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Chapter Text

Beyond the Woods is a generic novel that tells the story of the protagonist, Kovar, who was born with the special ability to control and manipulate dark magic which will slowly corrupt him and his morals. The novel follows Kovar and his party members, whom he gathers along the way, throughout their trials and tribulations.

It starts with the typical tragic backstory where he loses both his parents at the ripe age of 15. He is taken in by an older woman, he refers to her as his Mam-ma. To be able to keep Kovar she makes up a story to tell the village leader, Woojang. 

Another tragedy happens, at age 19, Kovar loses control of his unique powers which attracts a powerful demon and the demon ends up attacking and killing the village leader. This leads to the villagers blaming Kovar and his Mam-ma is forced to decide to exile him to the wasteland island, this is what starts Kovar’s corruption.

And Beyond the Woods was the only thing Ezio could remember after waking on the floor of an old shack. Before he can get his thoughts together, a glowing holographic screen appears in front of his eyes.

「 WELCOME TO Beyond the Woods USER 」

The words were being read out to him as they were appearing in the box like they were being typed in, and if this thing was telling the truth, he was in a novel that was supposedly written by him.

「 THIS SYSTEM IS NOT LYING TO THE USER 」

「 USER HAS BEEN TRANSMIGRATED INTO Beyond the Woods 」

“Transmigrated? Why was I the one put in this position?” Ezio asks. As he speaks he notices his voice does not sound as he expected it to, it is a bit too high-pitched.

「USER WAS PICKED DUE TO THE MANNER OF HIS DEATH」

「USER DIED WHILE INTERACTING WITH Beyond the Woods」

That is the stupidest thing Ezio has heard in his life, at least he thinks so. “Ok, let’s say I believe you, what reason would anyone need to be dragged into this book?”

「USER MUST CONTINUE THE STORYLINE BY COMPLETING TASKS」

「THIS SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE THE TASKS FOR USER」

「TASKS PROVIDE USER WITH POINTS」

“And if I refuse to do these tasks? What will happen?”

「USER WILL FACE SUITABLE PUNISHMENT AND HAVE POINTS DEDUCED」

“You mean to tell me that you will punish me for not doing something that you want me to when I never asked to be put into this damn position?” Ezio questions the System angrily.

“What will happen if I run out of points for you to subtract? Would I be freed from this game you're making me play?”

「WHEN THE USER’S POINTS REACH 0 THE USER WILL BE DELETED」

This disturbing message is delivered with a neutral voice as if Ezio was not being manipulated into servitude by this thing.

“Deleted?!” He exclaims, “What the hell does that mean?”

「DELETED: THE USER WILL BE ERASED FROM REALITY」

「THEN THIS WILL BE REPEATED WITH A NEWER USER」

The casual way the System is calling him, and others, easily replaceable sends a shiver down Ezio’s spine. His life was insignificant to the System and he was nothing but a pawn to be used to further its agenda.

The points system was a terrifying concept. The System implied that the number of points deducted can be varied for each infraction. But looking deeper at the words, it seems that points would be awarded for good behavior. This reminds Ezio of training a dog, punishing him for bad behavior, and rewarding him for good behavior.

Now that he is thinking about it…

“How many points do I have right now?”

「POINT BALANCE: 50」

Ezio doesn’t know for sure, but this amount seems extremely low. Which makes sense, with a lower balance he would be more willing to follow the System's demands word for word. 

Well, he might as well get this rolling.

“Alright All Mighty System, what is my first task?” Ezio asks sarcastically

「NO TASK HAS BEEN ASSIGNED AT THIS TIME」

“Well then, what am I supposed to do?”

「USER IS FREE TO DO AS HE WISHES」

Useless, the System is useless.

Ezio decides to finally look at his surroundings. He is sitting on a worn wooden floor, the walls have some holes in them allowing him to see outside. Through the holes, Ezio can make out what looks like snow covering the ground. This is when he notices the chill that penetrates his skin and he shivers violently.

“Fuck, it’s so cold”

「WOULD USER LIKE TO PURCHASE SKILL: TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE?」

The word ‘purchase’ immediately rings a couple of alarms in Ezio’s head

“How much would that cost me?”

「25 POINTS」

That is half of his damn points. Is he willing to spend that much so he doesn’t have to be cold any longer?

“Buy it.”

The answer was yes.

「PURCHASE CONFIRMED」

「POINTS LEFT: 25」

「SKILL WILL START IN…」

「3」

「2」

「1」

「SKILL: TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE ACTIVATED」

Instantly the shivering stopped and Ezio could think of things other than the feeling of ice invading the layers of his skin. 

He rises from the floor and heads to the door. Upon opening it, he is hit with a gust of wind smacking him in the face. The outside land is all snow and ice, the sky is gray and the general vibe is murky and depressing.

Looking back into the empty shack Ezio decides to head out into the snow. He hopes that he can find civilization or somewhere to get ahold of the necessities. While trekking through the snow, he tries to locate where he is. There is one large mass of land that is covered in snow, the Lands of Eternally Falling Ice, but there are multiple islands just off the shore. So he has no definite way of knowing his exact location.

After traveling for what felt like forever, Ezio came across a small pond. Upon seeing the water he realizes just how thirsty he is and kneels by the bank. It’s only when he reaches down to cup some of the water into his hands does he notices his reflection. Glowing orange eyes peer back at him from a face that feels incorrect. However, when Ezio tries to remember his old face he realizes that is one of the many things he forgot.

Looking back down into the water he sees the long, curly brown hair flowing past his shoulders. The hair length is also wrong-looking, but the color feels right. But looking at the rest of his appearance, Ezio notes that that is the only thing that he can stand to look at without getting an itch under his skin. 

He quickly puts his hands into the water, disturbing the reflection, and bringing his cupped hands up to his mouth. The water feels refreshing, but he cannot feel the temperature, which disturbs Ezio slightly. Being unable to feel the cool water and being unable to look at his reflection make him feel as if he is outside of the body, watching everything like an outside observer.

Behind him, a snapping sound is heard.

Ezio snaps his head around and sees what looks like an abnormally fuzzy chicken. It was as if someone had taken all the feathers and replaced them with the fur of a wolf. The animal looked to be up to his shoulders with tusks sticking out from its beak and a long furry dog tail that stuck out straight. The creature's beady green eyes were trained on Ezio.

He recognized the species, it was an Ice Cockatrice, they were a very aggressive species and they had a hunger for flesh at all times.

“System?” he whispered as quietly as he could, not wanting to startle the creature.

「HOW CAN THIS SYSTEM BE OF SERVICE?」

“What am I supposed to do? I cannot fight a damn Ice Cockatrice! I’ve never fought anything before!”

「WOULD USER LIKE TO ACTIVATE THE STARTER PACK?」

Ezio had no clue what the starter pack would do to let him survive this encounter, but anything was worth a try.

“If it won’t take all my points then activate it.”

「ACTIVATING STARTER PACK」

「3」

「2」

「1」

「STARTER PACK ACTIVATED」

Information suddenly flowed into Ezio’s head, techniques for hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting, basic survival skills, and basic medical skills were absorbed at a fast pace. The burst of information left him with a slight headache. He raises his hand to rub his head, but it bumps into something attached to his waist. He looks down and spots a sword that is sheathed and attached to the belt around his waist.

A loud screech made him jump. Looking up, he saw the Ice Cockatrice was charging at him. Apparently it decided that he was taking too long to act and decided to take matters into its own hands. Do Ice Cockatrice even have hands? Wait, not important.

A Glowing screen appears in the corner of his eye.

「NEW MISSION: FIRST KILL」

「OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT THE ICE COCKATRICE」

「TIME LIMIT: 5 MINUTES」

「REWARDS: 50 POINTS」

「PENALTY FOR FAILURE: DEATH」

Now he can't even run from this damn bird unless he would like to die, again. Also, 5 minutes feels like not enough time for his first-ever fight.  Ezio pulls the sword out of the sheath and gets into a stance he hopes is correct.

The bird is now a couple of feet away and has its mouth wide open displaying its sharp teeth. When it gets a little closer, it lunges at Ezio and snaps its beak shut. Luckily, Ezio was able to get his sword between him and the mouth, causing it to clamp down on his weapon.

「3:42」

Hoping to get this done and over with, he begins to use all his strength to push his sword further into the bird's mouth. The Ice Cockatrice backs off and tries to run to the side, probably hoping to get behind Ezio and attack his weak spot. Switching up his grip, he swings his sword out, swiping at the bird. The Cockatrice lets out a growl when the weapon leaves a wound along its side. 

「1:50」

The avian jumped back and opened its wings in what looked like a display to make itself look bigger. It lowers its head, making eye contact and making loud noises. Too bad Ezio did not have the brain of a small animal, he ran towards it. He swings his sword down onto the head of the monster, putting in all his arm strength. 

The weapon splits the skull open, crimson blood leaks out of the wound and around the sword. Letting go and stepping back rapidly, Ezio trips and falls back into the snow. 

He just killed something, and his pants had splashes of crimson, where the blood had landed after he split the Ice Cockatrice’s skull open. God, he doesn't think he will be able to forget the sound the bone made when it came in contact with the steel blade.

「MISSION COMPLETED」

「+ 50 POINTS」

「BONUS REWARDS AVAILABLE」

「WOULD USER LIKE TO OBTAIN THEM?」

Bonus Rewards? He couldn’t say he wasn’t somewhat curious, and it would help distract him from the carcass lying a couple feet in front of him.

“Show me” Ezio demands

「BONUS REWARDS INCLUDE:」

「+ 5 SWORD SKILL EXP」

「ACHIEVEMENT: FIRST KILL」

「ACHIEVEMENT: MONSTER SLAYER」

Wow. That did not help in any way.

“EXP? You never said anything about this before.”

「EXP - EXPERIENCE POINTS」

「THE MORE EXPERIENCE POINTS, THE MORE SKILLED THE USER BECOMES」

“Ok. Thanks, I guess.”

He really should clean himself and his sword up. Slowly getting to his feet, Ezio walks towards the Ice Cockatrice's corpse grabs the sword handle, and pulls. 

It doesn’t budge.

He tries again, putting all his weight into it, this proves to be a mistake when he falls and lands on the ground again. At least he got the sword out. He stands and turns quickly, trying to avoid the body on the ground.

He heads to the pond crouches on the bank and gets to work cleaning the sword. He methodically starts to wipe the blood off, trying to avoid thinking too hard about the thick, red blood sticking to his fingers. Once he finishes that task he uses his pants leg to wipe his sword dry, careful not to cut himself, and then sheaths his sword.

He then starts scrubbing his hands in the water and scrapping the blood off with his nails. He continues for a while until he is sure there is no red left on his hands and wipes them off on his clothing. Finally, he stands and starts to walk in the direction the Ice Cockatrice came from and finds an open path.

「NEW MISSION: HERO TIME」

A loud yell echoes from further up the trail.

Ezio:

1 2

Used PIXAI to create

Chapter Text

Ezio jumped, it had been quiet the whole time he was wandering, except for the Ice Cockatrice. He glanced to the side, towards the System’s screen.

「NEW MISSION: HERO TIME」

「WOULD THE USER LIKE TO SEE MISSION DETAILS?」

“Yeah, I guess.”

It didn’t feel like he had a choice.

「NEW MISSION: HERO TIME」

「OBJECTIVE (1/3): INVESTIGATE THE SCREAMS」

「TIME LIMIT: N/A」

「REWARDS: 15 POINTS」

「PENALTY FOR FAILURE: -250 POINTS」

250 Points?!?! That is ridiculous!

“How many points do I have again?”

「7 5 POINTS」

“I don’t have a damn choice, do I? If I fail I will be erased. This is fucking stupid!”

Ezio spun away from the glowing screens and kicked at the snow. He didn’t understand why he had to deal with this, he never asked for it. But now his existence depends on him acting like a puppet for a hologram with an annoying voice.

A screen appears in front of his face.

「MISSION: HERO TIME, IS NOT MANDATORY」

「USER SHOULD LOOK AT IT AGAIN」

「(*≧ω≦)」

The face is new. 

Ezio thinks he hates this thing even more.

“Don’t do that again.”

「USER IS SO MEAN TO THIS POOR SYSTEM」

「(｡>﹏<｡)」

Ew.

Ezio turns back toward the screen displaying the mission objectives and realizes what he has missed. Underneath the box was another smaller one, it displayed two options:

「ACCEPT?」

「YES」 「NO」

Oh, he had a choice this time? That is new. 

“If I choose not to accept, what would happen?” Ezio asks.

「USER WOULD NOT GAIN THE POINTS」

“That seems like too light of consequence. Are you hiding something?” The skepticism in his voice was prominent.

「...」

「USER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE STORYLINE」

「 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 」

This sets off alarm bells inside his head, “Continuing the storyline? Isn’t that my purpose for being subjected to this nightmarish hell!?” Ezio yells “Why’d you pretend it wasn’t a big deal!?”

「THIS SYSTEM IS ALWAYS ABLE TO PICK A NEW USER IF YOU FAIL YOUR TASK」

「(❁´◡`❁)」

Right, he was still just a pawn. He was here to do this ‘System’s’ bidding and entertain whatever was following the storyline he was here to continue. Ezio could not figure out why it was so important for the novel’s storyline to continue or why the ‘System’ was so interested in it.

「IS USER GOING TO ACCEPT HIS MISSION?」

“I don’t have a fuckin’ choice, do I?” Ezio asks, he is starting to get frustrated with his situation. This whole thing was a nightmare.

With an aggravated sigh, he looks back towards the smaller screen and clicks his answer.

「ACCEPT?」

「YES」 「NO」

Suddenly the screen bursts into particles revealing another screen behind it.

「ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧」

「THE MISSION HAS STARTED」

「GET TO IT USER, FAILURE IS INEXCUSABLE 」

「(✿^‿^)」

Ezio grits his teeth and hisses at the screen. His chest starts to puff up, about to start yelling at the sentient screen but he is stopped by another scream, it is quite high-pitched. Maybe he was saving a beautiful woman? But knowing his luck it will be a group of crying children abandoned in the woods.

With a sigh, Ezio takes off in the direction the noise is coming from.

After a few minutes he stumbles upon the source of the screaming, and what do you know, his luck is truly terrible. What he had thought sounded like a woman in distress was a group of old men standing near some carts. They seemed to be traveling with a group of guards, not that they were much of a help, seeing how they were lying on the ground, dead.

Ezio decides to willfully ignore the gruesome sight of mangled bodies and chunks of flesh spread across the well-worn path. The white of the snow did nothing to stop the blood from looking like paint flung on a clean canvas by a toddler. 

He decides to focus on the more important issue at hand. Which would be the 8-foot-tall wolf-bear thing. He vaguely remembers writing this monster, only once though.

He believes he named it a Dreadclaw, seeing how the density of its demonic aura caused an immediate feeling of dread to those within its range. The monster itself looked like someone took the offspring of a wolf and a polar bear and pumped it full of steroids. The glowing yellow eyes and multiple sets of horns did not at all help to tame its terrifying appearance.

「MISSION: HERO TIME」

「OBJECTIVE (1/3): INVESTIGATE THE SCREAMS」

「COMPLETE (≧◡≦)」

「REWARDS: 15 POINTS」

「NEW TOTAL: 90 POINTS」

「MISSION: HERO TIME」

「OBJECTIVE (2/3): SAVE THE MERCHANTS FROM THE DREADCLAW」

「REWARDS: 50 POINTS」

「PENALTY FOR FAILURE: -250 POINTS」

The sudden barrage of information made Ezio freeze for a moment before he was overtaken by a mix of annoyance and rage.

Save these old men from a fucking DREADCLAW!?! It was like the system was trying to get him killed with these missions. Dreadclaws were written to be super strong and a pain in the ass to fight. They were not monsters that were meant to be defeated by a newbie like him!

But somehow, some way, Ezio had to fight this thing and not be immediately killed. Trying as hard as he could to remember if he had added some kind of weakness to this ferocious beast Ezio did manage to recall a small detail he had written in one of his drafts.

Dreadclaws were similar to magpies regarding their small fear of shiny things.

Quickly scanning the wagons that were on the path, Ezio spots a jewel-encrusted mirror on the wagon closest to him. The problem was that he was still not sure how to kill the beast, their skin was too thick to be cut by a simple blade. While he was trying to think of that another scream came from the tallest man. The Dreadclaw was advancing towards the 3 men, he had to act fast.

Ezio quickly sprints towards the wagon and grabs the mirror, suddenly he hears a loud voice.

“HEY! YOU! HELP US!” 

Looking over he sees that the short stubby man was looking over at him. Unfortunately, this also caused the large monster to take notice of him. Shooting a quick glare at the man dressed in ugly yellow and brown clothing, Ezio angles the mirror so the sun is hitting the glass and the jewels embedded in the frame.

The sudden appearance of a shiny object causes the massive beast to cease its growling, it perks and then takes off sprinting into the surrounding forest. Ezio gets ready to chase after it when the monotone voice of the system goes off next to his ear.

「MISSION: HERO TIME」

「OBJECTIVE (2/3): SAVE THE MERCHANTS FROM THE DREADCLAW」

「COMPLETE (≧◡≦)」

「REWARDS: 50 POINTS」

「NEW TOTAL: 140 POINTS」

「BONUS REWARDS AVAILABLE」

「WOULD THE USER LIKE TO OBTAIN THEM?」

Still slightly off-put by the sudden announcement Ezio responds without thinking, “Yes.”

「BONUS REWARDS INCLUDE:」

「+ 5 WISDOM EXP」

「ACHIEVEMENT: WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER」

Gathering his bearing together he questions, “Wait. How did I complete the mission? The Dreadclaw is still alive.”

「USER WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO SAVE THE MERCHANTS」

「NOT KILL THE DREADCLAW」

「(✿^‿^)」

“Oh.”