Let's Get It [1]

Lami was once again in the forest that was like a home to him.

"Let's sleep first," he said as he drowsily pulled the sleeping bag out of his ring.

After getting inside the sleeping bag, he instantly dozed off.

***

"It is not going well," a deep, haggard voice resounded inside the tent. "More and more are dying every single day."

The situation worsened with each passing day. The years-long war showed no signs of ending.

Mothers cried blood as they sent their sons to certain death, and the fathers were already dead.

Clang!

The man opened the door of the large tent, taking in the heartbreaking scene around him. Corpses of the Awakened piled into small mountains, with rivers of blood flowing through them.

The crimson sky rippled like an enormous wave, creating ear-piercing screeches. 

It was the rupture that still hadn't been suppressed. Instead of uniting to fight the Crazed, humans had found more important things to do.

Stealing technology and resources from other races.

Greed.

It was the sole reason for this endless, painful war, but none of the sides were innocent. Some demons abused the war, using it to their advantage to find contractors. To destroy humankind.

"Those bastards," he muttered, his star-like eyes burning with anger and sorrow. "They'll pay for this.

The young man stepped out of the tent and onto the battlefield, walking over the lifeless bodies of his comrades. He had known some of them well, but now they were all dead.

The current front was bathed in utter silence, the only sound being his tired breathing.

"Why did you bring me to this godforsaken world, you bastard?" he muttered, struggling to hold back his tears.

Demons, humans, and elves—everyone was suffering from this needless war.

All they could do was keep fighting, hoping that the humans would give up their relentless assault and the demons wouldn't seek revenge.

"...There will be another big attack on the western city tomorrow. The demons want to end things there. Don't let them breach the last line of defenses." A soft, soothing voice echoed in his mind, calming yet urgent.

After a pause, she continued, 

"There will be hundreds of Masters, Grandmasters, and a couple of Monarchs. If we want to stop this, it will be in that battle. Stay safe."

"...Alright, thank you. I'll inform the others. You stay safe too, please." The man's lips curled upwards ever so slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too," the sweet voice replied before disappearing from his mind.

'There's always good in the bad. Who would've thought I'd meet her in this cursed war?

Their first encounter had been nothing but fierce. They had fought each other to the death, unaware that their ideals were the same:

To stop the war.

To end the suffering.

To halt the despair.

And to create a new world by destroying the true perpetrators.

Those who were dying were merely victims. The guilty ones were those who continued sacrificing innocent lives for their own agendas.

This was their dream.

The man had found his soulmate in the middle of a deadly war, just as his soul was on the verge of breaking.

The war had begun fifty-three years ago, and he had been sent to this hell only seven years ago. In that time, he had accomplished unthinkable feats with his comrades. 

All three of them had become Monarchs during this time.

The man walked for ten more minutes before stopping just short of the hill's crest. Two figures stood still, watching the ominous sunset.

One was a bulky man, the other tall. Their faces were stiff, hardened by the things they had witnessed in recent years.

"We have new information," the man said, stepping closer to the two figures. "There will be a new attack on the western city, bigger than ever. Probably the last one. We need to move today."

He paused, standing just behind the two Monarchs. Both of them turned their heads when they heard his voice.

"Inform the others. We'll finish things there." 

"..."

The three heroes stood in silence, watching the sunset with focused eyes.

Every road had led them to this moment.

"...I'll finally be able to go back." The bulky man interrupted the silence with a small smile on his face. 

Returning to where he came from...

That dream was the solace he needed to survive in this hell.

Despite the grim darkness surrounding them, their dreams still burned brightly, fueling their determination.

The tall man desperately longed for a simple life, far from the horrors of war and the stench of blood. All he craved was the serenity of peace.

On the other hand, the man had aspirations for the world they now resided in. He dreamed of all Awakened living together in harmony. 

He had grown tired of the bloodshed and the suffering.

'When the war ends, there will be a new beginning for me and others.'

He wanted the children to learn how to live, leaving war behind while still being taught to be strong.

'A new beginning,' he mused.

A new beginning, a new era. An era without war, without suffering. A time of peace.

The new generation would be the centerpiece of change.

"...Nexus," he said, a solemn look on his face.

"That's a terrible name."

The tall man looked at him dejectedly, while their last subordinate nodded in agreement. 

"Is it?" Shrugging, the man dived deep into his thoughts...

A place where children would learn to fight for themselves while also learning how to live. A place without segregation. 

It was his dream.

The one dream he would make work before his inescapable death arrived. He knew what awaited him:

Betrayal.

Yet he could do nothing to change it. He would die one way or another.

'It will be on you… Lami.'

***

"So this is it. But what is this feeling I've been having since I woke up?"

Lami felt something was off—a nagging sense that he had forgotten an important task. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite grasp what it was. 

It was a knot.

Standing in front of the F-rank zone, he tried to force the memory back, but nothing surfaced. With a sigh, he brushed it off and moved on.

Before arriving, he had resupplied and purchased ointments, bandages, and a special first-aid kit to treat injuries. He had also picked up a few other items to aid him in battle.

"Status."

The ball-like device projected a holographic display, showing Lami's information.

=======[Status Window]=======

Name: Lami Stern

Age: 16

Year Rank: 1543

Class: 

﹂N/A: Apprentice Rank needed. 

Will(s): 

﹂N/A

====[Rank Stats]====

Rank: Initiate

Strength: Tier-1

Stamina: Tier-1

Agility: Tier-1

Mana: Tier-2

Control: Tier-1

====[Personal Stats]====

Perception: Tier-5

Intelligence: Tier-6

Charm: Tier-6

====[Talents & Techniques]====

Elements:

﹂N/A

Specialization: 

﹂Illusion [Mental]

Manuals: 

﹂Swift Strike (65%) <Tier-2 >

Description: [Refine the basics of your swordsmanship. Learn the art of killing.]

Skills:

﹂Mana Perception <Innate Skill>

Description: [The user can perceive the mana emanating from both living beings and inanimate objects.]

Spells:

﹂My World, My Rules <Developed Spell>

Description: [The user can place living beings, including themselves, into an illusion where they are the sole ruler. The illusion's effectiveness depends on the target's mental resilience and the user's proficiency in this Skill.]

====[Relics]====

﹂Earrings of Pathfinder

Description: [Assists with mana replenishment by absorbing a portion of the freely flowing mana from the atmosphere.]

﹂Blood Katana

Description: N/A

==========================

"A in both Intelligence and Charm. I may be the chosen one." Lami chuckled, brushing his messy hair back with his hand. "Too bad they don't affect my rank." 

Personal stats and Rank Stats were independent of each other. While he needed to improve his Rank Stats to become a Beginner, Personal Stats didn't do anything apart from showing the user's level.

"I wonder how the Pocket calculates the Personal Stats. It is quite peculiar."

No one understood how the Pockets truly functioned, except for Aurelio, who was now gone. Even while he was alive, he never disclosed the secret behind them, leaving many with even more questions.

Lami also sought to uncover the truth behind the mystery.

"Let's set up the camping area first," Lami said, summoning his tent from the ring. "If I want to become a Beginner before school starts, I need to improve at least two of my stats. It doesn't seem likely, though."

Rising between the ranks wasn't something that could happen after four weeks of training, so Lami didn't have much hope. The real question in his mind was his Will not being detected. 

It was strange.

'Need to add a description to katana too..'

Unlike the earrings, which were registered by someone else priorly, his weapon given by his mom wasn't on the database.

Apart from the Core ranks, the Academy couldn't access any of the stats, so he didn't really care about registering his weapon to the Pocket and binding it to his mana core. 

Registering the Relics to the Pocket meant that only the owner of the item could use them unless it had been unbound. 

Pockets worked basically as a transmitter, binding and unbinding Relics to someone's Mana Core.

Lending an item to someone else was possible for a short time if the owner was present.

Earrings of Pathfinder being in Lami's ownership meant they had been unbound by their previous owner.

Lami didn't know, but he assumed it wasn't his mother or father as it wasn't mentioned by any of them. He would find out sometime.

He started setting up his tent diligently, ensuring the area was safe from any attacks. He also installed razor-wire coils around the perimeter of his tent.

He set up his campsite on the riverbed, knowing there was no risk of Crazed emerging from the water in this zone.

"Map."

A detailed map of the area appeared on the Pocket, and Lami began marking the areas he wanted to avoid. Getting closer to higher-rank zones wasn't a good idea.

…

Lami summoned his Blood Katana and walked through the imposing oak trees. With each step cracking the dry branches, notifying the residents of his arrival. 

He walked for about ten minutes without encountering any Crazed, but his intuition told him something was about to happen.

And it was right.

Crunch!

Hearing a few steps behind him, Lami slowly turned and unsheathed his katana. Before him stood a wolf-like Crazed, drooling with eyes darting madly. 

"A Vilehound? This has to be their territory."

Vilehounds weren't exceptionally strong, but their pack mentality made them dangerous for the Awakened. 

Lami could easily defeat them one-on-one, though. 

That was his plan, conditioning his fights.

The Hatchling shook its head and darted toward Lami. Expecting the situation to unfold like that, Lami straightened his back and rotated his hips to the left with his left foot behind him. 

Wooosh!

A fast and deadly strike made its way to the Vilehound's neck, but the abomination tilted its body at the last second and jumped into the air with glistening madness in its eyes. 

Lami didn't panic. He took a step back, calculating where the Hatchling would fall, and swung his katana elegantly.

Splash!

Blood splattered as Lami's sword struck the Hatchling's neck with speed that was hard to follow even with his own crimson eyes. 

The entire fight was guided by his instincts, honed during a week of training.

The abomination convulsed on the ground and died soon after. Lami had claimed his first kill.

"What is this?"

As the Vilehound died, a surge of mana flowed into his body, refreshing him. It was a soothing feeling.

"This? Is it because of the earrings?"

Before resupplying, Lami had visited a tattoo shop to get his ears pierced to put on the earrings, which felt strange, but he kept them on because of their description.

Lami had instantly understood the immense value of these earrings after reading the description, but the ability to absorb mana from his kills surprised him as well.

However, this development changed all of his plans. Lami was in desperate need of power, and absorbing more mana meant his growth rate would increase. 

All he needed was to become slightly more reckless and fight as many enemies as possible.

"I shouldn't get too cocky, though. If I die a pointless death, everything will be in vain."

Lami stretched his arms and started walking deeper into the forest. He couldn't die, not until he finished what he needed to do, but he still decided to take a risk. 

Crunch! Crunch!

Groooowl~

As Lami delved deeper, the shadows around him grew darker, and multiple Vilehounds emerged, encircling him.

"Ten of them. This might hurt," Lami said in a serious tone, his eyes envisioning possible outcomes.

And out of all those outcomes, none of them were him leaving the area unscathed.