Chapter 1: Chase Marcus
Proofread by: Horius
Chase Marcus.
After the loss of his parents at the age of three, he was taken in by the orphanage located at the country side. It was a decent institution. The orphanage was a place where children could live safely till the age of twelve.
To Chase, the orphanage was a paradise. The nuns were kind and welcoming. They treated every child as their own. But as normal in childhood and live, there of course were also other kids that were not so kind to him. Still, he gladly accepted it. He was more than satisfied that he had people he could call family.
At the age of seven, one of his teachers told him about the unwritten history. The era called as the void century. Never before had he heard of such a mysterious thing.
For the young Chase, this was the very first time in his life where he felt the sense of having a purpose. He did not know why, but he deemed that he would not let himself die until he had unraveled the truth of this lost century and with it the truth of the world. It may be a childish dream or even just a fantasy, but to Chase Marcus it became his everything.
At the age of twelve, Chase had to leave the institution. Saying his tear-filled farewell towards everyone, he left the orphanage. He knew that he had to provide for himself from now on. The orphanage had supported him long enough. At the young age of thirteen, he had successfully enlisted himself in the army.
The army is worlds apart from the place he had lovingly called as home. Filled with strict-ridden rules that always have to be followed, Chase did his very best to climb up the ranks. He trained like there was no tomorrow, to the level that he seemed like a maniac. By the age of fifteen, he was the youngest to have reached the position of a knight. Jet it was for him just his first stepping stone—the first step towards his goal of high nobility.
It’s known that only those who have attained the highest rank nobility were able to access the magic restricted library of his kingdom. The royal library – the library of rumors said to be built on the sky itself. Whether or not these rumors were true, just few knew. Chase deemed that such a legendary collection of information would contain the truth of the world he had sought for since his earliest years.
As a soldier the young man was sent to countless battlefields. His home kingdom, the kingdom of Leshfa, was after all a kingdom born from the unending hundred thousand years of war. Neighbor to the militaristic kingdoms of Kalus and Taiga, war was something considered just as normal as breathing.
From his countless battlefield experiences, he learned the truth of the human nature. Comparing to the young kids from the orphanage, the adults were way more shrewd —creatures that he had come to learn not to trust so easily. Even your so called friends would abandon you in times of peril. He had learned this to be the truth, and he had learned it the hard way.
Though not as easily trusting anymore, Chase still had those who he could proudly call his true friends. Though very few in number, he was glad that he had people he could rely on—people he might even die for without any regrets.
“Chase,” a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties speaks. Scrutinizing the book she holds in her hands, she ushered for Chase to come closer. “This book…I can’t believe it, but it must be…”
Chase walks towards the woman’s side. Glancing towards the words written on the tattered blue cover of the book, he removed the thick layer of dust using his pale fingers, revealing the title ‘V.O.I.D.’, which glimmers majestically under the moonlit night.
“This is definitely it,” Chase exclaims happily. A trickle of sweat flows down his scar-filled face. Though only eighteen, his appearance was that of a long serving veteran. “Finally…I can find out about the truth of this world. Why was I born? Why was this world created, if legends told are true? What happened during the void century? What happened during that era? What was it that sparked the start of the unending hundred thousand years of war? What—”
“Chase,” calls the woman breaking his mantra-like monologue. Casting a wary glance towards the woods, she hushed. “We don’t have time for that right now.”
Chase followed her glance towards the surrounding woods. Numerous silhouettes were illuminated by the dimming moonlight, hushing between the trees. They are scattered all throughout the woods, without a doubt surrounding them from all sides.
Chase places a hand on the hilt of his short sword. The yellowish hue that glowed in the dark clearly stated that the figures are not human. Naturally, they are after all in a place regarded as one of the most restricted and dangerous areas in the entire kingdom—Morfus Forest.
“This might become a long night,” Chase mutters under a grin. Looking toward his right, he saw his companion gulp down as the figures slowly crept towards them. “Still a scaredy cat aren’t ya Hyacinth?”
Hyacinth pouted from Chase’s jeer. Gripping the weapon dangling on her waist, she retorted: “As if. Let’s have a deal then. Whoever kills the more enemies will receive one week free lunch from the loser.”
“Fine,” Chase agrees readily. The figures were now ominously near them. Close enough that their fur-filled massive figures of three meters were completely discernible underneath the moonlit sky.
~GROOAR!
The abominable creatures roar loudly. The flocked birds of the forest fly away in fear. With the cold wind crawling under Chase and Hyacinth’s skin, the two readied themselves for the worst.
“This is one of the reasons why I can’t quit the business called war.” Hyacinth bits her lower lips. Gripping the hilt of her weapon ever so tightly, she then pulls it out of the scabbard, creating a subtle ~shwick sound. “This tension…THIS EXCITEMENT!”
Hyacinth dashes head-first towards the encircling monsters. With a pounding heart that drowned the roar of the also charging beasts, she perpetually hacked away at everything. Chase quickly followed suit afterwards. He did not want to lose in their little bet.
That night, Morfus Forest was filled with cries of anguish from the unfortunate monsters.
****
City of Ortas.
It is a city located right at the middle of the kingdom of Leshfa. Famous as the merchant capital of the kingdom, the royal capital was also where the guild Helveina was located, the guild that Chase and Hyacinth belong to.
“Oh! There they are~” a bulky man announced. Sitting sluggishly on a wooden barrel, he gulped down the beer mug he was holding. “Hyacinth! Chase! Come here and embrace your guild master! Heh~ heh~ heh~”
Hyacinth picks up an empty barrel and throws it towards the man that calls himself the guild master. The sluggish man did not even bother to dodge and just continued to gulp another mug of beer formerly placed on his left.
~FLOAT
The medium sized barrel abruptly stops just right before the man. Hovering in the air, it breaks after the short stop into smithereens. The wood dust clears up and reveals the face of the smiling man, showing his incomplete set of teeth. With brown braids that are tied at the back of his head, he sluggishly walked towards the direction of the two warriors.
“HAHAHAHA! Same as always! So fierce~ my delicate darling.” The man tried to wrap his arms around Hyacinth when a sword slash pasts his brown face. Licking his lower lips, the man that names himself the guild master stretches out his hand and grabbed the short sword of Chase.
~Grip
The metallic sword of the youth bent easily backwards under the absurd grip of the bulky man. Shortly afterwards, Chase falls down on his knees as a shockwave shook his entire being. It was an expected scenario. The man, after all, was the guild master, and also one of the only seventeen SS ranked warriors in the entire continent.
“This is the difference between an A rank and an SS rank. Got that,” boasts the man while mischievously smiling.
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“Master! Stop the pranks already,” Hyacinth shouts. The spectators that sat in the guild laughed at the usual scenario. They all knew of how mischievous their master could be.
“So how was the mission” The man asked.
“We got it” Chased replies himself a little smug. Grinning from ear to ear, he looks up towards the stunned man in front of him.
“S-Show me.” The guild master uttered.
Hyacinth takes an object from her bag covered by a bundle of cloth. After untying it, a worn book was what greeted the wide-eyed master of the guild.
“This is…” The guild master touched the edge of the aged book. With shaking hands, he speaks towards the two. “Come with me.”
Chase and Hyacinth look at each other and grin. Just by the reaction of the SS ranked monster alone, the book seems to be the real thing. Taking the flight of stairs towards the second floor, the three of them enter an arched room littered with papers. Shutting the door shot, the guild master turns towards the two.
“Give me the book.”
Hyacinth complies and hands the book towards the pale-faced man. Still smiling, the two of them patiently waited for the man to finish scrutinizing their new found glory.
The guild master shots a glance towards the two. Closing his eyes for a couple of seconds, he then bit his lips as his entire body trembled. “I’m sorry.”
~SLICE
Before any of them could notice even a shift in the atmosphere, the heads of the pair begin to fall onto the paper-littered ground. The fresh smell of blood starts to thicken into the messy room.
With eyes dyed in shock and disbelief the two of them glance towards the crestfallen man, while the light in their eyes gradually dims with each passing moment.
Unable to utter even a single word, the two of them are embraced by the soothing feeling of death.
****
Chase Marcus.
Filled with pain from the unexpected betrayal, he is floating in darkness for what seems like an eternity. Surrounded from flashing orbs of light that are too innumerable to count, he is perpetually gazing at a giant violently twirling orb in front of him.
Somehow, he’s feeling that he would find comfort at that orb—that he would find the answers to his questions only after reaching the figure.
So he stretches his hands out to it. Surprisingly, he is able to grab hold of it in just a single stroke.
The orb shatters into millions of particles that grant translucent light to the darkness surrounding him.
Why?
He keeps asking himself. He had known the guild master even before he was enlisted as a knight. He was the kindest person he had ever known. All of his skills, the abilities that made him survive till now—he had learned them from him. He had always regarded the man just as a father.
Why?
He keeps asking himself. After the lights from the exploded orb diminish, Chase Marcus floats in the dark, his consciousness drifting away from the abyss around him.
[Do you want to know the truth of this world?]
A voice speaks to Marcus, but he’s too crestfallen to pay any attention to it. The feeling of sorrow that accompanies betrayal—it is way too much for him to handle. He just wants to forget everything; for the small flame of his existence to be extinguish. Maybe by then, the pain would be forgotten.
The voice speaks again. Somehow, Chase is not able to tell if the voice was from outside his own mind or not. The voice sounded clear — just as clear as the morning dew after a misty dawn.
Yes, Chase replies. Though his answer didn’t really have his heart in it, he still replied.
[You are lucky. The book of the void had given you the option to deny fate for a single instance. This second life of yours, use it well. May all of your questions be answered.]
Chase’s body breaks into countless tiny pieces, similar as the orb did earlier. With the abyss still surrounding his now shattered body, he spirals into a wild vortex. The darkness that was once the abyss slowly fades from his sight.
****
Marcus opens his eyes. The darkness that embraced him doesn’t come as a shock. After being inside the abyss for felt centuries, he is more than used to it.
So, that voice…it was a dream huh?
Somehow, the darkness is missing the usual orbs of light that steadily passed him by in each and every moment. He’s confused but at the same time too tired to think about it. He just wants to rest.
[It was not a dream.]
His mind quickly jolts up. The same voice from before had spoken.
Who are you, Marcus asked.
Though the origin of the voice is unknown, he still tried to respond.
[Some call me God, some call me the Universe, some call me the Devil, and some call me Karma.
Whichever you prefer, I am that particular being.]
This confuses the boy, but at the same time fascinates him. Yet there are important question for the boy aside the foreign voice.
Where am I?
No matter how hard he tries, Marcus can’t see his own body.
What…what am I, the boy asks with great reluctance.
He knows that an answer to this will change his further life—his very destiny.
[It’s easier to just show you,] the mystic voice answers.
An ominous window pops up in his mind. Someway, after the window pops up, he immediately understands something about himself. The revelation is stunning, mortifying, yet at the same time fascinating.
Dungeon OverviewName:Marcus DungeonLevel:1Number of Floors:1Miasma:150Pulse:0%Biologicals:0Non-Biologicals:0SkillsWill of the DungeonPassiveAllows [Chase Marcus], master of the dungeon, to manipulate miasma. Enables the master to control all of the dungeon at will.Floor CreationMiasma: 1750Creates another dungeon floor.
Miasma consumed increases per level.
Variety of floors that can be created increases per level.ReconstructMiasma: 3/metersAllows [Chase Marcus] to reconstruct the dungeon at will.
Chase Marcus's mind goes blank for a few moments as he tries to process the stunning revelation. Finally, after what seems like eons, he asks.
I am still in the same world...right?
[Yes]
The answer of the creature made his mind shout out in bliss. If he had a body right now, he would have jumped and rolled on the floor from the euphoria that came from such words.
I still have a lot of questions left unanswered. But this body...no matter how long it takes...
I'll find the truth about this world