The rain plastered his hair to his forehead. He wiped the blood spatter from his cheek, a strange calm settling over him. This wasn't him. He didn't kill people. Yet, he had just killed. The bodies lay scattered around him, grotesque trophies of a battle he barely understood. The sword felt warm in his grip, thrumming with a faint energy.
He looked at the system display hovering before him.
Quest Complete. Reward Granted:
Experience Points +100 Skill Synthesis Opportunity Available.
New Abilities Available:
-Basic Healing (Lv. 1)
-Swift Footwork (Lv. 1)
Healing? He focused on the word, a flicker of warmth spreading through his hand, then his arm. He glanced at a shallow cut he hadn't noticed before; it closed before his eyes, leaving smooth skin behind. He touched the spot, amazed. He could heal. He could kill. The world tilted, a strange mix of exhilaration and nausea twisting in his gut.
He stared at the System prompt again. Swift Footwork. What good was running? He had to run. Away from this place. Away from the bodies. Away from himself. He selected the skill. A tingle shot through his legs, a feeling of restless energy. He took a step, then another, his movements quicker, lighter than before. He almost stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his balance.
The System offered another synthesis option.
Merge Option Available: Synthesize Sword of Verdant Fury (Lv.1) + Swift Footwork (Lv.1)?
He hesitated. More power. Was that what he wanted? Was that what he needed? He gripped the sword, the wood warm against his skin. The image of his father flashed through his mind. His lifeless eyes staring up at him. The marauders' laughter echoed in his ears.
He selected "yes."
The familiar warmth surged through him, stronger this time, almost overwhelming. The sword pulsed, the green glow intensifying, extending down into his hand, up his arm, spreading through his body. He felt lighter, faster, stronger. The forest floor seemed to rush beneath his feet as he experimented with his newfound agility. He moved like a phantom, a whisper in the wind, leaving only the faint rustle of leaves in his wake.
Synthesis Complete: Verdant Tempest Blade (Lv. 2).
New Passive Ability Unlocked: Forest Affinity (Lv. 1). Movement speed and awareness increased in forested areas.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the rain-soaked air. The scent of the forest filled his lungs, grounding him, centering him. He opened his eyes, a newfound clarity in their depths. He wasn't just running. He was hunting. He needed to find the rest of them. The ones who had taken everything from him.
Delmo took a moment to steady his breath. The thrill of power coursed through him, urging him forward. Yet something tugged at the back of his mind, a flicker of doubt overshadowed by the anger simmering within. The village. He had to go back.
He shifted his weight, adjusting the grip on the Verdant Tempest Blade. With each step he took, memories flooded back—laughter echoing in the streets, sunlight glinting off roofs made of thatch, and the warmth of home wrapping around him like a familiar cloak. Now those memories twisted into shadows, haunting reminders of what he had lost.
The forest felt different as he moved through it now; the trees whispered secrets he barely grasped, their leaves shimmering with life. Each stride quickened by the Forest Affinity skill pulsed through him like an electric current. He darted between trunks, his feet barely touching the ground.
He arrived at the outskirts of Eldham sooner than expected. Smoke still curled into the sky from where marauders had unleashed their fury hours earlier. A pang shot through his heart as he glanced at the ruins—the charred remnants of what once was a place filled with love and laughter.
Determination hardened within him. This time he would not run away; he would reclaim what had been stolen.
As he stepped closer to what remained of Eldham, shadows flitted about among the ruins. Figures moved stealthily between collapsed walls and fallen beams—marauders scouting for anything left to plunder. Delmo crouched low behind a crumbling stone pillar, peering out at them.
Their laughter grated against his ears like nails on wood, each sound reigniting a fire in his chest. They didn't know what was coming for them.
"Did you hear that?" one of them said, glancing around with narrowed eyes.
"Just your imagination," another scoffed, kicking at a pile of rubble. "There's nothing left here."
Delmo clenched his jaw and shifted position slightly to get a better view. His heart raced—not from fear but from anticipation as he surveyed their numbers: five marauders milling about carelessly.
He drew a deep breath, steadying himself. The marauders remained unaware of their impending doom, their laughter punctuating the stillness like daggers in his heart. Each chuckle fed the fire of vengeance burning in his chest. He flexed his fingers around the sword's hilt, feeling its warmth merge with his own pulse.
"Let's check over there," one of them suggested, pointing toward a nearby house that had collapsed into a heap of timber and ash.
Delmo's heart raced as they moved further from their cluster. A perfect opportunity presented itself; he could pick them off one by one. With a swift motion, he slipped out from behind the stone and into the shadows.
His feet barely touched the ground as he darted toward the nearest marauder, drawing closer to him like a phantom. The man's back turned, oblivious to Delmo's approach.
With a quick flick of his wrist, Delmo unsheathed the Verdant Tempest Blade. It sang through the air as he swung it low.
The blade met flesh with a sickening thud. The marauder fell without a sound, eyes wide in disbelief.
Delmo didn't pause to relish his first kill. He turned to face another marauder who had just spotted him, panic flaring across the man's face.
"Hey! Over here!"
The remaining marauders whipped around, their eyes widening as they took in Delmo's stance—fierce and resolute.
"Kill him!" shouted one of them.
They charged forward in chaotic disarray while Delmo danced backward, agile and quickened by his newfound abilities. He sidestepped an incoming blow and retaliated with a slicing arc of his sword that caught another marauder across the chest.
But something shifted in the atmosphere; an unsettling energy pulsed through Eldham as if nature itself braced for impact.
From behind the wreckage emerged a figure clad in dark leather armor—a leader among them, towering and broad-shouldered with an aura that demanded attention. His eyes glinted with malice as he surveyed Delmo with cold calculation.
"So this is what's left of Eldham?" The man chuckled darkly before drawing two wicked-looking blades from his sides.
Delmo felt dread seep into his bones. This was no ordinary foe; this was power wrapped in cruelty, radiating an aura that set off alarms deep within him. The other marauders faltered for just a moment as their leader stepped forward, eyes fixed on Delmo with predatory intent.
"Time to end this." The leader lunged forward without warning.