A sudden idea hit me as I walked down the street that night. I remembered that there was an item called the Resurrection Potion. It only worked within twenty-four hours of an individual's death, but if you used it on a player, they could get back all their items and inventory. It was especially useful if something like lava happened to destroy someone's gear.
On the other hand, if you used it on an NPC, it would bring them back to the battle at full health. Generally, it was useless to use on an NPC unless you really needed them to beat a certain fight.
Unfortunately, the only way to get the Resurrection Potion is in Polsius, a whole different continent. Currently, I was in Rivenvalius, an island continent separated from the two main landmasses that contained the four others. In this game, there was a rigid progression between the five continents, so you couldn't go on ahead without first defeating the reigning archdemon for each section.
It was hopeless. I couldn't get Ayame back. Now, the only thing I could do was to live with the consequences.
"Psst!"
I swiveled my head to the side.
"Hey, you! Yeah, you!"
I looked around, but I didn't know where the voice was coming from.
"Over here!"
A hand pulled me into a narrow alleyway that I hadn't noticed before. It was so cramped that there was barely any room between me and the other figure.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The figure removed their hood, revealing a refined man with a neatly trimmed goatee and a bushy mustache. He had an angular nose and straight eyebrows, adding to the overall fierceness of his appearance.
"My name's Iago," the man said, holding out a hand.
We shook hands, and I replied, "My name's Ares."
Iago nodded. "I know."
I was tentative to speak to a stranger, but I was still curious as to why he pulled me into this alleyway.
"What do you want with me?" I asked.
"I'm a player character."
My mouth hung open, and I stepped back, bumping myself on the brick wall.
"No way," I said. "Another player?"
"That's right."
"Wait. How? Are you also—"
Iago placed a finger on my mouth.
"Shh. I'd like to propose a trade offer."
The man pulled out a small potion bottle from his cloak. He then said, "Illuminate," creating a ball of light on his finger.
Now that the object was in clear view, I instantly realized what Iago was holding. The luminescent cyan color, in addition to the swirling bubbles, was a dead giveaway; it was a Resurrection Potion.
"I heard that your friend recently died," Iago said. "Luckily for you, I managed to snag this when I traveled to Polsius."
"How do you know about Ayame?"
"Word spreads fast in this city."
"What do you want for it?" I asked.
"Ah, straight to the point. I like it. I want the Frigid Edge."
It was the strongest early game weapon, giving the user a twenty-five percent boost in ice proficiency, a fifteen percent boost to holy damage, and it had the Frostbite passive ability. As long as I had this weapon, I could easily beat the archdemon in Rivenvalius, but if I gave it away now, I would have to work much harder if I wanted to free the people on this continent.
"What's your decision?" Iago asked.
Dammit. I need to stop thinking about myself. Ayame mattered more. The Frigid Edge was just an object, but a person couldn't be replaced. This was my one chance to bring her back. It was like the god of this world was blessing me in some way.
I have to bring Ayame back.
For her parents.
For her sister.
For the vow that I made.
"It's a deal," I said, pulling out the weapon.
The two of us made the exchange, and Iago put his hood back on.
"It's been nice doing business with you," he said. "I'll be off now!"
At that, Iago dashed away without a trace.
"Wait!" I called, but he was too fast. It wasn't long before I lost track of him.
I still had questions to ask, especially about how he was another player character, but it looked like I wouldn't be able to do that right now. On the bright side, I got the Resurrection Potion.
Using the item was easy. Upon opening the stopper, a rectangular prompt appeared in front of my eyes, asking me who I would like to resurrect.
"Ayame Fujimoto," I said.
A loading bar spun in circles for a few seconds, but when it finally stopped, it was replaced by red text that said, "Error: Origin mismatch; invalid construction."
I pressed the back button and tried it again.
"Ayame Fujimoto."
After some more loading, the potion came up with the same error.
I tried for the third time and the fourth time, but it still wouldn't work.
"What's going on?"
Right when I finished my sentence, the potion's cyan color turned a deep carmine.
That was when I realized it.
The potion was a fake.
Why didn't I think about it before? How was I so unbelievably naive? Even a little kid would have been suspicious of the man in the mysterious cloak.
I'm such a fucking idiot.
How did I fall for it?
I threw the fake potion into the ground, sending pieces of glass flying in every direction.
It looked so real, and I was too desperate.
I wanted to bring back Ayame so badly that I was willing to do anything. I didn't even think about the consequences. I jumped the gun without thinking.
And now, I had lost the Frigid Edge. Iago had swindled me, taking away the only thing that came out of Ayame's sacrifice.
Everything had been in vain. Ayame's death and all my struggles amounted to nothing. Once again, I had failed. How many more times was this going to happen to me?
When I woke up in this world, I thought it was a place where I could live carefreely. I would be able to hunt demons, level up, and hunt some more.
It was any gamer's fantasy to be sent to another world where they were overpowered and had their own harem.
I thought that I was finally free from the pain and suffering that had plagued me in the real world, but I was wrong.
Even in Serial Slain, people suffered. This great fantasy—the world of my dreams—was no different from reality. I still fell victim to my own follies. After being given a second chance in life, I still made terrible mistakes.
Why couldn't I see it before? Even though I changed my appearance, I was still the same on the inside. I was overconfident and incompetent, leading to Ayame's and my demise. I was so excited to play Serial Slain that I didn't realize it wasn't just a game.
How naive of me. How terribly, utterly naive.
I sighed.
I can't let it end here.
Other people would die, but in this world, I would always come back. I was immortal. No matter how many times I failed, I needed to keep trying again. Giving up wouldn't help me now, and not ever.
One day, I'm gonna get revenge on Iago, and find out his true nature.
Until then, I had a task to accomplish: to defeat all the archdemons, and finally, kill the Demon King.
I won't let anyone's deaths be in vain. I'll shoulder the burden, and I'll keep walking forward until I finish Serial Slain once and for all.
Do you hear that, all you demons?
This is my declaration of war!