The sun had risen on Barn Village, a small piece of land located on the borders of Yuria, near the coastal town of Aswalt. Amidst the serene scenery of early fishermen carrying their nets, high palm trees pointed towards the sky where crows and sparrows sang their morning song, and two young kids were found sitting on the edge of a rock. One of them had unique dark black hair and golden pupils his charm stood out among his peers of same age. while the other had dusty brown-colored hair , green pupils with worn-out but still wearable clothing.
CURRENT NAME: Bowen
STATUS: Unawakened
ATTRIBUTES: PHYSICAL STRENGTH 5
AGILITY 7
VITALITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2(+20)
TITLES: Naughty rascal, Little thief
"BO..Bowen..BOOOOWEEEN," shouted my dear friend Jago of the same age.
That's right, my name in this fantasy world is Bowen, and I was sitting here with my only dear friend, Jago, who is of the same age as me. However, I completely lost myself after seeing the information about myself on the panel. Earlier, I had understood that the game-like system was a guide sent by the self-proclaimed god to help (supervise) me in my missions.
"Bo, why are you so silent today? Did your mom punish you even on your birthday? Tell me where it hurts," said Jago impatiently and worriedly. Today, I must seem unusual since I haven't picked a fight or declared a race with Jago as I usually do. Ah! Forgot to tell, this world's Bowen is really childish and naughty. It's not that I, as William, possess some random child's body. It's just that I got back my past life memories only now on my sixth birthday. So, in my mind, I am practically an adult. You cannot expect me to play like a normal kid now, can you?
"Um, no, it's nothing. Ha! Are we not going to Sir Herald's class today?" I quickly changed the topic. My village is one of the most rural ones that can't even be found on the map, and there is no proper school here. An old retired village postman, Herald, took it upon himself to educate the children. Maybe he wished to accumulate karma as he is in the last days of his life.
"Bowen, did you hurt your head? Today is a full moon day, so there are no classes today." Said Jago the obvious, he added "Hey, do you know why Herald Old man gives us leave on the full moon?" whispered Jago, looking left and right cautiously.
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"Because he will turn into a werewolf looking at the full moon. He will have long nails and teeth, and then he can jump over trees and tall houses and drink the blood of small children like us," said Jago, who always got excited when talking about ghosts and monsters.
"Oh!" Even though I didn't expect anything informative from a 6-year-old, I understood that there were concepts of werewolves in this new fantasy world. I had already heard several stories of swordsmen and magicians in this life. One thing to be noted is that many of these stories were not fairy tales but the real history of this world called the Grime Sphere (grime = dirt; once this world was only filled with sand and dirt without life before the infusion of Mana particles, hence the name - as the history says). Yup, like any other fantasy world, magic exists here. So, being an Earthling, I must adopt a different mindset and habits that do not rely on science but magic. I decided to gather information about this world as much as possible. But before that, I must talk to the system.
After a lot of effort, convincing Jago to play with other children, I made my way to the backyard of my house. After maneuvering through series of old tattered huts along the muddy pathway I reached mine which was not much different than others. As I got closer, I could hear the agitated voices of a young woman and a man.
"Dear, don't worry. We men have already discussed this with the chief. It's safe; you don't have to doubt," said my father, Theodor.
"How can I not worry when I see Mary and her mother suffer every day? Do you want me and Bowen to stand there in their place? Three people who went to guard the night died. Now the chief wishes to dispatch you today. Honey… Listen to me. Don't go. It's dangerous," cried my mother, Felina, to my dear father.
"Oh dear, your husband is stronger than you think," said my father lovingly to ease her mood, showing his arms. "Moreover, this is for our children. Many kids have been kidnapped from nearby villages. Even if ours are safe for now, we can't guarantee it forever. It's nothing wrong to be cautious."
Ha! There it is. The problem going on recently in nearby villages. My father being one of the muscled man in our village the chief must have decided o put him on guarding duty today.
My father halted his conversation hearing my footsteps "Ha Bowen darling, did you come to see papa? Come on, come on, give me a kiss…smooch …smooch…,"
After successfully escaping my father's lovely clutches, "Dad, will you not sleep with mom and me tonight?" I asked.
"Ah, no, baby. Papa is going to do strongman work, and our little strongman here will protect Mama when I am out. Yes?" my father assured me.
"K, Papa. I will take care of Mama. You can safely return, okay?" I tried to talk innocently like a normal 6-year-old child. I can only do that for now not to cause doubt in my change of behavior. Soon I excused myself from playing in the backyard and set myself in the storage room that contained wooden logs for my father's carpentry.
Devoid of any spying eyes, I started talking to the system: "Hey guide, you can hear me, right? Can you explain everything that I need to know about you and my work here?" I asked.
"Nice to meet you again, host. I was worried that you became dumb due to an overload of memories since you have not conversed with me until now. Anyway, let me introduce myself first. I am REAPER SYSTEM XXXX01. Behold, you are the first host to be bound with me. My job is to deliver messages and other stuff that your employer wants to give you. The stronger you are, the more powerful I become. So, Host, do missions to earn more DP (DIVINE POINTS):)."
"Tell me more about DP and missions"
System: Missions are of three types: main, hidden, and side missions.
Main Mission 1: Kill the supposed 33 sinners that threaten this world. (0/33)
2: ?
Hidden mission-??
Side mission: 1) Is old man Herald really a werewolf?
2) Protect mama! 3)??
DP is a common currency used by divine beings and can only be used by the host. The conversion rate of DP to the common currency of Grim Sphere is 1 DP = 1 gold. Hosts can obtain DP only by doing missions. DP can be converted to gold, but vice versa is not possible. DP is used to buy things at God's mall, which is unlocked only after you get a Reaper License."
I roughly understood the mechanism of the system and posed some of my doubts.
"Why is my status Unawakened?"
"According to this world's knowledge, it simply means you have not created a mana vessel in your body."
"Why do you have XXXX01 behind your name?"
"The host is not of eligible rank to know the answer."
"Can you give me the names and whereabouts of the 33 people I have to kill?"
"The system will provide hints and clues about the target when the mission is triggered."
"What are hidden missions?"
"These missions are randomly created during certain situations. Completing these missions may or may not influence the main mission. Rewards for completing hidden missions are usually greater than rewards for side missions."
"What is the reaper's license?"
"The license to judge and punish sinners in the place of your employer (God)."
"How can I get the license?"
"You can get the license and become an official reaper when you judge your first target."
"So, I have to kill a target sinner even before I become a reaper. Then won't my murder be considered a sin? How can it be called judgment?"
…Beep beep….
**Hidden Mission Triggered**: BECOME A REAPER
You are still an intern in training. Pass your employer's test by finding the first target sinner on the list.
Reward: 1 Official job as a licensed soul reaper
2 Mystery gift box
3 Access to God's mall- Level 1
1st Target's info: The mastermind behind the mystery of disappeared children
So that's it. This fu** of..ahem ahem (adjust throat) this employer of mine is already pushing me to kill people inconsiderate of my age or strength in this world. Can't you at least wait until I get to be an adult. Sigh! No helping it . I will have to get stronger quickly humm. Life is not easy as it seems!