Grim Reaper Game

Chapter 4 The First Encounter with Suzie

After lunch, all three of us went our separate ways.

On the way home, I took my phone out and tapped on the Grim Reaper game.

After logging into the game, I tapped on the quest panel.

Current quest: Escape from the haunted dormitory (Complete).

Mode: Single-player mode.

Quest difficulty: Normal.

Completion rate: 40%.

Completion reward: A lifespan of ten days and four reincarnation points.

I only completed 40% of the quest! It seemed the haunted dormitory contained many more secrets that I had not uncovered. Perhaps, I would have to thoroughly investigate to have a perfect completion rate.

What were reincarnation points? The number of points awarded seemed to relate to the completion rate of the quest. What were the points used for? There was not enough information, so I continued reading.

I still did not understand the levels of difficulty in the Grim Reaper game. Hence, I tapped on the word ‘Normal.’ Five words popped up. They were ‘Normal’, ‘Hard’, ‘Lethal’, ‘Nightmare’, and ‘Hell’, respectively. The word ‘Normal’ was in white, while the others were all in gray.

This meant the quest I completed was of the lowest difficulty level.

I could not resist complaining. Even the lowest difficulty level was hard for me. I would sooner or later get killed by the Grim Reaper game!

I then tapped on the character panel.

Name: Azrael Clark.

Gender: Male.

Age: 19

Occupation: Second-year student at the Faculty of Journalism, Drakonia College.

I briefly looked through my basic profile.

Lifespan: Ten days.

What? Did I only have ten days to live?

I did not understand what the term ‘lifespan’ referred to. Was it a form of currency in the game, or… Did it really mean I only had ten days to live?

However… Grim Reaper! Legend had it that the Grim Reaper was in charge of the life and death of humans! The answer became obvious.

It turned out I had earned the ten days of lifespan by completing the beginner’s quest. If I had not completed it, I might really have died.

Title: Scapegoat.

My heart sank at the sight of this so-called ‘title’. In my opinion, a worse title could not have existed.

I tapped on the word ‘Scapegoat’ with the intention of changing it if I could. I really was not happy with my current title.

After tapping on it, a row of words appeared to the right of the word ‘Scapegoat.’ There really were other titles!

I glanced over and saw ‘Mortal’, ‘Paranormal Detective’, ‘Soul Hunter’, ‘Spokesperson of Death’, and ‘Agent of Death’ next to ‘Scapegoat.’ However, the other titles were all in gray. I could not select any of them.

Based on the meaning of the terms, the further the titles were on the right, the more powerful they were. Currently, I belonged to the lowest category, ‘Scapegoat.’

These titles reminded me of rankings in online games. As long as I was able to complete quests assigned to me in the Grim Reaper game, I would be able to rise through the ranks and eventually become ‘Mortal’, ‘Paranormal Detective’, and ultimately, ‘Agent of Death’!

I suddenly recalled the promotional text from the Grim Reaper game. “Your attitude determines the Grim Reaper’s.”

What was this sentence hinting at? Did it mean that if I became an Agent of Death, I would be given part of Grim Reaper’s powers?

I did not dare to ponder too much. After all, it was still too far away. It was still uncertain if I would even make it that far.

Reincarnation point: 4 points.

What were reincarnation points used for? I could increase my lifespan by completing quests, but reincarnation points seemed to be related to a quest’s completion rate. That meant these points were even harder to acquire than lifespan.

My guess was that these reincarnation points could be used to upgrade one’s title, but that could only be done with enough reincarnation points.

Special ability: None.

Coupled with the titles in the column, I was certain that players would not be taking risks in the Grim Reaper game for nothing. The greater the risks, the greater the rewards. Players who experienced life-threatening challenges would possess special abilities that were impossible for ordinary people to obtain!

This principle of risk and reward was an unchanging truth. Nothing came for free in life.

After looking at the character panel, I had a better understanding of the game. It seemed that even the Grim Reaper knew how to keep up with the times! The Grim Reaper game imitated many settings of online games. Perhaps, the Grim Reaper used to take lives by writing their names on a notebook, but we had now entered the digital age. If the Grim Reaper still took lives by writing names on a notebook, he would appear old-fashioned.

The owner of a certain game company was probably the Grim Reaper himself in disguise, and his employees had no idea. They probably thought they were working on an ordinary mobile game.

After exiting the character panel, I clicked on the store panel.

Did the Grim Reaper game not claim to be free for life? I wanted to find out what was in the store and whether the items were all free.

The items in the store were divided into three main categories, namely consumable items, permanent items, and ability enhancement items.

I tapped on the consumable items section. The first item on the list instantly caught my attention.

Cow Tears: Apply on eyelids to see spiritual entities for a short period of time.

Unit: One bottle (0.3 oz)

Price: Lifespan of ten days.

Did this mean I could see ghosts by applying this on my eyelids?

Ghost Amulet: Prevent evil spirits from approaching by causing them to automatically burn when they get close to the boundary of 30-feet radius. Lasts one minute.

Unit: One stack (ten pieces).

Price: Lifespan of thirty days.

These were all good stuff. The first item allowed one to detect whether there were evil spirits, while the second item prevented evil spirits from approaching for a short period of time. These were very practical items. Unfortunately, thirty days in lifespan was beyond what I could afford. Could they not have sold the Ghost Amulets individually?

I scrolled down. There were countless other consumable items, including salts, spiritual candles, and crosses. These were all items related to exorcism.

Sure enough, they were all free. However, they could not be bought even if one had money. They could only be exchanged with one’s lifespan.

So much for being free for life! Nothing was free in this world after all. Whoever believed otherwise was an i***t.

After going through the consumable items, I looked at the permanent items and compared the two.

Consumable items were simple and practical things sold at affordable prices. These items took effect immediately but had limited durations. Basically, these items were limited to repelling evil spirits, avoiding ghosts, detoxifying, healing, and rescuing people. It would be hard to kill evil spirits with them.

Permanent items were different. These items were generally more powerful than the consumables. They could be used for offense or defense, but their prices were ridiculously high.

Sword of Exorcism: A low-grade weapon with some lethality against spiritual entities.

Unit: One.

Price: Lifespan of six months.

Copper Sword: A low-grade weapon with decent lethality against spiritual entities.

Unit: One.

Price: Lifespan of one year.

These were the two weapons of the lowest grade. Next, there were slightly more expensive weapons, such as the Bible, Spiritual Camera, and so on. These high-grade weapons required at least a hundred years in lifespan to purchase. Those were not items I could even dream of affording.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. This game was clearly not the usual kind. A single Sword of Exorcism cost six months of lifespan. Was this a joke?

When I finally tried to look at the ability enhancement items, it showed that my level was not high enough to view them. Without a doubt, the first two categories were only transitional items. One would still need to depend on external forces. Meanwhile, the third category directly enhanced one’s innate abilities. Obviously, the higher grade meant that the requirements were also higher.

After reading about the Grim Reaper game, I suddenly felt a sense of urgency. Knowledge was power! I should no longer muddle on. Otherwise, I might not survive the next quest.

I decided to go to the library and search for more information.

The new library of Drakonia College had eight floors with up to tens of thousands of books. I immediately began my search upon arriving at the new library. I spent the entire afternoon there.

At approximately six o’clock in the evening, I began to feel a little tired. I massaged my neck and decided to borrow a few more books to read at home.

Suddenly, a book caught my attention.

“Hitler and Black Magic.”

This seemed somewhat interesting. I was in high spirits. Just as I was about to reach for the book, something surprising happened.

I saw a hand with fair skin reaching for the book before I did. I was stunned for a moment. When I turned around, I saw someone with long hair walking away.

“That was fast!” I murmured while looking at her from behind.

Suddenly, something on the floor caught my attention. It turned out to be a library card.

There was a picture of a pretty girl on it. Her name was Suzie Collin.

I ran after the girl. “Hey, miss. Is this yours?”

The girl stopped walking and turned to look at me.

‘Such a beautiful girl!’ I thought. She had pretty facial features and long, soft hair. Just one look was enough to make my heart beat faster.

Despite being beautiful, she had a lifeless look in her eyes. She seemed completely distracted. It was almost as if she was physically here, but her soul was elsewhere.

“Oh, thanks,” she said softly. She then took the library card from me and turned around to leave.

I froze in place for a few seconds. I kept thinking about her eyes. To be honest, I had never seen anyone looking so lifeless. It was so odd.

She looked completely different in the picture where her eyes were clear and bright.

By the time I recollected myself, she had already made her way to the librarian. I quickly followed her.

The librarian was an old man in his fifties or sixties. He had on a pair of old-fashioned glasses. When he saw the girl approaching, he nodded at her with a smile on his face.

The girl placed her library card and the book on the table. The librarian scanned both items with a barcode scanner.

Beep. Beep.

“All done,” the librarian said.

I came up behind her and was just in time to catch a glimpse of her face from the side before she put her things away and walked out.

I stared blankly at Suzie from behind. I could not help but think about her pretty yet lifeless-looking eyes. I became very curious about her.

“What’s the matter? Did she catch your attention? You can’t stop staring at her.” My thoughts were interrupted by someone’s voice.

“Huh?” I came back to my senses. It was the librarian speaking to me. “No. You’ve misunderstood.”