Chapter 20: Soren, the Pathetic

Alice faces the player who attacked Solol, who just grumbles frustrated, "For god's sake... Why you keep coming back?"

The old man charges like an enraged bull, "THAT'S MY HOUSE, YOU SPOILED BRAT! My daughter and I built it together. This... It's the last memory I have of her..."

Insensitively, the young man mocks, "Ah, so that pile of dirt back there must be her," and he slowly walks while glaring down at the poor old man, causing him to step back intimidated by his size, "Well, a lonely old man like you doesn't need such a big house," he pushes the old man's shoulder, making him fall on the grass, "So go find somewhere else to die."

"HEY!" shouts the female player, jumping between them and glaring at him with disgust and anger, "The heck is your problem, asshole?!"

Seeing Alice, he scrutinizes her thoroughly, particularly hating her face. "Urgh, if it weren't for those freckles and the disusting... hat, I could at least consider you a 5 out of 10," he looks back and sees Sophie, then pushes the player aside and walks towards her. "while this one here, she's pretty, just needs more normal hair, but I can fix that."

"Back off," threatens Sophie, pointing an arrow at him. Finding this hilarious, the player pretends to be scared and continues approaching. But he stops upon seeing a blade dangerously close to his neck.

The swordswoman stares at him with a wild look, whispering aggressively, "Enough with the bullshit. There are 2 possible endings to this scenario: in both, you leave. The difference is whether you leave alive."

"Or what? You don't even understand what I'm saying," the player scoffs with laughter.

The old man becomes desperate, "WATCH OUT! IT'S HIS CURSED LANGUAGE!"

But to everyone's surprise, Alice responds, "I speak your language, Korean."

His mockery ceases to shock, of all things that could happen, this was the least expected. "The fuck...? How did you... You are..." he whispers.

"Yes. Now, coming back to what matters, how do you want to get out of here?"

Feeling the cold blade of the weapon at his neck, "... Fine..." he says, stepping back slowly and keeping his hands visible. "Fucking nerds..." The player shoots a glare at Alice but does as ordered and leaves.

He passes by Solol, still lying on the ground. Then he spits and kicks his head, "Pathetic," and before leaving, he steals the cowboy hat and runs off. "Thanks for the souvenir, assholes!"

"YOU...!" the elf woman draws her arrow furiously, only to relent as he was already out of sight and there were more important things to deal with. She offers help to Solol to get up, but he refuses, clearly frustrated.

"He will definitely come back," Kenneth warns, looking in the same direction the intruder walked. "I've seen people like this before..."

The old man, still trembling with anger, approaches Solol. "What was that?! Aren't you supposed to be an Angel?!"

"Your house is safe now," trying to remain calm and show the positive side.

"THERE'S A HOLE IN MY HOUSE! I don't even know how I'm going to fix that!"

Sophie, feeling guilty, tries to offer help, "We can help with—" only to be silenced by the old man.

"No, no... Just leave me alone," he returns to his ruined home and tries to rearrange the furniture, refusing help from anyone.

<...>

The group continued their walk in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Alice was ahead, still angry at the cruelty of the player they had just faced. Sophie followed closely, casting worried glances at Solol, who walked more slowly than usual and whose face clearly showed he was upset and frustrated. Kenneth, on the other hand, was clearly disappointed with what had happened, muttering to himself about the so-called 'Soren' being easily taken down by a delinquent.

"Where are we going again?" Alice asks, still sounding irritated.

"Well, I would take him to Aerion. But there's a small problem, I don't know how to do that. I thought you guys already had a plan."

"O-oh, right! Aerion, yeah, our home..." she bumps into Solol, "However, our master is too drained in magic to cast the spell to take us there. Right?"

"Huh? Yes, yes. Zero magic and stuff."

"I see, so that's why you lost the fight, right? Makes a lot more sense!" Kenneth's respect for Solol begins to reignite. "You guys can rest at Uncle Hugo's place, he wouldn't mind helping an Angel."

Sophie smiles relieved, "That's really sweet of you, Kenneth. I don't know how to repay you."

"Maybe recommend me to become an Angel? Of course, if it's not a problem, Mr. Lolous."

"Of course... I will speak to my superiors about your never-ending support," he replies in a monotone tone, devoid of any excitement—his mind still dominated by his failure.

<...>

After walking for some time, the group finally arrived at Uncle Hugo's farm. The property was simple and modest, with an aged wooden house surrounded by fields that seemed to have been abandoned long ago. Despite the state of the farm, the sight of the house brought some relief to the weary travelers.

Kenneth led the group to the front door, knocking vigorously. Moments later, the door opened, revealing an elderly but still robust man with a big smile on his face.

"Kenneth! My boy, long time no see!" Uncle Hugo said, warmly embracing Kenneth. "You brought the apples?"

He pulls out the bag full of apples, "Just as we agreed."

"Great, knew I could count on you... And I see that you brought a few friends with you."

"Mr. Uncle, these are Alice, Sophie, and Soren Lolous," Kenneth introduced. "They need a place to rest for a while."

Uncle Hugo looked at the group and their tired faces. When his eyes landed on Solol, he widened them in surprise and admiration. "A gentleman angel on my farm? What an honor! Of course, come on in! My house is your house."

The group entered the house, which was simple but cozy. The interior was well-kept, with antique furniture and a crackling fireplace that warmed the room. Uncle Hugo quickly led them to the kitchen, where he served homemade bread and hot soup.

"You must be quite exhausted to keep going," said Uncle Hugo, smiling. "You can stay as long as you need."

Alice sighed in relief, feeling the tension begin to dissipate. "Thank you so much, Mr. Hugo. After everything we've been through, you have no idea how good it feels to sit down and have a good meal," she takes a sip of the soup—which tasted like death, with clearly rotten ingredients, but to not hurt the man, she maintains a neutral face. "Hm... Pretty... Good...!"

"See? And my brother Brother once told me 'Uncle, stop poisoning the family soup with your deadly ingredients!' he had such a bad taste for food and women, still, he was a lovely man, may Aerion keep his soul safe."

Fedora feels sorry for his companion for having to endure that soup, so he decides to sacrifice himself by jumping into the soup and absorbing all its contents. "Gloob..."

"I admit I've never seen a pet Slime before. Do you follow the Path of Domination?"

"No, he's my friend, Fedora."

"Gloob!"

He takes a closer look at the gelatinous creature, "Actually, I've never seen a slime like this before," he presses his finger on Fedora, "Look at this, his skin is way denser. Whatever you're feeding him, keep it up."

"Must be because he leveled up," Alice thought.

Sophie draws attention from the table with her loud cough after ingesting that soup, Kenneth promptly hands her a cloth. "Careful, it's still hot. Speaking of which, why not take off that hood? Must be burning in there."

"My hood? It's not necessary, actually, I'm even cold!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Kenneth, put another blanket in Miss's room." After the order, the young man leaves the table, leaving his soup untouched. Shifting focus to 'Soren', "So, to what do we owe the honor of your presence down here?"

Solol was sitting at the table, but his gaze was distant, lost in dark thoughts. The humiliation of being easily defeated by that guy weighed on him like a black cloud. Every insulting word and every blow struck by the enemy echoed in his mind, eroding his confidence.

"Soren? Are you there?"

Awakening from his thoughts, Solol leaves the table, "I need some air."

<...>

Outside the farm, Solol picks up any stone from the ground and throws it away with all his might, pulling out his Death Gun right after. Imagining that stone being that damn thief who stole his hat, "YOU BASTARD!"

*BANG!*

He missed.

He tries again.

*BANG! BANG!*

He missed again.

He picks up another stone, but already overflowing with frustration, he throws it on the ground and unloads his revolver into it—and when his bullets run out, he throws the gun at the stone.

"Ha ha ha...! You are pathetic!" echoes the arrogant voice in his mind.

"Shut up..." he turns around

 and to his surprise, there was someone behind him: a Whisper with its shape—casting a [Web Swing] at Solol and spinning him like a destruítion ball until throwing it against the old farm's fence.

With blood coming out of his nose, he asks himself, "A Whisper?! But they shouldn't just appear in my head?!"

Solol quickly got up, staring at his enemy, he ran towards his gun, which was lying on the ground. The Whisper, smiling maliciously, fired several webs in Solol's direction, trying to trap him.

Solol dodged agilely, rolling on the ground and grabbing his Death Gun at the last second. He got up immediately, pointing the gun at the Whisper, but the creature remained still—the reason, it would be revealed when he tries to pull the trigger.

*Click-click!*, the gun was empty.

"Are you kidding me?!"

The Whisper took advantage of the opening and fired another web, grabbing Solol's arm and pulling him closer. Solol struggled to break free, but the Whisper was stronger and more agile. The creature threw him against a tree, and he felt the throbbing pain coursing through his body.

"You're pathetic," mocked the Whisper, its voice echoing in Solol's mind like poison. "You're just holding those two back, and you know it."

Solol gritted his teeth, getting up slowly. He felt anger and frustration boiling within him. "Shut up!" he shouted, launching forward with a wild blow. The Whisper easily dodged, counterattacking with a kick that knocked Solol down again.

Before he could get up, he felt several skeletal arms emerging from the ground and pulling him into the ground. "No, no!" the Whisper just put a bullet in his gun, and aim at his head.

"Game Over."

*BANG!*

<...>

Solol woke up with a start, sweaty and panting. The sight of the starry sky above him and the feeling of the damp grass beneath his body brought him back to reality. He was lying in the field next to Uncle Hugo's farm, far from the horrors of his nightmare.

"It was just a dream...?" he muttered, trying to calm his breathing. His thoughts were still confused, and the fear and frustration he had felt in the dream lingered like a shadow in his mind.

"There you are!" Alice arrives, "You've been missing for hours. We almost thought you went after revenge, anyway, it's getting dark. Let's go," she walks towards the farm, but notices her companion isn't following. "Solol? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It was just a bad dream," he grabs his gun and heads towards the farm.

She stops him holding his arm, "Solol...?"

He turns around irritated. "I SAID I'M FINE!"

"Then what the heck is that?!" she points ahead, where a pile of unstable black smoke was forming—emitting a sound resembling screams. Solol turns, being as shocked as her. Sophie jumps out of the house's door with her bow in hand, "What did you guys do?!"

Among the smoke emerge two long black arms, whose hands have the shape of scythes with a blood mark glowing in blue on it, and then comes a head with a single eye on its face and a toothless mouth, behind its head are 3 eyes. The rest of your body forms, possessing legs smaller compared to your arms—which support your 4-meter body.

[Whisper: Regret]

[A variation of the common Whispers, which transcends consciousness to the real world. Regret can prevent it from moving forward, and this creature will ensure that no one can move forward.]