Aldán walked a few meters through that strange place, looking for anything that might indicate where he was.
As he glanced sideways at the strange screen that had appeared in front of his eyes a few minutes ago, it was still in a loading state.
"What is all this…?" he said in disgust, sitting down on a small rock on the ground while resting his head in both hands.
'None of this makes sense… why can't I just die?'
He suddenly stood up, scanning his surroundings, his goal still present in his mind, and he would fulfill it no matter the situation.
After a few seconds, he simply chose to use a branch from a tree; if he used enough force, he could pierce his neck and die.
Without saying anything, he proceeded to carry out his objective, bringing the branch at enormous speed toward his neck, only for it to snap against his neck without even causing the slightest sensation he should have felt.
"But… what?"
Aldán asked, looking at the branch still in his hand; he hadn't even felt the touch of it against his skin.
Before he could try the same thing again with another branch, the screen changed its message once more.
[Wow… are you really that eager to end your life?]
[You just got here… hahaha…]
'...'
Aldán remained still, reading the message that felt far too human to come from just a floating screen.
"Who are you?" he asked seriously, a cold tone in his voice.
[Someone… someone who can help you.]
'Help me?' he thought. "How would you help me? I no longer have any goals to live for…"
[...]
[That's what you think, but there's still so much you don't know…]
"Tsk…" Aldán spat weakly at the system's annoying and mysterious personality.
[Do you want to see your family again?]
Aldán was stunned by the message, could he really see them again? Even killing himself had been his last attempt to see his family once more, though most likely he would end up in hell.
[If you do as I say, you will be able to see your family again.]
Faced with Aldán's silence, the system changed its message once again, further feeding that sense of hope within him.
"…You're lying…"
People only lie and betray; that thing in front of his eyes felt far too human to believe.
[You're absolutely right to distrust, I would too… but I'm not human, nor am I a system.]
"¿?"
"What do you mean by that?"
[I am a dragon. Or rather, I was the dragon god of this world millennia ago. I was betrayed, and as a last method of survival, I created this system where my consciousness was recorded.]
[As I said, I am not human. I share the same opinion as you about others, about how they are a selfish and murderous race—I know… I know better than anyone what you feel because I lived it and saw how life treated you.]
[That's why I gave you a second chance, so you can live and help me.]
Aldán simply stared at the screen, unsure of what to think; all of this was… new.
He walked back to the rock from before to sit down and think about it.
'Is this really happening to me? Why won't they just leave me alone for a while…? I just want to die…'
He remained in that dilemma for about an entire hour, thinking it would be better to die than to keep reading what that stupid screen was telling him.
[¡Bing!]
A notification like alert echoed in Aldán's mind, pulling him out of his thoughts.
[If you don't help me now, they will die…]
"Who?"
[I can't tell you exactly who they are, because I don't know… but I do know they are in danger. If you save them, I will tell you everything you need to know.]
[Will you save them?]
[Yes / No]
"..."
"You've got to be kidding me, right?"
Out of nowhere, the whole situation turned into some kind of mission based game… and on top of that, they put him in a difficult position, if he didn't help them, it seemed they would die.
And even though Aldán didn't know them, now he knew they were in danger, and that, in a way, would make him responsible if they ended up dying.
"Shit…."
Even after everything he had gone through, something inside him couldn't allow an innocent person to suffer, what if the girls he had to save were like him?
Not like he was now, but like he had been before all that shit happened to him.
Kind-hearted girls, trapped in a shitty world with shitty people.
[No matter what world you go to, as long as the human race exists, evil will always exist…]
'Still talking about races… it's like there are more than just humans…'
Without thinking twice, before it was too late, he accepted the mission.
"Where are they? And what kind of danger are they in?"
[I'm glad to hear that.]
[The three girls you must save are located 500 meters from your current position, to the north, in an abandoned cabin.]
Aldán instinctively looked north, thinking that location was too close to where he had appeared.
'Must be this system's doing…'
He thought, glancing sideways at the screen, before finally letting out a heavy sigh and standing up to start walking toward the cabin.
[Don't let your guard down, the place is guarded by heavily armed traffickers.]
At the warning, Aldán stopped, staring at the screen before looking forward again.
He was strong, yes, but not strong enough to take on an entire group at once, and he didn't even know how strong the people in that place were.
[Don't worry about that, your current level is 3x higher than in your previous life.]
As if sensing what Aldán was thinking at that moment, the system displayed a reassuring message, which he looked at coldly before continuing to walk.
"...."
[Current objective: Save the three kidnapped girls.]
[Reward: information about the world and your objective in it.]
[...]
[Thank you…]
"Yeah…" he said halfheartedly, continuing to walk, with no plan in mind, he would just go in and kill those bastards, that was it.
Something Aldán would never forget, no matter what world he was in, were his grandfather's teachings.
Always strike first, and if possible, kill the target no matter what, as long as they deserved it, and those bastards in the cabin were the only thing they deserved…