2 The taste of hope
I woke up, hoping I would never experience something similar ever again.
After going through both death and rebirth, my mind finally panicked, and my calm behavior vanished. I still couldn't see anything, it seems blindness was a side effect of going against what I thought was nature law. I could only perceive the cool wind going against my naked body, and the lightly pointed and humid grass hitting my back.
It was... a relaxing feeling...
The sun was high in the sky... it was probably about 12:00 in the morning.
In this pleasant atmosphere.... I fainted.... 2 times actually.
[ Pff ]
"When you read a novel about reincarnation, psychological problems are never faced"
"How can they bear the mental stress ?"
"Another reason to hate that bitch, who's the reason I'm here"
I know...
I died on Earth, this was certainly an opportunity...
However....
One thing, is what's Rational and another, is what your Hearth tells you.
My hearth was excited, this was a new world with magic, swords, dragons, beast man, Saintess Aveline...
My thoughts instead wanted to commit murder on me.
Honestly... They were right...
...
The proof of this is the fact that I began mumbling everything that came to mind.
Fuck...
Why did I leave Earth ??
This world is full of discrimination...
War is going on every day...
If you're weak you're shit....
I'm going to get killed by a goblin....
I don't even know what country this is...
I hope it's Emberfell
No wouldn't Vulcan be better?
I don't even know at what point of the story I am...
How old am I ?
What do i need to do ?
...
[ This is something I've been meaning to ask for a while, but have you already been acquainted with this world? ] [ It seems you're quite knowledgeable ]
[ You were talking about some kind of '?????' ]
"I already mentioned the novel... However... I'm not sure about how he'll react..."
"Should I just say.... Fuck.... I can't find any valid excuses...."
"I shouldn't have allowed him to 'hear' my memories..."
[ ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ]
[ "I can't ask anything about it..." ]
[ ... ... ... ..... ... ]
[ "Why is ???? interfering ?" ]
[ "Is Ethan..." ]
...
[ .... I asked quite a problematic question.... Please don't mind me and continue.... ]
[ "I'll found out about it" ]
...
"The troubled look on my face was enough for him to understand that I had quite the situation"
"Truly worthy of a benevolent and kind ??? "
...Thank you for your understanding.
I'll continue.
...
At this point, after panicking and going through several stages of anxiety and fear, I finally decided to say the words:
Status window !
-tin-
It opened a detailed guide with information on the world, with an easy and detailed way to show my stats and a detailed way to organize my items...
[ I don't know what you're talking about... ]
"Don't look away"
"You're literally talking to me through this NOT detailed status window... And I know you have turned around !"
[ I wouldn't define it as 'Not detailed' ]
Let's see
Status window
...
-tin-
[ Name: Ethan ]
[ Age: ?? ]
[ Level : 1 ????, 1 ????, 1 ???? ]
This is all i got....
...
[ "..." ]
...
[ Sorry ]
...
Sigh
Don't worry, it doesn't matter.
...Anyway...
You must hear this part
...
So this is how it feels to have a man's dream.
Let me see my stats...
...
[ Mana : 1 ]
[ Aura : 1 ]
[ Divine power : 1 ]
[ Strength : 10 ]
[ Agility : 10 ]
[ Mind : 0.1 ]
Why is my mind stat so low ?
Eh, I think I can guess...
...
0.1 of mind stat...
Lower than garbage
...
Is there a way to find out where I am...
...
Click Click
I pressed the window mid air left and right
...
Until...
-Tin-
[ Country : Emberfell ]
[ Location : Southern forest of Ashen ]
Ashen ?
...
Ashen !
Oh... Goddess... Please....
Tell me....
I'm going to take part... In 'that' scene....
[ Year : 974 a.g.t. ] [ February 14 ]
Yeah !
That's 1 point for Ethan !
In slightly more than a week....
Aveline will camp somewhere here....
In this same forest....
And she will be introduced as one of the main heroines.
A bunch of low level bandits will attack her during the night though...
That's even better !
I just need to find her.... Be THE hero....
And then.... We will...
Eheh... Ehe.....
[ .... .... ..... .... ... ]
[ "Sigh" ]
[ "There's no point in trying anymore" ]
...
"Shit !"
"The past me revealed too much information"
"It's best to change argument"
....By the way, have you chosen one ?
.....A Saintess i mean....
[ It's been centuries since I've got the courage to chose one ]
...
[ I can bear any humiliation, but I want to protect my peers ]
...
[ There is no point is participating in a lost war ]
"It seems i revoked some painful memories"
I understand...
-Tin-
[ New mission ]-[ Aveline's guardian ]
[ Train until 1st rank aura knight or 1st circle magician ]
[ Reward : Map with Saintess Aveline live position ]
[ Aren't you just a stalker at this point? ]-You don't understand my love
[ You're definitely a st-Finally!-
"Thanks me of the past.... I'm lucky my memories are flowing like scenes in a film..."
"They interrupted this illegal conversation..."
...
Now...
I have something that will drive me to become stronger !
This seems like a game more and more....
...
Still, let's worry about what to wear first...
...
Unfortunately... I had to cover my new toned body and my long d[ I get it ]
[ No need to describe it ]
...
Luckily...
For YOU
I had a mage vest in the inventory.
It covered me completely, and black is the best color if you want to go unnoticed.
"That's the rule of every novel"
I also got a small but durable dagger, some bread and water.
...
That bitch truly made me think everything was authentic...
...
Furthermore, I was even given a map of the world, and after I found the way to Ashen and began my not so long walk to the village.
The road was well maintained and I didn't see suspicious figures.
The atmosphere was peaceful and the people working on the outer fields seemed happy enough.
....
Considering everything, it's not that bad !
It will
Right now... I was only seeing the good side....
....
...
...
After a while I arrived at the southern gate, the main one was the northern, facing the capital.
...
I thought Ashen was a village, but it seemed more like a fortress with at least 20 meter high walls...
And mine is just a rough guess.
The guards didn't really ask me much.
...
"There is no way to identify someone in this uncivilized world."
Isn't there a DNA magic ?
[ I'm not sure about what you're talking about.... ]
...
Ah... I miss you.... Technology....
...
...
Bribing the soldiers would have worked anyway
If I seemed suspicious
...
The inner part wasn't as good as I thought. A pungent stench welcomed me to the main road, which lead to the governor palace and the church of light.
It was more of an heap of houses, forges, tavern and brothels.
Why do you even want to know this kind of details ? I understand that you're blind, but this are really meaningless...
[ The day we meet, you'll comprehend all my needs ]
Sigh
I soon recognized the adventurer guild sign.
"I saw it in tons of chapters"
I thought it would be some noble job, but most of people I saw were thugs that didn't even seem like mercenaries. I guess power really means everything in this world... There's no regard for the weak...
"Obviously.... I'm talking about the classic cliche villains..."
The adventurers ranks went from F to A, six in total
It's a merit-based system where everyone can join. A test isn't even needed for the lowest of the hierarchy. They take everyone who wants to kill monster and throw them in battles without the bit of experience.
You can take more difficult request as your rank goes up. It is a continuous competition to see who's stronger. In fact, it is said that most of the mercenaries die because of their pride.
"At least the system guide was real"
They try to complete jobs that are not recommended or considered of high difficulty and get screwed in the end.
After I officially became an F rank adventure, I soon took the easiest request. I needed to "exterminate as much slime as possible" which could be found in either of the small forest near Ashen.
I chose the one where i was "born"
...
I started walking to the south
...
...
...
Apparently their fluid can be used as beauty products
"I should have taken a few for Aveline..."
I soon encountered one behind a few shrubs.
It was a semi transparent blob creature.
It can be easily killed by a kid with a bit of experience so i shouldn't have encountered any problems. However...
Like a wimp I was, I attacked without any regard of strategies whatsoever...
I was too excited that day
I should have let it do the first move.... ... ...
....
I.... I.... tripped on a tree branch that was in the way.
"How embarrassing"
"I just said it was a monster for kids.."
-Ahh-
-Shit-
-This damned "luck" of mine-
[ "Yeah... 'Luck' ! ]
[ "But.... Wasn't ???? helping Ethan ?..." ]
...
The slime didn't wait for me and used one of the weakest magics attack : Acid shot
I got hit by it...
"Why have i accepted to watch this pathetic memory ?"
Still, my magic resistant vest blocked it and once i was on my feet again, I sprinted in a split second and stroke its center with my dagger.
It was... slimy indeed.
That was enough for me to kill it.
...
You truly care about me goddess, giving me magic resistant items !
I will spread the predicaments of light everywhere !
Thinking about it now, makes me want to throw up
-tin-
[ Stats up ( +0,1) ]
When I checked I had really gained more power and I could also feel my mental health becoming stabler.
That was the whole purpose of mind stat.
I think it's quite similar to [ ? ???? ?????? ]
...Even mana and aura had gone up.
"Quite convenient the power of Damien"
"Originally it was his anyway"
It was already late, and I returned to Ashen.
After i sold the slime for 5 bronze coins at the adventurer guild I wandered around the streets and admired the night.
I found the cheapest tavern in the village, I met with a few people, I got some information about the political affairs of the current royal family. I thought it could have been useful in the future.
I got a small room for a single night-1 bronze coin.
...
I fell asleep on the uncomfortable bed
...
...
( Now... ) The next morning.... I was woken up by the loud voices of the adventures downstairs.
I felt proud of myself.
I was part of a group.
I felt accepted in the new society.
It was a nice feeling.
Nothing important happened the next few days. I made a few new acquaintances and continued to get stats. I gained experience, and I began to face groups of 2-3-5 slimes, one after another.
...
...
...
...
Finally, after a whole week, I had gained the necessary stats to become both a 1st rank aura knight and a 1st circle magician.
-tin-
[ You're a genius who managed to achieve the conditions for both the objectives ]
[ Reward: guide for dual core! ]-[ Limited to Ethan ]
It was pretty obvious for someone like me !
....
"Why was i such a dumb ass..."
"I got deceived by an old hag wearing a young woman mask"
...
I followed the instructions of the guide to "safely" become a dual core op character...
[ She tricked you to make a soup of mana and aura right? ]
That's the point
I didn't know any better so I sat down in my room, and I could clearly feel a black substance in the air.
[ You already had the aptitude for ??????? ]-[ I chose the perfect ????? ]
With both my aura and mana stats reaching 10, and while having the necessary vessel, it didn't even take long
You could say my training was useful, because at the end I actually got the live map
I was excited at the possibility of saving my dear Aveline. I knew that Damien would have been there to protect her, but I needed to see the true Saintess
Not a figure or image
I wasn't strong myself....
Actually, I was extremely under the average, but blocking a bandit attack whose vision was limited at night was an easy task.
Naturally.... I didn't think that I would be in the same situation
...
I followed the map, and waited until noon. In the deeper part of the forest, a camping site could be seen, that's where I needed to be.
Hiding behind a tree, I could finally admire true beauty.
Please stop the memory for a second, I want to see her for a little longer.
...
[ I told you it's obsession ] [ And you know i can't ]
...
[ "I can't... " ]
She had the perfect hourglass figure, with an F cup, not too big but enough to make every man happy.
...
On top of that...
Her golden hair....
Her round and reddish eyes...
Her soft lips...
Her small nose...
Yeah... The only possible outcome for me... It was to love her...
...
But you know...
I really like her... Smile....
...
One that was real...
...
And she didn't even reach the legal age yet !
"This world is different though, why didn't i think of it before..."
[ I can see what you're thinking when I don't even have eyes anymore ] [ Please stop ]
Damien was also there. He had the same golden hair, and the classic handsome face.
He was standing at the center of the camp, looking cool as fuck, with his shining armor, which covered him from neck to toe.
"You could clearly see why he was the protagonist of an harem novel"
"Among the heroines, plot armor was the main one, always ready to save him in every situation"
-TAKE THE WOMEN-
-KILL ALL THE MEN-
-YOU CAN 'USE' THE ONE YOU CAPTURE !-
...
This is the trigger for my.... let's talk about it later.
"I'm ready...."
"I shouldn't have problems now that i have ????? "
...
The attack begun
A lot of blows were being exchanged, you would see blood coming out of the bandits wounds while the priest were healing the Saintess guards.
It was the first time i saw a real battle, with the gut wrenching smell of blood and interiors. I couldn't bear it anymore, the mind stat wasn't enough...
I threw up... I couldn't feel my legs anymore, I used the tree to stand up.
A real battle was much more scary than i thought.
Have i been lucky for not having encountered any ?
A bandit noticed me and came to attack me. I couldn't avoid him. He was running towards me with a sword in his right hand...
I didn't want to fight him, i didn't want to see blood, i just wanted to hide and try to calm down.
He couldn't stop. Maybe he was being forced?
...
He wouldn't stop. Maybe he had been unlucky during his life ?
...
He stopped.... when i pierced him with my dagger.
...
I threw up.
I couldn't kill him, I left him there. To suffer.
He probably wasn't able to move anyway... Would this be considered torture ?
I didn't have time to care about the life of an enemy... Even wimps have someone they love....
Yes, how could i forget about Aveline. She still didn't have any attack spells, i needed to protect her, at all cost.
I looked for her, I found her, I run towards her.
The leader of the bandits was on the verge of attacking my beloved.
...
I screamed, I needed his attention
...
I wouldn't have been able to defeat him.
He outranked me in every aspect...
The most rational thing to do in the situation was to hope for Damien to save her...
...
Shit wasn't this the plan to begin with....
...
I said it to myself
I didn't have time
I had to do something.
...
Ahah...
I simply followed my hearth...
The hearth of a fucking loser whose hope and love was the Saintess in front of him...
I took the hit for her
????? ????? ????? ?????
[ Damien 99.8 % (-0.1%) ]
[ Ethan 0.2 % (+0.1%) ]
