In this world, there were those who were called main characters and those who were called non-playable characters. Those who were called main characters have special access to a level-up system that the non-playable characters cannot access. They used the level-up system to increase their power and leave the non-playable characters behind.
The main characters who were much stronger than the non-playable characters looked down on them. They don't even consider them as living beings and treat them with bad manners. Not infrequently, there are also incidents of murder and robbery committed by the main characters against the non-playable characters.
Even though the main characters often commit crimes, they are not arrested at all since they are considered very important assets for the world. Thus, the balance between the main characters and non-playable characters is very unbalanced to the point where the non-playable characters choose to submit to the main characters.
Amid that condition, there was still one non-playable character who did not want to give up and submit to the main characters. He is Rigid, a non-playable character who wants to find a way for the non-playable characters to fight back against the main characters.
In the middle of the silent night with bright moonlight, Rigid and his parents were still awake. They sat facing each other at the dining table with a kettle of warm water and three cups in front of them.
"Son, have you thought about whose main character side you're on?" Rigid's father asked. "I and your mother are on the main character Leona's side, we trust she will protect us from the other main characters."
"You have to think this over carefully, son," Rigid's mother said. "We know you don't like them and are looking for a way to stand against them, but it's the only way non-playable characters like us can survive in this world."
Hearing what his parents said to him, Rigid could only sigh. He poured warm water into his cup and drank it. He put his cup back down and then he closed his eyes while holding his forehead.
'Why are they like this? Don't they realize how badly they are being treated by that bitch Leona?' Rigid thought. 'I don't know what should I do to make them stop depending on her even though she never once helped them.'
"If you change your mind, we can tell the main character Leona about you that wants to become one of her followers," Rigid's mother said. "She will definitely accept you as one of her followers just like when she accepted us."
"Yes son, what your mother said is true," Rigid's father said. "If you become her follower, you definitely don't have to worry about those main characters again."
Again, Rigid could only sigh. He looked at the bandages that wrapped around the wounds on his hands and feet. He got those wounds because he tried to drive away some main characters from his fields and get beaten up by them.
Rigid clenched his fists and stood up. "I'll think about it while getting some fresh air in the forest," Rigid said as he walked out of the dining room. He went into his room and took out a rusty sword that he kept under his bed. He headed to the front door and left his house.
Since the location of his house is near the forest and far from the town, it didn't take long for him to reach the forest. He went into the forest and followed the trail he had made with his father for hunting wild boar.
Rigid went deeper into the forest and stopped in front of a large rock with his name carved on it. He climbed the rock and stood on it while taking a stance. He sighed and started to swing his rusty sword while enduring the pain from his wounds.
Rigid kept swinging his rusty sword until the white horizon in the east was visible. He looked up at the clear sky and took in a breath of fresh air. "The most exciting thing is indeed practicing swinging this rusty sword all night, I didn't even realize it was morning," Rigid mumbled to himself as he sat on the rock. "Maybe I should go back home now and water my fields."
Rigid stood up and jumped from the rock to the ground. He walked back following the trail he had made with his father for hunting wild boar. He came out of the forest and saw smoke coming from his house.
'It's already morning, did mother forget to turn off the fireplace?' Rigid thought as he frowned. 'If that's true, then I have to hurry up and turn off the fireplace before those main characters will come and beat them up for it.'
Rigid started running towards his house while enduring the pain in his wounds. He was surprised when he saw his house burning from afar. 'Father..., mother..., I hope you are okay,' Rigid thought as he hastens his pace.
Rigid arrived in front of his house and saw it burnt to the ground. He looked around for his parents and couldn't find them. He could only find traces of bloodstains and footprints on the ground that led toward the town. 'Maybe my parents were injured and were rescued by some people from the town.'
Rigid followed the trail of bloodstains and footprints that led toward the town. He entered the town and saw that there was a crowd of people gathered in the middle of the town. 'Why is there a crowd at this early in the morning? Are they talking about my house that has burned down? Wait..., it can't be!'
Realizing the worst that could happen, Rigid rushed through the crowd and saw a horrific scene. He saw his parents hanged and used as punching bags by some of the main characters he had tried to drive away from his fields on another day.
Rigid who witnessed that was speechless and his heart filled with rage. He tried to walk out of the crowd, but several people were holding him back and covering his mouth.
"We're sorry Rigid, but this is the last request from your parents," an old lady among those people whispered to Rigid as she shed tears. "We have tried to go to the main character Leona and ask her for help, but she said she was busy with her pet."
'Her pet? She refused to help my parents who were her followers just because of a pet?! That damned bitch!' Rigid thought as he clenched his fists. 'If I had the chance, I would definitely kill her!'
Suddenly, one of those main characters cut the rope that hung Rigid's parents. He untied them and forced them to drink advanced healing potions. "Derick, Ethan, can you guys bring me two chairs?"
The main characters who were called Derick and Ethan came to him while carrying two chairs with them. They sat Rigid's parents in the chairs they brought in the position of facing each other.
"Now what we should do to them, Tom?" Derick asked. "Shouldn't we just kill them right away?"
"But that won't be fun, how about you ask Nick for permission to poke their eyeballs?" Ethan said as he chuckled. "They haven't screamed in the slightest as if they were muted, maybe they'll scream if we do that."
"Hey! Nick! Is it okay if we poke their eyeballs?" Tom shouted at Nick as he pointed a dagger toward the eyes of Rigid's father. "I wonder what screaming sound they'll make because they haven't made a sound as if they were muted."
'What the hell is he talking about?!' Rigid thought as he panicked. He tried to rebel and freed himself from those people, but the more he tried, the more people come and held him down. 'Fuck! Can't these people get away from me so I can save my parents even though the cost is my life?!'
The main character who was called Nick came to them while bringing a woman dressed like a whore beside him. He had an iron club in his hand and pointed it at the head of Rigid's father.
"Don't waste time and just kill the parents of that lowly non-playable character because I have an important schedule with this cutie beside me," Nick said as he raised the iron club. "If you want to hear screams, then do it like this."
With all his might, Nick slammed the iron club into the head of Rigid's father several times. Rigid and his mother who witnessed that could only shed tears. They could only witness Rigid's father being hit on the head with an iron club to death.
'Father..., I'm sorry..., maybe this is my fault,' Rigid thought as he sobbed. 'If I hadn't caused trouble with them, you wouldn't be experiencing something like this.'
"Oh..., surprisingly he didn't scream at all, maybe they were indeed muted," Nick said as he handed over the iron club to Tom. "Try to beat that woman to death, maybe she will scream."
'Wait..., what?! My mother?! No!' Rigid thought as he tried to shout and move his body. However, he couldn't do either of the two because of the people that were holding him back. 'Fuck! I have to save my mother!'
"Okay if that's what you want," Tom said as he smiled. He gripped the iron club tightly and immediately hit Rigid's mother several times in the head. Rigid who witnessed his mother being beaten to death could only shed tears without doing anything to help her.
'Those fuckers! If only there was a way for me to stand against them in the first place!' Rigid thought as he clenched his fists. 'One day, I will definitely kill them!'
Tom that had finished beating Rigid's mother to death, looked so relieved. He stretched his body and kicked Rigid's parents to the ground. He kicked them several times and trampled on them at some points.
"Honey..., can we just leave already? This is too scary for me," the woman brought by Nick said as she hugged him.
'Wait..., this voice...,' Rigid thought as he tried to recognize the woman's voice. 'No..., this can't be!'
"Okay, if that's what you want honey..., let's go somewhere more private," Nick said as she kissed the woman.
"Yeah, let's go to a more private place," the woman said as she kissed Nick back.
Trying to confirm what he thought was wrong, Rigid tried to see the face of that woman and get speechless again when he realized that woman is truly Miranda, his lover.
At that point, Rigid's brain had a hard time processing the harsh reality that had happened to him. He lost his home, his parents, and his lover on the same day. All the emotions he had slowly left his body while only leaving the burning anger and revenge within his heart.