Reinvest in a New Life

The cold air tickled Francisco’s arms, causing him to squirm on the floor. He lifted his eyelids gently, noticing the sky was bluer than usual. Instantaneously, the sound of alarms and sirens were replaced by chatter and music. Though the bullet forced his body to feel heavy, he suddenly felt lighter. The coldness surrounding his body had dissipated.

He blinked a few times and licked his lips. The financial advisor waited for a few seconds. Impatience began brewing. “Does it take this long to die?” Francisco complained.

Suddenly, he experienced intense pain in the side of his ribs. Someone had stepped on him. Noticing the boot pulling away from his body, he glanced up angrily. “Hey, what-” Francisco widened his eyes and his jaw lowered.

”If you’re waiting for death, you’ll be waiting a long time,” muttered a man with dark blue skin and horns. He shook his head before stepping over Francisco’s body and walking ahead. “I suggest getting a job to make the time go by faster.”

Francisco’s eyes followed the tall horned man as he walked away. He grimaced as another person stepped on his leg. “Get a job, punk!” This time, the yelling came from a scruffy dwarf with black hair. The angry dwarf muscled through and continued walking without apologizing.

Francisco gulped, quickly getting up to his feet and realized he wasn’t in an alley anymore. Somehow, he ended up on a busy street with numerous people walking back and forth. He backed up slowly when recognizing the various differences and similarities between everyone. Noticeably, there were obvious height differences. Some people towered over Francisco and others were far shorter. His eye kept catching minor details.

He spotted pointed ears and horns. Some walking individuals had blue or red skin tones. Francisco had trouble processing all the information in his head. Various races walked before him: elves, dwarves, a race smaller than dwarves, and a race with horns. He scratched his head, not too familiar with fantasy.

Studying them longer, he noticed their garments were different too. Elegant robes, patches of leather, and chain mail were featured on some prominent individuals. Others were wearing traditional tunics and dresses. A substantial amount of people held strange weapons and relics: swords, shields, staffs, axes, and more. He glanced down, noticing that he stood out like a sore thumb in his suit. Curiously, he opened one flap of his suit jacket and looked at his white button-up.

His eyes glanced down when he noticed a hole in his shirt. This was obviously due to the bullet. Weirdly, he didn’t feel any pain. Examining the tear closely, he stuck his finger inside and felt only his smooth skin. His bullet wound vanished!?

Francisco astonished, took a step back, and accidentally knocked over a stall’s leg, releasing many apples on the ground.

”Hey, watch what you’re doing!” The merchant yelled, rearing his head close. This man towered over Francisco, his face covered in reptilian scales. His eyes had vertical pupils, staring down at the bewildered suited man. The financial advisor had no words for the lizard man except to start running in the opposite direction.

After distancing himself from the angry vendor, he took a moment to regain his breath. He scratched the back of his head, looking around with a more composed mindset. The financial advisor patted where his bullet wound should be.

“I guess I was reborn?” Francisco claimed. The world around him seemed genuine enough. He wasn’t too entirely sure why a fanatical setting was his next destination but he wasn’t going to complain. Images of his death in the alleyway flooded in. He rubbed his chin anxiously when he remembered his older brother. ‘Did he make it out safe?’ was a question that popped up in his head.

He hoped Richard succeeded and helped his niece. Francisco’s eyes widened as he held his face in astonishment. “I forgot! I’m totally broke now! And I’m in this new world! All my savings are gone!” Francisco yelled, falling to his knees. Walking passerby tried avoiding the suited weirdo yelling at the sky.

As Francisco whimpered, he recalled Richard’s last words to him. ‘Enjoy life.’ The financial advisor sighed, he certainly didn’t want to live a life again full of penny-pinching like he did his old one. Oddly enough, the sensation of the bank robbery had put a lot of adrenaline in his body. He quickly picked himself up from the gravel and dusted his knees.

”Alright, I’ve been reborn in this world. I’m going to take my brother’s advice and be adventurous!” Francisco declared, adjusting his tie.

Francisco made an educated guess that adventuring must be possible in this new world. The sight of seeing several individuals walk by with blades or blunt instruments told him so. As he continued exploring, he came across a community board with a huddle of prominent-looking characters. Squeezing by, he managed to find the obvious quest board. Smiling, he nodded to himself as he made his first step into his new life. “Enough penny-pinching! It’s time to reinvest in this new world! I’ll become rich through adventuring!” He promised, snatching a quest ad off the board.

Three months later…

Francisco rubbed his forehead, looking down at the few coins in his hand. His stomach rumbled loudly. “I’m so broke…” he cried.