Chapter 10: (is it a deer or a deity?)
I stayed by the river, kneeling beside the cold water as I cupped it into my mouth.
The taste was metallic, refreshing, and bitter all at once.
Across the riverbank, the shadowy figures number multiplied— first three… then five… then ten. Their faces twisted with anger, glowing eyes narrowed, teeth clenched, all of them staring straight at me as if my decision alone insulted them.
"Just how many are in there?"
They held weapons—bows drawn tight, spears gripped so hard the wood creaked—
but none of them threw or fire anything.
Their arms trembled, their bodies leaned forward,
yet some invisible force pulled them back.
Like a (LAW) forbidding them from crossing or attacking near the river.
"So… I'm safe here as long as I don't go near the forest, right?"
A faint shimmer blinked beside me as the system responded.
[Yes, Owner. As long as you remain outside the forest's boundary, no entity is allowed to harm you.]
I let out a shaky breath and lowered myself onto a wide, flat rock.
My movements were slow and stiff—every step sent a sting up my spine.
I reached for one of the cloths wrapped around my arm, fingers trembling as I unrolled it.
The fabric stuck slightly from dried blood.
With a quiet grunt, I turned my body, feeling the deep wound on my bach hurts.
I pressed the cloth against it, wrapping it around my torso,
pulling it tight so it wouldn't slip.
The rough fabric rubbed against torn skin, sending a sharp jolt through me.
"It stings… it hurts…"
I tightened the knot, teeth clenched, breath shaking.
Across the river, the shadow figures still watched—silent, furious, unmoving—
held back by a rule older than them.
As I sat on a flat rock, I slowly lifted my head and stared at the sky. The night was supposed to be dark—but instead, blue and green stars flickered above me, like amused/curios eyes hidden behind those clouds. It was the event known in the novel as "Starry Starry Dark Sky / The Gods of This World Are Watching You."
"If the gods are staring at you, don't mistake it for destiny. It only means they're finally interested in your failure."
"This event only happened in the novel four times throughout its entire history," I muttered, eyes still fixed on those stars.
My brows furrowed.
"Why is it happening now then?"
I lifted my hand and started counting on my fingers, my movements slow and stiff from the pain.
"If I remember clearly… five great kingdoms in total, each one as big as a supercontinent, but divided into eight borders."
My head dipped slightly as I continued.
"Perennia Kingdom, where I am, has five great royal families."
I clenched my jaw, a dull ache shooting through my back.
"And right now… I'm the only one remaining in the Vixxon family. Vixxon's family has been recorded as one of the founders of the kingdom, and they were called one of the royal families of Perennia. They were experts at hunting, scouting, and eliminating people like barbarians or foreign conquerors."
I let out a shaky exhale.
"This is dangerous. If I stay here longer and don't attend the academy—where there are guards who stop the other families from taking advantage of me—they might create a 'fake accident,' by hiring top class assassination and announce it in the kingdom saying I was killed by monsters in the forest. And if that happens… even if only one family planned it, they'll just share a piece of land with the other families, close the case immediately, and take my land as the last rightful descendant of Vixxon."
"This is tough… if I go, I might encounter the main characters or even the villains in the story. If I try to escape Perennia, they might hunt me down. If I get caught by another kingdom, I'll be branded as a spy and executed on the spot. And even if I don't go, I'll die anyway."
My voice cracked, frustration spilling out:
"Fuck… I'm cooked."
The system's window flickered beside me, half-sarcastic, half-serious.
[Yeah, Owner… you're cooked.]
I let out a long breath.
"And I'm weak as hell… how can this be? I thought William Vixxon was strong. But no… this guy is nothing but a weak character with a masochist skill called Pain Tolerance, a weak mana core, and a fragile body. This guy was built like a spoiled royalty… and now I'm cooked."
My shoulders slumped as I rubbed my face with both hands.
"Even the west has limited information because the main characters never even visited this place once. They said this region is unknown… and the Vixxons only recorded half of it. The rest? Hidden. Buried."
The exhaustion finally hit me. A heavy, sinking weight dragged down my eyelids.
I leaned back slowly, resting my head against the cold surface of the rock. The stone was hard, rough, but somehow comforting after everything that happened.
My body relaxed little by little.
My breathing slowed.
The pain dulled and turn to throb.
Before I knew it… I fell asleep.
...
Sometime in the middle of the night, my head slid off the rock.
The sudden drop jolted me awake.
My eyes shot open.
I lay there still for a moment, listening—
the wind, the river, the distant rustling of the forest.
"So… I'm not dead…" I whispered.
My throat felt dry, scraping like sandpaper.
I pushed myself up, legs shaky, and crouched beside the river. Cold air brushed against my skin as I shaped my hands like a bowl and dipped them into the water.
But the moment I lifted my hands to drink…
I froze. "W-what... is that?"
Across the river, standing perfectly still under the moonlight— was a deer.
No… not a deer. A colossal creature. That tried to disguise herself like a deer.
Twenty feet tall. Its front and back legs were thick and muscular designed to support his body, Its eyes glowed an eerie white, staring straight into me. Eight massive horns twisted upward from its skull, each one glowing with faint divine light.
Fireflies swarmed around its entire body, hundreds of them, their tiny green lights wrapping the creature in light. The lights made it look like a walking constellation.
It didn't move. It didn't breathe. It just watched me across the river.
For a long, long moment… it felt like the entire river stopped flowing.
Then—
the system window burst open in front of me, color shifting into a deep red-violet.
[Warning!!!]
Evil Lake Deity Spotted
Name: ■AR■■
Danger Level: (ρ) Rho ★★★★★
My hands trembled.
The water slipped through my fingers.
Everything… suddenly felt colder.
"Rho... danger level? That means it's strength comparable to a local deity or one demon lord!"
I slowly took four steps back.
Just four.
But the moment my heel touched the ground on the fourth step, my vision blurred.
Then everything snapped.
In the next heartbeat, I wasn't standing anymore.
My entire body jerked forward as something lifted me off the ground.
I looked down.
My lower body…
was still on the ground.
My upper body—my chest, ribs, and shoulders—
were hanging in the air, skewered straight through the stomach and back
by one of the deer's massive horns.
Blood poured out like warm water. It dripped onto the soil bellow in thick red drops.
My mouth opened on its own.
I coughed, almost choking on the blood flooding my throat. A metallic taste blocked my throat.
Slowly… painfully… I lifted my head to look at the creature for one last time.
The deer's neck had stretched—
longer than any animal should.
Over 5 meters long, like a serpent. Its jaw split open into three parts. Inside were rows of human stained teeth.
The creature's three-part jaw trembled slightly,
as if amused, as if curious,
while its glowing white eyes stared directly into mine.
For a moment, all I heard was my heartbeat slowing down… then it start fading.
A familiar clock started to makes a sound. And red window appeared, hovering over my dying eyes.
[YOU DIED]
Cause of Death: Stabbed to Death.
My world dissolved.