My Unrestrained Lives

After investing all his unassigned points and eating everything he had brought with him, Ellis discarded everything that was damaged, and kept only one knife on him, along with the two magic stones, one from the mutated zombie and the other from the cat. Finally, he resumed his walk.

Less than an hour passed, and looking at his clothes, now little more than ragged remnants, he realized that, at this rate, they would likely be completely consumed in just another hour, and Ellis couldn't help but question whether his measly sixty-five points would really make a difference.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[You have entered an area that interferes with Twilight Codex authority; you are instructed to return immediately.]

[You have three hours to comply with the command; otherwise, the Twilight Codex will take a precautionary procedure.]

Taking him from his pondering state was a red message window, and unlike before, where the system had only made recommendations, this time it was giving a direct command, complete with a countdown timer ticking in front of him.

"The fuck do you mean comply? If you can't even open a gate to help me return, just fucking shut up," he said aloud, and with his bottled-up emotions finally erupting, Ellis couldn't help but unleash his anger and frustration on the message system, cursing it with every insult he knew.

After walking for three straight days, all alone in this barren land, he felt he deserved some praise for holding onto his sanity. So, seeing the message window were like the last straw that pushed him over the edge.

Still, after the outburst, he managed to calm down a little, and thinking about the time limit he had been given, he picked up his pace, no longer walking but running. He feared that something terrible might happen if he didn't hurry.

Another hour passed. Ellis, breathing heavily, was still running, but more than that, he was naked. Everything he had brought with him was gone, except for the intact golden magic crystal from the cat. Even the one from the mutated zombie had begun to disintegrate.

Ellis couldn't help but glance at the timer in front of him, now showing less than two hours remaining, and then at the gray light ahead, still far off, though it seemed much closer than before. With, what had once looked like a faint moon now resembled a sun.

Clenching his fist around his last remaining companions, the one and a half magic stones, he pushed forward, continuing his desperate run.

Or at least, that's what he intended.

[You have entered an area that restricts and imposes its will on the Twilight Codex.]

[Due to the urgent situation, the Twilight Codex will take immediate action.]

[Under article number 21010 SS, section 16, clause 7, the Twilight Codex will commence stripping "Ellis Miller" of the seed of **** and all of his status.]

But suddenly, seeing the new messages and feeling some kind of force approaching him, Ellis made the most optimal decision he could think of, he ran with all his might toward the gray light, as he felt the force weakening the more he ran inward.

[Going out from the Twilight Codex's influence in the wrong way, and not paying for the nurturing and help the Twilight Codex gave, the deserter's name will be placed on the list of...]

[Stealing the properties of...]

While continuing to run, Ellis read the messages; the broken ones, as the disturbance from this place had grown so strong that even the messages were incomplete, and the force that seemed to be chasing him had also stopped, unable to take anything from him.

Noticing that, finally, Ellis slowed down. Breathing heavily after running at a speed he hadn't known he was capable of, as he also realized it was more stamina-draining than he'd anticipated. He wanted to rest, to lay down and sleep, now more than ever before.

But as he read the system messages carefully, slowly, again and again, he knew he can't, as because of them, he had come to a conclusion.

The Twilight Codex, which was able to provide its system to everyone around the world, was being restricted by whatever lay inside this gate. What did that mean? It meant the gray gate's value was far greater than he had ever imagined. While that was something worth celebrating, the danger of obtaining it; if it was even possible, seemed much more daunting than he had initially thought.

The problem was that, with the current situation, the danger had become something not just inside the gate, but possibly even beyond it once he escaped, and Ellis feared that the danger outweighed the reward, like they were not proportional.

That was his greatest concern, as the last thing he wanted was to lose out, after all.

Even now, as it turned out that the Twilight Codex was more like a parasite in his eyes, something that could grant him strength one moment and take it away the next, he still didn't care. The situation around him, was always beyond his control, so, it didn't matter to him.

Most importantly, for Ellis, it seemed that the Twilight Codex's control wasn't absolute, after all. More than that, he was genuinely concerned about the message that mentioned his name would be placed on some kind of list. The implication of this was far scarier than anything else.

At least the previous messages had been about power and similar concerns, but a list? That meant the Twilight Codex wasn't just a system, it was something more.

And then there were the "Gates." Where did they come from?

The message had said to "Protect your world," but from whom exactly was it meant to be protecting it?