Liel leaped from where he stood earlier with Naomi, and they tumbled on the hard clearing ground.Another dark thing shot down. They didn't have the time to get up, so he did the only thing he could do.Liel rolled over until he was on top of Naomi, shielding her from whatever was hitting them from above. The impact was as he expected – like a dozen heavy bricks being dropped directly on his back.He wasn't strong enough to deter the effect. His arms buckled down by the powerful force, pressing him against Naomi's body. The pain followed right after."Liel!" Naomi screamed in panic as the dark thing hit the ground right beside their head.A second later, it dissipated into nothing and only left a crack on the ground as evidence of its existence.Liel groaned, feeling the throbbing pain on his unprotected back. 'What the heck, System?'[The System had nothing to do with it.]'You have everything to do with it, bastard!'"Well, well, well," a new voice came from their right. "What a lov
[Would you like a PvP?]The message flashed again on the floating purple screen. Naomi and Reinard didn't seem to see it for such apparent striking color. So, the System's existence was only privy to Liel alone.[The System will not tolerate information breaches.][Would you like a PvP?]Liel tried to smooth his expression, having no idea what a PvP was.[PvP is an abbreviation for Player versus Player.][Idiot.]Liel clenched his jaws, squeezing a little too tightly at Reinard's hand before letting him go."Okay, I don't know what just happened, but I have no intention to witness you guys fighting internally about who's the real alpha male." Naomi broke the silence. "How much drams I get for this canis picoon?"Reinard turned his attention to the motionless giant canine with some arrows sticking from its front. He chuckled, critical eyes studying the harmless grass-like feathers while his fingers rubbed on his butt chin. "Five hundred drams.""Five hun–"Naomi's eye bulged, "I spent d
Liel staggered to a stop at the bottom of the cliff. He dashed to Naomi's unconscious form and winced a little when he stepped on a sharp pebble. He really should get a pair of shoes."Naomi!" he kneeled beside her, gently shaking her shoulder. She didn't react.Liel brushed her wavy strands back, revealing her beautiful face now with some smears from her fall. Caressing her cheek, Liel was sucked into his own memory.Several weeks shouldn't feel this long, but having the most important person in his life suddenly being taken away wasn't easy. It was torturous.Most of the days, he was shrouded by anger. By searing rage that consumed every fiber of his being, and all that he wanted was to make her murderer have the same fate as her.Then, on rare days, he felt as if being trapped inside a bubble of cold water. It scared him. Suffocated him. He couldn't do anything except think of revenge.A desire to make Naomi's murderer feel the same way as him.Then, seeing her like this, Liel coul
A arrow shot past Liel, almost grazing on his cheek if he didn't duck in time.Naomi – his dead girlfriend that apparently wasn't dead in this new world – leaped backward to get some distance from the giant canine-like forest-themed creature. And by giant, Liel meant it was the size of a car.The beast, canis picoon, growled louder as Naomi's arrow hit right on its right eye.Liel jumped to the side, avoiding the massive, sharp claws. He quickly calculated and charged to the beast's side, slashing the Stone Fang Dagger against its grass-like feathered legs. He managed to draw blood from two of its eight legs.Another arrow shot the beast's left eye, rendering it to be blind and thrashing even more. Its growl turned into a howl. Loud and unmistakably painful-sounding. It raged, and Liel scurried back, away from the lashing four pairs of legs and swatting tail that almost trampled him.Compared to the wound from his forearm-length sharp stone dagger, Naomi's direct hit shots were affect
William Leinster, now officially renamed by the System as Liel Leinster, could only do so much about any of this insanity.William – Liel, really, finally sighed in defeat. Even with the same surname, he hoped Erik would not recognize him. It was essential to keep himself low on the radar before he decided to end Erik for all.'Might as well change my appearance for this to work out,' Liel thought to himself.[Due to the previous error, you have one chance to change your appearance at random.]Liel raised one of his eyebrows, "Really now?"[Randomise appearance now?]He sighed again, muttering, "Whatever."[Randomise appearance.]The glitch came back, only this time, it covered Liel's entire body. Thus, it was impossible for him to see anything with clear eyes.All he knew was that it felt slightly uncomfortable, as if his bones shortened, elongated, and then shortened again in an indecisive growth spurt.[Status Update.][Name: Liel LeinsterAge: 27Gender: Male - change to female fa
After swimming with all his might, William finally reached a rocky beach.The moment his feet stepped on the dirty brown wet sand, another ding resounded in his head, along with the purplish floating screen in front of him.[Congratulations!][Quest no. 1 completed!][Reward for quest no. 1 granted.][Please choose your reward.]Then, two white boxes appeared on the screen without any description. William clicked his tongue, staring in distaste at the so-called reward."I find a land not because of this senseless quest!" he spat, then looked up at the vast blue sky above him. "Are you laughing now?"No one answered except for the mechanical voice that once again reverberated inside his head.[Please choose your reward.]Still looking up, William cursed, "I don't know if you're really there, eh, God?! Do you like it when I go mad and make all of this up? Where am I?"[You are currently in Falrane Shore, south of the Tashlym region of Louven Kingdom.][Please choose your reward.]Willia
He wasn' free.He was falling.From the sky.Towards the ground.The wind blew right on his face. On his skin. On the entirety of his being.Pushing him.The gravity, it pulled him. Accepting.He couldn’t breathe.Wasn’t he already accepted the death’s call? The darkness, his old friend. Where were they?Why was he here?Falling.He was falling.The sky was blue, but hadn’t he closed his eyes before?The clouds were soft, but hadn’t his blood spilled all over the floor? Seeping to be one with the earth underneath.Indeed, he would be one with the earth soon.Soon.As he was falling and–[Please wait for a moment.]He heard the voice. Mechanical. Not quite low like a male, but not so high either to make it sound like a female.It was even. Clean. Neutral.[Deep scan incomplete.]He saw the light purple screen with letters. Easily readable size in a clear font. Simple[Please wait for a moment.]But there was nothing simple about it.The letters floated right in front of his eyes, falli
‘I shouldn’t have changed,’ William Leinster thought as thunderstorm raged outside, cracking and bashing its head against the city.Rain crashed against the brick wall of his beaten, empty house, falling harshly on his shattered windows. Distant thunder rumbled from the mountain. But its fury was dwindling down, spent along its journey to the sea.Soon, it will be a cloudy morn.Even so, sleep didn't come easy for William. It never had. He tossed, he rolled, and he stared at the flickering lights perched on the wall near the head of his bed. He should get it done, but why bother?Nothing mattered anymore after this.Hatred was a tangle of threads between his ribcage, sticky and molten hot that he refused to quench. It was a constant companion in his every inhalation and exhalation, a continued beating in his silent, rotten heart ever since Naomi’s de–William released a ragged breath. He wondered if anyone could sense it – the familiar hatred that ate him inside-out.He paced out of h