09 – RUSCKAN VILLAGE – DEATH AND PARADISE

David went back inside, after having trained for all day. He was not hungry yet, having respawned during the fight with the troll, although the delicious smell coming from the street was stimulating his hunger quite a bit.

The sun had long since set, and David had kept training until the light was too dim to keep going. As he left the guild, the loud noises of the crowd entered his ears.

“Here he is!”

“Hunter!”

The cheers of the crowd were loud, and all the attention was directed towards him. He felt his cheeks grow how, and his heart rate quicken, but he was happy. A smile crept on his face. He had never been at the center of attention before, never once in his life had he been seen as a hero by someone. And now, it was really happening.

He almost didn’t believe it, that it was true, that it was happening. But soon he remembered the price he had to pay for this, the pain he suffered every time he respawned, a pain that was as addicting as it was dreadful.

It was real, after all.

There was a long table, filled with people eating and drinking without a worry in the world. They didn’t seem to even care about the rubble all around, about the destroyed buildings and the broken wall. For tonight, they were having fun and drinking away their worries. They were celebrating a victory.

“Hey, Hunter!” Griglir called out, appearing from amidst the crowd.

His small frame made it so that he was completely covered by the other people, and now he was standing up on a chair in order to be seen. David chuckled.

“Guild master.” He said.

“Come here! Let’s drink!”

A little bit of anxiety assailed him.

“I… I don’t think it’s wise.” He said.

He had never drank before, and he had no idea how to act among so many people.

“Come on!” The dwarf said, and pulled on his arm until David found himself sitting on a chair next to him.

After the feast, that lasted well into the night, David walked back to the guild of Heroes. He was given a room for free by the master, but with all the alcohol that was in his body he was having trouble finding his way. Eventually, he reached his room and tentatively opened the door, and immediately slumped in his bed and fell asleep like a rock.

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Time flew as if it didn’t exist. It was a dreamless sleep, induced by the booze and the weariness of the day. It was pleasant, but all too short.

The white room appeared.

“What? What happened?”

Reincarnating in 3, 2, 1…

19° Reincarnation.

>Body upgraded with: Telekinesis.

>Choose target location. Current mission; Silverscale forest.

“Wait! Did I die?”

There was no answer. The only logical conclusion, however, was that he indeed died. Somehow, in his sleep. He didn’t think that it was the alcohol, because even though he had never drunk before in his life he had seen many people drink and knew that in order to die he needed to drink much, much more.

Then, something else must have killed him. Poison, perhaps. Maybe in the food. Or someone that snuck in his room at night and killed him. But why, for what reason? Was it the guy from the Knuckles, the one who seemed to have a bone to pick with him?

Or was it someone else?

“Silverscale forest, please.” He said in the end.

>Confirmed.

>Mission is respawn type. Complete objective to unlock new area.

Process complete. Namaste, and good luck!

The pain came. He screamed.

As it subsided, he wasn’t left with the usual sensation, with the thrill of the hunt. All that was left was emptiness. This had been a pointless death, and one that left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had to investigate and get to the bottom of this, but for now he could use the time he had to train more and get stronger.

If there were enemies who wanted him dead, returning to the village like this would only mean death. He needed to get stronger.

He decided to test the new ability he received with this respawn. It was telekinesis, and being an ability meant that he also received some instinctual knowledge on how to use it. It was going to be as easy as moving a limb, but at the same time hard and tiring to do.

He concentrated on a small rock on the ground. Rocks were always the best starting point, after all. It shook a bit, and he didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he concentrated and tried to move it away from where it was resting on the forest soil.

He released his breath. The stone stopped shaking, and just stood there immobile where it was before. This was not a complete failure, but it showed that like all his other abilities this too had to be trained extensively before it could be considered useful.

This was going to be a long night, he realized. But a fun one too.

He tried again. He was having fun, after all. For a moment, his mind was free of the ominous thoughts that accompanied the image of the village, which was full of dangers and strange people. He didn’t know the social customs, and he was assassinated in his sleep.

This made an already difficult situation into a really troublesome one. Being socially inept was enough already to make him feel anxious, even more than when he was fighting monsters, but having to deal with a killer? That was more than he could handle.

Right now, however, none of that was on his mind. He was inside the forest, in complete silence and harmony with the nature all around, and he was concentrating on his new power.

The forest was silent, the only noises being the rustle of the leaves moved by the wind, and the chirping of the night birds. Nothing else moved, or made a sound. It was peaceful, and beautiful.

The bioluminescent plants, and the silvery shade of the moon bathed the trees in blues and greens. The red trunks shone a pale orange light in the night, and a rhythmical pulsation crossed the whole network of trees like a heartbeat.

Ever since defeating the beast, this place had become a paradise. David’s private paradise.