Animos Najin was dying.
His heart was exposed to open air, his lungs were filled with the blood of a monster. His limbs were bent and twisted. His skin was torn and shredded, yet still the monster who attacked him continued its torture.
Drowning him in a shallow puddle of acid.
He felt as if he was a piece of fresh sashimi being dipped in soy sauce. Every single part of his body burned and bled.
Najin glared with all the malevolence he could muster.
It was a monster made up of luscious black hair and a blank mask to serve as its face. It had no body other than the swirling strands of hair, roughly forming a grotesque attempt at the humanoid shape.
It was a monster born from a sentient [Story].
"D…amn… you…" Najin could barely even swear, kept alive only because the monster's tendrils were snaking through his nerves, prolonging his agony.
But this was good too.
At least, he was still alive.
'3…'
Najin's countdown was nearing its end.
'2…'
He held his breath.
'1…'
If his calculations were right—
—BOOM!
The monster would burn.
Brightly.
Instantaneously.
Until nothing of it would be left behind.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Submerged in a similar infernal flame, Najin laughed. His maniacal, blood-gurgling cackles pierced through the devastation.
Though his eardrums were ruptured, a voice still whispered to him. It spoke straight into his mind while he was inches away from death. The only thing keeping him alive were the monster's leftovers still coiling around his nerves.
[You have ended the Demon of Woes, Klinhon.]
[You have received a Storybook.]
[Open?]
[Y/N]
Despite his dying body, his melting skin, and roasting flesh, Najin still had enough sanity to make one final push.
"YES!"
The world as he knew it had ended. So, he would escape into a new one.
And thus, Najin's world turned black.
* * *
Najin didn't know if he truly survived or not, nor was he aware how much time had gone by since he opened a [Storybook].
Around him was complete and utter darkness. Nothingness.
The void.
Save for a rectangular hologram floating before his gaze.
'…So this is the what those guys were talking about,' thought Najin as a smirk crept along his lips.
Ever since the world faced some cataclysmic end where the sky was torn open and swirling portals gave birth to absurdly creative monstrosities, there were people who had chanced upon a certain item.
A [Storybook].
And, from its name, the survivors had tied it closely to the disappearance of the [Authors]. People who had written stories, complete or incomplete, and had published said stories for more than themselves to see.
Anyone who opened a [Storybook] and completed its corresponding [Story] would thus bring their powers back into reality. And only then would they be able to survive the ending world.
Recalling how much effort it had taken for Najin to kill a monster without any powers, just to earn a single [Storybook]…
"Ugh,"
He shivered.
"At least my theory is right."
Anyone who hadn't completed a [Story] and therefore achieving the impossible, would be worthy to challenge one. Thus, the situation he now faced.
[Storybook "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?" has been opened.]
[Due to having achieved a noteworthy feat, you have been awarded a small opportunity.]
[Do you accept?]
[Y/N]
Najin's thoughts turned still. This part, he wasn't expecting.
'A small opportunity?'
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
—Ding!
A bell chimed, primordial and all-encompassing, shaking the dark void around him.
[You may choose from the following [Beginnings].]
[1. Common (Low White) — Start as an Extra.]
[2. Basic (High White) — Start as a Side Character.]
[3. Rare (Low Blue) — Start as the Protagonist: Bell Cranel.]
[4. Pristine (High Blue) — Start as an Antagonist.]
[5. Exotic (Low Purple) — ???]
Looking at the colourful screen, Najin already knew what he was going to pick, even without reading the descriptions. When it came to colour rarities, he would always gravitate to the rarest ones available.
His choice was secured even further by the three question marks in its description.
"Give me option five."
—Ding!
[Choice acknowledged.]
The same robotic tone.
—Ding!
For some reason, Najin felt as if this bell was a little more ominous than before.
[The World Mod: "Challenger's Hell" has been activated.]
"Huh—"
—DING!
[The Storybook "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?" has been dipped in ink.]
—DING! —DING! —DING!
[The pages have been stained with uncertainty.]
—DING! —DING! —DING!
—DING! —DING! —DING!
—DING! —DING! —DING!
[The butterfly effect spreads through time.]
"H-hey!"
[The Challenger's Hell has issued three quests.]
[1. Slay the Black Dragon alone.]
[2. Die a Hero.]
[3. Die a Villain.]
[Complete all three quests to complete your Story.]
If Najin still had his body, he would've paled. But the voice wasn't done.
[The Challenger's Hell has issued its challenge.]
[Ye Untouchable and Unblemished One! Challenger on the verge of death!]
[Should you bleed even once, you will be erased from existence!]
[Survive with nay an injury, for you are perfection!]
Such was their demand.
The voices, malevolent unlike the previous robotic tone, scoffed. Filled with ridicule.
[You come to Us, a moment away from death? Thinking yourself untouchable?]
[Arrogant bastard.]
[Now, suffer!]
[Struggle painfully, for you will always be an inch away from annihilation.]
[Squirm for survival like the worm you are!]
[Beware of even the smallest of mosquitoes!]
[Fail to protect yourself from the smallest of creatures?]
[Then We will feast on your soul for an eternity before banishing it into the void!]
"…"
Najin was stunned beyond words. The maniacal laughter that mirrored his own was filled with mockery. Disgust.
Disdain.
Contempt and schadenfreude.
The voices had every flavour worthy of Their title as the Challenger's Hell. Sentient sadists who would only bring him misery.
Najin had realized his mistake.
His fatal, fatal mistake.
"Damn it all!"
If they demanded this of him then he would deliver! The world had already taken too much from him!
His home, his family.
His future!
Should they take his soul as well?
No.
Najin made a promise to himself as the screens dissipated with the guffaws of demons.
"Untouchable and Unblemished? Damn them. I'll become the untouchable bastard they want me to become."
—Swish!
Suddenly, there was a flash of light.
Then, only silence.
Najin lost control of his thoughts, his voice, and his soul.
Then, as if responding to his vow, there was one, final…
—Ding!
[Goodluck, Animos Najin.]