Chapter 1

Unexpected Return

    The sun was yet to rise, but a sound could be heard loudly echoing outside the town of Lewick. For the people of this town, the sound was a regular part of their daily lives.

    West of the town, a river flows from the North. Intense heat could be felt coming from a stone building beside the river. It was the blacksmith's workshop, the source of the rhythmic sound.

    On the front yard of the workshop, a figure was swinging a sword under the cover of the darkness of dawn. His upper body was naked and covered in sweat. Faintly visible steam rose as the cold morning air made contact with his skin, testament to how worked up he was.

    As the sun rose, its warm light spread throughout the town. A bell rang, and the town seemed to have come alive. People went out of their homes, some carrying empty wooden buckets. They went to the wells, some to the river, to fetch water for their daily use.

    One of them was a small girl wearing a simple brown shirt. The shirt was too big for her, and it would have been mistaken for a dress if not for the loose sleeves that reached past her elbows. She yawned as she walked towards the river while swinging the bucket.

    Seeing the girl heading for the river, the figure training outside the blacksmith's workshop, Valecore Edin, called out to her.

Valecore: "Reylerie, watch where you're going!"

    Hearing the familiar voice, the girl turned her head and waved at him with a big smile on her face.

Reylerie: "Brother, good morn---!"

    She tripped before she could finish her greeting. Valecore grabbed the scabbard on the ground and sheathed the sword, hung it on his belt, and ran towards the girl kissing the ground.

    When he reached her location, she had already sat up, tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

Valecore: "There, there."

    He took out a small towel from the pouch that hung on his waist and used it to wipe the dirt on her face and clothes. A gentle smile has formed on his face as he did so.

    This was a common daily occurrence, but Reylerie never seem to learn her lesson, and Valecore always had to take care of her, the duties of an older brother. He helped her fetch water from the river and brought her home.

Valecore: "We're home."

Reylerie: "We're home!"

    The two made their greetings in unison as soon as they entered the simple wooden house, their home in Lewick.

???: "Reeey! Leeee! Rieeee!"

    A voice echoed inside the house along with stomping footsteps. A woman came out of the kitchen, still wearing an apron, and wielding the deadliest weapon in this household - a kitchen knife. It was their mother, Valerie Edin.

Valerie: "How many times do I have to tell you not to take clothes from the laundry basket! And it had to be your brother's shirt of all things!"

Reylerie: "But I like brother's scent."

    She lifted the collar and took a sniff as if to demonstrate.

Valerie: "Take it off, right now!"

    As the two argued, Valecore made his way to the kitchen carrying the bucket of water, but he was blocked by Valerie. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as he did not know what he had done to merit his mother's displeasure.

Valerie: "Sword."

    Looking down, Valecore saw the sheathed sword still hanging on his belt, then made an awkward smile. He handed the bucket of water to his mother and ran out of the house.

    It was part of the rules that no one was allowed to carry a weapon deadlier the kitchen knife into the house.

    He ran all the way back to the workshop by the river, and entered without knocking at the door. A muscular man was hammering a piece of red hot metal. It had already taken the shape of a sword. He then wrapped it in an insulating material and set it aside to cool.

    This blacksmith was Valecore and Reylerie's father, Corey Edin.

Corey: "Ya both got scolded again, didn't ya?"

    He took the towel hanging on the stool and used it to wipe his sweat.

Valecore: "Yes. Mother was swinging as always."

Corey: "I never knew she'd love that piece so much she'd bring it with her ta sleep if I dont stop her."

    Father and son chuckled at the thought.

    was one of the few masterpieces made by Corey. It was a kitchen knife he made for his wife's birthday the previous year. Since then, she had spent a lot of time in the kitchen just to have a reason for holding the knife.

Corey: "You can leave it there on the table."

    He knew why his son had come back to the workshop. With a wry smile, Valecore did as he was told. They left for home after Corey locked the workshop.

    This was a common daily occurrence. For them, there was nothing out of the ordinary with these actions.

    Even if they repeat the same things every single day.

    Even if every word they had said today, was the same words they had said yesterday, or the day before, or weeks before that.

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    Night had fallen long ago, and the townspeople of Lewick were fast asleep. The town was located near the Northern border of the Kingdom of Arcum, South of the Snowcap Mountain Range. Aside from the occasional adventurers who traded and bought supplies, there were no other outsiders who goes to this remote town. And that was how they were struck unprepared by something they least expected.

    The rain had began to pour. Valecore awoke with a strange feeling. He was sleeping in the workshop, taking turns with his father every other day. As he looked at the window facing the town, his eyes widened in shock.

    The town was ablaze! The pouring rain does little help in putting out the fire. And the sound of combat could be faintly heard.

    Raiders!

    Panic-stricken, Valecore grabbed one of the swords on the table and rushed outside. His clothes were immediately drenched by the rain.

Valecore: Why would raiders come here?

    As he was about to run to the town, an arrow whizzed past him. Looking ahead, he found two figures slowly walking towards him.

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Figure 1: "Hey, hey. You're this close already and you still can't hit?"

Figure 2: "It's raining, dude. The hit rate decreases with weather conditions."

Figure 1: "Don't make excuses. I can hit him just fine even in this rain."

Figure 2: "That's because you're higher level than me, and you pumped all your points to DEX."

Figure 1: "Naah, man. I'm just that skilled."

    Valecore knew that those two were part of whoever attacked the town. They were dressed in good quality leather equipment and wielded strange ornamental bows.

Valecore: Based on their appearances, they shoud be adventurers. But why are they attacking the town?

    As he tried to move forward, another arrow flew past him and grazed his cheek. He winced in pain.

Figure 1: "Gah! That was almost a headshot!"

Figure 2: "Haha! You missed!"

Figure 1: "I grazed him! Didn't you see the damage?"

    The two were still leisurely talking. Seeing it as an opportunity, Valecore tightened his grip on the sword and attempted to dash towards them. But what greeted him were quick successive arrow shots.

Figure 1: "Gyahaha! Run little bug."

Figure 2: " really has low accuracy, huh?"

    The two shot arrows at an impossibly fast rate. Valecore knew that adventurers are strong in combat and can not be outmatched by normal people like him. He did his best to dodge and fall back, until he was cornered at the river bank.

Figure 2: "This NPC is really good at dodging, huh?"

Figure 1: "Gyahahaha! Let's be serious this time. !"

    One of the raised his bow and light gathered around his hands. This was a , abilities Valecore heard about that adventurers were adept at using.

    A huge red dot appeared on Valecore's chest along with many smaller dots scattered around. He somehow knew that he couldn't escape. An arrow will pierce one of those dots without fail, no matter what he try to do.

Valecore: Am I going to die? Father... mother... Reylerie! "Raaaaaaaaaaaa!"

    He dashed towards the adventurers before him, hoping for some sort of miracle. But, alas, miracles don't exist in this world.

    The arrow flew towards him and hit a red spot. The force was strong enough to lift him off of his feet. He was knocked backwards a huge distance, rolled on the ground, and fell into the river.

Figure 1: "Oh, shit!"

Figure 2: "Epic fail, man! You only hit the shoulder."

Figure 1: "It was a critical hit, but it didn't empty his HP bar."

Figure 2: "He fell into the river. Got nature-killed. No EXP for us. You suck, man."

Figure 1: "It's the fucking rain's fault."

Figure 2: "That's what I said earlier."

    The two figures kept their leisurely conversation as they went into the workshop, taking anything they think is worth something.

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    Morning had arrived, and the tragedy in Lewick was plain to see. There were burnt corpses and buildings everywhere. The ground was painted red and black by blood and soot.

    Inside one of the ruined buildings, a figure was kneeling down and hugging three black lumps in his arms. He was wailing while shouting curses at the sky. It was Valecore.

    He had survived from barely drowning in the rushing river, carried downstream by the powerful current due to the rain. Wounded and exhausted, he made his way back to the town only to find the tragic sight. He held hope for his family's survival, only to be heavily struck by the truth.

    He was the only survivor.

    Hugging what remained of his family, he cursed at the heavens for this tragedy. He cursed and cursed and cursed until his throat hurt from screaming. He spat blood, but he didn't care.

    All he wanted was revenge.

    This morning was supposed to be a common daily occurrence. But none of that remains. He could never get it back. His sister wearing his shirt and carrying a bucket in the morning, tripping due to her clumsiness. His mother swinging around her favorite kitchen knife while scolding them. His father continuously hammering the red hot metal, providing a regular percussion that every people in the town were familiar with.

    None of that remains.

Valecore: "Grrrraaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!"

    Letting out a bestial howl, Valecore swore in his heart to get revenge.

    Revenge for everything taken away from him. He felt an indescribable pain throughout his body. This was not pain caused by the loss of his family, and neither was it pain caused by his injuries. He felt as if his blood was boiling. Something inside him was changing.

Alena. A name appeared in his head, but immediately faded away.

    He spent the rest of the day burying the remains of everyone in the village, then salvaging whatever he could from the remains of the town, he prepared to go on a journey to seek those who must be punished for what they have done.

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???: "Hmm? Something's strange."

    A man wearing thick-rimmed glasses stared at multiple monitors in front of him. Suddenly, windows popped up informing of errors in the system. Immediately, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

Voice from the phone: "For fuck's sake, do you know what time it is? This better be important."

Man with glasses: "Kane, I'm getting these reeeeeeally wierd errors right now, you better come over here right now and check this out."

Kane: "Players hacking again?"

Man with glasses: "Uhh, it's kind of similar to a hack, but it's coming from an NPC."

Kane: "What!?!"

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[End of Chapter 1]