[System Initialization Complete]
[Welcome, Host]
"What the hell is this?" I whispered. My voice was lost in the hum of the glowing blue screen.
[I am the Enraging System. My Creator chose you to carry his legacy.]
"Who is your creator? Why me?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
The screen flickered with static—distorted and cold.
[My creator is "###—###—###." Error. You do not have the qualification for that information.]
I swallowed hard. "Then what do you do? What is your function?"
[I will make you strong. So strong that you could wipe out more than half the human race with a single flick of your finger.]
"How? How can you make me that strong?" I asked, a mix of fear and desperate hope in my voice.
The blue light suddenly bled into a menacing, deep crimson. A mechanical, evil laugh echoed inside my skull, vibrating through my teeth.
[Host, First Quest Condition Fulfilled!] [BOOM!] [Teleportation Success!!]
The First Death
I opened my eyes and gasped.
The air was different here—heavy and smelling of damp earth and rot. "Where am I?"
[The place is known as the "Land of Cruels." Your mission: Survive for 15 Days.]
"Fifteen days?" I shouted at the empty air. "How am I supposed to survive in a place like this with a body this weak?"
Thud.
A heavy, icy weight appeared in my palms. A steel sword had teleported into my hands, the hilt rough against my skin.
[Good Luck, Host.]
Swish. The system screen vanished.
I began to walk. The sky was choked with dark, swirling clouds, and the ground was covered in dry, brittle grass that crunched like bone under my feet.
After what felt like hours, I saw a little girl huddled under a skeletal tree. Her leg was mangled and bleeding. Instinct overrode my fear.
"Are you okay?" I ran toward her.
She looked up, her face pale. "I am not okay," she whispered.
As I reached her, her face began to crack like parched earth. A monstrous shadow erupted from within her small frame. I couldn't even scream before it tore into me.
I watched, paralyzed by agony, as the thing began to eat my body. My blood soaked into the thirsty ground, and the world went black.
[Quest Failed] [Remaining Lives: 4]
The Blind Singer
"Flash!"
My eyes snapped open. I was back at the start, shivering. "I'm... I'm not dead?"
I started again.
This time, I walked past the spot where the girl had been, ignoring her cries. Eventually, I found a lonely wooden house deep in the woods. I approached with my sword drawn, my knuckles white.
Inside, a woman sat in a tattered chair, singing a melody so sweet it felt like a dream.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"My name is Leon," I replied. "I am a lost wanderer."
"Oh! No problem then," she said, turning toward me.
My breath hitched. Where her eyes should have been, there was only smooth, blank skin. She was blind. I kept my sword pointed at her throat, my pulse racing.
"You don't have to be afraid of me," she said gently.
"How can I believe you?"
She laughed—a mocking, hollow sound. "If you don't believe me, then kill me."
I hesitated. I was starving, and the smell of the food she offered was overwhelming. I lowered my blade. She placed a boiling vessel on the table, but as I leaned in, I saw it was only plain, bubbling water.
Before I could react, a sharp knife flashed in her hand.
Splash. My vision spun as my head fell into the scalding water.
[Quest Failed] [Remaining Lives: 3]
The Demonic Synchronization
"Flash!"
I woke up screaming. "Three lives left," I whispered, my voice cracking.
I didn't stop for the girl. I didn't stop for the house. I went deeper into the forest until I found two bandits.
I didn't wait for them to speak.
Clash! Kick! Slash! I was battered and bleeding, but I drove my steel through them both.
[Successfully Eliminated 2 Enemies] [Reward: 30 Stat Points] [Days Left: 12]
I collapsed from my wounds and woke up later in a small, quiet hut. A young woman was tending to me, but the peace didn't last.
The door exploded off its hinges.
Ten bandits—no, Belusals—monsters wearing human skin, stormed in. They threw me aside like trash and began to tear at the woman's clothes, mocking my helplessness.
"Stop!" she wailed.
[System Detected: Host Needs Help] [Acquire ability "Demonic Synchronization" for 20 Stat Points?]
"YES!" I roared.
While the system processed, I looked at the lead bandit and spat blood at his boots.
"Is that all you've got? You hit like a little girl," I mocked, a twisted grin on my face. "Come on, do it harder! Or are you Belusals just as pathetic as you look?"
The bandits grew furious. They began beating me brutally, raining blows down on my face to shut me up. I kept laughing, buying every second I could as I watched the red numbers climb on the screen.
[Synchronization: 20%... 52%...] [Synchronization: 80%... 91%...] One bandit lost his patience and raised a rusted blade over my neck.
"Let's enjoy the girl after we kill this arrogant brat," he sneered.
[Synchronization: 96%...]
The blade descended.
[Synchronization Completed] [BOOM!]....( To be continued )