CARL POV
Born into a wealthy family, my life was ordinary. Childhood and college were typical, but distinct. Then, a voice echoed from the sky. At first, I dismissed it as mere background noise, like an old radio murmuring incoherently.
Everything changed when the earth devoured our grand house.
People say it was God.
"Mother!" my only cry when my mother was swallowed by the earth, and our surroundings transformed into an unfamiliar landscape. Days later, we relocated to a temporary dwelling for respite.
I witnessed the wrath of nature.
"Your father is trapped in a building!" My butler informed me, revealing my father's lifeless form.
and cremated. We could not retrieve my mother's body, so we resorted to prayers.
The world had been merciless to my family.
My sister wept for nearly four days. The situation weighed heavily on me, making it difficult to breath in the house.
"I need some time away," I told our butler and headmaid, leaving my 16-year-old sister in their care. The next day, I wandered aimlessly.
I realized, would not be conventional. Even with a degree, securing a job in a town plagued by economic struggles proved challenging.
Until, unexpectedly, I stumbled upon a Catholic Church. where i meet Layla. she was living here, but similar to me.
Upon activation, my system designated me as a hero.
I embarked on with her, the path of an adventurer, meet alongside Anna, the mage; Elina, the scout; and Our shared goal was to aid others. It dawned on me that my problems might not be the most significant—if we prioritized collective well-being.
Two weeks into our journey, we encountered a branch of the Authority office, now the guild office.
We planned to enter a dungeon, a gateway to the next town. Killing monsters emerging from portals—creatures spawned by the changes in earth and water—was our objective.
The world is chaotic.
For lack of knowledge, we decided to join force to person who willing work with us.
___________________________
Approaching us was a man of my age. His eyes betrayed vitality, not because of their aesthetics, but due to an inner spark.
"Can I join?"
He asked, eyeing my group skeptically.
"Are you gay?" was his first question, followed by comments about my group composition.
"Are you not a swordsman? Don't you wear armor?" he inquired, showing distaste for my protective gear.
Yet, despite his lack of formal skills, his keen judgment and swift movements impressed. He effortlessly fulfilled the role expected of a male in the group and devised thoughtful plans.
"How interesting guy," I thought.
My opinion of him shifted when he proved to be a seasoned adventurer, taking on zombie monsters effortlessly.
Swish*
Jonel excelled at throwing stones, providing unexpected support. His unconventional methods endeared him to me, especially when he slowed enemies down with a peculiar chalk-covered stone.
As we faced the lich, Layla and Anna fell, and Elina prepared to retreat. No physical attack seemed effective against the formidable foe but suddenly he undressed.
"Are you undressing?"
I said, but he didn't seem to hear. My opponent, a wisp, was challenging to fight when divided, and I could only strike its fuller part, yet there was no damage. Jonel continued to attack the lich while lying down, but even though it screamed, his blows appeared less potent.
I seized the torch he held, taking charge, while Jonel switched to a will-o'-wisp.
"He's adept at adapting to the situation. We nearly perished; his skill at covering vulnerabilities saved us," I acknowledged.
How did Jonel come up with this strategy?
Regardless of my actions, I found myself establishing as a leader. Although I played the role of the main attacker, I wasn't the leader when we do like this, but it was so very successful.
As we headed home, we decided to recruit Jonel and make him our leader, but before we could extend the invitation:
"I won't accompany you to the other dungeon tomorrow," he declared.
He seemed to know without us having spoken, but we pressed on, especially Anna, who asserted that Jonel was a natural leader.
Until we gained renown throughout the country, becoming one of the strongest, we couldn't invite him.
____________________________________
CARL POV
"Has the guild leader responded to my invitation? I've been inviting him for four months!" I exclaimed.
Jonel would be our leader when he joined.
My sister, Shaina, sent a handwritten letter.
"When will he come here? I should pick him up," Anna inquired.
"He's on his way; I picked him up!" I announced proudly.
This guild, funded by my parents' money, required financial management to prevent future poverty. My father's secretary handled finances, utilizing the money left by my father, whose building had collapsed.
Four of us remained in the guild. Shaina, too young to be an adventurer, had a hammer user class, but I forbade her from risking harm, just like our parents.
Looking out the window, I spotted a flying bird with a carriage.
"They're here!" shouted Elina, and Layla, sipping coffee, peered out the window happily.
We were about to participate in an expedition on a government-open medium dungeon.
____________________________
JONEL POV
After a four-hour journey...
I learned that Shaina had already returned home with her brother the previous day.
The plump girl was Carl's head maid, Carmilla, and the man driving was Carl's butler, Armando. We engaged in various conversations in an unnamed location, one distinctly different.
Carl, a regular college student, and Shaina, a high schooler at the time, faced profound sadness.
"He goes on a journey... but he returned thanks to you," the maid remarked, even the butler's eyes fixed on me.
'What did I do?' I wondered.
I discovered that Carl's father, a businessman seldom at home, perished in a building collapse during the earth's terrain shift, and his mother was swallowed by the earth.
"The earth was like clay at that time," the maid recalled.
Then our conversation shifted to the uncertain state of education in a world changed by the "Blue Project Beam," initially just a theory.
The maid explained, "This was the only way to control people more effectively because the population is now so low... from almost 800 billion, only 200 billion survive."
The government turned the theory into reality, and the previously silent butler joined the conversation after an hour. It would have been amusing if he didn't speak but continually glanced back, then forward, throughout the journey.
"Language and perseverance to live are the keys to creating a community. Right now, education and even religion are in chaos, so everything."
The whole world is changing, but humans are not...
"The world changes except for me..."
They both looked at me with expressions like I was something else, maybe a dirty person or someone to be pitied... I felt...
"Why do you say that?"
"The whole people in the world has skills, but I don't?"
'And they're giving me instructions like I'm the hero who will save the world! Forget that!'
"No-, there are people who have no skill too! Maybe you have something to work towards, a purpose?"
"A purpose to die..."
The maid remained silent, but she exuded positivity, a toxic positivity, as I perceived.
"You can wait for the system, maybe later, and you can finish the dungeon with Sir Carl."
'Looking at her.'
I've already done it... without the system's skill, no! Without a class! Why should I open that thing? I began to distrust the system; it's better to live like this. I might be working like a slave, but that's how it is.
*Chuckle* "You have skills, right? But won't you finish the dungeon..." as i said to her.
Then the entire trip became a battle of debates, with even the butler wearing his headset and using the phone.
'I thought the internet was cut off when the land changes; the satellites are destroyed.'
Maybe there are locations that are not fully changing... maybe the world is still updating...
'World is like a game.'
Ah! The satellite is not destroyed because I can still
And so, we traveled while I debated, multitasking.
When we arrived, the place was not as magnificent as I had expected.
"Is this
"I thought England would have lots of classical buildings, but it's all like huts, especially when we passed through London. Is London the capital, yet the houses are made of wood, like a forest?"
I mused, feeling like I had stepped into a medieval age or a game where all the houses were half brick and half wood.
"Is London really England? And wooden houses?" I looked up at Maide, who was acting as my guide, after a heated debate.
But looking at this maid's appearance... I don't know. All I can say is this maid is blonde...
"Is Carl really English man?"
"Yes, he has pure English blood."
"But why isn't he handsome? I'm better..." I commented, making the maid look at me with confusion.
"I know," I said,
"because being Filipino is not just a race; it is united by all races in the world. Even history can support my claim. That's why Filipinos are proud. Like me, we don't die; we multiply."
i just clear her mind.
"..."
Then we went inside, calling the guild office of this district the first adventurer guild, the main branch. I felt like it's better to go back to the guild where I came from.
As we entered, the whole team—Anna, Elina, Carl, Layla, even Shaina—welcomed me like I was an important person, making me happy. But Carl advised,
"You've just arrived; it's better to rest. We've given you a room."
"Thank you!"
Wow, they gave me a room as if I were going to stay here for a long time, just as expected from a high guild.