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. Especially since the soon to be victim was an adorable little fox which was looking up at him pitifully, with fluffy white fur and a sad expression that demanded you hug and comfort it.

He knew the dangers of hesitating in front of a demon, he knew that this was his chance to gain his first experience points and start cultivating immortality, and he knew his future in the sect would be ruined if he could not accomplish such a simple task.

In spite of that, his sensibility held back his hand. When he first inexplicably crossed into a magical world, he was exhilarated, thinking of all the adventures depicted in the novels he loved. When he discovered he had a game-like system that could level him up through killing enemies or completing quests, he was ecstatic, believing himself to have found a straight path 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 realised 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. It moved slowly, fixing the knife, causing Avery to lean back away from it, but he didn’t dare take a step back, as if his feet were glued to the floor. The knife in his had felt impossibly heavy, and his arm was dipped slightly, breaking his attacking pose.

“Useless trash, I'll do it myself”

Chao Wei 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, endure a fair punishment and wait for the next opportunity to prove himself to the sect, but 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 when compared to living a stressful life full violence and pain, always tethering at the edge of death.

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.