Chapter 1
For a mountain of gold, I threw myself in front of Franklin Harvey's blade day after day.
Jumping off cliffs, blocking knives, slitting my own throat; when it came to courting death, I was a pro.
He couldn't take it anymore and ran off in the dead of night to hunt down bandits.
I chased after him on horseback, took a blade for him, and even gave myself an extra stab just for fun.
When I came back from the dead again, Franklin's eyes were red, his voice rough as he asked me, "Does it hurt?"
My eyes lit up and I blurted out, "So, when do I get my pile of gold?"
Nobody knew my secret: every time I died, I cashed in.
Franklin: I risk everything for you, and you just treat me like some respawn point to farm rewards?
*****
My name is Leila Reed, the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor.
They call me the biggest lunatic in Aurelia.
The day I got hooked up with the Infinite Respawn System, I was so thrilled I almost threw myself a feast right then and there.
The system promised every time I died, I'd get a mountain of gold.
Of course, it had to be the same person who killed me each time.
My dad Marcus Reed was the Chancellor, and Franklin Harvey was his mortal enemy.
They went from bickering in court over their views, to impeaching each other, and finally even hired killers to finish each other off.
Franklin would kill Marcus in his dreams if he could.
That day, Marcus got ambushed by assassins.
When the assassins showed up, I was squatting on the roof, counting stars.
When I spotted Franklin at the front, I directly jumped straight off the roof and landed dead-on right on the tip of his sword.
It slid in smoothly with a slick sound.
The last thing I saw before I died was Franklin's eyes, wide with shock above the black cloth covering his face.
The day they put me in the coffin, I lay there, listening to Marcus sobbing uncontrollably in the hall.
"My baby girl, how could you leave me like this? I haven't even found you a husband yet!"
I nailed the timing, and right before they sealed the lid, I suddenly sat up.
"Dad."
The whole mourning hall froze in stunned silence.
Marcus's wailing caught in his throat and turned into a shrill screech.
Then he fell to the ground.
"My dear, I know you've been wronged. If you need anything, just visit me in a dream. I'll fulfill your wishes. I'll join you in the afterlife and take care of you. Please, just lie back down, okay? I'm begging you. Rising from the dead in broad daylight. This is truly terrifying!"
He knocked his head on the floor.
I kept smiling, tallying up in my head: a mountain of gold, secured.
After I came back from the dead, Marcus still couldn't let it go.
So he decided to get even.
But the assassin he hired suddenly jacked up the price, and the two of them started haggling right in front of Franklin.
"More money! I'm not doing it for less. He's Franklin, for crying out loud."
Franklin's sword flashed, and he just took out the assassin right then and there.
I saw my chance and rushed in again. I got impaled, score one more for the death tally.
"You! You! You did it again. You killed my girl!"
Franklin's temples were practically pulsing.
"Last time was an accident, and so is this one."
Marcus was hopping up and down, shouting, "Why is it always an accident with you? Can't you just stay away from my daughter?"
Franklin's forehead veins were bulging.
"You were the one who hired an assassin to kill me. Leila lunged at me, trying to make it look like I did something. I was just standing here. I didn't even move."
He pointed at his feet. "See? I didn't even budge."
Marcus's brain was fried, and he started rambling nonsense.
"I don't care. You have to take responsibility!"
Franklin's sword clattered to the floor.
He looked up at the sky.
Dealing with this bunch of lunatics was more exhausting than three days and nights on the battlefield.
"Should I just stab myself for your amusement?"
This time, Marcus finally wised up and decided to let my body lie in state for seven days, just to be safe.
But there was no way I was going to let him down.
The very next day, I came back to life right on schedule.
The whole household lost it.
Ron Hill, the butler, was at a loss for words. "Again?"
My mom, cool as ever, just shrugged. "Well, that's nice, saving us the trouble of staying up tonight."
Marcus was lurking at the back of the crowd, his face dark with frustration.
I waved cheerfully at him. "Dad, I'm alive again."
Marcus stood in front of the family shrine, hands pressed together.
"Ancestors, seriously, there's no way to send this back?"
My parents, worried I'd go looking for death again, grounded me for a whole month.
They really knew little about me.
Like hell I'd just sit and wait for death.
This time, I figured I'd mix things up and die a little differently.
That was when I started writing to Franklin.