There were seven Soul Guardians in this world, each one with a unique power, a special skill. Over time, most of them found their masters, those they made a pact with. But there's one that remains, the last of the seven. The Eternal Healer, the seventh Soul Guardian.
Where is he? No one knows.
He's a mystery to all. He has never accepted a pact, never allowed anyone to control him. Many have tried, and countless have fallen. Those who sought to tame him… they were either killed or left so badly wounded, they wished they had been.
It's as if the Eternal Healer is untouchable, like no one in this world can catch that elusive, golden fish.
_______________________________
Ren slowly opened his eyes. The scent of coffee filled his senses, warm and familiar. His blurry vision slowly cleared. He was in a small bedroom, familiar yet strangely unfamiliar, as if someone had cleaned it out.
He turned his head slightly to the right.
Lira was there, asleep in a chair beside the bed, her arms crossed as if she had stayed up all night watching over him.
Am I... alive?
Ren's heart pounded as he quickly checked his right arm. It was there.
What the hell?
He clearly remembered his arm being torn off. And now, not a single wound remained on his body. Someone had healed him.
A healer?
If this was a game, there had to be players with healing abilities. But healing a lost arm… that would take at least an A-rank healer. Did Lira have that kind of money?
Wait, Kuro! What happened to him?!
Just as panic set in, a sleepy voice broke the silence.
"Oh, you're awake," Lira mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Dark circles lined her face, but she still offered him a gentle smile.
"W-what happened?" Ren asked, his voice hoarse with curiosity.
"Who knows?" Lira shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "Are you alright now?"
"Uh… I guess," Ren muttered as he tried to sit up. Lira immediately reached out to help him. He pressed his fingers to his temple, trying to recall what had happened. "Is Kuro okay?"
Lira pouted. "You're worried about him first and not me?" She huffed, pretending to be angry. Ren blinked in confusion.
"Don't worry, Mr. Yanagin is fine. He was the one who carried you all the way from the forest to Shinjuku. He was really worried about you. If you're feeling better, you should go see him later."
"Okay."
"Mmm, then get up and take a wash. I got you some new clothes. Your favorite kit was completely torn up, so," she paused, suddenly flustered, "A-and it's not my money! I wouldn't spend money on you!"
Blushing, she quickly slipped out of the room before he could respond.
Ren chuckled softly.
She says things like that, but she even cleaned the room for him…
He stretched a little before calling up his system.
"Oho~"
A status screen appeared before him.
He had gained a new skill.
And on top of that,
"I leveled up to 3?" His brows furrowed in surprise. His eyes then landed on an unfamiliar item. "Wait... what the hell is this? A Mandora Heart?"
[Current available stat points: 12]
Ren placed a hand under his chin, thinking.
"Hmm… I should focus on Agility and Endurance for now."
He quickly allocated 6 points to Agility, 4 points to Endurance, and the remaining 2 to Intelligence.
[Points added!]
[Strength: 7 | Agility: 8]
[Endurance: 4 | Intelligence: 2]
Ren let out a relieved sigh.
PING!
A new notification window popped up.
[Special Quest is here!]
A special quest?
[Quest: Find the Mask of the WHITE REAPER!]
"Find my mask? Huh?" Ren muttered in disbelief. Back in the living world, he always wore a full-face mask to hide his identity. It was plain white, without any design, only the eye sockets were cut open, leaving the rest of his face completely hidden.
[Quest: Find the Mask of the WHITE REAPER]
[Description: Your past as the White Reaper is not forgotten. The mask you once wore remains in this world, carrying traces of your existence. It is more than just an object—it is a symbol of who you were and what you leftbehind.]
[Objective:Locate and retrieve theWhite Reaper's Mask.]
[Reward: ??? (The system refuses to reveal this.)]
[Failure Consequence: The mask will fall into the hands of another.]
[Hidden Condition Unlocked!]
Someone else is looking for the mask. You are not the only one seeking it. The mask retains a fragment of your memories. If another being claims it, they may inherit a part of your memories and will figure out who you really are. You must retrieve it before it's too late.
[Time Limit: 10 days]
[Warning: Once accepted, this quest cannot be abandoned.]
[Accept] [Decline]
Ren stared blankly at the quest notification.
Find my mask? Huh? Who the heck is looking for my mask? It's not even that expensive. You could find it on street carts, for crying out loud! Leave my poor mask alone!
He grumbled, shaking his head. "What choices do I have other than accepting this? Damn it..." With a sigh, he reluctantly clicked Accept.
[Quest Accepted!]
[Hint: "The mask lingers where the forgotten are left behind."]
Ren blinked at the hint, scratching his head. "Is that all? What, are they talking about a grave or something?"
As he mumbled to himself, Ren didn't notice Lira leaning in from the doorframe, watching him.
"Ahm~ Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Lira asked with a raised brow.
Ren quickly snapped back to reality. "Ah, it's nothing. Right, Lira." He started looking for his stuff, his gaze falling on his belongings. He finally found them, and Lira seemed a bit surprised when he spoke. He dropped the 'miss' part.
"Thanks, you saved me," Ren said with a small grin, handing back the obsidian kitchen knife that Lira had used in her early days. The knife was one of her expensive items from back when she was still a newbie.
Lira raised an eyebrow, taking the knife from him. "Seriously, the kitchen knife saved you? But you're terrible with cooking," she teased.
Ren rolled his eyes. "Shut up, will ya?"
After a quick shower, Ren slipped into the new clothes Lira had brought him. Until now, he only had one good outfit to wear outside, but thanks to Lira's generosity, he now had two. Well, technically one, since his previous one was destroyed. Damn it.
Ren glanced at himself in the mirror. Unlike his usual violet-colored attire, Lira had picked out a black high crew-neck, long-sleeve t-shirt that fit his body snugly, along with a plain white jacket and black trousers. It looked almost identical to the White Reaper's outfit he used to wear in the living world.
"Is this a coincidence?" Ren muttered to himself, still in disbelief.
Lira, who had swung open the door without knocking, leaned casually against the frame with a smirk. "You see, I've always been a fan of the White Reaper... even back then. Ha ha!"
"Knock first, will you?!" Ren snapped, half-blushing and half-frustrated. "What if I was changing?!"
Lira raised an eyebrow. "Why should I? This is my house," she grinned mischievously.
Ren sighed, defeated. "There's no point in arguing with you, is there?"
"I thought I should bring you something that reminded me of snow," Lira continued, looking at the huge poster on the wall. "But I couldn't find anything, so I went with the White Reaper instead."
Ren blinked at her. "You said you didn't buy these before."
Lira blushed, clearly flustered. "I-I didn't say it wasn't me who bought it. I said it wasn't my money!" she stammered.
Ren waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever! Thanks anyway!"
"Hey, Lira," Ren said after a while.
"What is it?"
"Do you know some demons or spirits who can hide inside Mandora trunks?" He asked, his tone thoughtful as if he was thinking about someone inside that demon. Lira frowned her eyebrows. "Nah, I mean, if someone's actually living inside a Mandora, they must be out of their minds. Those things are carnivores despite being plants."
Ren sighed. But he knew someone was in there! He just knew!
"So, you're gonna visit Mr. Yanagin now?" Lira asked, crossing her arms.
"Yeah. I can't believe I was knocked out in the cold for two whole days!" Ren groaned.
"Well, if you wait until past 6 p.m., Mr. Yanagin will be here like usual. He's been stopping by for the past two days," Lira said.
Ren smirked. "I can walk fine now, so I should just go visit him myself."
"Do whatever you want," Lira shrugged. "But come back quickly. I wanna go shopping."
"Huh? You can go alone, can't you?"
"I don't wanna," Lira huffed. "My expenses are already high because I had to buy soup ingredients for you. So, buy me something. Are you shameless?"
Ren scoffed. "That's my line!"
Ren stepped onto the road. As usual, the city was full of life, even though it was a spirit city. He tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and made his way toward Kuro's convenience store. But as he walked, his pace slowed when he caught sight of a massive screen on one of the buildings.
"IS THE WHITE REAPER FINALLY IN THE SPIRIT WORLD GAME SHOW?!"
People were glued to their smartphones and the giant displays, watching the news unfold.
Ren's eyes widened. What the hell?! How do they know I'm here? He was sure no one would recognize him. And more importantly, why did they care so much about someone like him?
The news anchor continued:
"Rumors have been spreading in Japan that the infamous killer hunter, the White Reaper, has arrived in the spirit world. This has caused major commotion among players. As many know, the White Reaper is a skilled assassin with a confirmed kill count nearing 100, eliminating only criminals. And now, it seems the system has finally acknowledged him, assigning him an official Danger Level! His DL Score has surpassed 77 points, placing him as one of the most dangerous players in the game!"
"Whoa, that's insane! As expected from a legend!" someone on the sidewalk gasped, watching the news.
"Well, all of his kills were criminals, so of course, his score is high! You don't gain much from killing weaklings or low-grade criminals."
"But man, 77 points?! That's only second to Black Jailer! And those are just his scores from when he was alive! Imagine how high it'll go now that he's in the game!"
Ren frowned, trying to make sense of it. Before he could think too much, he approached one of the onlookers. "Ahem- sorry to bother you, but... what exactly is this DL score thing?"
The guy turned, blinking in surprise. "Oh, you're that newbie from Lira's café! You don't know yet, huh? Basically, we have a score system that ranks how dangerous a player is. It's called the Danger Level. Even Azrael, an S-Rank player, only has 52 points!"
"So your rank decides it?" Ren asked.
"Nah, it's based on your overall danger level. Some S-Ranks are actually pretty nice. I mean, yeah, we're all technically criminals, but not all of us are heartless bastards, y'know?"
"Ah... got it." Ren scratched the back of his head.
"I think White Reaper's score is so high because he's a killer hunter," someone else added. "He only targets criminals, so obviously, the worst of the worst are scared of him."
"But man, I still can't believe his Score is only second to Black Jailer's!"
"Wait." Ren narrowed his eyes. "Then how high is Black Jailer's?"
Someone let out a low whistle.
"The highest level. 99."
Ren sighed. He clearly had a lot to learn.
"But you see," someone continued, sounding frustrated, "even though White Reaper is ranked second in Danger Level, he's not even on the Power Ranking board. Forget global, he's not even on the local one!"
Ren furrowed his brows. Now what the heck is that?
Curious, he peeked at the person's phone.
Local Power Ranking - Asian
No. 1 - BLACK JAILER
No. 2 - AZRAEL
.
.
No. 8 - SNOW
Ah. That last name caught his attention. That's Lira's idol, huh? So he ranked 8th? Pretty impressive.
"They're the top ten players in Asia continent right now," someone explained.
"Don't worry, old man," another person reassured the frustrated guy. "Once White Reaper enters the Game, he'll be here."
"That's not what I'm worried about," the old man muttered darkly. "That White Reaper fellow… I suspect he'll be killed before he even plays."
Ren froze. "What do you mean?" he asked.
The old man turned to him with a knowing look. "If your Danger Level is insanely high, but your Power Rank is nonexistent… what does that make you?"
Ren fell silent. He could already see where this was going.
"If you kill a high Danger Level criminal, you earn big points. There are pretty sweet rewards, you know," the old man continued. "So if White Reaper has a low Power Rank, his Danger Level points are just a giant target on his back. Everyone is gonna come after him- for the rewards."
Goddamn it! Why did he have to choose White Reaper as his player name?!
PING!
[Because it's yours originally! No one else can claim that name but you!]
I DIDN'T CHOOSE THAT! YOU FORCED IT ON ME! Ren cursed at the system in his thoughts.
[It was not forced. You were simply unable to enter another name since you already had an infamous title in your living days! It's your fault!]
Did this damn system just turn on MOCKING MODE?!
Then how the hell did they know I was here?
Ren gritted his teeth. It's you, isn't it?!
[Nope! That was you! The moment you killed a monster, your name was officially recognized! Hah ha!]
...Is this thing LAUGHING at me right now?!