I Don't Want to Die, So I Become An Outsider

Chapter One

A dead silence.

There should be screams and cries. There should be some movement. You think.

But there was only silence around.

It was pitch black, and the darkness enveloped you like a thick blanket, lingering.

For a moment, fear hits you, and you think you're blind. You waved your hands frantically in front of your face, seeing nothing, not even a shred of faint light in your eyes.

You try to get up, but you get tripped by something. You twist your body to the right and fall to the floor. When your left-hand touches the ground, you feel something warm and sticky. You quickly pulled your hand and rubbed it on your clothes, trying not to think about what the sticky thing might be. Your right-hand fumbles over a small object - it's your cell phone, which was held in your hand just now when the world turned upside down. You feel a sense of relief in your heart. You point your finger at the phone screen, which is surprisingly bright. The sudden light made you squint. When your eyes adjust to the intense light, the phone suddenly sounds a reminder for a message, and you quickly click to open the only message on the screen.

System: Welcome to the Lands Between, Tarnished.

You frown, disturbed by the strange message because, as a pro gamer, you know well what "Lands Between" and "Tarnished" stand for: it's precisely the synopsis of Elden Ring, which is a game that was released a while ago.

Did you travel into Elden Ring or another Souls game? Either option seems terrible.

You decide to ask the "system"; after all, it seems to know you well, maybe even more about yourself than you.

You: Who are you? Where am I?

You pressed send and waited. Your heart is beating strangely, and you want someone to tell you it's just a bad and stupid prank, and you want someone to tell you that it's not real. After a long, long pause, the dialog box finally appeared with the other party's message.

System: It's a bit of a cliché to say, I'm the System, and you're in the Lands Between. Does this solve your question?

You: System? Lands Between? Am I in the Elden Ring?

System: That's right. You are in the Elden Ring, but you shouldn't be in the Elden Ring.

: Of course, I shouldn't appear in the Ayrden Circle; I'm a real person. This isn't playing The Matrix...

System: All in all, Your Excellency is a bug. Due to the destruction of the ring and the gradual weakening of its power, the system cannot modify you temporarily, nor can it send you back to your world.

: So... are you telling me to collect large rune fragments?

System: Yes, when you have collected all the pieces, the ring's power will be able to send you back to your world. How is that sound？

: Can I just do nothing? It's okay for me to stay here.

The system doesn't respond, so you quickly poke your finger on the screen again and start writing a text message - system? Don't just left on read. It isn't nice.

You press the send key. This phone is an expensive gift your mother bought you to reward you for topping your final exams. Now the word "Sending" keeps scrolling on the phone screen. After scrolling the line three times, the phone screen displayed the words "Send Failed."

"Damn cornballs!" you murmured, trying absurdly to hold your phone above your head, even though you knew it wouldn't help. Your arms are held high in the air. You were still in this position when that happened. The world is over.