[Identity registered. Welcome to the GREED System, Devon Crocus.]

  [Your channel name is Devon Crocus. You may customize your channel settings upon completing this EVENT.]

  [Due to your unusual entry into this world, your channel has been flagged for review.]

  [Granting Afterlife Achievements...]

  As soon as my feet hit solid ground, I stumbled and landed flat on my

  rear against the asphalt. A heavy sigh escaped my chest, carrying with

  it every ounce of tension I'd been holding in since I died.

  I'm finally out of that place.

  I never felt more grateful for having hands that could touch things.

  As I tried to reorient myself to gravity again, I remembered the last

  panel I saw before being dumped here. What were Afterlife Achievements, and how the hell do I make them go away? Because they were now flooding my vision faster than I could blink.

  [Afterlife Achievement unlocked: (A-Tier) Welcoming]

  Thank you for becoming a player.

  Reward: Nothing. Receiving this

  achievement means you already have a permanent, irrevocable membership

  under the GREED System Neutrality Committee.

  [Afterlife Achievement unlocked: (A-Tier) A Lost Man]

  You have no grand ambition or desire toward the end of your life. Shameful...

  Reward: I pity you.

  [Achievement unlocked: (C-Tier) Wizard]

  30-year-old-plus virgins do turn

  into a wizard! This is intended to make fun of you, but the GREED System

  regrettably does not understand Earth humor.

  Reward: +2 to all stats.

  Reward: (A-Tier Skill) Conjure Fireball

  Reward: (B-Tier Potion) Potion of Lesser Healing

  Those were just the first three I managed to read before

  instinctively swiping them aside. All panels collapsed into a tiny box

  icon, now seemingly stapled to the top-right corner of my vision along

  with a red notification dot. Another panel appeared the moment I closed

  my Afterlife Achievements. It was unobstructive this time, now anchored

  at the top edge of my peripheral vision.

  [The introductory phase has now ended. The moderators hope you are able to familiarize yourself with the System.]

  I pushed myself up, brushed dust off my rear, and observed my surroundings.

  I stood alone in the middle of a deserted city block. It was a nearly

  perfect copy from Earth's urban areas, but its streets were eerily

  empty. The sidewalks were lined with recently cleaned pavement beside

  closed storefronts. Street signs and shop menus stood firmly in the

  windless environment, fully enforcing the liminal silence. There were

  also skyscrapers towering across other blocks, but I assumed they were

  just as empty as well.

  As I looked down on my body, I was surprised at how comfortable my

  clothes were. A dark-green hoodie with a smiling fox as its art print

  and airy jogger pants, coupled with white sandals that seemed too big

  for my feet.

  This wasn’t just comfortable; I

  knew this outfit! I used to wear these when I first moved out of my

  parents’ house. “Did my body regress to when I was eighteen?” I

  muttered. I pulled up my sleeve to confirm. There was no thick arm hair,

  no scars, no signs of time at all during my salesman job.

  “Whoaaa, cool,” I said. Though honestly, I sounded more confused than impressed. I wondered how the System knew this.

  A blank, floating panel suddenly appeared, then it hummed to a life

  with a camera feed of a man's face. The same video also flashed on

  digital billboards attached to skyscrapers and on the TV menus inside

  the empty shops.

  "Hello, otherworlders! If you're here, it means you've accepted the

  System's invitation after your untimely death!" The man announced with

  unsettling cheer. His hands moved animatedly, punctuating his words with

  exaggerated gestures, as if he were a game show host welcoming

  contestants to some bizarre afterlife.

  He had silver hair streaked with single black highlight, sharp gray

  eyes, and a thin purple cross etched beneath one eye. A black tracksuit

  clung to his frame, adding to the whole ‘unhinged cult leader’ vibe.

  Also... the man looked just as young as I was.

  "First of all, the GREED System is the ultimate law that rules this

  world," the man proclaimed. "Think of Him as an all-powerful god,

  ever-present and absolute. Let that sink in, you absolute, dirty,

  fucking shitscum of the--!" His voice rose sharply as a fleck of spit

  hit the camera, but he was cut off by someone.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "What? What do you mean I can't delay this?" The man said. "The

  Tutorial Stream is starting in a few minutes? Well, fuck me sideways.

  You bastards never tell me anything."

  If this was the real world, I would've dismissed him as a conspiracy

  theorist-slash-moron. Seeing that he was technically the first person I

  encountered in this world, I had no choice but to heed his words for

  now... To a certain extent, at the very least.

  A towel swiped across the camera. He continued with a calmer demeanor now.

  "I don’t know much about you otherworlders except for one thing—you

  died with an unfulfilled regret or unreachable ambition. And deep down,

  wasn’t there one thought driving you before your death? That none of

  your hardships would’ve had happened if you’d had the money to change

  your sad, sad life... Isn’t that right?"

  "!!!"

  I couldn't refute what he said. The man across the camera even had a

  smug expression that seemed to justify it as the absolute truth. I

  couldn't dismiss him now. I kept watching.

  “There's only one bad thing about this System that governs us all.” he continued. “He—our god—is too

  generous. Even the worst piece of shit gets a second chance. That’s why

  people like me exist to filter the parasites before they fully become

  citizens in this world.”

  He kept speaking, "This world mirrors the one you came from in many

  ways. But if you're an actor, a president, or a goddamned deity, I don't

  give a shit. In this world, the POINTS you have define everything. You

  can have fame, authority, and power... as long as you have the means to

  buy them!"

  The man toned down, "To gain the basic right to live in this world,

  complete this EVENT. Prove to us that you're deserving to become one of

  its citizens. Because if you do, your entire life will be surrounded

  with money, power, and adulterous fuckers... That, or you burn as a

  useless parasite undeserving of this world."

  He crossed his arms as he gave us a fearless smile, then his gaze shifted to something beyond the camera.

  "I still have ten seconds?" The man said, then his attention went

  back to us. "Shit, I'm gonna give y'all some advice. Most of you people

  should've accepted your Afterlife Achievements by now. It was mostly

  shit, right? Not for one person though! You don't wanna be enemies with

  him, 'cuz this guy has done some crazy shit in his—"

  The video cut out. The screens flickered off. Silence returned to this city devoid of anyone but me.

  Still, the man’s words wouldn’t leave me. Points are everything,

  he said. One of the storefronts displayed a price menu, where a cup of

  black coffee costed about five points. For a crepe and another cold

  beverage, ten points. I assumed points were this world’s currency, and

  by analogy, it’s money.

  I was distracted by the appearance of a new message:

  [「 Wave Tutorial 」will commence in one minute.]

  I used that minute to familiarize myself with the System. “I hope

  this works just like in the novels...” I mumbled. I thought about

  opening my status screen but before I could even say the word status, it already opened by itself.

  “Huh. So thinking works, too.”

  (Tutorial Citizen) Devon Crocus

  LVL 1

  Strength (STR): 5

  Intelligence (INT): 10

  Dexterity (DEX): 4

  Skill Power (SKL): 0

  Constitution (CON): 3

  Skills held: 0/10

  Inventory Space: 0/5

  There wasn't much to go on from there. I opened the box icon where I

  stored my achievements, which has been bothering me because of that red

  notification dot. I read the first entry, which was something I’d

  already seen from earlier:

  [Achievement unlocked: (A-Tier) Welcoming]

  Thank you for becoming a player.

  Reward: Nothing. Receiving this

  achievement means that you already have a permanent, irrevocable

  membership under the GREED System Neutrality Committee.

  They were using letters to indicate rarity, it seemed. I also assumed

  that everyone should have this achievement, which begs the question:

  what was the GREED System Neutrality Committee? Were they the ones

  running this "event"? Were they a distinct entity from the System? Are

  they this world's government? What motives do they have for transporting

  people like me into this world?

  I scratched my head. Asking questions like that isn't going to get me any answers.

  [The EVENT「 Wave Tutorial 」will now commence. Please ensure that you have read the rules to prevent a boring death.]

  “Rules? What rules?“ I muttered.

  The sky above shimmered, then darkened into a rich violet as a

  massive translucent dome formed out of thin air, sealing off what looked

  to be anywhere within ten blocks from me. I didn’t know what was

  coming, but every instinct screamed that I wasn’t ready. A strong gust

  of wind gathered behind where I was standing. As I turned around, the

  wind spun parallel from me, forming into a vortex that remained planted

  above ground. A dark, inky substance leaked from its center, distorting

  the space around it.

  I’ve read enough books to understand what it was.

  As soon as the vortex stopped spinning, the black portal was realized

  into existence. The first creature to step out were those short,

  twisted monsters with sallow green skin and bloodshot eyes—goblins.

  Their bodies were spindly, covered only with dirty ragged fabric.

  They had long spiny ears with mostly balding hair. Though they were only

  around three feet tall, each held a crude weapon that made them just as

  dangerous. Some held rusted knives, splintered clubs, chipped

  cleavers...

  Then one of them locked eyes with me.

  [You are in combat!]

  "RAHHHH!"

  A shrill scream ripped through the air as a bulky female goblin with

  pink hair lunged forward from the portal. A pack of goblins exited the

  portal heeded her call as they charged straight at me.

  I was surprised, amazed even, at the sight of the species I never

  thought had ever existed in reality. It was also at that time that I

  realized that this wasn't fiction anymore. And If I didn’t start moving, they’ll tear me apart.

  I bit down on my tongue. The taste of blood and iron flooded my

  mouth. A green bar flickered to life in the top-left of my vision, a

  sliver of it vanishing with the damage. It worked; the shock yanked me

  back into reality, heart pounding, as I started to run with eight

  goblins on my tail.

  [EVENT: Wave Tutorial (1/5)]

  1:00:00 Remaining

  0/25 Monsters Killed

  The counter ticked to life at the top center of my periphery. I still

  haven’t claimed the rewards from my achievements, so I had no weapons.

  No skills. No anything. They were coming and I had no other choice but

  to run.

  How the hell am I going to kill 25 goblins in an hour?!