The Birth of a Villain

After being overwritten by an incident that took almost everything from him, Rigid spends his days running and hiding from the four main characters who were looking for him. The people of the town sometimes help him secretly by supplying him with food and medicine. They only do that because of their guilt towards him.

If only Rigid could leave Avantel and go to another country, he might be able to safely escape from those four main characters. However, he can't do that because only the main characters can cross the country's borders.

That way, Rigid could only run and hide in places he already knew around the town. Among all the places he used to hide, the place he used the most was the large rock that had his name carved on it.

Rigid would usually sit on that rock at night while staring at the sky blankly as he remembered the memories he made in that place with his parents. Even though the memories he remembers are about joy and happiness, he always brings tears to his eyes every time he does it.

"If only those who are called Gods, Goddesses, Devils, or the like really existed, I might be able to ask for their help to change this broken world," Rigid mumbled to himself as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I would give anything to them even if it was my own life."

As he said that, a shooting star appeared in the starless sky. He who witnessed that immediately closed his eyes and made a wish. "It's the first time in twenty years of my life I've seen a shooting star that's said to be only a myth, I will take this as a sign that you who are called Gods, Goddesses, Devils, and the like really exist and I hope you will give me a hand to change this broken world, I will give you anything in return even if it is my own life."

By the time Rigid finished his words, the sky that was originally empty began to be filled with shooting stars. He who saw it could not believe what he saw and thought it was a mere hallucination that arose because of his desperation about getting revenge on those who had killed his parents. He rubbed his eyes and the shooting stars he saw earlier disappeared.

He couldn't help but laugh at himself. He laughed as loud as he could, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that blew through the trees in the forest. "Ha! Am I finally becoming insane?" Rigid mumbled to himself as he sighed. He lay down on the rock and closed his eyes. He gradually fell asleep and dreamed about a memory where he and his parents celebrated his 18th birthday.

He and his parents sat facing each other at the dining table in the dining room. There is a cake made of potatoes and three plates of it on the table. They happily ate the potato cakes while talking to each other.

"We're sorry that we can only give you a potato cake on your 18th birthday son," Rigid's mother said. "We should have celebrated your adulthood fancier, but we don't have enough money to do so."

"Come on Sena..., don't make that sad face on this joyful day," Rigid's father said as he looked at Rigid. "Your potato cake is pretty good as usual, wasn't that right, Rigid?"

"Yes mother, what father said is true," Rigid said as he ate a piece of potato cake that was on his plate. "This year's potato cake is even better than last year's."

Because of the praise from her husband and son, Rigid's mother felt happy and proud of herself. "I'm glad both of you enjoyed this year's potato cake," Rigid's mother said as she ate a piece of potato cake that was on her plate. "I managed to smuggle some milk and eggs from the main character Leona's kitchen to make this year's potato cake."

Hearing what his mother just said, Rigid stopped chewing his piece of potato cake and looked at his mother seriously. "What did mother just say earlier? I didn't hear it wrong right?" Rigid asked as he put the piece of potato cake back on his plate. "Don't mother already know it's dangerous? You might be killed for doing that!"

Rigid's mother who saw Rigid was worried about her only replied with a smile. She held Rigid's hand and looked into his eyes. "My son, you don't have to worry about that because my friends also helped me after they heard that I would be celebrating your 18th birthday," Rigid's mother said as she held Rigid's cheek. "I wanted to at least give you something nice to eat on your 18th birthday."

Rigid sighed. He didn't know what he had to say to his dear mother and could only smile. He went back to eating his piece of potato cake, enjoying every bite because he didn't want to waste his mother's hard work on it.

On the other hand, Rigid's father took out a sealed bottle of wine from under the dining table. He placed it on the dining table with a smile on his face. "I thought only I would do something reckless, I didn't expect your mother to do it too," Rigid's father said as he stroked Rigid's head. "I secretly smuggled this wine from the main character Leona's warehouse with my friends."

Rigid held his forehead in disbelief at what his father had done. "I might be a little relieved that mother only smuggled milk and eggs, but father...," Rigid said as he looked into his father's eyes. "What are you sneaking this wine in the first place for? We never even drink any type of it in our entire life."

"Yes, you get the point son," Rigid's father said as he opened the sealed bottle of wine. "Because we've never drank it in our lives, I want you to be able to drink it when you're 18."

"I'll get glasses for the three of us," Rigid's mother said as she stood up and walked into the kitchen to get glasses.

As Rigid's mother went into the kitchen, Rigid's father came closer to him and whispered. "One day when you're sad while we're already gone, try to drink a glass or two of wine to calm you down."

Rigid suddenly woke up with the sunlight shining into his eyes. "What a weird dream," Rigid mumbled to himself as he sat down on the rock.

He looked beside him and found a black robe with five gold coins on it. "Are the people in town so rich that they gave me this?" Rigid mumbled to himself as he check the robe and gold coins. "They should have to use these gold coins to repair their-"

A piece of paper fell from the robe. Rigid took it and checked the paper. He saw that there was handwriting on the paper. "You have to go to Carrion which is far to the west of Avantel," Rigid said as he read the paper. "It's a lawless town led by the main character Dave, you'll be safe there as long as you don't show your face on the surface."

Rigid folded the paper into small pieces and tore them up. He threw them up and they were carried away by a strong gust of wind. 'I think they said that I have to go away from their town because they can't help me anymore,' Rigid thought as he put on the robe. 'Well, it's fine since I shouldn't have gotten any help from them in the first place because they'll place themselves in a danger.'

Rigid jumped off the rock. He pulled out his rusty sword that stuck behind the rock and started his journey toward Carrion. Throughout his journey, he met no obstacles and made it to Carrion in just one week. On the other hand, he was running low on supplies and only had five gold coins that the people of the town had given him.

'Finally, I got here after a week-long,' Rigid thought as he stepped into the town gate which have no guards at night. 'The people of the town said that I'll be safe as long as I don't show my face on the surface, is there some kind of underground part of the town?'

Rigid looked around and he saw a blond-haired man who was definitely rare in Avantel. He followed the man secretly and saw him enter a rickety old house.

'I found a suspicious blonde-haired man, should I follow him or not?' Rigid asked himself as he looked around. 'Maybe I should follow him carefully because he could be a clue to me about the underground part of this town.'

Rigid made up his mind and entered the rickety old house. As soon as he entered it, he realized that it was a bar that was quite luxurious despite its outer appearance. The people inside the bar stared intently at him for a moment, but they immediately returned to what they were doing moments after.

Rigid looked around and he didn't find the blonde man he had followed earlier. Instead, he was fixated on the smell of wine stinging his nose and remembered what his father said in his dream last night.

'Should I try drinking a glass or two of wine like what my father said in my dream?' Rigid thought as he sat on a chair in front of the bartender's counter. 'The price isn't cheap, but I might be able to wash away my sadness like what father said.'

"What can I do for you, sir?" A bartender approached Rigid with a smile on his face.

"I want a glass of strong wine," Rigid said as he handed a gold coin to the bartender. "You can give me the change later."

"I'll make it right away sir," the bartender said as he started doing his flair in front of Rigid. Each of his movements looks so shrewd and beautiful that makes Rigid amazed.

The bartender gave a glass of cocktail he made to Rigid with a smile on his face without knowing the fact that Rigid wasn't strong against it. "Here's your cocktail sir, please enjoy," the bartender said as he turned around and walk away.

'I carelessly ordered a strong wine and this one came,' Rigid thought as he observed the cocktail in front of him. 'The bartender called it a cocktail and this is the first time I've heard of it.'

Without a second thought, Rigid drank the cocktail in one gulp. 'I don't feel anything, maybe-'

Suddenly Rigid felt his head spinning although it is not. He felt that way because of the effects of drinking a cocktail with such a high alcohol content. He held his forehead as his vision started to blur. He vaguely saw a female bartender walking towards him carrying a tray with two glasses of wine.

"I'll give you one of these two glasses of wine for free," the female bartender said as he approached Rigid. "The red one will grant you incomparable strength with the consequence that you will slowly lose your memory, while the blue one will give you incomparable intelligence with the consequence that you will lose your sanity."

Ignoring what the female bartender said, Rigid drank both glasses of wine assuming that they are water because of his blurry vision. Not long after he drank both of them, he fainted on the spot.

The bartender who made the cocktail come back to the bartender's counter and saw Rigid who had fainted alone with his empty glass of cocktail. Realizing that, he didn't waste the opportunity and forced Rigid to rest in his house to charge him a high price later.

The bright sunlight pierced Rigid's eyes and woke him up. He sat on the bed and vaguely saw a screen message in front of him.

[Congratulations, you gain access to the system and all restrictions have been lifted]

'My head is still spinning, am I still hallucinating?' Rigid thought as he read the screen message. He tried to focus and make sure that the screen message he saw was not a hallucination. 'Wait, is this for real?'

Rigid pinched himself and came back to his senses. Even so, he could still see the screen message that appeared in front of him which indicates that it is not a hallucination.

Rigid's chest was pounding with joy and he made an evil smile. He chuckled and clenched his fists with all his might. "I don't know what happened to me, but this..., this might be a new beginning for me so I can slaughter those fuckers who killed my parents."

As Rigid mumbled to himself, a black vortex appeared on the ceiling of the room he was in. The strong wind that came from the vortex messed up the room and there was a figure that slowly descended from the vortex.