Asher's dull eyes moved across the screen of his laptop reading every comment regarding changes that must be made within his game. The players of Asher's game had been recently complaining about small bugs that froze up their screen and erased a few minutes of their gameplay, causing them much distress and frustration. There were also a large number of complaints detailing a few spelling mistakes that needed to be corrected for them to understand the discussions between the playable characters and the NPCs.
Most of the problems were about the recent crashes and unintelligible dialogues between the nonplayable characters and the gamer himself. The online chat he had created ages ago had specified one particular scene where the players couldn't grasp what the NPCs were talking about. The words that were being exchanged were written incorrectly and the conversation seemed to be lacking a solid foundation. Breathing deeply, Asher quickly rewrote the entire scene. This time, no mistakes were allowed to be made.
"This is what happens when you don't sleep, Asher," he scolded himself while ruffling his dark hair, making it stick out in different places.
The 26-year-old had a bad habit of ignoring his sleep schedule whenever he was working on his game. The root of this problem was an obvious one: he shouldn't be wasting any time sleeping when he could improve his game by leaps and bounds, therefore generating more money. While it may sound like a shallow reason, Asher can truly say that he enjoys spending time working on his game. The idea of producing more money came from the hope of being able to support himself and his small family.
This has been the way he lived ever since he was young. Asher's parents taught him to work as hard as he could, even if he had to sacrifice a few things in the progress. Yes, their way of thinking was wrong and unhealthy, but you couldn't exactly blame them for thinking and living in this particular way.
Asher's parents, Andrew and Michelle Williams, came from very poor families. They both had to waste their childhood and work hard to make ends meet and support their families. Andrew had been working his entire life at his parent's farm and by the end of each month, they sold what was left of their food supplies. Since Andrew's family was larger than average, they barely managed to feed everyone and earn money. Michelle, on the other hand, was an orphan and was hired by Andrew's parents to take care of the animals. They barely had any time to study or meet new people because they needed to work as hard as they could, but since they were the same age and saw each other every day, they fell in love. Thus, Asher Williams came into this world.
Like any other loving and understanding parents, they only wished the best for their dear son. Unfortunately, Asher was forced to share his parents' burden and he had to kiss goodbye the idea of having a typical childhood filled with mischief, fun, and awkward misunderstandings. It's not that he isn't willing to help and support his family, hell, he would do anything for his parents. Despite this, Asher wanted to experience everything his parents couldn't, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Tapping away at his overused keyboard, Asher sighed in relief as he stretched his body, his hands reaching for the ceiling. Finally, he was able to finish the long-awaited update and improvements for his game 'Zero Calamity: Freedom'. Alongside fixing bugs and dialogues, he had the brilliant idea of adding a new type of magic class that, of course, had its route and challenges to overcome.
'Zero Calamity: Freedom' consisted of raising the playable character's magic abilities alongside physical strengths to gain control of their country. The country was being led by a corrupt king that wanted infinite riches and power. The player's role is to defeat the king and regain peace and tranquility for his nation. However, the journey was no easy task.
The players can choose between a wide variety of characters ranging from assassins, samurais, priests, mages, witches, demons, and many more. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses, family and friends, dreams and fears. They all experience different situations, gain distinct abilities (mentally, emotionally, and physically), and lose people close to them like actual human beings. These small yet significant details are what make the characters seem like real people. This is the reason why his small fan base had decided to call him 'The Reaper'.
Asher breathed out while stretching his back, remembering the reason why he was named like that. Whenever he asked this online, he always received the same responses:
'The artwork takes my breath and soul away! I never tire of watching the beautiful sceneries!'
'The stories and the characters just seem too real. They suck us in and leaves us waiting for the next part of the story.'
'The characters seem too human. Most games that share the same concept only highlight the battling, artwork, and story. You, on the other hand, give the characters little mannerisms and actual personalities that make us relate to this character while also implementing the battles, artwork, and story. Consequently, whenever the character suffers, we suffer. Whenever the character achieves something, we feel as if we achieved the same thing. So thank you, Reaper, and keep working hard!'
Those comments are what brought a smile to his pale face. When Asher began doubting his capabilities, he always remembered the kind comments that urged him to continue. His eyes welled up with tears as he silently thanked them deep within his heart, a warm smile gracing his usually cool and indifferent expression.
Taking his phone from his desk, Asher immediately went to his online chat to inform them about the new update. Yes, he already sent an in-game email to all the players, but he also wanted to thank them personally for all of their patience and support. Asher was a one-man team, after all, and without the help of his fans, he wouldn't have been able to make it this far.
'The new update of 'Zero Calamity: Freedom' is now done! A new character was introduced, the bugs were fixed and the dialogues were reviewed and rewritten. If more incidents occur, please inform me immediately! Lastly, thank you for all of your patience and support! I make a lot of mistakes, especially since I don't have a group of people aiding me with this ongoing project. Having you all by my side cheering me on makes me want to work even harder to present a game that all of you will enjoy! So thank you, and please keep on supporting me.'
Plopping himself on the bed, Asher's phone buzzed with incoming messages. Most of them were just fans of his games saying how much they loved and enjoyed his games. While the messages were heartwarming and always brought a smile to his face, they didn't help him become a better creator.
In the sea of comments and replies, there was one statement that sent a shiver down his spine. His eyes widened in shock and his body froze up, refusing to move. Asher re-read the comment a couple of times, not being able to make sense of the message.
'Don't worry, Reaper-sama! Your new opportunity at life will be arriving soon~!'
Not only did the comment raised red flags and screamed danger, but why did the person have to include the sama after his name? It was just too weird and creepy.
Finally calming down from the sudden shock, a bad feeling began to brew deep within him. Asher deleted the comment, trying to ignore the ever-growing dark feeling. He also felt the need to call his parents, which was something he rarely did. Despite that, his fingers subconsciously tapped on the phone app and his finger hovered over the call button. Asher sighed and turned off his phone.
What was the point in calling his parents, anyways? There is nothing new in his life. No new friends, no new experiences, no new adventures. His life was an endless cycle of working at his part-time job, eating whatever he could afford, and improving his game. There's no time to meet new people. The only thing he can do is work to make ends meet and help his parents. They were slowly getting older, so it's only common sense that he helps provide for his family just like how they provided for him throughout his youth and with his education.
Turning his phone back on, he sent all of the money he currently had in his bank account to his parents. 'Take the money to buy food for you and dad,' he typed and closed his eyes, pressing send.
Immediately after sending the message, he received his mother's reply asking if he had enough money for himself. This is a common thing between him and his mother. While Michelle indeed needed help, she didn't want to impose on her son. Smiling sadly, Asher lied and replied with a yes as a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. Humming to himself as he rubbed his eyes, Asher stood up from the bed to search for his phone charger before heading to bed.
In a far corner of the room sat his old and beaten up phone charger. Beside it was a dusty mirror that sat there since Asher's arrival to his small apartment. He never bothered to clean or even look at himself since he had no time for such trivial matters. Bending down to grasp the slowly decomposing charger, Asher's eyes gazed at his appearance in the mirror, causing him to flinch and widen his eyes in surprise.
Is this really how he looked like? His complexion used to be a soft and healthy color but now it was extremely pale and sickly looking. His once-bright eyes were now dull and devoid of warmth. Huge eye bags contrasted greatly against his skin which showcased his lack of sleep and his hair was unkempt and brittle, the softness it once had now forgotten. His bones could be easily seen beneath his skin, crystalizing the fact that he barely ate and took care of himself. Actually, when was the last time he ate or even had a decent amount of sleep? Asher had been too engrossed in the improvements of his game that he lost track of time.
The feeling of hunger slowly set in, causing him to groan painfully while holding his stomach. Asher slowly began stumbling towards the small fridge as his vision got hazier and hazier because of his sleep-deprived state. The only thing he had was expired bread. Still, his stomach kept protesting out of lack of food. Reaching out towards the bread, Asher opened the bag and ate the parts of the bread that weren't infested with fungus. The stench of the expired food was enough to make him gag, but he held his breath and forced himself to eat. He had no other choice, so this will have to do for now. He can go dumpster diving behind the restaurants tomorrow.
After feeling his stomach settle, he carefully laid himself on his bed while wrapping himself with a thin and dirty blanket. Asher got into a fetal position, trying to warm himself up. He began shaking slightly as tears escaped his dead, brown eyes. Sobs racked up his entire body as he began asking himself a series of questions.
Why?
Why him?
Why did he have to suffer so much?
Crying himself to sleep, Asher's shaky breaths slowly got steadier and steadier. However, his breaths then became shorter and smaller until they stopped altogether, a small smile appearing on his delicate expression. Finally, no more pain. No more sadness.
'Reaper-sama, you should always trust your instincts~!'