He woke up today with the chimerical idea mixed with anger and fear that maybe someone had loved him enough to revive him from the dead. And he knew then that he was a hypocrite who's just as contradicting to himself as anyone else.
He wanted to die. He thought that, with his breath heaving, mind pounding and muscles aching that maybe his heart would race to catch up with his mind. But as he shut his eyes, not once did he think of wanting anything else.
Usually in stories and movies this is where the MC thinks "I don't want to die!" Followed by melodramatic flashbacks that made his stomach churn wondering how they could be so contradictory.
He thought that maybe as he stared down at the city lights, cars flying through, that his eyes would water from more than just the wind. If he stepped off that ledge, would he land on another or would he feel the hug of another's hand wrapped around his own? As his remaining support left from under, he had let himself hope that as he's falling he would find something to cry about other than the sharp, harsh air cutting his lungs and stabbing his skin.
What he wanted most was to serve his grotesque form on a platter so that unsuspecting people could feast upon him with pitying hunger for the next week or so before moving on with the lingering taste of what was his life.
The fluttering in his stomach would be the last warmth he felt.
—
Ding!
'Welcome to the system, boss, your startup will begin now! Please wait…'
.
.
.
'Boot-up complete! A world shall be randomized and custom commands will enable after the wheel! Please click "START" to continue.'
The digital "START" button flickered patiently on the hovered user interface which glued to his eye sight no matter where he looked.
The weight on his body that dipped the mattress and the ringing hum in his ears let him know. He is alive.
The game-like interface stuttered with his heart and flashed his vision to urge him…
'To ensure the best quality user experience, please click "START" before the system self-destructs in 10… 9… 8,'
There was no adrenaline coursing through his body this time and no wave of uncertainty.
"Self-destruct," he said.
'Looks like the boss is not completely registered in the system. Please register before giving commands!'
The countdown reached 1 and showed an ERROR message before counting down from 10 again. At least there's second chances in the afterlife.
He didn't end his life to end up in some cliche isekai scenario where he hoped things would get better. Even more, on the interface the word "gacha" was proudly shown. Gacha. Gacha.
He remembered the girls in his class who would squeal while showing off their Nintendo screens to one another and exclaim about the two male leads in a game flirting. He was initially interested after hearing about a gacha system in game which nagged him to get the game until he went borderline insane with the need to gamble. One of the girls happened to see his screen one day and from there on her and her friends never left him alone about it.
Now, even the sight of that word made his head spin.
He must have looked at the "START" option for too long because the screen displayed a WELCOME decorated in drawings of flowers and hearts and fancy lettering that belonged to the 19th century.
Perhaps thinking he can't read, the system turned on an automatic voice reader that read the words displayed with a game show voice.
'The wheel will be spun once and once only. Afterwards, the boss can put in information details to match with the timeline and plot! SPIN - THAT - WHEEL~'
"Aren't you forgetting to inform me about the more important things? Like where I am, and what exactly will happen once the wheel is spun." He tried sitting up in bed, and only then did he realize the numbness of his body.
He stared for a while, but the system did not respond. The hospitality is great…
He selected the 'SPIN' option, which was the only thing he had the option of anyway. The possible outcomes on the wheel appeared blurry and he couldn't read them even if he squinted his eyes.
"I've the feeling that I won't enjoy any of the possibilities of where this wheel could take me," he complained.
'Congratulations! You are one of the first 1,000 to test out Our New World! Fantasy RPG!'
"Let me reroll, I can't be a test subject…"
'Please enter a user and character name.'
Now that he looked around, the place seemed to have no fixed setting. Through the darkness he could see faint outlines of furniture then grass at times. Although he was sure there were no windows, there was a weak breeze that tickled his nose and kissed his pale skin.
He entered both his user and character name as "Nepenthe"
'Welcome, boss Nepenthe! Our New World is now loading…'
"Game manual… please?"
Nepenthe's soul was jolted out of his body for what felt like the second time that left him with a soreness worse than when he was pushed on the concrete road by a bunch of rushing middle schoolers.
The best part about waking up is the stretch that comes after and the few moments of daze where you forget about everything. This time it wasn't as satisfying.
Before he could properly think, he slid until his torso was hanging off the edge of the bed, dangling his head upside down. He dangled there and waited for the blood to rush to his head, to feel it push against the back of his brain or eyes; but it didn't come.
"Is it possible for my blood to be gone? Am I alive or dead?" Nepenthe grumbled and let himself slowly fall on his back onto the unfamiliar carpeted floor.
The game-like interface system had returned and he received a pop-up containing overly enthusiastic cat emoticons and emojis and a big green arrow pointing at a "CLICK ME" button circled in red.
"Is this a scam?" He deadpanned before sighing and clicking the button.
The floating interface changed to an information screen with walls of text. Knowing its host, it automatically scrolled down to a TLDR; "In this world you will take on the role of an antagonist in a hero summoning game world!… Please read more for more information."
What's the point of a TLDR if it leads to a longer wall of text? Still, seeing the words "antagonist" and "summoning" made him think. Nepenthe clicked the 'Read More' option.
'The host will have the role of a villain who summons allies to fight against the selected heroes and summoned warriors of the world. Around this time there should be more people like you who will transmigrate into this world; Those people are given either the role of hero or villain. Summon allies to go against the warriors and heroes and be a wall in their road.'
"Don't the villains always lose," Nepenthe said.
'Precisely, boss. The heroes who have not been transmigrated are the ones you should be wary of, as they will be the ones to eventually end your life.' The system seemed to beam.
"The ones who 'have not been transmigrated.'" Nepenthe mused. "This is new, usually there's only one transmigrater. That also implies that not only am I not the main character, by the logic of stories, but I'm also destined to die no matter what."
'ON A ROLL'—A bowling ball striked through pins on screen and the cat doing a flip—'here are your stats, dear host,'
The screen displayed something reminiscent of a video game stat screen. On the left side of the display was a full body profile of Nepenthe, with his dark hair and narrowed eyes, which slowly spun while on the right showed his pitiful player stats and attributes.
HP%- 35%/100%
STR- 40/50
STA- 70/200
CHA- 50/???
POW- 60/???
INT- 40/???
"Why is my intelligence level so low? I'm not stupid am I?"
'Loading information…' ding! 'Every STAT can be leveled and improved with something called "UFHUh points" but there will be limits depending on your level,'
The game interface faded into a leveling screen.
'Currently, you are at level 1, but you can collect EXP points via numerous things and quests. Since you have been given the role of "Villain" your power and charisma levels are higher than usual beginner average. Of course, all these stats are necessary to a degree, since certain restrictions will happen if you're lacking the needed stat level.'
"Example, please," Nepenthe said.
'Of course, boss! If you are in a situation where a mob of angry villagers are chasing after you, you can try using your power of Charisma to calm them; but depending on the anger level of the crowd, you could get a system notification stating that you do not have enough 'CHA' points to apply.'
"Say, what are the above average stat levels?"
'It differs from role to role, but villains' stats are naturally lower than heroes or bound to be aside from HP%. An HP level of 5000% is max for a villain while ~3000% is the average for heroes.'
"Oh god, just stop. This is an overload of information…"
'You did ask.'
It's very gusty for the worker to talk back to the boss.
The system's cat at the side of the screen gave an unimpressed look. 'I know what you're thinking. But, even if I refer to you as "boss," it wouldn't be wrong to define me as your employer.'
"What happens if my HP gets to 0%?" Nepenthe asked.
'Perhaps your INT level should go down,' replied the system
The interface flickered and disappeared, replaced by a "START" button. A quick refresher of the rules of the world flashed by before a contract of sorts materialized out of genuine paper. Nepenthe rolled over to lie on his stomach and squinted his eyes to read the small print on the contract.
'Host, just sign!' The system urged.
"What? Are you in a rush? I never read these things in my living life and that fucked me over, so I may as well now…" Nepenthe trailed off as he attempted to understand the fine print. Did he need a worker's contract when he's already technically dead? Should he care about any of this? His finger hovered hesitantly over the signature line.
'You will receive a beginners bonus after agreeing. I am also obligated to let you know that if you do not agree to these terms, you will be sent back to your previous body.' The system relayed emotionlessly, reading from script.
"My original body..? Just say I'll die." Nepenthe murmured as he signed his name. Instantaneously, there was a shock of lightning that struck him with a cacophony of rings and metal. He clutched his head, folding over on the floor while trying to wriggle out his body.
'Con-gratu-lations, your journey will now begin!'