How To Survive A Cute Ghost Yandere
Chapter 10: You Have Died.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: You Have Died.

’This is exhausting.’

It was only the first day of Eiros’s new life. And yet, he already felt overwhelmed.

Still, compared to his previous life, if he ignored the matter of Erness, this life could be said to offer him a much better chance and potential to actually enjoy living.

Again, that’s only if he ignored Erness.

Lying on the soft bed, Eiros’s gaze was locked on his bedroom window, which dimly showed the dark blue ceiling of the sky, scattered with stars.

A crescent moon hung there, reminding him of Erness’s smile—one that was far too pleasant to forget.

Eiros sighed in irritation. The wind gusted now and then, making him shiver slightly. He got up and shut the window.

’Who knows? Erness might suddenly show up through this window.’

A bitter smile crossed his face.

All throughout the day, outside of class hours, Erness would always come find him and drag him around here and there.

That was exactly why he felt a little shudder run through him.

Now that he finally had some time alone, Eiros could finally check the reward he’d gotten from the system.

Three Soul Stones.

Then, the system responded to his thought almost instantly, quick as ever. The transparent blue screen popped up in the empty air.

[Would the Host like to receive the reward now?]

[Yes] // [Later]

"Yes."

Eiros answered without hesitation.

The transparent blue screen flickered a few times in the silence.

Fwip—

Three soul stones materialized out of nothingness.

There were countless kinds of soul stones. But no matter their shape, what actually mattered was their rank.

What appeared before Eiros were each soul stones containing the soul of a monster at the Awakened tier.

The same level Eiros himself was currently at.

A stone glowing with a soft, pale blue light. The stone itself was obsidian black, its dark surface casting a faint reflection of its surroundings.

Eiros could faintly sense a subtle fluctuation coming from the stone. Something that might be called the Soul of the monster itself.

The moment he touched it, he could feel just how cold the soul stone was.

"Let’s see, then."

Eiros smiled, wetting his dry lips. He then tried to recall how to absorb a monster’s soul into his own.

First, he only needed to concentrate on the soul stone. This was something that only happened in fantasy fiction, which was exactly why Eiros honestly felt a bit awkward about it.

But he pushed through, reminding himself that he really was inside a fantasy world right now.

He focused on the soul stone. Then, the faint pulse from the stone grew clearer and clearer until pale blue energy from the stone appeared, recorded like a vision in his mind.

’Now, let’s try absorbing it.’

It was magical, almost unbelievable. But that was exactly what happened. Eiros could slowly feel the monster’s Soul gently flowing, seeping into his body.

"...!"

It felt cold.

Shiver—

And yet, the sensation was also soft and pleasant, touching something deep within his body.

Since absorbing the soul stone took time, Eiros let himself sink into the process, feeling every second of the change as his body felt steadily better, more at ease.

The change was tiny, like trying to build a castle out of a few grains of sand. And yet, even so, as long as he kept at it consistently, that castle would eventually be built to perfection.

One stone, two stones, and finally all three soul stones he had were absorbed completely.

Eiros opened his eyes. Feeling an improvement in the quality of his soul—it felt abstract, hard to fully grasp. But that made sense too, since he’d only just begun building that castle.

He’d need to absorb much more before he could feel the results with any certainty.

Clenching his fists a few times, Eiros smiled. In the end, he’d have to rely on the system to hand him quests. Only that way did he stand any real chance of escaping Erness.

After sinking into that moment for a while, Eiros suddenly felt something strange. He looked at himself, watched the world seem to ripple and warp, filled with something too abstract to comprehend.

His entire dorm room dissolved into a swirl of colors, giving him a sickening sensation of vertigo.

"W-what is—!"

He tried to do something, but suddenly he coughed, hard.

Kohk! Kohk!

Blood spilled from his mouth, soaking down his body and dripping onto the cold floor.

His stomach burned from the inside, and slowly everything grew dark and hazy, the pain tearing a scream out of him.

In the middle of that night, the silence was swallowed by Eiros’s scream of agony. His face went pale, cold sweat drenched his body, and tears spilled endlessly down his cheeks.

Then...

[You Have Died.]

[Would the Host Like to Revive?]

[Yes] // [Wait a Moment]

"Gah?!"

Eiros gasped for breath, his face deathly pale in a state that was more soul than body. He wiped his face, utterly despairing.

"W-what was...! What happened?"

Why had he died?

What had killed him?

His eyes swept around the room. It was completely silent. No one was there, and that only made him feel far more frustrated.

Then his mind drifted back to what had happened before. He’d gone through this right after absorbing the soul stones. But—had he really been killed because of the system?

That made no sense.

Eiros bit his lip.

"If the system wanted to kill me, why would it give me the power to rise from death?"

He took a deep breath, the pain still lingering, sharp and clear. But Eiros exhaled it out, forcing himself to calm down.

He needed to think with a clear head. Nothing would get solved if he stayed this frustrated.

’Think... What actually happened...!’

His mind wandered back through time. He couldn’t recall anything unusual happening while he was in his room, so he went further back.

In the afternoon, he’d gone out with Erness. But they’d walked through a crowd, and Erness hadn’t done anything suspicious either.

Further back still, he remembered walking with Erness.

The moment Erness had kissed him. The moment Erness had forced him to drink that drink, mouth to mouth.

"Poison? Was that drink poisoned?"

Considering that Eiros and Erness came from different species, it was entirely possible it was a poison that worked on humans but did nothing to a ghost like Erness.

So...

Back then, he’d let his guard down and been killed by Erness—because of a drink.

Was that really it...?

’Damn it.’

Eiros let out a hollow laugh.

He really couldn’t afford to relax, not even for a second, whenever he was near Erness.

***