Debris, bricks, and broken wood laid scattered across the dusty ground, marking the remains of a destroyed building. At the center of the wreckage stood a young lady with red hair, holding a tiny, barely visible photo frame.
Her head was raised to the night sky as uncontrollable tears rolled down her cheeks. The building had been destroyed without mercy, an act of pure malice.
The tears stopped abruptly, replaced by a sharp, furious glare. Her eyes burned with fierce intensity as she gritted her teeth.
With a cold and unwavering voice, she proclaimed:
"I will eliminate them all."
***
"Derek... Jones. Is that your name? Your real name?" The lady who was standing beside Derek, holding his application form, asked him with a perplexed expression.
"Yes, that’s my name. Is something wrong?"
"Oh no. There’s nothing. It’s just that... Never mind. The rest will be taken care of."
Derek’s eyes narrowed slightly at the lady as if suspicious of her. "Bye then." He spoke.
The lady held the form with both hands and bowed as he left. She was feeling embarrassed.
Why was she asking that?... Derek thought as he walked back. Does my name sound weird? Roselle acted the same way when I told her my name. I think I get where they is coming from. After all, it is not a name from this world, so it must sound weird?... Derek had left the street of the adventure hall when he thought.
That’s right, the system added the name ’Ravenscar’ as part of my name but I have no idea who that it.
Hold on. If grandmother was always from this world doesn’t that mean my parents were too? Then.... Derek paused for a moment on the dark street lit only by a few lanterns.
He had his hand on his chin... It doesn’t make sene. That would mean, Jones is a cover up last name. And Ravenscar is my true last name from this world?... It was a serious assumption but Derek wasn’t sure if he was to believe it or not.
The system never lies. Hold on, before I come to any conclusions. I should ask the old man first.
"Old man? Shouldn’t I call him grandfather? No, no, that will sound strange."
Derek looked around the area he was in and thought. "Where am I?"
Night had fallen, and the streets were already dark. Although there were some lanterns that lit the street, it was barely enough to cover the entire area.
"Hold on. This isn’t the way back. I don’t recognize any of the buildings." He looked around, "Don’t tell me. Am I lost?"
The young man had been wondering for a couple hours while walking, that he didn’t even know when he had taken the wrong turn. And even when he paused and was still thinking didn’t observe his environment.
"There are not many people either. It just became dark, so why is everyone inside?
The street had few stalls which were closed. Most of the buildings were homes and inside, the lights had been turned off.
He didn’t know of course that a warning had been put out because of what had happened in the forbidden area.
After that night, he slept for nearly a full day. When he woke up to see the old man, half of the day had already passed.
So, this wasn’t something he could be aware of and the old man didn’t say anything.
"It doesn’t make any sense. Or should I go back to where I am coming from." Derek turned around and when he saw a long street, he became confused.
"This isn’t right. I should be able to get back to the adventure hall from here."
Derek began walking back, his eyes at every corner of the street. The part which he had entered was a residential area where there were more houses for people to live in than stalls.
It was completely different than when he came out of the old man’s house, to see many stalls rather than residential homes as if it was a market place.
Derek noticed these details and had it rotted in his memory. This shouldn’t be a problem. I can use it and get to know my way around. Back on earth I never got lost because I was familiar with the prefecture we lived in. So, this shouldn’t be that bad.
After an hour of walking, he came out from the long street. He turned to his right and saw the adventure hall building.
The building was at the start of another street which was the same one where the old man’s house was located.
"Sigh... Finally." The young man let out a sigh of relief after seeing the familiar building and began walking towards it.
He noticed his surroundings... Compared to the previous street, there are more shops here and most of them are still open. I thought for sure that something had happened.
At his left, there was a certain stall with a lantern brightening it. The stall was filled with baked bread freshly made hot. The scent was so strong that it travelled to Derek’s nose and triggered his stomach.
"Tsk. I am so hungry. But, I don’t have any money. How can I earn it?" He passed the stall, his eyes still lingering on it before it was no more.
Then, turning to the street where the adventure hall building stood, he saw how busy it was.
"Each street has its own life. I wouldn’t have guessed that a lot of stalls and shops here would still be open."
He was standing at the front of the adventure hall building and noticed that the board for the academy exam registration had been removed, leaving only the boards for quest and bounties.
"The old man had said I should hurry before it closed. More like removed. I’m guessing today was the last day for registration. Thank goodness I came on time."
The building of the adventure hall was lit with lanterns that brighted the entrance. The young man was tempted to go in and see what it looked like, but with the rumbling of his stomach, he decided not to.
He turned and looked down the familiar street. Further down the avenue, the distant castle spire could be seen against the horizon.
Upon seeing this, a strange feeling suddenly came over him as he mumbled. "Why do I feel like I am forgetting something?"
Derek started walking down the street. He could recognize every single building which he had memorized when he passed the first time. The street was well lit with lanterns and most of the shops were starting to close while stalls owners packed their goods.
After a couple of minutes walking, Derek reached the front of the old man’s house.
Just like the others on the same street, it was made out of exposed dark timber framing filled in with light plaster walls, topped by steep, dark shingled and terracotta tiled gabled roofs. On both sides of the entrance stood two stalls with awning overhead.
The young man knocked on the wooden door and before it opened, the familiar system window appeared before him.
[Daily Quest ]
[Completed] Push-ups — [100/100]
[Incomplete] Sit-ups — [0/100]
[Incomplete] Squats — [0/100]
[Incomplete] Running — [0/10km]
Warning: If the daily quest remains incomplete, a penalty will be given accordingly.
Time: 00:00:01 => 00:00:00
Oh Shit!