"Bro... why are you so mad?" I raised both hands innocently. "It's barely morning. Come on, man. Turn that frown upside down."
Rolf answered by charging straight at me.
"...Yeah, figured."
I slipped to the side just as his blade came crashing down, pulling Barry's empty scabbard from my Inventory.
Clang!.
The sword slid cleanly into the scabbard.
Rolf's eyes widened.
"You can use magic?!"
"Hah. No."
His expression only became more confused.
"Then what the hell was that?!"
"An inventory."
"Inventory?, your telling me you've been faking the fact that you can't use magic?!."
The blade hissed through the freezing air meeting my scabbard.
"Uh whatever you say" I shrugged .
Steel rang through the mountain pass.
Rolf's attacks were fast.
Too fast, that mana output is crazy, every swing forced me back another step through the snow.
Left.
Right.
Duck.
Block.
The empty scabbard shuddered every time his sword struck it.
"Stop running!"
"I'm not running."
I hopped backward.
"It what we call strategically retreating, dumbass."
I reached into my Inventory, Pulling out several bobm, throwing it at him. "Avalanche here we go!." He didn't ask to participate but who cares.
The bombs struck Rolf before falling in the snow-covered slope.
"Huh?"
For one heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then
KRAAAAK!
The mountain answered.
A deafening crack split the air as the snowpack fractured. What had looked like an ordinary hillside suddenly lurched forward.
The entire mountainside collapsed.
"Shit—!"
Snow that had been quietly piling onto the steep slope finally gave way.
White.
Nothing but white.
The world disappeared beneath a roaring tide of snow, he couldn't tell which way was up anymore.
His ears rang.
His lungs burned.
Somehow...
He survived.
He staggered to his feet inside a forest of shattered pines.
"..."
Rock falling obstructing his hearing.
A footstep he can't quite grasp the location.
His grip tightened around his sword.
Crunch.
A footstep.
Behind him.
He spun instantly.
The sword thrust forward
Straight inside the scabbard.
"Yo."
Before he could react, I drove my elbow into his stomach.
THUD.
The air blasted from his lungs, "Arghh!" resulting his finger loosening.
I twisted the sword free from his grasp in one smooth motion, the weight settled comfortably in my hand.
"So this was my sword." I turned it over, admiring the blade. "Color me shocked."
Transparent numbers flickered into view above Rolf's head.
STR- 4
SPD - 4
DUR - 4
AGI - 5
INT - 8
Mana - 49
"That mana of yours is no joke really, I thought the explosion I got from your friend, would've gotten you."
He stared.
"You been- you've been fooling everyone this entire time."
"Nah."
"Don't fuck with me, since when have you learn to fight like this... all this year watching you, have been the most uneventful moment of my life, you were like a golem with a set rule."
His eyes searched my face as if looking for the Barry he thought he knew.
"is what I thought, turn out you were just fooling everyone,"
....
...
..
.
I layed my head on my sword, "Why did you stop?, tell me more, you study Barry, me for years, right? I'm curious."
His breathing remained uneven from the elbow strike.
"Are you even him?."
[Occupied]
"Yeah I'm definitely Barry."
"What?."
I rolled the unfamiliar sword once in my hand, testing its balance.
"You know..." I tilted my head. "Fun fact. Pigs and humans share a surprisingly similar internal anatomy. Bones, organs...."
"...The hell are you talking about?"
I pointed my sword at him.
"Which is my incredibly roundabout way of saying... You're about to die."
He lunged first.
Instead of meeting the strike head-on, I abused the range of my sword.
movements were economical, almost effortless now that id begun adapting to Barry's body.
...
For a heartbeat, Rolf thought he'd missed.
Then warmth spread across his side, his strength falterin, the sword slipping from his abdomen, staggering back, clutching the wound with trembling hands, staring at Cassius in disbelief.
"Dammit..."
Anyway....
Yoink.
Thirty-seven silver.
"Huh."
He weighed it in his palm.
"Murder pays surprisingly average."
Into the Inventory it went.
Next came the sword belt.
Yoink.
Boots.
Yoink.
Gloves.
Yoink.
Coat.
Yoink.
Everything else, Excluding the underwear.
Yoink.
The blizzard gradually died.
The howling wind faded until only drifting snow remained.
"...Called it."
Well...
Not really.
It was still technically just a theory.
Though at this point, it was less of a theory and more of a confirmation.
I wasn't waiting for the blizzard to stop, i was waiting for her.
Right on cue, footsteps crunched through the snow.
A grin spread across my face, i was excited.
Why?
Because this... This wasn't in the game, completely new scenario.
Crunch.
Crunch.
A lone figure emerged from between the snow-covered pines.
Aw she didn't bring the dogs with her, I wanted to see them up close.
Her gaze drifted from me...
to Rolf's corpse, then to the other body half-buried beneath the snow.
Silence.
"So... You can use magic."
Cutting her off I asked.
"I have a question.. Why haven't you killed me yet?"
She tilted her head.
"You know, doesn't really make sense, does it?"
Nah not at all, before this is a turn based rpg game, it's an interactive story.
Back in the game, this chase had dozens of variations.
You could fight the swordsman, you could fight the archer, sometimes both.
If you survived long enough, she would eventually join the battle.
But never alone.
She looked at me for a long moment before sighing.
"I suppose there's no point hiding it anymore, I've seen your intelligence firsthand, The way you destroyed an entire noble house without anyone discovering the truth..."
She smiled bitterly.
"...Terrifying, I only found out because I got lucky.
Barry did WHAT!, she continued not noticing my confusion.
"You were accepted into the Academy due to your mind, not due to your magic that much is clear, thought I never thought you had one to begin with, so seeing this..."
She gestured toward the bodies.
"doesn't surprise me."
I scratched my cheek.
"You still haven't answered my question, why am I alive?"
She looked toward the mountains.
"Because... you're our kingdom's last hope, our economy is collapsing, its already in the gutter."
"And somehow..."
She laughed quietly.
"everyone decided you were the solution.... I'm not suprise, but that's one hell of a burden, In short I couldn't bring myself to kill our last hope."
She looked down at Rolf.
"My orders were never that simple, if you simply escaped, i'd receive a punishment, a pierced lung to be exact, I could live with that, But..."
Her eyes shifted toward the two corpses.
"You killed them, my superiors will know I wasn't doing my job."
She slowly drew her sword.
"So now.. I don't really have a choice..... I'd rather make it painless."
...
Crap, This was bad idea... Actually nah even if I've run i would've gotten caught, I've already blown my chances.
I almost laughed before holding myself back together, this isn't the right time.
Think.
Think.
"Can I have thirty seconds?"
She frowned.
"...Thirty?"
"If you still want to kill me after that..."
I spread my hands.
"I won't run."
...
She didn't lower her sword, but she didn't attack either.
"Talk."
Good, oh thank God.
I pointed at the two corpses lying in the snow.
"Question, Who benefits if I die right now?, you already admitted I'm your kingdom's last hope, so if you kill me.... who exactly wins?"
"No one unfortunately."
"You said It yourself our kingdom's economy is collapsing, you said I was admitted because of my intelligence, you said I'm your last hope."
I pointed at myself.
"So let's simplify this, you have one asset, which is Me, If that asset dies... You lose everything."
"I have no attachment to our kingdom."
"Still the fact you were willing to get pierced in the lung, to let me live means something you value reside in our kingdom."
"That won't matter after I kill you, I'll just immigrate to another country
"No that won't be the end of it. The moment you get used by him, you cannot leave, surely you know that."
She remained silent.
"So from a purely practical standpoint... Killing me solves exactly..."
I raised one finger.
"one problem, while creating ten more."
...
Lowering her sword, she asked "then what should I do, not like I have much option either."
"Well I have a plan, it's not exactly a plan but more so an event that will happen in a week from now. Our tier six mage will die plummeting the economy even more, he will shift his attention on that, so you basically can just leave the kingdom while that happen."
"I'm betting my whole life here, you gotta tell me every detail of how Von Richard will die"
And so I did, every single detail down to its minor detail, I didn't miss a single thing.
...
"Still that doesn't hide the fact that I didn't kill you."
"I want you to lie basically saying that you succeeded in killing me, for the next week, I will lay low and technically be died, since the academy will only open after a week." ....God I just realize i need to travel a long long distance.
"That is convincing enough..."
Another long silence.
"Alright, I'll put my trust into to you."
"....Then can you sponsor me?"
"What?"
"I'm broke."
"...Seriously?"
"What do you mean seriously? My carriage got attacked for god sake, and I've got like... Thirty-seven silver."
She sighed so deeply it sounded painful.
"Hold on."
She reached into her coat and reluctantly tossed me a heavy leather pouch.
I caught it.
"What's this?"
"Half."
"Half?"
"Half of what I stole from you."
I opened it.
Gold.
Lots of gold.
Twelve gold....
Half????.
She was already walking away. Without turning around she simply waved.
"Good luck."
no wonder those two guy was so mad, she plundered the whole money bro.
"Cya."
She disappeared into the trees.
While I.... Fell into my back
"I never had to talk that much in my entire life."
[That was great.]
And where the hell have you been, you could've at least crack a joke during that Convo, but no you were entirely silence.
["Eating Popcorn Meme" can't break the tension outta nowhere kinda ruin the whole immersion thing.]
Yeah I guess it would.
"Anyway, Barry's parents didn't leave him broke after all..." I weighed the pouch in my hand, a smile slowly spread across my face. "I'm rich so early in the game."
"Okay."
I'm so tired, it's time to leave.
The mountain gradually gave way to a winding dirt road, the snow becoming thinner, the trees less dense, and after another hour of walking...
"There..."
A pair of horses slowly pulled a wooden supply carriage along the road, its wheels crunching over patches of frozen earth.
Exactly where the map said it'd be.
"Thank God."
Every muscle in my body ached, not Barry's, mine, mentally.
Apparently surviving multiple murder attempts was exhausting.
The driver noticed me almost immediately.
"Whoa!"
He pulled on the reins, the horses slowed, three guards resting beside the wagon instinctively reached for their weapons.
"Kid."
One of them narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you covered in blood?"
I looked down.
"Oh."
Right.
Barry's coat, Barry's gloves, Barry's boots, even my hair had dried crimson around the edges.
"Long story, Very long story."
The guards weren't laughing.
Fair enough.
One stepped forward.
"Whose blood?"
"Mostly not mine."
That somehow made things worse, all three of them drew their weapons.
"Easy."
I slowly raised both hands.
"I'm unarmed."
One guard looked down at the sword hanging from my belt.
"Self defense, weapon.."
The oldest guard sighed.
"Boy."
"Yeah?"
"Start explaining."
I scratched my cheek. "...Bandits."
Technically true.
"They attacked my carriage."
Still true.
"I escaped."
Very true.
"They didn't."
Also true.
The guards exchanged looks.
"You're telling me you killed them?"
"Some of them, yeah."
"How old are you?"
"Sixteen?"
"You're asking me?, can you use magic?."
... Should I?
[Do what you think is best.]
Yeah you right, I'm gonna abused this anyway, theirs no point in hiding it.
"Yeah"
I pulled a stone out of my inventory, the same stone use to annoy a certain someone.
"I've matured early, so I was able to learn magic earlier."
The driver suddenly climbed down from the wagon.
He walked a slow circle around me, studying the torn coat, the expensive boots, the quality of the sword.
Then his eyes landed on the crest embroidered onto what remained of Barry's cloak.
His expression changed.
"...You're a Wunderlich."
The man immediately straightened.
"My apologies, Young Master."
I didn't know I could just pull a noble card on them, Barry was able to enter here no question asked due to the fact, he was half dead.
"Neat."
One of the guards looked horrified.
"A noble family?"
The driver nodded.
"If he's wearing that crest, yes."
"But..."
The guard glanced at all the blood again.
"What happened?"
"Bandits."
I smiled tiredly.
"...It was a very educational experience."
Silence.
Finally...
The driver rubbed his beard.
"We're headed toward Frostgate."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Lucky guess."
He stared for another few seconds before sighing.
"...Climb aboard."
"Thank you very much."
"Anyone who looks that exhausted either needs a doctor..."
"...or a bed." I added "though both would be nice."
He laughed.
"Get in."
I didn't need to be told twice, the moment I climbed into the back of the supply wagon...
The smell hit me.
Fresh bread, salted meat, cheese, dried fruit.
My stomach growled so loudly that one of the horses actually flicked an ear.
The driver chuckled.
"...Hungry?"
"A little."
He tossed me a loaf of bread without another word, i caught it.
"...Thanks."
Still warm.
I tore off a piece.
The crust cracked softly beneath my teeth, the inside was warm, slightly sweet, a little salty, the smell of baked wheat filling ul my nose.
"Seven stars."
One of the guards blinked.
'Have this kid never eaten bread before?, noble value etiquette they say.'
The wagon began rolling again, the gentle rocking was almost hypnotic.
Somewhere above a caw could be heard.
Hours of running, fighting, negotiating, climbing, thinking, it all came crashing down at once.
My eyelids suddenly felt heavier than the mountains behind me.
"...Hey."
The driver looked back.
"You can sleep."
"Hm?"
"We'll wake you when we reach Frostgate."
"Thanks."
I leaned against one of the supply crates, the wood was uncomfortable.
Didn't matter, for the first time since arriving in this world...
There were no swords pointed at me, no arrows flying, no mercenaries.
Just...
The slow rhythm of wagon wheels turning beneath me.
Clunk.
Clunk.
Clunk.
The sounds gradually drifted farther away.
How do I return to the real world?.
[Just say log out]
...Log out.
Just like that, I was laying in my bed my real comfortable bed....
I looked at my phone....
Only 24 minute has pass, I think I was their roughly for 3 hours or so. So it's a 10-1 ratio.
I think, Im not sure.
Craziest 24 minute of my life, I closed my eyes, letting the soft mattress embrace me,
[Good night.]
"Thx.." tbh even thought it appeared infront of me, in this world, I couldn't give two fuck, I just wanted to sleep.
So darkness quietly claimed me.
[Mission Success.]