The sun had risen on Barn Village, a small piece of land located on the borders of Yuria, near the coastal town of Aswalt. Amidst the serene scenery of early fishermen carrying their nets, high palm trees pointed towards the sky where crows and sparrows sang their morning song, two young kids were found sitting on the edge of a rock. One of them had unique dark black hair and golden pupils, while the other had dusty brown-colored hair with worn-out but still wearable clothing.
CURRENT NAME: Bowen
STATUS: Unawakened
ATTRIBUTES:
PHYSICAL STRENGTH 5
AGILITY 7
VITALITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2(+20)
TITLES: Naughty rascal, Little thief
"BO..Bowen..BOOOOWEEEN," shouted his dear friend Jago of the same age. Bowen had completely lost himself after seeing the information about himself on the panel. Earlier, he had understood that the game-like system was a guide sent by the self-proclaimed god to help (supervise) him in his missions. He had not picked a fight or declared a race with Jago today, which was very unusual.
"Bo, why are you so silent today? Did your mom punish you even on your birthday? Tell me where it hurts," said Jago impatient and worried.
"Um, no, it's nothing. Ha! Are we not going to Sir Herald's class today?" Bowen changed the topic.
"Bowen, did you hurt your head? Today is a full moon day, so there are no classes today. Hey, do you know why Herald Old man gives us leave on the full moon?" whispered Jago, looking left and right cautiously.
"Why?"
"Because he will turn into a werewolf looking at the full moon. He will have long nails and teeth, and then he can jump over trees and tall houses and drink the blood of small children like us," said Jago, who always got excited when talking about ghosts and monsters.
"Oh!" Even though Bowen didn’t expect anything informative from a 6-year-old, he understood that there were concepts of werewolves in this new fantasy world. He had already heard several stories of swordsmen and magicians in this life. One thing to be noted is that many of these stories were not fairy tales but the real history of this world called the Grime Sphere (grime = dirt; once this world was only filled with sand and dirt without life before the infusion of Mana particles, hence the name- says history).
Bowen convinced Jago to play with other children and made his way to the backyard of his house. As he got closer, he could hear the agitated voices of a young woman and a man.
"Dear, don’t worry. We men have already discussed this with the chief. It's safe; you don’t have to doubt," said the man.
"How can I not worry when I see Mary and her mother suffer every day? Do you want me and Bowen to stand there in their place? Three people who went to guard the night died. Now the chief wishes to dispatch you today. Honey… Listen to me. Don’t go. It's dangerous," cried Felina to her dear husband Theoder.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Oh dear, your husband is stronger than you think," said the man lovingly to ease her mood, showing his arms. "Moreover, this is for our children. Many kids have been kidnapped from nearby villages. Even if ours are safe for now, we can’t guarantee it forever. It's nothing wrong to be cautious."
"Ha Bowen darling, did you come to see papa? Come on, come on, give me a kiss…smooch …smooch…," the strong young man named Theo came running when he saw his son.
After successfully escaping his father’s lovely clutches, Bowen started, "Dad, will you not sleep with mom and me tonight?"
"Ah, no, baby. Papa is going to do strongman work, and our little strongman here will protect Mama when I am out. Yes?"
"K, Papa. I will take care of Mama. You can safely return, okay?" Bowen tried to talk innocently like a normal 6-year-old child. Soon he excused himself from playing in the backyard and set himself in the storage room that contained wooden logs for Theo’s carpentry.
Devoid of any spying eyes, he started talking to the system: "Hey guide, can you hear me right? Can you explain everything that I need to know about you and my work here?" he asked.
"Nice to meet you again, host. I was worried that you became dumb due to an overload of memories since you have not conversed with me until now. Anyway, let me introduce myself first. I am REAPER SYSTEM XXXX01. Behold, you are the first host to be bound with me. My job is to deliver messages and other stuff that your employer wants to give you. The stronger you are, the more powerful I become. So, Host, do missions to earn more DP (DIVINE POINTS):)."
"Tell me more about DP and missions," Bowen requested.
Missions are of three types: main, hidden, and side missions.
Main Mission: 1: Kill the supposed 33 sinners that threaten this world. (0/33)
2: ?
Hidden mission: ??
Side mission: 1) Is old man Herald really a werewolf?
2) Protect mama! 3)??
DP is a common currency used by divine beings and can only be used by the host. The conversion rate of DP to the common currency of Grim Sphere is 1 DP = 1 gold. Hosts can obtain DP only by doing missions. DP can be converted to gold, but vice versa is not possible. DP is used to buy things at God's mall, which is unlocked only after you get a Reaper License."
Bowen roughly understood the mechanism of the system and posed some of his doubts.
"Why is my status Unawakened?" he asked.
"According to this world’s knowledge, it simply means you have not created a mana vessel in your body."
"Why do you have XXXX01 behind your name?" he inquired.
"The host is not of eligible rank to know the answer."
"Can you give me the names and whereabouts of the 33 people I have to kill?" Bowen asked.
"The system will provide hints and clues about the target when the mission is triggered."
"What are hidden missions?"
"These missions are randomly created during certain situations. Completing these missions may or may not influence the main mission. Rewards for completing hidden missions are usually greater than rewards for side missions."
"What is the reaper’s license?"
"The license to judge and punish sinners in the place of your employer (God)."
"How can I get the license?" he inquired.
"You can get the license and become an official reaper when you judge your first target."
"So, I have to kill a target sinner even before I become a reaper. Then won’t my murder be considered a sin? How can it be called judgment?" asked Bowen.
…Beep beep….
**Hidden Mission Triggered**: BECOME A REAPER
You are still an intern in training. Pass your employer’s test by finding the first target sinner on the list.
Reward: 1 Official job as a licensed soul reaper
2 Mystery gift box
3 Access to God's mall- Level 1
1st Target’s info: The mastermind behind the mystery of disappeared children
Bowen didn’t expect his first hidden mission to be part of his main mission. He was happy that he would be able to get his license and reward before confronting his first target. The carefree life of our little Bowen is not as easy as it seems!