Ah… organisms except plants.
That bastard really thought this through.
I glanced toward Beatrice, who was happily eating her portion of steak beside the fire like the scenario deciding our lives didn't exist at all. The orange flames reflected in her purple eyes while she quietly hummed to herself, completely relaxed. Meanwhile, I was one bad thought away from mentally collapsing.
"Hey," she suddenly said between bites, noticing me staring. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"…Wait," I muttered slowly. "How did you already clear your scenario?"
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You literally just sat down and started eating!"
"…Exactly."
I stared at her in silence while she stared back like I was the stupid one here. Then she sighed dramatically before pointing toward the meat roasting above the fire.
"You bought meat from a living meat store, idiot."
My brain stopped functioning for a second.
"…Oh."
Right.
The meat was technically alive before being cooked. Which meant the moment it died during cooking, it counted as eliminating a living organism.
"As long as the organism dies while you're cooking it, the system counts it," she explained casually before taking another bite. "Honestly, how do you survive?"
I slowly covered my face with both hands.
How did I forget that? This was literally my own world. My own novel. My own logic system. Yet somehow I was the one struggling the most inside it.
"I'm actually pathetic…" I muttered.
"You're just stupid." Beatrice corrected immediately.
"…Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Still cursing under my breath, I quickly grabbed the remaining meat from my bag and threw it over the flames. The fire crackled loudly as the raw flesh slowly began roasting. Finally. Done. I leaned back against a nearby rock and exhaled deeply, letting my body relax for the first time in what felt like forever.
The scenery around us glowed orange beneath the remnants of Beatrice's earlier magic. Parts of the distant forest still burned faintly, embers drifting through the night sky like fireflies. The entire horizon looked beautiful in a strange, destructive way.
"…It's beautiful," I whispered without realizing I had spoken out loud.
For a brief moment, I forgot this world was trying to kill me.
Then the system window appeared again.
■■■ Scenario
Objective: Eliminate 2 Living OrganismsExcluding: Plants
Reward: 500 Coins
Penalty: Player will be eliminated
Objective Failed.
Penalty commencing in:
5…
My smile disappeared.
"…What?"
4…
3…
"Wait."
2…
"HELLO?"
Everything stopped.
The flames froze midair. The smoke stopped moving. Even the wind vanished completely. Beatrice remained motionless beside the campfire, her hand frozen halfway toward her mouth.
"…What the hell?"
My heartbeat started rising rapidly.
"Akyros...?" I whispered nervously.
No response.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
Slow. Heavy. Deliberate.
Fear crawled up my spine instantly. My body refused to move. The footsteps came closer and closer until they stopped directly behind me. My throat tightened painfully as I slowly turned around...
"Hey."
Beatrice stepped out of her tent.
"I think I won't join your adventure after all. Sorry."
My eyes widened immediately.
…What?
Why was she saying the same thing again?
Why was she stepping out of the tent again?
The campfire. The bags. The steak. Everything was exactly the same as before. A sharp pain suddenly shot through my neck, making me grab it instinctively.
"…Ah."
Why did it hurt so much?
Why did it feel like...
Like my head had been cut off?
A cold shiver spread through my body.
"No…" I whispered weakly.
Did I… die?
The thought made my stomach twist violently. There was no blood. No wound. Nothing physically wrong with me at all. Yet somehow my body still remembered the pain. It remembered death.
I looked around silently as the truth slowly settled into my chest.
…I went back.
Time had reset.
And somehow… I was still here.
"This world is messed up…" I muttered shakily.
I forced myself to breathe properly and quickly rebuilt the fire before the hidden time limit could kill me again. This time I didn't waste a single second. I immediately threw the remaining meat over the flames before the scenario could fully settle in.
■■■ Scenario
Objective: Eliminate 2 Living OrganismsExcluding: Plants
Reward: 500 Coins
Failure: Player will be eliminated
"Time to speed run survival," I muttered nervously.
The meat roasted quickly, and a few seconds later another notification appeared.
■■■ Scenario Complete
Reward: 500 Coins
The moment I saw it, my entire body relaxed in relief.
"…Thank God."
Beatrice stared at me strangely from across the fire.
"…You good?"
"No."
"Fair enough."
After packing my belongings, I said goodbye to Beatrice and continued my journey toward Emandle alone. Honestly… what kind of stupid name was "Emandle"? I nearly laughed while walking down the road, but the laughter quickly faded.
Because reality slowly settled into me again.
I really was inside my own novel.
A world I created.
I looked up at the sky quietly.
"At least I don't have to worry about Earth anymore…"
For some reason, saying those words hurt more than I expected. I tightened my grip on my bag and kept walking. There was no point thinking about it now. If I wanted answers, I had to survive first.
I walked south for nearly four hours before finally stopping near a large lake to rest. My legs felt like they were about to fall off.
"…How do travelers do this every day?" I groaned while dropping my bag onto the grass. "I haven't walked this much in my 10 years of life."
The lake reflected the evening sky beautifully, the water rippling gently whenever the wind brushed against it. Everything felt peaceful. Too peaceful. I looked around for a fallen branch or rock to sit on, but after wandering around for almost ten minutes and finding absolutely nothing, I gave up and sat directly on the ground instead.
The steak from earlier was still warm somehow. I took one bite and immediately froze.
"…Okay that's actually amazing."
Maybe survival wasn't completely terrible.
After eating, I slowly set up my tent near the lakeside and laid down inside, exhaustion overtaking me almost instantly. The moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I instinctively waited for another scenario window to appear in front of me.
Nothing happened.
"…Weird."
I packed my things and continued marching toward Emandle. Hours passed with nothing but sand, dirt roads, and occasional travelers passing by. I spoke with a few merchants to confirm the route, took shortcuts through abandoned trails, and by sunset I was certain I would arrive there tomorrow.
Then the system appeared again.
■■■ Scenario
Objective: Survive the earthquake
Reward: 5x Coin Multiplier
Penalty: Player will be eliminated
I slowly looked around the area in disbelief.
Sand.
Nothing but endless sand stretching in every direction.
"…Akyros."
Silence.
"…Are you actually trying to kill me?"
The ground suddenly shook so violently that I dropped onto my knees before I could even finish speaking. The sand beneath me cracked apart instantly, entire sections collapsing into darkness below.
"What the hell?!"
I started crawling desperately while clutching my bag tightly against my chest. The earth split apart around me like glass, giant fractures spreading faster and faster while chunks of land disappeared into massive pits beneath the desert.
I forced myself to run.
Or at least tried to.
Every step felt unstable. The world shook endlessly beneath my feet, making it impossible to keep balance. My heartbeat pounded violently inside my chest while panic completely overtook my thoughts.
Why did it have to happen like this?
Why was every scenario trying to kill me?
Did Akyros seriously enjoy watching me suffer this much?
Then suddenly...
CRACK.
The ground beneath me collapsed completely.
My body fell instantly.
Below me… a massive stone spike pointed directly upward.
"No no no NO-!"
Pain exploded through my torso.
The spike pierced straight through my chest.
For a moment, I couldn't even scream. My body froze entirely while warm blood slowly spread across my clothes. I could feel my breathing getting weaker and weaker.
"…So this is death…" I thought weakly.
Everything slowly faded into darkness.
Then...
I opened my eyes again.
Sand.
The same desert.
The same sky.
The same place.
■■■ Scenario
Objective: Survive the earthquake
Reward: 5x Coin Multiplier (Multiplies your current number of coins by 5x)
Penalty: Player will be eliminated
My breathing stopped.
"…What?"
I grabbed my chest immediately. No wound. No blood. Nothing. Yet I remembered it perfectly. The pain. The fear. The feeling of my chest being torn apart.
I remembered dying.
"…Why am I back?"
Panic flooded my chest instantly.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
The land beside me suddenly collapsed again. I forced myself to stop panicking and immediately started running. Think later. Survive first.
Using the memory from before dying, I carefully avoided every section of land I remembered collapsing. I ran through the desert desperately while the world crumbled apart around me. Every step felt heavier than the last, but eventually… the shaking stopped.
■■■ Scenario Complete
Reward: 5x Coin Multiplier (Multiplies your current number of coins by 5x)
I collapsed onto the sand immediately, breathing heavily.
The destroyed desert slowly restored itself behind me like nothing had ever happened. Cracks closed. Fallen sand rose back into place. The entire world repaired itself right in front of my eyes.
"…I'm tired…" I whispered weakly.
My entire body felt numb.
"I just want to sleep…"
The moment those words left my mouth, my eyes slowly closed again.
A few hours later, I woke up inside a moving cart.
For a moment I genuinely thought I was still dreaming, but the constant rattling beneath me quickly proved otherwise. I slowly sat up and noticed wooden crates stacked around me along with bags of supplies tied near the corners of the wagon.
"…Huh?"
A man holding the reins glanced back at me.
"Oh," he said warmly. "You're awake."
"Who are you?!" I asked immediately. "Where am I?"
The man blinked in surprise before laughing softly.
"Relax. You're safe."
He adjusted the hood covering part of his face and smiled calmly.
"I found you unconscious in the desert. It would've been dangerous if monsters found you first, wouldn't it?"
I stared at him silently for a moment before finally calming down slightly.
"…True."
The wagon continued moving quietly across the road.
There was a brief silence before I spoke again.
"So… what's your name?"
The man smiled.
"Felix."