The morning sun fought to pierce the thick canopy, its rays breaking into fragmented shafts of light, signifying the coming of the day, showcasing beauty in the form of nature and its habitants. However, what had transpired in that forest was far from beauty.
Evan sat motionless at the base of a gnarled tree, his knees drawn up and his arms resting limply on them.
His gaze was fixed on the horizon, where the dense trees blended into an indistinct mass of greens and browns.
He looked like a man hollowed out, confused or rather, broken.
It wasn't just the images of death of Henry and Susan replaying in his mind that put him in such a state. No, it was something more insidious.
It was the memory of Vin's expression: that chilling smile, so casual, so full of delight, as though taking life was a game of tag.
'He enjoyed it. That bastard enjoyed it...'
'...Every moment of it. What kind of person does that?'
He had seen the sort of look else before....the Lord. He had that same look when he executed the prisoners- the look of a killer.
The weight of those thoughts pressed against his chest like a vice.
His eyes shifted briefly to the clearing where Henry's and Susan's wrapped bodies lay in stark stillness, a cruel reminder of what had transpired some hours ago.
'I gave him my word. I told him I wouldn't let any harm come to him. But at the end....I couldn't do shit! Damnit! Goddamnit!! Damn it all!'
Victor's boots crunched on the forest floor, a deliberate sound that broke the oppressive quiet.
He stopped a few feet from Evan, standing still for a moment before speaking.
"We need to leave."
" I sprinkled some of the perfume we found in the carriage around the forest to throw off the hounds scent, but we can't rely on that completely." His tone was steady but carried a faint edge of impatience, like someone trying to hold back from saying more than they should.
Evan didn't respond. He barely even acknowledged Victor's presence, his gaze still locked on the horizon.
Victor exhaled sharply.
"Listen, sitting here isn't going to bring them back. I know it's hard, but we don't have time for this. Not here."
Evan shifted slightly, his head tilting toward Victor, gazing at Victor with utter disgust.
"They didn't have to die."
Victor's jaw tightened, his patience visibly fraying.
"No, they didn't. But you know as well as I do that we didn't have a choice. It was them or us."
"You don't know that."
Victor's frustration boiled over.
"And you do? You think you know how this works? It's survival of the fittest, and that's what I did- I survived... you just don't understand that."
Evan shot to his feet in a sudden burst of energy, his eyes blazing with fury as he barked.
"Don't tell me what I don't understand! I didn't ask for any of this!"
"You think this is what I wanted? To be dragged into a nightmare where people die like it's nothing?"
Victor held his ground, his expression hardening.
"And yet, here you are..." he said quietly.
"...Alive. Because someone made the hard choice."
Evan's chest heaved as he stared at Victor, anger and frustration warring behind his eyes.
For a moment, the air between them seemed to tremble, heavy with unspoken words.
Then Evan turned sharply, his boots digging into the dirt as he stormed off into the forest without another word.
"Evan!" Victor called after him, but there was no response. The sound of Evan's retreating footsteps faded quickly into the trees, swallowed by the dense undergrowth.
Victor exhaled heavily, rubbing a hand down his face.
"Stubborn little shit." he muttered, turning back toward the camp.
***
Evan's steps were quick, his movements fueled by the storm raging inside him. The trees seemed to close in, their shadows growing darker with every step. His mind churned with memories, each more painful than the last.
Henry and Susan's faces refused to leave him—the terror in their eyes, the sound of Susan's scream echoing in his ears.
He pushed deeper into the forest, the air growing colder, thicker, as if the trees themselves conspired to press down on him. His breathing grew uneven, his thoughts spiraling further into the depths of his guilt.
Then, like a sharp crack in the silence, a chime rang in his mind.
[Congratulations, player.]
[Task one: Survive]
[Progress: Completed]
The golden glow of the system's screen appeared before him, cutting through the oppressive gloom. Evan blinked, his steps faltering as he stared at the floating text.
[You have received: 20 points. Please allocate them to your desired attributes.]
He froze, his brow furrowing. The words felt surreal, like an intrusion into his spiraling thoughts. Yet there they were, bold and unyielding.
The screen flickered, revealing his current stats:
[Player: Evan Lawler
Age: 19 years old
Trials: 1/12
Level: 1/1000
Hero tools: 0/4]
[HP: 62/100
Strength: 3
Skill: 5
Stamina: 4
Endurance: 3
Speed: 6
Intellect: 9
Rinn: 2]
'Why the hell does this menu always pop up at the worst time imaginable... and to top it off, it's making fun of me.'
Evan's jaw tightened as he stared at the numbers.
'What a joke.... Why the hell am I getting rewarded points after killing an innocent? I thought this was a "Hero system"...Well, there's too much going on right now, but it is a worthy question.'
He gently rubbed his fingers on his jaw.
'..Hmm, allocate 20 points to my attributes, huh? It's mysterious, but if this menu is actually legit, I can actually increase my attributes with ease. That'll be alright, I guess, but which attributes should I increase?'
He thought of Victor, of how easily the man had overpowered him when he had attempted to save the innocent couple, and his hands clenched into trembling fists.
'If I were stronger…' The thought echoed bitterly. 'Maybe I could've stopped him. Maybe I could've saved Henry and Susan.'
His finger hovered over the glowing screen. Strength. That was what he needed. Not a luxury, but a necessity. He selected it by stating
"Allocate 10 points to strength."
[Allocating 10 points to strength]
Pausing for just a moment, he then attempted to select to the "Rinn" option in the screen, however..
[Error: Player cannot allocate points to Rinn]
[Player must be at Level 3 to unlock the Rinn attribute]
"Hmm...Rinn? Is this supposed to be magic, or what?" he muttered bitterly.
The screen shifted, and he quickly allocated the remaining points: 6 to Skill and 4 to Stamina as he commanded the system so plainly.
[Allocation complete!]
[You have increased your stats!]
For a moment, he waited, expecting something—anything—to happen. But the forest remained still, and his body felt unchanged. And frustration almostimmediately bubbled to the surface.
'It was bogus!' He thought to himself.
What other explanation was there. Although he had amped a few of his stats he felt no different than he did a few seconds ago, which could only mean that the entire system was a stupid hoax. Ofcourse it was. There was no way he was going to get q cheat code to becoming stronger so easily.
So, with a heavy hiss, he slammed his fist to one of the forest trees, yelling aloud.
"Damnit! Damnit!!"
There was no change. He was still the perverted weakling he always knew and hated. The same one who couldn't even keep to his own word. He was...
'Worthless!!! I'm just worthless!!! I shouldn't be surprised. This is all I can do. Mess things up and let people die. I'm...'
However, at that very moment it seemed that the whole world- Evan included- grew still with the sudden appearance of a terrifying, yet familiar aura which sent chills down Evan's spines as he body seemed to refuse to move, and his thoughts, cut away in an instance.
The forest seemed to grow deathly silent.
The oppressive presence returned, heavier and colder than before, almost suffocating for Evan.
Evan's pulse quickened as his eyes darted around, trying to search for the source.
'This aura...Why...Why does it sound so familiar?' He turned slowly to his rear, his breath catching as a shadow stretched across the ground.
It was none other, than the beast of bear which had caused his escape from the Lord, gleaming down at Evan with a burning hunger in its eyes. Blood, soaked in saliva dripped from its maw.
Evan's sight couldn't comprehend what happened next. All he managed to see was the bear's monstrous claws strike down at him with such a swift pace that it defied it's very nature, and then...