Chapter 6: The system's demands

The sun rose and crept through the cracks on the shack walls with dim red light, lighting the small room with vague illumination. Saga blinked and opened his eyes, trying to get a hold of his bearings. For a moment, his mind drowned in confusion, in that his memory traveled back to what happened during the fight last night. But gradually, as his senses were returning, the truth of what had taken place started to crash into him.

The goblin king, the village, the system—it all just felt like some faraway dream, except that the ache in his muscles and the dried blood on his hands told a very different tale. He had fought, and he had come out winning. The villagers were alive because of him. But then again, in a weird way, this victory felt hollow. The goblin king was just one enemy; the system had already made it rather clear that worse dangers still lay ahead.

Saga sat up, wincing as his body protested the movement. Every muscle ached, and he could feel the bruises forming under his skin. His thoughts were a chaotic jumble, full of questions with no easy answers. And what was the system's true purpose? Why him, an ordinary villager with no qualifications, special skills or abilities? And it will it_COMMAND from him?

The voice of the system, so familiar by now, responded to his thoughts with its calm, authoritative tone against the background of silence.

"Saga, the journey has just begun. You have passed your first tests, but much still remains to be learned. The power I gave you is but a fraction of what you will need against the coming trials. If you would survive, then you must grow stronger, faster, and more cunning.". The world is full of pitfalls, and the foes will never shy away from knocking you down. Be ready; your next task is already at hand."

The words took Saga's heart down with them. At best, he was expecting a small moment of peace, where he'd let loose—finally gasping for each lungful of air after the ordeal of that grueling battle. But the system had no intention of letting him have a single breather. It was relentless in moving him along, like an ongoing rapids, caring not where he ended up so long as he kept moving forward.

"What do you want from me?" Saga murmured wearily, his voice raw from lack of sleep. "Why are you doing this?"

"You were chosen because you have the potential to become more than you are. The power I offer is a gift, but it is also a burden. You must carry it, and you must use it wisely. The fate of your world may depend on it." The response was now more cryptic than ever from the system.

Saga sighed, running a hand across his face as he tried to understand the words coming from the system. Save the world? Clichéd. The thought felt to him as if it came straight from some old fairy tale, just like a simple village boy defeating a goblin king. And yet, here he went.

A soft knock on the door jolted him out of his reverie. Saga's heart attempted to leap out of his throat as he instinctively went for the weapon that lay beside his bed. The creak of the door and a very familiar face calmed him.

Lysandra entered the room with that calm and inscrutable expression. "You're awake. Good. I was starting to worry you'd be sleeping through the whole day."

Saga tried to look like she was fine, smiling weakly. "I'm not so sure that would be a bad thing. I'm tender in places I didn't even know could be sore."

Lysandra laughed quietly in the seriousness of her eyes. "You fought well, Saga. The villagers are for you now, and their lives will be indebted to you. But thanks are worth very little. The system is not one to rest on your laurels—it's already prepping your next challenge."

Saga's grin fell away to a grimace. "Had to expect as much. This system doesn't let up, does it?

"It doesn't," Lysandra agreed, in a matter-of-fact voice. "But that's not a bad thing. You've been given something of a unique opportunity, Saga. The system's power is something people would murder for. If you can master it, there's no telling how far you could go."

"Master it?" Saga repeated, the words heavy in his mouth. "I can barely keep up. Every time I think I got things in hand, the system hits me with something new."

Lysandra nodded fiercely, an intense look on her countenance. "That's the point. It's not about empowerment, really; it's about evolution. It challenges you, and every challenge you conquer will make you stronger. But each test you pass doesn't leave you unguarded. The enemies I choose for you in the futures to come will be nothing like the goblin king.

Saga swallowed the burden, her words pressing on his shoulders as a physical weight. "What's the next task?"

Lysandra's face suddenly shot serious. "The system has detected a powerful artifact, deep in the heart of the Forest of Shadows. The place is rife with dark magic, infested with the most dangerous creatures you can imagine; this artifact supposedly holds phenomenal power. The system requires you to retrieve it.

The heart of Saga was pounding in his chest. The Shadow Forest was known to be a place of nightmares, an incongruous labyrinth of wood where one could never come to face the light of day. Few who entered ever returned, and those who did spoke of horrors beyond imagination. It was little wonder, then, that he felt more than a bit uneasy at the very thought of going into such a place.

"But why?" Saga asked, his voice shaking a little. "Why does the system want this artifact?

"Its motives are its own," Lysandra said, the tone of her voice cautious. "But if it wants you to retrieve the artifact, it's because it believes you need it to survive the challenges ahead. The system doesn't waste time on trivial tasks. If it's sending you into the Forest of Shadows, it's because what you'll find there is crucial to your growth."

Saga took a deep breath and tried to hold his nerves steady. The Forest of Shadows: it was either just a place in whispered tales or a place presiding mothers kept their kids in fear of going too far from home. And now the system wanted him to go.

"Do I have a choice?" Saga managed to ask, though he knew the answer.

Lysandra shook her head. "Not really. The system is guiding you but is also testing you. If you refuse, it might see you unworthy of the power it provides. If that's the case."

Saga did not have to have her complete that sentence. There were just too many possibilities for what it would do to him if he didn't live up to its expectations. He had already seen just what it was capable of, how it could take this power from him just as quickly as it could give it, and if he were going to make it through this, he was going to have to heed what it was telling him, no matter how dangerous or terrifying those demands were.

"When do we leave?" Saga asked, barely louder than a whisper.

Lysandra gave him an approving nod. "As soon as you're ready. The Forest of Shadows is a day's journey from here, but once we enter, we'll need to move quickly. The longer we stay in the forest, the more dangerous it becomes."

Saga nodded, his mind already beginning to race with thoughts of that which lay ahead. The Forest of Shadows…it was a place of legend, a place where even the bravest warriors dare not go. Then again, he had no option; the system had chosen him, and he had to see it through.

"Then let's go," Saga said firmly, his voice unwavering though fear gnawed at him. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Surprisingly, Lysandra smiled, an expression Saga found difficult to relate to her. "That's the spirit. But remember, Saga, this is more than a mission. This is a test. The system is watching you closely, and on how you handle this, the future is yours."

And then they left the shack, entering the light of day. The villagers were already busy with their daily chores again, since the danger that had recently haunted them had been successfully averted by these strangers. They all offered a nodding and admiring look at Saga, who hardly seemed to notice, with his thoughts already fixed on what lay ahead of him: the black, giant wood.

As they left the village behind and started their march toward the Forest of Shadows, Saga couldn't shake the feeling that he was stepping into something far greater than himself. The power of the system was a gift, but at the same time a curse, binding him in a certain direction full of danger and uncertainty. But now there was no turning back.

The Forest of Shadows loomed on the horizon, its charcoal-dark trees rising like a wall against the sky. Say, as they got closer, felt the first tendril of fear curling about his heart. It was the beginning of his real journey, the one that would test not his strength, but his very soul.

And deep in the forest, something ancient and powerful stirred, aware of the approach of the appointed one of the system.