There’s moments in life where people wonder how they got where they are. Standing in the middle of a snowy forest wearing what were essentially rags, with a tiny little box hovering in his vision, Ryu was currently one of those people.

[Actions that are directly incompatible with self-preservation are banned. This event has been logged and submitted for review.]

“Are you fucking serious?”

Ryu knew that allowing people to stab themselves to death wasn’t exactly an advertisers dream, but it did leave him out of options.

“So I gotta find something to kill me.”

It was easier said than done. So far Ryu hadn’t spotted anything remotely capable of murdering him.. It would’ve been nice if the bot had at least chosen something a little warmer, but he supposed the cold wasn’t a significant factor for the bot, what with it not being able to feel it.

Without any preference towards a particular direction, Ryu walked straight ahead.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and fall into a sinkhole…”

Growing bored, Ryu unsheathed the short sword from his hip, and the cold metal immediately made his skin go numb. There was nothing notable about the blade, it was a plain mass produced weapon that lacked any intricacies.

“So this is what my fortunes bought me?” Ryu sighed. “I’d throw this away, but then I’d literally have nothing but the clothes on my-”

“Huh?” Ryu stared at the box that’d appeared out of nowhere.

It was unlike the ones he was used to, as it presented itself as a black box with white text.

“Is that a terminal?”

Ryu’s eyebrows scrunched together.

His head shifted back, not that it did anything. The terminal was rooted into his vision, however much sense that made.

Ryu looked left and right incase he was missing something. Perhaps it was a special event?

Pattering in the snow made Ryu look to his right.

Before he even noticed the Wolf stalking towards him, his eyes had darted to the black box.

“Wait... that’s my program!”

At the very moment Ryu came to that conclusion, the Wolf charged and leaped into the air. Ryu’s eyes went wide as his body froze, taken by surprise.

In the fraction of a second where the wolf was in the air, the world stopped. The wolf's mouth hung open, canines eager to tear into flesh, and its eyes stared straight ahead, blank. The only thing that seemed to move was the terminal in Ryu’s vision.

Ryu became nothing more than a spectator. His right leg pulled back, allowed him to pivot to the side, and his arm unsheathed his sword. The wolf passed in front of him, close enough that he could see the sword in his right hand slicing through its flesh. The cut was clean, unnervingly so, as it lacked any resistance, like he was cutting through air.

When the wolf landed it layed motionless, the snow around it turning red, until it all vanished, replaced by a small floating box to the side of Ryu’s vision.

[Large Canine * 1]

“Loot.”

The words left Ryu’s mouth without a thought.

[+1.8% EXP]

“Right… this is all a game.”

The sword was still in Ryu’s hand, with no signs of any blood. People didn’t like cleaning.

Still absent minded, Ryu sheathed his sword and opened the menu to logout.

[Are you sure you want to logout?]

[Yes/No]