"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."

  As I stared at the demon, I realized that I was wrong.

  He didn’t steal it for money or such, he stole it because his contracted demon asked for it.

  I mentally facepalmed as I stared down the giant mass of flesh in front of me as I wondered, “Is this it? Will I only last a few months in this world? How will I die?”

  Then the demon said with an evil grin, “I’m bored so how about we play a game? I think you’ve heard about it. The game is called tag.”

  The demon then stated with a bored expression, “I’ll explain the rules, i’ll stay still and let you run anywhere, however, you can’t go back to the mansion, i’ve already set a barrier blocking you from trying to get help, your only option is to run in the forest and see how long you’ll last. Got it?”

  I then got on my feet and started running into the forest as I heard the demon yell behind me, “We’ll start now.”

  I didn’t know how long he would stay for but I wasn’t in any mood to experiment with talking anymore with a demon so I ran as far I could.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  My main goal was to get to the nearby village in order to ask for help and to replenish on stamina.

  Thankfully, my user interface had a map so I used that in order to orient myself to where the village was.

  However, then I heard a roar behind me, “I’m coming for you Elliot Valens!”

  I felt a shiver down my spine as the bloodcurdling roar was guttural and barely human. I started running again towards the village until I felt something brush past my face. Then a large explosion occurred in front of me as I heard a demonic laugh from behind me.

  I knew that being thrown behind would mean that my life would be forfeit so I pivoted me out of the blast zone and turned to my left and started running.

  I managed to keep running due to using water to remove lactic acid from building up in my leg muscles and bloodstream.

  However, after evading for 10 minutes on end, I was demoralized, tired, and at that point, I almost gave up on life, “Why bother trying to live when a literal demon is chasing me and my chances of survival are less than 10%.”

  Then I felt a root hit my foot, I saw the ground rushing up on me and I felt a sharp pain in my head as it made contact with the ground.

  I turned around and scrambled back as I saw the demon slowly approaching.

  I thought, “Is this it? Am I fated to die?”

  However, while I was thinking what will come after I die, I felt a hole open up below me and the last thing I felt was the feeling of falling before I lost consciousness.