any right to, but again he didn't let these sudden changes bother his movements. The attendant had left a wide mark open for him to strike, and he was going to do just that.
Anything to live. Even if it was to kill.
He pushed harder on his right foot and jumped up a little higher than the death-attendant. The man followed his movement with a swift upward swing of his long knife, but before he could hit his mark, Eric had already struck his blade into the man's thick neck, cutting through flesh and muscle in a smooth slash, before landing nimbly on his feet.
Thick warm blood gushed out of the gaping wound as the man swayed side to side a few times before landing with a loud crash on the tiled floor, wheezing and grabbing his severed neck in a futile attempt to keep from dying. He coughed weakly, choking on his own blood as it found another way to gush out, pouring endlessly onto the floor.
A few seconds later, he stopped struggling.
'I... I killed him...'
'I have killed my first man.'
'But... That didn't feel too weird. I actually feel good.'
*Chime!*
[Not So Bad. That Weak Strike Will Never Be Enough To Tickle A Monkey In Your Next World]
[But Enjoy The Feeling. It Only Gets Worse]
"Quit trying to scare me, 'cause it's not working."
[Is It Not?]
[Remind Me To Tell You More Scare Tales About The Next World. We Can Then Wager If It'll Turn Out That Way Once You Transmigrate]
[...]
[Side Task Successfully Completed]
[Side Task Reward Granted]
[AGI: +30]
[Additional 10 points For One-Strike Kill]
[STR: +10]
[+50 Random Points Granted for Completing First Human Kill]
'Human kill? I guess it means one thing...'
'I can kill other beings and still earn points?'
[Select What Stat The 50 Pts Must Be Added To]
"Uhm, I should at least see my status screen first. I should know which stat needs the most upgrade."
[You Know Yourself. you Should Tell What You Lack Most Without A Screen]
[I Suggest Adding The Points To "Intelligence"]
"C'mon. I'm not dumb. I got the best Kill/Death ratio in last season's Call Of Fury."
[I Was Joking Before, But I Think You Should Really Add Those Pts To Intelligence]
"Still, show the stats."
[DISPLAYING STATS]
[...]
[!DISPLAYING STATS ERROR!]
[Host Must Complete Primary Quest Before Stats Bar Can Be Displayed]
[PRIMARY QUEST: KILL YOUR KILLERS]
[You Must Complete Primary Quest Or You Will Be Punished]
[PUNISHMENT: HOST WILL SUFFER AND RELIVE THE THROES OF HIS LAST DEATH]
"I beg your holographic pardon?!"