I stare at the weird screen floating in front of me and let out a dry laugh.
"Hah… so what? I'm gonna bleed out anyway. Die now or later, what's the difference?"
My other arm drops over my eyes. I try to ignore the system thing popping up in front of my face.
"Why the hell am I even here!?" I shout, the frustration finally boiling over.
Another window pops up, almost like it's mocking me.
[ Roll your Fortune ]
A spinning wheel appears under it, like some kind of game.
Underneath, it says:
[ Tickets: 0 *]
[ Defeat 1 Lizard for 1 Free Ticket *]
"Seriously? Just one ticket and I gotta kill one of those damn lizards?"
I scoff and look away. "Like hell I'm doing that."
I try to move my injured arm just a bit—and instantly regret it. A wave of pain hits me so hard I nearly pass out.
"Shit…" I grit my teeth and sit up, cradling my arm. My sleeve's soaked red, and blood just keeps dripping out.
Suddenly, I feel something warm running from my nose.
"...What the hell?"
I wipe it.
Blood.
My head's spinning, vision getting a bit blurry.
"Fuck. Don't tell me that lizard was poisonous..."
The system window suddenly turns red.
[ LAST OFFER: 1 Free Ticket for 1 Lizard ]
[ DECLINE ] [ ACCEPT ]
"Fuuuck…" I mutter, grabbing my face. My head spins like I just got off a rollercoaster from hell. I feel like throwing up.
My nose won't stop bleeding, and my arm's screaming with pain.
I squint at the window, barely able to see straight—but with my right hand, the one the lizard didn't bite, I manage to tap [ ACCEPT ].
[ Remaining Time: 01:00:00 ]
"Shit!" I shout, my voice cracking as I try to get up.
My whole body nearly gives out. It's like I'm dragging dead weight, but I force myself to move.
While struggling to stand, a glint catches my eye. Something reflects the light—just for a second.
I turn my head toward it. There, half-buried under leaves, is a shard of glass.
"Huh…?"
I stumble over and kneel to pick it up. It's a piece of mirror glass—long, sharp, not too dusty.
"…It doesn't look like it's been here for long."
I look around the forest again, my mind racing.
"That means… this place isn't completely uninhabited."
I grip the shard tighter.
"Maybe there's a village nearby…"
I glance at the system again.
[ Remaining Time: 00:56:34 ]
"Great," I mutter, voice dry as sandpaper.
Still gripping the longest shard of glass like it's Excalibur, I limp toward the place where the lizard had disappeared. My legs ache, my arm's a mess, and the blood crusts over my skin like war paint.
Soon, I stumble back into the spot where I first woke up—the river, the trees, the weird peace. And that's when I notice something I hadn't seen before.
A torn-up bag lying beside the bushes. Dirty, like it's been through hell... or maybe just dragged by some animal.
"Ahh... didn't see that before."
I approach cautiously and kneel beside it. Inside? A half-eaten piece of bread, swarmed with ants.
I brush the ants off and don't even hesitate—I just bite in. It's stale. It's dry. But it's food.
And weirdly... my head starts to feel clearer. The pain in my arm? Still there, but duller now.
"Huh... maybe the poison wore off?"
I stand up again, still chewing, glass shard in one hand, bread in the other. My steps are clumsy, but I move forward anyway, back toward danger. Climb over a rock. Peer down.
That's when I see them.
Eggs
Big, white, and smooth. Tucked in a shadowy nook of the rock.
"...Do lizards even lay eggs this big?"
I stare, and thought
If I kill one of them... does it count?
I carefully take one of the eggs and stare straight at it.
"I'll try," I mutter.
I grip it tight—and just like that, the egg cracks in my hand without a fight.
The shell crumbles, goo dripping through my fingers.
I stay still. Waiting.
[ 1 FREE TICKET OBTAINED ]
I blink, then grin.
"That was easier than I thought," I say, laughing under my breath. Relief washes over me.
Finally—some damn progress.
I turn to leave—
And freeze
My eyes lock onto a familiar figure near the rocks
It's the lizard—the same one that tore into my arm.
It's hunched over, biting into a smaller lizard.
Its one good eye is shut, the other bleeding and ruined, just like before.
But that bloodstained face… it's facing me
I feel like it saw the eggs I crack that I hold in my right arm....