"Marry my daughter and your father's debt to me will be cleared, he said".
"Love her and treat her like the queen that she is and life would be fun for you. Those were the bastard's words."
Lying on the floor was a male figure covered in bruises and blood. "I didn't sign up for this bullshit, but who cares? I talk back and I get beaten half to death by those annoying bastards?"
This was Nathan Oaklore, a young man in his mid-twenties who'd just been jumped by his fellow men. His fellow in-laws, to be precise.
Nathan's marriage to a certain beauty was forcefully terminated due to her mother's influence. Her powerful family had found her a better partner, which she immediately agreed to, signing the divorce papers as fast as she could.
It had broken his heart, but he was somewhat relieved. After the divorce, he would no longer have to serve his wife like a slave.
However, seeing that it was caused by her mother, Nathan believed he needed to speak his mind to his mother-in-law before leaving. Since he was no longer married to their daughter, they wouldn't be able to punish him in any way. That's what he thought.
The moment he'd confronted her, his fellow men who'd married into the family had pounced on him along with the men from the family.
They had practically turned him into a human punching bag and now, as he lay on the ground, he looked unrecognizable. All his handsome features were nowhere to be found.
The only thing that stood out was his deep blue hair that almost resembled black. Even his blue eyes had been dyed red by his blood.
"If only my father hadn't gotten into that debt in the first place."
"Tch! It's even more annoying that he was framed."
Nathan was all alone, lying on the floor just outside the gates to his former abode—his wife's family estate—but he didn't seem to care and just kept talking to himself.
"But I guess that's what happens when you live in New York City. The rich bully the poor with no remorse whatsoever. Fuck that!"
He picked himself up from the ground with a painful groan, and since no one was close by, he struggled to walk away from that location. His clothes were tattered, mostly torn and covered in blood but he didn't care.
"If by the time any of us return and find you still lying here, you'll reincarnate pretty soon." Those were the last words of the oldest bastard to have jumped him.
Nathan had for a moment thought about it. It wouldn't be bad to die and reincarnate, as the man had said, but what were the chances of him even reincarnating in the first place?
Besides, there was something he needed to do before he died. He was nowhere near accomplishing it, and so he couldn't die. "Mother just had to kick the bucket right after you, huh, Father?"
As he took his first step, staggering away from the estate's gate, Nathan could see an incorporeal masculine figure. The figure smiled warmly and held out its hands, seemingly ready for Nathan to embrace it. The figure appeared to extend a warm welcome to Nathan.
"Father, is that you? You look well." Nathan thought to himself as he continued his journey down the deserted street. He was already seeing the ghost of his father.
The Winston Family, his wife's family, owned the entire place, including a few hundred yards down the road. They didn't want any neighbors, so they purchased the property and left it vacant. This was quite common for wealthy families and since this was Queens, it was easy to get a lot of space as long as you had the money.
The more he walked toward the ghostly figure, the farther it seemed, but Nathan didn't care. With his body aching all over, Nathan began his journey back into the city. It would take him some time, considering how slowly he was walking, but he was sure to get there after all.
Just when he could finally see the high-rise buildings up close—the nearest building being just a few meters away—Nathan took another step, approaching the ghost figure, when something slipped out of his torn chest pocket.
"No, you don't!" Nathan immediately identified the object that had slipped out and swiftly moved to grab it before it fell to the ground and got lost.
He grabbed it with such a reflex that suggested it was a very important item to him. He opened his bloodstained hand and stared at it. A coin. It was a gray, blank coin. This was all he had left to remind him of his father.
The man had left this coin with him before dying, and, although he had no idea what it was, Nathan always kept it.
He sighed, folding the hand, forcing it to wrap around the coin once again before staring in the direction of whatever ghost or thing he was seeing.
"Father, Mother, I'm coming to meet you both." He said with a weak smile.
[DING!]
The soft but sharp bell-like sound reminded him of his phone that was definitely cracked and was somewhere on his body.
He was about to check for the phone when a red panel appeared in front of him.
[Blood detected. DNA confirmed. Host Accepted.]
As if that weren't enough, another panel appeared, covering that one.
[Payback System Synchronisation in progress.]
And then another.
[Synchronisation Progress: 0.1%… 1%… 5%… 10%]
After counting, reaching up to 100% within seconds, another panel appeared.
[Synchronisation completed!]
[Payback System Activated!]
[Welcome to the Payback System, where you spend money to make more money. For every penny spent, you receive double the amount.]
It disappeared just as quickly, but Nathan was quick to react. He'd seen all the panels and was fast enough to read it all.
"That's some RPG-type shit right there." Nathan said as he recalled playing VR games with similar interfaces back when he was still a student. Hell! He still played it a few times after getting married.
"This must be the afterlife if I'm seeing such notifications." He thought to himself, taking a moment to check out his surroundings and find a difference.
While he was still trying to wrap his head around all that was happening, another sound akin to a little bell drew his attention back to a new panel, which now displayed different information.
[DING!]
[You have successfully received $50 as host bonus, $100 as start up capital and… $200 as compensation for the hell you've been through. Money has been sent to account XXX-XXXX-XXX]
[You have received one Lucky Draw. You have received one Enhanced Lucky Draw. Do you wish to draw?]
[YES][NO]
Nathan wanted nothing to do with it, but since he was already seeing it, he thought, "Why not?"
"Yes." Nathan answered weakly. An answer that marked the beginning of a new journey for him.