Chapter 1 : Pity
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Volume I : Forsaken


  "What are you waiting for? What kind of coward is scared of a first tier demon beast?"

  Avery winced at Chao Wei's words, but stayed frozen without being able to bring the knife down on his helpless prey. The adorable little fox was looking up at him pitifully, puffing up its fluffy white fur in a fruitless attempt to appear threatening. A single tear was slowly falling from its big eyes, adding to its sad expression. It looked so soft, so innocent, he had trouble believing it would ever grow up to be a fearsome beast, much less that it had possibly already killed someone.

  It was the epitome of purity, its cuteness forbidding any acts of violence or cruelty, demanding you hug and comfort it instead.

  He knew the dangers of hesitating in front of a demon, no matter how inoffensive they appeared. He knew that this was his chance to gain his first experience points and start cultivating immortality. He definitely knew his future in the sect was as good as over if he could not accomplish such a simple task.

  In spite of that, his sensibility held back his hand. He had never harmed anything bigger than a fly, and was far from ready to ruthlessly end the life of this supposed monster.

  When he first inexplicably crossed into a magical world, he was exhilarated, thinking of all the fun adventures that filled the novels he loved. He even had a game-like system that could level him up through killing enemies or completing quests. This was a dream come true, breaking free from his mundane life and setting off on the path to excellence. The system would be his ladder, which he would climb straight to immortality.

  The months it took to become part of a demon hunting group as a mortal had already dampened his spirits somewhat, but it was only now that he realized how unsuitable his modern upbringing was to this lawless land. Forget about fighting for resources or hunting evil cultivators, he couldn't even bring himself to harm a dangerous beast.

  Stuck in place not knowing what to do, Avery watched with apprehension as the fox approached him cautiously. He had to control himself. He had to act, and ends its life. It was going to die anyways, it would never be allowed to escape this place alive. The only difference would be whether Avery would join it in the underworld, or if he would begin his journey towards immortality.

  The poor animal moved forward slowly, fixing the knife, causing Avery to lean back away from it, but he did not dare take a step back, his feet glued to the floor. The knife in his hand felt impossibly heavy, causing his arms dipped slightly, forcing him to raise them again. Time seemed to be extended, each second seeming like hours, his knife wobbling uselessly, until Avery finally moved.

  His arms were locked in place, and he was unable to move them, so it was his whole body that was slowly leaning forward. Rather than striking down the gorgeous creature, he was threatening to fall of top of it. It was only coincidence that his knife would fall with him, angled to takes the its life. It didn't make sense, but somehow that felt less cruel, like it would not really be his fault. That was right. It would be gravity's fault, and he would not be blamed for the brutal murder of such an adorable fox.

  “Useless trash, I'll do it myself!”

  Having exhausted all of his patience, Chao Wei finally erupted. He angrily shoved Avery aside and roughly grabbed the knife. Startled by the brusque movement, the fox abruptly changed direction and pounced at Chao Wei with all its strength, claws extended. Unprepared and still facing Avery, Chao Wei just had the time to turn around before the claws reached his eyes. He screamed and widely swung the knife, but his wounded eye made it impossible to properly aim and land a hit on the agile creature. Obviously content that the threat had been neutralised, the fox took the opportunity to flee, soon disappearing in the depths of the woods.

  Avery felt detached from the whole situation, as if he was an unrelated observer, and suddenly acutely appreciated how much he didn’t belong here. And in how much trouble he was in. He had probably just ruined his life, and that was if he survived Chao Wei’s anger. He was expecting to be immediately beaten up, but when Chao Wei forced himself to calm down and turned to him with a frigid expression, it was somehow worse.

  "Follow me" Chao Wei commanded, dragging Avery towards the formation that would teleport them back to the sect. "The sect can tolerate mediocre talent, but cowardice is unforgivable."

  Avery knew he was right, and that the consequences for his mistake would be too heavy for him to bear. But he couldn't get himself to face reality, only repeating to himself "this world is crazy '', and "I want to go home". The only thing he comprehended about this situation was that chances were he would be better off dead than back in the sect.

  As Chao Wei imputed Qi into the teleportation formation, scowling beneath his newly scarred face, Avery robotically took out the novice gift of the system: a fireball talisman. If he activated it during the teleportation, it would hopefully be enough to unbalance the formation, shattering space and making the teleportation destination random. Chances were high he would die or appear somewhere unsuited for human life, but he just didn't feel like caring.

  His rationality was screaming that he should quietly surrender himself, and endure a fair punishment. He could wait for the next opportunity to prove himself to the sect, and eventually his youthful mistake would be forgotten. However, he just couldn't bear to face natives pointing out how inadequate his way of life was to this world. In this brutal world that didn’t quite feel real, dying in an explosion didn’t seem so bad. He no longer wanted an eventful life. Adventures were too stressful, full violence and pain, always tethering at the edge of death. He wanted to go back home, to reading novels and hanging out with friends.

  Some might find constant fighting exciting, but Avery would much rather take his chances and try to find new life doing fulfilling work. He could be a farmer, a merchant or a court official, he didn’t care as long as he could lead a comfortable life where he was neither being hurt nor hurting anyone else. If he died before that, he would hope this was all a dream, and that he would wake up alright on earth, in the peaceful life he had taken for granted.

  Pushing Chao Wei out of the formation, hoping that would be enough for him to not be harmed or implicated in his escape, Avery activated the talisman while mouthing "Sorry." Sorry for being useless, sorry for causing your injury, and sorry for selfishly endangering you in my impulsive escape.

  Everything went black.

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