I Died and Was Reincarnated as a Goth Femboy

Kenjiro awoke to a world of pain. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, a deep, profound soreness that went bone-deep. He groaned, rolling over in his massive bed. Was this the punishment for using his shadow? A backlash from unleashing that much power? Or was it just the result of the insane workout he'd put himself through yesterday? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that he felt weak and utterly drained.

"Okay, body," he grumbled to the empty room. "You win. Day off."

He decided to just relax, maybe watch some of the weird shows on the Eldoria equivalent of TV. But first, a recovery drink. He dragged his aching body to the guild shop, hoping against hope that the "Titan's Essence" had been restocked. It hadn't. The OUT OF STOCK message mocked him.

A familiar rage bubbled up, momentarily overriding the pain. He stomped his way to Ryo's office and burst in without knocking. "It's still out of stock! What's the deal?!"

Ryo looked up from his desk, an innocent smile on his face. He casually reached into a drawer and pulled out several glowing vials of the Titan's Essence, placing them on the table. "Oh, you want one of these?" he asked, his smirk returning.

"You bought all of them, didn't you?" Kenjiro accused, pointing a shaky finger at the vials.

"Can't tell," Ryo said with a shrug. "But you'll discover the reason soon enough."

Kenjiro's eyes narrowed. "What do you want for it this time?"

Ryo's smirk widened. His cheeks flushed a light pink, and he bit his lower lip, looking at Kenjiro with an intense, playful gaze. Kenjiro's mind immediately started racing, imagining all the humiliating, weird things Ryo was about to make him do.

Then Ryo spoke. "I want you to keep doing what you did yesterday," he said, his voice surprisingly serious. "Keep the cosplay. Keep the livestreams. The guild got hundreds of new member applications overnight because of you. Some billionaire investors saw your stream and are pouring money into us. We're going to the sky, baby!" He paused, his smile returning. "At least... I am."

The realization hit Kenjiro like a ton of bricks. He had tried to monetize his quest for his own gain, but Ryo was reaping far bigger rewards. He was being used.

"Speaking of which," Ryo continued, steepling his fingers. "We got a new application for your team. You already know him." He gestured toward the door.

Standing there, looking sheepish but determined, was DragonSlayer69.

Kenjiro's eye twitched. "I said I don't want him," he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Can't blame me," Ryo said with a sigh. "Guild regulations. A formal party requires at least four members to take on ranked quests. And our friend DragonSlayer here is a warrior type. You need a dedicated damage dealer."