Chapter 3 Narrative of the Peaceful Village
The silence around them was so heavy it felt like it was choking the air. Everyone was staring at the stone slab, unable to look away. Elric's eyes stayed locked on it as he slowly read the words that appeared.
[Narrative of the Peaceful Village: 99 participants. Difficulty: Level 1]
"Level 1 difficulty…?"
Before he could fully process what that meant, the people around him vanished from sight, like they were never there.
Soon after, the surroundings turned white again.
He felt a pressure on his chest, as if a dark force was closing in around him. There was no sound, but the feeling made him uneasy.
As he adjusted to this new setting, an old scrap of paper suddenly dropped in front of him.
He instinctively bent down and picked it up. His eyes narrowed as he read the text on it.
[Role: Hunter]
His eyes widened and his body tensed unconsciously.
He carefully flipped the paper over. On the back, dark red liquid had carved out more words.
[Hunter Duties: 8 members]
1. At noon and midnight, you must hunt by entering and exiting only through the village's front gate, then take the path around to the forest behind the village.
2. At noon, walk as loudly as possible. At midnight, walk quietly and backward.
3. At noon, walk backward into the forest and backward back into the village. At midnight, go and return normally.
4. You start with only 2 bullets.
5. If you hear someone call your name, do not turn around or follow that voice. It's not human.
6. If someone grabs your leg, climb the tree with golden leaves and stay silent.
7. Do not spend the night in the forest.
8. At night, do not light a fire or use any light source.
9. There will be smoke in the forest. Be careful not to get lost.
Elric read the paper carefully. Each word seemed to dig deeper into his mind. A shiver ran down his spine.
But before he could gather himself, the paper slipped from his hand and dissolved into the air.
His stomach twisted, and his hand trembled slightly.
Suddenly, his head spun violently, and a heavy weight pressed down on him.
"Damn it…"
Before he could say more, his vision went black.
…
His heart beat loudly, matching a faint sound somewhere nearby.
Thump… thump… thump…
He didn't know how long passed before he slowly woke up.
Elric opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an old wooden ceiling, along with a faint musty smell.
He sat up quickly and looked around the room.
Everything felt strange. Every object seemed placed deliberately, like a set designed for a scene, not a real living space.
He looked down at himself. The clothes weren't his own, and in the corner, a revolver lay neatly placed.
He stood and walked over to pick it up.
It was an old-style revolver, matte black with small scratches along the barrel—clearly a weapon that had been used a lot.
When he opened the cylinder, he saw only two bullets.
"Only two bullets…?"
He closed the cylinder and glanced at the clock on the wall.
The hour hand pointed to the nine.
"Nine in the morning."
He took a deep breath and repeated all the rules in his mind.
He didn't know exactly what was happening, but these rules weren't something he could ignore. One mistake could cost him his life.
Knowing this, he stepped out of the house. The village looked perfectly normal. Everything was calm, and people moved about.
He observed carefully. These people looked like ordinary humans, but something felt off.
The narrative said there were 99 participants, but the village seemed to have more than 200 residents.
So these people must be supporting characters—or NPCs.
He swallowed his unease and forced himself to stay calm, knowing that panic could make him easy prey.
He pressed his lips and recalled the horrible event he'd seen before.
The image of a man whose organs had been ripped out and hung around his neck by a demon flashed vividly in his mind.
The screams from that day still rang in his ears.
Elric forced himself to focus.
"I can't be afraid… I have to get through this."
But how was he supposed to leave this 'narrative'? He'd been thrown into the Demon Realm and into this narrative without any info. If he'd known more, maybe this wouldn't be so hard. Because of what he had seen earlier, he knew it was Level 1 difficulty.
Maybe becoming a demon's plaything meant getting trapped in this narrative.
He paused his thoughts before deciding to investigate further.
…
Elsewhere, two demons were watching this narrative.
One was Death, the host who had appeared before. The other was a demon whose body looked like shifting shadow, its surface cracked like shattered space. Countless eyes stared out from those cracks, unblinking and motionless, watching quietly from afar.
"They seem lucky to only have Level 1 difficulty," Death said with displeasure.
"Oh, come on. The last batch got Level 11 and died before finishing the rules. That wasn't fun," the other demon replied.
Death still looked unsatisfied but gradually relaxed.
The strange demon spoke again, its voice hopeful. "And the audience?"
Death raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. "Since they're new playthings, only fewer than a hundred demons are watching."
"Really? Then maybe we should make things more interesting for the watchers."
Death turned to look at the demon and then smiled.
"Good idea!"
…
After surveying the village, Elric gathered some useful info.
First, the village had about 400 people, not the 200 he had guessed. Second, the village looked like a normal human settlement. The buildings were unusual, but clearly built with great care.
Third, the narrative participants didn't know each other, so recognizing faces would be hard. Contact or cooperation would be tricky.
He pushed aside these scattered thoughts.
For some reason, maybe because he was assigned as Hunter, he felt like he could handle the gun well, almost like he'd trained with it before.
Earlier, he confirmed only two bullets in the gun. No extra ammo was in the room.
At that moment, Elric looked at the clock and saw it was nearly noon.
Without hesitation, he headed out.
At the village entrance stood a about five-meter-high wooden wall, with several guards stationed there.
He guessed some might be participants too.
But there was no time for speculation. He had to focus on his task, knowing any mistake could mean death.
"State your name and number."
A scar-faced man shouted. Elric recognized him as Ulrich, the man he'd talked to before entering the narrative.
Ulrich looked surprised to see him but kept a serious face.
"Number A-15, sir."
"Identity confirmed. Now join the other hunters."
Elric walked on, thinking about Ulrich. He figured Ulrich's role was village gate guard.
He couldn't remember all participants' faces but recalled the six people he'd spoken with before entering.
Outside the village, Malachai found four hunters waiting.
They began introducing themselves.
"My name is Mia."
"I'm Elric."
His voice was calm, though he still felt a chill inside.
Mia gave a slight nod; the other three looked terrified. Their eyes flickered like they might break down.
Elric watched quietly. Two men and one woman—all clearly inexperienced with this kind of situation.
He himself was new to it too.
"Are you all okay?" he asked, but no one answered.
Mia glanced at them and sighed. "Just leave them. If they can't keep their heads, they won't last."
Her words were cold but felt true.
Elric nodded silently.
Behind the village lay a forest. Midday sunlight pierced through the treetops in pale golden beams, but it didn't feel warm.
It was too quiet… unsettlingly quiet.
He stepped forward with Mia, leaving the others behind, still shaken.
In the end, whoever survived would be the one who kept calm and fought fear, no matter how hard.
Their footsteps echoed as they walked on dry ground.
When they passed the village boundary, Elric glanced back.
Ulrich was still there, standing guard, his face unreadable, showing no sign of worry.
Elric felt like Ulrich's eyes followed him, but when he looked again, nothing changed.
They walked deeper into the forest on the path they were told to take. The rules said they had to walk loudly during the day.
Their steps crushed dry leaves into bits.
The forest looked normal. Tall trees, sunlight filtering through branches.
But something felt wrong. He thought quietly.
Even though they were making noise on purpose, there were no birds or insects.
It was too quiet.
"Yo, yo, yay! I'm a fairy!" Mia suddenly shouted.
Elric was confused by her behavior.
"The rule said we had to walk loudly."
"Right…"
Once he realized that, he shouted along with her.
"Damn you, Noah, go to hell!"
He hadn't forgotten the one who had betrayed him and brought him here. When he got out, revenge was all he wanted.
Before long, they reached the forest's edge.
"We have to follow the duty, right? Why does it say to do it backward?" Elric said, hiding his confusion.
"No idea. Maybe there's no special meaning."
But contrary to what she said, he was actually thinking something else.
Before he could get lost in thought, they started walking backward into the forest as the rules required.