The Things that We Could Do

Afenos' point of view

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"Goodbye, Arthur… I hope you return and defend our village… We need you."

My father told Arthur, who was already leaving the house. That adventurer leapt towards the window and dashed straight to the woods without telling us his goodbyes.

Father closed the door where Arthur stayed and remained looking on the ground. He refused to look at us even for a moment after seeing Arthur leave this village. He was the only adventurer left inside this village, with the other soldiers already sleeping on their graves below ground.

And yet, he left us inside this village without giving us any notice to return. Arthur even said it himself that he planned to venture into the world. His actions led to our town becoming defenceless against the horde of monsters, as they plotted to attack soon.

"Why is every adventurer like this? They all just cared about their own goals! Why don't they save this village!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that Arthur could still hear my voice.

However, no matter how hard I shouted inside my house, my words never reached the man with the holy sword. Even Rain did not stop me from cursing Arthur. She also felt the same way as my heart was crumbling into pieces.

Today was the last day we heard about Arthur. It was up to us to defend this already depressed village. But I knew I could bite off more than I could chew… it was already the beginning of the end of this town.

I stormed off from the living room and went outside to take some fresh air. The angry footsteps followed me over to the gates, wondering where I would go. Although I knew all too well that I can never get Arthur back in this place, I still had to defend this village.

"Arthur did not even teach the villagers about the system…" I murmured to myself while walking on the pavement.

Arthur planned to unlock the system to the villagers and train them with it. However, because of his absence, he buried that idea underground. But maybe I had the shovel to pick it back up.

"Hey, it's Afenos!"

"Do you want to play with us?"

"Afenos, how is your father doing?"

Dozens of villagers greeted me as I walked past their houses. Although I was the son of a chief or something like an adventurer, I had my fair share of defeating the ogre with the help of that damned Arthur. Word got out, and these villagers treated me as a hero of some sort.

And then a light bulb flickered above my head.

'If I can use the system, maybe these people could use it too?!'

I stepped on an elevated platform and spoke my fill. "Hello! Can everyone gather all people who are adults! I'd like to have a word with them…"

All the townspeople had question marks raised above their heads. But they complied with my demand and instructed their relatives to meet me on the stage. I browsed through the crowd and spotted fifty bunches of them standing in front of me.

It was not enough to stop multiple ogres, but enough to train them for the incoming battle.

I rounded every villager and motioned my hands to catch their attention. Once their eyes glued themselves to me, I opened my mouth and explained.

"Arthur… left the village. That adventurer told me he was going to train somewhere far from this town. We can't rely on him to save this village. All of us should do what we can to force those monsters away from our home!"

I gazed around the mob and met them in the eyes. Each of them had various expressions carved on their faces. But all the villagers had something in common…

They all wondered about the reasons Arthur left the village. These people believed in him he would save this town and protect its citizens. However, we had thought wrong.

I did not want to tell them that. It was better to spread some false hope rather than losing it all.

I waved my hands and activated my system. With a high-pitched sound, the window appeared before me. That screen showed me the current level that I have. And I was already level 5, with decent status points and statistical power.

All I had to do was remember the things that Arthur told me to activate my system… I had to share that information with the crowd before me.

"Everyone! Copy the things that I will do! Please believe that you can see a window in front of you! There is a screen that you can activate that gives you bonus power and mana! Everyone can become a mage and cast spells like the court magicians and the knights! We can fight the monsters using this shared power!"

I stretched my hand and opened my palm while activating a spell that I became accustomed to using. A small pillar of ice emerged from my hands, chilling the nearby temperature of the village. It was Arthur that explained to me about these things. However, I could not grasp everything he had taught me.

Everyone present before me gaped their mouths open as they witnessed a kid like me wielding magic. All the children watching from afar had lights glittering in their eyes. Even the adults were in front of me found hope in their eyes, wishing they could do the things that I can to defend this village.

After a few seconds, the villagers heeded my explanation and focused their eyes on the palm. They spread their palms and glued their eyes at their empty hands, expecting something to appear.

However, despite my instructions, the system did not show itself in front of them.

'I must be doing something wrong…' I gasped, hoping that I could find better teaching material to show these villagers about the system.

"Hey! Nothing's working, Afenos!"

"Maybe what Afenos' saying is not real…"

"Do we even have the chance to beat those monsters with these powers…? But I can't feel anything."

As time passed by, all these people slowly lost their hopes in my words. But that changed almost in an instant after I heard a voice behind the group of people.

"Please listen to my brother! He means no harm to everyone. You just need to imagine the elements in your hands. Let the magic flow through your veins. Believe that you can do it no matter how hard it is! BELIEVE!"

After saying her speech, Rain extended both of her arms and conjured two various spells. The ability that she summoned was not even ice! It was a combination of two elements, which were a rare skill taught to elite mages.

A ball of flames emerged from my sister's left hand, while a stream of water came out of nowhere from the other. She created a spiralling display of those two spells at once in front of the crowd.

After a few seconds, Rain dispelled everything, forcing the two elements to wither back to its original form. She flashed me a smile and gave me an okay sign, telling me that everything was going to be okay.

"Listen. The key point here is to believe you can do it. Magic comes from the power of the mind. If you believe you could use magic, arcane could come to you."

The two of us waited for a few moments and watched the crowd do their thing. It wasn't before long that a farmer moved the ground and created a crater beside his feet. Soon, dozens of children watching in the distance created fire, water, wind, and earth in thin air. And then, most of the people could use magic.

Some villagers who couldn't conjure spells activated unique spells. They were just like me. These people could enhance their bodies using the arcane gathering around them, coating their kicks and fists with magic. These people formed armour made of pebbles, while others made their punches burst into flames.

Within a few minutes, all of them could manipulate magic! The best part had yet to come as the villagers jerked backwards from the ground. Each of them raised their hands and shouted in unison.

"Afenos, what's this?!"

"Someone's talking inside my head!"

"What are these rectangular windows?"

"What are these boxes transparent?"

"Am I sick, Afenos?"

All of them reacted after finally witnessing the system! These people felt frightened at first. But once I showed them the ropes, everyone gave an open ear to me. Rain walked to my side and gave me a nudge to my shoulder.

"You did it, Afenos! With this, people can defend themselves against the horde."

"Yeah, Rain. I really did it. We might not need Arthur after all!," I replied.

Arthur proved to be a worthy adventurer, but he was not the hero I deserved. Although he saved us from the ogre we fought before, I did not consider him as the one who protected my family.

But thanks to his knowledge about the system, my hatred for him had depleted to the ground.