Eia walked out the gates with other men, or we can call them boys. All of them were virgins.
They stepped cautiously into the forest, their footsteps muffled by the thick underbrush.
The deeper they went, the more it felt like the world was holding its breath. No birds chirped, not even the wind shook the leaves, leaving an oppressive silence that pressed down on them.
It was as if the forest itself was watching, waiting.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a bird-like creature emerged. Its feathers shimmered in the dim light, and its eyes glowed with a strange intelligence.
Without warning, it swooped down with terrifying speed, its beak clamping around one boy and swallowing him whole as if he were a worm. The boy's screams cut through the silence.
"Ahhh! The beasts are here! Run! Hey, run! Run, run!" the boys shouted in terror, their voices trembling.
Eia looked around, heart pounding like a drum in his chest. His eyes caught the messenger, his face pale, eyes wide with fear.
"What? I am not the main character. I'll run, bra!" Without hesitation, Eia broke into a frantic sprint, pushing his legs to their limit, every breath ragged and sharp.
"Hey! He looks like he knows where he's going. Follow him!" someone shouted.
Eia barely registered it. All he could see was chaos: five others running, the beast gaining on them, its wings slicing through the air as it closed the distance.
Suddenly, the group split in all directions, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. They abandoned him, leaving him alone on his path.
The forest seemed to close in tighter around him. The creature's pursuit was relentless.
His stamina was draining fast, and he was panting and sweating, his legs trembling from exertion.
"Okay, you big chicken, let's go," he muttered through clenched teeth. Out of desperation, he suddenly stopped, turning to face the beast head-on.
The creature lunged to pluck him with its beak, but Eia reacted instinctively. He did a quick knee slide, aiming his spear at the creature's leg.
The spear ricocheted uselessly off, leaving him stunned. His knees buckled, and he stood there, eyes wide with shock.
The bird was already closing in, screeching loudly with an ear-splitting cry that echoed through the forest. Its eyes, bright and fierce, locked onto him.
Eia stared into those eyes and suddenly remembered something, the eyes. The eyes of mature chickens back in the village, when they became tough, their skin would turn hard, but their eyes remained gentle and soft. The realization hit him like a lightning bolt.
The bird, furious and determined, knelt, preparing to kill him with a devastating strike of its beak.
"Ha! Not today!" Eia shouted.
He quickly sidestepped just in time. The bird lunged forward, but Eia saw its eye, focused and deadly. With all his remaining strength, he shoved his spear into the eye socket, piercing into the brain.
"Screaaaach!" The bird flailed wildly, wings flapping and legs kicking in a frenzy. Its body jerked violently as it tried to shake off the pain. Eia dashed to the side, frantic to find shelter behind a sturdy tree.
"I will not be killed by a headless chicken," he muttered, lungs heaving. The chaos died down as the creature's body went limp and collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Suddenly, an eerie voice echoed in his mind.
[Notice, the pussy has killed its first beast]
[reward: me the universal survival system]
Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! My silver spoon, my cheat, victory!!!
The system's voice was cold and calculated, cutting through the adrenaline rush:
[down to business: the mission of the host: kill or seduce the queen of the beast, whatever works to stop her reproduction]
[time frame: until the host dies]
[punishment: reincarnation and r@ped by men for 10,000 years]
[reward: the power to grant emotality]
Eia's mind spun with the implications. This was only the beginning.
"Do I get to refuse?" he asked aloud, voice trembling.
[No, the punishment can be carried out right now if you refuse.]
Then I accept. [You don't get to choose, bra. It was never your choice to make.]
Mmmmm, okay. Let's gut this chicken. Or I will gut this chicken. Who am I talking to, anyway? I am too lonely, bro. Even in the village, I was alone. I guess I got used to it.
Well, the skin is too tough to use my spear. I will be eating the eye for now, and I will see what the way forward is.
He walked to the chicken and took a part of the eye. He looked at the gelatinous, blue-veined chunk in his hand, then took a bite.
"Well... not that bad," Eia said, his voice a low mutter against the forest's silence. He sat down on a gnarled root, the adrenaline finally draining from his body, leaving him hollow and tired.
Then it hit him.
Ahhhhaaahahahhhahhhahhhhahhhh! Whaaaaaaat theeee—!
A fire erupted inside him, a thousand times worse than the bird's screech. It wasn't just pain; it was a violent, cellular revolution.
He could feel his skin stretching and tightening, his muscles writhing like snakes under the surface, his very bones grinding and reshaping themselves.
His vision swam, the world dissolving into a kaleidoscope of agony. A silent scream was trapped in his throat as his body arched backward, every nerve ending set ablaze.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the world went black. He fainted, his body slumping to the mossy ground, steam gently rising from his now-reconstructed flesh.