Hours passed and the sunset sky morning turned redder upon reaching midday. Cain village's center had been finally prepared, a strange magic circle with intricate lines and runes run down the entirety of the stone plaza. Monstrous corpses lay stacked in the middle of the magic circle as the blood slowly trailed down along runic lines. Turning the blue runes and design into a hue of red.
Occasionally, A grown man would approach a child staring blankly into the air with an intention of harming or tricking him. Resulting in either losing a few fingers, being scarred for life or outright losing the motivation to continue their harassment.
'Why do these people hate me?' Dwelling on a subject of hate and dislike. Dominic stared at the guardsmen positioned far away from him. They were huddled together, vigilantly holding their weapons.
It was there that he frowned at the sight of them. The guardsmen were weak. So weak he could kill all of them if he liked. A conclusion derived from the earlier battle with the rock ursa.
Rock ursi were large bears commonly four meters in height. They were tall, ominous and outright ferocious. One swipe can crush all the bones in a trained fighter's body. Found in the village's other neighboring forest, it lived a solitary lifestyle. And it had the power to do so.
Dominic glanced at the bear's carcass. His brows knitted into a discontent frown.
'This thing was so hard to find. And even I had to be careful in weakening it.' He shook his head defeated.
Three years ago he was so weak that even an adult could kill him. And three years ago he had been so careless that a demon tormented his mind. Ever since then, Dominic had taken a more cautious approach to everything.
Cain village was a mystery to him. And so he tested the waters using a rock ursa only to find the guardsmen's performance lacking. His tense muscles relaxed.
Nothing could threaten him. So he could take this time to ease off a bit and just admire the festival. An awakening festival held once every ten years.
"I'll get five wives!"
"I'll be the greatest thief to exist!"
"I'm going to arrest you, you criminal scum!"
"I'll be a handsome knight!" Cheers of children erupted from the other streets leading up to the stone plaza filled with beast corpses. Dominic held back the urge to cover his ears as children loudly proclaimed their desires.
The event was already starting. Children poured into the plaza like horses set loose upon a race track. Parents watched from the plaza's edge with hopeful lights in their eyes. Today these kids would take their first step towards changing their lives.
Dominic yawned. He too, walked to enter the magic circle. Guardsmen tried to stop him but a wave of his hand and a little close encounter with his deadly strings terrified them.
Examining the runes riddled into the floor, Dominic grew curious to How the runes worked and how they were etched onto the plaza. Some wear and tear of the lines indicated that the inscriptions were old. These lines and symbols glowed upon corruption induced by beast blood.
Children finally realized that there was a stranger among them. More of less, everyone knew each other in this small village with a population just a few dozen above a hundred. The sight of Dominic aroused curiosity and hostility.
Little girls stared at him in wonder and fear. They were shivering faintly yet their eyes remained glued to him. Boys glared at him as if they would jump him anytime soon.
Upon seeing these gazes. Dominic closed his eyes. His mind started calculating and analyzing everything.
'Hatred always has a basis.'
'Children are young and impressionable by the elderly.'
'Everyone in the village hates me...'
'I am the "witch's" grandson.'
He opened his eyes again.
'Why is the village head so mad at me that they would want my head?'
Dominic was no stranger to the request made by the village head of Cain. Whoever shall kill him would be able to marry Lord Audrey. Not once had Dominic met that person. Nor did he even know a description of her. All that he knew is that the person would often go on expeditions to the surrounding wilderness.
"You... You don't belong here."
One of the children spoke up. Dominic glance lightly at him. A a boy half a head smaller than his stature greeted his eyes. His auburn short hair was especially eye catching thanks to those two, thick, two frontal bundles of hair resembling sharp fangs. He gave of a refined scholarly air from a glance.
Dominic furrowed his brows at the kid. The kid did so in return.
"So?" Choosing to ignore the meddlesome fellow. He turned his sights towards the pile of corpses stacked high into the hair. A fishy scent assaulted the noses of the present and some children look visibly disturbed by blood.
Ziin~ Runes underneath their feet turned red and glowed.
Dominic looked around only to see the guardsmen passively watching everything unfold. There seemed to be no need for an overseer or a person who would lead the special event. All of a sudden, Dominic felt hot. Breathing became harder as his vision blurred. While all of this was happening, his mind flew adrift within the clouds.
The surroundings had changed. The whole world became a blank world of white. Just like a blank canvas, except that he was a small picture that tainted its purity.
'Where...' His eyes wandered. Up to the horizon, nothing existed but the infinite color of white. Dominic crouched down and touched the ground white ground. He stomped his foot but nothing happened. Curious, he walked towards a direction and soon his gentle steps became large strides as he sprinted forth. No matter how long he ran, the end or any apparent limit of the area didn't appear. Unsure of what to do next, Dominic opted to sit down and wait. And it didn't let him wait any longer.
[ Dominic Remington...] It was an ever so familiar voice that was calling out to him.
Dominic stood up, his eyes scanning the area with vigilance only to see nothing but white. Since his actions seemed to be irrelevant, the child opted to sit back down instead.
[Dominic Remington] That voice echoed throughout his head again.
"What do you want."
[What path do you wish to tread?]
Dominic closed his eyes and sighed. He thought about it and a semi transparent blue screen appeared right before his eyes. It was his status that he would always check whenever he felt like he needed to make a decision.
=====
[Dominic Remington]
Sex: Male
Age: 6 years old
Class: (Undecided)
Subclass: [Magic Puppeteer] (Rare)
Trait: [Ill Fated Star] (Mythical) [#"?!=](???)
Attributes:
Str: F
Ten: F+
Dex: C-
MI: F+
Spirit: C-
Invariable Attributes:
Charm: 7/10
Luck: -1/10
Willpower: 8/10
Int: 7/10
Skills: [Fate Palace] (Mythical) | [Pain Resistance lvl 5] (Uncommon) | [Basic Puppetry lvl 4] (Uncommon) | [Magic String: Sharpness lvl 3 ] (Uncommon) | [Footwork lvl 7] (Common) | [Detection lvl 8] (Uncommon) | [Dextrous Hands lvl 3 ] (Uncommon) | [Mana Affinity lvl 1] (Rare) | [Mana Manipulation lvl 1 ] (Rare)
=====
In the course of three years, he never stopped improving. After that experience with the demon, Dominic loathed that sense of helplessness. He loathed it to the point that he wanted nothing more than to kill the one who allowed him to experience it in the first place.
After countless trials and errors. After learning so much from his grandmother, his skill count and strength steadily rose bit by bit. He had become strong. Strong enough to be able to ruthlessly kill a normal adult with a wave of his hand.
'But it isn't enough.' Dominic shook his head.
'It isn't enough to make me live a peaceful life.' Such strength for a six year old already impressed the guardsmen. And he doubted that the village had any fighters that could actually threaten him as of now when the village head was away on an expedition.
His two traits were nothing but a short headache. One was unknown and the other attracted bad luck so severe that his life was wrought filled with near death experiences embedded into his memories. A simple chore such as drawing water from a well would often times result in him falling into the well. Sometimes running was a pain as stones would trip him. Dominic was still alive because he kept on moving forward. He kept on improving.
[What path do you wish to take?] The system continued to patiently ask him to make a decision.
"Show me my options."
The blank world shook. Dominic's eyes widened.
[Archer] [Warrior] [Swordsman] [Brawler] [Magus]
From the white surroundings started emerging golden names. They seemed to resemble fancy butterflies more than names. They were classes. He scanned through his options, discontent at how few they were. The classes available to him were good foundations but they conflicted with his special subclass. Becoming a swordsman was a hassle, his strings wouldn't work so well if he wielded a blade. A brawler sounded like a good option too, but Dominic was not so sure about it.
As if to answer his discontent. The soft voice spoke again.
[Assessment of the entity ["Dominic Remington"] has been completed.]
"Huh?" Dominic was dumbstruck. That notification sounded off and a feeling of dread seeped into his heart.
RuMbLe! The white space started shaking. Black cracks started appearing from the white world. An earthquake sent Dominic struggling to balance himself from falling over. His head throbbed, he found it harder to think.
[What path do you wish to take? Heehee~ ] The system giggled and spoke in a singsong like tone. Dominic felt a pair of arms hug him from behind, softness enveloped his backside and a woman whispered into his ear.
"You." Dominic turned around. There was no one there.
Bang! The white world fell apart. Golden words started flowing from the cracks as classes kept on popping left and right. Some sounded simple, while others sounded too overbearing.
[Sword Saint] Dominic's eyes shook upon recognizing one of the golden words that filled his vision. He tried to reach for it, to touch it with his fingers but the words were repelled by him.
[How about something more original?] The system giggled again.
[Grand Magus] He tried to reach for another class but it flew away again.
[This again? Do you not get tired of choosing such boring classes?]
Gritting his teeth, a ringing tune filled Dominic's ears. His vision swam as he found himself blinded by a world of shining gold. His chest felt heavy as all sorts of emotions welled up inside him whenever he looked at a class.
"S-Stop..." Dominic struggled to speak. He was free but a sea of letters covered him. He felt like he was drowning.
"Ah!"
Pain assaulted him, he looked down and lifted his shirt to see that one of the classes had imprinted itself into his stomach. It was like a golden tattoo but searing heat radiated from it. It was as if he was being branded by a hot metal rod.
[You need to decide soon. Or is it that you want them to eat you?]
In an attempt to free himself, Dominic lashed out as he swung his arms. Golden words dispersed like leaves fluttering in the wind but they maintained their distance resembling a cyclone of ravens wishing to feast on his flesh.
Dominic reached to the class that was embedded on his stomach and pried it out. The words felt like hot iron but he didn't let that dissuade him.
'If I don't pull it out then I will die again!' He threw the class away but not before seeing what it was.
[Bowel Hunter]
"Damn it." Thrust into another possible life and death scenario, Dominic's mind flared up to think of a way out, he swung his arm whenever a golden butterfly would fly towards him.
"Why are you trying to kill me?" Dominic hissed. The system that was silent and only talked when issuing notifications had suddenly changed into something else. Something that put him at great unease. He wasn't used to this, everything was too bizarre.
[Kill you? I don't want to kill you.]
"Then who are you?" Dominic stared into the sky. The white world had become fragmented, split between white, gold and black.
Black cracks riddled the faraway sky. Dominic couldn't see past those cracks but he was certain that there was someone there. Watching him. Their eyes piercing straight into his very soul.
'Would they find out?' Dominic felt fear. What would happen if they were to know of his true nature? That he did not belong from this world.
[Me? I'll answer that if you pick a class. Something new it should be.]
An ultimatum was given to him. Dominic gulped as he stared at the wall of fluttering golden butterflies trapping him. The classes were becoming more and more numerous.
'Why are there so many options for me to choose from?' He was distressed. Everything was going not to his plan. All he wanted was to get a second class to supplement his puppeteer subclass but that had been nothing short of a tragedy.
Unable to choose, Dominic went instead for a gamble. He was already happy with his puppeteer subclass.
"Then how about you choose a class for me then?" Dominic stated firmly. His eyes clear and bright.
[Ah. You're no fun.]
The golden butterflies disappeared. All but one that glowed brighter and brighter until only the golden light existed.
[When you wake up you'll know. As for who am I?]
There was another giggle.
[I'm just one of the gods of this world. Welcome to Reverie little human.]
Dominic's mind nearly broke. His fear had materialized.
"They know."