In the endless darkness, the forgotten one lived, bounded by the shackles of reality. He forged his essence, created new things to see new characters, but he couldn't escape his shackles. His existence caused chaos, but brought relief. He was vast and endless, with limitless of everything. But he couldn't escape the shackles of reality.
Was this it?
Was the nightmare really over?
In a ground filled with chaos, fires burning everything it saw, men fighting to protect their families, women and children trying to escape, some raped, some killed, some captured. Was life really this heartless?
The moon was red, like blood of man, staining the dark night sky with its light, people transversed the lands,barren of plants, soaked with blood, dry like deserts. It was a land of shattered humanity. How could somewhere like this exist.
A long line of people, bound by heavy chains, dresses in thin torn clothing, travelled day and night. They were slaves captured in war, with no right to them anymore, their dignity being taking away, dying inside bit by bit, enduring the ruthless treatment of their captors. The slavers rode on mounts, harassing the barely surviving slaves, trashing them with thorny whips, which embedded the pain, mark and disgrace they carried.
A young man not up to sixteen, with onyx black hair, clear grey eyes tainted with a gradient touch of crimson, blessed with pale white skin that held the marks of suffering, tattooed with a dragon that looked animated. It had shackles all ove its body tracing through the young man's body. His hands and neck were shackled, like he was worthless.
' Was this what senior meant? No, it's not it. I haven't even started.' The young man thought as he fell on the ground face first. His body grew still and cold, after bearing the piercing cold of this desolate area.
"One more slave down! Get is body out and leave it for the beasts! We do not have enough time for one dead man!" The slaver, who checked the young man's 'lifeless corpse.' Three more slavers, clad in brown leather armour, set him free from the shackles and threw his body away while saying: "Slave of the All Father, rest your soul, shall it never extinguishes. For your return is certain. Fate binds us in its shackles like the shackles that binds your being. Pass through the trial of nirvana and merge with your forgotten soul, shall you return back from your journey with fond memories!" All the slave recited and the slavers followed. It seemed like a prayer for those with that sinister tattoo that was on that young man's body. After the recitation, the slavers and the slaves continued towards the mountains.
The next morning, the bright sun shone like a salvation, enveloping the vast plain with its warmth. A group of seven caravans, carrying goods from somewhere to somewhere rode on a straight route in this desert. In one of the caravans, a young man no older than sixteen laid. His eyebrows twitched, showing signs of regaining consciousness. He sweated profusely as he breathed hurriedly. After a while, he woke up.
"You're finally awake! I need to inform our guild Head immediately!" A young tanned skinned man said with a sincere smile before leaving the caravan, which were drawn by mighty beasts. The young boy, who was still wearing torn clothes sat properly while trying to recollect everything that happened before he ended up here. Suddenly, an holographic screen popprd out from nowhere.
[User system is online]
[A mysterious force has triggered the class advancement mini-game]
[System is partially in Down state]
[System is limited to only user stats]
[All quests will be figured out by the user]
[User info]
[Name: Adam Lebron(Aries)]
[Age: 18]
[Level: 25]
[Race: Human(mortal)]
[Notice! Other information doesn't exist in this event]
[Your achievements will be calculated at the end of the event]
[User doesn't have any connections to abilities]
[All learnt skills have been nullified]
[You are a mundane human! Grind hard to achieve success]
When looking at the screen, the boy gritted his teeth like he was going to tear something, or someone off. 'That bastard did this to me! I have to finish this damn event now all because of him! One day, I'll make you pay!' Adam thought within as he stared at the horizon through the window of the caravan.
The merchants stopped the caravans at once. A tanned skin man, dressed in good-looking clothes and rings in his fingers walked towards the carriage Adam was currently occupying.
"It seems you've woken up not too long ago. We will be in a city in about an hour, so don't think about it too much. Once we are there, you can eat, then you'll stay with us for sometime to figure out things yourself." The man said before leaving the carriage with a pitiful smile on his face.
Adam recognized that pitiful smile. It was exactly how the caretakers in the orphanage he was raised looked at him when attending to his needs. He remembered those horrible days of being a quadriplegic rat in the Vilox faction.
'It's in the past now. I need to move on. And besides, I'm in an event triggered by that holy bastard in me. I wish him death!' Adam was lost in thoughts again. How was he able to hold this longall these years?
About an hour and fifteen minutes, the merchant group entered a city called central city. Unlike how medieval times buildings looked, the buildings here had a close resemblance with 18th century building structures. This was a surprise for Adam, but his expression didn't change. Was it because of the true owner of the body was someone who had endured till his death?
Adam had climbed off the caravan, entering a building in front of him. The building had a signboard outside saying: "Devrik merchant guild!" What is this event meant to be like? He had to find out himself.
The merchants climbed off their caravans and went into the main building of the merchant guild. Adam looked around the building before the boy, who spoke to him approached him again. The young tan skinned boy was always smiling like he wasn't affected by the way life was. This made Adam wonder for some time.
"Hey! It's you again. I thought you left already?" The young boy started with his usual smile. The smile on the young boy's face was pissing off Adam at this point. He was trying to control his anger.
"Well... I don't have anywhere I could go now, so I decided to stay put here until I figure things out. How about you, you got a home?" Adam cooled himself before speaking for the first time. It was weird because it wasn't his voice. He wondered again if he was playing a game or it was real life.
'Oh! Now I got it. It's more like a VRMMORPG I played back at White Snow Island, but I am the only player, and the others are NPCs. Wait, it means the MM and VR should be excluded. I'm in no virtual space, nor are there any other players. What I'm I thinking about?' Adam's thought got a little complicated. It as if he was a brainless child when he was thinking about things.
"My name Raj Kumar from Sheena province. I joined the Devrik merchant guild to eatn coins for my family, and since the guild is very large, we are safe most times. Come with me to my current place." Raj, the young boy said before leading Adam to his place and they discussed while they were walking.
"What is your name by the way, and why were you almost dead in the middle of a desert?" Raj asked with his usual smile. Adam didn't want to say anything, but he figured this boy was harmless in the the first place.
'If I say my real name, then I'm against the rules of the event. This is not my body, so I'll go with it's name.' Adam decided on what he would say his name was.
"I'm Aries! I don't know what really happened in my village, but I was captured by slavers. When I lost consciousness, they thought I died and threw my body away. I was lucky your caravan went through that route." Adam said with a solemn face. He didn't know why he always lost control of the body, but he felt it was how the event was meant to be with him going with the flow.
The duo didn't speak until they reach their destination. Raj's home wasn't fancy like those owned by high class families', but it was no less better than that owned by middle class families. The house looked empty, but cozy. It was evident that people came here to maintain the house everytime.
"This is my home, Aries. In the past, I tried bringing my mom and little sister here, but they refused. They said they preferred the province." Raj said while looking into Adam's deep, vast and unfathomable eyes. He wasn't overwhelmed by it as it should be, instead he was enjoying looking into Adam's eyes.
Adam only made a 'oh' sound with his lips before sitting on the couch close to him. 'Wow! I never thought 21st century items and the medieval period people and way of life could blend this way. I need to study harder.' Adam thought, determined about his future. If he could pass through this event, he wasn't sure how everything will be.
"Not bad. As long as your family is safe, don't worry yourself about anything. By the way, do you happen to have a water system toilet and a quality bathroom with water?" Adam said after realizing he was still wearing torn clothing. He wanted to take a bath seriously. Good thing Raj had it... almost had all of it. Raj looked at Adam for a while before realizing what he meant. He quickly said:
"Yes, I have a mid-class water closet toilet and my bathroom is running with water, but it's not usually enough since the inventor hasn't improved it. It's better to use the water in the buckets to freshen up. Also, go upstairs, turn right, then pass the last passage by the left and you're in the bathroom. The toilet and bathroom are close to each other."
Adam wasn't a bit disappointed. It was great medieval people had something like this already. Adam followed Raj's instructions and reached the toilet first. He couldn't wait to poop all his waste away.
'Finally! I am finally able to relieve stress and freshen up. Holy bastard, it's your luck that this guy got a restroom time. I wonder if I could get a clue about the event.' Adam thought after he was done. He had a not too nice bath for a boy of the 32nd century, but he was satisfied... for now.
Adam got out of the bathroom and went to the room opposite him. He wore a towel made from sheep wool around his lower body, leaving his chest bare. Raj had already arranged a room for him to stay and clothing for him to wear. Adam entered the room and went to the mirror. The mirror wasn't like those used in the present earth. It bore a resemblance to that of the 20th century. Adam was flabbergasted by his appearance. He was too lean and malnourished, his abs were missing and no broad and breathtaking chiseled chest. He was more like a beggar right now.
'Shit! My abs and chest are gone! I'm fucking lean for goddess sake and malnourished. No Wonder I feel too weak. What a stupid person the owner of the body is. I have to do him a favor of training his body, else I could doe in here!' Adam thought while staring at his figure in the mirror.
"This event will be my turf. I'm going to become famous no matter what!" Adam pledged to himself before turning away from the mirror. He wore the green tunic and and black pants, and also a black pair of sandals. It was really wierd how fashionable it was, really.
Almost immediately, Raj entered the room with his smile again. He looked different after freshen up too. His hair was slicked back with pomade and his skin was glowing due to... whatever it is.
"Hey Aries! My group leader sent a message to me. He wants to meet you, and I think he might give you a job in the guild." Raj started. He was pretty happy about Adam working in the same guild. One had to know that the Devrik merchant guild was known everywhere. They had a foundation of a thousand years already with great influence. Though some bandits can't help themselves in offending the guild, it was far safer than any merchant guild. They were second only to the largest and most powerful empire, ruled by a sultan when talking about Treasury reserves, soldiers and manpower, weapons and finally, influence.
Adam wasn't really paying attention to all this stuff. He had been thinking about how to resolve this event as quickly as he can so he could continue his normal life back at the planet Tammar, though not normal.,
"Sure. We can go tomorrow. I plan on resting first. I might get strained if I go out again." Adam said with an insincere smile. He just wanted to have a good rest, besides, he was feeling the effects of time already. The place was approaching evening, and resting now would be good. Raj understood and gave a nod in acceptance.
An hour later, night came. Adam laid on the wooden single person bed. He looked at the stars twinkling in the gradient night sky of scarlet and sapphire through the window. It was soothing and reassuring. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to calm his uneven nerves before opening them. It was something good.
"...'sighs'... When will all the action begin? I really need to return to reality. But, what if I'm actually dead? I'll wait until I'm done with this." Adam said little before falling asleep. Tomorrow would be an entertaining day.