"Mum? Dad?!" Sam blurted out in horror as he immediately erected from his lying position.
Even though he called these two figures his mum and dad, he wasn't that close to them and he couldn't differentiate between the two of them due to their beards which covered the majority of their facial features. At first glance, one would most probably expect these two to be doppelgangers of each other! He called these two respectfully based on his memories of the flashback which revealed the fact that they were comforting and lovely to Samuel Goldstache, even though it hurt his heart to call a stranger 'mum' when thinking about his original life. Yet, he realised quickly that one mustn't dwell on the past to progress through the future.
As soon as the two parental figures heard the outburst, they swung their heads up with shocked faces like deer in headlights, tears still sliding from their eyes while the air assaulted their eyes, causing them to constantly blink in confusion.
"Son? We thought we had lost you forever!" Cried the father, a slightly overweight man with a bronze beard like his own. He had a scar which was engraved into his cheek which was definitely not caused by weapons but magic spells which were, presumably from his burn-like scar, caused by a fire spell. Yet, unlike in his lovely flashbacks, he had never seen his father or mother like this.
"We are so happy... So glad... We thank the Gods that you're still alive!" Continued his new mother who took over his father's sentimental statement as he bawled his eyes out. His new mother looked rather ragged compared to what the flashbacks illuminated. She had the same features as his father and yet she had a sense of femininity which he couldn't grasp. Was it the lilacs in her hair forming a crown? Or was it just the calming motherly voice which caused a placebo effect?
Nonetheless, Sam simply waited for them to stop crying before asking what occurred to make them so worried about his life. After a few minutes of his parents crying like newborn children, they finally asked him a question in chocked words as they coughed heavily, suppressing their tears for another day, bottling up their emotions.
"Do you not remember? Did you hit your head when you got shot? I'm so sorry for being so irresponsible, I should've known that treacherous fiend would have done something by now. He's been eyeing our household for way too long... Maybe he will overthrow the hierarchy soon? But the king will never believe us... Last time we alerted him of our disappearance, he got riled up and told us we would be rewarded for our loyalty before he suddenly turned on us the next day, claiming that we were going against the word of God, forcing us to pray on hot coals for seven days on end..." His mother winced in pain of those hellish days, mumbling and rambling over hundreds of things. Although her son was still alive, she still bore a mourning face as she found it hard to shake off the shock which drilled a tunnel through her shattered heart.
"I must have... I remember nothing of what happened, and my memory over the past few years is quite hazy as well... Who is this pretentious kid who dares to try and destroy our household? I'll swear to make him pay for this!" Samuel 's eyes burned with raging passion as he quickly ran to the door before stumbling and hitting the wooden ground as his legs suddenly turned into jelly, like pillars of salt and sand.
His parents quickly ran to his side and picked him up with caring precautions and laid him back onto the soaking bed which was covered in salty water. When they settled him onto the bed, his father gave him a stern look and yelled in a trembling and broken voice.
"That's what you said last time! And see what happened, you ended up on death's doorstep at such an early age. Although I don't like it one bit, we must endure this and look for solutions other than fighting. It is clear that he has someone big supporting him, how else would the king's hand be forced to torture us? Such a despicable young master is not a threat to be trifled with. We should just keep our heads low and pretend to see nothing, only striking when the time is right. Like in the ancient texts from Yalder's Scriptures; wait until the iron is hot before you strike!" Samuel's father reprimanded Sam. Yet, Sam was too busy thinking about the coincidence.
"Huh? Do these dwarves also know that ancient proverb? That is such a funny coincidence! But hey, I guess everything goes through the same cycle in all planets. These so-called scriptures must be ancient proverbs from a passionate philosopher...!" Sam thought silently before listening to the rest of his parent's concerns.
An hour later and the rambling still continued and the amount of information he was learning was as if he was sitting under a waterfall when all of a sudden the water started to freeze on his shoulders. It came to a point where he had to cough frequently and, eventually, ask to be left alone for some rest.
His parents flushed a bright red as they quickly realised how long they had rambled without any thoughts for how tired their son must've been. They quickly scurried out the room after giving him a kiss on the forehead for good luck.
Upon seeing his parents leave, Sam sighed a breath of relief before checking what was going on with himself. Hadn't his parents been abducted? Was he in the past? Was he in an alternate dimension? He didn't know whatsoever.
"Well then, time to see what my wishes are like... System, are you there?" Sam thought aloud, not caring whether his parents could hear him or not.
"Ding!
Affirmative. Under God's orders, I am under your service... Or should I say back in your service? Seems like you got out of the torture room without losing your memories. I was going to report it to the Supreme One's attention but I, personally, wish to see how your adventure will play out. So, if you scratch my back by giving me an interesting story, I'll scratch yours by not being a snitch." The System responded in a jovial tone.
An offer was made which he couldn't refuse and so he accepted it immediately after his heart plummeted from the System's opening sentence. He thought he had to relive that nightmare due to his lack of judgement when it came to his wishes.
"Alright, can you show me my status?" Sam asked, curious to see whether his stats had decreased or increased since he had reincarnated.
"Ding!
Name: Samuel Goldstache
Race: Dwarf
Health: 100/100
Level: 1
Power Stones: 0
---------------------------------
Strength: 11
Constitution: 1
Dexterity: - 4
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Charisma: 6
---------------------------------
Skills:
Night Vision
Ageing Disorder
Master Craftsmith I
---------------------------------
Items:
Hero's Requiem
God's Lullaby"
Sam was relieved that his power stone debt was reset but he was most curious about the items. Were those his other two wishes?
"System, identify item 'Hero's Requiem'!" Sam whispered as he heard his parents walking near his room.
"Ding!
Item: Hero's Requiem
Level Requirement: 100+
Details: A hero's requiem to mourn the passing of a legend. Sacrifice your life for the greater cause to vanquish any one opponent to Hell."
Sam was infuriated; a wasted wish! He was hoping to be able to use this spell to face-slap his opponents in this new life but it turned out to be a waste of time. What's the point in killing someone if you die alongside them? You would never feel the praise of others telling your stories and the happiness of his proud loving family. Yet, he decided to move onto his third wish, still aggravated by the previous disappointment.
"System, identify item 'God's Lullaby'!" Samuel grumbled as he waited for the predicted message to pop up.
"Ding!
Item: God's Lullaby
Level Requirement: 1000
Details: Brings down the physical form of God to bring down his wrath upon your opponents. Will only last in your world for one hour before leaving."
Such a high-level requirement! What did I expect from such a shady God... Indeed, holy deals bring trashy rewards!