Death was surprisingly peaceful until Leon saw the light, and obviously you have to go to said light, the goth women and beautiful blondes are probably waiting on the other side!
"Almost there—"
However, the system panel in front of Leon can't be ignored, it's initiating a loading from 1% to 100%.
"No! Don't take me back!"
As Leon gets nearer to the light's exit, so does the loading percentage, it is currently at 78%, approaching completion.
Yet the boy could hear it, the giggling and soft voices of goth women and blonde women beyond the light.
Even little by little, their curves could be seen through the light.
"Just one! I only need one in my life!" He screamed as the percentage reached 100%, and the moment it did, the light gradually stretched outward, far from his reach.
"NOOOOOOOO—" he screamed at the top of his lungs, before waking up to what appeared to be a bed inside a humble room.
...
.....
Day: 1, Monday
Location: Unknown
Time: 11:30 AM
"F$#&K##$# S#&$#!" He cursed. It was an agonizing feeling; however, he soon realized a foreign sensation.
"Wait..." He leaned upward from the bed, checked his unusually pale hands, and moved each finger.
There was no issue, he didn't feel any weakness nor pain; rather, it felt as if he was inside a completely different healthy body.
[Greetings.]
It was the same U.I panel, but this time it was blue instead of the oppressive red, and Leon's mind came flooding with memories of the time before he was euthanized.
"Nurse Natalia, and the other guy… that means I really died, and this is the system I awakened, but where am I?"
His location was a dim room, with curtained windows that let some light illuminate his surroundings and a ceiling fan above. Other than that, there was a desk with a mirror and a closet against one of the walls. The walls themselves were solid beneath their surface, likely brick hidden under layers of smooth plaster, covered in faded patterned wallpaper that hinted at a once-elegant Victorian-style suite.
The bed he woke up on was quite comfortable compared to the hospital bed, which might as well be a prison.
[Shall we begin the tutorial?]
"Yes…"
[Congratulations, you are now a proud owner of a magical inn in a different world!]
[Disclaimer: The inn absolutely does not 100% follow the laws of reality, understanding it with your human brain is futile.]
"Good to know, what am I supposed to do now?"
[Starting InnKeeper (IK) Rank 0: Stray Fool.]
Status: Unregistered Innkeeper
Special Abilities: None
Description: You are a mere fragile flame in a new world, with no control over the inn's true potential.
Service Points: 0
[First Quest: Get familiar with your surroundings and Unlock the Master Suite.]
Explore the following facilities:
1. Reception Desk:
2. Dining Room:
3. Pantry:
4. Kitchen:
5. Leisure Room:
6. Utility Room:
[Reward: Master Key.]
[Reward: 800 Service Points.]
[There are four more quest waiting for you.]
"That's a lot of quests… but a stray fool? What exactly are you implying, system?"
Leon was highly intrigued by what he was looking at, especially regarding the inn's higher ranks, but the system didn't provide any more information.
"Exploration of the inn and that master key seem important, and I won't be surprised if I have to do some housekeeping later for my next quests…"
One might be too lazy for such a thing, but not Leon; being bedridden all his life had given him enough motivation to use this able body to its fullest!
But firstly, he inspected his appearance in the mirror situated on his desk. Interestingly, he looked European and at the same time not.
It was the same skinny figure with pale skin, black wavy hair, and matching pants, wearing a light-colored T-shirt, but he must say.
"My eyes are green? And why do I look so feminine? I would date myself! I guess this is what being handsome is all about."
After scrutinizing his own image, another thought met him.
"This isn't my body… who are you?"
[Correction: This body is you, but without the terminal illness, and the green eyes are how your eyes are meant to appear naturally.]
"So this is what I've been missing out on. It's a shame."
"This could've been me…" Leon found it difficult to put into words; there were people who might have reached their greatest potential if not for some sort of illness weighing them down, but life was not fair.
"I promise that I won't take this for granted."
Leon explored his surroundings a bit more.
The room had a modern-looking bathroom with its own shower, a sink with a metal faucet, a mirror above the sink, and a porcelain toilet, as well as empty shelves for toiletries, but he found himself wondering whether there was working electricity, as light bulbs were mounted on the ceiling.
Ding!
He turned on the switch in the bathroom's walls; unfortunately, there was no electricity.
"That's going to be a problem."
Then, he turned the faucet on to see if there was running water.
Again, there was none.
"What's the point of all of this if none of it works?! Wait, is this connected to the Service Points thing?!"
[Water and electricity power within this magical inn is currently locked, please check the utility room on the first floor.]
"I see, will do, but anyway, how do I rise in InnKeeper rank?" Leon asked.
[To rise in Inn Keeper rank, you must complete the prerequisite "quests". The higher your rank, the more facilities, inn functions, and special perks will be available at your disposal.]
[Service Points are your currency for various things within the inn, and more opportunities to gain SP will appear in the future.]
Leon thought about the fact that he had only played a few games in his life, so all of this was still an extreme novelty.
He decided to approach everything in this unfamiliar situation in a rational manner.
Leon noticed a gallon of water stored in a large wooden container within the bathroom, something he could use.
"Looks clean enough."
It was the first time in his life that he had ever washed his face, however, without a towel to wipe it, he had no choice but to use his own clothes, which he didn't mind.
"That felt good."
He stepped outside the bathroom, then exited the room he had awoken in, and realized he was on the second floor as he saw an open space below the first floor connected by a curved staircase directly into the grand foyer of the inn.
"This is mine? All of this?! This is insane."
There were 2 more bedrooms capable of housing multiple people on the second floor other than the one he came from, each with their own bathrooms, cabinets, etc., and surprisingly each of those bedrooms were empty of what's needed for an inn, but the rooms themselves looked perfectly cozy.
"Why is this place so empty for an inn but the room I woke up in was fully furnished? It doesn't make any sense." Leon tried to ask the system numerous questions, but to his surprise, the system didn't say anything back, and it seems like it only answers specific things.
"Is it keeping secrets from me? Or does it genuinely not know?"
Yet, he wished he was with Nurse Natalia; he even wondered about her well-being, hoping that she survived, but there was one more daunting concern that he cannot ignore.
What was the outside world beyond the inn?
What now? Would he work as an innkeeper?
That would mean he'd have to deal with strangers, and potential employees?!
Regardless of the unknown, one thing was clear.
"I can begin again here… as a humble innkeeper."
Chapter End.