Chapter 6 - Pricks

"Thanks, Murata. You know times have been tough."

A small smile formed on Murata's face as he picked up the soda cans that dropped in the small compartment of the vending machine, giving one of them to the blurry figure. He pulled back the silver tab of his respective soda can, taking a sip. It tasted quite bland. But he wasn't sure if it was because he was back again.

"Hey. Murata?"

Murata slightly turned towards him, "Yeah?"

"Why are you back again?"

For a moment, Murata stared down at the can in his hand, watching droplets of condensation trickle down its smooth surface. He raised it to his lips again, drinking deeply before wrenching his head back and tossing his cup behind him onto the pavement. Disgusting. The taste was even worse this time—bitter and raw, mingling with something else. Maybe iron, or copper, but it was distasteful either way.

"Why would I know? I can barely remember your face."

"You know that's not the reason why."

Murata's shoulders stiffened as he closed his eyes. He hated this place.

"…Sorry for-"

The blurry figure interrupted him, "There's nothing to be apologizing for. It wasn't your fault."

Both of them stood in silence for a while.

"Do you remember the last thing I requested of you?"

The blurry figure turned towards Murata, waiting patiently for an answer. Murata opened his mouth to respond, but the words died in his throat as the world around him began to blur and dissolve. And he would be looking up at the familiar wooden roof of his home.

'A dream.'

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After the successful detouring of the stampede, the villages were mostly unharmed, the hunters of the village being able to fend off and kill the beasts that were unable to be reached by the effects of [Crimson Roar]. Murata had ended up with fractured ribs from the event, but had recovered relatively quickly, though he wasn't allowed to take off his bandaging. Garrison, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He must've taken much more of a beating to the stampede than Murata, seeing as he had multiple broken bones and shattered ribs. He would be bedridden for the time being. Of course, neither of them were saved from his mother's nagging. In fact, she might've done more damage than the stampede itself.

Murata leaned against a tree, in thought. Specifically, it was about the stampede, or the cause of it.

'Stampedes don't just happen out of anywhere. It must have been caused by a stronger beast suddenly appearing. Either that, or, human interference.'

Just as he finished that thought, the sounds of galloping could be heard in the distance progressively getting louder. Murata knew this sound all too well. It was those "nobles", a bunch of pricks in his opinion. He wondered why they would be coming here of all times, deciding to go and check out the issue. As he approached the edge of the village, he saw them—clad in gleaming armor, their horses kicking up clouds of dust. The banner they carried fluttered in the wind, displaying the crest of one of the prominent noble families. In In the center, was a pristine pearly carriage, where the actual nobles were. Murata groaned. His encounters with the nobles in the past had never been pleasant. They were arrogant and always looking down on the villagers, treating them like dirt beneath their boots.

The lead rider, a man wearing armor from chest toe with blonde hair and an air of superiority, dismounted and surveyed the area with disdain. His gaze eventually landed on Murata, eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to assess the boy before him.

"You there," He barked, his voice carrying the weight of someone used to being obeyed. "You are Garrison's eldest son?"

Murata nodded and crossed his arms, "Yes, I am. Do you have a message to deliver?"

The man scowled, clearly displeased by Murata's lack of any fear or respect for them. He scoffed and shook his head.

"Where is Garrison?"

"Injured. We had a stampede run through here."

The man raised his eyebrow, "A stampede? How did the rest of the village not get trampled in the process?"

Murata simply shrugged, much to the knight's further animosity towards him.

"Fine. I suppose the message will have to be delivered through you then." The man crossed his arms, "Viscount Eduart Fishere is waiting for you in the carriage."

Murata nodded and began making his way towards the pristine, pearly carriage. Obviously, the sudden appearance of these nobles couldn't have just been coincidence, so it was time to see what was up. He opened the door to the carriage, and the noble that sat inside was…

'So fucking ugly. He literally looks like those expendable characters from those manhwas, nothing worthy of noting.'

"Ah, I remember you! You're Garrison's eldest son!"

Murata nodded. He was astonished this fat bastard even remembered him. He stepped inside the carriage and sat down, closing the door behind him.

"Your message?" Murata asked bluntly. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Hoh? Straight to the point already?"

The noble stroked his mustache between his fingers.

"There's been an increase in demand for boars."

Murata could almost feel a vein pop. Yeah, that was just another way to say it, right? Nevertheless, he briefly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

He cleared his throat and made a fake smile, "Is that all?."

'I'm gonna punch this prick I swear.'

The noble let out a small chuckle and made a condescending smile, taking a sip of wine inside a golden cup; he nodded.

"Yes, you may leave now. Oh, and one more thing!"

Murata had stood up and was about to leave when the noble continued.

"##############"

"...What?"

The noble had opened his mouth, but instead of words coming out, it was static—like the static you'd hear from a TV. Obviously, this bewildered Murata.

"Eh? Do I really have to say it again for you? ############!"

But still, that static appeared, as if it was censoring his words.

"….Alright…!" Creeped out, Murata decided to just go with it and quickly left the carriage.

He let out a sigh of relief, feeling free from the presence of that pig. He could swear that he smelled like one too. He walked back towards the village and past the knight without giving him any attention, which only served to seemingly piss off the man more. But Murata was too stuck up in his own thoughts to care. He glanced back at the carriage once more, a curious frown forming before he continued walking through the village.

'Was I just imagining that? No, it felt like his words were being censored by something. I can pretty much confirm there's a system that dictates this world, I mean, I have it in front of my face after all. So what the hell did he actually say?' He raised a finger to his chin, tapping lightly as he tried to piece together the strange situation. If the world itself was suppressing certain information, then it meant there were restrictions in place—limits on what could be communicated or understood. But why?

"Whatever," He shrugged. "It's not like I can do anything about it right now."

Just as he finished his thoughts, he grunted as he suddenly felt something jump onto his back. He staggered forward, nearly losing his balance.

"Aniki!" A familiar voice resounded right by his ear.

"Audren, that hurts!" Murata winced, a sharp pain coming from his back where the kid's small hands had latched onto him. He turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of Audren's wide grin, his legs wrapped tightly around Murata's waist like a koala.

"Sorry, I got too excited when I saw you! You were talking to that scary man, so I couldn't jump on you then." Audren giggled and loosened his grip to make sure he wasn't accidentally choking his brother.

Murata let out a sigh.

"Yeah, well, next time give me a heads-up before you tackle me, alright?" He muttered.

Audren nodded enthusiastically, his face beaming. "Okay!"

Audren hopped down from Murata's back, his small feet landing on the ground. Murata turned, wincing slightly whilst he massaged the sore spot where his brother had latched on as he took a look into Audren's stats. Ever since the stampede, Audren's stats had significantly increased, though he didn't know whether to count the experience he had gained from the stampede or the awakening for that. Now, his stats were only a little less than Murata's.

[[Audren]]

[[ <Class: 0>]]

[[Level: 3]]

[[Strength: 14.20

Speed: 7.4

Stamina: 8.10

Durability: 10.4

Endurance: 10.9

Intelligence: 3.2

Wisdom: 2.2 ]]

[[Skills: Prime Potential(?)]]

He was even beating him in certain stats. He was only level three, yet their stats were so close. Murata could only theorize that Audren's class had a hidden effect, which allowed him to grow faster compared to normal people.

'He's such a cheat code, its not fair!' Murata complained internally.

"Aniki?"

Audren's voice cut through Murata's thoughts, snapping him out of his internal conscious, "Yeah?"

"How can I get strong like you?"

Murata blinked, caught off guard by the question. He glanced back at the stat window hovering in his peripheral vision, then looked at Audren standing in front of him. There was no denying it—Audren's potential was unprecedented. With just a little guidance, he could surpass him in no time, and become a better ally. A brotherly duo did sound fun.

He smirked, a wide grin forming on his face, "So you want to get stronger, huh?"