First Quest Completed

The boy dragged him to the village square where another crowd of desperate faces awaited. The village elder, a frail woman, pleaded with him. "The Raider King will come in three days. Please help us, we have little to offer but—"

"I don't need offerings," he replied coldly. "What I need is information. How many are coming? How many of you can fight?"

The villagers began exchanging uneasy and unsettling glances with each other. The village elder lowered her head, sighing. "We don't know their numbers but we are farmers, not warriors."

A growl escaped Kael, his face expressing ungratefulness as he turned to the little boy who looked at him with unwavering trust, "Figures."

He spent the first day scouting the area, mapping choke points, and planning defenses. The village was barely defendable—too open, too exposed. He needed time but as expected, that too wasn't a luxury he had.

After he had completed his first mission, he proceeded to train a few able-bodied villagers. At first, it was laughable—men swinging farm tools like children playing at war. However, Kael's patience ran thin and he pushed them further, shaping their fear into something usable.

"Stop crying about how tired you are!" he barked at a young man who collapsed mid-swing. "The Raider King won't care if you're exhausted. He'll gut you anyway."

By the third day, they had crude barriers, traps in the field, and a few shaky men armed with pitchforks and knives. It wasn't much but it was all they had.

The sun quickly set by the evening, and the sun cast its crimson glow on the peaceful village soon to be turned into a battleground. Kael retired as well into a tiny hut provided by the village elder.

As Kael stayed awake, staring mindlessly into the dark thatched roof, golden text appeared—it was the system.

[ Sacrifice the boy to gain a temporary boost in power ]

He stared at the notification for an elongated time, and his jaw tightened. He glanced at the boy who sat at the fireplace sharpening his wooden sword with a focus far too serious for someone his age.

"Do it," a voice in his mind whispered. "It's the smart move, the logical move. You'll save more lives in the long run." His hand immediately lifted itself, hovering over the confirmation but he stopped.

"No," he muttered, dismissing the prompt. "Even though it's the smartest choice, it's not the righteous one. Killing him would mean that I couldn't save the village, doesn't it?" Kael concluded, heaving off a sigh as he rested his head on the hard floor.

The system chimed:

[ Decision logged. Redemption score updated ]

The night passed, and soon the sun rose, blood-red and foreboding. Faint noises of stamping feet echoed in the distance, and soon it grew loud. The Raider King's army had arrived like a storm—scores of armored men with cruel weapons and bloodlust in their eyes.

The villagers held their ground clutching their farm tools as weapons, their fear tempered by Kael's training. Traps sprung, thinning the enemy rank but it wasn't enough. The barricades fell and chaos erupted—the village had become a battlefield.

Amidst the onslaught, Kael faced the Raider King—a mountain of a man clad in black armor and equipped with a massive axe.

"So you're the hero?" The Raider King sneered, swinging his axe with terrifying force and speed.

Kael blocked his axe with a sword given to him by the elder, the impact rattling his bones. "Not a hero." He paused trying to regain balance from the Raider King's attack. "Just someone who hates losing."

The fight was brutal with every attack of the Raider King pushing him closer to the edge of defeat. He clung to life, his wounds bleeding, his vision blurring and his breaths had turned to ragged gasps.

As he contemplated on his next actions already succumbing to defeat, the system interrupted:

[ Use forbidden power to destroy the enemy.

Warning: Collateral damage may occur! ]

"Forbidden Power?" He smiled at first, taking a step back to digest the information. His mind raced. The forbidden power, which he knew nothing of, would defeat the Raider King and his army—but it would risk killing the villagers. The quest flashed in his mind and for the first time, he hesitated.

"No," he snarled, summoning every ounce of his will. Instead of releasing the power outward, he channeled it inward, using his body as a vessel. Agony coursed through him but it worked.

With a final desperate charge, he shattered the Raider King's armor and drove his blade deep into his chest. He fell, his army scattering like leaves in the wind. The village was saved, and Kael's quest was completed, but he immediately fell to the ground, his body filled with pain.

The villagers cheered, their tears mixing with the blood-soaked earth. The little boy ran to him, his small hands gripping Kael's cloak. "I knew you'd save us!"

Kael chuckled weakly, his fatigue evident in his voice. "Save you? I was just... buying myself time." The boy smiled slightly, relieved Kael was still conscious.

As Kael lay down on the Earth's warm crust, the system chimed again, golden text shifting to form a message before him.

[ QUEST COMPLETED

Reward: Memory Fragment Unlocked! ]

He mustered up his last strength and stood up, brushing off the boy's concerns. "I'm leaving. Don't follow me," he said coldly.

As he walked into the distance, the boy's voice stopped him. "You're a hero, you know."

He didn't turn back and began walking, coldly replying. "No... I'm just someone trying to stay alive."

As the system whisked him away into the next world, he couldn't shake the lingering warmth in his chest—one that felt dangerously close to hope. He braced himself for his future knowing he would face nothing but danger and chaos.

"I hope I get teleported to a futuristic world this time. I've had enough of villagers today," he muttered to himself as his body seemingly shifted between worlds.