Max wasn’t surprised to see a furious Liv at the front door. Luckily, Cy had been the fool to open the door. “Hey Liv… I guess you’re here about this morning.”

  “Get Bessie.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Max quietly watched Cy climb up the stairs. Bessie was in a field behind the farmhouse, but he must be wanting to use his teleportation spell without being watched. He was a zy fucker, but at least he was starting to learn not to do it in front of people. Liv sighed, as she let herself into the familiar living room. Before this, she would occasionally come to the farmhouse for a gossip session with Bessie. He wasn’t too sure if this tradition was going to continue.

  As he stared at her, Max realised Liv’s prompt was gone. He hadn’t seen her for a while since Adeide was always manning the vilge shop nowadays. The uncertainty about whether it was taken over by someone else, was cancelled, or mutated made him slightly uneasy.

  “Ada told me what happened. What’s your take on all this?” It felt like a test, but there was no prompt to guide him.

  “In full honesty?”

  “Of course.”

  Max was about to speak when Adeide’s prompt appeared. Would indirectly rejecting her by talking to her mother count? Avoiding talking about her in general would be best if that were the case. “Cy and I were in the middle of a fight, so I wasn’t paying much attention. It seemed like Bessie and Adeide got into a… minor altercation.”

  “You would call that ‘minor altercation?’”

  “I just know Bessie was trying to stop Adeide from walking into her house.”

  “By breaking her nose and firing a gun next to her head?” It had been a while since he felt such an angry gre pointed in his direction. “What are you pying at?”

  “What?”

  "Why did you..."

  Liv was preparing to verbally tear him apart when Bessie came storming through the front door with Cy close on her heels. Bessie gnced at her friend and seemed disappointed when she noticed that Liv was empty handed. “You haven’t come to apologise.”

  “I should apologise?” Liv scoffed. Cy began gesturing to Max that they should slip away while the women talked. For the moment, he ignored him. After finally getting a day of rest, he wanted to escape the bzing summer sun if possible. “We’re the victims in this situation! You can’t just go around swinging at people.”

  “I have a right to protect my property from trespassers.”

  Liv’s anger boiled away slightly to show the disappointment underneath before a mask of rage returned. “I’ve already raised our case in front of the mayor. We’re going to have a vilge meeting tonight if we can’t come to an understanding.” Her hardened gaze turned over to the other pair of listening ears. “Outsiders are not allowed.”

  Cy began to tug Max towards the front door. “And why not?” Bessie raised her hand causing them to stop their retreat. “They’re involved with this just as much as I am.”

  Liv hesitated. “They’re becoming troublesome.”

  Story Name:

  Troublesome

  Genre:

  Dystopian

  Description:

  The peaceful days at the farm must come to an end.

  Goal:

  Survive.

  Difficulty:

  ★★★★☆

  How to Start:

  Stay in the vilge after being presented with your conviction!

  Story Name:

  A Fresh Start

  Genre:

  Bildungsroman

  Description:

  Leaving a sheltered vilge, the MC finds themselves while living in the bustling capital.

  Goal:

  Make a pce to call home.

  Difficulty:

  ★★★☆☆

  How to Start:

  Go to the capital!

  Story Name:

  The Outw

  Genre:

  Crime

  Description:

  Hunted down by the Kingdom, the MC decides to devolve into a life of crime.

  Goal:

  Usurp the King

  Difficulty:

  ★★★☆☆

  How to Start:

  Lie or run from Reymond, the knight!

  OR

  Willingly leave the farm!

  Story Name:

  Stand Together

  Genre:

  Feminist

  Description:

  The long-lost daughter of Count Edvardsen has finally returned. Can she blend into the family once more?

  Goal:

  Help Bessie become Countess Edvardsen.

  Difficulty:

  ★☆☆☆☆

  How to Start:

  Reunite Bessie with her family!

  Story Name:

  A Fatal Romance

  Genre:

  Horror

  Description:

  After experiencing multiple rejections, the vilge darling has snapped.

  Goal:

  Help Adeide find peace.

  Difficulty:

  ★★☆☆☆

  How to Start:

  Reject Adeide’s advances.

  Story Name:

  Behind the Curtains

  Genre:

  Battle Royal

  Description:

  A person sent by the system has been interfering with the calm life of the MC. Can the MC confront them?

  Goal:

  Get them to stop.

  Difficulty:

  ★★☆☆☆

  How to Start:

  Investigate the navy-blue soul!

  Story Name:

  ???

  Genre:

  ???

  Description:

  After an entire vilge turns againSt a hidden magician, the World falls into chAos as a Power struggle takes root emnAh TstiSgl eyb esRtea…

  Goal:

  ???

  Difficulty:

  ★★★★★

  How to Start:

  Cy dies.

  The abrupt fshing and switching of the various prompts were disorientating as the system continued to show him all the ones which were even remotely connected to what was happening. He wasn’t too sure what was happening while Cy dragged him out of the farmhouse. Max could hear voices, but the system was making it difficult to pay attention to what was happening. “So sorry.” “What’s wrong with him?” “Stress.” “Stress?” “Your bitch of a daughter has been hounding him.” “You’re saying this is my fault?” “Well, I didn’t spoil the kid.” “We’ll just take our leave.”

  The prompts didn’t slow down in their flow until they had retreated to the closest barn. As his vision began to clear, he realised he was sitting on a hay bale surrounded by newly painted walls. It had been difficult to keep his focus during… the system attack? The fre up in prompts? He wasn’t quite sure what to call it. It had been a first. Perhaps this was the intention of the navy-blue soul? He recalled one of the prompts involved them, but he couldn’t be sure what it said. The prompts appeared and disappeared too quickly. Unfortunately, until he chose a story, he couldn’t interact with the HUD or look at the backlog of prompts encountered.

  “Are you back?” Cy asked, while fetching something. Max didn’t know whether to ugh or cry when he returned with the severely chipped bowl containing the dirty water saved for Elder after her long, daily commute. “You had me worried there. What the hell happened?”

  Max had to take a moment to think about what would be the closest expnation without expining the system or the stories. “A panic attack?”

  “… I thought Bessie was bluffing about you being stressed. Sorry for being sceptical.”

  “That’s alright.” He accepted the smelly water and held it with both hands, but it wasn’t going anywhere near his mouth. “Thanks for getting me out of there.” Somehow, he had managed to escape without a story starting. It was undoubtedly due to Cy’s help.

  Cy was taken aback from the sudden thanks. “Don’t worry about it,” he said shyly. “And don’t get too worked up about what Liv said. She might be arranging a vilge meeting to string you up,” way to put it bluntly, “but Bessie’s got some dirt on her.”

  “She’s going to bckmail her?”

  Cy checked that they hadn’t been followed before whispering to Max. “You know the butcher? The one who recently realised his wife had an affair and his son isn’t his?” Max nodded. He remembered Kurt. He had been taken from the vilge the same day that the vegan amnesiac showed up. “When Bessie and I went drinking with the girlies, Liv admitted she had begun seeing him on the side.”

  “Ah.” That was where the story prompt had gone. It seemed like the story had been taken by the butcher, like father like son. “You think that will make her stop?”

  “It’ll make her hesitate and, at the very least, try to settle things privately. If worse comes to worst, they’ll probably consult the mayor before getting everyone together for a vilge meeting.”