“Come on, it wasn’t my fault—”

“Don’t come back here again asshole!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t meant to—”

“They increased the rent because you kept coming here! So just **** off already!” The coffee shop manager scowled as he pushed Greg outside. Veins bulging out of his forehead, the shop manager slammed the door behind him, a bell chiming as it shut.

Greg sighed as he dusted off his leather coat and popped up the collars. The stares he received from people nearby stabbed into him like pointed daggers. He sped up to make a quick escape from the situation. 

As he neared the curb of the busy intersection, Greg reached into his pocket and opened up his mint-condition 2009 flip phone.

There was a message. 

It was from the mafia. 

[4:31 PM - Hahahaha]

[4:33 PM - Where you going to get your coffee now?]

[4:44 PM- You’re daddy’s little *****]

Greg’s hands trembled. He wanted to fight back. But his very life laid in the palm of their hands. Unless he found a way to magically pay off eighteen million dollars of debt, then he would remain a slave for the rest of his life. 

It was his evening break, and he would usually get coffee from the nearby shop. It was good, quick and cheap. Every other place served mud. The man at the front counter was also friendly—the same man who had just kicked him out. Yet what do the mafia do? He didn’t even know they owned the place but—they had increased the coffee shop’s monthly rent by a few thousand dollars!

Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Greg didn’t even notice that it was a red light as he marched off the curb and onto the crosswalk. 

“Hey, watch out!” A man yelled. 

Onlookers watched in horror as Greg headed into oncoming traffic. 

Greg heard the man and looked up.

He froze and turned. A blaring horn screamed at him as a wall of whiteness encompassed his entire vision. Wheels screeched and onlookers screamed. 

In that instance, Greg felt…relieved. 

The driver behind the wheel smashed his foot against the brake. On the left, being a crowded side-walk, the semi trailer could only swerve right into the other lane. 

But it was too late. 

Greg was pulled underneath the truck like grass to a lawnmower.  

To the driver, it was as if he had gone over a small speed bump. 

Greg’s soft, malleable skull was crushed in an instant. Flesh was ripped apart and bone was fractured. Blood spurted everywhere, soaking the truck and its tires in a bright, red paint. 

By the time the truck came to a halt, Greg’s body was disfigured beyond any point of recognition. 

The intersection came to a stop as a few other people crashed and dozens of others were left stuck in the aftermath. 

Greg was now a mashed paste of organ tissue and a tangle of broken limbs. A small river of blood trickled down into a storm drain on the side of the road. Everyone looked on, shaken to their core. 

Greg was dead.

His life was over. 

No longer would he have to work sixteen hours a day on minimum wage, hopelessly chipping away at an unpayable loan that only rose higher with each passing month. 

Even if he had ten of himself, it wouldn’t be possible to pay it all off. No longer would he be beaten in his apartment by sadistic gangsters. No longer would he have to cry and whimper in fear. 

He wouldn’t be in pain anymore. He didn’t have to try so hard survive anymore. He didn’t have to cling on to hope anymore.

He was dead now. So he could rest. 

He was finally free. 

However, within the dying remnants of Greg’s remaining brain cells that could still muster up any resemblance of consciousness, a blue, holographic message appeared.

[You Have Died!]

[Recalling Soul in 3…2…1]

***

Greg woke up in an infinite void of darkness.

He didn’t have a body. He existed as a soul that encompassed the space in its entirety, feeling everything but also nothing—for there was nothing to feel. There was no sound, light, matter, or energy.

Just nothing.

And then a series of messages appeared.

[Welcome [REDACTED], Eternal!]

[Calculating life…]

[Trivial Credits Earned: 66]

[Calculating accomplishments…]

[Bankrupt a Deca-Millionaire - 10 Credits awarded]

[Resilient - Beaten up over 1,000 times - 6 Credits awarded]

[Stay Awake for 96 consecutive hours - 3 Credits awarded]

[Strongest Creature Killed: Rat - 1 Credit awarded]

[Accomplishment Credits Earned: 22]

[Total Credits Earned: 86]

[Calculating stars earned…]

[Die For the First Time - 1 Star awarded]

[Total Stars Earned: 1]

[Calculating rating…]

[Age: 29]

[Life: 1st]

[World Level: E]

[Adjusting rating based on parameters…]

[Rating: F+]

Greg was unsure how to respond or what to think.

He would’ve been staring with his mouth wide open if he had one—but he didn’t. For some reason, any desire to reflect and mourn over his previous life was absent.

He studied the messages and couldn’t help but be perplexed.

When he was alive, he had been a stock broker…for the mafia. So he wasn’t fazed when he saw that he had somehow bankrupted a deca-millionaire. He could be pretty good at sales over the phone. Just not face-to-face. That wasn’t his thing. He would’ve felt sorry if it weren’t for his sudden absence of emotion. His eyes skipped over the next accomplishment, not wishing to recall the countless beatings he had gone through over his life. The “Stay Awake for 96 Consecutive Hours” accomplishment was involuntary. Those had been the longest four days of his life. 

Killing rats was something he did very often. If he saw them in the kitchen or dining room—no problem. But in his bedroom, that was a different matter altogether.

‘So my life is just a game? An F+ too? Heh, I’m pathetic. I mean…they’re not wrong. I was just a slave my whole life. I didn’t accomplish much either. All I did was fill the pockets of some greedy assholes.’

Nothing happened for a while. Sometime later, Greg had a thought, “I don’t know if this is hell or something else, but I wish I had my body back because this is is weird.”

[Domain is restricted!]

[Would you like to spend 10 credits to open the domain?]

Am i in a game?

Greg nodded—or at least he tried to. The system…or game…or whatever it was, somehow registered this. 

[Acknowledged]

[10 Credits Deducted]

[Domain has been opened]

[Remaining Credits: 76]

Suddenly, Greg appeared on the ground, and all human sensation came flooding back. He felt the cold stone ground, the blood flowing through his veins, the air in his lungs. 

And with that, a wave of emotions crashed into him. 

He hit the ground and gasped for air. He was in total shock. 

He had just died! 

His body trembled as he slowly recalled what happened. He was kicked out from his favourite coffee shop, he saw the message from the mafia, and then he walked a red light. And then…a truck hit him. He had died. Now he was at this strange place that was like some sort of video game.

He was still in disbelief of the situation. He asked the game-system his voice echoing into the void, “Did I just die?”

[Yes, your life has ended. But do not worry, for you will reincarnate.]

Oh, so that was it then?

All of it was gone like that. 

I can't believe I didn't see the red light. 

Greg hated his life, but to face such an abrupt end to his life bummed him out. He looked around at the endless void upon which he stood. This did not look like heaven one bit. This was definitely not heaven. So what was it?

Greg tried to remember his short and unfulfilling life. Several hours passed as he stared into the black sky. Regardless of whether or not he had a good life, the biological instinct of survival kicked in. He wanted to live. He didn’t want to stay in this place for eternity—which is what he assumed.

And then Greg remembered what the system had said to him. Did it say something about reincarnation? 

[Would you like to reincarnate?]

[Warning: The system advises against this as you have yet to spend any credits. Preparation is key, Eternal. And you do not want to step into a new world ill-prepared]

[Would you instead like to check out the System menu?]

Greg immediately panicked as he jumped to his feet, “No, no! Not yet! I’ll check out the menu instead…if that’s what you want me to do.”

[Acknowledged]

Greg gave out a sigh of relief as yet another screen appeared in front of him. 

*Menu*

[Reincarnate]

[Shop]

[Domain]

[Locked options are hidden]

It really is some game.