It was a forest like no other… Nah, just kidding, it’s just like any other forests out there. The rustling of leaves, the old smell of wood, birds chirping and insects singing… You know, I feel like these events are escalating rather too quickly. A while ago I felt extremely drowsy, and then poof – I woke up like I’ve just had an 8-hour rest.

I was in the middle of a forest, probably deep inside it. I was lying on fresh grass that felt very soothing. I really didn’t want to stand up, but considering you’re in the middle of fucking danger I had no other choice. I was surrounded by trees (50 meters away from my initial position).

“Now, what do I do next?”

After asking that question, three hours (I think) passed in a blink of an eye. Just like that, I made no progress while darkness did.

Looking at the sun‘s position, it’s already afternoon. I was quite surprised how I knew this kind of skill even though I don’t have any memories learning it.

You must be wondering why I haven’t moved ‘inside’ the forest. Considering danger and death lingers inside, I dare not enter. I would rather spend the rest of my time here like a coward than a brave idiot heading towards danger. YES I AM A COWARD AND I DARE NOT FACE DANGER. Happy?

Shouting wouldn’t do me any good. And besides, I need to conserve energy than waste it on irrelevant thinking. No water. No food. No warm clothing. No anything. This just sucks. Then, as if on purpose, my very hungry tummy grumbled as if begging for something to devour.

“No, don’t grumble, you useless shit, or else you’ll waste more energy.”

I played with my dried out tummy making belly faces with it. I wasn’t fat or thin, nor did Ii have any 6-packs.

Now that it came into mind, I wonder how I looked like before meeting that sexy woman or waking up in this unfortunate situation. I wonder if I grew up loved or unwanted. I wonder what happened after pissing in front of my ‘girlfriend’. I wonder this, I wonder that… A lot of stuff came into mind. I’m not bothered with how I lived my previous life or what I did before… I’m just a little bit curious… probably… I hope so…

“Alucard Maxwell…”

I said under my breath. I just remembered this was the name the sexy woman called me. I’m not entirely sure if that was my previous name or whatnot.

“I’m tired of waiting and doing nothing. At this rate, I’ll be wasting this life of mine. Mr. God won’t be pleased.”

Mr. God was a weird and funny name, but to actually call him weird, it’s too much for someone who willingly took pity on you. Yes, even if he took pity on me.

The game has begun. Well, I hoped it were the fun one… I really hoped in the bottom of my heart.

After stepping out of my ‘safe zone’, I headed north (I think) where there’s probably civilization. I lost my sense of direction since then, but I still continued heading north. That was when I regretted leaving that circle area where the trees grew fifty meters away from the center. That was when I wanted to go home or wished I remained dead. That was when misfortune struck me like a bitch.

Let me repeat myself: the game has begun. Yes, the game which there is the hunter and there is the hunted. The hunter was naturally the superior being. In my case, I am the inferior, thus, I am the hunted. Who’s hunting me? WELL, A FUCKING BEHEMOTH-SIZED REPTILIAN SLITHERING TOWARDS ME.

I could hear the slithers of its tongue and the crashing of trees behind me. I didn’t want to look, because of so many fucking reasons I do intend to know. If a snake comes after you, surely it’s a big one and it wants you for dinner. Speaking of dinner, it was already dusk and the moon was already rising up to its peak. The stars were replacing the red bright sky… I should shut up already, because now’s not the time to describe such things.

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…Two and a half hour passed and finally, the intense game finally came to an end. I couldn’t believe myself surviving such a horrific experience. I was out of breath that I could barely even speak with my lungs ready to burst open.

I was tired. My legs were extremely numb from the adrenaline I had just experienced. I either fought or fled - I chose the latter. Considering how weak and cowardly I am, fleeing was just a natural instinct to survive.

“I…… My good……ness……….. Such a rough……………day……..”

Lying underneath a tree, I said with heavy breathing in between. I covered my eyes with my arms and wanted to cry, but I endured and held it inside.

This wasn’t my ideal kind of lifestyle. But who am I to talk about myself? I don’t even know who I am. I don’t even know why I’m here. I don’t even know a single thing about me. I have a lot of questions (and yes, I’ve been complaining about this for a while), but who will answer it? Will mr. God answer my question, or perhaps sexy woman, or maybe a travelling merchant seeking fame, or a powerful magician searching for immortality, or a brave young knight aiming to become strong? I wonder who, I wonder when. I wonder… I wonder…

The night was young, but I’ve decided to sleep from extreme fatigue. Yes, I haven’t eaten food. Yes, I haven’t drunk water. Yes, I haven’t made a warm shelter. But there was no use with complaining, because I was powerless.

I woke up in a really weird way. Okay, cut to the chase… I woke up – living, breathing, with everything attached (including dear junior). No, I was just kidding. Well, I didn’t lie, but those are not weird. It’s true that’s a miracle, in a lot of ways, but… BUT WHY AM TIED AROUND A TREE? It was the same tree where I slept, but I couldn’t believe it would betray me.

“So you finally woke up. I didn’t expect someone would be able to sleep peacefully in our territory. A surprise, rather.”

Someone spoke behind, behind the tree I was tied at. The voice was high-pitched – a girl – and had a hint of ill-intent. I didn’t want to be at her bad side, so I tried my best to remain calm and act like a random, innocent passerby who got lost in his way.

“I heard some noises last night and it seems like some passerby disturbed a sleeping [Great Basilisk]. It’s really surprising how you were able to escape death at the last moment. Hey, tell me, what are you doing here? It’s either you’re a spy or an innocent passerby, though I doubt you are the former.”

“I’m just an innocent passerby.”

Cold sweat dropped down my face. I could feel the intense pressure from her cold glare behind me. Sometimes avoiding eye contact could save your life. And it did, ironically speaking. After hearing the word ‘basilisk’, a chill went down my spine.

“No, I’m not convinced. I need evidence. I want evidence. Show me proof that you are one. An innocent passerby is likely to die in this forest. So unless you are a part of us or a spy, you’ll die here no matter what you’d do. Unless, I am wrong?”

She’s right. I can be a spy of whatever side or just an innocent passerby. Even I do not know which is which. Nothing was explained to me. Nothing, except for… I don’t exactly remember the exact words, but it’s related with dying.

“I’ll give you time to remember. But here’s the catch, you need to identify yourself – right here, right now – which side you are with. If you say that you are on our side, I’ll kill you immediately with this knife…”

She held a knife and pointed at me. This bitch is serious. Dead. Fucking. Serious.

“There’s no such thing as ‘OUR’ side. There are only two sides. Choose which one you are. There is only one right answer and only one wrong answer. Death will result to a wrong answer.”

Her hands were smaller than mine. They were covered in leather gloves, but I could still see some skin. Her skin were paler than I imagined. I wondered why a girl with a cute voice like her would hold such a lethal weapon and point it at someone with the intent to kill. I really wanted to see her face before I could answer…

“As a reward for answering you then… show me how you look like.”

Only a giggle came out.

“Foe or ally?”

Suddenly, the entire world went black and I was finally free from being tied up. She was no longer there, only me inside an empty void. But the most surprising part of it was that there were two screens separated from each other.

The first one showed a forest with a caption of [The Resistance]. It described them as a faction which fought against the corrupt ways of the nobles and lead their fellow peasants to a revolution against royalty. Their hideout was found in [Forest Grande]. It ended there. Everything else were blurred.

The second one had a picture of a castle, titled [The Kingdom]. They were the faction which ‘maintained peace and order’ and protected the lower class from bandits and traitors. They had many things, but hid as much information. The royale capital was located at [Lennian Capital]. Like the Japanese porn, everything else were censored.

It was obvious that I had to choose one. I had to choose… But which? I brainstormed everything I could think of based on each descriptions and tried my best to enumerate the ‘pros and cons’ of each faction. Neither side was good or bad. It was too early to decide. This will take me more time than I expected.