I Don’t Want to Start a Story!

The gentle moos surrounding Max were comforting as he dozed in the summer sun. The extraordinary events from the night before had already been forgotten by people and bovine alike, poor Juniper. The heat would have been overwhelming if it weren’t for the gentle breeze blowing his dark, ruffled hair. Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, the sound of an explosion woke him. His eyes snapped open only to be temporarily blinded by the strong sun. For a moment, he was jealous of the brown eyes of the local farmers. They seemed to be better at tolerating the vicious sun's rays.

Ignoring the screams of cows running as far as they could from the sudden sound, he rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on the newest alert in his vision.

Story Name:

The Creature

Genre:

Horror

Description:

After encountering a meteorite, the MC slowly becomes a possessed creature.

Goal:

Be cured from the blight.

Difficulty:

★★★★★

How to Start:

Investigate the meteorite!

Five stars? It had been a while since he saw a five stars story. In Max’s previous lifetimes, he had learned the importance of the difficulty rating. One star meant it would be a gentle breeze for him to follow the requirements of the system and complete the story. Five stars was almost certain death. It would be one thing to start a story prompted by the system and figure out how to reach the end by his own power, it was another challenging fiasco when the subsidiary goals and requirements were presented over time. Failure to complete the story meant death. Failure to meet the subsidiary goals and requirements also meant death. Completing the story meant some free time in the current world before death.

Max laid back down into the grass and closed his eyes again. The safest place in the world for him was in the fields, away from the newest story prompt. As the cows settled, sleep finally came for him as well.

A chorus of moos caused Max to wake up from his shallow sleep plagued by the haunting dreams of his previous lives. He frowned slightly before sitting up to look at what could have possibly upset them. There wasn’t another meteorite, and it wasn’t time for the aliens; what could possibly make them cry like that? It took him a second to spot the neighbouring shepherd boy frantically making his way towards him. He was covered in grime and a neon blue fluid. “What the fuck happened to you?” Max called out before standing up.

With crazed eyes and hair, the shepherd boy pointed into the distance where the sound of the meteorite originated. “It… it came from the sky… a big, blue rock thingy. Fuck, I don’t know.” Max frowned slightly at the young boy swearing but decided against saying anything. The lack of an alert from the system confirmed his suspicions. The shepherd boy had started the story and was now doomed to die because of the five stars. He had unknowingly accepted a possible fate designed for Max; the unfortunate shepherd boy deserved to let loose a little before the end. “I went closer… to take a look… and… and…” The shepherd boy’s tears and snot were starting to choke him before he could finish his sentence.

Max was about to give a sympathetic reply when he noticed that the sun was beginning to set. How long had he been asleep for? “Yeah, yeah, space rocks. Go home, have a bath, and go to bed.”

“But… But I…”

Max didn’t pay any more attention to the shepherd boy and walked away without listening to his blubbering. Another sacrifice for the creation of a story, just like poor Juniper.