The First Generation

As the first rays of light extended their embrace, they gracefully touched the surface of the planet, casting a golden glow over its landscapes.

Opening his tent, Liam stepped out with dark, lined eyes.

Throughout the night, the couple's retardation continued and he could not get a wink of sleep.

"Fuck this shit! I'm tired of this life now. Huff!" muttered Liam in frustration.

"Oi! old man~ why are you so grumpy first thing in the morning?" a voice interrupted his frustrated thoughts.

As he looked over at the source of the voice he saw a man who looked to be in his 40's. but well he was much older than that. the man was sitting next to the campfire heating his coffee. next to him was a beautiful busty lady cooking breakfast on the fire.

"Stuart, did you hear the noise those two fuckers made all night? I couldn't get a wink of sleep!" grumbled Liam as he took a bottle of water from his space ring to rinse and freshen up his face.

Washing his face, he sat down in front of the man called Stuart, watching the busty lady move back and forth to serve the food.

"Here's your breakfast Mr Liam~" she said, swaying her naturally seductive body towards Liam and handing him the plate with a smile, all of Liam looking at the huge bump on her chest, coughing and looking away.

When Stuart noticed, he smiled mischievously and called to the lady, who obliged.

"Sit here," Stuart said as he moved his hand and patted his thing as if to tell the lady to sit on it.

While the lady shyly sat on it.

But the scene did not end there, just as she was sitting on Stuart's thigh, he started to caress her body, "Ahn~... ple-please stop~ Ahn~!! mr liam is watching~!!"

The busty lady was Emily, Stuart's girlfriend and party member. Both were partners. While Stuart was a swordsman, Emily was a healer.

"Ehehe! I know! That's what I am doing this!" Chuckling mischievously, Stuart said as he eyed Liam's reaction. To his surprise, instead of shame, jealousy, and embarrassment, he saw rage on Liam's face.

"You fuckers!!!" Liam stood up abruptly, startling Emily. Now, this had gone through the roofs. All night he had no liberty of having a wink of sleep, and now this antics! They were not giving him any face!

Stuart's amusement faded, realizing the seriousness of the situation. "Hey, Liam, calm down. It's just a bit of fun," he tried to placate, but his casual demeanor only fueled Liam's anger.

"Fun? FUN?!" Liam's voice trembled with fury. "This is a mission that we are on, and I am also putting my life on the line, this is not a fucking frat party!! I want to live, but not like this, scraping every penny I get from missions to cure my disease! While also watching you all fucking around! Huff! Huff!"

As he exhaled, clarity started to come to his mind. He looked towards the couple and saw them looking at him with a very uncomfortable gaze.

"Ah... I am sorry... I just..." Liam tried to say as he facepalmed and sat on the bench. "I am sorry. It's just these feelings are all bottled up, and without sleep, my mind is just puzzled up."

Emily, feeling sympathetic, spoke softly, "Liam, we had no idea about your condition. We didn't mean to be insensitive."

Stuart nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should have been more considerate. I didn't know you were dealing with something like that."

Just then, a young guy entered the scene with another young lady who appeared carefree.

"Ha? What was the ruckus all about? I couldn't sleep because of the noise you were making," the young lady said, playing with her hair bangs and looking at the trio.

Veins started popping on Liam's forehead. "This bitch!" he thought, feeling infuriated.

When Stuart saw this, he put a hand on Liam's shoulder to calm him down, and Liam reluctantly relaxed his tense posture, still glaring at the lady named Mary.

"What?" Mary said, sounding annoyed by his glare.

"ha..." sighing under his breath, Liam went to pack his tent and belongings that he had taken out.

Stuart spoke up, trying to defuse the tension, "Mary, we had a bit of a misunderstanding with Liam. Let's all try to get along and finish the mission, okay?"

Mary shrugged indifferently. "Whatever. As long as you guys keep the noise down," she replied, not showing much concern for the situation.

Stuart turned to the young man named Harry. "Harry," he said, addressing the young man who was with Mary.

"Yes, leader?" Harry responded.

"Finish your breakfast and pack all the equipment that we used before. We are going to start moving within half an hour. The mission is almost complete, and we just have to deliver the relic to the client. Hurry up."

"But why me!?" Harry spoke up, feeling that it was unfair.

"Since you are the youngest," Stuart said with a smile, though a sharp glint shined in his eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Harry. "Understood?"

"Y-yes!" Harry replied, feeling a bit intimidated by the look he received from the leader.

"Good," Stuart said, nodding in approval.

In the whole group, there were five members: Liam, Stuart the group leader, Emily the busty lady healer, Harry, and Mary who had just arrived, and the culprits who were making the noise last night. Although Liam was the eldest, he was not the strongest, and all of them knew that, but what they didn't know was why. Despite his physical weakness, Liam was the most experienced and knowledgeable member of the group. They had heard rumors that Liam was from the first generation, but they all dismissed it, thinking there was no way for a man from the first generation, who had survived till now, to be so weak...

As Harry quickly finished his breakfast and started gathering the equipment, Stuart returned to the campfire area to discuss the remaining details of their mission with Emily and Liam. He hoped that the tensions between Liam and the other couple would subside as they focused on completing their task.

With the morning sun shining brightly, the group prepared to resume their journey.

As they walked through the city in ruins, a sense of boredom and depression swept over them, witnessing the desolate state of the once thriving place.

Stuart, sensing the group's demotivation, wanted to uplift their spirits but struggled to find a topic to start a conversation. Then, he remembered the rumors about Liam being from the first generation, and an idea popped into his head.

The group was not a permanent one; they had come together for the specific task of transporting a dungeon relic from the dungeon to the client

Each member of the group was experienced in their own fields, and despite Liam's physical weakness, being the oldest, he was the most experienced in virtually everything. He possessed knowledge of various languages spoken by other races, dungeon expertise, trap identification, and an understanding of different kinds of monsters. He was a reputable guide in the mission hall, and his wisdom had proven invaluable on their journey.

"hey liam!" stuart called out as he went near the man.

"hm?"

Clearing his throat, Stuart turned to Liam and said, "You know, Liam, I've heard some interesting things about you. They say you're from the first generation. Is that true? Are you really from the first generation?" His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear what he said.

Everyone's interest was piqued, and they all paid attention to the duo.

As Liam was walking, listening to the question he was asked, he seemed slightly surprised. He abruptly stopped and turned around to look at the group following him. They too stopped in their tracks and looked at him expectantly.

*Sigh... Liam exhaled a long breath, and to everyone's disappointment, he resumed walking.

"Stuart! That was so insensitive!" Emily elbowed Stuart and called him out in a low voice, but everyone heard her, and Stuart simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, I am," Liam finally replied, and they all heard his voice, shocking them. Not because he had replied, but because he had confirmed that he was indeed from the first generation.

"Ei~ don't exaggerate your oldness," Harry said from the back, not believing what the old dude had claimed.

"I was 19 when the world collision occurred," Liam continued.

"No way~"

"Yeah, don't fool us."

"Liam, I never expected you to be so funny, hahah."

They all believed Liam was joking. There was no way he was from the first generation. All the people from that era were either ascended to the next realm, known as the Ascended Ones, or were presumed to be long gone.

Without saying anything, Liam lifted up the shirt he was wearing, revealing his torso. He showed a creepy, dark, rotten wound that seemed to consume his body.

Gasps echoed through the group as they stared in shock at the unsettling sight.

"What... what is that?" Emily stammered, horrified by the grotesque wound.