No Friends. No Family.

Aiden tasted blood and soil in his mouth. He rose from the ground; his entire body bruised despite sustaining no direct attacks. Amidst the dust and fallen leaves, Aiden saw who saved him.

A large rabbit with muscular arms and legs. Its red eyes stared at him, and Aiden recognized him. It was the same rabbit that he first met in this world.

"Snap out of it!" Jack shouted as he fired several volleys of bullets. "I'll distract it while you attack the main body! Destroy the heart!"

Jack seemed to rely on Aiden after he showed some courage. Aiden shook his head and rose, picking the blade from the ground. His hand was trembling, forcing him to hold it with two hands.

More rabbits emerged from the forest. It seems that Jack has summoned them to aid in their fate, even as bait. The monster shrieked, annoyed by the rabbits who began hitting and running.

Jack worked together with the rabbits, becoming the ultimate annoyance for the monster. He shot its head and slashed its arms, just enough to draw its attention away from Aiden.

At the moment, Aiden was the closest to the monster. He gulped as he looked at the hulking monstrosity and then the windows flashing in front of him.

𖤐 [You have received a twisted wish.] 𖤐

[Desire Fragment: Elias Mourne]

[Type: RISE]

[I wish to be the strongest — bringing honor to my family.]

[Release the twisted wish: eliminate the monster.]

[Reward: Interface Upgrade — Inventory.]

[Failure: TERMINATION OF CHARACTER: Aiden Valero!]

[Time Limit: 33 minutes to fulfill the wish before failure triggers.]

His trembling ceased.

Aiden took a deep breath.

He wished that he never existed.

But instead, he received this new chance in this new world, which wasn't a lot better than his. The difference was that here… he could be something here.

Aiden aimed the blade at the monster.

It was either this monster, which used to be a human… or him.

He had no idea why he needed to kill this monster to survive.

But he would do it.

Because in this lifetime, he will always choose himself first.

No friends.

No family.

It will be only him… and everything he ever wished to experience.

"Aiden!" Jack shouted.

Aiden bolted.

The rabbits jumped at the same time.

Jack threw himself at the monster, seizing its giant arm with his body. It slammed him to the trees, but Jack didn't let go. His fingers dug into flesh, tearing apart what he could.

"I am destined to be the greatest!" the monster howled. "Please… save me…"

Aiden rushed forward, unfazed.

The rabbits ran alongside him.

The moment an arm came whipping at them, ten rabbits jumped to block it. Aiden managed to duck underneath the arm using the chance they provided, and now had a clear view of the monster's torso.

A mess of regenerated flesh and muscles.

Aiden squinted.

The monster looked at him through sunken eyes.

"I can still… beat this desire…"

"You should've done that before I needed to kill you," Aiden muttered. "You leave with no choice now… other than to be a murderer. But I don't take pity on monsters."

Aiden bolted forward.

The creature howled, attempted to retract its arms.

However, they have grown too big for him to control. The muscles of his torso couldn't support the weight of the giants limbs, and they worked to impede it. Instead of defending himself, the monster was left tied down under its own weight.

"Wait! Please!" a voice called out from within the monster, no longer hoarse. It belonged to a youth, probably not much older than Aiden.

Aiden didn't hesitate.

He ran forward and raised his blade.

"I still…!"

The blade tore through the monster's torso.

It slipped through the gap in its muscles — straight through its heart.

It screamed.

Aiden didn't know what was happening.

The monster's flesh began to vaporize into blue lights, exploding with such force that it sent Aiden hurling through the air. He slammed to the trees, breaking through them.

The monster shrieked until nothing remained of it.

It turned into blue lights dancing inside the forest.

Aiden fell on the ground.

He coughed all the air within his chest. And then, he laid on the ground, watching the leaves dance with the blue lights. The sun was beginning to set, giving the sky an orange hue.

[You have eliminated the monster of desire.]

[You have released the twisted wish.]

[A new Interface Upgrade has been unlocked.]

[Wish fulfilled.]

The blue lights began seeping into his body. Aiden was confused, but then he received more messages to explain what was happening.

[Your desire meter — RISE — is increasing.]

Aiden thought it was a good thing.

Then, Jack rushed through the fallen trees and pulled Aiden. Despite the latter's confused protests, Jack carried Aiden away and ran away from the blue lights. He only put him down once they were a distance from the battlefield.

"Why did you do that for?"

"The blue lights are the same thing that created that monster," Jack said with a frown. "If you let them enter your body, you would end up like him — unless you know how to harness desires."

"Harness desire?" Aiden muttered.

"Each desire has different arts to be harnessed. Unless you do, you will face the risk of turning into Desire Monsters — called Hungerborn."

"Is that… what we just fought?"

"It is," Jack said before sitting next to Aiden. "I'm sorry that you had to kill another human as soon as you arrived to this world."

Aiden didn't know how to react, because he didn't feel guilty. That Elias Mourne was long gone the moment he turned into that monster, and it was either Aiden or him. In the end, Aiden would choose himself and never look back.

Jack, on the other hand, seemed broken both in spirit and body. He tried to recover just enough — which was hard given his severe wounds and broken body — before returning to the battlefield.

The blue lights disappeared, replaced by lush green trees that grew in just a few minutes. Jack explained that happened because the blue lights signified the desire of RISE — one of personal advancement, growth, and limitless ambition.

After clearing the battlefield, Jack returned with a small blue gem the size of a fingernail. He handed the gem to Aiden, who received it in confusion.

"These are called Desire Gems. They could be utilized in various professions to either create artifacts, potions, or whatever those magic-maniac wish. That made them valuable. Sell it when you get to the city."

"You are giving me something this valuable?" Aiden questioned, but did not refuse.

"You killed the monster, and I have just enough — far more than you currently have," Jack said with a smile. "Let's go back and recover. We can head to the city later."

Aiden rose from the ground and pocketed the gem. He wouldn't turn down free money or act like Jack should take some of it. Jack was right — Aiden needed the money because he had nothing to his name.

The two of them returned after Jack buried his fallen rabbits. Aiden helped, because one of those rabbits died saving his life. He asked Jack if he was the one to command it, to which he replied:

"A tamer cannot command his companions to die. If it happens, then it would be born of their free will to protect."

Aiden couldn't understand why the rabbit would save him in that moment — but he cared very little behind its motivation. He buried the rabbit with dignity, prayed for it to enter Rabbits Heaven, which he imagined had infinite carrots and female rabbits.

The two of them returned to the cabinet, wounded and tired. Neither said a thing as Jack prepared them dinner, while Aiden decided to explore his new Interface Upgrade — Inventory.