Chapter 3 Prologue III First Mission

Chapter 3: The Price of the Decision

While I was evaluating my situation in the warehouse, my eyes were fixed on the beast man, a colossal warrior who, despite his weakened state, maintained an imposing presence.

The rawness of his wounds was disturbing: both amputated arms, deep burns marked his skin like war scars, and his shattered legs condemned him to immobility.

But what most captured my attention was the determination in a fierce glow that had not been extinguished by the pain.

"If you help me get out of here," he whispered, his voice echoing with a contained force, "I promise you that I will help you escape too. I have nothing to lose, brat, much less her."

Following the direction of his gaze, I met a young beast, fragile and pale.

His eyes, blinded by some past tragedy, were veiled by a grayish opacity.

Although his skeletal figure and the wounds that marked his body told stories of suffering, his presence radiated a purity and vulnerability that contrasted with the brutality of the place.

My mind was divided.

The system projected a message into my peripheral vision:

Error. Error.

Inproductive scenario.

If you decide to continue, you will be punished depending on the severity of the error.

The warning froze me. I had never heard of a penalty for causing an error in the game, and my instinct screamed at me that I should be cautious. But the voice of the beast man resounded again in the darkness, this time more pressing.

"I have nothing to live for if she doesn't survive. Do the right thing, boy."

An unbearable pressure accumulated in my chest.

I couldn't just ignore that plea. With determination, I ignored the system and went to a nearby table where I saw the keys I was looking for.

Without making a sound, I took them and approached the cages, releasing the young beast first.

Suddenly, one of the thieves saw me. "Stop! What do you think you're doing?" He shouted as he raised a broken wand that emitted a flickering red light, clearly ready to attack.

His companions reacted immediately, unsheathing daggers with a threatening speed and heading towards me.

But it was too late.

The beast man, now free of his chains, roared with a primitive fury.

In the blink of an eye, the three thieves were torn to pieces.

Their screams resounded throughout the cellar before being silent, their bodies reduced to unrecognizable fragments.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and dust, and for the first time since my reincarnation, I felt a deep, almost paralyzing fear.

The beast men who were still prisoners began to come out of their cages, amazed by the speed and brutality of the rescue.

Then, the warrior's voice broke the silence.

"Are you okay, brat?" He asked me. His tone was softer now, as if the storm of violence had appeased something inside him.

I could only nod, still shaking from the adrenaline.

However, the beast man thanked me in a low voice, and ordered two of his companions to carry the young woman.

His green eyes and the golden ones of the beast man met for a moment, a silent exchange of promises and hopes.

Although she was clearly exhausted, the young woman managed to murmur a weak "thank you" before falling back into unconsciousness.

There was no time for more. Quick steps and noises coming from the hallway were heard, and someone shouted from the outside, "Quick, check the third floor!"

The beast man turned to the door, his expression hardening again.

"Those who can fight, with me. The others, escape to the agreed place," he ordered in a firm voice, before turning to me. "How did you get in here, kid?"

Without hesitation, I replied, "Up."

He nodded with approval. and With an accurate and brutal kick, he destroyed part of the roof, opening an escape route.

The beast men began to climb quickly towards the exit, and I, taking advantage of my ability to improve my physique, followed them.

As I ascended, I observed the chaos that was unleashed below.

The remaining thieves were preparing to load inside the cellar, but the beast men took the lead.

From the destroyed roof, the beast men and I managed to sneak into the darkness of the night, but the sounds of the battle echoed throughout the cellar. I went down to the alley behind the warehouse, my heart beating hard, trying to stay calm while the others disappeared in different directions, each looking for their own salvation.

However, my relief was ephemeral. I hadn't even reached the corner when a bright light emerged from the warehouse.

I turned just in time to see how a group of guards, dressed in black and white uniforms, broke into the place.

They were the guardians of the surface, the police forces of Elyndor, clearly alerted by the chaos in the cellar.

"Quick, secure the perimeter!" ordered an authoritative voice. It was Beatriz, the commander of the squadron.

His figure was imposing, and the determination in his expression made it clear that he would not tolerate mistakes.

With her blond hair gathered in a ponytail and her tight uniform, Beatriz radiated a mixture of authority and respect.

Next to him, Elly, his apprentice, watched nervously. "Commander," Elly said, "I'm sorry to involve you in this, especially at our farewell party."

Beatriz smiled calmly at him.

"Duty is duty, Elly.

There is no better way to say goodbye than by ensuring peace in the city, don't you think?" Elly nodded, although the concern was still marked on her face.

Elly remembered how a few days ago Beatriz told them that she would leave the guard and would be a teacher at school no one questioned her because all those who served with her had high esteem especially Elly who being a recruit was very clumsy and fearful but Beatriz showed her that she was not as she believed and taking her as her disciple, but the day they prepared a farewell party it was reported that someone had infiltrated Beatriz's room managing to escape and steal something important for her.

To which the party had to be canceled and so after a few days we managed to reach this point.

Meanwhile, the guards began to check the warehouse.

What they found inside left them dumbfounded: shattered walls, bodies of thieves torn to pieces, and a small group of beast men among them.

The brutality of the scene was evident, and the surface guards closed their eyes for a moment, as if trying to ignore what they saw.

"I can't believe something like this will happen just before we move," one of the guards murmured as he inspected the remains. "This is a disaster."

Another guard nodded, his face hardened.

"We should never have trusted them to handle something so delicate if we had acted earlier maybe we could have caught them and freed the beast men before the massacre."

Beatriz, upon hearing the comments, turned to her men. "I know this situation is difficult, but we must keep our composure.

No matter what we think, we are still guards and we must do our job. Now, let's focus on securing the area and finding those responsible."

At that moment, one of the underworld guards came running towards Beatriz. "Commander! We have a problem.

Something happened in the warehouse. We need all units to head there immediately."

Without wasting time, Beatriz led her squad to the warehouse.

When they arrived, the panorama was even more bleak than they imagined.

The treasures that were once carefully stored were now scattered all over the place, as if a storm had swept everything away.

The mutilated bodies of the thieves lay in pools of blood, while the beast men, wounded by torture, seemed to fight until the last.

Beatriz walked around the place with an analytical look. "This was not a simple escape. Here was something else... something we must discover."

Meanwhile, I, having narrowly escaped the chaos, walked away as fast as I could.

I made sure to stay in the shadows, avoiding the guards who patrolled the streets in search of suspects. Finally, after what seemed like hours, I arrived at a safe area and stopped to catch my breath.

That's when I decided to check my status window.

The system projected the message it expected:

Mission Completed: The Thieves' Treasure

However, a new message appeared, one that I did not expect:

Notification: Error. Error.

Due to user contradictions, your statistics have been affected.

With a knot in my stomach, I opened my status window to see the changes:

Current Status:

Name: Kaelen Silvermoon

Age: 16 years old

Strength: D

Agility: D

Intelligence: C

Magic: C

Luck: G

I felt a wave of weakness take over my body.

My skills, which until that moment had been my greatest advantage, slowly vanished.

What was once a source of power now became a burden. All I could do was sigh, resigned to my destiny.

With heavy steps, I began to walk towards the exit of the underworld, each step accompanied by the feeling that my body was becoming more and more fragile.

The darkness that surrounded me was not only physical, but also a reflection of my uncertainty about the future.

After all, the price for disobeying the system had been quite high.

This is the end of chapter 3.

I will be posting the chapters twice a week.

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