The fool.

"This… this is me?" Ren muttered, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Black, silky hair, longer than before, fell to his shoulders in a messy wolf cut, streaked with purple strands. His once-gray eyes now gleamed a deep, striking violet. And on the left side of his neck, a purple dandelion tattoo stood out against his pale skin.

What the hell is this?! Was he supposed to be the White Reaper or the Purple Reaper now?!

And as if that wasn't enough, he was taller, a whole six feet tall. Back in the living world, he barely scraped 5'7! Sure, being handsome was nice and all, but-

"What's the point if my attributes are all freaking zero?!"

Lira's voice cut through his existential crisis. "Something wrong?"

Ren spun around to see her standing in the doorway, watching him with mild amusement.

Since he had nowhere else to go, she had taken him in, leading him to her café, then to her room, where he immediately raided the place for a mirror.

"You look a little different from your living self, huh?" Lira chuckled. "It happens. Some players change a bit after death. No big deal."

Ren blinked at her. A bit...you say? A BIT?! Whoever designed this body basically erased him and redrew him from scratch. And this version of him? Weak as hell.

As he sulked, Lira busied herself tidying up, which mostly meant kicking clothes under the bed and pretending they weren't there. That's when Ren's eyes landed on something else.

A massive poster of some ridiculously handsome guy stared back at him from the wall.

"Oh! That's Snow!" Lira's face lit up as she actually blushed. "He's super popular, especially among Asian players. Maybe even worldwide. He's crazy strong, really kind, and-" she sighed dreamily, "- on top of that, he's gorgeous."

Ren squinted at the poster.

Snow looked exactly like his name suggested, a snow prince straight out of a fantasy novel. His hair was pure white, short, and slightly tousled. His lashes, also white, were long enough to make any girl jealous, and his glowing blue eyes held a constant look of quiet amusement.

Yeah. Exactly the kind of guy who gets idolized by every girl in existence.

Ren crossed his arms. Tch. Whatever. Pretty boy or not, I bet he didn't start with zero stats.

"Don't be so jealous, Mr. Sho," Lira teased, her lips curling into a smirk. "You're handsome in your own way. It's just… well, Snow is on a whole other level."

Ren: "....???"

The hell?! Who said anything about being jealous?! What did she take him for?!

He was about to protest- maybe even clear his good name- when suddenly—

CRASH!

The sharp sound of breaking glass shattered the moment.

Ren's head snapped toward the café entrance just as Lira sighed. "Uh oh… what a time."

They rushed into the café, and Ren's eyes widened.

A group of bulk-up thugs had barged in, stomping around like they owned the place. Metal sticks in hand, tattoos covering their arms, and voices loud enough to shake the walls.

Ren frowned. Troublemakers. Great.

Lira, on the other hand, barely looked fazed. "Neh, Mr. Sho," she said, smiling like this was nothing. "We might have to run." Ren blinked. "What?!"

"Oi! Get that bitch!" one of the thugs snarled.

Before Ren could even process what was happening, Lira grabbed his hand and yanked him toward the back door. "Run!" she shouted, dragging him straight into the street.

Ren stumbled after her, his brain still trying to catch up. What the hell did she do?!

"You said you gave up swindling!" Ren shouted as he dodged a street vendor's cart, barely avoiding a crash.

"I did! Mostly!" Lira yelled back, still gripping his wrist as they sprinted through the crowded streets.

"Then why are we running from armed thugs?!" Ren hissed, stomping over someone's foot in the process.

"HEY, WATCH IT!" the pedestrian cursed.

"Sorry!" Ren yelped, only to barrel straight into another person.

"MY CABBAGES!" an old man wailed as his cart toppled over.

Behind them, the thugs were gaining fast, shoving bystanders aside like bowling pins.

"MISS LIRA! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Lira laughed nervously. "Okay, maybe I borrowed some money… and maybe they didn't know it was a one-sided agreement…"

Ren nearly tripped over his own feet. "THAT'S NOT BORROWING, THAT'S STEALING!"

"Details, details, LEFT TURN!" Lira yanked him sideways, nearly dislocating his arm in the process. Ren crashed into a food stall, rolling over the counter and landing on a pile of fish.

"Argh- Why is it always fish?!" He flailed, slipping as he scrambled up. The vendor, a burly man with a cleaver, pointed at him. "Hey! Pay for those!"

Ren threw up his hands. "I didn't even want them!"

Lira, meanwhile, had already bolted ahead, waving for him to hurry up. The thugs were barreling straight through the mess, flipping tables and kicking baskets aside.

"Get back here, you little-"

Ren didn't stick around to hear the rest. He dashed after Lira, weaving through the chaos.

"Stop Running damn it!" one of the thugs barked.

"Stop Chasing damn it!" Ren shot back.

Then-

A dead end. A narrow alley. High walls. No way out. Ren skidded to a halt, panting. "Miss Lira!" Lira slowly turned to face him, laughing awkwardly. "Oh. Right. I forgot about this part." Ren's eye twitched. "You forgot?!"

The thugs closed in, grinning. "Nowhere left to run, sweetheart."

Ren groaned, glaring at Lira. "You. Are. The Worst."

Lira nudged her ribs. "Oh, come on, Mr. Sho. Where's your sense of adventure?" Ren cracked his knuckles. "It died the moment I met you."

Damn! Why is it always me who's so unlucky?

Just when the thugs were about to jump into the fight, someone called out.

"what's going on here?"

The thugs, who had been seconds away from pouncing on Ren, froze mid-step. Their sneers melted into stiff expressions of unease.

Ren, still catching his breath, looked over his shoulder at the newcomer. A tall guy with a long, silky black ponytail and striking red eyes stood there, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie. He didn't look particularly intimidating, just a regular dude in casual teenage clothes, but the way the thugs reacted? It was like they'd just seen a ghost.

"B-Boss…" one of the thugs stammered.

"Boss?" Ren blinked. Wait, wait, WAIT. Was this guy their leader?

The ponytailed man slowly tilted his head, his gaze lazily sweeping over the scene. "You guys causing trouble again?" His voice was calm—almost bored—but there was a sharp edge beneath it.

"N-No, of course not! We were just… uhh… exercising?" one thug blurted. "Yeah!" another chimed in. "Gotta stay in shape, right? Haha… ha…"

Ren narrowed his eyes. What the hell kind of excuse was that?!

Then he realized something even more infuriating.

Lira was gone.

She had vanished like a damn ghost the second she saw the opportunity, leaving him standing there alone.

Ren's eye twitched. That sneaky, backstabbing, good-for-nothing—

The ponytailed guy sighed, rubbing his temple. "I don't have time for this. Get lost."

The thugs scattered immediately, bowing and apologizing like they had just been caught slacking at work. They bolted down the alley so fast that Ren barely had time to process it. He stared at their retreating backs. "Wait, that's it?! Just like that?!"

The man chuckled. He turned his gaze back to Ren, studying him curiously. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Ren crossed his arms. "What gave it away? The confused screaming or the getting chased by thugs part?"

The guy smirked. "Both."

He extended a hand. "Name's Kuro Yanagin."

Ren eyed him warily before shaking his hand. Something about this guy felt… off. Like he wasn't just some regular player.

"Sho Ryuunosuke," he muttered.

Kuro's smirk widened slightly. "Sho, huh?" He let go of the handshake and shoved his hands back in his hoodie pockets. "You might wanna stick with me for a while."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Kuro chuckled. "Because you look like someone who's about to get scammed again."

Ren sighed deeply. Damn that little punk, Lira.

He had really believed her when she said she gave up swindling. Oh, goddamn it.

From all the people in this world, he, the legendary White Reaper, got deceived by a scam artist. If there was a hole nearby, he'd happily crawl into it and embrace eternal sleep. Ugh, maybe he really is under six feet now- just not resting in peace.

While Ren was lost in thought, Kuro stepped over to the wall, picking up some kind of big grocery bags.

As they walked through the side road leading to the main road, Ren glanced at Kuro, who was carrying an absurd amount of cabbages.

Cabbages?

Kuro noticed his stare and smirked. "Ah, these?" He adjusted his grip on the leafy vegetables. "One of those thugs crashed into an old man's cart. So, I bought them all."

Ren pressed his lips into a thin line. There is no way he is telling that thug is him.

"…So, you're their boss?" he asked after a moment.

Kuro chuckled. "Nah, you got it wrong. I'm not their leader or anything. They just call me 'Boss.'"

Ren raised an eyebrow. That sounds exactly like what a leader would say. As they climbed the steps leading to the city, something was nagging at Ren's mind.

"Hey… Are you a player?" Ren finally asked.

Kuro gave him a knowing look and grinned. "Yeah, I am. Everyone here in this city is a player."

Ren froze mid-step.

"Wait, what?" He turned sharply to face Kuro. "I thought there were non-players too?"

Kuro tilted his head slightly. "There's no such thing. Everyone here is a player."

Ren's stomach twisted. "But… Lira told me-"

Kuro cut him off with an amused chuckle. "Ahh, you must be talking about the people who don't climb the tower. Yeah, some folks choose to stay in the city instead. But don't get it wrong- even if they don't climb, they still have skills."

Ren felt his soul leave his body for a moment. Ah, maybe he doesn't have a soul now because he himself is a soul. Is that right? A soul that can be touched. Whatever!

Damn that petty swindler.

Just how bad was his luck? He actually trusted that girl's words!

He clenched his fists. I'm never trusting anyone again.

Kuro smiled like he could read Ren's mind. "You're a newbie, right? Don't worry, you'll get used to it." He patted Ren's shoulder like he was offering him his final blessing.

Just then-

"Mr. Yanagin, I brought the vegetables for dinn-"

A loud, horrified gasp cut through the air.

"WHY DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH CABBAGES TO FEED AN ENTIRE CITY?!!"

A teenage boy, probably sixteen, stormed up to them, blue hair spiked in frustration, glowing blue eyes practically screaming 'I'm done with this man.' He had a gothic vibe going on- the kind that said 'I hate the world' but in an attractive way.

Kuro laughed awkwardly. "Ahh, don't be like that, Astro."

The boy twitched. "Don't tell me you got all soft and bought the whole cart again?"

Kuro nodded with zero shame. "One of those guys crashed into an old man's cart, so I just… took responsibility."

Ren just stared. Then, before Ren could react, Kuro thrust a huge bag of cabbages into his arms. "Here, take these. Fresh and crisp. Consider it a friendship gift."

Ren: "...???"

"W-Wait-"

But Kuro was already walking away. "Come on, Astra!"

"IT'S ASTRO!!!"

"Ah- sorry!!!"

Ren stood there, arms full of cabbage, life choices flashing before his eyes. And just when he thought things couldn't get worse-

"You know him, Mr. Sho?"

Ren jumped. Lira had appeared out of thin air, like the shameless little cockroach she was. He turned to glare at her, but she just grinned.

"Now, now, don't look at me like that," she said sweetly. "By the way, you have nowhere to cook those, right? Come to my place!"

Ren's eye twitched. "There is no way I'm going back to your place. NOT IN THIS LIFETIME!"

A few moments later…

Ren sat in Lira's kitchen, staring at the mountain of cabbages in front of him.

Damn it.

How the hell did this happen?

He had sworn he wouldn't step foot in this scammer's house again. Not in this lifetime. And yet, here he was.

Lira grinned as she placed a pot on the stove. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Ren glared at her, arms crossed. "You tricked me again." Lira gasped dramatically. "Me? A trickster? How dare you, Mr. Sho! I simply offered you shelter. Out of kindness."

Ren squinted at her. Kindness, my ass.

He should've known the moment she reappeared out of nowhere, acting all chummy again.

"Anyway, since you're here, help me chop the cabbages," Lira said, throwing a knife in his direction. Ren barely caught it. "You're making me work?"

"Of course! You wouldn't just eat for free, would you?"

Ren groaned and looked at the mountain of cabbages. This… this was his life now, huh? He sighed again, picked up a cabbage, and started chopping. Somewhere out there, Kuro and Astro-Astra?-whatever his name was, were probably laughing at him.

"Mr. Sho," Lira said casually as she chopped cabbages with a speed that should be illegal. "Do you know Mr. Yanagin?"

Ren, struggling with his own cabbage like it was a high-level boss fight, scoffed. "Oh, Kuro? Nah, today was the first time we met. He's a good dude, though. Not like someone I know," he added, shooting her a look.

Lira just chuckled, unfazed. "Hah ha. But it's impressive you made friends with Mr. Yanagin."

Ren frowned. "Is he a big shot or something?" He gritted his teeth, trying to figure out which way to even cut the stupid cabbage. He had zero cooking skills, sure, he could slice through criminals, but vegetables? That was a whole different battlefield.

Lira tilted her head. "Mmm, yeah, I'd say so. He climbed up to the 20th floor, you know."

Ren froze. "…The 20th?!"

"Yup. But he gave up after that. Now he just stays in the city. Funny thing is, he's still the only one who's ever reached that far. No one else has made it yet."

Ren gawked at her. "You're kidding me!"

He looked down at his cabbage.

That guy, the one smiling like a carefree fool, carrying mountains of cabbages like a village grandma- was the first person to ever reach the 20th floor?!

Nothing about him screamed 'overpowered.' No aura, no pressure, no dramatic theme music playing in the background… Just a dude with vegetables.

Ren swallowed hard. Yeah. He was definitely in over his head.

"Wait! If no one else made it to the 20th floor after Kuro, then doesn't that make him more powerful than that Black Jailer dude?" Ren asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Lira gave a little shrug, continuing to chop the cabbage with impressive precision. "Well, no one knows how many floors the Black Jailer's cleared. Climbing the tower isn't the only way to level up. Maybe the Black Jailer's already close to the top. Who knows?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "So, he's just climbing without anyone knowing? That sounds pretty fishy."

"Exactly," Lira said, almost as if she enjoyed the mystery of it all. "His tower records? Nowhere to be found. Some people say he was an executioner."

Ren blinked. "Executioner?"

"Yeah," Lira nodded. "They're like the police inside the tower. They keep an eye on the tower floors. In short, there are 50 executioners in the tower, each in charge of overseeing the floors."

Ren's mind raced. "Wait, 50 executioners? Are they like, special or something?"

Lira nodded slowly, looking serious for a moment. "They're the ones who make sure everything runs smoothly in the tower. They're also the ones who punish those who break the rules." She paused, adding, "The Black Jailer might have been one of them. Or still is, for all we know."