Do you know what a person does when they are afraid…
Well, reactions differ from one person to another, but the vast majority of people waver between two options…
The first is collapse and paralysis, which happens to most people, and the second is resistance—those whose strength temporarily increases under the influence of adrenaline.
You might ask why I am telling you this. Well, I am in a situation where I feel intense fear, and you could say that I am from the first type of people…
"Let's talk, you little thief."
The moment the man said these words, my body froze, and I became like a statue from the sheer terror of the person standing before me…
How could I not, when I could clearly feel the difference in rank between us—and let me say, it was a huge gap. This man looked like he was Rank C, perhaps even stronger than that…
What I noticed about this man was that he seemed to be an assassin…
Not to mention, he was not wearing a mask…
Which meant one of two things: either he believed he was far stronger than me, to the point that he thought I posed no threat to him at all, or he simply did not fear his identity being exposed. If you asked me, I would choose the first option…
"Did you take that book?"
His eyes gleamed with a crimson red that strangely matched the color of his hair…
"It seems the cat has eaten your tongue. If so, I'll make you talk… by force."
He vanished from where he stood, and then…
Something happened so fast my eyes could not follow it, and the next thing I knew, I was flying and crashing into the wall behind me…
"Ugh…"
I coughed up blood, and I could feel my internal organs on the verge of bursting from the pain…
This was too much pain for one day.
"Damn, this really hurts."
Do you know that feeling when you realize there is nothing you can do to escape the situation you are in—the feeling that comes when you know you are bound to fail? I am currently in a situation that mirrors that exact feeling…
"I won't repeat myself. Did you take that art?"
Anger was clearly visible on his face—anger wrapped in a sadistic smile…
"No… ah!"
I could not finish my sentence before I felt a stab in my left shoulder; it seemed that this bastard truly enjoyed my suffering…
"Did you take that art? Answer me."
He continued speaking, that smile still plastered on his ugly face…
"Damn you… ugh!"
This time, the stab landed in my right shoulder, and this time, he did not pull the dagger out…
Instead, that bastard embedded the dagger into my shoulder and began pressing down on it with immense force…
This was truly painful. I could not think of a way out of this situation, and it seemed that I would have to accept my death in the very first dangerous situation I encountered in this world…
"Death… huh."
The moment the thought of dying this way crossed my mind, I felt something break inside me—the idea of dying at the hands of an unknown, insignificant person like this…
Why did I say insignificant? Because I began to recognize him, and I could say that he was the person who took this art in the novel…
You might ask what this has to do with his weakness. This is the strongest spear art in the world, and even after two years, this man could only master 17% of it! That percentage speaks for itself…
Something inside me shattered, and old memories began to resurface…
(Is this bastard really worth exhausting yourself over?)
Anger began to surge within me, and I felt my heart pounding incredibly fast; energy was rushing through my body at an overwhelming speed…
(All you have to do is kill him in a single strike.)
The man sensed something was wrong as he looked at me and did the stupidest thing one could do in this situation…
(If you don't know how, just say the word~)
He stepped back. And do you know the biggest mistake you can make when fighting a spear user? Yes—giving him enough space…
My spear had been in my hand all this time; it had never left my grip…
I charged forward, driven by adrenaline, screaming at the top of my lungs…
"(Spear King Art, First Movement: Thunderstrike!)"
A yellow light surrounded my spear, and then…
"Critical Strike."
I closed in on the man, and it seemed as though the spear vanished from my hand due to the sheer speed of the attack. The strike was a combination of the Spear King Art and a critical hit…
"Damn you—"
The man could not say another word before realizing that the spear had pierced his heart and emerged from the other side…
"Impossible!!"
Immediately, life left his eyes as he collapsed to the ground…
I leaned on my spear, breathing heavily, my thoughts racing…
"I killed someone."
It was not an animal or a monster…
"He was a real person."
I felt my stomach tighten, my eyes never leaving his body…
The corpse before me, and the smell of iron mixed with blood…
"I had no other choice."
I tried to convince myself—no, I knew this would happen…
But my body and mind could not bear it…
A familiar sensation began rising in my stomach…
And the moment I looked at my hands—the wet blood dripping from them—I involuntarily felt the urge to vomit…
My mountain of thoughts was interrupted only by the man's voice…
"I won't die alone. I'll take you with me."
His body began to swell slowly, heralding an impending catastrophe…
"Damn it."
It was a vile mechanism used by the Assassin Organization to ensure the target's death…
"Curse you."
With all my strength, I tried to run and escape—stumbling, crawling; the important thing was that I was trying to get away…
"Damn it."
BOOOOM
That was the last thing my eyes saw and my ears heard before I was sent flying, utterly powerless…
...…
Elsewhere in the world,
A somewhat handsome young man with short blond hair stood, staring at the forest before him, searching for something—specifically, a tree…
"This is the resting place of the Bow Master, according to the setting I wrote in the novel."
He glanced left and right, an irritated expression on his face…
"Damn this system. Can't it at least show me the location of that tree?"
He began moving cautiously, as he was in a strangely shaped forest, most notable for its massive trees—trees that made four-story buildings look small in comparison…
[Lucas Silver]
That was the name of the blond-haired, red-eyed young man…
He was a special individual in this world.
How could he not be, when he was the author of the very novel we are talking about?
About a week had passed since his reincarnation into his own novel…
"The art should be beneath a tree located in the center of the Forest of Sorrows, specifically among the three great ones—the tallest of them."
He reviewed his information while searching for nearly two hours, yet he still had not found anything tangible…
"If I had known this, I would have added a setting in the novel to pinpoint the location of that damn tree."
Anger was clearly etched on his handsome face…
That anger finally subsided when he heard a rustling sound among the trees, replaced instead by danger…
"Who's there?"
Instinctively, Lucas raised his guard to the highest level and pulled a bow from his inventory, preparing for the worst…
"Damn it. It seems there are creatures living here. This wasn't a setting I wrote."
A green liquid fell onto his shoulder, snapping him out of his confusion…
He immediately lifted his head, tracing the liquid's path upward…
And he saw two green eyes with vertical pupils, gleaming ominously in the darkness of the forest…
"Damn it—it's an evolved anaconda."
With a single glance, he identified the monster and realized it was Rank C. He immediately began running at full speed…
But the snake was faster…
"Damn it… damn it."
He cursed nonstop as he ran with all the speed he could muster at that moment…
Yet, from his blind spot, the snake managed to close in…
He did not notice until he felt something sharp pierce his left shoulder…
"Ah!"
A muffled groan escaped Lucas's mouth, and his vision began to blur…
"It seems the snake is venomous."
His face shifted between anger and fear, and his speed began to slow…
It was clear to him that the snake was toying with him, playing before delivering the final blow…
"It seems I'm destined to fail, even in this life."
He began to laugh hysterically, still running, while the snake continued its pursuit…
Gathering what little energy he had left, he leapt onto a tree and began moving between branches, searching for a tall tree where he could pause and take a potion to heal himself…
But he did not have the luxury of using a potion…
So after creating a reasonable distance between himself and the snake, he gathered his courage and aimed his bow at it. Notably, the bow was enchanted with flame magic—a known weakness of the snake…
He adjusted the bow through his system.
It was a simple test of his abilities—one he never thought would help him like this…
"Not yet."
Lucas muttered under his breath as he waited for the snake to approach…
The snake slithered left and right, striking fear into his heart…
He tightened his grip on the bow, drawing the arrow with all the strength he had…
As soon as the snake drew close…
Lucas shouted loudly and released the arrow. Its speed was terrifying, and it seemed to enter through the snake's mouth…
It hit directly, with astonishing accuracy…
Then he heard a loud explosion, and it appeared that the snake had been severely injured…
Lucas gasped for breath as he pulled out a mid-grade healing potion from his inventory…
The moment he brought it close to his mouth, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head as he was sent flying at tremendous speed…
It seemed the snake had used its remaining strength to strike Lucas one last time…
"Damn you."
In a low voice, he cursed it for the last time, and it seemed he still had not swallowed the potion…
His body crashed into a giant tree—and ironically, it was the very tree he was searching for…
The moment he touched the tree, his body vanished, turning into tiny particles, though he was not aware of his current location…
Lucas woke up in a completely dark place and thought of only one thing…
"Where the hell am I?"
He shouted loudly as he looked around, until he heard a voice say:
"A new warrior trying to take my art."