I Don’t Want to Start a Story!

Compared to the welcoming tingle of the village shop bell, the metallic clang of the smithy put Max slightly on edge. It had taken him thirty minutes to escape to the last place farmer Will had told him to go. Soon, he could return to the farm. Before he began waking up in the various worlds, Max had always imagined a smithy to be organised with a couple of weapons and pieces of armour on display, and a blacksmith waiting patiently behind a counter. Fantasy was often different to reality. Around the stone building, metal objects littered the floor in piles that reached up to the ceiling. This pile had pots, this one had crude jewellery, and that one had the rejected blades provided to the alien hunting knights. Max was careful as he navigated down an intricate path to the back of the shop, where the blacksmith was hard at work making items for no one in particular.

Max had to shout a few times before the blacksmith put down his hammer and shoved the hellish-red piece of metal into a relaxing water bath. “Max?” Noah asked as he wiped the well-earned sweat from his brow.

Story Name:

Forbidden

Genre:

Romance

Description:

A forbidden romance in a mediaeval world has blossomed between two men. Can they endure the struggles that the LGBTQ+ community face?

Goal:

Get married to Noah

Difficulty:

★★☆☆☆

How to Start:

Ask Noah out on a date!

Max scowled slightly from the prompt. It was so similar to the romance plot with Adelaide, but there was an extra star in the difficulty section. With her, the romance plot would’ve been a breeze. But with him, they would have to be careful to survive. This prompt was a heavy reminder of the social order of this world. At least, he wasn’t going to get mixed up in it as long as he avoided the way to start this story.

“Is Bessie expecting an order?” He asked with a confused look on his face. His confusion was justified. Since Bessie was usually tight with the farm’s funds, she would often go into the smithy herself to haggle down the price until the work was almost profitless for him. His personality had a nice softness that made Max feel comfortable around him, contrasting strongly with the body that had seen years at hard work. Compared to the others of the village, when he wasn’t toiling away at the back of the shop, Noah was also probably one of the cleanest people since he always washed up after his day of work. If only the others could learn from him. The only thing that was neglected was his messy blond hair, which was often too long and uneven. Max half suspected that he cut it himself while using the polished, metallic bits and bobs around the shop to see his reflection.

“The Northern fence has practically rusted away. We’ve got a bit of spare cash from the aliens abducting so many cows that Bessie’s decided to upgrade and expand the farm.”

“And pushing the fence back will increase the size of the fields.” Noah picked up a towel hidden among the metal piles and began wiping up the thick layer of sweat on his face. Max gave a nod as he peered at the oddly shaped metal in the water. It took him a moment to identify it as a dragon sculpture. Strange. It was strange. He hadn’t seen any Asian iconography since coming to this world, yet here was a Chinese dragon sitting in a bath. There was no prompt for a story to offer an explanation for its existence nor any hints at a potential second story involving Noah. Just when he was about to ask him about it, the relieving breeze from the front door caused him to turn and for his stomach to drop.

“YOU!” The newest amnesiac stood by the door with a polished finger pointed towards them.

Max turned to Noah. “Are you expecting him?” He whispered.

“I think he’s pointing at you.” He was right, but Max didn’t want to admit it. “Can I help you?” Noah asked in a voice that lacked Liv’s confidence in enticing customers.

“I have been looking all over the village for you.” The amnesiac tried to clamber ungracefully over the piles of metal. Slowly making his way to the back of the shop whilst also threatening to cause an avalanche with his carelessness.

Noah gave Max a confused look. “I thought the shop’s opening hours were marked clearly outside?” Max gave a nod to confirm it was easy to recognise it. It was the same as almost all the other shops in the village. Open at sunrise, closed at sunset. A simple system. “I’m always here when the shop is open-”

“Not you!” He almost fell into a pile of knives. It would have been a quick end to this life. “The other one,” he said, after regaining his balance. Max pointed at himself. “Yes, yes, you. You’re the other amnesiac in the village, right? Are you from Philadelphia too? Please tell me you have access to a shower.”

Max frowned. “How should I know? I have no memories,” he lied. “Besides, what’s a Phil-ah-delphia?” Max deliberately butchered the name of the city. “Do you know a Phil-ah-delphia?” He asked Noah, only to be met with a shrug.

“Philadelphia! It’s Philadelphia!” The amnesiac frantically corrected as he almost fell over into another pile of abandoned metal. “In Pennsylvania!” His face showed frustration from the confused looks. “America! The United States of America!”

“Ameri-kuh?” Noah asked Max. He would have assumed Noah was struggling to keep up with the bizarre words coming out from his potential customer’s mouth, if it weren’t for his slight smile. He must’ve caught on that Max had purposely mispronounced Philadelphia. “I don’t know of an Ameri-kuh.”

“How does everyone in this village not know America?” He cried in frustration as he finally made his way over to the two of them. Max jumped slightly when the amnesiac lunged at him and grabbed his shoulders. There was an unhinged expression on his face. It wasn’t a good sign, he wasn’t adapting well nor paying attention to whatever his system was saying. “I know that you’re just like me! You have to be! How can two people just appear with ‘memory issues’ in the same small village?” He had a valid argument.

Max was about to reply when the system began flashing and rotating between two prompts. It took him a second to gather the information from the newest one.

Story Name:

Guide the Uninitiated

Genre:

Isekai

Description:

A stranger is claiming to be from another universe and is here to become the MC.

Goal:

Help the system out and show him the ropes.

Difficulty:

★☆☆☆☆

How to Start:

Confess you are the same to the stranger!

Story Name:

The Enemy of a Fool

Genre:

Isekai

Description:

A stranger is claiming to be from another universe and is here to become the MC. After proclaiming to be your enemy, you feel the need to put the fool in his place.

Goal:

Help the system out and show him the ropes.

Difficulty:

★☆☆☆☆

How to Start:

Lie and tell the stranger that you are not the same!

Acknowledge it and start a story? Don’t acknowledge it and start a different story? He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.