A knock broke the stillness outside the door. "Are you awake yet? The card doesn't pay for the day," came the old woman's voice, sounding slightly impatient.
What time is it? I asked in my head.
"It's 12:34," the messenger's voice drifted in from somewhere nearby.
Damn, I overslept. That wasn't supposed to happen. The Rune didn't even appear with a vessel, unlike what the stories promised. A part of me hoped it wasn't a bad omen, but I set that thought aside.
I shrugged into the freshly cleaned cloak, its coarse fabric brushing against my skin, and grabbed whatever food remained. I thanked the old woman briefly before stepping out. I knew exactly where I needed to go.
Without hesitation, I made my way to the graveyard. I had something to show the old man.
The sun was directly overhead, casting sharp shadows on the bustling streets. People moved about, lively as always, while I walked for a good thirty minutes before reaching my destination. A burial was underway when I arrived, but I wasn't interested in the ceremony. I waited patiently for it to end, keeping my distance.
When the crowd finally dispersed, I called out, "Hey, old man."
"Don't shout, I'm right behind you," came the reply, startling me slightly. I let out a small breath of relief. "For a moment, I thought it might've been you being buried."
"Me? Shut up. The last thing I want is to be buried in this land I failed to protect," he grumbled. "So, are you here with more questions?"
I couldn't help but grin.
"What? Why are you smiling?" His expression twisted into one of disgust, but that soon shifted to surprise and then... anticipation. "Don't tell me—"
I pulled the rune from my pocket. The dull stone barely glimmered, looking far less impressive than I'd hoped. The old man's face fell, his anticipation replaced by a sense of betrayal. He snatched the stone from my hand, examining it closely.
"Don't tell me you just picked this up off the ground yesterday and convinced yourself it's your Rune?"
"What? No! Of course not!" I shot back. "It appeared after I woke up this morning."
He held it between his fingers, squinting as he examined it closer. "There is a lightning mark here, but other than that, this doesn't look like a Rune to me."
What? How could that be?
He handed the stone back to me. "Was there a message when you received it?"
"Oh, yeah. The messenger said, 'Congrats on getting your Rune.'"
The old man furrowed his brow in thought. "It said 'Rune'?"
"Yes."
"You're sure? Not some other name?"
"No, just 'Rune.'"
"See, boy, when you get a Rune, the messenger states its name. Did you at least get an update on its abilities? Attacks, buffs, something?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
He seemed to be searching his memories, and then suddenly, his eyes lit up with realization.
"This isn't an ordinary Rune, boy. What you have in your hands is a dormant Rune."
I understood what he meant. "This rune isn't actually a 'Rune' yet, just a stone waiting to awaken. Dormant runes are rare. Very rare. From what I remember from the updates, they can sell for thousands of gold—because no one knows just how powerful the rune will be once it's awakened."
My disappointment quickly shifted to excitement, my mind racing with possibilities.
"Ugh, don't drool over it," the old man muttered, watching me with narrowed eyes. "This rune could turn into something as powerful as Riptide... or it might just become a worthless piece of junk."
His warning didn't faze me. I already knew that before he said it. I could end up the strongest or the weakest, but that would depend entirely on me.
"When does it awaken?" I asked, hoping for some hint of a timeline.
He shrugged. "Who knows? There's no information on that."
I decided to ask the messenger directly, silently questioning whether I was eligible to proceed to the next level.
"No," the messenger's voice answered in my thoughts, "for that, you'll need to complete these tasks."
A list of tasks immediately appeared in my mind.
1. Obtain the Rune – Completed
2. Cover a distance of 20 miles – Completed
3. Live 3 days in Level 0 – Pending
4. Kill a beast from the game – Pending
5. Perform an attack using the Rune – Pending
The first task had been completed today. The second, likely when I made my way to the kingdom. The third—I'd probably check that one off before the day ended.
But killing a beast from the game? That could be easy... though I wasn't sure what counted as a beast.
"Well, I'll deal with that later," I muttered to myself, pushing the thought aside. What truly caught my attention was the last task. Perform an attack using the Rune?
I stared down at the dull stone, still pondering the task when I felt eyes on me. The old man was watching me, his expression flat, unimpressed by my moment of deep thought.
"Hey, old man, can I even perform any attacks with a dormant rune?" I asked, frustration creeping into my voice.
"How should I know? You didn't even get the update on its abilities," he replied, unbothered.
"Then how do you perform your tricks? You don't even have your rune anymore, yet you still manage to pull off magic."
He shrugged. "I just do it, like blinking. It's natural."
I stared at the rune in my hand, the dull stone sitting heavy in my palm. If this is a lightning rune, surely I should be able to muster at least a spark. With that thought, I closed my eyes and focused on the power supposedly locked inside.
I made a gesture with my right hand, trying to channel something—anything. I clenched my gut, pushing myself hard, willing the rune to react.
Poof. Nothing.
I hit the ground, the rune still cold and unmoved in my hand.
"Damn it," I muttered. "How am I supposed to perform an attack when the rune isn't even awakened?"
The old man watched me from the corner of his eye, clearly amused.
"Hey, boy," the old man called out, his tone skeptical. "Did you hear anything from the rune? Any voices?"
"Nope," I replied, feeling a bit defensive.
"Since you got the rune today, did you at least hear anything last night? Maybe in a dream, before you fell asleep?"
"Not really. The hotel was empty, except for the old lady. I don't think she's the voice of my rune," I said, half-jokingly.
"So, the rune appeared without a whisper? It might be that to awaken it, you need it to speak," he suggested.
"That sounds like you're just making things up," I retorted, not fully convinced.
"Well, can you at least help me slay some beasts from the game?" I asked, shifting the topic.
"Tasks, huh? I've completed all mine. I was bored after four centuries of this," he said, with a hint of amusement. "And let me give you the piece of advice for the bag of food you've got lying there."
"Oh? You can have it. I'm not hungry anyway. What's your advice?" I asked, curious.
"The easiest thing you can kill is the Horned Tiger during night," he said with a smile.
I nodded. Horned tigers, as they were called, were just tigers with horns but significantly smaller than the tigers from my world. The reason he suggested killing it at night was its very poor eyesight—it was nearly blind in the dark. Its smaller size made it easier to battle. As this night marked the completion of my third task, I might very well be facing a tiger the size of a dog.
I scoffed. Was I serious? I had never been in a fight, let alone killed a tiger, even one as small as a dog. I had a large terrier back home with whom I'd played rough, mauling and pushing him around, but this was different. I felt a knot of anxiety tightening in my chest. Vincent, noticing my unease, said, "Well, if you're that scared of fighting beasts, I can help you."
"But aren't you confined to this place?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "I can go wherever I want, but the only place I can return to is this graveyard."
"Then why don't you go into the village and have some fun? Why do you always stay here, as if you're locked up?" I asked.
The old man's face grew serious. "Boy, the king ordered that this would be my home, and I was to act as a guard. But confining myself here is a punishment I imposed upon myself."
I felt kind of bad for him.
The time was nearly 3 p.m., and we still had quite a while before nightfall.
Well then, I might as well start preparing.
I turned to Vincent. "I still have three meals left. What do you think?"
The old man smiled.
"Well then, let's go shopping—with no money."
We left the graveyard, with the old man slowly walking behind me, not even trying to keep up. I handed him the cloak to at least help mask his presence.
The yet-to-awaken rune rested in my pocket.