Clang
Clang
???: Arghhh!!!
???: Ha! Die!
The sound of metal clashing against metal together with the shouts of rage, despair, agony and fear created a beautiful and, at the same time, horrific scene, perfec for a painting, under the harsh and scorching sunlight of a bright day. The ongoing war was being fought by men, in tattered and weathered leather clothes, wielding farm tools and similar objects to fight, beneath them was hard and rough terrain composed of little to no grass in sight and multiple small rocks, which indicated a mountainous terrian or odd circumstances like that of a drought.
The battlefield was located between two seclusions of badly-made wooden or straw houses, a broken wooden wall and an awful, foul stentch that could keep even the toughest beast away. While on the other sides of the battlefield was a forest without end in sight, composed of tall trees and scarce food in sight, while opposite to it was a hill so wide that it almost connected the two villages together.
A horrific sight was clearly visible under the sunlight, with the ground of the battlefield being riddled with corpses, farm tools(broken or not), and the blood forming thick rivers between the fallen bodies while colouring the soil in red. Even then the war didn't slow down or stop at all, it almost seemed like it was accelerating instead. This was due to the fact of the war reaching its climax with one side beginning to overwhelm the other.
Fear was the most prominent and shared emotion every men was experiencing, although the one starting to gain momentum and raising moral replacing that fear of death and war by excitement and ectasy by the clear sight of victory and triumph in front of them.
Just then a bizarre sight could be seen in the middle of all those corpses. The hand of a fallen young man suddenly stirred, but it was too a small of a movement to be noticed in the heat of the war. The weathered, tattered leather shirt had now been dyed in blood turning it red, on his chest there was a visible deep and deadly wound right where his heart was located. If someone were to place their ear on his chest, they would hear a weak pulsating sound. It was his previous still heart beginning to pump, although weakly, together with the wound, on chest, coupled with every single one all over his body, either that being scratches and bruises, starting to slowly heal. Even the croocked teeth and mishaped mouth looked like a video being played in slow motion of it arranging itself, forming a perfect dencture.
It was the perfect contrast between life and death. With the bloody ground covered in corpses and a deathly aura representing Death, while the weak pulsation and prospect of the young man being alive representing Life.
???: WORAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!
Despair and terror flashed in the eyes of the last standing man as he watched a rapid incoming shovel cutting his neck, severing his neck from the body. The winning side rose their hands up in the air and roared out loud as if proclaming their victory to the heavens.
???: LET'S GO!
Right after the roaring stopped, one of the men leading in the front shouted out causing the whole 'army' behind him to follow towards the village in front of them. They weren't returning home, no. Their village was to their back, leaving the one in the front being that of the losing side, where the only villagers remaining would be the children, women and elderly. The fate of those that stayed in the village, of the losing side, was a harsh and cruel one. Slavery. Rape. Torture. Death.
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the stirs of the young man increased to him starting to slowly stand up, he felt his eyelids heavy and his body burning in agony. It was incredible how his skin looked perfectly fine and smooth, like that of a baby, without any wrinkle, scratch, scar, bruise, (...).
???: What the...fuck....
The pain and tiredness slowly drifted away like a fresh breeze in the summer. Opening his eyes he was awestruck by the sight surrounding him
The pain and tiredness he was feeling through his entire body, including the most excruciating on his head, made him curse non-stop until he finally managed to open his eyes and look at his surroundings. A rocky terrain without grass, corpses in between and blood painting the ground and rocks in red, not to mention the farm tools, with some broken and others not.
He only managed to sit up before a painful headache assaulted him, it was almost like the police and ambulance siren were ringing at the same time in his ears.
He gritted his teeth to endure the pain and understand the situation he was currently in, suddenly waking up in the middle of corpses while bearing this kind of pain through his entire body wasn't normal.
Dust, earth and mud were plastered through his entire body and clothes, there was even his new little brother hitching because of being covered by something. When the pain subside, he stood up and began dusting himself off from the dirt and blood, which began immediately with little brother. Pulling down his leather brown pants, he found to not be wearing any underwear, although such thought was short in his mind as he tried to understand the situation.
He was a rather tall young man standing 1.73 meters, considering his young age of 16. His smudgy and messy, spiky red hair with black tips was so long that it almost reached and covered his bright green eyes, that looked like two small emeralds on his face. Through his loose leathery set of clothes, one could see a slim built with muscles and slightly tanned skin on his arms, representing his harsh living conditions and farm work.
???(Young Man): .....the last thing I remember was playing Co---
Suddenly the temperature seemed to drop together with a strange feeling surrounding him, lifting his head, he found the world in a new shade of grey. Just as he was about to curse, he saw a bird up in the sky frozen, like a statue. Surprise was clear on his face, as he turned around and spotted even the bugs near him and blood flowing, also frozen.
???(Young Man): The time....stopped.
0000000000
Welcome subject 798248132.
You have been brought to the world, Neihart.
Survive.
0000000000
At the same time as this strange phenomenon was occurring, a blue panel with white border and black letters emerged out of nowhere in front of the young man.
Just as he tried to reach out for the panel with his hand, out of curiosity, it vanished before being replaced with two, smaller ones.
0000000000
A ticket for the wheel of fortune has been gifted to you, subject 798248132.
0000000000
00000000000
Do you want to use it?
Yes/No
0000000000
The young man was like one of the statues for one minute straight, before he began moving by rubbing his forehead.
???(Young Man): I do.
Breathing out, he stopped rubbing his head as he clicked on the left option in the second panel in front of him.
The moment he did so, the two panels disappeared like the first one, before being replaced by the biggest one till now that had a wheel with golden frames, black slots and crimson question marks on them.
He couldn't even say anything as the wheel began to spin upon appearing before stopping.
0000000000
Congratulations.
You have obtained the Upgrade System.
0000000000
???(Young Man): Upgrade System?
{Author's Note: [] system speaking}
[Ding]
[System greets host.]
As if answering to him, a robotic, cold voice sounded in his mind.
???(Young Man): …...
His mind was reaching its limits to handle all of this unbelievable events when he started to notice the greyish shade washing over away.
???(Young Man): “Upgrade? How so?”
[Ding]
[You can upgrade anything in sight with a price.]
???(Young Man): Anything... a price....
A certain idea formed in his head regarding this usage of System.
???: AAARHRHHR
Suddenly several screams of pain and agony sounded from the distance, pulling him out of his mind. Looking to the right, he found one of the seclusions, the one that lost the war, burning in flames as smoke rose up into the sky while people chased after others to do terrifying things to them.
Although he was surprised for a short moment, he ignored and blocked the screams coming from the village before returning his attention to his situation. He didn't care about people that he didn't know, furthermore when he was experiencing the things he at the moment.
???(Young Man): “Can these corpses be used... in the upgrade?”
[Ding]
[Yes. Anything can be used.]
???(Young Man): “Upgrade my body using all of this corpses and pieces of junk.”
Saying so in his mind he pointed to the farm tools, with some completely wrecked and their wood handles in splitters.
Seemingly in response to his desire, the corpses and farm tools, broken or not, started glowing in a white light, causing him to squint his eyes in response, at the same time, he felt his body feeling with a warmth and strength.
Opening his eyes he found to be in the same bloody rocky terrain, but with all of the corpses and junk gone. Flexing his right arm and feeling the pain and tiredness gone from before was something that he greatly enjoyed, especially without any cost, after all those corpses and junk had nothing to do with him or of his concern.
???(Young Man): “Is there a way to analyze or determine my current strength?”
[Ding]
[No.]
???(Young Man): “Too bad.
Stretching his whole body in relief of not being sore and in pain, he looked for the second time at the burning village.
???(Young Man): “I don't know who this body belongs to, the winners or losers I don't care. What I can see is a load of materials ready for taking.”
Putting his transmigration, past life and new circumstances behind, he walked towards the burning seclusion of houses. What could he do about it? It was not like his life was worthy of worrying about, a shitty job, rotten society, and treated by his family like a slave.
Approaching the burning village he was assaulted by the suffocating heat and smoke, coughing a little he lowered a little his stance improving drastically his situation. The problem was the closer he got, the stronger a cocktail of smells he could only guess to be. Piss, shit, blood...being the most prominent.
He couldn't even begin to admire the beauty of the flames rampaging through the buildings consuming everything in its path without mercy and sight, when screams disrupted it. Crouching down a little he picked up a crude, broken shovel, that had its blade completely battered and its wood handle broken in half.
Walking through the rough earth paths that were filled with burning wood splinters, mud, things he rather not look after the first time, and corpses and all kinds of broken tools and objects that he immediately used with his Upgrade System, focusing on his body, for now.
Following the scream that seemed to be the closest to him, he shortly came to a sight that would shock or stun most of people in his previous world. A child lied down, seemingly without breathing, fully beaten up, bruises all over his body with his arms broken as a pool of blood formed under him. Beside him was a man and woman, with the man holding the woman down aggressively and thrusting his hips forward violently, while the woman wept looking at the beaten child.
It wasn't anything that he had bared sight before, but it wasn't the worse he had seen as well.
He simply moved behind the man that was fully focused on the task at hand, and lifted the shitty shovel up in air.
???(Woman): “Goddess Anehta.... please save us....”
The woman closed her eyes as she prayed, when the sound of an attack sounded together with her no longer feeling her wrists hurting and zero movement.
Opening her eyes and looking up she didn't found the previous man that was raping her there, just as she was about to look around to see where he was, she heard a similar sound to the previous one. Looking there she found a young man bashing the man's head in. Blood splattered everywhere even reaching her face, something that she couldn't care at the moment as she had her focus stolen by the young man. His expression didn't change from the beginning to the end.
???(Woman): Thank you s--- Karl? Is that you?
Just as the woman was about to express her gratitude to this unknown stranger, she finally managed to see through the smoke, ashes and blurriness and recognized the young man.
Karl: “So that is my name now.... not bad.”
Pushing himself off the corpse of the man, he was about to clean his face from the blood with a sleeve of his leather shirt, when he noticed how dirty it was and decided to let it go for now, at least until he found a piece of cloth more clean than his own clothes.
Meanwhile, the woman no longer paid any attention to him, as she crawled fiercely at the beaten child and, gritting her teeth to endure the pain all over her body, pulled him off the ground. Embracing him while slowly caressing his messy hair.
What she didn't realize or knew was Karl standing behind her with his peculiar shovel in hand, ready to strike down at her like he did with the man, before shaking his head from side to side and lower his arm.
Karl: “Hmm.... there is no need.”
The woman feeling something odd turned around only to find nothing there, besides the burning debris and houses, with flames, smoke and ashes. Karl was gone, as was the corpse of the man.
The light in her eyes died down as she slowly stood up carrying the child with her, unfortunately she wouldn't live any longer as a building, supposedly a house, near her crumbled washing her over with ashes and flames.
The young man, Karl, made his way through the entire village, while being cautious of his surroundings, in case someone ambushed him, and keeping his ears alert for any scream before redirecting his course towards it. It wasn't that he was any kind of saint or hero, but rather that he had an idea when going to the burning village that he wanted to try out.
Although it was something that he was seriously putting in question, since he was experiencing the changes all of the upgrades were causing to his body. The terrifying and scorching heat was more bearable and the smoke and ashes were no longer messing him up in his airways, though those changes were barely noticeable as one could attribute it to adaptation to the circumstances.
| 2 hours and 7 minutes later |
A group consisting of only elderly, women and children, in a sorry state, were sitting a few meters away of the burning village, while coughing and gasping for the sweet and savoury, fresh air, and tended to their wounds, and mourned the dead, who were gone from this world.
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Their eyes were dry from crying and the intense heat. There was also some corpses besides them, that they had brought out with them or people that simply didn't make it even when they managed to step out of that infernal hell.
The ones breathing were just a measly number of seven persons of a two-digit village, even after the war.
???: Grrr....cucucu.....cucu
One of them was an old man, better known as elder, coughing heavily due to inhaling the ashes and smoke, his previously long, white hair, eyebrows, moustache and beard had turned greyish from the ashes. His slightly tan white skin and long leather brown robe suffered the same fate. The most eye-catching aspects were the bruises on his arms, showing that he tried to defend himself, and the deep gash on his left shoulder, that was bandaged with a piece of cloth.
Apart from him there was a middle-age woman, with long, brown hair and brown eyes, that was rushing and doing her best to help the rest. In fact, she was the one to bandage the shoulder of the elder. There was also five kids, three boys and two girls. Nothing else, nothing more. Even then such number was only possible thanks to the elder that after being 'saved' by Karl went around the village and rescued others before walking out.
Although the attire of the kids greatly resemble the one of Karl, although in a smaller size, the one of the middle-age woman had a stark difference with it being leather brown skirt instead of pants.
The children were sitting down on the ground with lifeless expressions on their faces. They had witnessed things that some people wouldn't ever have in their entire lives, that in their world much less in Karl's previous one.
ts
ts
ts
The sound of wood debris being crushed under the weight of footsteps alarmed all of them, pulling their attention to the burning village where a shadow was slowly stepping out.
Fear spread and became apparent on all of their faces, as the children backed away, the middle-age woman froze and the elder struggled to stand up to fight.
The next sight allowed the elder to relax, then signal the middle-age woman to do the same, who immediately went to calm the children down.
Turning around the woman saw who it was, Karl. One of their young men that departed early in the day towards the war. He was stepping out of the burning village covered in ashes and dirt, while clutching his stomach and coughing a little.
Karl: “The upgrade on my body is affecting my metabolism as well.... I need to find something to eat, soon.” cough.... cough.... now, who are the lot of you?
The elder and middle-age woman turned towards him looking at him in shock before it turned into rage, they were certain that Karl was messing up with them. Probably his way of comforting them, it was terrible. Never had they assumed for a single second for it to be the the truth.
Karl: I appreciate your sentiment, but I have something to ask the lot of you. Who are you?
Shock filled the group as even the working middle-age women stopped on their actions and looked in disbelief and ridicule at Karl. Their instant thought was that Karl was joking and playing with them in an attempt to lift their morals, something that they didn't enjoyed the slightest.
Considering their situation, it was a bit too much for Karl to be joking. Unfortunately a bucket of cold water came pouring down soon after, as Karl noticing their gazes opened his mouth while maintaining his serious expression.
Karl: I would appreciate if you could tell me about me as well.
It was the final strike in hammering a nail to a board, the only ones still not believing him were the children, and even then were just a few of them.
???: ….Karl..... sit down. This is going to take a while.
The elder, clutching on his wounded shoulder, slowly rested on the ground as he spoke to Karl.
Never
Karl: It's not the time.
Unexpectedly Karl didn't sat down on the ground nor gave the elder a kind expression, as his expression remained through the entire ordeal with his gaze towards the Topo village in the distance.
Karl: For now... I just want your names. There are far more pressing matters to deal, otherwise how are you going to explain to me what will we all eat and drink this night or tomorrow, even where we will sleep?
His words were like a bucket of cold water pouring down on them, just as the happiness of surviving and sadness of their buddies, friends and family, dying were occupying their minds, reality slammed its heavy weight on their backs and minds.
They couldn't even grieve or mourn without having what to eat and drink, and a place to sleep. They could... but it would mean allowing the cold, bony hand of death tightening its chilly grasp on their throats even further.
???: ...what do you suggest?
The elder was the first to react as he asked him the question that lingered in all of theirs minds.
Karl: Simple. I see a place to sleep and eat from here.
???: Huh?
His words baffled everyone, even the elder wasn't an exception.
???: Karl... are you referring to Topo village?
This time it was one of the children that spoke, a young girl to be more precisely, while pointing at their enemy, Topo village.
???: Jill! Don't be absurd. There is no way----
The middle-age woman with light-brown hair started reprimanding the little girl but she was cut short by the action of Karl stepping towards the little girl. She thought that such suggestion was too absurd and that Karl thought the same, certainly. After all Topo village was a bigger village than their own, which was the main reason behind their loss, and that allowed them to leave some men behind in the village for any sneak attack from their part. Considering that fact and the remaining villagers, consisting of elderly, women and children, pointing that such 'plan' was mighty stupid.
The little girl, Jill, looked down in disappointment and sadness at being reprimanded.
Karl: Jill. Is that your name?
The little girl hearing his voice, looked up only to find him staring into the distance, precisely, at the Topo village, while he crouched down next to her and put his hand on her left shoulder.
Jill: Yes...
She muttered lowly and gently afraid of being reprimanded again.
Karl: You are bright child. You are indeed correct.
Jill: Huh?
His words came as a shock to the group who started staring at Karl as if he was a madman and having delusions.
???: Karl. I must tell you that even though Topo village lost the majority of their men like us, that doesn't mean they are in the same condition as we. They were a village with almost double our population, and as you can see none of us will be able to go and fight with you, if you decide to proceed in this crazy plan of yours.
The elder was the only one to step forward, the rest were afraid of standing up against Karl in such situation. He was the strongest of them, and they were battered and injured. The thing was that this situation was rather special since their lives were tied together with his. In their current condition, they weren't able to do much.
Karl: I didn't put it up for discussion.
His answer was a cold slap in the face of the elder while the rest of the group felt that he was behaving like a child would.
Karl: besides...
Just as the elder was about to lash out at the behaviour displayed by Karl, the young man spoke while beginning to make his way towards Topo village.
Karl: …. you should be more concerned about you than me.
The whole group was confused about his words, when they noticed the regular flies and mosquitoes increasing in number, especially, around the elder and his wound. Rodents running from the burning village, realization hit them at that point. Infection.
The first to move was a pair of children, this time boys, that went and supported the elder up from the ground and started helping him move towards Topo village. They weren't the only ones as the whole group soon followed behind them.
They couldn't go back to the burning village, they had to treat their wounds, procure food, water and shelter, making their only solution biting their lips and gamble their luck in following Karl to Topo village.
The group of injured villagers trailing behind Karl's tracks were climbing a hill with difficulty that had a large rock, obstructing their vision and forcing them to change directions for a bit. Contorting the large rock, they were forced to stop at the sight that laid before them.
Karl stood surrounded by seven men with farm tools pointing at him, like he was some kind of animal, at the entrance of Topo village.
???: See. That is why I told him no.
The elder, supported by the two boys, looking at the scene of Karl surrounded by all sides, muttered lowly enough for the whole group to hear him.
whoosh
bang
whoosh
krrrr
Karl rushed forward towards one of the men before stopping and grabbing on his shovel handle, at the same time, he slammed his foot on his stomach. The surprise behind his attack and the force behind his kick sent the men flying through the air, crashing against a rock sticking out of the ground, as his head snapped back at a gruesome angle.
Just as they were expecting for Karl to kneel on the ground and surrender, they were shocked by his actions and movements, that only the elder and the little girl, Jill, managed to see fully.
Karl: “This is amazing...”
Although Karl still felt uncomfortable in killing another human being, something that he had never done before, he used all of his strength to maintain his neutral and indifferent expression on his face. He wasn't only fighting physically, but mentally and psychologically.
The results were quickly apparent, as the other men hesitated for a mere moment under the might of his prowess and ruthless. Something that Karl should have taken advantage of, but he wasn't used to fighting much less killing and life-death situations.
The men immediately rushed brandishing their different tools, used for farming, with the closest two having the blades of their hoes dangerously close to Karl head.
Jill: Look out!
bump
bump
pssh
pssh
Suddenly only his shadow persisted as he had fallen into a crouching position before sweeping with his left leg, their own sending them to the ground. It didn't end there as he jumped a little and threw their weapons at their bodies, managing to hit one in the right shoulder and the other in the left thigh, with the blades of the hoes.
The same sight of the rest of the men staggering and freezing in their spot occurred once more, but this time they no longer mustered the courage to charge at this monster in front of them. One had to know that a injury could mean death. Of course it meant that it had to go untreated, which was something if they continued on fighting and losing in the end.
bump
bump
bump
bump
Looking at the neutral expression on Karl face and witnessing his prowess so far was enough to make them consider things several times, before letting go of their tools and surrendering. The sound of objects falling to the ground echoed through the entire area that was deadly silent.
The distance between the two villages wasn't big, allowing anyone that wanted to see the battlefield and its result. As such the Topo village started preparing for celebrations, when they saw Karl walk into the burning village and 'survivors' slowly step out without any of their men getting out, a bad feeling grew in their heart.
The fact of Karl standing now in front of them without any of their men still coming out of the burning village, their bad feeling was confirmed. The worst outcome and the one they dreaded the most had turned reality.
They had won the battle but lost the war.
Although that applied to them considering how events were preceding, in comparison to the losses supported by the Nill village, the one of Karl, it was still too low.
The group of injured villagers following Karl were shocked by the development that it was taking in front of them. Just as the sentence of death was hanging above their heads, waiting patiently to reap their souls, hope and life appeared in the shape of death and violence by Karl.
Karl: I didn't come here to kill the lot of you.
For the first time since he had gotten there, Karl opened his mouth as his voice, although not loud, spread through the entire village, which was unnecessary since the villagers of both villages were in the scene.
Karl: I came here seeking food and shelter.
Sweeping his eyes through the crowd hiding in the village, before focusing his gaze on the elderly, that coincidently were standing out in the middle.
Karl: Whatever you wanted from this war..... it's still yours. I don't give a fuck about your business.
His words sounded like those of a madman to everyone that heard him, especially for the ones of Topo village causing some of them to immediately voice out their suspicions and anger.
???: Why did you kill all of them then!? Why did you come here and attacked us!? Why are you doing all of this!?!
A young woman stood out from the crowd stepping forward towards him with every word she uttered while lashing out, and tears filling the corners of her eyes and flying out with her movements.
Karl: Like I said. Food and shelter.
Even though he had her face close to his, his expression even then didn't change and remained, with his maximum effort, as neutral and indifferent as possible.
Karl: Its the same for them.
As he said this he pointed to his back where the villagers of Nill village were.
Karl: I want something from them, so I saved them which caused the death of your men.
Confusion emerged in the face of the people from Nill village, as they turned to look at each other for clearance on the matter. Karl wanted something from them? It was the elder, Nick, the first one to realize what he meant.
Information.
A thought that didn't enter the minds of the rest of the group so soon, as Karl began speaking once more.
Karl: You should be thankful actually.
???: Huh!? Why!? Are you seriously telling me that we---
The woman in front of Karl immediately lashed out screaming at him for such absurd words, until he spoke without flinching or disturbed.
Karl: Yes. After all.... what matters adding one more corpse to the ground and taking out a mouth to eat.
A cold shiver ran down through the back of the woman as her voice wouldn't come out of her mouth no matter what, she took a step back in complete fear. She wasn't the only one as the men that dropped the farm tools to the ground were the same, while the injured ones tried to crawl again only to wince at the pain and stop immediately.
…..
…..
Silence, that started pressuring and suffocating some of them, engulfed the area as Karl stared intensely at the eyes of the woman in front of her, causing her to stop in her movements.
Karl: What is your answer?
???: Arghh!! arr!!!
As Karl noticed night was approaching with the sun setting in the distance, he no longer hesitated. His hand was like a snake finding its way to the woman's neck and held her like a chicken ready for slaughter while glancing through the people around him, whenever they were from Topo or Nill villagers.
???: I agree.
The one to react was surprisingly the remaining elder of Nill village, Nick, who staggered towards Karl before bowing at the young man, with the help of the children supporting him.
His train of thought was actually pretty simple and easy to understand, without Karl help and support where were they suppose to go carrying the wounds they had and considering how exhausted they were, both physically and mentally.
??? .a..r..rr..r..r....
On the other hand, no one from the Topo village was able to react even now, while the young woman no longer struggled at the strong grip suffocating her. Her focus was fading away with having trouble in keeping her eyes open and mind functioning, much less mustering strength on her arms and legs to fight back. Her face color was quickly washing away, as one of the men rushed at the two of them.
???: Please. We also agree, just stop hurting her.
Just as Karl was preparing to fight with his remaining free arm while carrying another person with him, he was a little bit taken back by how fast the man rushed to his knees and pleaded with his head smashing on the ground.
He wasn't the only one as the rest of the men and even the ones hiding in the village did the same.
If one were to ask any of them – 'Why didn't you fight him till death? He is just a human?' - the answer would be obvious, could they bring him down? Yes. The problem was the following question. How many would die to achieve such insignificant victory, that had no benefits.
Karl: Good.
A smile appeared for the first time on his face as he breathed out in relief while letting go of the woman in his grip, who immediately started coughing and breathing erratically for the pleasant and marvellous feeling of air coursing through her injured, deserted throat and lungs.
Some rushed at her and helped her, while Karl, followed by the injured villagers of Nill village, went to the village in front of them.
| 1 hour & 30 minutes later |
Against all odds, considering the events of that eventful day, everyone were able to sit down and have a good meal without any fight or discussion occurring. Although such odd scene was because of the presence of a single young man that sat surrounded by the elders of both villages, which consisted mostly of the Topo village since Nick was the sole elder survivor of the Nill village.
Karl was now digesting all the basic information had imparted to him while he swallowed the last bit of the simple soup that was served to everyone. It wasn't anything special since it consisted mainly of water with a few vegetables.
He was in a region called Lim that was managed by the Duke of West, Gustavus. He was the sole ruler of the region without any counties because of the geographical features in the region, it was filled with hills all over the place, deep valleys, few and small patches of flat land to grow crops and a handful of rivers.
It was a region renowned for its natural fortresses and that served a strong shield by the Namor Empire. It was also one of the two land borders the empire had to be worried about, since it had the sea bordering on the south and east.
This.... in time of war.
Once peace settled in, such previous points of tremendous praise and geographical value were lost. The land to farm was little and hard, support from the empire was short to none, numerous bandits roamed the hills and mountains to pillage the merchants and villages, pushing the people to the other regions of the empire and the merchants take the long way around through the north that was full of plains.
From what he had learned by the elders, the Duke had tried frantically to catch and apprehend those bandits but it ended in failure. After he was successful for the first times, the remaining bandits began evolving and adapting, managing to escape through the grasp of the Duke. Even those bandits that he captured didn't amount to nothing, since double the number would emerge out of nowhere in the following day.
The reason behind the war between the two villages was also related to the impending decline of the region. Increase in taxes. Something that neither village could satisfy and with the result of failling to do it being death or slavery pushed the elders of Topo village to come up with the plan of engaging war on Nill village.
It was simple plan. The death of men didn't matter as they planned on using the women to pay the incoming tax and gaining time to increase their crop storage.
The problem was the prowess displayed by Karl, was something that they didn't calculate or even expected.
Karl: “I really am in a different world then....”
Finishing the soup in his bowel, he lowered while looking and contemplating the moon up in the sky.
Even though darkness had settle with the emergence of night, they were able to eat and relax under the light and warmth provided by the torches around them. Although whenever a breeze blew by carrying the coldness of the night, they shivered without distinction.
Karl: “I don't know how to feel about this...”
Looking up at the clean, starry sky and full moon, he started thinking of his previous life, the memories he had gained. From those he could see that he had a job that he hated, the hard labour, the low salary, treated like a slave without will..... a shitty family that treated him like a dog, that only need to obey and do, instead of equal respect..... and above all else...loneliness. Two truths present all over his memories. He was what could be considered as different, even abnormal, from the era of social web. It was such that the person in the memories began embracing the loneliness and isolating himself from the rest with rage and hatred filling his mind and heart.
The number of murder thoughts crossing through his mind aiming towards the people that mistreat him numbered the millions per day. It reached the point of him realizing he was pointing at other and calling them freaks, when he was the freak.
???: Karl. I would like for you to hear a request of mine.
Just as he was about to sail through 'his' memories and decide what to do next, a voice called him out. Looking down from the sky to his front he found elder Nick, the sole elder remaining of Nill village, kneeling down on the ground in one knee as he spoke loudly.
It was such that it attracted the attention of everyone in the village, especially the ones of the same village, as they were the most confused about the actions of their sole elder.
Karl: What do you want?
Anger was clear in his face even though he tried to retain his neutral expression and not expose his feelings, as it one of the biggest weakness one could have. If there was something that he had obtained after gaining the memories was the annoying feeling when someone interrupted him, especially when he was talking.
???: What is happening?
???: Why is elder Nick kneeling to Karl?
???: Look! His wound is opening again! Look at the bandage turning bloody!
People started murmuring while looking at the scene playing. The thought that plagued them and they desperately wanted it answered was - “What is elder Nick doing?”.
Nick: I would like for you to take control and rule over the remaining of Nill village.
The words of the elder, still kneeling, came as a shook to the people, causing some of them to even drop their wooden bowels to the ground, before reacting swiftly at the noise of objects falling and cursing silently at the waste of food.
The ones more affected by the words of the elder Nick were no other than the remaining villagers of the Nill village. Although elder Nick spoke for all of them as none stepped forward and protested, they were rather grateful. The strong live while the weak die, unless the weak decide to unite under the protection of the strong.
Considering the events of today it was easy to guess how strong Karl was, while none of them could contest against a single men, he was able to overwhelm a group of them, with ease.
Karl: Why would I do such a thing? There is no benefit in that for me.
His words came like a bucket of cold water on the villagers of Nill village, which was something that the ones of Topo village took great enjoyment. They were a little bit worried of Karl accepting the request of elder Nick, since it would be obvious that they first and immediate target would be them.
Nick: In fact there is a lot of benefits.
Karl: Is that so?
Nick: Yes.
Karl: Why don't you elaborate then.
Elder Nick continued kneeling and speaking without wavering, although the wound on his shoulder looked to hurt a lot as the bandage on his shoulder had already turned bloody red. It almost looked as if he wasn't injured, like there was nothing there. Such determination and willpower was remarkable causing Karl to be impressed, although he hid it under his neutral expression.
Nick: Although its the undeniable truth that the ones to benefit the most would be us... it could also represent the beginning of something to achieve anything that you wish for.
Saying so the kneeling elder lifted his head and stared deeply into the red eyes of the young man, who started rethinking of his opinion of this elder Nick. One could think that he was speaking big words without anything to back it up, but he had this feeling that this wasn't case.
Nick: “This man.... this person is no longer the Karl that we knew or thought to know. From what I have seen
the short moments I have been observing him and careful analysing his behaviour, it's something I have never seen before.”
Karl: If that were the case then there is far better and healthy option.
This time the bucket of cold water together with a shiver running down their back was on the ones of Topo viillage
It was crystal clear of whom Karl was speaking about, with one of the elders of Topo village immediately standing up and pointing at Karl while his face was red with anger.
???: Hey now! Wait a second! That wasn't the agreeme--- qeee
The elder wasn't able to finish his argument as Karl had thrown his plate at him, aiming at his stomach but failing and hitting him on his balls.
There was an impulse on the remaining men of Topo village to stand up and charge at Karl for such behaviour and atrocity committed by him towards one of their elders, but the fear and powerlessness of what happened early in the day stopped them dead in their tracks.
Even if they went and managed to save their elder, the cost of such action being their lives wasn't something they were willingly able to pay for.
There were also some children that wanted to save their sweet and kind elder, but the woman, being their sisters or mothers, stopped them from such reckless action.
Nick: I agree with you in that regard, but there is the loyalty matter to consider if such comparison were to occur.
The bandage around the shoulder of the elder kneeling was completely bloody-red by now with blood now slipping through his arm to the ground, the colour on his face was drained resulting in a pale complexion.
Even then his voice didn't waver or his expression distort under the pain he was feeling, and now a somewhat hazy vision that made him fall asleep.
Karl: “This old man.....” You are right about that. The thing is.... can I expect that from you?
Nick: Yes. Although I can't speak for others, but I wouldn't hesitate at all.
A smile graced Karl's face as he let go of the elder while stepping towards the kneeling elder, before helping him up and made him sit on the ground.
Karl: “I don't like troublesome matters and arrangements, but let's go with the flow for now.” I agree with your request.
Normally Karl would have continued on rejecting the old man, but he was impressive with the willpower shown by the elder.
A smile also graced the pale face of the elder, as he muttered a low 'thank you' before closing his eyes and letting Karl lay him on the ground, before the middle-age women from Nill village went forward and started analysing and doing their best to contain the blood of the wound on the shoulder.
Everyone of Nill village bloomed with a smile on their faces at the prospect of Karl as their new leader.
They didn't know if it was a good idea or if the power would reach his head and turn into a complete bastard and jerk, at least they would be able to live and see sunlight with their own eyes for the next couple of days.
Unfortunately this feeling wasn't felt for everyone, as the villagers of Topo village started sweating in fear of what was going to happen next. They were certain that Karl would overpower them and take their food away, leading them to their death.
This time no hesitation could be seen in the eyes of the men and, even, women and children of Topo village, as they reached to grasp on anything that could be used as a weapon.
Karl: I wouldn't do that if I were you.
A shiver ran down theirs back in reaction to his voice causing them to pause in their actions.
Karl: There should be some wise among you and see that its useless to continue this fight any longer.
???: Then what!? Willing let you take all of our food! As if it wasn't bad enough that you slaughtered and ruined our plan!!!
One woman, seemingly unable to take anymore, shouted out while receiving aproval nods from the rest of the villagers, except for ones from Nill village.
Karl: For starters... I didn't kill all of your men. That is the evidence.
Saying so Karl pointed to the three men that he had spared earlier, while the villagers of Topo village agreed with him, they seemed to going to lash out at him for pointing such stupid, minor detail.
Karl: Besides... it's not like you have no clue about the number of deaths from our side, making our grievance greater and bigger than yours.
His words were like a slap to their faces, pushing them down to look at the ground. They were talking about how he had killed all of the men, but they had suffered far worst. Only an idiot or an ignorant wouldn't know or realize what losing a war meant, so they pretty much knew what their husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and cousins did back in Nill village.
They were just unlucky in the end because of Karl.
Karl: … by the way... who said I was going to take your food.
???: Huh? You aren't?
It wasn't just the ones of Topo village that reacted this way, even the women from Nill village were the same. Elder Nick was smiling at the sight of all of this happening.
Nick: “I was right about him.”
Karl: You told me that without extra hands then neither village would be able to produce to pay the lord of the region, right?
The eyes of the every single person, except for Nick, Karl and a few of the elders from Topo village, started to bulge. With the threat of death being so close to them, they no longer cared about not being able to pay their lord.
It was understandble since they weren't even assure that they would be able to live and see the sun after this night, with the appearance of Karl and the possibility of him killing all of them or taking their food, which would result in the same conclusion. Death. Their croops would only be able to give out food in about 2 weeks.
???: W-what do you suggest then?
One of the woman spoke while stuttering in fear about what was going to happen, if they weren't able to satisfy the lord of the region then it would result in a complete slaughter.
Karl: I don't think that there is a need to specificly tell you, since some of your old men and this guy over here must have come up to the same conclusion.
Saying so Karl pointed to elder Nick that was still beside him laying on the ground.
???: Are you suggesting for us to unite and work together?
Suddenly the quiestest elder of Topo village spoke, (his character appearance).
Karl: Yes.
???: What is in there for us? Besides you, the rest of your group are injured or traumatized.
The, previous quiet, elder continued speaking without wavering in front of Karl.
Karl: That is true, which would require a little bit of thinking and planning. To start, let me ask you a question.
???: You do realise that we still haven't agreed with any of this.
Karl: You are thinking this from the wrong point of view. I don't care whenever you come or not. What is certain is that I will take some food enough to last us for what I am going to assume, 5 days.
???: ….
The elder this time didn't continue speaking as he understood the hidden meaning behind Karl's words.
Karl: … continuing from where I was going, why haven't the lot of you changed locations?
???: …. what are you talking about?
I understand that in the long term farming is far better but from what I have observed and what you have told me, you don't hunt do you?
???: No. It's far too dangerous and doesn't compensate.
Nick: There is something that we haven't told you yet, my lord.
Nick that was regaining his strength slowly, spoke while adressing Karl with an honourary title.
Karl: What is it?
Nick: The main reason why we don't have any interest in hunting, besides what Kain told you in regards of benefit and cost, is the existence of magical beasts.
Karl: Magical...Beasts?
Nick: Yes.
Karl: Clarify.
Nick: They are special creatures, which existence we aren't exactly sure how it ocurs, but what we know for certain is that they are far stronger and dangerous in comparison with their counterparts. With some even possessing the ability of controlling and wielding the elements of nature like their own limbs.
Karl: Is that so.... interesting.
Nick: That is not all, my lord.
Karl: Oh....
Nick: The truly dangerous and feared through the whole region, and I even dare to say the whole world, is the ones that obtain intelligence, causing them to be far more cunning and powerful than any human.
Karl: …..
???: As you can see that, there is no way for us to move or even explore the land outside of our current land, without the lord's army to protect us and exterminate any danger.