The feeling of running far faster than my body could handle was the first impression I had of this world. The burning feeling of not getting enough air into my lungs and the agonizing pain from overusing my muscles etched itself deep into my consciousness.
Unimaginable fear prevented me from taking any life-saving measures as I was running away from some horrifying creature. I could not spend any time trying to figure out how I came here or why.
The next moment, I stumbled over the uneven terrain, presumably some root from one of the trees around me.
That was the end. The moment I touched the ground, the ferocious beast caught up with me.
That was the first time.
The second time I came to myself, I was lying in a bed, breathing heavily from what I assumed to be a dream. A knife was stabbed into my body, and as I was assaulted with pain, my brain still hadn’t caught up to the present. My body reacted by itself, trying to get away from the assaulter.
Maybe my reaction caught him off guard because I managed to push him away, whereas I fell to the ground. The knife still penetrated me, but the foreboding feeling of my imminent death made me move regardless of the pain.
However, fate was not on my side.
Recovering from some kind of shock, the assaulter, clothed in black, walked up to me, pulled out the knife, and stabbed me once again.
At least this time, there was no fear. Whether it came from the unexpected situation or because I already had memories of a far crueler way to die, I just looked blankly into the eyes of my murderer. They were disgustingly beautiful.
The third time, I stayed alive long enough to figure out my situation. Somehow, I came to possess a body that was killed over and over again. Every time, I transmigrated right at the moment of that body’s death.
There was no time to prepare. At least, I thought so. I was mostly already wounded by the time I gained control. Thus, I could not rule out the possibility that the pain slowed down my thought process.
I did not know how long I continued living as such. The method of death seemed to repeat itself at some point, but that did not help me either.
I tried running in another direction as the ferocious beast was hunting me, only to fall down some slope. Another time, I refused to drink the poisoned tea just to find out my body was already poisoned. Some deaths were entirely impossible to avoid, like the time I possessed this damned body at its execution by hanging.
However, at some point, my awareness was heightened to the max, and when I felt myself sleeping atop a bed again, my body reacted first to avoid the incoming knife. And I survived the first attack.
“You!” I uttered through clenched teeth.
That goddamn assassin was leaning over the bed I had been sleeping in seconds ago.
“Isn’t it enough already?” I asked while slowly making my way to the only door. “What the hell is wrong with you all? Killing me with an assassin in the middle of the night, hanging and beheading me in front of a crowd, and poisoning my tea! Can’t we just talk? What the hell did I do for you all to kill me over and over again? Does it not get boring?
And what now? An assassin again? Seriously?” I wanted to go on and let go of all my frustrations and complaints when I heard a thin but determined voice.
“My Lady?” Both the assassin and I froze in place, although I did not know whether the assassin froze because he was nearly caught or was still frozen from my emotional outburst. Whatever the case, he vanished. I could not make out where he had gone.
I, on the other hand, was still standing in place. Did I survive?
Experience from various deaths told me not to relax my guard. That there had to be something I overlooked.
Did the knife scratch me? Was it poisoned? Maybe that voice wasn’t my rescue but another death variable disguised as help?
At that moment, a blue panel appeared before my eyes:
[Congratulations for avoiding the Death Flag: Assassin.]
[Do you want to save your progress?]
[Yes/No]
I think I clicked ‘Yes’ before I passed out.
