Zhen Yu was dead, killed by a stab to the abdomen. When he found himself in the afterlife, he could only cry bitterly as all his efforts to achieve a good future had gone to complete waste! He was already at a disadvantage compared to most people without the support of parents or financial stability, however with his charismatic personality and hard work, he became the first rank in the whole country in the final year exams. He had even won a scholarship to the most prestigious university, but now none of that mattered! He was dead and all his nights staying up late to study for exams, as well as all the shifts he worked in the merciless winters and cruel summers to build a saving led up to completely nothing.
Zhen Yu was now nothing but a lonely wandering soul, stomach grumbling in demand, but he could not provide what it wanted. Why? He was broke! In life he was poor, and in the afterlife he was even more poor than when he was alive- broke in every form! He was dead anyways, so why the hell does he still feel hunger?! Why was currency still important amongst lingering souls?! Looking at the food stall that had a large price board displayed in case some ghosts had vision problems and could not bring their glasses to the afterlife, Zhen Yu felt aggrieved, 'truly, the greed of humans transcends life itself!'
"Uncle… can I have just one steamed bun? I'm really hungry but I have no money," Zhen Yu approached the food stall owner with a pitiful face, clutching his stomach with a shaky hand. Surely, someone who made it to the afterlife and not the underworld would be a kind hearted soul right? "I have no family members to burn me paper money and I've been hungry for so long…"
The steamed bun owner sighed and shook his head, "sorry kid, the food stall permit took a toll out of my wallet and I have to pay taxes, so I can't just give things out for free."
… Why the actual hell are there taxes in the afterlife?! Who made taxes a thing here? Are you mad?! But above that sir, do you not care about poor starving orphans? Fuck, what the hell was the qualifications for not going to the underworld? Zhen Yu felt like throwing hands with someone but felt hopeless as he didn't know who to blame. If he did, he would be at their house already.
'Ah… are there no more good people in this world?' Zhen Yu suddenly felt that the left overs at work and barely filling meals at the orphanage weren't so bad after all. 'At least I'm already dead and probably can't die again…'
[Congratulations! You've been hired by the 'Experience Of Worlds' company! Your department: horror genre]
"… Huh? What?" A floating blue screen suddenly appeared in front of Zhen Yu's eyes. "I never applied for any jobs though? What does this- holy?!" Zhen Yu felt his heart drop as the ground beneath him vanished. He was never the type to scream, he never felt like he could because it took too much energy or that it was embarrassing, but he still panicked internally on the inside like every other person.
Zhen Yu looked around, trying to find something to hold onto or find out what the hell was happening, but there was nothing in sight as everything passed by in a blur as he fell. When he reached his arm out there was nothing that he could grab like he was passing through everything then finally, there was solid ground below him. Zhen Yu's feet tumbled backwards as he landed, making him fall onto the ground while trying to adjust his eyes to the new environment.
He was now in a room, seemingly an office with a closed window in the back and light slipping through the cracks of the blinds, which was the only light source as the rest of the room was shrouded in darkness. It was so dark that he could not see anything that wasn't directly in front of the window, meaning he could only see the desk before him. Sitting at the desk was a figure whose face was covered by mysteries. They wore a black suit and tie with the only part of them that could be seen being their pale hands which were folded on top of the desk. Their hands were a bit unusual with fingers that seemed longer than the average human.
"Welcome to the Experience Of Worlds company…. or in short… 'EW'. We've been needing more employees for…. the horror department for a while now," the person's voice was low and rusty as if they were not used to speaking. "For your…. first assignment you'll…."
"Hold on, I never put in an application for a job?!" Zhen stood up with confusion in his eyes. "And who are you?"
"Ah… pardon me…" the figure paused and cleared their throat with a loud cough. "I am Death, the owner of this company," the voice that came out this time was much smoother and clearer compared to the rusty one from before. It was a clean male's voice that was deep in tone, definitely the type of voice that many people would be attracted to. "As for the question of your non-existent job application, you're in need of money are you not?" It seemed that the more he kept speaking, the smoother his voice became.
"But I never signed up for this? How did I end up here and hired without handing in anything or even giving out my name and details?" Zhen Yu pointed out the concerning part of his employment.
"I know the identity of every soul that wanders the afterlife. You were quite easy to find as you had recently died. Then I just snapped my fingers, and you appeared right in front of me," Death calmly explained as if he was talking about something completely normal like flexing your better gaming skills on kids online. "Now to answer your question of why you were hired, we take a soul's currency balance in great consideration." In short, Zhen Yu was so fucking broke he got hired out of nowhere.
"You can't actually force me to work though can you? Even if you put me at a station, I can just stand there and refuse to do anything at all. You can't force me into this job," Zhen Yu felt the need to argue for his rights. He had gotten hired without willingly putting in an application, then this random guy who seems incredibly weird was about to send him off to work immediately. Everything felt extremely sketchy…. were there scammers even in death too?
The room turned deathly silent. Death did not utter a single reply to Zhen Yu's rebellious words or move an inch. The atmosphere was getting so awkward that Zhen Yu felt that he should speak to rid of the unnerving feeling that was creeping up his spine. Then, a raspy exhale was heard as if the person was out of air. The sound was throaty and dry to the point that Zhen Yu could imagine his own throat itching from the noise.
"Do you know what happens if you die once again…?" When Death stood up, his form began changing. His body became bigger, his limbs stretching longer and his finger tips becoming sharp like claws. His body was covered by shadows but from his hands, Zhen Yu could see the greying skin as if the being in front of him was a corpse. Death's purplish blue veins were faint on the back of his hands, and his form towered over Zhen Yu's like a pillar, leaning over the desk to avoid crashing into the ceiling.
"What the hell..?" Zhen Yu backed away, sensing the lingering feeling of danger. "If I die again… do I become a monster like you?" He stared up at the new form of Death with fear reflecting in his dark eyes. The room suddenly felt chilling cold like Death's transformation was radiating of freezing temperatures.
"Your soul… will vanish if you die here," Death's voice was once again rusty as if it belonged to someone who speaks once on a full moon. "The afterlife is a place where wandering souls gather. It's where souls filled with regret or are holding deeply onto life group together, stuck in a society of the dead without being able to reincarnate. But as life does not exist here, if you are to 'die' again… your soul will be destroyed, and your existence will disappear forever. That is the price of death here."
"…. There is no second chance?" Zhen Yu asked weakly. He always thought that maybe if he lived such a miserable life in this one, then there'd be a next life where he would be compensated if he lived as a good person and worked hard. He thought that maybe in another life, he would be born into a family that's ready to accept him and love him, but turns out there was no "next life" at all- all because he could not let go of his deep rooted regrets.
"Do you think this is a vacation? Do you think that you're immortal here? That you're no longer restricted by mortal boundaries? There is no such freedom, not for miserable souls like you," Death's harsh words cut into Zhen Yu deep.
Zhen Yu felt desperation begin to stir wildly inside of him. He opened his mouth to argue back but nothing came out and hopelessness flowed through him once again. He could only breathe unsteadily and lower his head in silence. Even when his dark hair covered over his eyes, he still did not move and just leaned against the wall, letting the hair cover his eyes that were definitely expressing a mix of sorrow and regret. Death is not the beginning of freedom, he knows that. No matter how much he tries to deny it, the facts are staring right at him, waiting for him to lift his head and look back at it with his blinded eyes uncovered.
"However, miserable souls like you are not left to rot," Death continued to speak, a tapping noise echoing in the room. "If you can thrive here in the afterlife, achieving what you had missed out on in the living world or show that you are able to stabilize yourself, you will be given the chance to reincarnate. You may even put in a little request of what you may want to be, or what environment you wish to have." At that sentence, Zhen Yu slowly lifted up his head, the words "a happy family" repeating over and over again like a prayer.
"And if I agree to work here, I can meet the qualifications to reincarnate?" Zhen Yu questioned softly. It didn't matter if this company was intending to work him to the bone, it didn't matter if he'd have to work a thousand jobs, and it no longer mattered what kind of creature Death was. Even if the entity that was now currently offering him a second chance was a demon in disguise; manipulating him into taking an unfair deal, he'd still agree in a heartbeat. Anything in exchange for a second chance was better than no chances at all.
"It's a way to meet the qualifications, yes. You need to prove that you are stable and can support yourself. In order to do that, you need to survive and thrive according to the standards of a normal person. To achieve that, you'd need to earn money and I can assure you, our company's pay is not bellow average," Death explained, his sharp finger continuing to tap on the desk.
"Whatever job you have for me, I'll do it," Zhen Yu tore his eyes away from the sight of Death's claw-like finger tapping on the wooden desk. The sight of fingers that seemed to merge in with one's nail was not a good scene to see.
"Our company is a game company. There are supernatural things that occur on Earth that are quite unexplainable aren't there? Like people claiming to have gone to another world, or people disappearing mysteriously. That is the work of our company. We transport humans to another world to enjoy an experience that feels completely real that may reward them with things that benefit in the real world however, there is a price. The escape games that those people are transported to can cause death. Death in those games mean death in real life. This is why some disappear on Earth and never return again. Your job is to be an actor in those games. You have a task you must complete. Other than that, you can do whatever aside from revealing certain things like the afterlife and that you were once alive," explained Death.
"Will I… ever have to kill people?" Zhen Yu asked with hesitation. Since he was in the horror department, then that means he is on the opposing side of the humans isn't he? And if these games can cause death… then wouldn't the actors be the cause?
"We do not neglect our employee's wishes and mental health. If you do not wish to then we will not force you, however if you do agree, you will be paid bonuses in games where you are required to take the life of a player. It is all up to you to decide. If you accept but suddenly want to back out, you may state so in private to an observer of the game."
"Who is the observer?"
"You will know. Now then, are you ready for your first assignment?" questioned Death, watching Zhen Yu's facial expressions closely.
"Yes…"
"Very well then," the sounds of bones cracking sounded in the room as Death began shrinking back to his more humanoid form. "Just one quick warning, if you are seen as mentally unstable and unable to continue working, you may be transferred to another department or in some severe cases where you aren't able to recover, your time at the company will be terminated. Keep your head grounded."
"What- aurgh!" before Zhen Yu could ask another question, he began to feel light headed. His world began to spin and his body felt lighter than before. "Fuck…" Zhen Yu covered his eyes with his hand to get a moment to collect himself, breathing in and out evenly.
"Compose yourself, they're coming," a female's calm voice suddenly appeared from behind him. Taking his hand off his eyes, he noticed that his surroundings had changed completely, and he no longer felt light headed.
The space around Zhen Yu was no longer a dark shadowed room with only one source of light, but now a classroom on the second floor of a building. He was also not the only one in the room either, there were now many others there, wearing a white school uniform with the symbol 'EW' sewed onto their chest. Looking at the other faces, it seems like he was the only one confused as they all looked calm and simply looked around to see who was there. Noticing a metal collar around their necks, Zhen Yu felt his own neck and realized he had the same thing.
Then all of a sudden, the figures of others began to appear at the same time. They were also wearing the same school uniform as the people who were there before, but their clothes did not have the symbol 'EW' sewed on their chest. Not only were their uniforms slightly different, but there were also green arrows pointing down at them from right above their heads, seemingly showing that they were important and different from those who didn't have an arrow.
"Players…" the same female voice from before whispered from right behind him, "they always appear after us, and they're recognizable from the arrows above their heads."
"… Thank you," Zhen Yu whispered back, observing the newly arrived players one by one. Most of the players seemed unafraid- confident even, while some others looked nervous as if they were inexperienced. It seemed to be a group with mixed skill levels and experience.
[World has loaded. Game difficulty level: S (may vary depending on experiences)]
"Welcome senior students to your final assignment," the classroom speaker suddenly turned on with a load screech that made Zhen Yu cover his ears, "your graduation is in 10 days. For your final assignment, you are all required to participate in the 'Reaper's Game'. The rules and your role will be sent to your phone. Good luck to everyone. Only those who survive will be allowed to graduate."
Feeling a buzz in his pocket, Zhen Yu dug his hand in and pulled out a plain black phone that he definitely did not own before dying. The screen was already on, displaying a message that directed him straight to the game's main page.
[You are a human. Hide before 10pm comes]
"What?! Kill?!" an NPC with dyed yellow hair with black roots coming out from the top of his head and multiple ear piercings screamed out loud while holding his phone. "This has to be a joke! I don't want to die!" Opening a window, the panicking student jumped out and began running.
"Shuuji!" another male NPC who was slightly trembling from fear rushed over to the window to watch. His fingers that gripped the window frame was shaking and his slightly long black fringe covered his eyes, hiding his full face from view.
'… 'Shuuji'? That's definitely not a Chinese name,' Zhen Yu also moved over to the window to watch as the student named 'Shuuji' limped hurriedly towards the school gate. It seems his landing wasn't good which injured his ankle, not surprising since it was the second floor. The others were also curious, moving towards the window to watch what would happen when SPLAT, a terrifying scream rang out. Shuuji's head had exploded the second his foot crossed the school gate.
"AHH!" the male who was the one to scream out Shuuji's name backed away from the window in fear. He tripped over his own foot and fell onto the ground, trembling in fear as he covered his eyes, "ahh….hic… this… hic.. can't be real…hn.."
"What happened!?" a player who was in the back and couldn't see what happened questioned. He quickly rushed to the spot where the cowering NPC had been only to let out a shriek and rush away. "Ah!"
'I could understand him…?' the player stood out from everyone else, not because he seemed extremely power or weak in particular, but because he was clearly the only white man amongst everyone who had Asian features. 'I even understood what 'Shuuji' said, but clearly he's not Chinese…' Zhen Yu pondered.
[A rule has been broken! Students are not permitted to leave school grounds or else their collars will explode. Students remaining: 19/20]
[Takamura Shuuji was a human]
"So the world boundary is the school," Zhen Yu heard a man with slightly tanned skin and glasses say. The male looked very proper, his hair neat, resting just above his glasses and he appeared very calm despite the death that had just occurred. "The only way to leave is by winning the game it seems. There is nothing in this world outside the school gate. It's all fake."
"Zhen Yu…. hic… Zhen Yu…" the male classmate with his fringe covering his eyes from earlier scrambled towards Zhen Yu, grabbing onto his wrists tightly and looking up at him while on his knees, "what do we do Zhen Yu?! Help us please… I don't- hic…. I don't wanna die… ah…"
"Zhen Yu!" a female NPC with dark brown hair braided neatly into pigtails rushed over to him and cried, "what do we do now?! Takamura is dead! Hgn… I don't wanna die… please...."
[Your NPC role: the class president (you are a charismatic and kind individual who the other students trust wholeheartedly)]
Fuck. Not only was his first job an S-difficulty game, but he was also an important character in the game building. Looking into the panicked eyes of the students that had crowded around him pleading, he felt like going back into that dark room and choking Death. '… It seems I am the NPC student's emergency contact…'