Tim was well ahead of the schedule, so he decided to grind to level 6 before proceeding further. There was no need to rush ahead blindly. His new found confidence soon dissipated after he properly thought over today's tumultuous events. The feeling of power, the feeling of wielding his control and creating a dominion of wind was extremely seductive, inciting him to charge through the rest of the trial believing himself to be invincible.
The first challenge he met was a level 3 creature that specialized in stealth, which he had to fight off as a level 1. That was no trial, the only outcome was death. The second time, the difficulty directly jumped 3 levels without any warning, he wondered if he had offended the system somehow. The cosmic tusker was fast and had robust natural defences, combined with it's sharp but comical looking tuskers, he didn't see how any human could survive it.
Maybe his newfound Dao had given him a temporary advantage, but he couldn't rely on it. Extra attribute points would be welcome, and killing level 6 creatures gave him a lot of experience points. A few more hours of grinding, and he'd reach his goal.
He had learned a few new tricks, turns out throwing rocks and augmenting them with the speed and sharpness aspect of wind made his hunting process way easier. The rocks managed to embed them in the skin of the tusker, which was quite the achievement in itself. He always tried to aim for the eyes, but either his agility wasn't high enough yet or he couldn't control the wind well enough yet, he never got bullseye.
As Tim felt into a pattern of luring, trapping and killing, he let his mind wander a bit. This creature could no longer pay a significant threat to him, and while they say always keep focused on the enemy, carelessness could mean death....he was still a human after all.
Going through a rollercoaster of emotions, the past day felt like he had lived through a decade. Went in with the mindset of an angsty teenager and come out a wizened old man, as if he had already seen through the secrets of the human heart, weary of creating new ties and forgetting old ones.
The problem was though, a man could never fully run away from his past. He could change his name, hide in some obscure corner of the world, hire the best plastic surgeon in the world.... but his past would always follow him, always lurking around the corner unless he could muster the resolve to face it.
Humanity had given birth to many selfless souls, but also created abominations that had committed horrors that even the forces of the multiverse would feel some degree of shock at. One would think that these humans that had so much blood on their hands were haunted by the ghosts of their past, tormented by their heinous actions. Regrettably, this was not the case.
They slew those ghosts that cannot die. Neither the greatest named weapon, nor the weapons of mankind could slay this curse. Only by believing that one was absolutely correct, believing that the blood on their hand was directed towards the greater good, even willing to sacrifice themselves in pursuit of their ideals, could they walk such a warped path that would bring endless misery to those around them. The correct path was the one which they tread on, their very existence a threat to all living beings in the multiverse.
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The other option, that normal, sane individuals could take was one of..... embracing these ghosts. Acknowledging their existence, acknowledging their past, acknowledging their wrongs. A simple step that most would not know how to tread until they were on their death beds, until there was no time left.
The boost to Tim's intelligence stat had brought back some unpleasant memories. It had brought back the truth. He had suppressed those memories deep inside his heart, and gradually managed to convince himself that he had forgotten. Earlier he was in a fight or flight mode, so he could put it off for a bit longer, gain some more time to collect himself.
No more. He couldn't refute it anymore. Oh, how much he regretted it. Another boar lay dead on the ground, while the man that had slain it without a single moment of hesitation was lightly sobbing. It was already raining, so it was imposible to distinhguish the wet streaks that gently slid off his cheek from the downpour.
Sure, some of his friends had lost contact with him after a few months after she had passed away. However, that was not the complete truth. Amanda's best friend had begged Tim multiple times to meet up with him, to grieve together. She had promised Tim that she would be there for him, he could talk to her about anything and she would listen without judgement. Even showing up at his house, beseeching him to just give it a try instead of shutting himself off from the world. He had rebuffed her with coldness that felt foreign to him, but she remained unfazed, only trying even harder no matter what he said to her.
How could he have been so cruel? The poor girl had just lost her best friend, and was doing everything in her power to make sure Tim was okay even though she barely knew him. Such kindness, Tim did not know if he was worthy of it. Now, he wasn't even sure if he could ever repay her.
And Matt, though the guy had his faults, always wanted to help. He was kind of a pathological liar, but he wasn't a bad sort. The guy always knew how to make people laugh, and his lies were harmless. Well, mostly harmless. If you told him a story about how you attended a really cool party, a few days later you'd be getting weird glares on your way to the academic hall then hearing some rumors about how you'd gotten publically shot down in a party that Hollywood bigwigs were attending.
He was a total softie though, and always went above and beyond when his friends needed something. He had tried to reach out to Tim, but he really wasn't the sort of guy who'd do well in delicate situations. Tim was already pissed off enough, and getting reminded of Matt's ridiculous antics only gave rise to more anger, not humour. They had a fight, and Tim ended up blocking him on social media.
Now that he was alone, finally having gotten over what had happened in the past, he wanted to make up to these people. He didn't know if they'd accept him, but he was obligated to try. He genuinely wished to meet them and give them a big hug, cry a bit, and apologize with his most genuine, heartfelt emotions
It was testament to his growth, the pain and despair replaced with a craving for emotional connection, a desire to apologise to those he had wronged, and tell his father and mother how grateful he was for their endless love and support.
"Stay alive please, Matt, Sophia. Please, just stay alive until I can find you. As for father, I'd be more concerned about the fool that tried to shank him." chuckled Tim.
" For the people that didn't choose option 4, the diffculty can't be this ridiculous. Or, what would be the point of the system investing so much time and resources into earthlings? With a bit of luck, they should be fine. " inferred Tim, filled with a concept that would be alien to him a few months ago: hope.