"No… No… It can't be… No… No… No… He is not dead… No, he is not dead… This can't be my husband… Martha, tell them to take it… He must have gone… Hic… Hic… Gone somewhere… No, please… Please… He is not dead… No… I won't believe it… Hic… Aahh… No… He is not… Not dead… You are all lying to me… He will never leave Bowen and me… Please… Nooo…" Felina wailed and screamed, unable to accept the death of her husband. Bowen kept crying and sobbing by Felina's side.
"Felina, don't cry. Your husband has done a great deed. He is a hero"
"Yes, he will always be remembered by this village"
"Don't worry, sister Felina. We will be there for you and Bowen"
"You have to be strong now. You cannot cry in front of Bowen"
"Let your husband's soul find solace in heaven, for he was a brave man," the villagers kept consoling Felina. But Felina seemed not to have heard anything. Regret hit her hard.
Bowen thought Felina would get better with time, but fate had different plans for him. Soon, Felina's condition became worse. She stopped eating and kept calling Theodore again and again. On the fourth day, she let out her final breath in her sleep, wanting to join her husband in death, leaving Bowen alone.
Bowen broke down by his mother's death. He did not cry, but he was more devastated than ever. For him, Felina would always be his mother, even though the time with her was short. Bowen started to live on his own with the help of Martha. She cared for him equally as she would for Jago. Still, it was hard for him to live alone in the hut where he had memories of lovely moments with Theodore and Felina when Martha goes to work. He did nothing but cultivate and practice palm skills given by Solaris in silence day and night. He did not even train with Casper. Spending his time alone in silence was his way of coping with his sadness.
Soon, one month went by after Felina's death. Bowen was practicing breathing techniques as usual. Knock knock… he heard someone knock on his hut doors. It was unusual for Martha to come at that time. Anyway, he went outside to take a look. There stood two hefty men with mustaches, holding a spear.
"You kid, come with us," one of them ordered.
"Hmm… May I know who you are?" Bowen asked.
"You don't have to know about that. Just come," the other one said.
"Sorry, I am not going with strangers," said Bowen and turned to go inside the house.
"If you don't come now, we will beat you up and drag you all the way however we want," they threatened Bowen with a smile.
Bowen stopped for a second and continued to his hut without even turning back. He was not in the mood for this.
"How arrogant?" said one as he rushed to grab Bowen by the shoulder. "Let me teach you a lesson today." Bowen quickly stepped to the side, causing the man to fall face-down on the ground. "This pest," he said, angry and ashamed at falling in front of a small kid. He got up and pounced on Bowen again.
Bowen quickly conjured a small mana lance and threw it at the man. "Aaaaaa...." he shouted when it hit his lower stomach, startling his other companion. "How dare you!" the second man became angry on seeing his friend's injury. He took his spear and, without hesitation of injuring a kid, tried to stab Bowen.
Bowen quickly moved to his back with a quick dash and struck him with his palm using Scarlet Palm Blaze. He had just started learning the technique, but it was enough to injure the unawakened man with no defense. A handprint of a small palm with a slightly burned surface appeared on the man's back. "Heeekkk…" he shouted and fell on the floor.
Both of them now had eyes filled with fear, replacing their previous haughtiness. They quickly got up and started running the way they came. "You will regret this kid... You will really regret this," they shouted on their way back.
Bowen didn't care about chasing them nor did he want to make another enemy when he had to complete his missions. Only then did he remember that he hadn't checked his rewards from the mission yet. He was so depressed that he completely forgot about the system and missions.
"System, show me the rewards I got for the main and hidden mission."
"Welcome back, host. I thought you would completely forget about me."
"Don't put on a drama now. Show me the rewards."
"As you wish, host…"
Rewards for Hidden Mission 'BECOME A REAPER':
1. Official employment as a licensed soul reaper
2. Mystery gift box
3. Access to God's mall - Level 1
Rewards for Main Mission for Killing the First Target:
1. 100 DP for the target. +10 DP for other sinner souls. Total = 140 DP
2. +5 to all stats (agility, strength, vitality, intelligence)
3. Random skill gacha (can be used only once in a month)
Bowen already knew about the reaper's license, so he directly ordered the system to open the mystery box. The system conjured a hologram of a white box levitating in the air, which opened with a flash when Bowen touched it.
A metal compass-like structure settled on Bowen's hand.
T-compass (Compass of Treasure Talent and Threat) - a failed object from the trash scrapes of divine blacksmith Dolestrious. It gives the direction of threat or talent or treasure randomly.
Note: It is a failed product and may or may not work every time.
"What? A failed product? Well, it's good for now. It's better than nothing," Bowen wondered if the failed product was this powerful, how would a successful product of Dolestrious be.
"Next, open God's mall," said Bowen.