"The blood… it's… not here…?"
Rick looked behind him, expecting to see his bed drenched in red. But the bed was the same as ever-clean and slightly wrinkled due to him sleeping on it.
He did not even feel any physical pain, and he was not hurt. But his body was reacting as if he had been wounded, and the psychological wound was still present.
"This is it-! I am going mental. I don't think I can take it anymore. Maybe I should get professional help-"
Rick picked up his phone and decided to call his parents to tell them he needed to see a doctor. But he paused as soon as his hand touched the phone.
"My… parents… Do I even have parents I can call? I-I don't remember them or anything about them."
Rick's heart felt heavy, but he still dialed the number on his cell phone. The call connected, and someone picked up.
"Hello, who's calling? Rick, is that you? Do you need something?"
His mother's voice sounded familiar, but not at the same time. Rick immediately cut the call, not wanting to hear that familiar voice he did not recognize.
"It was all a dream. That must be it. There is nothing wrong, and I am fine. I should head to school now."
It was getting late. Rick would likely not make it in time if he did not start getting ready right now. But did he really want to go to school? Would that really be fine?
He was preparing his breakfast when he saw his reflection in the shiny kitchen knife, and his instincts told him to pack it along as well.
In the end, Rick decided to pack the knife in his bag as well and call it a day. It was time for him to head out.
He got into the bus and got off at his stop. He made it in time for his first class and entered it. So far, the day was going normal. But it was never different during these first few hours anyway.
Slowly, time started to tick faster and faster… until it was time for him to leave the classroom.
The school bell rang at exactly 3:30, reminding people that it was time for them to leave. But it felt like a signal for Rick's fast-approaching death.
He almost did not move until the janitor came to tell him he needed to leave the classroom.
Rick walked through the entrance and had a sudden urge to walk toward a club and join it. Surely he wouldn't die if he was with other people?
"Hey kid, would you like to join-"
"Yes, I would. Where do I sign up?"
Rick asked as he looked at the man in front of him. His eagerness surprised the inviter, but he quickly ushered Rick toward the station.
"Alright, welcome to the cooking club. Please sign here, and you can be a part of our club now."
Rick signed his name and joined the club.
Being with people made him feel better. Surely he wouldn't die here without any cause? It helped him relax for now, but it did not take him long to notice that black hair in the crowd.
His heart skipped a beat, and his instincts warned him not to look. But he looked back anyway.
"Hmm, is this the abnormality they warned me about? The code has really gone haywire. When did we even program this place? Or did an intern do it-?"
Rick's body acted on its own. He had a lot of knives around, but his hand moved toward his bag, and he took out his knife to attack his killer.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
His killer asked, dodging that attack, but Rick did not give up. He continued his attack, and the attacker stepped back.
"Hey, this is not right. You should not even be thinking of attacking me. Darn it-! You leave me no choice-"
Rick's knife grazed the other man's cheek, and they both looked shocked.
"No way-! How is that possible-?"
The killer questioned, but Rick's eyes were focused on something else.
'Is that… static…? Am I… still dreaming?'
Rick asked as he looked at the stuff in front of his eyes. But he did not get any answer. On the other hand, the attacker decided he was done playing nice.
"Tsk, I thought I could take it a little easy because you were a kid who did not know much. But I guess I was wrong about this. It seems like I have no choice but to correct your behaviour from here on."
The killer took a leap toward Rick, and he managed to dodge it at the last second. The blade cut his arm, and more static flowed out of the wound.
Slowly, the static began to form a screen in front of him, and words began to appear.
[W-Welcome U-Us-se-er]
[Sy-yst-tem-m i-is aw-wake-eni-ing]
The screen was buffering and glitching. This was making the world around Rick unstable as well.
Before he could make sense of what was happening, the blade of the killer entered his body once more.
"I guess this instance of the day is over as well. Well, on to the next one, I guess. That better be worth all this time and effort we are wasting over this."
The killer dismissed Rick's death, and the world began to fade. Memories began to seep into Rick's head about all the times he had died like this.
This was not his third death, or fourth, or even tenth. He had died over a million times, killed by different people. But he had only recently started to recall these events.
For the first time in his life, rage filled Rick's mind, and a desire for revenge started to take shape. He wanted to tear this world apart and get his revenge.
Unfortunately, he opened his eyes once more into the same world he was beginning to hate and wondered if it would help if he never lived this day through.
But his plans came to a halt after a screen blocked his view.
[System has connected… New connection established. Gaining member info… Welcome, NPC. Would you like to awaken?]