A few minutes ago—The soldier stared at Erison.Erison stared back.Two pairs of eyes met—one full of confusion, the other full of panic.Time seemed to freeze.Seconds felt like hours.Then—
"THERE'S SOMEONE HIDING HERE!" the soldier shouted, his voice tearing through the forest's silence like a war alarm.
"SHIT!" Erison shot up and ran, his heart pounding like a war drum, his feet almost tripping on roots.
The other soldiers instantly turned around, hands reaching for their weapons with trained movements.
"An ambush!?"
"An enemy!?"
"WHERE!?"
"THE WEST—SOMEONE'S RUNNING!"
Their commander—a man with a scar on his neck—barked loudly,
"Ten of you, with me! Chase that guy! The rest, continue helping Captain Varek!"
Erison didn't wait. He sprinted into the forest, legs moving as fast as his pathetic stamina allowed—which, sadly, wasn't very fast.
"CHASE HIM!" someone yelled behind him.
Heavy footsteps thundered after him—many of them. Too many. Their steps were steady, their breathing controlled, unlike Erison who was already gasping after ten seconds.
"No no no no NO!" Erison wheezed, his lungs burning like they were being stabbed by a thousand needles.
'Why does this always happen to me!?'
He felt completely frustrated. He just wanted to live in peace. He just wanted to find water, then look for a village calmly. Why did his life always turn into an action movie!?
He weaved between trees, ducking under low branches. His vision was blurring from panic and exhaustion. Sweat soaked his whole body, his breaths short and irregular.
Thud... thud... thud...
His heart was beating wrong—too fast, too hard.
'Shit... my heart...'
Then—
DING!
A blue screen flickered in front of him, glowing with bad news.
[WARNING: Hostile entities detected.]
[Killing intent detected from ten targets.][Gambling System activating automatically.]
Erison's eyes widened in terror.
"NO! NOT NOW!"
[Initiating Emergency Gambling Protocol.]
[Objective: Escape without injuries.]
[Difficulty: Very High.]
[Failure Penalty: Death.]
"What kind of objective is that!? I didn't even agree to anything!"
[Spinning to determine result.]
Three symbols appeared, spinning rapidly—too fast to see clearly.
Erison held his breath.
"I don't want to gamble! I don't want the side effects! PLEASE!"
But the system didn't care.It never cared.
The symbols spun—Then stopped.
[Heart] [Heart] [Heart]
[JACKPOT ACHIEVED]
[Reward: Temporary Stamina Boost +500%]
[Duration: 2 minutes]
[Penalty Applied: Cursed Social Presence — Duration extended to 48 hours.]
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Erison shouted while running.
"Instead of boosting stamina, wouldn't giving me mana be BETTER so I can fight them!?"
[Optimal buff for current situation: Mobility enhancement.]
[Direct combat is not recommended due to player's physical condition.]
"But I can GET mana from gambling, right!? Why don't you give me power to fight!?"
[Gambling results are random based on situation needs.]
[Player received the best buff for survival: Stamina.]
'What do you mean best buff? Wouldn't the best thing be beating them all up!?'
Erison wanted to argue more, but he could barely breathe. "Ugh! Fine! Whatever! As long as I can run!"
[System is pleased the player understands priorities.]
"Shut up!"
But while he was busy yelling at the system—
WHOOOOSH!!
Something like electricity surged through every muscle in his body.
His weak heart—usually pounding painfully and irregularly—suddenly beat strong and steady. Not fast from panic, but powerful, like a freshly repaired engine roaring to life.
His legs, once heavy, now felt light. Too light. Like feathers.
His lungs filled with air effortlessly. No burning. No drowning sensation.
"What—!?"
'The sensation was foreign.'
'Unnatural.'
'But… incredible.'
"For the first time since arriving in this world, his body felt… normal. No—better than normal. It felt amazing."
He glanced back while running.
The soldiers were still chasing—swords drawn, faces full of resolve—but now…they looked slower.
No—he was faster.
Much faster.
Without thinking, Erison pushed harder, moving with a fluid speed he'd never imagined. He cleared roots effortlessly, leaped fallen logs without stumbling, his movements unnaturally smooth for someone who should be collapsing from exhaustion.
"WAHAHAHA! YES!!" he shouted happily. "Okay, fine—I admit it! Stamina buff IS better than mana for running away!"
[System hopes the player learns from this experience.]
"Yeah yeah, thank you, oh merciful System-sama!" he yelled sarcastically as he hopped over another fallen tree.
Then—
He smelled something.
"...Huh?"
A horrible stench—not just sweat or body odor, but something like a rotting corpse left in the sun for a week, mixed with shit and fermented garbage.
"OH MY GOD—THAT'S ME!?" Erison shrieked in horror.
The soldiers behind him reacted even worse.
"UEEEEKKK—!!"
"What is that smell!?"
"It's coming from him!"
"Did he… shit himself while running or what!?"
"God—I'm gonna puke—!"
Two soldiers actually stopped and puked behind a tree.
Erison wanted to die from embarrassment.
'Oh shit I forgot about the damn penalty...'
[Standard penalty of Absolute Luck: Cursed Social Presence.]
[Effect: All living beings will find player disgusting.][Duration: 48 hours.]
"FORTY-EIGHT HOURS!? IT USED TO BE 24!!"
[Penalty duration depends on jackpot level.]
[The greater the reward, the worse the penalty.]
"YOU SCAM SYSTEM!"
But his legs didn't stop—he couldn't stop, because once this effect ended, he would go back to being a weakling who couldn't run ten meters without fainting.
"DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!" the commander roared, his face red—whether from anger or from holding his breath was unclear.
"But sir! The smell—"
"SILENCE! If I say chase, then chase!"
The remaining eight soldiers forced themselves to continue—some covering their noses, some breathing through their mouths, all looking like they were suffering.
Erison glanced back—their eyes were watery, faces pale green.
Well at least the smell works as a natural defensive weapon, he thought trying to be positive.
Erison kept running, trees flashing past him. But then—he noticed something strange.
'What's that?'
The soldiers' swords had something wrapped around the blades. A swirling purple haze, like living smoke.
'Wait… what is that?' he muttered, glancing back.
One soldier swung his sword—
WHOOOOSH!!
A wave of purple energy shot toward him, slicing a small tree beside him cleanly.
"HUUWAAAA!?" Erison screamed, jumping aside. "WHAT THE HELL!? THEY CAN SHOOT ENERGY FROM THEIR SWORDS!?"
[Information: That is Aura.]
[Aura is a manifestation of mana released by a person. It can enhance physical attacks or create ranged projectiles.]
"SO THEY CAN USE MANA!? AND I CAN'T!?"
[Player has physical limitation: Body cannot produce mana.]
"Stupid trash body!" Erison cursed at his reincarnated vessel.
He ran faster—now dodging purple slashes shooting at him.
WHOOOSH! WHOOOSH!
Trees fell, ground cracked—each attack missing him by inches.
'I'm gonna die! I'm seriously gonna die!'
But somehow—either because of luck or because they were too distracted by the smell—none of the attacks hit.
Every time they swung, Erison tripped on a root—making the slash miss.
Every time they aimed for his legs, he jumped to avoid a branch—dodging perfectly by accident.
'Absolute Luck really is insane, he thought while panicking, half impressed.'
[Correction: Not only luck. System also calculates optimal survival trajectory]
"Oh so you DO help me? I thought you only wanted to torture me!"
[System's job is to keep player alive. Torture is merely a side effect.]
"What do you MEAN side effect!?"
BOOOOOOM!!!
Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted ahead—so loud the ground shook beneath him.
He almost tripped from the shock.
"W-WHAT WAS THAT!?"
A pink light slashed through the sky—massive, tearing clouds apart—followed by a shockwave that sent leaves flying everywhere.
"Lightning!?"
KRAAAAKKK!!
Another strike hit—and this time Erison saw it clearly.
It wasn't natural lightning.
It was… aura.
Pink aura shaped like a giant dragon's fang, crashing down with destructive force.
"Th-that's… magic!?" Erison whispered, eyes wide.
He froze for a moment—terrified, awed, overwhelmed.
This was his first time seeing magic in real life. Not on a screen. Not in a novel. Real—right in front of him.
And it was terrifying.
WHOOOM!!
A black explosion followed—dark aura shaped like a giant skull collided with the pink lightning, tearing the ground apart.
Erison swallowed hard.
'Who was fighting up there?'
Then—He remembered.
That woman's scream… a few minutes ago…
He bit his lip for a moment, then—
"Well… hope she survives," he muttered while running farther from the explosions. "But if I go there, I'll die first."
[Correct analysis. Probability of player surviving in that area: 0.0000001%]
"See? Even the system agrees!" Erison grinned, proud. "I'm realistic, not a coward. Big difference!"
He shook his head as he ran.
"Those isekai protagonists are so dumb," he complained. "Barely reincarnated, no skills, no powers, then suddenly hears a girl scream and runs in like a hero. What are they gonna do? Protect her with their weak-ass body? Use the power of friendship?"
[Interesting observation. Most isekai protagonists indeed show unrealistic heroic tendencies.]
"See!? Erison said while hopping over a root. "They're stupid! Girls won't like a corpse, you know!"
[Player's logic is defensible.]
"And besides," he continued, "there must be strong people in this world, right? Knights, adventurers, whatever. Let THEM handle it! I'm just a day-one transmigrator who doesn't even know how mana works!"
[System appreciates player's survival instinct.]
"Survival instinct is the highest wisdom!" he declared proudly. "I'm smart, not cowardly. I know my limits. I know my capabilities. And I KNOW that if I go there, I WILL die."
He nodded to himself, feeling wise and mature.
"And anyway, who says every person who ends up in another world—reincarnated, transmigrated, summoned, whatever—has to be a hero? I just wanna live peacefully, make money, get married, have kids. Simple. No need to save the world."
WHOOOOSH!!
A purple projectile almost hit his head.
"AAAH! FOCUS, ERISON!" he yelled at himself.
"OVER THERE! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"
Erison flinched—he'd forgotten he was still being chased.
The soldiers were closing in again—their faces red, eyes full of rage, swords raised high, purple aura swirling on the blades.
"Shit! I thought too much!"
He ran again—but this time, his direction… couldn't be changed.
Unknowingly, his legs carried him toward the explosions.Toward the battle.
"Wait—why am I running there!?" he screamed.
[Information: Player is heading toward an active battle between two high-level entities.][Recommendation: Change direction immediately.]
"I KNOW! BUT THIS IS THE ONLY PATH!"
He looked around frantically. Every other direction was blocked—thick forest or a small ravine. The only escape route…
Was straight ahead.
Right toward the battle.
'Why… why is my life always like this!?'
"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" he yelled. "I'm smart, I'm realistic, I'm NOT a dumb MC—yet the world STILL forces me there!?"
[The world has no agenda. This is merely geographical coincidence.]
"COINCIDENCE MY ASS!"
Tears began streaming— not from sadness, but pure frustration.
'I… I just wanna live peacefully…' he sobbed while running. 'I just wanna find water… then find a village… then become a merchant or farmer… why do I have to get involved in a battle!?'
BOOOOM!!!
Another explosion—closer this time.
Trees fell, ground cracked, stones flew.
And Erison… kept getting closer.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE YOUNG! I HAVEN'T MARRIED ANYONE! HAVEN'T HAD KIDS!"
[Player is only 16 in this world. Too young to marry.]
"SHUT UP, SYSTEM! THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR FUN FACTS!"
He burst through the last bush—
And the sight before him made him stop breathing.
A huge clearing.Scorched earth.Trees fallen and burning.Smoke everywhere.
And in the middle—
Two figures facing each other.
A woman with black-pink hair, standing weakly. Tiny sparks danced around her body—she looked exhausted, barely able to stand.
Near her—A man with small horns, semi-transparent black wings, and an aura of darkness swirling like living flames. His red eyes glowed, his fangs bared, his sword wrapped in black energy.
Erison froze.
His mouth hung open with Eyes wide.
"Hah… haha…" a weak laugh slipped out— the laugh of someone who had given up completely.
"I… took the wrong path…"
[Correction: It was the only path.]
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, SYSTEM!"
At that moment—
Both figures turned toward him.
Lyra—her gray-pink eyes flickering red—raised an eyebrow in confusion at the scruffy teenager who'd popped out of the bushes.
Varek—his glowing red eyes full of killing intent—grinned widely at the new target.
Both stared at Erison.
And Erison…
Stared back, pale, sweating, with a stupid trembling smile.
"...Uh," he whispered, voice shaking.
'I wanna go home."
Then behind him—
"GET HIM!"
Ten black-uniformed soldiers burst through the bushes, swords drawn, faces furious.
Erison looked back.Then forward.Then back again.
"..."
His situation now:
In front—two god-tier monsters who could destroy a forest with a swing.Behind—ten soldiers desperate to kill him.
No escape.No hiding place.No diplomacy.
Just one option—
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"