[Ding! Based on the host's memories, multiple quests will now be generated!]

[Ding! The beginner chain quest 'Pen to Paper' has been selected as the hosts tutorial quest!]

[Ding! Please complete this quest to unlock: 'The Lantern' origin quest, and 'The Secret of the Stars' chain quest!]

Beau sat in silence as he read all of this without making a sound. Tears filled his eyes as he speculated what this might mean. Not only did this make his future much brighter but Beau also thought that this was his parents' way of looking after him in the afterlife. For the first time in a long time, he felt like they were actually with him.

Soon, the last teen had the lantern placed on their head and the teens began to follow the masked figure back to the village. When they finally returned, the crowd was still waiting at the village gates. The masked figure who was still leading the teens stopped a short distance away from the crowd. They then turned around to face the teenagers and slowly took off their mask. The face that was revealed was that of a middle aged woman with brown hair and blue eyes. With a neutral expression plastered on her face, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Congratulations, everyone!"

"""Thank you, village chief!!!"""

With that being said, everyone ran past her and went straight to the people they knew to tell them the results. Even if they didn't get a gift, everyone was still happy as today was still a coming of age ceremony. It was something to celebrate. It was a day to be happy.

As for Beau, he ran toward a middle aged man who kind of stuck out in the crowd. The reason he stuck out was mainly because his hair was black which differed greatly from everyone else's brown hair. The people of the village called this man Mr. Akio and he was the merchant that Beau spent most of his time with.

As soon as Beau reached him though, he didn't stop to talk like everyone else did. Instead he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and tried to walk off with him towards the center of the village.

"Whoa there, Beau! Are you really that eager to make some money with me again? I suppose I don't blame ya though. I take it you didn't get a gift?"

"You sure know me well, Akio! I do want to make money but this time I have a better way!"

"A better way?"

A flash of realization could be seen in Akio's eyes before a sly smile could be seen on his face.

"Aha, you cheeky bugger, you got a gift didn't ya? Come! Come! You'll have to show me what it is when we get to the shop!"

With that being said, the duo excitedly scurried away from the crowd and headed to the village center where Akio's shop was located.

The shop was a pretty big wooden building that was often visited by the villagers when they wanted certain wares or knickknacks that weren't easily found anywhere else. Akio didn't really care much about that though, as the real money was made mostly through exporting ziki fruit that was only found in this region.

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"Alright kid, stop keeping me waiting already. Show me the gift."

When Akio said that, Beau froze for a second because he didn't really know what his gift was.

"Hold on, hold on. I need to figure out how to activate it."

'It said something about a beginner's quest right? What do I have to do?'

[Ding! The beginner's quest 'Pen to Paper' has the following description:

Every writer needs the appropriate writing utensils and skills to be a good author! Let's get set up for success!]

[Ding! The beginner's quest 'Pen to Paper' has the following goals:

Acquire a pen! (0/1)

Reward: The Pen of Discord!

Acquire a journal! (0/1)

Reward: The Journal of the Messenger!

Choose a pen name! (Incomplete)

Reward: Soul Signature(skill)!]

[Ding! Once these conditions are complete, you will unlock the second part of the quest!]

'Hmm… This is weird. The other gifts I heard about didn't really work like this.'

"Akio, can you grab me a pen and a journal, please?"

"Sure, I'll be right back. Is it an auxiliary gift?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Akio left the room for a few minutes and came back with a pen and journal in hand. He quickly handed them over to Beau and watched him with curious eyes as he waited to see his gift in action.

[The host has acquired a pen!]

[The pen can now be transformed into the Pen of Discord!]

[The host has acquired a journal!]

[The journal can now be transformed into the Journal of the Messenger!]

[Beware! The transformation process is NOT subtle! Does the host still wish to proceed?]

'Sure... I guess?'

After Beau gave his confirmation, he carefully watched the items in his hand as he waited for something to happen. For a while, it seemed like nothing was going to happen, but Akio broke the silence.

"Hey, Beau?"

"Yeah?"

"...Look outside."

When Beau shifted his eyes to the window, he was so put off by what he saw that he dropped his stuff and had the urge to hide somewhere that no one could find him.

Outside, the sky had turned a crimson red and he saw what looked like ten thousand floating eyes staring at him.

BOOM!

A deafening sound rang out and every eye turned to the sky including Beau's. Beau felt like the whole world was ending as a crack appeared in the sky. It was almost like the sky was the last barrier defending the world from something and it took a hit that it couldn't withstand.

BOOM!

A second deafening sound came from the sky as a hole appeared, and from it a large beam of light shot out straight toward Beau.

Just as Beau thought he was done for, he was relieved to find out that the light had disappeared and everything seemingly went back to normal.

Thud!

Both Beau and Akio fell to the ground and took a second to breathe again. Everything had happened so quickly that the pair still didn't know if what happened was real.

[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the Pen of Discord and the Journal of the Messenger!]