10 – RUSCKAN VILLAGE – THE LAST BASTION

The sun rose, slowly bathing the forest in a golden light. The blue and green hues faded back to darkness as the gold light outshone them and changed the whole forest back to the bucolic picture that it was during the day.

David was covered in sweat and panting heavily, after spending all night training both his body and his abilities. But as the rays of light began to warm his back, he stopped and took the time to admire the magnificent view that was all around him.

The temperature was pleasant, and the sun was only gently caressing his face. The smell of the earth reminded him of places far away, of things that he never experienced back on earth, and of the promise of this new life.

This place was truly paradise. Everything was perfect. But he knew that he could not stay here forever. He had to go back to the village and save them, and complete his mission. There was no time limit for this, nor was there an impending doom looming on him like Damocles sword. And yet, he could not bring himself to abandon the people of that village, to let their hopes fade into darkness as their lives were taken by the waves of monsters that never seemed to end.

He could not abandon them. It was time to go back.

“Wait a minute. How do I go back?”

The problem was evident. There was no way to access the system or the white room without having to die. And David wasn’t exactly feeling like killing himself just to go back.

“System. Status. Reincarnation. Transportation.” He tried to speak a keyword, or do something that could summon the text and the transportation. Nothing happened.

Eventually, he had to make a decision. It was already late in the morning, and he had to go back soon and see what was happening in the village. There was the issue of his death to investigate, even though whoever killed him was not going to be happy that he survived.

He sighed. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

A spear of stone rose from the earth, and impaled him in the head. The death was quick, and painless, fortunately.

The white room appeared.

Reincarnating in 3, 2, 1…

20° Reincarnation.

>Body upgraded to retain training done.

>Choose target location. Current mission; Silverscale forest.

“Current mission.” His voice was low and tired, the words coming out as if forced. He knew what was about to happen to him, and didn’t look forward to it.

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>Confirmed.

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

Process complete. Namaste, and good luck!

The pain. He bit his tongue in order not to scream out loud, and squirmed and contorted on his bed amidst a pool of his own blood. It was dark and sticky, clearly there from the night before, when he was killed. It stuck to his clothes and to his face as he rolled in the dirty sheets, wave after wave of pain hitting him like a truck.

When it subsided, he felt empty. Death outside of a battle sucked.

He went downstairs, his steps uneasy and his whole body trembling after the painful experience of the respawn process. His dark grey suit was stained and stiff where the blood had clotted, and the white under the suit was now red in big patches and finger prints. The tie was immaculate.

“You look awful.” Said Griglir.

David took the last step down the wooden staircase and looked at the dwarf, who was sitting on a tall custom-made chair at the bar, drinking from a wooden mug. Several empty mugs were all around him. the bar was empty.

“You do too.” David replied, but immediately regretted it.

In truth, he had no idea how to talk to people, but the annoyance at what happened to him during the night seemed to loosen his tongue.

“Yeah. Rough night. But before I tell you what happened, tell me what happened to you?”

Standing still at the bottom of the stairs, David thought about what to say. The dwarf looked at his now empty mug and refilled it himself with ale, and motioned for David to join him. He did so, coming closer to the bar with awkward movements after he realized that he was standing at the door like an idiot.

“Someone tried to kill me.” He said eventually.

“Bullshit. You’re lying. I can see it.”

David swallowed. “I was killed. And then came back.”

“Now you’re talking. It’s the same ability you used against the troll, eh? How did you manage to use it at the right time?”

“I…”

“It’s alright. Secrets are to be kept, after all. It’s your trump card.”

The master seemed to be able to read David like an open book, but fortunately for him he didn’t get the last thing quite right. He sighed in relief, and hoped that the action went unnoticed or at least would get misinterpreted.

“What about you?” He asked shyly.

The dwarf emptied his mug in one large swig.

“The Knuckles. They’re all dead.”

“What?” David yelled, his voice echoing in the empty room.

“Someone killed them after the party. Same one who killed you, I think.”

“This is bad. Who will defend the village now?”

The dwarf got up, and slapped David’s back. “You will, of course!”

He went away. David did not move for a while, and only looked around. The bar was still empty, despite the sun being up in the sky. The whole village was silent, the vibrant energy of yesterday now only a faraway memory.

The fear of death was what took its place. The feat that even just a minor sound, even just a loud voice would attract the monsters, and spell the end of everything for the many people who still lived in the remains of the village. More than two hundred souls, and he was the only thing between them and certain death.

And there was an enemy within.

He turned around, and left the bar. The place was filling him with melancholia and sadness, and he didn’t want that. He had to be proactive, to react to the threat rather than just wait until the last moment. He had to find out why the monsters were attacking and how to stop them.

And he had to find out who was who killed both him and the Knuckles. He could count on his immortality for that, even though the price to pay each time was high.

At least, he thought, every death made him stronger.

“I bet you don’t know that, do you?” He asked the air, and smiled for a moment at the thought that eventually he would win. He had infinite lives, after all. The enemy did not.

It was the rest of the village that was the problem.