As he looked at the picture of his family, Eric's thoughts drifted back to his life before it all went to shit. About six years ago, he was just a naive teenager full of hope and goals for the future. He and his family weren't rich or the happiest, but they weren't poor either. They had each other, and that was enough. A subtle smile crept across his face as he remembered the happy memories he had spent with his family. They were the best days of his life, and he would do anything to relive them. Even a silly snowball fight with his little sister was a precious memory.

But his smile quickly faded as he remembered that day—the day his whole world changed forever. It all began after war was brought to his country. He lost his family and everything he held dear in the chaos of a conflict they had nothing to do with.

After experiencing devastating grief that transformed him from a cheerful boy to an unsocial, self-pitying individual, he felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness. After the funeral, he received some sympathetic looks from people close to his parents. They gave him words of encouragement and condolences.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I don't know what to say; I wish I had the right words to comfort you.

I'm so sorry for the pain you must be feeling right now. Please know that if you ever need anything, whatever it is, even if you just need a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you.

We are just as sad as you are, but you don't have to live in regret; you have to move on with your life. You have to live for you and your family now.

It is okay to cry.

Some of them offered to let him live with them since he had nowhere else to go. He wasn't the only orphan, and many had lost their parents in this cruel war that showed no mercy. Everyone was having a hard time during the war, and seeing a few people willing to help when most would rather not have an extra mouth to feed brought a little warmth to his heart.

Even though he knew they meant well, he hated it. He hated the way they looked at him with pity. He hated the way they talked to him, like he was a fragile little boy who did not understand what was happening. He hated why his family had to die when they were just civilians. He hated why his country went to war but couldn't even defend its own people. He hated the people of the opposing country for ruining his life. He hated everything!

The sadness and anger he felt were like a raging inferno that was about to consume him.

Just as some suicidal thoughts were about to consume him, one last thought kept running through his mind. Why was his family killed when they never took part in the war and were only civilians? Why must he commit suicide while those who killed his family are still alive and ruining the lives of other families?

No, he would not allow it. He wouldn't let the culprits bask and enjoy their lives while he rotted and died. He had to do something. He had to find the culprits. He had to kill!

Blinded by hatred, he joined the army at the age of 18 just to satisfy his thirst for revenge, but no matter how many enemies he killed and people he saved, deep down he knew that none of it mattered. He lost his family, and nothing would bring them back, but despite knowing this, he just wanted to vent his anger, hatred, and frustration.

After spending a few years on the battlefield, killing hundreds of people, and surviving one dangerous mission after another, he simply became numb to life. Although he sometimes wanted to die just for the chance to be reunited with his family, deep inside he feared death. He wasn't sure if he would meet his family after he died. He was afraid that he would just disappear, fall into an eternal slumber, and be surrounded by darkness forever. So he fought and resisted with everything he had, not seeking death until his time came.

Even though those he killed had nothing to do with his family's deaths, since he had already killed everyone responsible, he couldn't just stop. He became a broken, empty, walking shell with no purpose in life but to achieve an unattainable goal.

The memory of those hellish days made him grit his teeth and clench his fists, but he quickly straightened them as he crumbled the picture in his hand.

He closed his eyes for what felt like an eternity before releasing a defeated sigh.

Maybe this is a sign that I should just let go of the past and move on with my life!

The thought of leaving the past behind and just spending the rest of his life in the countryside had crossed his mind many times in the past, but he always managed to bury it deep inside him. He had to constantly remind himself why he was doing this and why he was fighting; it was all for revenge for his family.

These thoughts always managed to get him back on his feet and keep him from losing his mind. But now, far away from home, far away from his country and the war, the thoughts of letting go of the past came to his mind, and this time he couldn't push them back.

Here in a whole new world, where all kinds of wonders and magic existed, his resolve wavered. The thought of traveling and seeing everything the world had to offer tempted him. Its mysteries, adventures, and exploration filled his mind.

In this world, I could restart—no, I could start a whole new life. A life without regrets... Yeah, I'll live without regrets!!

With conflicted emotions, he looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

If you're out there watching... his lips quivered. I'm sorry, but I think I have to let you go. I'm not going to live in the past anymore. I'm going to live my own life now!

So, I have to let you go!

I must let you go!

… I'll let you go!

Uncontrollable tears streamed down, splashing as they fell on the picture.

I'm sorry!

****

Still feeling emotionally unstable, Eric shifted his attention back to the three books at the desk in a desperate attempt to distract himself. He didn't know if they were the same as the ones he had absorbed or just regular books, so he reached out to find out.

The moment his hand touched the first book, a familiar window appeared in his vision.

[You have made contact with a knowledge book.]

[Do you wish to absorb its contents?]

"Another knowledge book... Are all these books the same?" He thought, "I wonder how these books are made... I know it's magic, but how... it just defies common sense, or any illogical explanation could be solved if magic is involved."

Even though he gained some knowledge about the world he was in, it didn't contain much information about such strange items.

"Well, finding out how it works isn't a priority; there will be opportunities to learn all about these secrets in the future." He shook his head slightly.

Even though the prospect of casting all kinds of cool magic filled his mind, he didn't let it distract him. For now, he needed to focus on gathering as much information as he could to better understand the world before making any kind of plan.

Any knowledge contained in these books could be extremely helpful in one way or another. As they say, knowledge is power, and there's no harm in gaining more knowledge. Well, except maybe a little headache.

Accept. He mentally ordered it, causing another window to appear.

[Proceed absorbing the book...]

This time, he was mentally prepared, so when the knowledge poured into his brain, he wasn't surprised by the accompanying pain. But unlike the first time he absorbed the book, this time the headache wasn't as intense; it was still painful, but just not as much. He didn't know whether the reason for that was the increase in his mental power attribute or whether he was just adapting to the pain, but he was more inclined to the former.

[You have completely absorbed the book.]

[Your Mind Power has increased by 1 point.]

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

After a few minutes, the process was complete, and Eric was able to browse through the new information he had gleaned from the book.

As he read, his mind couldn't help but wander a bit.

Even though this book isn't written in a language I know, I can still understand what it says.

After the absorption process was completed, the knowledge would appear in his mind in the form of a book with just one thought, but strangely enough, he could understand the content as he mentally turned each page.

This must be the effect of that skill. Language adaptation.

He was astonished. He still hadn't gotten used to the fact that he was in a new magical world, and Earth's common sense was still affecting his judgment, but the more knowledge he gained, the more his common sense was subjugated.

After a few minutes of browsing, he was disappointed to find that the book contained no useful knowledge; instead, it was filled with information about various herbs and plants and their uses, where they could be found, what kind of environment they could grow in, and other such information.

Useless. That was his assessment after half an hour of mentally flipping through the book. He had no interest in becoming an herbalist. Even though he saw many herbs with different effects, he still had no interest in cultivating or searching for plants.

I guess I was wrong. There is useless knowledge. He thought. Well, at least the pain was worth it.

He gained one stat point after absorbing the book, so that was a plus. At least he didn't go through the pain for nothing.

Without bothering to read any further, Eric shifted his attention to the second book, "Hopefully you'll be more useful." With that, he reached out and touched it; a familiar window appeared, and he repeated the same process as the first time.

After the process was completed, he scanned the information contained in the book, causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise at the contents of the book.

The book contained techniques and methods for creating and making different types of potions.

Potions were drinks made by combining different ingredients. Drinking a potion would result in a magical effect. There were different kinds of potions, from healing potions to deadly potions. Most of the potions mentioned in this book were poisonous, but not all of them were lethal.

As Eric read through the book, he found that there were different kinds of poisons, not only the ones that killed people but also the ones that made the body stronger.

No wonder there's a botanical book here. He finally understood why such a book was here and why someone would turn it into a knowledge book. I guess it wasn't a useless book after all.

He suppressed the urge to read through all the information and shifted his attention to the third book. His curiosity piqued. He wondered what unexpected knowledge it contained and how it might help him.

A familiar window appeared after he touched the book, but upon closer inspection, he noticed a slight difference from the ones before.

[You have made contact with a martial arts knowledge book.]

[Continue to absorb the contents.]

"Martial arts knowledge," Eric mused. "Well, that could be quite valuable."

He continued to absorb the book; this time the headache wasn't painful, and he quickly regained his composure when the process was finished.

Dismissing the message informing him of the increase in his Mind Power, he mentally flipped through the book. After a few moments, a smile crept across his face. The martial art recorded in the book was called Flowing Water.

"Flowing Water was a defensive martial art rooted in fluidity and adaptability. It emphasizes harnessing the power of water's natural movements to gracefully deflect and evade attacks. Practitioners of Flowing Water are trained to seamlessly blend evasion, redirection, and counterattack, mirroring the unpredictable and relentless flow of water. Through disciplined training and precise techniques, they learn to flow with the rhythm of combat, turning an opponent's aggression into opportunities for defense and control.

The practitioners of this martial art could deflect or redirect their opponent's attacks with double the force. It was also possible for the practitioner to deflect attacks that were much more powerful than the user's strength.

However, there was a limit to the power that could be redirected, in that the user couldn't redirect attacks that had too much power behind them compared to the user's own strength.

This looks similar to the martial arts on Earth.

Even though he wasn't an expert, Eric still managed to see the similarities between Flowing Water and Earth Martial Arts. It looked like a mixture of different martial arts. From the techniques he had read so far, he noticed that some of the moves were similar to the techniques of Aikido and Jujitsu.

Could it be that a martial artist from Earth came to this world and left this martial art behind, or is it native to this world?

He knew that he wasn't the only one who had crossed over to this new world, as he still remembered the people he heard when he first woke up buried under the rubble.

He didn't know if this crossing phenomenon happened randomly or if it had a specific time that happened, like an eclipse. As for how long this phenomenon had been happening, as far as he knew, it could be since the beginning of history. So there might be thousands of earthlings like him scattered around the world.

As his thoughts began to drift, Eric suddenly shook his head.

Even if there were others like me who had crossed over, so what? There's no point in meeting them. Would we sit down and talk about our lives on Earth, or would some of them try to go back?

He understood that some people couldn't just turn over a new leaf in this world and might try desperately to get back to their lives on Earth. Some had friends they missed, and some had families to return to, but Eric had no such concerns. Maybe some of his friends in the army would be worried, but it wouldn't stop their lives just because he was missing. That was life.

Well, there is no harm if I meet someone. It might even be useful.

Shaking his head, Eric turned his attention to the last thing in the room, the small wooden chest under the desk. He pulled it up and placed it on the desk. There was no lock on the chest, so he just lifted the lid and looked inside.

He found two items inside; the first that caught his attention was a transparent bottle with a glowing red liquid inside.

What is it?

Curious, he reached for it, but the moment he held the bottle, a notification window appeared in front of him.

[Item: Poison of Ralos]

Type: Potion

A potion containing the refined venom of the Ralos, a poisonous reptilian creature. It can be found very rarely when hunting unranked Ralos. Drinking this poison will increase your durability and give you a strong body, but the poison will cause severe pain and permanent damage to your muscles if not treated in time.

Effect: +10 Constitution

Side effect: 'Pain and damaged muscles'. Strength, Constitution, and Agility: -10

Condition: Constitution below 100

"Yeah, no way in hell I'm using that."

The side effects were too much for him to bear, and besides, he couldn't foolishly believe everything the window said. What if it was more lethal than it said? He wouldn't risk taking a chance to find out.

He placed the bottle in his inventory and shifted his gaze to the other item; at first glance, it looked like an ordinary stone, but upon closer inspection, he noticed a strange blueish glowing writing on the surface of the stone. He reached for the chest where the flickering stone came from.

What is this?!

A small stone with mysterious runes carved into its surface appeared in his hand. A window appeared in front of him as he held the stone.

[Runestone: Iron Wall]

[You can absorb the skill by breaking the Runestone.]

Eric pulled the stone closer and examined it closely. The glowing writing on the stone was unlike anything he'd seen before, and even the books he'd absorbed didn't contain any information about it.

It says I have to break it.

Curious, he squeezed his hand hard, and the runestone shattered into pieces without much resistance.

Startled, Eric watched as a bluish aura seeped out of the cracks in the runestone and slowly wrapped around his body. It circled around him, and before he could back away, it entered his nose and was absorbed into his lungs. Immediately, he felt an unknown force trying to imprint something on him. He groaned as he felt not physical but mental pain, but the sensation quickly faded.

After a few moments, a familiar notification appeared.

[You have learned "Skill: Iron Wall."]

[Skill: Iron Wall]

Type: Body Enhancement (Passive)

Dramatically increase your defense. Completely ignores the damage that is lower than your Constitution and causes you to not get tired easily.

Side effects: The skill will constantly drain your magic power to remain functional, and once you run out of mana, the skill will be deactivated.

This is a very powerful skill! Looking at the description of the skill, his eyes widened in surprise. From the name, he guessed that it had something to do with defense, but he hadn't expected it to have such an amazing effect.

He was quite nervous since this was the first time he had used a rune stone to learn a skill, but the whole process turned out to be unexpectedly quick and easy.

Wait! While reading the description, he noticed something critical that he had overlooked. It said that the skill would allow you to ignore any damage you took that was lower than your Constitution.

If I increase my constitution, won't I become invulnerable to all kinds of damage?

He couldn't help but smile at the thought of swaggering around while monsters attacked him without taking any damage.

However, even though he felt happy, he couldn't help but have doubts. If it's such a powerful skill, why was it kept here and not used?

What the hell was the owner thinking, putting such a valuable skill here and not using it himself? Or did he already have a similar skill?

If it were him, Eric wouldn't hide such an incredible ability in a cave. He would either use it himself or sell it. With the effects of the skill, he was sure it would be sold for a huge amount of money.

Well, it doesn't matter anymore. It's mine now.

Shaking his head, Eric looked around the room to see if there was anything useful, but he was disappointed to find nothing but soup pots, old and rusty iron pans, and other kitchen utensils.

He turned his attention to the other remaining door in the room.

"Well, I guess it's time to see what's behind that big door."