I promise

*Rudys POV

It's been ten minutes. I have been sitting in the same position.

"I should go home." the sky is already dark, and I have many things to think about about what I should do from now on.

I stand up from my seat, and started to walk toward the direction of my house.

"Now that I am seeing my surroundings, it is the same as how it was written in the novel." In the novel, it is said that the world is built with the combination of the present earth and the medieval era.

And their exist a power that all human possess....

'Mana'

Well it is a fantasy novel, so the existence of mana and magic is obvious...

But...

The weird thing about this novel is that even with the existence of magic, the technology was the same as on earth; even the buildings nearby are like those Japanese houses you see in rom-com anime.

If I didn't possess those memories, I might have thought I had died and just possessed someone from the same earth I was living on, like in some novels.

.

.

I reached Vaelen's house thanks to those memories while thinking about how this world worked.

Its the same double storage house you see in those Japanese manga's.

Then I reached toward the door knob and opened the door.

and after opening, all I saw was...

...garbage's

From the main entrance to the kitchen door, all I saw were garbage bags, beer cans, and other things that I couldn't identify.

After seeing those one word came to my mind,

"Mess"

Yes, the whole place is a mess, I don't think any normal person can live in this place.

"ha..ha..ha..ha"

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly remembering why this place become like this.....

.

.

.

After that, I went to Vaelen's room while being careful not to step on anything..... Its even hard for one to walk in the house.....

When I entered my room, I just locked the door and hopped on to the bed..

"I am so tired" after suffering from those pain, my whole body is itching at this moment....

but.....seeing how dirty I am, " I should take a shower first."

I forced myself to get up from my bed and went downstairs to take a shower.....

.

.

I walked to the bathtub and carefully sat down after rinsing my body with some water.

"Ah~ it feels good!" the hot water acts as the ideal remedy for my worn out body, gradually removing my tiredness.

.

"Oh, I have that thing, right?"

After saying those words, I muttered something

"Soul book"

Right after that, a book with ancient texture appeared on my hands, the book is the standard book size you see in libraries.

Then I opened the first page, and something was written inside.....

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

[Name: Vaelen Hart]

[Health Points (HP): 100%]

[Mana Points (MP): 100%]

[Race: Human]

[Rank: F-]

[Strength: F- ]

[Agility: F-]

[Intelligence: E-]

[Mana: F]

[Mana Control: F-]

[Luck: E-]

/

[Proficiency:]

-Swordsmanship (Beginner-level)

-Marksmanship (Beginner-level)

-Cooking (Beginner-level)

/

[ Magic Attributes: Fire, Lightning]

[Skills:]

-Body strengthening (Beginner-level)

-Fire manipulation: Fireball

-Lightning manipulation: Lightning Strike

[Traits:]

- Analyze (Beginner-level)

-**************( Synchronization rate- 2%)

[Title:]

-Stalker

[Resistance:]

-Mental resistance (Beginner-level): Being able to make one's mind strong and withstand simple Illusion attacks.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

After seeing my status I couldn't help but twist my lips.

"Seriously... stalker? and what's with this trash status...." This is lowest level of status one can possess, I thing even a children is stronger than me.

.

.

'The truth of the Acalis'

This is your usual hero tale, in which the protagonist joins the academy and rises to fame, overcomes many obstacles, and becomes the strongest. Along the way, he meets many beautiful women and people who support him and become friends with him... but the protagonist is a bit naïve and dense....and I don't know if there is any character development later...

All the people in this world possess this soul book, its like those status panel you see in those fantasy novels, its just appears as a book.

Every child above the age of five awakens their soul, and once awakened, children can begin to use mana and call out their soul books, where they can see their growth.

And after seeing my status...I don't know what I should do... luckily everyone can become stronger if they are dedicated enough.....but I am not worried about this, the thing I am worried about is...the future.....

To begin with, this was not a completed novel, which is why I mentioned that I didn't know if there was any character development... I'm not sure who the author was, but I recall reading somewhere that the author went to hiatus for whatever reason.

and the second reason was because of the final line of the last chapter...

'The entire world changed, and so did the people'

I'm not sure what the author was trying to say given that was the last chapter before he went to hiatus, but it gives off a ominous vibe....

and...

It's your typical fantasy novel, delving into the mundane aspects of the protagonist's daily life until... you stumble upon the side stories.

In those side story lies the darker reality – the horrors of war, murder, crime, human trafficking, chilling human experiments etc. The unsettling depths of what humanity is capable of doing are laid bare in those chapters .....

The antagonists were simply destroyed by the protagonist in the main story; nevertheless, the side story's describes the antagonists' earlier crimes.

And that's why I am worried about the future....

I can just abandoned the original story and live a normal life..... but the town I am living will be attacked in two or three years if I remember correctly...

Even if I leave this city, there is no guarantee that my life would be safe. Because I read those side stories, I am aware of how dangerous this world is and that it will become even more so in the next few years.

'haa' I sighed

I find myself overwhelmed with emotions...

...and I.....

...am afraid...

I am afraid.....of facing death...

No matter how much I want to avoid this talk, I cannot escape the truth that lingers within.

There were times on earth when I thought of dying, but....

Here I am in a whole new world, unsure of how I got here. All I can piece together is that I must have died somehow, without any awareness, and my soul found itself inexplicably transplanted into this. The reason I am saying this is because if this is really the novel world where magic exists, then I remember reading about how it is possible to transplant someone's soul into another body. They called it 'Soul Possessing' in the side stories, and one has to completely cut off the connection between the body and soul if they want to possess someone else's body, which basically means dying...well there are some exceptions.....

Just thinking about how I died without knowing is enough to send a chill down my spine...

Now I realize how weak-minded I was to consider dying while still living on earth.

But...

Ever since I have woke up in this new world I am felling a little bit different..

While I was thinking about how there are many things that could end my life in this world....I felt something different within me...

It feels like deep inside me, in a dark place, a small flame which is being locked by chains is showing signs of movement.

That flame...feels like it is alive..

It feel like it is telling me something...

'LIVE'

'LIVE'

'LIVE'

'LIVE'

Its is continuously telling me to live.....

With each utterance, I find my filled with some kind of energy.....its not magical energy or something....

This energy it feels kind of...familiar...

It feels like it is something I had all this time deep inside me....locked in a place full of chains.

But now.... that flame is melting those chains, that has restricted it for an unknown time.

....and the brightness of the flame inside is gradually increasing.....

The brightness... is slowly enveloping the dark place... and the darkness, which had been occupying the place for a long time, is slowly being purified by the flame....

The more the darkness is purified, the easier it is becoming....

.....for me to realize the origin of that flame.....and finally..

.

.

.

'Ah'

I realized.....

I realized what this flame is....

This is my 'Flame of determination' which I have locked with my own hands, within the chains of excuses.....

.

.

.

I immerse myself in the depths of the bathwater, allowing its soothing embrace to envelop me.

.

.

'Ok...I will listen to you.....' I said to myself inwardly...

I don't know why I found myself into this.....

But, it feels like a second chance was given to me....

and...I don't know what I will do in the future, but....

I promise....

I will try not to become the same pathetic loser I was, who only knows how to complain.....

I promise....

I will try to not to complain without any reason...

I promise...

I will try to improve....

and....I promise

I will try to live this life without any regret.....

This small flame of determination with me.....I will not let it extinguish again....

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It was more than enough...

This seemingly insignificant promise set in motion the eternal wheel of fate, dormant for countless eons...

History itself shall engrave the name 'Vaelen Hart' deep into the annals of time, a name that will echo through the ages.

A being destined to leave an indelible mark...

A being destined to command awe and respect from all who cross his path...

And...

A being destined to invoke fear and trembling among his enemies at the mere mention of his name...