Death Cast

01.17 | Grecia Bella Theatre

When Jaerim opened his eyes, he found himself resting in his room. His head was propped up on a plush pillow, and his body was wrapped in covers. The distinct stink of a room that hasn't been used in a long time permeated the air, prompting him to sneeze. When he turned his head around, he spotted two familiar faces sitting comfortably in a fancy table and chair set.

These individuals, of course, are already known as the grim reaper who followed him into this world. The white-haired dark-skinned man and his accompanying subordinate, with his glasses gleaming in the light, could not have been mistaken for anybody else. Their presence in the room was already anticipated, so Jaerim didn't react when he realized they were there.

"That's nice," Barron said without looking at the youth on the bed. "You were able to survive the first challenge. That's quite the stamina you got there."

Because Jaerim was one of the dancers, he was unable to measure the duration of the dance and could only approximate it. He had no idea they had been on stage for nearly two hours. Despite his appearance, he complimented Jaerim for his stamina. One should never judge a book by its cover.

The individual in question was unable to comprehend what Barron was saying. His mind is still a bit muddled from his sleep. He only understood the word 'stamina' and frowned. He cast a wary glance at the grim reaper. Why is he discussing stamina in front of a recently awakened man? Is he trying to test his endurance?

The grim reaper could tell right from the glance that Jaerim was unable to understand him and kept it like that.

Barron had his body leaned to the fancy seat, his legs crossed, while his one hand was holding the tea. He made a sip without making a sound and placed the tea back on the saucer his other hand was holding. Anyone could see that he is enjoying his leisure time, not minding the human watching him with dark eyes.

Silvester, on the other hand, is not drinking tea but holding a couple of documents in his hand. There are also more papers on the table, some stacked inside a green envelope, and the others were laid still with a golden paperweight. It seems to be something serious since the person had his eyebrows furrowed. Silvester made his signature 'pushing the eyeglasses up' when it had lowered too much. The grim reaper is busy and did not notice Jaerim looking at him.

Silence reigned for a long time, interrupted only by the odd quiet clanking of China before Jaerim chose to speak. He sat up carefully to take a thorough look around when he hissed instinctively from pain. A biting sensation appeared to have come from his lower body. When Jaerim opened the covers, he discovered that his legs were bandaged from the soles up to a few inches above his ankles. There was no blood, but he could tell it was worse than an open wound.

It is full of pain from the inside.

Memories from the previous day flooded his mind. He remembered the hasty dance, the clacking of the bamboo poles, the merry music that always made people feel nostalgic, and the pain in his feet as he made his way up to the finale. The last thing he saw as things went dark was him bowing in front of the audience with sacks covering their heads. His mind was inundated with the cheering of the faceless audience, as well as a few sobbing and howling voices. After that, he passed out.

Jaerim gently drew his legs together to have a better look at his feet. He noticed the crimson and bluish-green bruises on his soles. He couldn't comprehend how he could have endured such a dance that could even bruise his feet like this. Barron sat there watching Jaerim inspect his injured leg.

"Still hurting?"

Jaerim shook his head. It is, but it won't be painful if he will not move it.

"You're lucky you only got that," Barron said.

Jaerim looked up and raised his brow. "I don't think getting injured is lucky."

He remembered that there are still two more performances to do. Having an injured leg only brought him to a disadvantage. He touched the top of his calves and started to massage it. It still brought pain but also comfort.

"Sure it is. Sure it is."

He wasn't able to understand Barron's words not until later when he went out to his room to check on his fellow group mates. The pain is still there but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't walk. The grim reapers also gave him medicine to lessen the swelling. It made Jaerim question if it will affect his standing as a Death Cast.

"You will find stuff like this everywhere," Barron said as he handed a clear bottle filled with brown cream. "Humans are delicate creatures. It's okay to be given such a cheat."

It's similar to online games where the player discovers a salve or medicine bottle while exploring difficult areas such as dungeons. Its purpose is to offer the players a chance to survive. It would be difficult to find the treasure if the path to it was littered with traps. Allowing for some leeway is still important.

Anyways, after the pain was resolved, Jaerim went out to his room and searched for Noel. He found out that it was already lunchtime so he went to the dining table and found a few familiar faces. The food has been served warm and sumptuous, making everyone full just by looking at it.

Noel immediately called him out and made him sit beside him.

"How are your feet?" Noel quickly asked. He looked down to see that Jaerim is wearing a pair of comfortable fluffy slippers. He could also see the bruises covered by bandages.

"Seems okay," Jaerim didn't mind Noel's inspection. "How about you?"

Noel shook his legs. "My grim reaper handed me an ointment. It's no longer painful."

"That's good," Jaerim nodded.

He looked around the table and found Sandra. The woman caught Jaerim looking at her and gave a small nod before dropping her head to concentrate on eating. Jaerim couldn't see the two other Autumns on their team.

"Where are they?" He asked.

Noel is eating some chicken and got his mouth stuff easily. He swallowed the food to answer Jaerim's question.

"One of them is wounded. Got their feet caught in the bamboo pole."

Jaerim recalled that the floor had turned slick and sticky near the end of the dance. He felt his stomach lurch. Noel seemed unfazed despite discussing gruesome topics, and he even took a piece of steak from the center of the table. Jaerim glanced at him in awe.

"I work in a slaughterhouse," Noel waved his hand as if it didn't matter.

"You are working?" Jaerim pulled his chair towards the table. "You look like a high school student."

"High school students can't work in a slaughterhouse?"

"I didn't say that."

Jaerim no longer argued and instead sat and watched the people eat. When he became hungry, he just reached out to have a bowl of congee. He has no appetite at all. He simply waited for Noel to finish before leaving the table. As they walked down the corridor, the two exchanged small talk.

"Ken and his group will be presenting their show today. I heard it was a dragon dance," Noel said.

"A dragon dance?" Jaerim knows the familiar dance. "Won't it be dangerous?"

"It is. Ken said that there's a high chance that they will be dancing with real dragons."

"That sounds like instant death."

"Yeah, right? There are many first-timers and their group. I could already imagine some bloodshed."

There are only five Autumns in their group, yet one already has fallen. What's more in a dragon dance where they have a high possibility of meeting one? It seems like the grim reapers were telling the truth about not having total survival despite attending the trial world.

"Where are we going?" Jaerim had only been following Noel around and had no idea about his plans.

"Ken said that they had investigated yesterday to look for clues. They roamed around the theatre but found some areas were restricted. He suspects that these areas will only open once an event is triggered."

"An event?"

"Uh-huh," Noel nodded. "He said that usually there will be lesser clues on the first day and more clues on the last day. He had already expected to find no answer on the first day but he still took precautions and have the free people to look around."

"So, did they find anything?"

Noel shook his head sideways. "Sadly, they only listed the restricted areas and the rest just returned to their rooms. He would not be able to search for clues for today so he told everyone earlier to check the restricted areas to see if we can enter it."

Noel conveniently pulled out a directory map from his pockets. There are already words written on it with names and such. It seems that while he was sleeping peacefully, the group had been planning on their next move. The section the two of them have to search is in the rooms on the left wing of the theatre where there is a hallway going towards the booth.