My heart jammed into my throat and I looked around and into the darkness like a wild dog trying to escape being stoned to death. Something whizzed past me but in my adrenaline-fuelled state I didn’t register what it was until something slammed into my back.
“Ah!” A shockwave of pain erupted from my back and I almost stumbled, yet I grit my teeth and just kept running. There was a dull, throbbing ache in my lower back that felt like my spine was hanging by a thread.
In the starless darkness I saw the vague shape of the hills surrounding the village and I raced to climb up and over like a rabid animal.
The clamoring footsteps and rabid and animalistic shrieks and howls intensified behind me and I heard their hands claw into the dirt as they scaled the hill right behind me.
Without hesitation I ran down the hills and suddenly my foot snagged on something—
My jaw slammed into the dirt floor and a sharp pain radiated from my tooth. I got up in a daze and hastily picked up speed as I attempted to run, but I was so out of it from the fall that I fell again.
As I lay on my back, I knew it was over. I’m so fucking stupid that I tried running down a hill and fell. Even when I tried to get up, my head spun and my vision wobbled so much it was like the Earth itself was moving around.
Even though I couldn’t see them, I could tell by their hideous clamoring that they were close.
I grit my teeth and wanted to yell out to the Universe, and yell out to those fucking people that I wasn’t going to die today. And if I was, I wasn’t going to die alone.
My heart beat in my eyes and I could feel the blood rushing and tingling in my hands and legs. Fuelled by a desperate rage, I crawled up and faced the oncoming horde of savages.
One by one, all my skills disappeared. And new ones I’d created appeared in their place.
[Skill: Last Stand
Description: All your stats increase by 30% when prepared to die facing a horde of humans]
[Skill: Berserker
Description: All your stats increase by 30% when angry]
[Skill: Slipper skin
Description: Your skin becomes slippery. Roll a 20-sided die to determine if attacks hit you or slide off. Gain bonuses based on your constitution stat]
Words had completely left my mind.
All that was left was a murderous rage. Maybe I could’ve run. I could’ve probably made a skill that helps me escape easier.
But something about what I was going to do was so alluring. It was as if my whole body was itching to kill, and I was truly prepared to die if it meant I could slaughter them in turn.
“Come!”
The shadows undulated and hazy figures lunged at me like a flood. And then I—
CRACK!
FWOOOSSSHHHH!!
Light consumed my vision and I hastily stepped back, falling on my ass and staring at the raging inferno in front of me.
Hastily I scrambled onto my feet and got ready to fight— but nothing came beyond the wall of fire.
“What…”
I looked around, but aside from the small island of light clinging to the wall, all I saw was darkness. The wall itself stretched on for quite a distance on either side.
I felt something staring at my back and turned around, only to find the darkness staring back at me.
“Where are you looking at? I’m over here.” A very familiar voice spoke to me from somewhere else. I turned to the source and—
“Claira?” My brows furrowed.
Her brown eyes sparkled in the flames and she cautiously threw a glance at them, “Come, we have to get out of here now.”
Without warning and all of a sudden a figure bloomed through the flames and rushed at her like a mad beast, arms outstretched and screaming in pain, yet mindlessly rushing to her.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She simply reached out an arm and touched its head.
Immediately the person ignited like an oily cotton wad and the sound of his screaming drowned out the sound of the fire. He flailed around like a mad man as Claira grabbed my hand.
“We need to leave. Now.”
As I was led by her I watched the roaring wall of flames soar into the sky, and I wondered how many of those chasing us were simply standing behind… waiting.
----------------------------------------
We walked for ages amidst grass so tall it reached our waists. From time to time I looked at her and wondered how I should ask her the question. But it looked like I didn’t have to bother, because she answered them for me.
“I followed you. Forgive me.”
Truth be told, I couldn’t have given less of a shit if she followed me. The end result was that she’d saved my life a second time and I felt really embarrassed for some reason.
“Yeah, no worries.” I muttered half-heartedly and then sighed.
“So, what was that all about? The fire and all.”
“Ah… It was nothing, just some alcohol and a bit of fire.”
My brows furrowed.
“Where the hell did you get alcohol?”
At that moment, the tall grass parted way to a clearing with tall and neatly arranged trees with large, bulbous fruits hanging from them and to the side was a small, white stone house. The whole place resembled an orchard.
“From here.” She answered, the dirt crunching beneath her feet as she walked to the house.
I followed her inside and was surprised to find a single dim lantern glowing inside, resting on a table.
“I’m surprised this thing is still alive.” She said, picking up the lamp and peering into it. I watched her rummage around the cupboard and took a look around myself.
The house was very rustic and the faded white walls were painted in a dull orange from the light. There were fading decorative patterns on the aging wall and the air felt musty.
Although the house was small, there was not a lack of furniture. There were many cupboards and wine racks, a table, a single chair and a small bed.
“You touched him and he burst into flames. How?”
“Oh that? You didn’t go to the training centre so you don’t have a Class do you?”
I took in the new information and shook my head. I did have a System but I didn’t have a class.
“No.”
In the dim light of the lantern, she regarded me in a strange light, and slowly filled the lantern with oil.
“You’re not asking me what a class is?”
I laughed and decided to play the cool and mysterious card.
“Not everyone comes to this new world completely ignorant.”
Of course, the reality was that anyone who’d played RPG games or read webnovels would know what a class and System are. So clearly she was someone who didn’t have that experience.
Her shock and surprise must’ve been much greater than mine I imagined.
She had a new look in her eyes this time. Surprise? Reverence? Whatever it was, she turned away so I couldn’t get a good look.
“There’s food in the cellar, help yourself to it. We’ll discuss a plan and then go to sleep.”
“A plan?” I had a vague idea of what she was talking about.
“Yes. There’s something we have to talk about.”
“Can’t we just do it now? I’d rather not talk while eating.”
She sighed, and sat down on the chair. I didn’t have anywhere to sit so I sat on the bed.
“So you’ve seen the village… What do you think?”
Where to even begin…
She chuckled, “Didn’t you say how lust could be a problem?”
I looked away, embarrassed. I didn’t know how I could get something so wrong and I definitely didn’t expect to see what I did. In hindsight it was completely obvious, but I never would’ve expected some of them to physically transform.
“I couldn’t tell you before, but it should be fine now.”
In the dim light of the lantern, half of her face was draped in shadows, while the rest of it stood like a dim oil painting.
“If I’d told you this before, I doubt you would’ve agreed. But now that you’ve seen them for yourself, you will agree. The only way to complete the quest is to kill all those people.”
“How do I know what you’re saying is true?”
A translucent blue panel speared in front of me and I stared at it, unblinking.
[Do you want to join Claira’s party?]
“You’re not surprised.”
“I am” I said monotonously.
“Alright.” She chuckled.
I accepted the invite and eyed her, waiting for an answer to my question. This time another blue panel appeared in front of me.
[Claim the Legacy of The Yadava
Location: Hall of The Yadava, Profaned Capital
Threat Level: ???/5
Reward: ???
Quest: You have claimed the legacy of the Yadava! Kill the villagers of the unnamed village to escape the mission area
]
“You claimed it didn’t you? That legacy or whatever it was. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you came the same time as this update appeared.”
But I wasn’t focused on what she was saying at all. Because the synapses of my brain lit up at a single word.
All the neurons of my brain fired in recognition but I had no idea what they recognised, because although I found the word familiar, I had no idea what it meant.
But in another world, why did I find a strange word like ‘Yadava’ familiar