Leon shuffled nervously from one leg to the other. He had been going over in his head what he was going to say when he arrived at Rayna’s village. When he was finally asked the question, he froze, unable to answer.
Leon knew the answer. He knew what to say, but once it was said out loud, it would all be real. The man took a moment to gather himself. He took a deep breath in and let it out. Finally, he slowly raised his head to look Rayna in the eyes.
“I failed. The village is gone.” The simple statement summed everything up. “A horde of monsters attacked.” Leon turned, and his gaze fell over each of the surviving villagers. “This is all that’s left. Nobody else made it out.”
He could see the pitying look in Rayna’s eyes, but he said nothing. “Rayna, will you take us in? Our village is lost, and our people are dead. We have nowhere else to go.” The hard part over, he waited for Rayna to give her reply.
Rayna examined the group of survivors, taking in everything that Leon had said. She’d been put on the spot, but there was really only one answer. “Of course. You are all welcome here.” She saw the relief wash over many of the refugees in the crowd. There weren’t many survivors left, so adding them to her village would not be a problem.
“Thank you so much. I will forever be in your debt,” Leon said, then lowered his head as if ashamed.
“Raise your head. There is no reason to feel shame. There will always come a time when you must rely on others.” Rayna consoled Leon while scanning the crowd again. There was a man that she noticed earlier that seemed off. What a strange dress, she thought while examining the man’s odd clothing.
It looks like he is daydreaming. Almost like none of this concerns him. The oddly dressed man was staring with his head tilted up. Occasionally, he would furrow his brow or nod to himself. It doesn’t seem like he’s interacting with the Great System. Maybe he’s slow. She stared directly at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. That has to be it. Though I don’t remember anyone like that from Leon’s village.
Derek was standing in the middle of the refugees, letting Leon and Rayna talk. None of what was going on mattered to him, anyway. Hmm… So, leveling is slow with this scam system, and there seems to be a sharp drop-off in experience when killing higher-leveled beasts.
I do need to find something over one hundred levels above me to kill so I can get the next Giant Slayer achievement. I bet it’s just another Skill Point, but I need every point when it comes to this stingy system. He furrowed his brows, then relaxed. I bet if I go deep enough into the forest, I could find something one hundred levels above me. He nodded his head, not noticing the stare that he was receiving.
I should probably do that soon, he thought, then he frowned again. I have to be careful, though. I really want to go do that dungeon Thomas was talking about. To do that, I need to stay under level 25. Dammit, I don’t even know if Identify will be able to show me the levels of anything over level 100. It’s level 8, so I think it will only show me enemy levels up to 80, plus my current level, so… 91. I’m going to need to level it. I guess I can just wander around and Identify different things until it gets to level 11 or so.
Derek nodded his head twice now that he had somewhat of a plan. I wish that Void Beast would have had levels. It was definitely above level 100. He finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. He saw Thomas standing beside who he guessed were his grandparents. Maybe I should take the kid to that dungeon when I go. If it’s the way it sounds, there shouldn’t be a problem with the two of us entering together.
The discussion between Leon and Rayna seemed to have finally concluded. The woman turned around. “Follow me. We’ll find a place for you all,” she said as she walked back into the village.
Derek watched the pretty blonde woman as she fell in beside Leon and began chatting. “What’s with the oddly dressed person in your group?” she whispered to Leon, but Derek was close enough that with his stats, he could hear the conversation if he focused.
“Oddly dressed person?” Leon looked back, and his eyes fell on Derek. A slightly surprised look appeared on his face as he turned back around. “I think you’re talking about Derek. That’s another thing we have to discuss, but I would prefer to do so in private,” he said.
“Very well, though I don’t see why we need to discuss it in private. He looks odd, and he was staring out into space earlier when we were talking about the future of your people. Is he slow? Mentally challenged?” Rayna let her suspicions be known.
Derek’s eyelid twitched at that statement. Mentally challenged? I’ll show her mentally challenged.
Leon had turned just in time to see Derek’s facial expression change. “Slow… No! No, he’s not slow at all.” Leon moved even closer to Rayna and whispered something as lightly as he could. This time, Derek could not make out what they said, but he could guess by the reaction Rayna made.
Her head rapidly turned back to look at Derek. This time, a look of shock appeared on her face. He could not stop himself from smirking ever so slightly. Hmm… Serves you right for calling me slow.
The group eventually stopped, about midway into the village. Here, Rayna made an announcement. “Okay, everybody, listen up. Davis here”—she pointed to the other man that had been with the group that greeted the villagers—“is going to help you all get situated. We’ll figure out more in the coming days.”
“Okay, follow me.” Davis led the refugees away, leaving only Rayna, Leon, Derek, Thomas, and Thomas’s grandparents.
With the six of them alone, Rayan spoke. “My residence is just up this way. I think we have a lot to discuss. Leon, Richard”—she paused and looked at Derek—“Derek, if you will follow me.”
The older woman reached for and grabbed Thomas’s hand to lead him away. “Let’s go, Thomas. I’m sure they have very important things to discuss.”
“Wait!” Derek called out. “The kid needs to come too. I need to talk to him once we’ve finished.”
The woman frowned and looked at Rayna, who slowly nodded her head.
“Relax, the boy will be fine. You’re his grandma. You might as well come, too,” Derek said, to the older lady’s relief.
Rayna led the group to one of the bigger buildings in the village. Once inside the building, she showed them to a meeting room of sorts. Eight chairs surrounded one big table. “Let’s all have a seat,” she said and gestured toward the furniture.
Without ceremony, Derek pulled out a chair and let his body fall into it. “Whew, actual furniture. It’s been a while.” He moved around on the chair. “Though it could use a cushion or something,” he remarked.
The others stared for a moment until Rayna took the initiative and sat down at the head of the table. The rest, including a very nervous-looking Thomas, soon followed.
The six people sat at the table in silence. Derek was waiting for someone else to speak. Finally, Rayna broke the silence. “Derek, you already know Leon and little Thomas.” She gestured to the man and boy. “Beside Thomas is his grandpa, Richard. He is one of my aides and the head trader in the village. And beside Richard is his wife, Delilah, who is Thomas’s grandma.”
Derek looked over and nodded at the two.
“I’m sure the both of them will be very grateful to you by the time this meeting is over,” Rayna continued. “From what Leon has told me, which is not much, you are the reason that both Thomas and the survivors of Leon’s village are still alive. This was all I could get out of him. It seems that you have made quite the impression.” Rayna looked over at Leon and smiled.
Derek chuckled, amused at the way Leon was acting. He had been very reserved with Derek ever since he came back from fighting the Void Beast. He focused his attention on the chief. “Well, there’s not much of a story to tell. I was in the forest when Thomas ran into me, apparently after being separated from his companions. He was being chased by a wolf, which I took care of.”
“After that, Thomas helped me out a bit, so I agreed to bring him home.” He looked over at Richard. “You have quite the grandson, by the way. We made it out of the forest, and soon after, we saw the small group of villagers. Thomas knew them, so he asked me to help. I did, and now we are here.”
Leon looked as if there was something more that he wanted to add, but he did not make a sound.
“That’s it?” Rayna appeared doubtful at Derek’s words.
“Yeah, pretty much. There were some beasts and fights in between, but other than that, that’s all. Found the kid, saved what was left of the village, and brought them here. That’s the cliff notes,” Derek replied.
“Cliff notes?” Rayna asked.
Derek laughed. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just a saying where I come from.”
“And where do you come from?”
“That’s a good question, but I have a better one.” Derek paused for dramatic effect. “What do you plan on doing about your forest problem? If what I’m thinking is correct, it won’t be long before all the villages in the area end up like Leon’s.” He stared deep into Rayna’s eyes.
“The forest problem? Do you know what’s going on with it?” Rayna blurted out. Derek could see the intrigue swelling in her eyes.
“I have some ideas,” said Derek. “First, I’m sure you all have noticed that monsters are migrating toward the edge of the forest.”
“We have, and it is very odd,” Richard replied.
“You must have also noticed that the creatures near the edge are advanced in level, at least compared to before. Right now, it seems to be creatures at around level 20, but I have a feeling that this will soon change.” Derek stopped talking, allowing what he had just said to sink in.
Rayna was the first to respond. “What makes you think this?”
Derek looked to where Richard and Delilah were sitting. “You heard that Tommy here was chased by a wolf, correct?” Derek waited for the two of them to nod. “What you haven’t heard is that the wolf that chased him was level 53,” he explained.
Hearing that, the room went silent. Nobody could believe what they had just heard. Finally, Rayna broke the silence. “Thomas, how far into the forest did you go?”
Thomas startled but answered, “W… well, I didn’t go very far at all. I thought I saw some herbs for medicine and went to look at them. Then the wolf came and chased me deeper into the forest.”
Rayna looked at Derek. “So, you’re saying that a level 53 wolf chased Thomas from the edge of the forest, all the way to where you were? How was he able to escape from a wolf of that level?” Derek could hear the skepticism in her voice.
Derek snorted, amused. “I don’t know. You’d have to ask the wolf. Maybe it enjoyed the hunt, or it was full and just toying with him. All I know is that it ended up in our stomachs.” He patted his belly as if he was stuffed.
Rayna scoffed. “Okay, let’s say you’re right, and it was level 53. Why was it so close to the edge of the forest?”
“Now that’s the million-dollar question.” Derek paused. “I believe that the stronger creatures are being driven to the outer parts of the forest, which also drives the weaker monsters completely out of the forest. The ending result is a horde attacking villages and villagers for food. That’s what I believe happened with Leon’s village.”
“Fine, so something is causing all of this, then? Do you know what it is?” Rayna asked.
“Well, I know part of what is causing the beast’s problem.” Derek looked at Thomas, then spoke. “When the kid and I were getting ready to head out of the forest, a bear attacked our camp. It was a higher level, just like the wolf, but it looked sick. After inspecting the bear, I learned it was diseased and was on the verge of turning into an undying creature.”
He let the others digest the information before continuing. “Now, I know that a disease is spreading throughout the forest, but I don’t know what’s causing it. I’m not a native to this region, so I don’t have a lot of information, but I have a couple of guesses about what’s happening.”
Rayna looked at Derek, her face now completely serious. “If everything you’re saying is true, then we have a big problem. No, not just us, even City Lord Torith will have to get involved.” She took a deep breath. “What are your theories? What do you believe is causing all this?”
Seeing such an intense atmosphere, Derek decided he had messed around enough. He’d been acting haughty ever since he heard the woman call him slow. He leaned forward in his chair and looked directly into the village chief’s eyes. “From what I heard from Thomas, this city lord of yours dispatched some adventurers to look into the problem, correct?”
Rayna answered. “Yes, they poked around in the forest for a bit and questioned a few villages, but from what I gather, they couldn’t find any genuine problems.”
“Interesting. Either the adventurers that took on the mission were complete idiots and awful at their jobs, or they didn’t even bother trying to figure out what was happening. The second I arrived here, I could tell there were some serious issues with the forest, and it only took me a day to figure out part of it. Surely, the adventures that came were high enough of a level to take out some monsters at level 50, right?” Derek asked.
“From what I know, there were three of them, and they were all level 50 or higher. We know this because of all the bragging they were doing,” Rayna answered.
“Well, it was most likely the latter… they didn’t even try.” Derek shook his head. He wasn’t a big fan of helping people, but if he took a mission or made a promise he kept it—or at least tried to. He changed the subject. “So, I have two ideas about what is going on. The first is that some kind of undying creature wandered into the forest a long time ago, and it has taken this long for the disease to spread.”
“That’s… a possibility,” said Richard from across the table. “It seems unlikely. If something like that happened, the disease should have spread much faster. And the monsters would have become diseased first, instead of the forest.”
“And this leads me to my second guess.” All the eyes in the room were staring at Derek. “A dungeon.”
“What?” Rayna questioned. “If there was a dungeon, we would have known about it.”
“That may be so, but who says that there can’t be new dungeons?” he questioned, then looked at Richard, who seemed to be the most knowledgeable of the group. “Is it possible? Can new dungeons just appear?” He stopped for a second, thinking. “And what happens to a dungeon if it isn’t cleared for a long time?” In the system that Derek came from, dungeons could appear anywhere except for safe zones. If a dungeon wasn’t cleared in an appropriate amount of time, it would overflow.
Richard didn’t respond for a while. Finally, he nodded his head. “New dungeons appearing are rare but not unheard of. It is possible that a well-hidden dungeon could have spawned deep in the forest, where few adventurers go.” He paused. “If that were to have happened, and it was left alone, it could have caused an overflow after some time. If the dungeon is one with undying properties, it would explain everything that is happening.”
“So, we possibly have a hidden dungeon that has overflowed, leading to disease spreading throughout the forest. This is driving the healthy monsters away from the dungeon and toward the edge of the forest, which is driving the lower-level creatures out of the forest and causing them to attack villages.” Rayna recounted all that she had heard. “It seems far-fetched, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Derek nodded. “Now that you understand your situation, you should know how dire it is. You need to either find a way to fix it or talk to someone who can. Who knows, maybe this city lord of yours will send someone competent this time.” Derek made to get up. He’d finished his explanation and let the villagers know how serious of a problem they had. It was time for him to leave the village and go find something 100 levels higher than him to kill.
“Wait!” Rayna spoke up. “You’re strong—at least level 90. Why don’t you help us? It should be easy enough for you.”
“Level 90? What made you get that idea?” Derek asked.
“I can’t Identify you. Which means that your Identify skill is higher than mine, and mine is level 6, or you are at a higher level than I can Identify. I can see up to level 91, and you are just question marks. Either way, it means that you’re strong,” Rayna explained.
“That may be so, but I have no reason to help you further. I already saved your refugees and let you know of the forest problem. Hell, the only reason I did this much is that I find the kid over there”—Derek nodded at Thomas—“interesting. Besides, you don’t need me. This is a problem that the city lord will want to see eliminated… and fast. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” With that, Derek finished standing and walked to the exit of the house.
“Tommy, walk with me. I need to find out where that little girl ended up.” He motioned for Thomas to follow him.
“He’s right, you know,” Richard said after Derek and Thomas exited the building.
“I know, but he doesn’t have to be so upfront about it,” Rayna said. Her mind was still racing while thinking of all the new information she had received. “We need to figure out what to do and do it fast.”
“Our only option is to send someone to the city to report to the lord. Derek was right in that regard,” Richard replied.
“I’ll send Davis. He can take a few hunters with him. They should be able to make the trip relatively quickly.” This was all Rayna could do in their current situation. What she really wanted to know was how powerful Derek was. She looked at Leon. “Leon, you’ve spent a lot of time with that man. Now that he’s gone, what’s your take on him?”
“I don’t know. He’s sarcastic, funny, and moody. And he asks a lot of basic questions. I can’t figure him out. But he’s strong, much stronger than you think.” Leon paused as if debating on what to say next. “I think he can control the void.” He dropped a bombshell.
“What!” Rayna was shocked. “How is that possible? Are you sure?”
“I saw him experimenting with his elemental powers. It was an element that I have never seen before.” He paused again, then sighed. “I think he accidentally summoned a Void Beast, too.”
Rayna didn’t know what to think. She was surprised by Leon’s first statement, but the second made her speechless. Luckily, Richard spoke up.
“Did he open a portal?” Richard asked.
“No. He channeled his element, then shot it into the sky. After that, a Void Beast broke through,” Leon responded.
Rayna could finally speak. “If a Void Beast was there, how did any of you make it out alive?”
“Well, that’s the thing. He stayed back to fight it and sent us away. Soon after, he caught up, no worse for wear. He said that he chased it away, which makes sense according to what I know of Void Beasts. But I don’t know. I think he may have killed it,” Leon finished.
The room was silent until a voice that had not spoken rang out. “What does he want with my Thomas?” Delilah asked.
Derek and Thomas were walking through the village. “So, kid, when will you unlock the system?” Derek asked.
“I turn thirteen in around a month,” Thomas replied.
“What are your plans? Do you plan on staying in the village?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to be a trader like my grandpa. But with everything that has happened, I want to get strong. I want to protect people, and I don’t want to have to be protected by others,” Thomas answered.
Derek could see the fire in Thomas’s eyes as he spoke. “If you want that, you’ll have to leave. You’ll have to adventure, fight, and kill. Are you up for it? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a nice, peaceful life in the village?” Derek pushed.
Thomas halted his steps. Derek turned and waited for his reply. “I’m sure.” This was the only response that Derek received. The pair continued walking.
Soon, Derek saw someone that he recognized. “Davis, right?”
The man stopped walking and replied, “Yes?”
“You took the refugees somewhere. I need to find that little girl and her mother. Brandi and Malorie.”
“Oh, they’re just up ahead,” Davis said, pointing.
“Thanks.” Derek and Thomas started walking again.
Soon, they found the girl and her mother. “Did you get settled?” Derek asked.
Malorie’s head darted toward Derek. When she saw Derek and Thomas there, she smiled. “Yes. We will stay in this residence with some others for the time being.”
“That’s good,” Derek replied. “Do you have a place for me to put him?” he asked.
“This way.” Malorie led Derek over to a blanket spread out on the ground. Brandi and Thomas followed.
Derek focused, and Travis’s body appeared in his arms. He gently laid him on the blanket.
“Thank you,” Malorie said.
Derek nodded and looked at Brandi. “And these are for you.” He summoned the hides from the monsters he had dismantled and laid them on the ground.
Brandi looked at the pile of hides with wide eyes. “Thank you so much.” She ran up to Derek and hugged him. A tightness formed in his chest, but he ignored it.
He patted her head, and she let go. “It’s fine.” Then he turned to Thomas and summoned the Mana Clippers. He handed them to the kid. “Take these and practice. I expect an amazing haircut when I get back.” He walked away, looking over his shoulder, back at Thomas. “Oh, and don’t unlock your system until I get back, okay?”
“Okay!”
