Unlike the awful climate of the northern mountains, this place was simply… different.
In the middle of a vast forest, Mark lay unconscious on the ground, still wearing clothes stained with blood and torn.
A small animal had approached him out of curiosity and climbed onto his face, covering his nose and mouth.
"H-mm…" a small mumble echoed, followed by more and more.
Until Mark opened his eyes instantly and sat up; the small animal that had been on top of him shot away from the sudden movement.
"W-w-what?" he was confused, his heart pounding a thousand miles an hour.
The last thing he could remember was that he had fallen from the mountain and… that dragon.
"..." he swallowed nervously. 'W-was that a real dragon? Like in the novels I write?'
It was impossible to believe; maybe he had seen wrong or hit his head.
'Yeah… that must be it. I hope…' he thought worriedly.
But he felt something different in his body and began looking at his hands, which had been injured and dirty before.
Now they were in perfect condition. Not only that—the clothes that should have been huge on him were only slightly oversized.
"W-what happened…?" The more questions he had, the more nervous he felt.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something strange, blue, floating in front of him; when he raised his gaze, it was there.
That screen that had scared him and made him fall. His reaction was the same—he ended up crawling backward in shock.
But a tree prevented him from retreating any further. "W-what— what is that thing!?"
The system screen reappeared right in front of him, only a few centimeters away.
Mark pushed his head back, trying to get away, but ended up hitting the back of his head against the tree trunk.
"Aghh…" he groaned in pain. 'Fuck's sake.' This time he opened his eyes slowly, breathing more calmly.
To see that screen in front of him with the same message as before.
[Supremacy System]
[Information: The User: "Mark" has been successfully teleported.]
[Notice: Do you wish to terminate the soul linkage with the System?]
[Yes / No]
Mark spent several seconds rereading the text over and over again, unable to understand whether it was real or not.
'I-it's like most of the systems that appear in web novels…' he thought, surprised.
He was a somewhat recognized writer in the world of web novels, so he was perfectly familiar with that theme.
'Have I reincarnated?... No, that can't be it.' He had appeared together with Lucas in this place, so that idea was discarded.
Knowing he wouldn't get answers just by deducing theories, he carefully decided to press [Yes].
[Supremacy System]
[Report: Update Initiated…]
[Status: 50%... 76%... 99%]
[Report: Update Completed.]
[Notice: The user's soul is now fully linked to the System. You may now access it completely.]
[Any questions?]
It was easier and faster than he had expected; he didn't feel anything strange in his body, which made him feel safer.
"Uh…" he murmured, unsure what to ask first—he had too many questions.
'Tsk, I'm an idiot,' he thought.
"Where am I?" It was very important to know first whether he was safe in this place.
[Answer: You are located in the "Forest of the Borderlands".]
'What a vague answer… I guess I need to be more specific.'
"Is this place safe? Why did I appear here in the first place, and were you the one who got me out of those mountains and kept me from falling?"
He decided to ask everything at once; he needed answers now.
[Answer: YES! You are safe. There are no dangerous creatures in the entire area. The forest is used as a commercial passage between the Kingdom of Fitoa and Kaldor.]
[Answer: The system saved you before you died from that accident in your world and brought you to this one. However, due to a soul synchronization error, you ended up in the northern mountains. Home of the dragons…]
Mark stayed still, processing more calmly what he had read; now that he remembered more clearly…
When he fell from the balcony together with Lucas, he saw a powerful light beneath him out of reflex.
'Could it have been some kind of portal?' It sounded more like an affirmation than a question.
"Wait!" he exclaimed urgently, pulling himself away from the tree trunk. 'Did it just say Forest of the Borderlands? And also Fitoa and Kaldor?'
They were names he had used for his most famous novel to date… "T-that has to be a coincidence, right?" It couldn't be possible that he had appeared in the fantasy world he himself had created.
[Answer: That is correct! You are in: "Destined to Be Loved and Hated by Crazy Villainesses".]
'No, no, no… you've got to be fucking kidding me.'
The novel with one of the worst worlds he had ever created…