Just as he died in the game he was once again awakened in reality in his body.
Surya panicked and scrambled up from the ground, his hands instinctively moving to check his lower back where he had felt that terrible stabbing pain just moments ago.
Everything was intact and uninjured Thank the God.
His body was completely fine. No gaping wound, no blood, no hatchet embedded in his spine. Just the phantom memory of agony that still made his hands shake slightly.
"The death experience in this game feels incredibly real everytime I cannot get used to it," he muttered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead and taking several deep breaths to calm his racing heart.
This damn game was absolutely ruthless!
It placed an obviously valuable item in a prominent, tempting location to lure him in, then had a hidden monster ambush him from a blind spot the moment he let his guard down. What kind of sadistic game design was that? It was like the developers sat around thinking, "How can we make players feel the most betrayed and stupid?"
Besides, he was not even a dishonest person why should he get stabbed by some vengeful spirit with a hatchet? Sure, he had lied a few times in his life. Who had not? But nothing that warranted death by sharp implement from a headless psychopath.
After mentally cursing the creator of "Bhoot Katha" several times with increasingly creative insults, Surya picked up his phone with trembling fingers.
The black screen displayed a red death notification: [Dead By The Consequences of Greed]
Surya stared at the mocking message with a mixture of annoyance and resignation.
Oh, so now the game was getting philosophical? Judging his moral character? He was just picking up loot like any normal player would. That was not greed, that was basic gaming instinct!
Choosing to ignore the taunting death prompt and its holier-than-thou attitude, Surya reached into his school bag and pulled out a small object.
[Liar's Needle]
It was made of genuine silver, thin at one end and thicker at the other, with intricate detailing that matched exactly what he had seen in the game world.
As expected, items obtained in "Bhoot Katha" could indeed be brought into reality.
"Thank goodness this thing transfers to the real world. If it only worked inside the game, I would really have to question whether trading my life for a tiny needle was worth anything at all."
With a self-deprecating chuckle, Surya carefully tucked the silver needle back into his bag and picked up the damaged, torn paper doll from the ground beside the gulmohar tree.
If he had to evaluate the trade honestly, exchanging one game death for a rare magical item was not actually a bad deal. Death was temporary when you had substitute dolls. Rare magical items were rare. He would have to test the needle's effectiveness in the real world later, but the quality rating alone suggested it was valuable.
---
It was seven o'clock in the evening when Surya arrived at the convenience store where he worked part-time.
Punctuality was a basic professional quality, and more importantly, today was Friday and it is a.....payday! Hurray!
The best day of the week. The day when his meager bank account got slightly less meager. The day that made all those hours of restocking shelves and dealing with difficult customers feel almost worthwhile.
When he entered the store, the full-time employee Sharma was already working at his usual station, and Surya could see the store manager standing behind the main counter.
The convenience store where Surya worked was not part of a major chain, but was completely owned and operated by the store manager herself.
The store manager's name was Kavya Malhotra. She was in her early thirties, quite attractive big waist, clearly capable and professional, and happened to be a widow.
"You are here, Surya," she said, looking up from some paperwork.
At that moment, Kavya was wearing the store's standard work uniform a fitted navy blue shirt that complemented her figure quite well and clearly displaying her figure.
Very well, actually.
The original Surya's memories helpfully supplied that Mrs. Malhotra had always been popular with male customers, though she maintained strictly professional boundaries with everyone.
"Good evening, Mrs. Malhotra," Surya replied politely.
Surya glanced briefly at the store manager's appearance, then immediately looked away like a gentleman should.
Although he currently inhabited the body of a handsome teenage student, underneath this youthful exterior was the soul of a mature young man from another world.
A man who knew better than to stare at his boss like some hormonal teenager, even if said boss happened to be objectively gorgeous.
A responsible adult should maintain appropriate boundaries in these situations. Even if those boundaries were harder to maintain when the person in question looked like that.
Kavya seemed to notice his momentary glance but did not appear bothered by it.
If anything, she seemed slightly pleased by the brief attention, which probably spoke to her confidence and self-assurance as an independent woman.
Or we can say maybe she was just used to it. Running a convenience store while looking like that probably meant dealing with awkward glances regularly.
She turned around and retrieved a small bundle of cash from her purse, counting out 100 dollars and handing it over: "Here you go, Surya. This is your salary for this week."
"Thank you, Mrs. Malhotra."
"You do not have to be so polite to me. You have earned it. You did excellent work this week, so keep up the good effort. I have high expectations for you, Surya." She offered a warm, encouraging smile.
Ahh....that smile, the smile was truly captivating capable of turning heads of any guy.
That gentle smile could probably easily charm most teenage boys no one would be able to escape her charm.
But not me, Surya thought to himself with perhaps slightly less confidence than he would have liked.
He kept repeating it in his mind.
I am a mature soul. I have died twice already this week. I am immune to pretty smiles.
...Probably.
Surya quietly pocketed his week's wages and headed to the staff room to change into his work uniform.
Before returning to the main store area, he discreetly retrieved the [Liar's Needle] from his bag, rolling it between his fingers thoughtfully.
He had an idea he wanted to test.
A slightly unethical idea, but in the name of science and understanding magical items, surely a small experiment was justified?
When he returned to the store floor, Kavya was bent over near the refrigerated display case, checking the expiration dates on various sandwiches, meal boxes, and other perishable items.
Surya absolutely did not notice how the position made her look fascinating.
He was a professional. A mature soul in a teenage body. Completely focused on his upcoming experiment and nothing else.
Seeing Surya approach, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up: "What is it, Surya? You look like you have something on your mind. If you are dealing with any problems, you can always talk to me about them."
Her tone was genuinely concerned, almost motherly despite the relatively small age gap.
It made what he was about to do feel slightly worse, but scientific curiosity demanded sacrifice.
"Mrs. Malhotra, I need to mention something," Surya said, palming the small silver needle and looking directly into her eyes with his most sincere expression. "You have not given me this week's payment yet."
[Liar's Needle] activated.
The effect was immediate and fascinating to observe.
"Huh? Wait..." Kavya stared at Surya's face with a confused expression, as if some important memory was being mysteriously suppressed or overlooked in her mind, fighting against reality itself.
After a few seconds of visible mental struggle, her eyes going slightly unfocused, the widowed store manager suddenly had a moment of realization: "Oh! I was just about to give it to you. How silly of me, I completely forgot."
She walked over to the counter, picked up her purse, and naturally counted out another 100 dollars as if this was completely normal. "Here you go, Surya. This is your weekly salary. You have been doing great work, keep it up."
Holy shit, it actually worked. The needle had completely overwritten her recent memory. This was both incredibly useful and slightly terrifying.
Surya watched Kavya's change with fascination, then casually waved off the money with a friendly smile and deliberately innocent expression: "Sorry, Mrs. Malhotra, I was just joking around. You already gave me my salary a few minutes ago, remember?"
"What?" Kavya looked stunned, as if suddenly waking from a strange dream, her eyes snapping back to full awareness. "Oh... yes, that is right. Of course. I just... I could have sworn..."
She trailed off, looking genuinely disturbed by the gap in her perception.
"I will get back to work now," Surya said with an innocent smile that definitely did not contain any smugness about successfully testing magical items on unsuspecting employers, heading toward the cash register.
For the rest of the evening shift, store manager Kavya seemed troubled and distracted, frequently glancing over at Surya while he worked with an expression that mixed confusion with something that might have been suspicion.
"What on earth just happened to me? Did I get completely fooled by a high school student? I will admit Surya is handsome no, very handsome but he is not someone who should be able to manipulate me so easily. Why did I fall for such an obvious lie just now?!"
She kept touching her forehead as if checking for a fever, then shaking her head as if trying to clear it.
The widowed store manager spent the remainder of the night frantically questioning her own judgment and mental clarity, occasionally shooting glances at Surya.
At one point, Sharma leaned over to Surya and whispered, "Did you do something to upset Mrs. Malhotra? She keeps staring at you."
"No idea what you are talking about," Surya replied innocently, restocking chips with focused determination. "I am just doing my job."
But inside, he was grinning. The [Liar's Needle] was even better than he had hoped.
---