Days came and went, and since Bellphegor arrived in this world, it kept spinning. People lived, fought, and died every single day.
And Bellphegor? He grew, played, and distracted himself with anything he could find and at the moment...
— Aha! I told him I could do it! — the boy with hair white as snow exclaimed, raising his bow to the sky.
The source of his triumph layed a few meters away: an adult deer, a single arrow lodged in its throat.
"And Grandpa says I’m a terrible hunter. This’ll show him!"
Now twelve years old, the boy hurried toward his prize, kneeling to retrieve his arrow and inspect the creature up close.
...
- "How am I going to get this back home?!" - He panicked, realizing he had never hunted anything larger than rabbits or squirrels before. He had no idea how to bring something this big back to the village.
Dropping to the ground, he buried his head in his hands, cursing himself for not considering such an obvious logistical problem earlier.
He should have brought Grandpa!
“I will... drag it?”
Tentatively, Bellphegor grabbed the deer by its hind legs and gave it a pull.
"Damn it, this thing’s heavy!" He grunted and swore, dragging it inch by inch with frustrated groans.
But he didn’t get far. He had chased the deer too far from the village and was now paying the price.
Leaning against a tree, he released the deer to rest, drinking from a small flask to quench his thirst and catch his breath.
— I should’ve brought biscuits... effort making me hungry — he muttered, annoyed at his lack of foresight.
Then he heard it—a low, guttural growl that sent every hair on his body standing on end.
His head snapped toward the sound as he instinctively reached for the bow on his back.
Too late.
A creature, the size of an adult man, covered in dark fur with the head of a dog, lunged at him.
Blood sprayed through the air as the snapping of strings echoed in his ears.
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Bellphegor stumbled back, slamming into the tree, clutching his bleeding arm, a deep cut exposed on his forearm.
His mind raced. - "Why was there a kobold here!?" -
But he had no time to think. The creature had been drawn by the deer’s blood and found a far juicier prey.
The kobold attacked again, leaping at the boy with its claws, but this time Bellphegor dove to the ground at the last moment, wincing as he scrambled to his feet.
Not fast enough.
A claw raked across his back, tearing a scream from his lips as fear consumed him.
"Not again! No! I don’t want to go back there!"
Desperate, the boy twisted his body and kicked the kobold in the gut, pushing it away before drawing a small hunting knife from his belt.
The creature didn’t stop, charging at him with a mix of snarls and growls.
Bellphegor staggered, barely dodging its claws, and slashed clumsily at its fur.
— Damn it! Goddamn it! — he yelled, realizing his strikes barely drew blood while his own body was drenched in it.
And so the dance began—Bellphegor, wholly defensive, as the kobold launched attack after attack, leaving him no chance to escape or counter.
His breathing was ragged, his body exhausted from the effort. But he wasn’t going to give up. He couldn’t.
He had to take a risk.
Dodging like an idiot was only tiring him out and doing nothing to the kobold.
So when the creature struck again, he didn’t dodge. He shifted just enough for it to miss anything vital, letting it hit him.
Blood gushed from his wounds, cuts and punctures marring his pale skin. But this was his moment.
Bellphegor threw his weight against the kobold, pinning it to the ground with his injured arm.
The creature snarled, thrashing to get up, claws tearing more flesh from the boy’s body. But Bellphegor held firm, driving his knife into the kobold’s chest.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And then again, and again, and again, until the creature lay long dead and the boy was completely spent.
...
A broken laugh escaped his lips, his body wracked with pain and torn apart by the kobold's claws.
He was going to die again.
He was going to go back to that hellish place again.
His laugh grew hysterical, echoing in the quiet forest as the boy lay bleeding, unable to move.
- "Twelve years... I only escaped for twelve years..." - he lamented in his mind, tears streaming from his eyes as laughter choked his throat.
Then, salvation.
[Notice: Requirements for System Activation Met. Initializing Introduction.]
[Notice: User’s body in critical condition. Using Helix Points to restore body to a healthy level.]
[Notice: Insufficient Helix Points. Restoring body to an acceptable level.]
-"What?"- His laughter stopped abruptly as the robotic voice echoed in his mind, making memories of a distant life flood back. -"Son of a bitch!"-
A system. A bloody damn system. Of course, it wouldn’t activate until he was at death’s door! Fuck this shit!
He laughed again, bitterly this time, rolling onto his back to stare at the sky as his most urgent wounds slowly healed while the system continued its notifications.
[Notice: User has completed the Mission: {Kill Your First Monster}.
Rewards Acquired: 10 Helix Tickets, 100 Helix Points.]
[Notice: The Danmachi Banner and Beginners Banner are now available. Use the command “Gacha” to access available banners.]
-"No freaking way."- His laughter stopped again. -"No way! No, no, no—a gacha!? Out of all things, a gacha!?"-
The boy groaned loudly, frustration, indignation, and resignation overwhelming him as his 700 hours of Genshin Impact finally came back to haunt him.