"What's this Alfrick? How can it be alive after I saw it die from being pierced by a sword in its neck?" Olen nervously said, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.

"Feimshall was able to subdue the monster after seeing it refusing to admit defeat," Aflrick replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What!" Olen exclaimed, staring at Alfrick's helpless expression, which looked like that of someone who had just been fed a plate of dog food.

"Let's just hope it's not a naked yeti," Olen thought to himself, trying to shake off the image of a naked yeti floating in his head as he silently prayed that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him.

Worried about his own sanity, Olen shrugged it off and focused on the task at hand. He whistled for his companion, Metatron, in case the Yeti decided to attack as soon as they reached its dwelling.

Despite having reincarnated as an old man, Olen still had a mentality that resembled that of a child, due to the illness he had suffered through most of his life. He had always been a fan of fantasy books, and the vast expanse of this fictional world reminded him of the stories he had read.

"My past is nothing but an image in my mind now. If I keep having these thoughts, it won't be any different from a man walking towards a pit with his eyes wide open. I need to accept the reality in front of me, or else I'll be blindly jumping into anything that surprises me." Olen reassured his reality.

Olen shook off his thoughts and glanced at the surroundings in front of him. To his disbelief, he found that the location of the sound was just the backyard of the Town Hall. And worst of all, a yeti standing a meter tall was lying before him in the middle of rubbles of stones, mindlessly devouring the scattered stones amidst the ground. Strangely enough, a peculiar swarm of energy surged all around its body as it consumed the stones, growing stronger by the second as it kept munching the energy amassed within the stone lingering around its body.

Olen trembled at the intimidating aura emanating from the Yeti, as the size of its height had doubled since the time they had first encountered it. However, Olen felt a sense of relief upon seeing that the Yeti still had its thick fur covering its body.

Noticing the changes, Alfrick drew out his sword but was suddenly stopped by a hand, as Olen felt it was not a good option to further provoke it, since the Yeti had already become too strong for them to handle its strength.

Olen silently took a step back and shot a glance at Alfrick, staring deep into his eyes, hinting at him to stay away from the Yeti. After arriving at a safe distance, Olen took a deep breath and looked at Alfrick, and said, “If what you said is true about the competition between that fool and the Yeti, then that idiot might have a chance to salvage the situation.”

“It would have been easier if that damn idiot had just killed it,” Olen rubbed his temple and continued with a grim expression on his face.

“Alfrick, call that damn idiot over here. Also, do me a favor, if you still find that idiot sleeping, look for some ice anywhere and place it back on his body”

While waiting, Olen took his time and strolled outside the vicinity of the Town Hall. He glanced over his surroundings and looked at the rocks scattered everywhere outside the zone. Recalling the encounter earlier, Olen inspected the stone and pondered over it.

The stone resembled that of a withered stone painted with a decayed hue of black and grey, emanating a baleful aura reminiscent of a dead object that was once brimmed with life. A streak of energy made of gold outlined beneath the surface of its exterior.

Olen realized it might be the reason why the Yeti managed to increase its strength to a tier. Feeling uneasy, he felt hesitant to grab the stone in front of him. But the temptation of having his strength left him only to grow stronger and stronger. Olen ultimately decided to grab the stone due to the recent events leaving him with no other choice but to increase his own strength.

Olen looked at his own hands in doubt but shook his head and decisively crumbed the stone placed resting in his palm, with the energy surging from the stone, breaking it to pieces, as it dispersed into his veins. Olen felt a strange sensation throughout his body with a sudden image appearing in his mind. It was a blurred figure moving with fluid grace, its steps blending seamlessly with the wind as it expertly dodged an unseen opponent. The image repeated in his mind, becoming clearer each time, until it eventually faded away.

[You have assimilated a shard through the process]

[You have gained a proficiency [Agility]

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[Your understanding toward your proficiency [Agility] has increased subtly]

[Your understanding toward [Essence] has increased subtly]

[You have gained an [Essence]

"As expected, my guess was correct. There seems to be more to this place than I initially thought," Olen thought to himself.

Olen took a deep breath and reflected on the new knowledge and experiences he had gained from the images in his memory. He examined his arm and could feel the changes that had taken place within his body. Testing out his newfound strength, Olen threw a punch through the air and noticed a slight gust of wind that formed in its wake.

Despite the increase in strength, Olen felt the limitations of his old age still weighing heavily on his movements. Nevertheless, he was grateful for the Essence that had lengthened his stamina and improved his movements to some degree, providing him with more opportunities to exert his strength.

As he adjusted to the experiences he had gained from his memory, Olen heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, crunching over the snow.

"Liege, I have completed your request. The captive is now at your mercy, my liege," Alfrick said, bowing and holding a rapidly melting block of ice in his left hand.

Olen's mouth twitched, for a second thought, he was sure that it had to do with the other figure they captured a long night ago. But right after seeing the ice melting in Alfrick's hand. Olen already knew the captive Alfrick was referring to... It was none other than Feimshall.

"What captive? That's our companion, your companion!" Olen exclaimed; his eyes filled with anger.

"Where is he?"

"He should be here by any moment, and speaking of the ice trick, Liege. I shall humbly keep this in mind and accept this knowledge and use it for future arrangements," Alfrick replied with unwavering loyalty.

Cough

"Having an idiot is one thing, but to have you as well, sigh... Why can't I just have a normal conversation for once in my life?" Olen thought to himself.

Sometime later, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching them. A man wearing a breastplate and a blue scarf wrapped over his shoulder, and a helmet resembling that of a knight with criss-cross outlined between the center of his two golden eyes. Meanwhile, a goblin stood behind the man, cowering while looking deep in fear at Alfrick's intimidating aura. The goblin snarled and threatened the man in front of it, voicing out its fear and hostility.

"Hmph, Feimshall, you better take care of that mutt of yours before it loses its hand," Alfrick said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Bah, don't think I forgot what you just did a moment ago," Feimshall angrily retorted.

Olen knew that if he didn't intervene in this situation, there was a high chance that the two warriors would escalate it into a fight. And considering Feimshall's simple attitude and Alfrick's indifferent bearing, there was no doubt that their two conflicting personalities would turn the bickering into a mess.

It seems fate decided to play tricks on him. Having reincarnated as an Old man with supernatural abilities is fine, but to have two adult men suffering from amnesia and acting like a child. He might as well die in old age than to leave a bag of bones like him to look after two children crying over a cube of ice.

"As the pieces of memory slowly came together in his mind, Olen couldn't help but think about the amnesia that plagued his two companions. He knew that every piece of information he could gather was crucial in navigating this new world and ensuring his survival. Gathering knowledge was his lifeline in this uncertain reality."

"There's no need for further debate. The decision has been made and it stands," Olen declared, his tone commanding and authoritative.

Feimshall grumbled under his breath, "I suppose you made the right choice, otherwise I would have taken matters into my own hands."

Olen couldn't help but roll his eyes at Feimshall's bold statement, feeling a sense of frustration rising within him.

"Now that we're all here, I have a question for the both of you," Olen said, his gaze piercing as he stared intently at Alfrick and Feimshall. "Who are you, truly? And why do you follow my every command without hesitation?"

The two of them looked at each other in bewilderment, but then their eyes shone with agreement and they nodded together. They pointed their fingers in the direction of the Rift shard.

Alfrick moved forward, still looking at Olen with confusion in his eyes. "Liege, the moment you stepped into the 'Gate of Souls,' the souls that lingered around the crystal responded to your presence."

Feimshall continued, nodding, "To be more exact, a presence between you and the crystal merged together, forming a connection from an unknown presence within the crystal urging us to follow you."

“The light it says,”

“Light… So are you saying that you are a soul guided by a presence?” Olen said as he closed his eyes and thought for a moment of the silhouette that appeared in his memories.

"We were once a soul, but..." Alfrick began, his voice trailing off as he struggled to find the right words.

Feimshall picked up where Alfrick left off. "Until that crystal turned us into shards and absorbed us. The essence of our souls seems to be different from others and somehow mitigated the effects of the crystal, changing us into something else."

"I believe we are not entirely an entity, but an entity created by the crystal using our past personalities to create us into a whole," Feimshall continued. "That's why most of our memories are scattered, due to the countless fragments merged together so that an idea could persist and merge as an existence."

“Whether or not we are loyal, our soul is bound to the crystal, especially to the ones who hold it,”

“I see…” Olen said as he thought of the recent events that transpired between the three of them. He still felt stifled inside at the ridiculousness of the event that had transpired since the moment he got sent into this world. But considering how the world looks right now, he shook his head.

Everything might have been unbelievable so far. But he knew, when he reached out his hand from the sky, he thought—

He shook his head and let out a sigh. "So this is now my reality."