"Happy 5th birthday, Viel. This bag is for you to put more of your candies"
Violet handed an ornamented bag to Viel. It was as if the designs were made of candy themselves. And the golden string really complemented Viel's hair.
"T-thank you…", Viel hesitantly received the gift. He was still confused as to what was happening. His mind and body was still recovering from all the intense feelings it felt. For him, it literally feels like it just happened a day ago for him.
Feeling the loneliness again, he couldn't help but hug Violet to repress the tears that was going to fall from his eyes. He needed anything that would make him feel like he belonged.
"V-viel? I-it's just a bag…", Violet tried tapped Viel's shoulder a couple of times as she was embarrassed being hugged in front of so many people.
Diao Mei who saw this, knitted her eyebrows as she looked at Violet with a fierce gaze.
"Ohohoho. Look at this boy, only just recovered and already making moves. Little Mei, if you don't keep it up you won't get the chance of being the main wife. Come here, I will give you this sexy undergar-"
General Diao was hit in the stomach by her daughter before he can finish his sentence, "Father! What are you saying to my daughter?", and as if that wasn't enough, she also stomped on his foot.
"O-ow!"
General Diao jumped while holding his foot.
The three kids that saw this couldn't help but laugh at him. General Diao wasn't really hurt by Mother Mei's kick, but he wanted to change the mood as he saw Viel about to cry again.
"Oh, aren't you lively? You haven't been to class for a while, maybe you being unconscious was just an excuse not to hear Hamburgdole's ramblings, amiright? Maybe I should use that for next time…"
A group of children appeared in the courtyard, being led by Xiao Pei. It was the students of the elite class, plus Wei Song, who looked like he was forcefully dragged here by Xiao Pei.
"Tch. What the hell. You were only 5 years old? I feel so stupid treating you as my rival when you haven't even grown hair down there", Wei Song crossed his arms as he tried to one up Viel again. But after a few seconds, he hesitantly reached out his hand and gave something to Viel.
"H-here…a gift"
It was a dagger. Viel quickly snatched the dagger from Wei Song's hand as he was visibly excited to receiving a "manly" gift.
The other students couldn't help but look at Wei Song with a surprised expression. Wei Song instantly noticed the looks that were being given by his classmates.
"W-what are you looking at, you brats?"
And then he noticed it, the rest of the class didn't bring anything. He was the only one with a gift even though he was the one that was forced to come to this party. His eyes started to twitch as he became embarrassed.
"Thank you, Mr. Song", Viel inspected the dagger with amazement. He was about to unsheathe it before his hand was hit by Violet, telling him that drawing a weapon during a celebration is bad luck.
"I-it's nothing, j-just one of my extra daggers, it's no big deal. A-anyway, I will go and talk to General Diao", Wei Song said as he quickly escaped this awkward situation.
One by one, the students of the elite class wished Viel a happy birthday, and most of them apologized for not bringing any gifts.
The students of the Elite Class still had some fear left of Viel from the mock battle they had weeks ago. But children tend to move on in a blink of an eye. When they heard that both Viel's grandparents died, they immediately felt sad for him.
Right then, he was no longer the monster of the elite class, but one of them. A normal child. It also helped that General Diao restricted any information regarding the bizarre events that happened to their city a few days ago.
If they knew that Viel was the one who caused it, then they surely would not be here today. General Diao hoped that no one but them will ever know.
"T-thank you so much for coming…", Viel started to be teary eyed again as he received the warmth of many people. The students of the elite class immediately comforted him and hugged him. Truly, children can be empathetic creatures. Diao Mei's mother approached them, saying that the food they prepared was getting cold and they should eat.
Seeing this, General Diao could not help but smile. It was a good decision to go ahead with the party. It at the very least helped the boy temporarily forget about the tragedy that has befallen him. He then looked at the woman that was beside him.
"Xing Cai, was it? You look like you seem worse than the boy"
"I…"
Xing Cai was currently brooding on the side. She arrived in the city right after Viel passed out. She was just in time to see General Diao catching Viel, who seemed to have fallen from the sky. She was then briefed by the General of the tragic situations that have happened so far.
She failed. That was the only thing that was in her mind. Although her search for Viel's origin had fruitful results, she failed in taking care of Viel. She was supposed to be acting as her sister, she promised.
But she failed, and the price for it was the boy's grandfather.
If only she wasn't so fixated to what she saw in her visions, then maybe… just maybe, none of this would have happened. Truly, she was truly regretful.
And there's also the case of Viel's grandmother missing. They've searched Viel's house and could not find Grandma Ling anywhere. General Diao just shook his head, he already asked the guards to search the whole city and the surrounding area, but there were not traces of Viel's grandmother.
But right as they were discussing this, they noticed that Viel was approaching them.
"S-sister Xing Cai…", Viel slowly went towards Xing Cai and immediately hugged her.
"Viel…I.."
Xing Cai did not really know what to say as she stood still, her arms were shaking, hesitating if they deserve to hug back.
"Y…you're the only family I have now..."
Xing Cai instantly kneeled down and embraced Viel as soon as she heard that. That's right, what was she thinking? Viel's grandparents entrusted him to her. It does not matter if she deserves to or not, it was time to step up. This time, she needs to be there for the boy.
"Grandpa and Grandma… they…they're dead…"
Xing Cai's embrace got tighter, "I know… I kno- Wait, Viel… you know what happened to your Grandma?"
"Y-yes"
Viel then recounted everything that has happened to them. From Grandma Ling peacefully passing away, to him going home only to find Grandpa Ling murdered.
"V…viel…"
The people who heard the story could not help but be teary eyed. They knew what happened to his Grandpa, but as for her Grandma, they only knew that she was missing.
To lose both of his grandparents right at the same time in different circumstances. It was no wonder the boy reacted the way he did, General Diao thought. He too, would probably the same if he was younger. General Diao suddenly considered themselves lucky that the boy only locked down their city.
"I'm so sorry…I wasn't there, Viel. I'm so sorry…", this time, it was Xing Cai who cried. She did not really have anyone to call a family, as she was adopted by the Golden Pavilion at a very early age.
"I won't ever leave you again, Viel…", she promised to herself that she would now protect Viel, no matter what his origin is… even if the world will be against him. She would be there. In a lack for a better word, Viel is now her family.
But of course, her people also discovered something during these few days, "Viel. About your real mother-"
However, before she can finish her sentence, General Diao's laugh interrupted them by his loud laugh.
"Ohohoho, this is enough crying for today. We must begin the festivities!", General Diao heavily tapped both Viel and Xing Cai's back. Xing Cai could not help but cough.
"My mother?", Viel tilted his head as he looked curiously towards Xing Cai.
"No… I will tell you later", Xing Cai shook her head. There was plenty of time to talk about it to Viel. Right now, she should focus on letting Viel have fun. That's the thing he needs most right now. She smiled at Viel and held his hand.
"Let's go, your friends are waiting"
Viel nodded as the two smiled at each other. The two approached the group, holding each other's hand tight. It was a solemn and silent promise, they were family starting from now.
"Happy 5th birthday, Viel!"
They started their festivities. Laughing and having fun, with the occasional bickering between Wei Song and Violet. It was lively, the adults in the area were finally refreshed to see kids act like kids.
"Viel… this is for you"
Viel turned his head to see a portrait of him and his Grandparents. There were discrepancies from Grandma and Grandpa Ling's looks. But there was no mistake that it was them. Viel's figure on the figure was spot on.
"I…I painted it", Diao Mei handed the medium sized canvas to Viel, her face blushed in red. Viel stared at the portrait for a bit. Before snatching it… and then staining it with the sauce that was on the table.
"V-viel", Violet rushed towards Viel to stop him, but she was too late. Diao Mei, who saw Viel's action towards her gift, was almost in tears.
"Viel, that's very rude!", Violet was about to pull Viel's hands but she paused when she heard Viel talking.
"This is Miss Mei, then Miss Violet… Miss Xing Cai should be beside me… Then Pei Pei…I guess there's still room for Mister Song… Agh, Grandpa Diao is too big to fit…"
Violet then saw that Viel was drawing on the canvas. If it can be called that, beside the finely drawn figures of Viel and his grandparents were a couple of stick figures.
"This…Viel, is this us?"
"Hmhm", Viel nodded then showed it towards the group, "Look, this one with a scar is Pei Pei". He pointed at a stick figure with a line across its face.
"I see, so this ugly one is Wei Song?", Xiao Pei looked closely at the drawing.
"W-what!? Let me see!", Wei Song quickly approached the drawing when he heard Xiao Pei's remark, "What? How can you tell!? There is not even a single detail in this drawing!"
"I don't need to. You're just ugly in person, so I assumed you'll be ugly in painting too"
"Y-you!"
The two continued to bicker with each other as they pointed their chopsticks at each other, drawing out a laugh from the rest of the group.
"V…viel…", Diao Mei who was about to cry could not help but be touched when she saw Viel drawing her. "W-why did you draw us as well?"
"Because you are family?", Viel had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
Hearing this, Diao Mei's already red face started to release steam. Hearing the word family, she imagined her and Viel being married…then having kids…
But then her daydreaming was instantly shattered as she noticed that Violet's stick figure was closer to Viel than hers was. Her expression quickly changed to annoyance as she stared at Violet again with fierce eyes.
Before Violet can react, General Diao's laughter once again reverberated through the courtyard.
"It seems that everyone is giving their gifts, then this is mine!", General Diao gracefully pulled the cloth from the mysterious object that was suddenly beside him. Where it suddenly appeared from, nobody knew.
The cloth slowly fell down as it revealed that object it was hiding.
"I..is that.. a cake!?"
One of the student of the elite class shouted. Cakes were not common in Taizhou city due to the lack of available ingredients. So, seeing a cake, let alone this big, easily garnered their attention.
"Ohohoho!", General Diao laughed as he raised his thumbs towards his granddaughter, as if signaling they won't lose.
The children quickly gathered towards the cake. Viel was the first one to go as he was wielding the dagger that Wei Song gave to him, about to use it to slice the cake.
"W-wait! T-that's not used for slicing cake!", Wei Song quickly blocked Viel's path. No one knew, but he actually forged this dagger by himself. To see it being used as a cake slicer was a big hit towards his ego.
"Ohoho, don't be impatient kids", General Diao once again laughed as he took the knife that's used to slice the cake, "Before we slice the cake, Viel. You should make a wish first"
"A wish?"
"We usually wish for something before we eat cake, Viel", it was Violet who answered Viel's question, "My mother said that there is a chance of it coming true"
"Really!?... Then…", Viel then closed his eyes to think.
The group waited as all of them anticipated what Viel was going to wish for. After a few seconds, Viel finally opened his eyes as he looked at the faces of the group that surrounded him.
He smiled, "Then… I wish for-"
However, before Viel can finish his words, he suddenly looked above, towards the skies. Both General Diao and Elder Xing Cai also looked above as their expressions turned serious. General Diao raised his hands as he summoned his halberd.
The rest of the people were dumbfounded, what exactly was happening? They then looked above towards where the 3 were looking at.
They were confused, there was nothing there.
"Grandfather? What's going on-"
Then suddenly, the skies darkened. The others looked up again, only to see numerous black holes covering the sky.
"W…what the hell is that!?"
Noise quickly drowned the city of Taizhou. Their clamor was loud enough to hear even inside the Diao Estate's courtyard.
The group stared at the mysterious holes that appeared above them. Some in fear, but mostly in curiosity.
Then suddenly, they were stunned by General Diao's deafening shout.
"Men, tell your stations to get ready!", General Diao raised his hands. The guards that were in the courtyard quickly saluted, their expressions dead serious.
"Father? What's going on?", Diao Mei's mother tugged General Diao's robes as she released a panicked breath.
"Go underground, all of you", General Diao did not look at her and just stared above the skies.
"What!? Why!?"
"We… are under attack"
As soon as he said this, noises reverberated the city of Taizhou as countless silhouettes started appearing from the black holes. Their loud shrieks can be heard even from the ground.
The group looked at the sudden intruders, their expressions full of fear.
"Monsters… monsters are here!"
The children panicked as they saw the creatures that were endlessly coming out of the black hole.
Wings, the creatures had wings. They still couldn't see them clearly because of the distance, but they could roughly make out their figure. Their body also seemed to be cladded with spikes and they had abnormally elongated fingers.
General Diao could not help but squint his eyes as he tried to scour in his mind. Who could this weird enemy possibly belong to, and why were they attacking them now?
"What… what are those creatures?"
General Diao's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Xing Cai's murmur.
And then it dawned on him. He could not identify the enemy because it was the first time he was seeing them.
But that was impossible, General Diao knew all of the army of the different countries, he also knows all the beasts of the world due to his expeditions.
Then, these creatures… what could they possibly be?
"V-viel, what's wrong?"
Diao Mei was about to pull Viel away so they can hide. But she noticed that Viel's eyes… there was something wrong with them.
His previously pitched black pupils had green glowing spots on them, they were like worms squirming around Viel's pupils.
"M-miss Mei… Can you see that?"
"Of course! There are monsters flying around the sky! Let's hurry and hide!"
"No… That", Viel then pointed at something in the air right in front of him.
Diao Mei then searched for what Viel was pointing at, but she could only see the wall, "T-there's nothing there, Viel! Let's hurry up!", seeing that there was nothing there. Diao Mei pulled Viel and ran towards the inside of the mansion.
Viel still had a very stupefied expression on his face as they were running. He kept staring on the floating things that were in front of him.
They were a mixture of words and numbers that Viel was not aware of, the only thing that seemed familiar to him were the words that were on top of all the writings.
Floating there was his name… and the word that Mr. Voice has been saying a lot lately, the word "HP". And soon, Mr. Voice ringed in his head.
[Congratulations…..]
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In the vast darkness inside of Viel, Lu Yi was currently looking at the screen, her expression full of shock.
"Lu Yi, what's wrong? You shouldn't exert yourself too much", Xanthus grabbed Lu Yi's shoulders to snap her out of her stupor.
"D…Drakels… Those are Drakels…", Lu Yi pointed at the flying creatures that were being shown in the screen.
"What? You know what they are!?"
"Without a doubt…They…", Lu Yi stuttered before releasing a huge breath,
"They are from my world"
"....."
[Congratulations on completely acclimatizing to this world, Viel. We will now commence with Phase 2 of the Messiah Project, the Tutorial phase]
[Commencing the Tutorial phase….]
[Success! Now proceeding with the Player's first mission: Clearing out my first dungeon!]
[Happy birthday, Viel. And welcome to the New World!]
Volume 1: Character Creation END
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"H-honey, what's wrong? People might see you if you stick your head outside the window!"
Guard Leader Bai had a concerned expression on his face as he stared at the woman in front of him. The woman, who was sitting on a chair with wheels, was currently looking out the window and staring at the sky, her eyebrows knitted.
"There's something there…"
"What? I don't see anything", Guard Leader Bai looked up, only to see the clear skies.
"No, I think there's something there!", the woman pouted as she lightly hit Guard Leader Bai on the shoulder.
"O-ow!"
The woman chuckled as she saw Guard Leader Bai exaggerating the pain. The woman's long and beautiful golden hair fluttered as her shoulders shook from her laugh.
"Why'd you have to hit me so hard, honey?"
"Of course, the woman before you is now a strong woman that doesn't let men overpower her!", the woman then flexed her slim muscles towards Guard Leader Bai. The two then laughed at one another with their silly antics.
....Not realizing, that the skies outside have darkened.
To be continued on Volume 2: Tutorial Phase