Chapter 3- The Beginning of the End

I encourage any readers to make theories about my novels. Please comment them if you have them. However, if you do think of one, keep this statement in mind. Everything has a meaning. Some are shallower than others. However, they will all have a meaning.

I woke up in a small house on a bed of straw. There was one room. The straw was on one side while the rest was empty. There were a few outfits piled up. I kept what I had on: a thin tunic and brown pants. I wanted to go out and find an Omnistone. But first, I would meet the people in the town.

I stepped out of the house. There were maybe a dozen houses along with a larger building I assumed was a town hall of sorts. I decided I would go there first. If I was going to find information anywhere, that would be it. Quests were not really system given but they could be had in a way. If somebody asked you to do something in exchange for a reward, players consider it a quest.

There was an old man in the room.

"Why, hello Lloyd!" He had a bright look on his face.

"Do I know you?"

His look of joy darkened. He was muttering "no,no,no" repeatedly. I truly wonder what happened. He quickly went back to normal; although, he still seems shaken.

"So, you are an adventurer who has traveled to this world?" He clearly put on a face as he said so.

I guess it might have been a shock to have a player come to a village such as this.

"Yes, I am. Would you happen to know where I can find an Omnistone?" I was desperate to find out the rest of my stats. Magic was something I was interested in.

"An Omnistone? The nearest one of those is in a town to the North. You'll have to get through the forest, however. You can't do anything in your current state. I will get y-our hunter to try to help you." There was a stutter when he began to say our, almost as if he was going to say "your".

I dismissed it, as he was an old man. Things like that happen as you age. I wonder what the hunter is like. They must be good in order to be the only one in the village. Granted, the elder told me there was only about a population of 70, but it is still tough to hunt for that many. When they finally arrived, the hunter turned out to be a girl of about 16. She had red hair and green eyes, but her eyes were somewhat reddish. She had a bow on her back and knives at her sides. Her expression was somewhat melancholy. She said that her name was Gina.

​"Are you alright?" I was worried for her, as well as anxious to receive any sort of quest. While I might be somewhat anti-social, I like to be able to help people in need, especially people I just met. It is always good to create a favorable expression.

As I said this, the look on her face somewhat brightened. She seemed to have reignited hope. "As always," she muttered. I wondered what it meant, but quickly moved on.

"Will you help me learn how to fight?" I asked. I had to learn how combat worked as fast as possible in order to reach the Omnistone.

"I can't right now. Maybe ask the knight?" It seemed urgent.

"There's a knight in this town?" I wondered why there was a knight so far out here.

"Yes. Sometimes monsters threaten the village, so the church sent a temple knight. Luckily, he hasn't had to take action." He pointed me towards the village gate.

And so I parted ways. Gina left town on a "errand." The elder told me it was a regular thing. She was a member at the guild in the town to the east. Apparently Omnistones were only in at least large towns.

I made my way towards the gate. The knight was a young man clad in light armor. He didn't have a very sturdy build either. His body was definitely not built to be a warrior. By the quality of his gear one could tell he was just sent here in order to not waste the real talents.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you the knight here? I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight."

​He scanned me, I guess to tell if I was a player. "I will help. Take this weapon, prophet." I assume that is what the church uses to refer to players. He handed me a short sword about two and a half feet long.

"What kind of monsters live in the forest? Also, what brings you here?" I asked. We began to walk towards the forest.

"Well, you know. Goblins, the occasional orc. Sometimes, though, you get something nastier. One of the tribes is led by an engineer. Then they advance, and it becomes a real problem. But that never really happens. Anyways, why am I here? I joined the temple knights because I thought I would get to adventure. Then I got stuck in this place. And nothing ever happens here. It is just always so boring." I could relate.

Then we saw it. The first monster. It was a goblin. It had green skin, long ears, and a small figure. It looked like it was running from something.

Then something shocked me. It spoke.

"Run!" It flew right past us with a look of terror on its face. We looked back at where it just was. There was a horde.

"ENGINEER!" The knight was terrified. There was a rather hefty looking goblin with them, along with about 10 others.

The goblin in front held a red stick. This scared even me, as i recognized it.

Dynamite.

The goblin threw the stick. I ran, but the knight was rooted to the spot. He was a likable person. I think we could have been friends. He was blown to pieces. Luckily for me, I was just thrown a little bit because I was away from the blast. I got up and ran. I don't know why. My body just moved. I believe there was a reason I felt genuine terror. I just didn't know it. They started blowing up the forest. It was night by then. I ran towards the village, as it was the only place I knew didn't have monsters. I was weakened over and over by the blasts. I made it to the village. It was a massacre. All I saw was red. Something red flew at me. I was blinded by the smoke, so I didn't react.

I was sent sky-high. My vision went black.

I saw a lone system notification.

"Connection to the host has been lost."

I woke up. I reached for the water beside my bed. It wasn't there. It was dirt. All I felt was incomparable pain. I looked up. There was a girl sitting over me, crying. She had red hair.

It was Gina.

I tried to sit up. I was weak. Everywhere I looked was the charred remains of homes and dead bodies. The elder lay on his back, mutilated.

All I could think about was how it hurt.

I should not feel pain.

I should not feel weak.

I should not be here.

​Something was very, very wrong.