The man in the red cloak ran.
And I couldn't move.
Not because I was frozen, but because my brain was screaming, This isn't right. You can't just kill him. You're not a monster… are you?
I looked down at my sword. Its edge gleamed in the strange golden light of the forest, but right now it felt heavy, like it weighed more than my entire body. My hands shook as I gripped it.
[Secondary Quest: Kill the Villager in the Red Cloak.]
The words flashed in front of me like a warning.
Kill. The. Villager.
I could feel my stomach twist.
I swallowed hard. "I… I can't do that," I muttered. "There has to be another way."
The System didn't respond.
Not immediately.
Instead, a small arrow appeared, pointing toward the village. It pulsed gently, urging me forward.
I took a step. Then another. My feet felt like they were moving through water, heavy and reluctant. Every instinct in my body screamed to stop, to run the other way, to throw the sword into the grass and never look back.
But the arrow wouldn't let me.
I groaned. "Fine. Let's see what happens if I… just… talk to him?"
The village came into view.
It wasn't like the villages I'd seen in any game. The houses were small and crooked, made of stone and wood, with moss growing on the roofs. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys.
Children ran between the houses, but their faces were blank, like dolls that someone forgot to paint properly.
And there, in the middle of the main street, was the villager in the red cloak.
He stopped running when he saw me.
His eyes were wide. Fear. But not panic. More like… confusion, like he didn't understand why I was there.
I swallowed again. "I'm… I'm not going to hurt you," I said, my voice trembling.
[WARNING: Secondary Quest will fail if target is not killed.]
I blinked.
"Wait. WHAT?" I shouted at the text floating in my vision. "I'm not killing him! That's insane!"
Nothing happened. The System didn't give advice, didn't threaten again, didn't do anything.
It was… silent.
I edged closer to the villager, unsure of what would happen if I got too close. My sword stayed in my hand, not because I wanted to fight him, but because my body refused to feel safe without it.
"Who… who are you?" I asked.
The villager didn't answer at first. He tilted his head, as if studying me the way you study a strange animal.
"You're… not supposed to be here," he finally said. His voice was soft, almost whispery, but there was a weight behind it. Like he knew things I didn't.
"Me? I'm… I don't even know what's happening," I admitted. My throat felt dry, and I realized I was trembling. "I… I woke up in the forest. There's this… System… telling me to kill you. But I'm not going to. That's… insane."
The villager's eyes widened again. "You can see it?"
"Yes! See what?" I asked, confused.
"The System. Everyone else… they can't. But you… you're a User. Or maybe… something else."
I didn't understand what he meant. But before I could ask, a noise cut through the air.
A soft, wet squish.
I turned. My vision lit up with red warnings.
[ALERT: ENEMY IN PROXIMITY — LEVEL UNKNOWN]
A slime.
But this wasn't the same as the ones in the forest.
It was huge. Dark green, almost black, and its body shimmered like liquid glass. Its face… wasn't a face. It was a mirror. And in that mirror, I could see myself, terrified and trembling, reflected back.
"Oh… no," I whispered.
The villager's hand shot out. "Run!"
I didn't. I couldn't. Not yet.
The slime lunged.
I swung my sword, but it passed through the slime like water. My body slammed into the grass, and I skidded on the wet earth. The slime wobbled, almost playful, then bounced directly at the villager.
"No!" I screamed.
I rolled to my feet and tried to block it again. The sword glitched in my hands, vibrating with power I didn't understand. My fingers burned as if the weapon were alive.
Then I remembered the new skill.
Truthless Speech.
I opened my mouth. My voice trembled. "Stop!"
It wasn't an order. Not really. But the words carried… something. A pulse, a shimmer in the air. The slime froze mid-bounce, then slowly started moving backward.
I couldn't believe it.
"You… you did that?" the villager asked, wide-eyed.
"I… I think so," I stammered.
The slime, sensing resistance, gurgled angrily and vanished into the air, leaving a wet, green puddle on the street.
The villager finally stepped closer, cautiously. "You're… special. Most people can't even see the System, let alone affect it."
"Special? I feel like I'm losing my mind," I said, rubbing my temples. "And the System… it keeps giving me these quests. I don't even want to kill you, and it's threatening me."
He looked around nervously, then whispered, "You need to know… the System lies. It doesn't care about you. It doesn't care about anyone. The quests, the rewards… it's not a game. It's… something else."
I swallowed. "Something else?"
He nodded. "It's… controlling everything. It gives instructions. It makes people fight. It lies. Always. And it's watching you."
I felt my chest tighten. "Watching me?!"
He motioned to a small alley. "Come with me. You're in danger. The System… it doesn't like people who question it."
I hesitated. I had no idea if I could trust him. After all, the System told me to kill him. And now he wanted me to follow him into… something unknown.
But something inside me whispered… better the unknown than this forced murder quest.
I nodded. "Okay. Let's go."
We ran through the crooked streets of the village. Children stopped and stared, their blank faces unnerving. Every shadow seemed too still, every window too dark.
Finally, we reached a small wooden house behind the main square. It was hidden by tall stacks of firewood and vines.
The villager pushed open the door and gestured for me to enter. I stepped inside.
The room was tiny. A single candle flickered in the corner, casting long shadows. On the walls were papers with strange symbols, maps, and sketches of monsters — some I had seen, others… impossible.
"This is my safe place," the villager said. "The System can't reach here… fully."
I looked around. "How… how do you know so much about the System?"
He sighed. "I've been… awake longer than most. I figured out the truth. And now… I can help you. But only if you want to fight the System, instead of letting it fight you."
I felt a chill. My hands were still shaking from the slime fight, my mind still racing.
But a strange fire sparked inside me. Maybe… just maybe, I could survive this. Maybe I could outsmart the System.
I looked at him. "Okay. Teach me."
He nodded slowly. "Good. But first… you need to understand. Nothing the System says is true. Every quest, every reward, every skill… it's twisted. Some of it will help you, yes. But some of it will try to kill you, or worse… make you hurt people you care about. That's why your first quest… the one it gave you just now… it wasn't real. It shouldn't have existed. That's why I call it…"
He paused, voice dropping to a whisper.
"…The Quest That Shouldn't Exist."
I stared at him. My head was spinning. "So… the System wants me to kill someone, just to see if I obey?"
He nodded. "Yes. And it will keep testing you, again and again. But now… you've seen the first lie. You've passed your first real choice. And that… might just save your life."
I sank onto a wooden chair, my sword resting on my lap. The candle flickered.
I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. Not really. But for the first time, I felt like I wasn't completely alone.
The System could lie. It could manipulate. It could try to control me.
But maybe… maybe I could lie back.