Raven flailed in the grip of the platemail wearing soldier that grasped him, but he did so in vain. These people were way stronger than him, and the same went for his father and mother who were just as easily carted out. Flames roared around the home, a blue robed man stood on the road and casually swept his hands around. Easily controlling the raging inferno.
‘That’s the Level 30 Spell Raging Flames’ he recognized, he glanced at the other people around. Including the fire casting Magi, there were five people in total. The three people who grabbed them forced them to their knees, and the last member of their merry group was a man dressed in pitch black armor with golden inlay, sitting atop a silver war horse steed. They were all well equipped, and pretty terrifying to look upon. The scariest thing about them all though, was the information he could see above their heads.
They were all labeled as ‘??? - Level ???, Rank ?? ‘ not being able to see any information only meant one thing, they were at least 20 levels higher than him. The magic user was at least level 30 as well based on the spell he was casting.
‘Isn’t this a little unfair! I could never beat these guys..’ he thought to himself as he looked on in horror at the home he had come to know the past week slowly burning around him. No! The system wouldn't have given him a quest for no reason right? It must have a way to be beaten with what I have now...maybe he just had to show they couldn't be pushed around?
“Winter family!” the black clad knight shouted over the roaring flames. As if to really hammer home his point a thunderclap resounded as lightning struck through the sky behind him. Followed shortly by the torrent of rain that started to pour down. It was a shame it could do nothing to stop the magic fire that tore through the fields though...months of hard work gone in seconds.
“The Crown has claimed this land, since you keep refusing to sell it, the Queen has decided to...motivate you a little more.” the figure continued.
Queen...the Crown, were they talking about Queen Emilia? Based on the lore he remembered that was the most likely scenario. She was a cold hearted queen, that ended up being overthrown by a rebellion around 15 years before the start of the game. Her crown was a Legendary Artifact from what he remembered.
Why would she want their land though? It didn't matter, he had to figure out how to get out of this, and the only possible way he could see to do so was to stay strong.
"Oi, this is our land you..turnip!" He shouted, before violently standing up and slamming his head into the armored woman in front of him. Critical Hit!
'Yes, lucky!' He screamed internally. A critical hit would deal three times the normal damage. He smirked lightly, that should show them they shouldn't mess...with...them.
-3 Health popped up above the girl's head as she retreated a single step. That wasn't good. Next thing he knew he was punched, and his arm was bent behind his back as he was shoved into the now wet and muddy earth.
"Let him go!!" He heard his mother scream, he heard another blow land, assumingly one of his parents.
He had been in a lot of pain for many years now, so he wasn't a stranger to the sting of it biting into him. If he had any remaining doubts about whether this game was real or not, they vanished. He could taste mud as his breath caught in his lungs, feel the cold water seeping into his clothes and flesh. Even the heat of the nearby flames, and real un-reduced pain. This was all real, and suddenly the terror of that spiked through his mind.
"Your son has some balls on him! Maybe we can use him to show you how seriously we take this mission" the woman pinning him down shouted. He then released a loud scream as an audible snap echoed through the area as his arm was broken.
"Noooo!" His father screamed. Raven couldn't breath, only gasp in pain with whatever little air he could get.
"Now, now Wix. A hobbled farm hand is useless...get rid of him" the armored man said coldly. Those words burned into his mind as he knew what was coming. He had just started to enjoy this life...now it was over.
A cold tip of a dagger pressed into the back of his skull, and the Wix woman wasted no time, shoving the dagger into his head and everything went dark…
Activating Hidden Talent:
Titan's Blessing: Shifting Fate.
Respawn Systems taking effect. No Respawn Point Set, default point selected.
1/100 Respawns Used.
Respawning….
Raven shunting awake to the loudly noise of that stupid rooster, lightly slowly creeping through the open curtains as his heart briefly skipped a beat…
He looked around, his breath coming quickly as he thought for sure he was dead, what was going on? He jumped as the door slammed open.
“Raven, son, are you awake? I know it’s your birthday, but you can’t sleep all day!” she scolded playfully with a gentle laugh that felt warm, felt welcoming.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Birthday..it's my...birthday?" He said aloud in confusion.
"Yes honey!" His mother confirmed with a laugh, before giving him a small frown.
"You're sweating honey, and you're all pale. Did you have a bad dream?" She said worried and he simply waved his hands.
"Yes! I'm fine...totally fine, better than fine. You probably cooked a big breakfast I'm sure, I'll be out soon!" He rambled, and she blinked gently as she tilted her head slightly.
"Okaaaay" she said with a squint, but slowly exited the room. He remained there frozen for a few moments before he opened his character sheet, hoping he could get some sort of hint to what was going on.
Available Attributes: 4 Points
Name: Raven Winter Level: 1 (0/350 EXP) Ranks: 2 (Farmer)
Health: 21/21 Concentrated Power: 1
Strength: 10 Willpower: 10
Agility: 12 Concentration: 10
Endurance: 16 Charm: 10
Luck: 30
Skills:
Titans Blessing- Shifting Fate
Ranks:
Farmer - Rank(s): 2
* Rank 1: A farmer is used to wear and tear and bad weather! +25% resistance to harsh weather conditions.
* Rank 2: A farmer is never down for the count when there is work to be done! +5 Health.
He ran his hands through his hair, as his eyes gazed through everything. So he really gained all those attributes, and abilities. Which means everything did happen, which means he was now back a week in time. But he did die...he selected the new ability he had, the one that was locked previously.
Titans Blessing: Shifting Fate- The Titan of Fate has blessed you, keeping an eye on how you progress through the realm. Granting the following benefits
* Hand of Fate: Increase Initial Luck Stat by times three. Increase future Luck gains by times two.
* Shifting Sands: Granting the ‘Respawn’ Ability in Systems.
* [Locked]
He leaned back to rest his back against the wall, a Titans Blessing wasn't unheard of; they were just really strong, and really rare. Anything in the game with the word ‘Titan’ in it was an extraordinary ability or item due to how important those beings were in the lore and overall story.
‘Respawn ability in systems..’ he thought, then remembered the locked Respawn Systems screen from before. He opened the window and let out a relieved sigh when he could finally see what was on the screen, reading through the options presented to him.
Respawn Systems
Respawn Point: Not Set, Respawning at default point.
Respawn
(1/100 Respawns Used)
He hummed lightly to himself, and then started to put the pieces together…
“So...when I die I respawn at a Respawn Point...that I can set.” he said to himself with a small nod, and from the looks of it he only had 99 more lives to go. When he respawned it seems he kept any Ranks, Levels, or Abilities he received from before. No inventory though, he concluded as he looked at the brown paper pants he remembered from the first time he was here.
“Things remain where they were before though,” he noted, finding the old clothes he wore exactly where they were before. He slowly put the clothes on and nodded to himself when he realized he didn't get the birthday quest. That meant that he couldn't keep doing quests, or at least that one in particular, and probably the working on the farm one.
The rest of the day passed in a blur as he was lost in thought, he kept on a smile and played the happy birthday kid. But he knew in one week from now, this farm, these loving parents, everything they’d ever worked for...it would be gone. He slowly stood up, floorboards gently creaking under his shifting weight as he reopened the Respawn Systems window.
“One week from this respawn point. I’m not strong enough to stop those knights yet...I need at least thirty levels.” he stated as he looked in the direction of where his parents slept...they weren't the parents he originally had in life. But their kindness, and willingness to support him. He remembered their cries when he died infront of them. He didn't know why the tyrant queen wanted their land, and nor did he care. He was looking for a reason to really delve into this world, but he was scared. Scared of pain, scared of death. He knew now, however, that he had all the time in one hundred lives.
“Game on” he declared as he clicked the button to set his Respawn Point to this current one. Then he stuffed the three pairs of spare clothes he had into his blanket and threw it over his shoulder. He slowly creaked his door open, and gently stalked into the kitchen approaching the drawers where he knew the eatery was kept. Though he felt bad about what he was doing, he needed two things in particular right now; and they were funds and information about his location.
He slowly took the few pieces of silver utensils the family had, he had only ever seen them once...well now twice, at his birthday meal. A plate, a knife, a fork, and a spoon all of pure silver with pretty designs. Then he went to the framed map on the wall in the living area, though he had glanced at it in passing he hadn't really taken a look at it yet. Their little farm obviously wasn't listed, but he had seen a landmark he vaguely recognized from a long time ago whilst working in the farms. He glanced around the map until confirming the edge of the forest...the Winterleaf Forest.
“That should put me around this area..” he said tracing a general line, it put him in the Ember Kingdom, right on the border to the Iron Tower Empire, which is where Queen Emilia resided. That meant his guess about her being the culprit was most likely true. He thought there was something else familiar about the map but he couldn't quite remember, and decided it best to deal with it later. He took in a deep breath and slipped out the back door, not bothering to take the map with him. He knew generally where he was now, and just had to follow the forest to the small town of Rosewood. He stepped over the Krekian Rooster that snored gently in the backyard, cuddled into rooks of wood. He was even determined to make sure that stupid thing was around to annoy people.
“One week...it won’t be enough. So I’ll have to die at least once to get back...which means I got a whole life ahead of me” he affirmed with a strong nod as he started to gently jog towards the tall trees with teal green leaves. It was time to hit the grind, and time to actually play this game..