Chapter 1: My First Ancient World
"What's with this?" You pointed at the black and red EMERGENCY text in front of you.
The system ding-ed and said: [Answering the Host, that is a type of special mission call. This emergency code is a high-risk mission with unusual circumstances so the Lord God sends an invitation to every host regardless of department.]
"High-risk as in ... high pay?"
[Yes]
"I'll go."
The system regretted replying. It tried to make you rethink.
[Host, you can't! Emergency mission worlds have high difficulty and low success rates!]
"Is there a rule against newbies taking higher level missions?"
[N-no]
"Then it's settled. I'm going."
Unable to reject its Host, the system reluctantly accepted the mission.
[Emergency call accepted. Preparing for transfer... three... two... ]
You blinked and then your entire body was submerged in water. With no time to think, you kicked your legs and swam upward.
You broke through the river surface with a gasp.
[Ding. World of *** welcomes you. Mission Difficulty: *** ]
[Main Mission: Fulfill your duty. Side Task: *** Time Limit: two years]
You let the river carry you forward until you caught a giant rock and hauled your body over.
"Hey, stupid system," you panted, "why the hell didn't you warn me?"
[This system apologizes! When I accepted the emergency call we were automatically transported before I could warn you.]
"Tch."
[QAQ]
You closed your eyes and breathed before saying, "Transfer the memories."
[Ding. There are no memories to transfer.]
"What?"
[Ding. Please direct your attention to the screen.]
You turned to the light screen and arched an eyebrow.
Rather than directly implanting the plot and the memories, you were going to read the summary?
You assumed it was a normal part of the "special mission" gig and began reading.
MC is an orphan who assists the priestesses of the Temple of Enki, god of water, knowledge, wisdom, mischief and magic. She leads an ordinary life until one day, she attracts the unwanted attention of her city's elderly king. When he realizes that she does not plan on becoming one of his brides, he tries to take her by force. The frightened MC flees the city but falls into the river.
As though favored by the heavens, she is safely carried to the north where she finds sanctuary in the house of a childless couple. She discovers her affinity for regenerative magic and becomes a healer like her adoptive mother.
Finally, the young orphan girl found home in the tiny house by the river. But one day, the couple are on their way to the market when they encounter bandits. They perish and their daughter becomes known as the "cursed child."
But the girl remains pure and never refuses a patient. The girl becomes a woman, and from the "cursed child" she becomes the "cursed witch." Though she lives a lonely life separated from other humans, she is not unhappy because *** *** ***.
"What's this?" You raised an angry finger at the blurred text. It was completely illegible right until:
Sadly, the king and his men find her while conquering the city. She hides as many civilians as she can in her residence but *** *** ***
The rest of the words were blurred again, except for the last few lines: As she lies, cradled in the arms of ***, her lips give one last smile and with her final breath she says, "Thank you for finding me ... I'm sorry."
"Little bird, are you broken?" You asked the system with gritted teeth.
[H-host, this text was directly sent to me by the Lord God, please don't get mad!]
"... You weren't joking when you said this was a high-risk task."
The plot presented was more like an unreliable summary, and without the memory implantation, you couldn't identify people or objects. Then there was that vague main task.
As you stood there staring at the light screen, Uwak pressed its hands together.
[Host ... ]
The system didn't know what to say. Many novice hosts die before they can reach their tenth mission worlds and are then sent to punishment worlds, where they can truly die for the final time, but you were only on your third mission--a special mission, on top of that.
You clawed on the rock until your fingers caught the dewy grass and wet soil. You pulled your body out of the river and then rolled over, shallow breaths formed tiny clouds.
"According to the plot, we just arrived in the outskirts of the northern city."
You stared at the night sky. The constellations were definitely familiar. You forced yourself to sit and examined your clothes, a dirty, faded yellow tunic with fringed hems and leather sandals.
"Uwak, in this world ... are we in Mesopotamia?"
[Ding. The Host is technically correct! In the future this part of the continent will be known as Mesopotamia.]
You tapped your chin. Something felt off ...
[What is the matter, Host?]
You shook your head and gathered the heavy hair over one shoulder. "It's nothing," you said, "for the time being, we should go find that house."
In the summary, after washing up on the side of the river, MC found a tiny house that belonged to an elderly couple. Before she could kneel and beg for sanctuary, they unhesitantly invited her to their home and fed her. They would come to see her as the child they never had.
"Argh ... " You tilted your head and knocked one side of your skull, trying to get rid of the water in your ears.
It didn't take long for your hair to dry and for bugs to feast on your bare arms. Your toes made a squish, squish sound with every step.
"This is not how I imagined death. Hell, maybe, but not my death," you said as you slapped whatever landed on your elbow.
[Ding. Before meeting me, how did my Host picture the afterlife?]
"It varies, but I didn't expect bugs and wet feet."
[Then how would you define heaven?]
"Hm ... living in riches surrounded by beautiful men and good food?"
[ ... ]
The system thought, rather than heaven, doesn't that sound more like a den of iniquity?
When Uwak responded with silence, you misunderstood and said: "Oh, sorry, let me rephrase: consenting beautiful men and very good food."
[My Host knows how to have a good time.]
"I often dream about that scenario, but my wildest fantasy would be--"
[Host, this humble system asks that you do not say what you're about to say.]
You pouted, then chuckled. This dumb system wasn't too bad.
[Ding. The house is two meters away.]
"Finally," you sighed and then sprinted down the path.
The mud house resembled a gigantic anthill with a rectangular opening.
You closed your eyes, then you shouted and wept, "Sanctuary, please! Have mercy!"
[Switching character so quickly. Host is amazing.]
"I'm a professional."
You cried and collapsed on the dirt. The door opened shortly, revealing two wrinkled faces, one female and one male.
"Oh, you poor thing, look at you!" The woman had a raspy voice, but her tone was kind as she knelt down and covered you with her woven shawl.
"Please ... I ... I ... "
"Hush, dear, it's all right. Come inside, you must be freezing."
You leaned on the woman and together hobbled towards a clay chair. A small lamp lit the small space. You glanced around you, noting the two fabrics laid on the ground by the wall and an area full of pots and knives. Then, it dawned on you.
"Uwak, how am I supposed to poop?"
[Ding. Host must work hard.]
"Get a body and go die," you bit back angrily.
A clay bowl was offered in front of you. You raised your head to see the husband looking at you with concerned, warm eyes.
"Thank you ... " You took the bowl and took a silent sip. Those eyes were different from what you've seen in other characters in the previous worlds.
The wife arrived holding a green fabric. "I brought you a change of clothes," she said with a gentle expression.
"Uwak," you called as you thanked the woman. "This world ... could it be ... What kind of world is this?" The look in these people's eyes made your soul waver and your guts told you they were more than cannon fodder.
[Ding. Restricted information.]
"... useless."
[>.<]
After finishing the rest of the water, you explained to the couple your situation, minus the creepy king. They told you you could stay here as long as you needed. You bowed your head, repeating thank you before saying good night.
After they went to sleep, you were free to think.
The mysterious main mission and the missing memories, the fact that this world had no name and how the mission call was sent to every host regardless of their department. And that humane look in the couple's eyes.
You folded your knees and pondered over the details.
"Uwak," you spoke, "show me the summary again and give me a marker."
[Ding. Just a moment, Host.]
The light screen unfolded and a pen materialized in your hand.
"I've been thinking about this for a while."
You reread the text, tapping the tip of the marker on your chin.
"Fulfill your duty is a very vague mission, so before we can ease into our roles, we have to figure out what it means."
[Now that you mention it, I just assumed 'fulfill your duty' was related to the original's career as a healer.]
"But if that's correct why not just say it? Is figuring out the mission statement related to the mission difficulty?"
[...]
"Tch."
[Q.Q]
You encircled the text that said MC fell into the river.
"Here's my hypothesis. Each character has a role in the plot, but what happens if that character's 'soul' leaves before it finishes the plot? The plot says that she has to die in the arms of mysterious person X. What if the original MC actually drowned and died in the river? I think the Lord God needed a replacement to properly follow the course of fate. We must live according to the plot."
[Is that what the main mission meant by "fulfill your duty"?]
"That's what I think."
[But Host, even if what you say is true, we still have no idea who is this person X.]
Not their name, not their appearance, not even their gender.
"Don't worry," you said as you encircled the unnamed person in the line As she lies, cradled in the arms of *** and from there drew an arrow towards the paragraph: The girl becomes a woman, and from the "cursed child" she becomes the "cursed witch." Though she lives a lonely life separated from other humans, she is not unhappy because *** *** ***.
You underlined the phrase 'girl becomes a woman' and then 'separated from other humans.'
"We can deduce two important clues from here: 1) we meet person X soon after the couple dies, and 2) that person is not human."
The system let out multiple dings in surprise.
"Two years is a long time and the plot details you prepared are no help either ... " You tapped the marker on your chin. "But if the plot is so important that the Lord God had to interfere, we can rest easy and know we will definitely meet."
[Ding! The Host is amazing, the Host is a real Sherlock Holmes!]
"I wish," you laughed. "According to Ronald Knox, 'No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.' What I figured out right now doesn't have solid evidence, but it's better than blindly grasping in the dark."
The system then decided to read up on Ronald Knox.
It was quiet, with only the wind and the rustling of leaves to accompany you.
You leaned in the chair.
A strong breeze blew inside and you looked out the doorway, into the darkness.
For a moment, a thought formed in your head, but you shoved it back.
You snickered, laying down your head. "Ridiculous," you mumbled and fell asleep.
You dreamt of someone that night. You couldn't see their face but you could tell they were a man as golden light outlined his strong silhouette. You were about to ask him something when two bat-like wings rose behind him.