The old man had wrinkled his eyebrows as he was dazed in confusion.
“There’s no one here? Ma’am, please don’t joke around it’s a matter of life and death right now.”
“I-Is that so? There really isn’t anyone inside but if you want to take a look inside then I guess Reinhold wouldn’t mind.”
Hearing this specific name, the old man stood as still as a statue remembering a young man with resolute determination to follow his dreams. A bit timid but skilled enough to survive on his own, although not as talented as a gifted, he makes it up with his wits. The limits of Reinhold’s wits were still something he has yet to see.
Reinhold was a kid he saw grow up with his own very eyes, raised by his strict father to have discipline and determination while having a loving mother who embedded the idea of helping those in need in his brain. Unfortunately, he didn’t have as much contact with him anymore when he stopped taking guild requests, opting to search outside the safety of the walls to earn more money.
“He might’ve arrived yesterday and immediately rested before informing you.”
“Reinhold? That does sound like him but if he did arrive then my son, Liam, would be back home as well. They took a job outside a few days ago and Reinhold said it was a relatively easier task, something even a beginner could do.”
“I suppose looking inside wouldn’t hurt. Come in though I do have to warn you to not touch his bookshelf it was his-”
“His father’s, I know. We need to hurry.”
Side by side, the old woman’s aged beauty contrasted with the still masculine face of the blacksmith. Her weak willow arms barely holding onto the watering can in her hand, slightly trembling while the blacksmith stood there, his towering stature overwhelming her presence.
Entering the door, the very first thing the blacksmith noticed was that it was cleaner than he expected since Reinhold shouldn’t have had enough time to clean anything. Hell, he shouldn’t have even been home for the most part ever since…
The blacksmith scratched his scruffy white beard as his eyes darted all over the place.
The old woman saw his suspicion, “I cleaned his house, it’s the least I could do for letting Liam join him.”
Reinhold was upstairs, his body resting against the soft cotton bed beneath him. As he was staring mindlessly straight at the empty bedroom ceiling, his ear picked up a name that his mind still couldn’t handle.
“Liam,” Reinhold muttered under his breath as his eyes jolted awake. Countless dreary thoughts cleared away as he realized what kind of situation, he was in.
“It was bound to happen, come what may. I’m tired of it all.” Reinhold once again closed his eyes as the inevitable was about to happen. In contrast to his relaxed expression, he tightly held a brooch in his hand.
The blacksmith cleared the first floor with swift motions. He immediately noticed the scattered items on the table, confirming that Reinhold did come home. He glanced at the bookshelf, just to make sure it truly was him. The fine cover of dust he was expecting to find was nowhere in sight.
If a stranger just came in and left himself at home, that could explain the items that were all over the kitchen table. This, however, wouldn’t have explained why the specific book that held clear meaning to Reinhold, in particular, would be touched whilst the other books were still collecting dust.
Finally, putting the few clues together, the blacksmith who highly disdained scholars decided to use his brain.
“Reinhold must’ve come back yesterday, a Red Diamond Python appeared in front of him, and with his skill, it wouldn’t have even caused him to bat an eye, even if he was limping. He covered its fangs in leaves to use for self-defense in the future and collected its tear ducts to sell for a high price to a hospital or clinic. That girl must’ve seen Reinhold as easy prey and stole his spoils, unintentionally taking the fangs alongside the noux. Her brother must’ve been poisoned at that time. Good, this means that it was diluted, and it wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed. Now, if what that old lady said was true, then where’s her son?”
Reinhold heard the footsteps echo as his mental image of what was to come continued to gnaw at him. The footsteps grew louder and louder, and eventually, an aged voice could be heard.
“Rei? What happened to you?”
The blacksmith saw a young man with black hair and messy hair resting on his bed, a crutch leaning on the side of his bed, and yet his legs seemed to be fine at first glance. The blacksmith narrowed his eyes and saw the discolored skin, bruised badly as if it was hit by a force of pure destruction.
“Sir Heinster, is Miss Howards downstairs?”
Heinster was the name that the blacksmith donned. Putting the obvious together, Heinster sat at the foot of his bed, his aged sigh continued as he waited for Miss Howards to come up.
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“How are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, two gifted created a monster from the bodies of five people, one of them was even a child. They sent it to attack our party, so with nothing else better to think of we ran, I ran, and by the time I realized I was the only person alive. I’ve never seen anything like that, its skin was tougher than steel and its strength was monstrous to the point that other than a strong gifted, I don’t even think anyone could even handle a single hit.”
“It’s been tough on you.”
“This world’s secrets, why does it have to be so cruel? Save humanity he said but he had to sacrifice human lives to get there, then just what was he saving in the end?”
“Listen… someday you might understand why things happen and it might not make sense, I just hope that you could live with it.”
Heinster took the brooch from Reinhold’s grasp, “I’ll tell her. There’s also another matter I came here for, there was a-“
“Take the cure, it must’ve been that gifted thief girl, yeah? I just want to be left alone for a while, that’s all I want right now.”
“Are you sure? It’s 200 noux, enough to live for a month. I could pay in her stead.”
“If she wants to pay me back, then make her come here and make her pay herself. It was her fault in the end.”
Heinster said nothing anymore and went downstairs. Reinhold has his eyes closed throughout the entire interaction as if to not look at how hideous the world seemed to him now.
“No! My child! My son! My baby!”
Followed by the sound of crashing plates and continued sobbing. The sound of things being broken while the source of destruction was crying. This continued for a while until…
“Enough. The only thing that you can’t touch is the bookshelf, that’s too far. Go home.”
Soon enough, Reinhold heard the door close. It was only midday, yet he was already so tired. He brought a cylindrical object from a secret compartment of his pants and placed it on the counter right beside him.
He went back and spent the rest of his day in an idle motionless daze.
Life went on.
The blacksmith brought the cure to the robed girl, she rapidly pointed out directions towards her home in the slums. Fortunately, unlike the hopeless bleak look Reinhold had towards life, the female thief only saw her brother’s situation deteriorate only a tiny bit ever since she set off at dawn, giving her a sense of calm that everything was going to be alright.
The thief was given a stern lecture by the blacksmith who eventually convinced her to right her ways. She didn’t understand why someone would be so willing to help her out. She may be gifted but she was one of the weaker ones, only excelling in speed and hiding her presence.
She gave in and turned herself in to do her time. Of course, she also had a condition, to let her brother live with them, which Heinster welcomed with open arms stating that his grandson needed a playmate.
Eventually, the good news which was spread on that fateful day arrived. Electricity.
Common small appliances which ran on batteries could be used by any common folk due to how easy it was to generate small currents. The bigger issue was how to generate larger currents of electricity, bigger cities and empires didn’t have this problem due to how much military strength they had, forcefully protecting their source of energy but small cities like Green City had limited resources to use so they prioritized more pressing matters.
At least, not until a certain technological advancement came from the land of science, using the rules of the land to turn conceptual ideas into reality.
Another bell rang throughout Green City, once again giving out even better news. City morale was at an all-time high, with electricity they could finally use so many quality-of-life appliances and finally use magical and mystical tools that will skyrocket how much work a single man could do in a single day. Their rise was unstoppable.
Reinhold heard this and decided to follow along with the crowd, he was too lost in his head most of the time these past few days. Something else to think about could do him wonders.
A jovial fat man stood in the middle of the plaza with an extremely wide grin, very excited to share the news with everyone.
“People of Green City! Scientists in the land of science, Sein, finally pulled through for everyone else in the world! Thousands of years ago, there were mystical devices that could let us connect to anyone else in the world in a mere fraction of a second! Not even gods could do this! After the descent of the gods, this kind of technology that even a little child could use has seemed to be lost but after so, so many years they finally found a way to recover it!”
“This very technology has one major problem it needs a source of power, the blood to the body, electricity! After all this time, it could finally be mass-produced for the good of everyone! This comes with a tiny problem, due to how much it needs to operate the taxes would have to rise but! But! Think of how much more you could do with this lost technology! The fields could be tended to in a mere few hours than days! More practically sound instruments in clinics and hospitals! So many new gadgets and gizmos are entering the entertainment market! Everyone, it’s time to finally enter the next era!”
“That sounds nice,” Reinhold remembered how brightly a flashlight showed the way, in comparison a candle seemed to be extremely dim.
“Now, without further ado, let me introduce, the one, the only, Sir Raxer, the man who’s going to oversee the entire process of installing our beautiful city with lights. No longer would a man, woman or child need to light a match to let their candle burn throughout the night! A mere flick of a switch would be more than enough! Times are changing and it’s for the better!”
Sir Raxer, signifying he was of noble descent with how respectful the fat man was. Unlike the ‘sir’ that Reinhold used to respectfully address Heinster, the ‘sir’ in the fat man’s words implied nobility.
“Is this for real? Sir Raxer? Hahaha! Finally, a noble that thinks of the people!”
“I thought it was Sir Nuane, I was so scared there for a second but there’s no longer need to worry.”
“Shush! He’s still a noble. Anyway, we’re in safe hands.”
Reinhold had a small impression on Raxer, putting aside his taste in ‘older’ women, gem-inlaid tattoos, and monopoly on a certain nighttime activity, he really was one of the better nobles. He didn’t discriminate, he didn’t abuse, nor did he force anyone. Even the girls he hired fully consented and came to take the job of their own volition, the healthcare system he set up for those girls even found its way to other parts of the city.
Sir Raxer had quite the exotic appearance, to say the least, his teeth were fully switched out for golden ones, his entire head was bald, and there were multiple tattoos of random markings and gems decorating his entire body.
Reinhold quietly smiled, “I guess the world’s not so cruel as I thought… wait… no, no… no, no, no, no, no… it can’t be…” his razor-sharp eyes saw a weird symbol flash underneath his chin, his smile quickly turning into a gaping hole of shock, embedded on his neck, it was unmistakable. It was a branded symbol of a cross piercing a circle, looking fresh. The scariest thing was the symbol had a bright red crystal where the cross pierces the circle.