The First Step.
"Mom..." Taro's young voice called out. "Where did dad go?"
"..." Taro couldn't remember the face of his mother. All he saw was a smile. He didn't remember her eyes. He didn't remember her gentle tone. He didn't remember any of these things. All he remembered was a smile. "He was just a little tired. He'll come back later."
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"Mother?" Taro's 18-year-old self couldn't understand. "Where are you going?"
"It's none of your business." Taro perfectly remembered his mother's harsh tone. However, he didn't remember any of her facial features.
"What am I gonna tell Yen?! What am I gonna tell Tommy and Clare?!" Taro couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"Tell them whatever you want. I'm leaving." his mother scoffed and turned around to leave.
"..." Taro fell into a spiral of fear and terror. 'I need to think of something. I...I need to be stronger now...I need to be STRONGER!!! PROTECT. THEM.'
WHOOSH!!!
That was the moment mana surrounded him as he awakened as an F-rank!
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"Where's mommy?" Clare asked.
"..." Taro said nothing as tears fell down his face.
"Taro...where's mom?!" Yen roared.
"We went to the forest...she...was attacked by a bear..." Taro cried. 'She's a coward...'
"W-What...?" Yen stumbled back.
"I...I couldn't let you see her body like that..." Taro cried. "I already buried her..."
"..." Yen fell to the ground in shock.
"Waaaaaaahh...." Tom started to cry. Clare slowly started to cry too.
"She...mom..." Yen sniffled as tears welled up in her eyes. "MOMMY!!!!"
As his siblings all started crying and sobbing, all Taro could think of were thoughts of hatred!
'She left us...THAT COWARD!!! THAT BITCH!!!' Taro cried in anger rather than sadness.
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"I'm gonna be an adventurer!" Taro smiled at his siblings.
"That's so cool!!!" Tom smiled brightly.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Clare asked in worry.
"A bit, but I won't take dangerous quests." Taro smiled to calm her down.
"..." Yen sighed. "I'll try to get a job too."
"Yen." Taro turned to her seriously. "Let your big brother take care of this."
"..." Yen bit her lower lip. "Fine..."
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"Taro! Taro! Look!!" Yen showed a small handkerchief with her name badly stitched on it.
"..." Taro's eyes seemed to glow in excitement. "You like sewing?"
"I-I guess..." Yen chuckled awkwardly.
"Want to learn from the old tailor lady?" Taro asked with a smile.
"Really?!" Yen asked in surprise.
"Of course." Taro nodded.
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"You two need to start going to school." Taro sighed.
"He started it!" Clare pointed at Tom in anger.
"What?! You're insane!!" Tom grit his teeth.
"..." Taro sighed as he held his head. "You're going to school starting tomorrow!! This is the last I will hear of this! I don't want you to start taking out your energy on each other at home! Go be social or something!"
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"Taro! Good morning!" Eclipse smiled at him.
"Good morning." Taro nodded.
"Here for another quest?" Eclipse asked. "I got a hunting quest for you!"
"Eclipse! He's inexperienced! Just stick to fetching quests!" an old man named Ron scolded.
"I'll take the hunting quest!" Taro said excitedly.
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"Damn it...damn it...I'm gonna die!!" Taro cried out as a goblin swung down its club.
"Fool!!" a voice scolded as a weapon split the goblin down the middle. "You never try to fight above your rank!!"
"Huh?" Taro looked up to see an armored blonde woman who looked down on him condescendingly.
"What's good, ya dumbass F-rank?" the woman smirked in arrogance.
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"I'll stick to fetching quests..." Taro smiled weakly at Eclipse.
"I heard you were practicing with your sword though..." Eclipse looked at him with curiosity.
"Always gotta be prepared..." Taro sighed with thinned eyes.
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"I'm low on money...I guess I'll hit a dungeon...as safe as possible..." Taro sighed.
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"..." Taro looked at the ceiling as Tom snored beside him. 'Yen has to steal to make a single headband...'
He looked at his new headband and sighed. 'I might just take a small wolf hunting quest or something...'
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'I...don't want to die...' Taro cried as the werewolf king held him by the throat. 'I...WON'T DIE!!!!'
Thud.
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{Courage}
{Resilience}
{Fear}
{Despair}
{Regret}
{Anger}
{Hope}
{Pain}
{Death}
{Stand once more with power…courage…and vigor.}
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"GASP!!!" Taro sat up as he gasped for air. "???"
He looked right and left in confusion. He looked to be in a cemetery.
"Did I...Did I die?" Taro looked at his previously severed arms. "They're...fine..."
"What the hell...happened...?" Taro got up slightly and inspected his surroundings. "Isn't this Ingrid Village's Cemetery?"
Taro had done a couple of quests cleaning some of the graves here.
"M-My sword...it's gone..." Taro sighed as he held his head.
Tears slowly fell down his face. "Damn it..."
His hand slowly slid down to his scarred neck.
"I almost died...no...I did die." Taro slowly started sobbing in this cemetery. "I died...I died..."
After around ten or so minutes of crying, Taro started to turn the gears in his head a bit.
"..." Taro checked himself. He wasn't wearing any of his own clothes. He was wearing a fancy white shirt and black leggings. "I don't have my clothes...wait!!!"
"!!!" he quickly searched himself. "My money!!!"
He had nothing on him.
"Damn it..." Taro took control of his emotions with a deep breath. "I need to get to Ingrid Village."
"..."
Taro got up slowly and started walking towards the village.
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"Hm?" a drunk old man walked in the night sky as he looked towards the village entrance. "What is that?"
The old man was so shocked he dropped his booze. "A ZOMBIE!!!"
Everyone ran out of their houses and glared at him.
"OLD MAN SIL!! ENOUGH OF YOUR NONSENSE!!!" another old man walked out with a lantern.
"L-LOOK!!!" Old Man Sil pointed towards the entrance.
"!!!" the village chief, Otto, felt his whole existence shake. "WHAT IS THAT AURA?!"
"Huh?" Taro tilted his head.
"MONSTER!! STAND BACK!!!" Otto quickly got into a fighting position as his daughter quickly ran into his house to get his axe.
"M-Monster???" Taro tilted his head.
"It speaks?!" a second man exited his house with a sword.
"H-Hold on!!" Taro raised his arms in the air. "I'm not a monster!"
'The aura disappeared?!' Chief Otto thinned his eyes as his daughter handed him his axe.
"Who are you?!" Otto roared out.
"My name is Taro! I come from Kiddi Town! I'm an adventurer!!" Taro quickly introduced himself.
"Ah! It's you!" an old lady walked up. "He's a human! He helped me clean Hiro's grave before!"
"I..." Taro chocked up slightly. He then chuckled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. "I got attacked by monsters then ran away and got lost."
"..." Chief Otto thinned his eyes. "Fine. Since Katrina vouches for him, he may stay with her. He's to be gone by morning though."
"You got it." Taro nodded gratefully.
"Come on, son." Katrina gestured for Taro to follow her.
"Sorry for the worry everyone." Taro apologized to everyone.
Everyone simply eyed him weirdly before going back to their own houses.
Katrina led Taro to her house. She quickly stoked a fire and put on some water.
"L-Let me." Taro quickly got up to help her.
"Nonsense, you're my guest! You just relax, son." Katrina smiled.
"I'm staying the night with nothing to offer. Please, just let me help with this." Taro awkwardly smiled.
"So, what were you doing out there?" Katrina asked as she handed Taro a fur blanket.
"What do you mean? I-"
"Don't play dumb now. Last time, you travelled using the main road with a carriage to come clean graves and you still came with your sword. You want me to believe that you went into the forest alone dressed like that without a weapon?" Katrina smiled knowingly.
"I…don't know." Taro sighed. "All I know is that I should get back as soon as possible. My siblings are alone in Kiddi Town and I didn't leave enough money with them for me to be relaxing here."
"You don't look like you're carrying that money with you though." Katrina looked him up and down.
"…" Taro felt a chill. 'Right…I'll be back and have no money.'
"Kiddi Town is a two-day journey from here. Will you make it in time?" Katrina asked as she handed Taro a cup of hot water.
"I…I have to." Taro grit his teeth. "Actually…I'll go now."
"It's the middle of the night, son. You might encounter monsters." Katrina warned. "I heard from a few travelers that there have been a lot of kobold sightings about a day's journey from here, Kiddi Town side."
"…I can take care of myself." Taro felt a pit in his stomach.
"Without a sword?" Katrina was in doubt. "Take this advice from an old lady that learned things the hard way…you need to relax. They might be able to survive a few days without you, but if you get yourself killed, they'll follow you soon enough."
"!!!" Taro felt a chill.
"…"
"…"
"I'll rest the night. I'll head out as soon as first light." Taro nodded.
"There you go!" Katrina nodded as she stood up. "You can sleep on the bed with me."
"You really don't have to." Taro waved his hand dismissively with a nervous smile. "I'm used to sleeping on the ground."
"Nonsense! I don't have any more bedding. The blanket on your back is mine. Now, let's get up and sleep." Katrina stood and walked to her bed which was in the corner of the room.
"…" Taro felt awkward. He really did not want to sleep with this old lady in her bed, but he really didn't know how to say no, especially to hardheaded and stubborn people like her.
"Come now! I'm getting cold!!" Katrina smacked the bed as if to gesture for him to hop in.
"…" Taro gulped as he got into bed. 'What the hell am I doing???'
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Chop chop chop chop chop.
"Huh…?" Taro awoke to the smell of something delicious.
"You're up?" Katrina chuckled as she put the vegetables in the pot. "What happened to traveling at first light? It's already morning!"
"Huh?" Taro looked around himself. "Where am I?"
"Seems like you're still asleep." Katrina sighed as she stirred the pot. She then got a bowl of water. "Here. Wash up."
"Thanks…?" Taro took the bowl. "!!!"
He quickly stood up. "Yen! Tommy! Clare! I need to go! Now!!"
"Calm down." Katrina sat down on one of the three chairs in her house. "At least get some food in you."
"B-B-B-But!!" Taro seemed unable to form a sentence from his worry.
"Do you have food in your house?" Katrina asked.
"W-What?" Taro seemed taken aback.
"It takes about a week for someone to starve to death. They'll live a few days without you. Just eat up then get on your way." Katrina said as she handed him a bowl of vegetables soup.
"…" Taro realized that there was no out with this old lady. "Thanks."
He quickly took the soup and took a huge gulp.
COUGH!!!
Taro coughed it out as it burned his mouth.
"Patience is a virtue. It would do you well to learn it." Katrina chuckled. "Take your time."
The old lady handed him a spoon.
Taro sighed as he took the spoon. He slowly started drinking his soup. Slowly yet surely, the warmth of the soup calmed him down. His face flushed as he handed Katrina his bowl. "C-Can I have a second bowl?"
"Sure!" Katrina laughed as she grabbed his bowl.
After Taro had a satisfying meal, he stood up with a smile. "Thank you for everything, ma'am."
"Call me Katrina." Katrina smiled back. "Do come visit me sometime."
"I will try. If I ever take a quest that's close to here, I'll be sure to visit." Taro nodded. "Now, if you'll excu-"
"Wait." Katrina interrupted him. She quickly rummaged through the large chest in her house. She pulled out a small dagger. "Although it's small, I hope it will help."
"…" Taro looked it and smiled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to return it later."
"You better! This belonged to my late husband." Katrina said in a semi-scolding tone, yet her smile showed that she felt comfortable giving the dagger to him. 'He's just like you were, Hiro…'
"I'll see you later, Katrina…" Taro nodded with a smile as he walked towards the village's entrance. He then went on the main road and started walking until he reached the crossroad that divided Kiddi Town in the south, Ingrid Village in the east, Jump Town in the west, and Lily Town in the north.
Taro headed south and started his walk back home.
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"…I need to think of a way to get some money…" Taro sighed. He then looked at his clothing. "This outfit looks expensive. Maybe I should sell it. I could at least get 40 or so Copper pieces."
After a few hours of walking, Taro noticed something interesting.
"There always seems to be a few Blue Rilio fetching quests…" Taro eyed a few Blue Rilio flowers that were a little further into the forest.
The problem was that Blue Rilios almost always meant that a bear was around the area. Although bears weren't monsters, they were still as strong as D-rank monsters like kobolds. If Taro still had his sword and maybe one other person, he might have attempted it, but he wasn't really in the position to fight a bear right now.
"Actually, I don't really have to fight it…" Taro fell into thought. "Five Blue Rilios are about a Silver piece. However, a batch of Blue Rilios has between two and six flowers. If I had to fight a bear to just get four, that would be such a waste of time, but what if the quest paid per stalk…"
Taro sighed. "I need the money."
He slowly approached the forest away from the main road. He saw the batch of Blue Rilios.
"Ten stalks…?" Taro thinned his eyes. He then looked around and whispered to himself. "No bear in sight…"
"I see…" Taro readied his dagger. 'You wanna play like that? Fine.'
While Taro was approaching the Blue Rilios, a sentence echoed through his head.
Although he heard some rustling sounds around him, he continued as he steeled his resolve with a deep breath.
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"Remember, ya dumbass F-rank! The most dangerous monsters of all…are humans!"
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"RUSH HIM!!" Taro heard a roar.
Four people ran out of the trees and ran towards Taro. Each one of them had malice in his eyes and a sword in his hand.
'Two E-ranks and two F-ranks…' Taro quickly analyzed. Weirdly, he didn't feel panicked or anything. He found himself filled with courage and a weird sense of calm. 'I'll quickly pick off the two F-ranks and steal one of their swords!'
Taro realized that one of the two F-ranks was actually the closest one to him. He ran towards him with ferociousness. The bandit was so shocked that he didn't have time to defend himself before Taro shoved a dagger in his throat and stole his sword!
'One down!' Taro quickly dashed off towards the second F-rank. However, he was quickly interrupted by what seemed to be the bandits' leader!
"YOU BASTARD!!!" the leader smashed his sword down on Taro. Usually, Taro would feel a heavy sensation when an E-rank put his whole strength into a strike at him. However, this time, Taro parried it calmly and smoothly.
"Hm?" Taro's brows furrowed as he felt that this E-rank was quite weak. He was so weak that they were almost equal in strength.
"Boys!!" the leader roared as he was being pushed back.
"Bingo." Taro immediately turned around as the F-rank got closer. Before the poor guy could even react, his head was on the floor! Taro's movements were so fluid and practiced that none of the bandits could properly read him!
"Damn it! He's gotta be a C-rank!! Why would someone this strong want to pick up a bunch of flowers?!" the bandit leader grit his teeth.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Taro immediately threw his sword at the bandit leader, hitting him in the abdomen. He picked up the other F-rank's sword and chased after him. The other E-rank had already abandoned his leader and ran away.
"S-Spare me!! I'll give you all our group's money before that traitor can get to it!" the leader cried out.
"…how much?" Taro asked coldly.
"73 Silver pieces!" the leader waved his arms around.
'That's double what I've saved up in the last four years!' Taro's eyes widened in shock. "Which way is it?"
"Over there! A few minutes walk that way will get you to a small pond! Behind the pond, there will be a large Titi Tree! Inside it is all our money!" the leader immediately confessed. The sooner he could run away the better. He didn't have the luxury to take his time and craft a lie. The other E-ranker would definitely steal the money and escape anyway, so he might as well use it to run away.
Taro immediately took the dagger from the F-ranker's throat and ran after the E-ranker.
'Weird…I just killed two people…' Taro felt a strange coldness in his chest. It was the first time he had killed someone. 'Is it because they tried to kill me? Why don't I feel bad?'
Taro quickly found the pond and large Titi Tree. Titi Trees were easily recognizable by their spiked bark. Similar to how a rose had thorns, this entire tree was covered in spikes. It was like a tree made of translucent needles.
Taro saw the E-ranker slowly and carefully putting his arm in a hole in the tree.
"…"
He quietly waited for him to finish pulling the money out of the tree.
"Now…this and all the money I saved should add up to 100 Silver pieces. I'll go to Kiddi Town and exchange it for a Gold piece!" the bandit whispered to himself, almost trying to comfort his panicked mind. "After that, I'll go to Ciri City and just relax there for the rest of my life!"
Taro said nothing as he tailed the guy. If he was heading towards Kiddi Town, Taro would kill him before they got to town. If he was going to get his money, he would also kill him and take his money.
Taro quietly followed as the man reached a tree deep in the forest. He quickly dug under the tree to find around 40 Silver pieces.
Taro immediately threw his dagger at the man. His aim was slightly off as he hit the man's arm instead of chest.
Splurt!
"ARGH!!" the E-ranker grit his teeth as the dagger hit his left arm. 'My non-dominant arm! Good!'
He quickly unsheathed his sword.
"Who ar-!!"
"Forgot me already?" Taro asked.
"You want my money?!" the bandit immediately lost hope and smiled a terrified smile. "I'll give you all of it! Pleases, just spare me!"
"Hand it over. Your sword too." Taro said while pointing the tip of his sword at the man.
"Here!" the bandit threw 30 Silver pieces and his sword at the ground.
"…" Taro walked up closer. When he did, the man pulled the dagger out of his arm and stabbed towards Taro.
Clang!!
The dagger went flying as Taro parried.
"Isn't it funny how I came closer to kill you just for you to try the same thing?" Taro tilted his head and sighed. "Die."
Thud.
The man's head fell to the ground as he died.