《This Time, I Will Live For Myself》


 Chapter 0: Prologue

    A tall and slightly bulky figure slowly staggered out from the broken doors with uneven steps. The katana in its right hand dragged along the ground.


    The haunting sound of the metallic screech of the katana being dragged on the ground, leaving a faint trail as the blade scraped against the surface, while the metallic screech echoed through the surroundings, disturbing the uneasy silence.


    As the figure stepped into the sunlight, its appearance becoming clear, it was a man. His clothes were heavily damaged, while a battered leather vest clung to his blood soaked torso.


    From head to toe, he was drenched in blood which still flowed slowly, leaving a bloody trail with each step that had started to become laboured.


    His left arm was missing below the elbow, the stump haphazardly bandaged with bloodied cloth strips, blood dripping from it intermittently. A combat knife¡¯s hilt jutted from his left shoulder, buried deep, yet no blood flowed from the wound.


    His breathing had started to become labored and somewhat shallow. Reaching the open area, the strength in his legs finally gave out. The man collapsed to his knees while the katana he was holding fell next to him as he let go of the hilt.


    Tilting his head back, the man let the sunlight illuminate his battered face, which was bruised and marred with multiple cuts and gashes, both big and small, covered with blood and missing skin.


    The man¡¯s right eye socket was hollow, while blood still seeped, slowly. While a bone deep gash ran dangerously close to his left eye, barely missing it by mere millimeters, if not then he would have been completely blind.


    As he stared blankly in the sky with his still working left eye, a single tear slowly formed and traced a path down his cheek but soon mixed with the blood and disappeared.


    Suddenly faint sounds of footsteps could be heard from all around, breaking the silence that had been restored recently. The sounds slowly became louder and within mere moments, over fifty figures emerged from the surroundings.


    They were all dressed in similar military-like clothes wearing similar leather vests. Another similarity was that they were all holding swords, shields, bow¡¯s, crossbows, dagger¡¯s, etc., but no firearms of any kind.


    They came closer to the leaning man and surrounded him and stood still. But soon running footsteps could be heard coming near, and by the sound more than one person was running towards them.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Soon the running footsteps came to a halt while the people on the right side of the kneeling man moved and two old men dressed similarly to the one¡¯s surrounding the man came forward followed by a teenage girl.


    Her big black eyes were brimming with tears, her oval face contorted with grief, and her brown ponytail bounced as she ran.


    Without any hesitation, the girl pushed the two old men and ran towards the kneeling man who was still staring at the sky, blankly. His breathing was much shallower than before, barely noticeable.


    One of the old men instinctively tried to stop the girl, but the other man placed his hand on his shoulder and said: ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    Then he lowered his voice and spoke with a sad tone:


    ¡°This might be the last time that she¡¯s able to speak with Rudra.¡±


    The man who tried to stop the girl hesitated for a bit, but eventually lowered his hand and sighed, as if giving up.


    The young girl ran and hugged the kneeling man, Rudra. She also collapsed to her knees and started to bawl her eyes out while repeating a single word over and over in her choked voice.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Rudra lifted his trembling right hand and gently patted the girl''s back, his gaze still staring blankly at the sky.


    He opened his mouth to speak and a rough and cracked voice escaped his cracked and bloodied lips.


    ¡°Why? Because I had to. Nothing else.¡±


    Rudra¡¯s chest heaved as each word he spoke felt like a struggle. His hand ached with the slightest of the movement, but he kept patting the girls back. He tried his best to console and pacify the girl, but she kept crying and sobbing, without pause.


    It was slowly starting to get hard from him to speak but he still spoke:


    ¡°Neera¡­ I know what you¡¯re thinking. But you don¡¯t have to blame yourself for anything.¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­ I¡­ I¡­ yo-¡± Neera tried but couldn¡¯t even form a chorient sentence.


    Rudra gently and slowly rubbed her back, as moving his hand was getting harder by each passing second, while Neera kept on sobbing.


    ¡°Shh¡­ don¡¯t cry,¡± his voice slowly started to grow fainter.


    ¡°Do you¡­ want me to feel¡­ guilty for making you¡­ cry?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Neera panicked and shook her head while she sobbed.


    ¡°I¡­ I can never¡­ but-but¡­¡±


    ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Rudra¡¯s vision had started to become slightly hazy, he knew he didn¡¯t have much time left.


    ¡°Promise me that¡­ you¡¯ll be a good, brave girl¡­ *cough-cough* and won¡¯t cry any more.¡±


    Neera sobbed and hugged Rudra even harder as she felt him getting limp. She tried to stop crying, but no matter what she couldn¡¯t stop her tears from falling while her voice choked in her throat.


    ¡°Promise¡­ me¡­ please¡­¡± his voice was almost imperceptible at the end.


    ¡°I promise, I promise, I promise¡­¡± Neera panicked and started to sob even harder.


    Rudra¡¯s hand that was gently stroking her back stopped and fell limply as did his body, but a very faint smile could be seen at the corner of his lips. It was as if Neera¡¯s promise gave him the peace and clouser he needed at the end of his journey.

 Chapter 1: Present And Past

    A teenage boy, around the age of 16-17, was sitting on the roof of a wooden house, watching the sunrise. A slight smile on his lips and he gazed at the rising sun.


    A gentle breeze blew through the air while birds chirped in the surroundings, creating a tranquil and picturesque scene.


    He still remembered when he climbed up to the rooftop for the first time. His mother and father were both angry and scared.


    They scolded him for a long time for doing something so dangerous, but then afterwards they hugged him and cried for a long time, being happy that nothing happened to him.


    And to prevent him from doing something reckless again, he was forced to sleep in his parents room for a while.


    The boy knew that he had made a mistake and hadn''t taken his parent¡¯s feelings into consideration, so he decided to not do such a thing till he was old enough.


    After his 10th birthday, he started to climb to the rooftop to watch the sunrise, and now it has become some sort of morning ritual for him.


    He would wake up very early, do some exercises, run around the house, and then climb up to the roof to sit to watch the sunrise, and would sit there till his mother would call him for breakfast.


    ¡°Venfir come down. Breakfast is ready!¡±


    Hearing this the boy ¡°Venfir¡± would go down to eat breakfast with his parents. After that he would help his father with the vegetable garden till lunch.


    Afternoon was his least favorite time of the day, because he would have to go and play with other kids.


    He had always been a bright child since childhood, some would say that he was quite mature for his age. This was a bit surprising for his parents, but they just chalked it to him being a genius.


    But the problem started when he started to interact with other children from the village, who were of his age.


    Venfir was physically a little kid, mentally he was around 50 years old, because he still remembers his previous life completely.


    His parents thought that he was unable to get along with other children because he didn¡¯t know them, so they would always encourage him to play with kids his age.


    In the beginning Venfir would just pretend to cry and say that he didn¡¯t want to leave them, but soon they started to get worried.


    Realizing that this worry han started to become a concern Venfir decided to just act his age. He didn¡¯t want to but for the happiness of his parents he would do anything.


    It was tough for him in the beginning to converse with other kids as a kid, but he was adaptive, if nothing else. Soon he made friends with many kids, while being rivals with some.


    He was exasperated with that, but if this was making his parents happy, then he would just with the flow.


    After ¡®playing¡¯ with his ¡®friends¡¯ till sunset, Venfir would return home, wash up, and sit with his parents to eat dinner with them.


    After that, Venfir would go to bed, where his mother still sang him a lullaby. Though he protested half-heartedly, he secretly looked forward to it every night.


    For him, this was the perfect life that he had always dreamed of in his previous life.


    In his previous life, Venfir, called Rudra back then, lived in a world that was just starting to rebuild itself after the fall.


    He was orphaned when he was five years old. The reason being his parents were at the wrong place at the wrong time.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Having no next of kin, he was placed in an orphanage. The people in charge of the orphanage were decent people who tried to help him as much as they could.


    They even tried to get him adopted a few times, but he would just run away and return. At first, the orphanage workers were angry, but after it happened six times, they gave up.


    When he was 18, Rudra left the orphanage and tried to find out what happened to his parents. He learned his parents were simple school teachers.


    While out with him, they were caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs fighting. One gang''s boss opened fire with an assault rifle in the middle of the street.


    His parents successfully shielded him from the bullets, but they themselves couldn¡¯t survive.


    After finding this out, Rudra cried for days but eventually resolved to find the culprit and take revenge.


    At first, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thought, but when he learned his parents'' killer had escaped prison, it became his obsession.


    Knowing he needed strength, resources, and training, Rudra decided to join the army. He rose to officer rank and conducted several successful operations. But revenge was always at the back of his mind.


    His honorable discharge came after a mission where he went against orders to rescue civilians caught in a gang crossfire, echoing the trauma of losing his parents.


    Though the mission was successful, his superiors noted his tendency to prioritize personal morality over strategic objectives, marking him as unsuitable for continued service.


    After his discharge, Rudra tried to find his parents¡¯ killer again but learned the man had become an international criminal and died in a gang¡¯s internal strife.


    This left Rudra without any goals.


    One of his acquaintances from the military contacted him with an offer to join a mercenary group. At first, he wanted to refuse, but he eventually agreed, knowing the money would be helpful if he ever settled down.


    But soon after, a catastrophe struck the world.


    A mysterious energy called ¡°Soul Energy¡± swept across the earth and around 30% of the humans couldn¡¯t handle it and mutated.


    This phenomena was not limited to just humans and was worse in animals where more than 20% mutated while 99% of them turned bloodthirsty. It was as if hell appeared on earth.


    Order fell and chaos refined supreme in the whole world. But this catastrophe also brought a hope of survival as well, because the ones who survived the initial soul energy wave were able to harness the power of soul energy.


    Firearms were still useful on humans and low tiered creatures, but were almost useless against Tier 3 or higher creatures.


    Soon it was discovered that weapons coated with soul energy were able to damage higher tiered ones but this also had a limit of only damaging 1 tier higher.


    Cold weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, etc. became the preferred choice for fighting. While firearms were just used as a defensive measure against low tiered creatures.


    Rudra¡¯s combat experience allowed him to adapt and rise to Tier 7, becoming a front-line defender for humanity for ten grueling years.


    When the situation started to settle down on the frontlines, he decided to retire to a quieter life as he had become wary of all the fighting.


    As he was about to leave a middle aged man came to see him. It was the father of a girl he saved a while ago, Neera, who approached him, asking him to be her bodyguard.


    Rudra hesitated but remembering the girl''s innocent smile he agreed.


    One day, Neera was targeted for kidnapping. Rudra foiled the attempt, then tracked the culprits to their hideout. There, he found the leader was none other than his parents¡¯ killer, alive.


    At that instant all the memories that he had forgotten came rushing back and he lost his cool and attacked the perpetrator. But to his surprise he found that the man had not been slacking and had reached Tier 6.


    Not only that, there were four more Tier 6 people there and 10 Tier 5, and around 50 other¡¯s ranging from Tier 4 to Tier 2. But this didn¡¯t deter him. He was determined to kill his parents and in the process remove a potential danger for Neera.


    He fought them alone. Lost his eye, lost his left hand, but he kept on fighting. He didn¡¯t stop till everyone in that hideout was wiped out. By the time everything ended he was almost at the end of his life.


    But when he exited the hideout he was fortunate to see Neera¡¯s smile one last time. After that everything went dark.


    The next time he had opened his eyes he found himself staring at an unfamiliar woman¡¯s face.


    For a while he felt confused about how he could have turned into a child but then reached the conclusion that he had been reborned and for some reason he still remembers his previous life.


    He found that his new parents really loved and cared for him. He had finally found the family that he was denied in his previous life.


    His parents in this new life of his were simple village people that lived a quiet and mundane life and made a living by growing vegetables.


    Venfir felt lucky to have been given a second chance to find happiness in this new life. He had a loving family, and they lived far from the chaos of the world, in a quiet and peaceful environment.


    But the thing about luck is that it can change without warning, and when it does, even the gods may find themselves powerless to stop it.


    While Venfir welcomed a new day, he was unaware that today was the day that everything was about to change.


    An unforeseen storm was creeping closer with each passing moment. A storm that will set into motion a new era.


    This new era would not only change the fate of this world, but the cosmos itself.

 Chapter 2: Peace & Chaos

    Venfir woke up very early in the morning as usual and began his morning routine. After that as per usual he went out in the backyard and started stretching his limbs and began his exercises.


    Once finished, he began his daily laps around the house, running till he started to feel the familiar tiredness. After completing his run he climbed up to the rooftop, sitting down to watch the sunrise.


    The morning was peaceful and calm, with the gentle wind blowing while sweet chirping of birds echoed in the surroundings while in the distance the sun finally began to rise.


    After around half an hour he could hear his parents waking up inside the house. And after another hour or so his mother called him down for breakfast, just like she always did.


    Recently, his mother had been in a very good mood because, after a long time, she had finally become pregnant. Before this, Venfir had assumed that his parents simply wanted one child, but he later learned that that was not the case.


    They had been trying for a second for quite a while without success. His parents had visited the village doctor, who was unable to diagnose the problem. After the doctor''s suggestion his father had taken his mother to a well-known doctor in the nearby city.


    But even she, who¡¯s said to have both ¡°Healing¡± and ¡°Alchemical¡± talents, wasn''t able to find a reason and was stumped. Her best hypothesis was that Venfir¡¯s mother lacked sufficient vital energy.


    She recommended using a vitality pill to replenish it, but the cost of each pill was 30 gold coins, which was so expensive that selling their house would barely cover the price.


    So his parents decided to choose the next best option, which was to wait and keep trying, hoping that time would resolve the issue.


    There was, however, one more option, and that was to find someone with a ¡°High Tier¡± or higher ¡°Healing Talent.¡± And according to the doctor, such treatment would cost no more than 2 gold coins.


    However, the problem was that finding someone with that tier of talent in this rather poor and rural region was, rather, close to impossible.


    The most renowned healer in the area who only treated the affluent and wealthy people, had only a ¡°Mid Tier Healing Talent¡±, but was regarded as a noble.


    While the doctor herself, who was well-respected, possessed only ¡°Low Tier¡± Healing and Alchemical Talents.


    When Venfir heard the news about his mother¡¯s pregnancy, he was very happy, no, he was elated.


    He had always wondered what it would feel to have elder or younger siblings, and now that dream of his was going to become reality, and this filled him with a profound sense of happiness.


    On one hand, he was jumping with joy for becoming a big brother. On the other hand, he was also surprised to find that in this new world, there were people who had awakened talents. And in this world they were not called Awakeners, but ¡°Cultivators¡±.


    But what truly shocked him was that in this world not everyone was a cultivator. But that doesn''t mean that there were very few cultivators. Rather, if you had sufficient money, you could simply buy a ¡°Soul Unlock Potion¡± to awaken your soul energy.


    Venfir was no stranger to soul energy; after all, it was the main reason behind the catastrophe in his previous world.


    Other than the potion there was another way, and that was to naturally awaken. But it was generally considered impossible for common people.


    The chances to naturally awaken to unlock soul energy is considered to be less than 10%, and that too is when both the parents were cultivators. And it is considered miraculous for those whose parents are non-cultivators.


    Venfir hadn¡¯t known about this till now, not because his parents had hidden it for him, but because they themselves were non-awakened. In fact, there hasn''t been a single cultivator in this village till now.


    This new information had piqued his curiosity, so he decided to dig deeper into this. And the more he got to know the more amazed he was regarding the similarity between the Awakeners of his previous world and the Cultivators of this.


    In his previous life the highest tier awakened was Tier 9, but in this world the publicly known highest tier cultivator is Tier 15, also called ¡°Saint¡±.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    While In his previous life people simply used the Tier as their title, in this world, each tier is given a title of its own. These titles reflected the strength and status of the Cultivators within each rank.


    The titles for each Tier are as follows:


    Tier 0 - Novice


    Tier 1 - Apprentice


    Tier 2 - Initiate


    Tier 3 - Adept


    Tier 4 - Warrior


    Tier 5 - Rising Star


    Tier 6 - Master


    Tier 7 - Grand Master


    Tier 8 - Commander


    Tier 9 - High Commander


    Tier 10 - General


    Tier 11 - King


    Tier 12 - Lord


    Tier 13 - Overlord


    Tier 14 - Emperor


    Tier 15 - Saint


    Another similarity Venfir found that as it was in his previous life, anyone who awakened our unlocked soul energy would have some sort of talent. He himself had three talents while the highest number known was seven.


    There were also monsters in this world, but other than getting confirmation he didn¡¯t get much information.


    The most he got to know was that they were found in the wild lands, which was around a week''s travel from the village. But due to patroles on the border there hadn¡¯t been any seen here in more than a decade.


    ***


    While Venfir was trying to find more about this world¡¯s history, around sixty kilometers away, was a small forest that had been turned upside down.


    Trees lay splintered, stumps were riddled with arrows, and the once-quiet and tranquil forest, now had become a place filled with broken branches and scattered leaves.


    At some distance from this devastated scene stood two youths, a boy and a girl, wearing lavishly embroidered clothes clearly indicating their wealth and status.


    They held finely crafted bows, decorated with intricate carvings and precious jewels, clearly made for more than mere shooting an arrow.


    A short distance behind them, a group of twenty people consisting of fifteen men and five women clapped with exaggerated enthusiasm after every shot.


    The girl, her expression sullen, was the first to lower her bow. Her annoyance was clear as she looked at the person standing next to her and spoke in a clearly irritated tone.


    This is boring,¡± she complained, while tugging back some strands of hair behind her right ear.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of just shooting at trees? We should have brought some slaves and made them run through the forest. At the very least that would¡¯ve been a bit more fun.¡±


    The boy, who was still aiming at a distant target, also lowered his bow, but after hearing the girl''s complaint. He let out a quiet sigh and shook his head slightly at her words.


    ¡°We¡¯re heading to the Wild Lands to hunt an ''Advanced Rank'' beast,¡± he reminded her, his tone calm but firm. ¡°And we''ll have to get past the border security, and you know as well as I do that having slaves with us, in the open, and that to when that mad general is posted there, is nothing more then suicide.¡±


    The girl''s expression turned sour, clearly more annoyed than before, but she chose to say quite, because she knew that the boy, her brother, was speaking the truth. Her brother hadn''t noticed her expression as he continued to speak.


    ¡°That bastard wouldn''t give face to dad, you think he would think twice about us if he finds out that we have slaves with us? No he wouldn''t. He would just kill us, because for him consequences be damned. This is the reason he had been sent to the border. By the way, you do remember what happened three years ago with the Miradi family right?"


    Hearing the Miradi family''s being brought up, the girl¡¯s features shifted, her irritation replaced by a hint of fear. How could she forget? The memory was still fresh in her mind. Miradi¡¯s youngest daughter, Faeyra, once her best friend, but not any more. Because, now the Miradis were a shadow of their former selves, relegated to some backwater village.


    And all of this happened because the Miradi family had acquired a new batch of slaves. That mad man somehow got the news and went to free them. He directly barged into their estate and demanded that they free the slaves.


    But the Miradi family thought that they could deal with a Lord with their eight King Ranked cultivators. But as soon as the fight started, the general tore two of the kings apart, demonstrating that his power was no joke.


    This frightened the remaining six King ranked cultivators, but they fought. Not only they fought, but soon were joined by the Miradi family¡¯s other cultivators, but it was all in vain. In less than two hours, only one King survived, that too barely on the last leg.


    Other than some tier 2 and 3''s that didn''t join the fights everyone else was dead. Their fight not only destroyed the surroundings but around 70% of the Miradi family was destroyed.


    The boy finally noticed the somewhat fearful expression on his sister''s face, making it clear that she had remembered what had happened back then.


    But then, as if struck by a thought, she spoke:


    ¡°Did I ever say that I wanted to bring the slaves to the Wild Lands?¡± she snapped back, her tone clearly rebellious.


    ¡°I just said that shooting arrows at these trees is boring. Anyway, all the slaves would have been dead after our target practice anyways, so how would that bastard even find out?¡±


    With a huff, she stomped her feet, turned around and walked away to a nearby tent, leaving her brother standing. Looking at his sister storming away he smiled ruefully as he murmured to himself:


    ¡°Dad has really spoiled Jen. But seeing her like this, I also don''t feel good. Maybe we should¡¯ve brought some slaves for target practice. No matter, next time we go hunting, I¡¯ll have Arkog fetch some from the underground mines. Twenty... no, fifty should be enough to keep her entertained.¡±

 Chapter 3: Target Practice & Tactics

    After entering the tent, Jen carelessly threw the bow to the side, walked to the back, and sat on a finely crafted chair, with frustration clearly visible on her delicately featured face.


    All she wanted was to enjoy herself while practicing her bow skills. Was that too much to ask?


    Definitely not.


    She¡¯s Jensia Arieth, the heiress to the illustrious Arieth Clan. Not only that, but her Soul Energy Talent stands at the pinnacle of the kingdom, the ¡°Sovereign¡± Grade. This rarity placed her above everyone else, not only in this kingdom but also in the neighboring seven kingdoms.


    Even her elder brother Jacson, who has an Emperor Grade Soul Energy Talent, a grade just below hers, cannot be compared to her. While his Emperor Grade talent, considered one of the best in the kingdom, can make him stand higher than most, is still not as exceptional as hers.


    The reason is simple, there have been a handful of others who have had that grade of talent throughout the kingdom¡¯s history, including the current ruler, the prime minister, and the grand general.


    Undoubtedly, her brother will achieve great things in the future, but ultimately, he will be limited to the Emperor tier in his life.


    Technically, he could try to become a Sovereign, but that would require him to put his life on the line by taking a ¡°Barrier Breaking Pill,¡± which has a mere 1% success rate. On the other hand, she will reach the Sovereign tier without any such gambles due to her innate Sovereign grade talent.


    She loved her brother, but that didn¡¯t change the reality of their potential. For example, her brother took a year to reach Warrior Tier, while she reached the same in just ten months despite the same environment and conditions.


    Jensia knows that she¡¯s special, because, not only did she possess the highest grade soul energy talent ever seen in the kingdom¡¯s history, but is also the first to naturally awaken her Soul Energy at the age of twelve.


    Before that, the earliest awakening had been thirteen. Even her brother, the youngest in their clan to awaken soul energy, did so at the age of fourteen.


    As a member of the prestigious Arieth Clan and the greatest prodigy ever born in this and the neighboring seven kingdoms, she deserved respect; no, she demanded it.


    Yet, everyone seemed intent on telling her what to do. At thirteen, she was already a Warrior-ranked cultivator. Why should she be bound by such trivial rules?


    Suddenly, from the shadows to her left a hooded figure, possibly a female dressed in all black, stepped out. The figure walked beside Jensia, got to one knee, and bowed her head as if showing her loyalty.


    Jessica turned her head, still feeling unhappy, and spoke with an annoyed tone: ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Mistress, while scouting, I discovered a small, isolated village situated around sixty kilometers from here,¡± the woman in black said. Her voice was gentle and soothing, but it was devoid of any emotion.


    Jensia¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. Her mood, soured by him when he brought that madman up, slowly started to fade, and delight flickered across her face at this new information.


    ¡°Good, very good. Now I can finally get some actual practice done, cause I really hate shooting at still targets.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡± Jessica asked, her tone carrying a trace of her improved mood.


    ¡°Eighty three. Twelve children, nine teenagers, s¡­¡±


    ¡°Did I ask about those trivial details?¡± Jessica interrupted sharply and glared at the kneeling woman.


    ¡°My apologies, Mistress,¡± the woman immediately apologized and bowed her head even lower.


    Jensia harrumphed and asked the kneeling woman: ¡°Where¡¯s your sister?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s still not back, but should be soon.¡±


    ¡°Get my mount ready. We¡¯ll leave after I tell my brother,¡± Jensia commanded as she walked out of the tent.


    ¡°As you command, Mistress.¡± The woman bowed slightly before rising to retrieve the bow. She picked it up and left the tent to carry out Jensia¡¯s orders.


    ***


    Jensia went to look for her brother and found him training with Gibeth, a General Tier protector sent by their father.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m going out,¡± Jensia said curtly before turning to leave.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! Wait!¡± Jacson stepped back from sparring, and called Jensia to stop.


    ¡°What?¡± Jensia stopped and turned, her expression slightly puzzled.


    ¡°What do you mean, you¡¯re going out? Where are you going? Don¡¯t you remember we¡¯re leaving in an hour?¡± Jacson sheathed his dagger and hurried toward Jensia, his breathing still haggard from the training.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m just heading out to train for a bit. I promise I¡¯ll be back in an hour,¡± Jensia replied with a shrug, already starting to walk away again.


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Tell me exactly where are you going right now,¡± Jacson demanded, grabbing Jensia¡¯s shoulder to stop her.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out for some archery practice because I don¡¯t feel like I have done even the bare minimum,¡± Jensia said, her voice sounding slightly eager.


    ¡°Tell me clearly what you mean by that. Just before, you said you don¡¯t like shooting at trees, and now you suddenly want to go somewhere to train?¡± Jacson asked, starting to feel exasperated due the antics of his little sister.


    ¡°As I said before, I don¡¯t like to shoot at trees, so I¡¯m going to train with some live targets.¡± Jensia replied while removing her brother¡¯s hand from her shoulder.


    ¡°And I said, tell me clearly what you mean by that, not to speak in circles.¡± Jacson was now thoroughly exasperated.


    ¡°Okay, fine. Riko found a small, isolated village, so I¡¯ll be going there to train. Happy.¡± Jensia replied, this time with full honesty.


    ¡°Are you mad?¡± Hearing Jensia¡¯s words, Jacson was shocked and almost shouted at her.


    They were out here, a long distance from their home, and on top of that they were close to the wildlands border area, and his sister wanted to use a village for target practice.


    ¡°Why are you shouting at me?¡± Jensia shot back, her voice trembling as tears started to well up in her eyes.


    Seeing Jensia on the verge of crying, Jacson froze due to panic. If their father found that he made her cry¡­ He shuddered at even the thought. He didn¡¯t even want to even imagine the consequences.


    In their clan, everyone dotes on Jensia, especially their father and grandmother. Whatever she wanted, they would get it for her. So, now seeing her teary eyes, he was almost scared to death.


    But in his panic and fear, he was still able to think clearly. He knew that causing a scene, and that to this close to the border area, where that mad general was stationed, was a terrible idea to say the least.


    In the end, saying no to her wasn¡¯t an option.


    So the best course would be to go with her, let her have her shooting practice, and when she¡¯s done make it look like the village was attacked by bandits. It could potentially lead to some suspicion, but it wasn¡¯t something that¡¯s outside the realm of possibility.


    Jacson¡¯s first priority was to pacify his sister; everything else could wait.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t cry. Please, don¡¯t cry,¡± his tone softened and was filled with genuine concern.


    ¡°I didn''t mean it like that. You know how much I love you. You know I could never shout at you. I was just shocked, that¡¯s all. See, big brother will apologize.¡±


    As he spoke, he grabbed his ears in an apologetic manner, his sincerity clearly evident.


    Seeing her big brother apologizing, Jensia smiled like a blooming flower, while her tears disappeared as quickly as they had come. It was clear due to her expression that she had achieved victory.


    Seeing her little sister¡¯s expression Jacson immediately realized that he¡¯d been played. It became clear to him that she did this because she knew that if she had just outright asked about it, he would have refused to let her go.


    Feeling defeated, he tried to grab his sister¡¯s still slight plump and reddish cheek. But as if she knew what her brother was going to do, Jensia stuck her tongue out in a cutesy manner and ran away.


    ¡°Why you little¡­¡± Saying that Jacson chased after Jensia, but didn¡¯t use his superior speed cause this was just a silly banter between the siblings.


    ¡°Alright, you win." Jacson gave up after running around for a bit.


    ¡°Wait for a bit, we¡¯ll go together. It¡¯s still a bit early then planned, but that¡¯s not a big deal.¡± His expressions, a mix of exasperation and fondness.


    After that he started giving instruction to his attendants and subordinates. Once done with that he moved next to stand besides Gibeth, the General Tier protector who had been standing still on the sides, witnessing everything, his expression unreadable.


    But when Jacson stood next to him, he finally spoke, his voice a bit heavy even though he was trying to speak in a lower voice.


    ¡°You know that this could be dangerous.¡±


    Jacson sighed, ¡°I know. But what other choice do I have in this situation? And I¡¯ve already thought of how to handle this. We¡¯ll ravage the place, and shift the blame on bandit¡¯s. I know, I know. It¡¯s not ideal, but it¡¯s not like that it''s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why not erase everything?¡± Gibeth spoke while he turned his head to look at Jacson, but his expression didn¡¯t change, though his eyes narrowed slightly.


    ¡°For one, if we do that then someone will surely try to find out the reason behind that. Because that¡¯s the kind of thing that sparks curiosity, and I don¡¯t want to take a chance like that. And two, when bandit¡¯s ravage a place, have you ever known them trying to erase or cover up their tracks?¡±


    Before Gebith could speak, Jacson continued to speak in a firm and steady tone.


    ¡°The answer is no. Bandit¡¯s don¡¯t care, but someone who has something to hide does.¡±


    Saying up to that Jacson also turned his head and looked directly into Gibeth¡¯s eyes and asked a question:


    ¡°Now tell me, if you found something like this what would you do? Would you want to carefully investigate a place that has been clearly ravaged by bandit¡¯s or a place that has been erased or has traces of a cover up?¡±


    Gibeth stood silent, hearing Jacson¡¯s plan and the reason behind that, his expression still remained stoic. But those who knew him well, could tell that he was rather impressed with the logical thinking of the kid.


    No wonder their father always said that Jacson has the talent to be a good leader. Whatever the situation be, he always thinks about the outcomes before taking any action.

 Chapter 4: An Approaching Storm

    After getting the instructions from Jacson, the people accompanying him and his sister got busy with their work. Everything was packed up and ready to move in less than half an hour.


    Jacson and Jensia, along with Gibeth and their entourage, mounted their steeds and began their journey. The siblings rode a Commander-tier beast known as Hiring, which is very similar to a horse but much sturdier and faster.


    Hirings are born as Savage-tier creatures and have the potential to reach the General tier. However, they are docile by nature. Even a General-tier Hiring could be defeated by a wild beast of five tiers below it if they were to fight.


    But that didn''t mean that Hiring was by any means a weak creature because what they lacked in offence was compensated by their exceptionally high stamina and speed.


    It is generally considered that no creature, even two tiers higher, can match their speed and stamina, unless it is a speed or stamina oriented creature.


    So, in essence, any creature that is trying to catch a Hiring would either need to be faster or have higher stamina. Because, if it couldn''t catch the Hiring outright at the beginning, then the only option would be to tire it out.


    Like the siblings, the people with them were also riding the same type of creature, and their stuff, which was loaded onto carriages, was also being pulled by the same kind of creatures.


    But theirs were clearly of the lower tier, except for one, Gibeth. He was riding his own beast, a Skyvolt Liger, which looked like a tiger but easily three times bigger.


    But it wasn''t the size that set it apart from a regular tiger; it was its white-coloured fur with slightly glowing blue stripes and lighting that could be seen flicking around its paws while a faint trace of lighting could also be seen whenever it moved its tail.


    Anyone who saw it could tell right away that it was an incredible and majestic creature.


    From time to time, Jensia kept sneaking peeks at the Skyvolt Liger with clear longing. But there was nothing she could do to get the creature because it was bound with Gibeth with a Soul Contract, and to get the Skyvolt Liger, that contract would need to be broken, but it was easier said than done.


    Because breaking a soul contract comes with its own dire risk as a backlash, which has an extremely high chance to harm the contracted one''s foundation, or to be more specific, the ability to gather soul energy. In the worst-case scenario, it could even result in death.


    Even if Jensia was willful, she wasn''t reckless to do something like that. Especially since Gibeth was one of her father''s most trusted close confidants with an ¡°Overlord Tier¡± Soul Energy Talent.


    And just for a beast, even one as majestic as the liger, she couldn¡¯t rob her father of such a person. And that to when there wasn¡¯t even a guarantee that breaking the soul contract would be successful without any backlash.


    The soul contract used for binding the Skyvolt Liger with Gibeth was created by a rare "Soul Contract Creation Talent" holder of "Lord Tier", who lived in the empire that all the eight kingdoms were a part of.


    The creator can easily nullify the contract, but the problem is that the person no longer lives in the empire. The last information about her is that she moved to another empire to join the ¡°Creation Society¡±.


    But travelling to that place, in the current time, was challenging, to say the least, because recently, tensions had risen between that empire and the one that she was a part of.


    But it''s not as if there isn''t any other way to successfully break this soul contract without any backlash, there is, but for that someone with a minimum of Overlord Tier Soul Contract Creation talent is needed.


    But, even to her father¡¯s knowledge, there has never been anyone with that high tier of Soul Contract Creation Talent in the empire.


    Her other options were to either wait for another Skyvolt Liger to show up in the market or auction or to search for it in the wildland''s inner areas.


    While waiting for one to show up in the market or auction was one thing, and her father would happily spend a fortune to get her one.


    But there was no way that her father would send their clan''s forces or his subordinates to the wildland''s inner areas where even an Emperor Tier could lose its life.


    While Jensia was lost in her thoughts regarding all of this, Jacson mind was racing and he was trying to run through all the possible scenarios that he could imagine that could potentially arise due to what was going to happen soon.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As they were travelling Jacson asked Riko for directions to this small, isolated village they were heading towards. Reaching around halfway there, he made a decision.


    He sent the carriages carrying their stuff to the border¡¯s direction while instructing them to move at a slower than their usual speed.


    At the same time, he, along with Jensia, Gibeth, Riko, her sister, and two of his subordinates, increased their speed and headed directly towards the village like a deadly storm.


    A storm which promised nothing but utter chaos and destruction.


    ***


    While the siblings were heading towards the village, a dark figure dressed entirely in all black emerged from the shadows before a pair of giant, closed doors. It was hard to determine if the figure was a man or a woman at a glance.


    The figure stood silently outside the closed doors, waiting patiently. Soon, the massive doors opened slowly without making any sound, and the figure entered the room.


    The room beyond was dimly lit due to the faint glow of the runes that were inscribed on the walls, creating an eerie atmosphere in the darkness of the room.


    The figure walked to the center of the room, where a man seemingly to be in his forties was sitting cross-legged, seemingly meditating. His bare chest clearly shows his slightly muscular build.


    The figure knelt on one knee, bowed its head and spoke. Like it''s built, the figure''s voice was also ambiguous, giving no hint of its gender.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve received the news regarding the siblings. They are currently heading towards a village because the young miss wishes to do some practice with live targets. The young master at first wanted to stop her but relented after being threatened with tears. He has, however, come up with a plan to shift the blame onto bandits.¡±


    ¡°Gibeth is still accompanying and monitoring them. According to him, the young master is, as you have said; capable but still lacks the decisiveness to become a capable leader. However, with time he will become better."


    After saying all it wanted, it stopped and waited for the man to speak. The room fell into silence once more for a while and was maintained for some time.


    Then, without opening his eyes, the man spoke in a calm yet authoritative tone.


    ¡°Tell Gebith to continue monitoring the kids and not to meddle with what they are doing. After they are done with their cover-up and moved from the village tell your people to make sure they did a thorough job. Something this insignificant will not create any waves. And what about Fernia?¡±


    The man gave his instruction and asked the question without pausing for even a bit.


    ¡°Lady Fernia has sent a message that she will be returning tomorrow.¡±


    The man said nothing further. With the wave of his hand, he indicated the figure to leave.


    After the figure left, the room once again regained its eerie silence.


    ***


    At the same time that Jacson¡¯s group began heading towards the village, Venfir had just finished helping his father with the vegetable garden.


    After cleaning his hands, he said goodbye to his parents and headed straight towards the house of one of the village elders, Alberic Boffin. Recently, he had started to visit Alberic to not only learn more about the world but also how to read and write.


    In the beginning, had always been curious as to how he, who had his previous lifes memories, was able to understand and talk in the world''s language. But never really had any reason to find out the reason behind this.


    But now that he has started to dig deeper into this world''s history, it has become a necessity to be able to read. But when he saw the first book ever, he was rather shocked. The reason being, the written script, surprisingly, was very similar to hindi.


    At first, he couldn¡¯t believe it. But then again, he was now in a different world with all of his memories intact of his previous life. So, was this really any bigger mystery than that?


    Hell no.


    Thus, in no time, he was able to read and write, making him something of a genius in the village.


    There weren''t many books in the village, and the ones that contained history were even fewer. Still they provided him with some of the knowledge about this world''s history, while the village elders provided him information about the local situation.


    This village ¡°Contou¡± where he lived, along with four other similar villages, had been established around 35 years ago by the late baron on the outskirts of his territory.


    These were supposed to be test villages, intending to see if more villages could be built to provide a place to live for the growing population.


    Mostly, people from the slums or who didn¡¯t own any property were sent here, including his parents. It was tough in the beginning, but with effort and hard work they turned this place into quite a beautiful village.


    However, the other four villages didn''t survive.


    Two were destroyed by bandit¡¯s, one couldn¡¯t produce enough food to sustain its population. While the last one was destroyed by a creature that had somehow sneaked past the border¡¯s security, though it was dealt with swiftly, but by then it was too late.


    While all that was happening, 25 years ago, the baron passed away without leaving a will or instructions as to what should be done in the situation of his death.


    As a result a brutal war for succession began between his first and second son, and the village project was abandoned.


    The village didn''t receive any kind of support, but then again, they were free to live as they wanted, Though they still had to pay taxes regularly. But it can be considered as a small blessing that the taxes hadn''t increased till now.


    Today, he was going to hear about the kingdom that he lived in, though Alberic didn¡¯t know much but had promised him that he would tell me all that he knew.


    As Venfir knocked on Alberic¡¯s door, he heard a commotion, and when he turned around, he saw something burning falling from the sky, and then an explosion occurred.

 Chapter 5: The Beginning of Chaos

    A few minutes before the explosion.


    Jensia¡¯s group traveled across the plains and reached close to the village in no time after separating from the rest.


    On their way, one thing became very clear that further confirmed Riko¡¯s report that this was an isolated village because there was no road nor a path, or any kind of frequently travelled trail leading to the village.


    They stopped some distance from the village and started to inspect it from there.


    A small wooden fence surrounded the village, with an open wooden gate and two sentry towers, one on each side that seemed currently empty. The reason was also clear to them because they could see four people chatting with each other just beyond the gate.


    The reason they took them for guards was because each one had a quiver strapped to them while they either held a bow or one slung over their shoulder.


    After looking at the village, Jacson glanced at Jensia and saw a happy expression lighting up her cute, angelic face as she stared at the village. He sighed because he really didn¡¯t want to get involved in any mess while he was so far away from home and on top of that near the border.


    But if this is what his little sister wanted, then he would happily dive headfirst into this mess while making sure that any traces of their involvement were completely erased.


    Jensia¡¯s focus, on the other hand, was entirely on the village before her, and she hadn''t even noticed her brother looking at her. She soon dismounted from the Hiring she was riding.


    Seeing Jensia dismount, the reset also got down from their respective mounts, except for two; Gibeth and Jacson.


    Gibeth just remained seated on his Skyvolt Liger, which was now sitting on the grass, looking around curiously. On the other hand, Jacson was still seemingly lost in his thoughts.


    Jensia moved a bit forward and raised her left hand; Riko quickly stepped forward, handing her the bow she had been holding until now. While Riko¡¯s younger sister, Etil, also moved and stood on Jensia¡¯s right holding a quiver filled with arrows.


    Jensia drew an arrow from the quiver and was getting ready to shoot when Jacson, who had been quiet till now, finally spoke.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±Jensia turned to look at her big brother, tilting her head slightly in confusion.


    ¡°Before you begin, let me tell you two rules that you must keep in mind all the time during the time we will be here. First, you are not allowed to use any ice type attack cause while you possess a rare Emperor Tier Ice Talent, you are still unable to control it properly, and can be easily used to trace back to you.¡±


    Jensia visibly looked taken aback and was about to retort, but Jacson didn¡¯t let her. He raised his hand to stop her from interrupting as he continued to speak.


    ¡°Second, you are not allowed to conjure any arrows. Before you say anything let me remind you that the arrows we conjure due to our archery talent carries a distinct aura signature that is tied to our clan, even if we try to hide it. So, you can only use regular arrows.¡±


    Jacson¡¯s tone suddenly became a bit stricter as he continued to speak, giving Jensia no chance to complain or protest.


    ¡°Now, before you even think about protesting against these two rules, let me remind you that I will take you back right now¡ªeven if it means that I will have to face Dad because I made you cry. So, it¡¯s up to you whether you want to continue or not.¡±


    Jensia¡¯s expression showed that she still couldn¡¯t believe how strictly her brother had spoken to her just now.


    Seeing his sister¡¯s reaction, Jacson also did not feel good, but he had to press his foot down at some point and could not let his little sister be willful. After all, apart from his mother, he loved his sister the most, even though she was only his half-sister.


    Their father, Ranrauth Arieth, has eight wives and nineteen children; he is the second youngest, while Jensia is the youngest. On the other hand, the third youngest had already turned thirty-one just three weeks ago.


    It wasn¡¯t that Jacson didn¡¯t get along with his older siblings; he loved them all, and they all spoiled him plenty, but the age gap had always created a sort of distance between them.


    That distance didn¡¯t exist with Jensia because there was only a two-year difference between them, which made their bond much closer.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Jacson also dismounted and walked closer to his cute little sister and gently patted her head, while he spoke in a soft and reassuring tone.


    ¡°Just think of this as a slightly more challenging target practice as It will help you use your Precision talent more effectively.¡±


    Hearing her brother¡¯s gentle words, Jensia also calmed down. She clearly understood what he was trying to say. Her brother was only looking out for her in his own way while helping her sharpen her gifts even further.


    She smiled like a blooming flower and nodded her small head.


    ¡°Un. I¡¯ll follow the rules that big brother has set.¡±


    Gibeth, who had been observing everything silently from the beginning, slightly shook his head at the end, though no one seemed to have noticed him doing that.


    He clearly disapproved of Jacson¡¯s last actions, but it wasn¡¯t his place to intervene because his orders were clear; he was to protect and observe them for the time being.


    Soon Jensia turned her focus back toward the village. This time, instead of aiming her arrow high, which previously she was going to charge with ice energy (which would have caused it to explode into ice shards upon impact).


    She precisely aimed at one of the men who had now started to walk towards the tower on the left of the gate and released the arrow.


    Jensia and her group were positioned on a small hill of sorts, approximately two kilometers from the village. Despite the distance, the arrow zipped through the air like a bolt of lightning, reaching the man¡¯s head in less than three seconds.


    But the arrow didn¡¯t simply stick in the man¡¯s head; it pierced straight through and hit the ground further ahead with a resounding boom. Due to the force of the arrow, the man¡¯s body also got flung for a short distance in the arrows direction before crashing onto the ground with a loud thud.


    Before the remaining three men could even understand or react to what just happened, three more arrows followed. This time, however, they had clear differences that were visible to anyone who was closely observing them.


    The second arrow was not much slower, but, instead of passing through the target, caused the man¡¯s head to explode.


    The third arrow struck one of the man''s shoulders and failed to deliver a fatal blow, while the last one completely missed, flying a few inches above the last man¡¯s head.


    Jensia lowered her bow, clearly dissatisfied with her performance after the first shot, while Jacson who was standing next to her also shook his head as he gave his remarks.


    ¡°The first shot could be considered to be perfect because you had plenty of time to aim and infuse energy. The second shot; even though you didn''t have that much time, but it''s problem was the unstable energy that was fused into it, resulting in that explosion, however the final result was still decent."


    "The third shot was fired in too much of a hurry without sufficient energy and lost whatever was infused into it on its way to the target, and if you were aiming for the head like the previous two, then it was also off the mark, but you at the very least hit the target. But what was the last shot? How can you miss the target even though you have Precision talent?¡±


    After speaking his observations, Jacson waited for Jensia''s response, but instead got a totally different reply.


    ¡°See! This is exactly why I said I wanted to practice with live targets. You can¡¯t get results like these when you¡¯re shooting at wooden dummies!¡±


    Jensia completely disregarded Jacson''s remarks. She wasn¡¯t happy with her shots after the first one, but she was in no mood to care about that, because she finally felt vindicated. The reason was simple, because now she could show her brother why she wanted to practice with live targets.


    While Jacson and Jensia were having their exchange, the two men who had survived this bizarre situation were scared shitless.


    The man with an arrow lodged in his shoulder wasn¡¯t even feeling the pain. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he scrambled to his feet and ran towards the interior of the village while crying and screaming hysterically with all the strength he could muster.


    The other man, who was completely unharmed other than having bits and pieces of flesh and brain matter splattered across his face and body, had also snapped out of his daze and started running even faster than the first man.


    However, instead of following his companion, he threw the bow he was holding and directly ran toward a nearby house, while his heart was pounding so violently that he felt like it might burst out of his chest at any moment.


    Due to fear, tears had started streaming down his face. He somehow stumbled inside the house, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Panic gripped him as he frantically began barricading the door and windows with anything and everything he could find.


    After blocking the door and windows as much as he could, he ran down to the basement and locked the door, went to a corner and huddled while hugging his knees; all the while, his heart pounded violently, and the tears kept streaming down.


    He had witnessed a very bizarre thing just now. The only thing his mind could think was that their village was being targeted by some strong bandits. He was a hunter, but he only hunted some small animals like rabbits and acted as the sentry.


    He was not a fighter by any means, and he was terrified to face the bandits.


    But as time passed, his fear started to turn into regret. He had run away and left the others to fend for themselves. Did he do the right thing?


    Yes, he absolutely did the right thing.


    He knew he was no match for bandits. So, instead of needlessly throwing away his life, why not run away.


    But then the regret started to turn into fear once more.


    What if, after killing all the villagers, the bandits came for him because he was a sitting duck in the basement right now.


    His thoughts were racing, and he finally reached a breaking point. He stood up, his legs still shaking, and started to walk towards the basement door.


    He had decided to go out and then run away. It would be foolish to go out, but remaining there was no other than forfeiting his life, so he had decided to gamble.

 Chapter 6: Chaos and the Shattered Heart (Part 1)

    The tranquil environment of the village was suddenly disrupted by a man¡¯s screaming voice. It started near the eastern gate but grew louder as he approached the center.


    Hearing the screams, the villagers began to come out of their homes and saw a man running wildly and screaming while heading toward the village center.


    His face was full of terror while an arrow was stuck in his left shoulder, while he repeatedly shouted a single line, over and over, with all the strength he could muster:


    ¡°Bandits are attacking!¡±


    ¡°Bandits are attacking!¡±


    ¡°Bandits are attacking!¡±


    At first, the villagers were confused, but as soon as those words sunk in, panic started to grip their hearts.


    For some, the words struck like a bolt of lightning out of the blue, while there were some who had dreaded this possibility for a long time, which had finally come true.


    Regardless of what their initial reactions were, every one of them understood one grim reality: this was a time of crisis, and not everyone would make it out alive.


    The reason was simple.


    For some of them to even escape from this current situation and survive, others would have to stay put and try to hold off the bandits, essentially sacrificing their lives.


    As these thoughts were going through their minds, they noticed three fiery streaks suddenly falling from the sky towards the village. Two of those struck the ground creating explosions while the last one landed on a house¡¯s roof, setting it on fire.


    The resulting explosions were not very powerful, but were enough to throw the whole village into complete chaos.


    People started screaming and running like headless flies, making the situation even worse.


    Just before the explosions, some of them had the thought that if a few fighters stood their ground, they might be able to hold the bandits off for a bit, while the rest of the villagers escape, but now it seemed nothing but fantasy.


    Some of the villagers scrambled to put out the flames consuming the house so that the people still trapped inside the house could escape.


    On the other hand some of them grabbed their loved ones and headed straight to the opposite side of the village, essentially towards the western gate in a desperate attempt to escape.


    While all of this was happening, the people who were stationed at the western gate as guards were now running toward the source of the explosions, trying to find the reason behind it.


    But when they saw the people fleeing in panic, they were shocked, but when they heard the cries of those people that ¡°Bandits are attacking!" their shock turned into panic.


    Now, instead of running towards where the explosion happened to provide backup and support, they scattered in all directions, each of them were not heading toward their own families in a desperate attempt to protect their own as the panic was now turning into fear.


    Even though they were part of the village militia tasked with protecting everyone, in this current situation they didn¡¯t even try to find what actually was happening, nor were they in any mood to find out.


    Because fear of losing their families had already taken over their thoughts. So, instead of standing their ground to fight the bandits, they were now running towards their loved ones.


    Suddenly, four more fiery streaks fell from the sky, but this time, they landed and exploded among the villagers who were fleeing toward the western gate.


    Once again, these explosions weren¡¯t particularly powerful, but they had enough strength to send those people tumbling to the ground while three of them were engulfed in flames.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    As crying and screaming erupted among those people due to the explosions, six more blazing streaks fell from above. Three villagers were directly hit and exploded, scattering flesh, blood and gore everywhere while others were caught in the explosion and were set ablaze.


    While all of this was happening, Venfir was running toward his home.


    The moment he saw the explosion while he was outside Alberic¡¯s house, a terrible feeling had started to bubble up in his heart. In no time that terrible feeling turned into fear when he heard the screams that bandits were attacking the village.


    Along his way, he witnessed the horrific site of the villagers he knew, young and old, lying lifeless. Some had died due to arrows, while others were killed most likely due to the explosions as their corps were still burning.


    Venfir abruptly stopped and jumped back as a blazing streak landed directly before him and exploded. Though he successfully dodged a direct hit by moving back, the blast''s shockwave still sent him off balance, and he fell to the ground.


    Although he was able to somewhat sense the danger, his body was no longer the same as it was in his previous life. His current body lacked the muscle memory that was the result of being in battle for a long time, which might have allowed him to react more adequately and avoid the blast and the resulting shockwave.


    Some of the flying debris struck him but nothing serious, other than some minor scraps. Venfir quickly regained his composure, immediately got up, and ran towards his home again.


    But before he could reach his house, he saw his parents running toward him. He was relieved and happy that they were safe but also felt nervous because they were running towards danger to get to him.


    When they finally met, Venfir hugged his parents tightly. His mother who was visibly panicked before, looked immensely relieved to see him safe. His father, though silent, also seemed finally at ease.


    However, the situation refused to allow them even a moment of peace as another explosion occurred nearby, catching them off guard.


    This time, Venfir wasn¡¯t able to dodge in time because he had let his guard down due to feeling relieved after seeing his parents alright.


    Luckily, the explosion wasn¡¯t too close. Even then, the force knocked them to the ground, while some of the flying debris struck them, resulting in some minor injuries.


    Venfir and his parents quickly scrambled back to their feet, but instead of fleeing immediately, his mother began inspecting him frantically, desperate to ensure he wasn¡¯t badly hurt.


    Seeing this, Venfir¡¯s father became panicked and spoke in a hurried voice:


    ¡°What are you doing? This is neither the time nor the place for that! We have to get out of here right now!¡±


    Without waiting for a response, he grabbed his wife¡¯s and Venfir¡¯s hands and ran towards the western gate.


    On their way to the gate, they were fortunate that no more blazing streaks, which they found were burning arrows, fell from the sky near them. However, the situation still remained dire.


    Nearly half the village¡¯s population had lost their lives, some from the fiery arrows and the explosions they caused, while others fell to regular arrows.


    As they ran, Venfir noticed something chilling: at a glance, the arrows that had struck the people looked to be randomly fired, but each and every one who had died died to a single arrow.


    This was a clear indication that whoever or however many had fired those arrows possessed incredible precision, ensuring that every arrow claimed a life but were trying to cover up that exact fact.


    This sort of deliberate thing had made Venfir''s heart chill as an ominous thought occurred.


    If they were being attacked by bandits, then where were the bandits? And if they were really bandits, would they be firing arrows with this much precision, and that too one at a time, as if they were hunting them?


    Are we truly being attacked by ba...


    Before he could finish his thought, he saw a woman running just ahead of them, struck by an arrow to the back; the location was clearly the heart. The force of the shot drove the body forward, tumbling along the ground for several steps before coming to a halt.


    As Venfir¡¯s parents were horrified by seeing this kind of scene, Venfir¡¯s heart clenched as he sensed not just danger but death. But before he could even say anything, he saw his father¡¯s upper body explode due to being hit by an arrow.


    The flesh, blood, and viscera covered him and his mother, but they stood there stunned. Time for them had stooped.


    Venfir was the first to get back to his senses. He wanted to cry, to scream, but he couldn''t. The situation didn¡¯t allow him because he had to take his mother away from here before he could even allow himself to mourn.


    He looked at his mother, who was standing still next to him, still stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. He tried to pull her, but it was as if she was rooted to the ground.


    As he was trying to pull his mother, Venfir heard something running in their direction even in this chaotic situation.


    He didn¡¯t want to turn around to look at whatever was approaching them or even be there for another second, but her mother was so shocked that she just stood still.


    Vefir could have just left his mom there and tried to run away, but he who had not known what parental love was in his previous life, was fortunate enough to have gotten into this life.


    Instead of running away to save his own life, he just resigned to the situation, deciding not to live like that this time, and even if he wanted to run away, he wasn¡¯t sure that he could.


    So, he just moved forward and hugged his mother.

 Chapter 7: Chaos and the Shattered Heart (Part 2)

    Venfir¡¯s mother who had been standing still like a statue suddenly screamed as if she had gotten out of her stunned status. She screamed and fell to her knees, clutched his father¡¯s leg, and started to wail.


    Just then, the running sound reached near and stopped. Venfir, who had already given up escaping, looked at their imminent killer but was stunned to see that their killers were not bandits.


    There were seven people, two of whom were in the lead, and they were very young, even younger than him. While the rest of the people following them were middle-aged.


    But what he heard next made his mind go blank.


    ¡°I told you to control your force while you are shooting. What if the creature you had to kill had some important parts that could be used to create other items? What will be the point if your arrow explodes them?¡±


    ¡°Tch. I have already said that I am working on that. And isn¡¯t that exactly why I¡¯m practicing right now.¡±


    The girl who was the youngest said that and then shot another arrow.


    Venfir was horrified to see that the arrow shot by the girl was too fast and, in an instant, reached his mother, who was on the ground sobbing while holding his father¡¯s legs.


    But he had somehow already pushed his mother to the side even before the girl shot the arrow, but still, it pierced his mother¡¯s left hand, which made her scream.


    Suddenly, he felt immense pain in his left shoulder but was horrified to see his left arm flying away. It had been cut before he could even understand what the situation had turned into.


    He turned, his body still trembling from the shock and pain, and saw a hooded figure standing behind him, holding a glistening dagger, the very weapon that had severed his arm. The dagger had no blood stains on it, clearly indicating how sharp it was.


    The second Venfir saw the hooded figure, he instinctively knew that whoever it was was a killer through and through; the reason was that the figure¡¯s presence was cold and menacing, something that he had seen a lot in his previous life.


    ¡°You insolent lowlife!¡± the figure spat, their voice sharp and dripping with disdain. ¡°How dare you interfere with the mistress¡¯s practice?¡±


    The voice was clearly feminine, confirming that his attacker was a woman. But it wasn¡¯t the searing pain in his shoulder or the blood pooling beneath him that stunned him the most; it was her words.


    ¡°Practice?¡± Venfir roared, his voice raw with fury and disbelief. ¡°What the hell are you talking about? Are you out of your mind?¡±


    Instead of giving a reply to his question, the woman simply plunged the dagger into his chest, piercing his heart with brutal precision.


    Venfir¡¯s breath got choked in his lungs, and he felt as if his body was on fire.


    The woman twisted the dagger, sending unbearable pain coursing through his body, and then pulled the dagger in an arc, making the blood gush out like a fountain.


    But the people with the woman were astonished for the time because instead of screaming, they saw the boy looking at the woman with anger and rage.


    Suddenly, Venfir saw his mother being pierced by an arrow from the corner of his eyes, and he felt like his soul left his body.


    He turned around to look at his mother but was flung away by a kick from the woman and crashed into the wall of a nearby building. He almost fainted but somehow managed to stay conscious.


    He saw his mother lying in a pool of blood while an arrow was struck in her chest; she was still spasming.


    Seeing this, Venfir roared, but not due to pain, but due to anger, due to the pain of seeing his mother on the verge of death.


    "You bastards. I''ll kill you. I''ll kill you all. I''ll slaughter all of you. I''ll..."


    Before he could say anything, the woman who kicked him appeared before him as if she had teleported.


    Venfir, out of instinct, threw a stone that was lying next to him. But the woman deflected it easily with the dagger she was holding.


    The woman''s eyes met with Venfir¡¯s, who was glaring at her fiercely.


    The only emotions Venfir was feeling right now were overwhelming anger and sadness, while his mind was being consumed by raw, unrestrained hatred and rage. All of it was directed to the woman standing before him and her companions.


    The woman''s eyes met with Venfir¡¯s, who was glaring at her fiercely. The only emotions he was feeling right now were overwhelming anger and sadness, while his mind was being consumed by raw, unrestrained hatred and rage. All of it was directed to the woman standing before him and her companions.


    "What are you doing, Etil? Just finish him. I don''t want to spend any more time than is needed."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Venfir heard the young boy''s commanding voice while the woman standing before him looked visibly shaken as if she was reprimanded.


    By this time, Venfir''s vision had already started to blur, and his body had begun to grow colder, but one question still burned in his heart, and he refused to die before getting the answer to it.


    "Why? Why did you do this? You clearly aren''t bandits, so why do this?" He asked in a hoarse voice that had started to grow fainter.


    Before he could get any answer, Venfir''s vision darkened, and the world around him seemed to slow, but instead of a reply from the woman named Etil, he heard the young boy''s cold and commanding voice once again.


    But it wasn''t the reply to his question but another order, most likely to the people who came with him.


    "You all get started and follow the plan, I do not want any mistakes. Destroy this village completely, pile up some of the bodies in the center of the village and set them on fire while cutting the others, but be as crude as possible. I want this to look like the bandits ravaged this place."


    With those last words that Venfir heard, he lost his consciousness.


    *****


    Two eyes, blazing like the sun, suddenly opened in an unknown part of space, and just this action alone caused the surrounding space to tremble. The eyes narrowed slightly as if focusing on something distant.


    The gaze pierced through the veil of space, locking onto a swirling vortex situated in the middle of nowhere.


    The gaze lingered on the vortex for a moment before peering inside it, a feat only those as powerful as its owner could achieve across the entirety of the cosmos.


    The vortex was actually a portal that led to a different dimension, filled with multiple galaxies. Soon, the gaze focused on one of these galaxies and then focused on the surface of a small planet situated in one of those galaxies, where a village was burning.


    The owner of the gaze was not interested in the burning village because it itself had destroyed multiple dimensions, so something this insignificant didn''t even register in its mind. However, what caught its attention was a glowing pendant on a burning corpse.


    Suddenly, the fire vanished, and the charred remains transformed into a teenage boy, as though time had reversed for him. Not only the burned flesh was gone, but even the missing arm, seemingly being chopped off, was also restored.


    After a few moments, the boy opened his eyes, staring blankly at the sky.


    Soon, a voice echoed inside his head.


    "I have fulfilled my promise by bringing you back to life. And with that, any and all ties I had with this dimension are now over." Saying that, the voice fell silent.


    Venfir didn¡¯t reply because he was still unable to process what had just happened or what was currently happening around him. The only thing that he was certain of was that he had died, yet here he was, alive once more. But instead of being reborn as a baby, he was still Venfir.


    He lay on the ground, the fire still burning around him. He lifted his hand and saw the arm that had been chopped off by the woman was now restored.


    As Venfir was still trying to piece everything together to understand his current situation, the voice spoke in his mind once again.


    "I¡¯ve seen what has happened with you and as I am feeling generous, I¡¯ll give you a piece of advice. You are in your current situation simply because you are too weak.¡±


    Before the voice could continue, Venfir coldly interrupted: "What do you want?"


    "Oh, straight to the point. I like that," the voice spoke, sounding slightly happy.


    "I asked you, what do you want? You clearly want something because whoever you are, you wouldn''t be speaking to me if you didn''t.


    Venfir''s voice was ice-cold.


    By now, he was absolutely sure about one thing: he had died alongside his parents, but somehow, the owner of the voice had brought him back by the looks of it.


    He wasn¡¯t really sure whether the part about the promise was true or not, but one thing was clear: whoever this being was, it was powerful. At the very least, it was strong enough to not only heal him completely, but even restored his arm that was chopped off.


    "I can give you a way to become strong, but how strong you''ll become will depend entirely on you."


    "And what do you want in return? My soul?" Venfir replied to the voice with his own question.


    The voice sneered.


    "You think too highly of yourself. Even though you remember your past life, you''re still too weak to even get noticed by me. If I hadn''t promised to help the holder of the pendant one time, let alone I would be speaking with you right now, I wouldn''t even have known that you even existed. That''s how insignificant your existence is to me."


    Venfir was clearly shocked when he heard that the owner of the voice knew that he remembered his past life. One thing was now crystal clear: the being that was speaking to him was not someone ordinary.


    He could clearly sense the disdain in the voice, but even then he didn''t back down, he just repeated his question.


    "You still didn¡¯t answer my question. What do you want from me?"


    "Relax, kid, I¡¯m just in a charitable mood right now. There is nothing much else to it. And even if I wanted something, are you even capable of fulfilling it? Or do you even know who I am?"


    The voice spoke in a mocking tone.


    "I still want to know what you want in exchange." Venfir said, his voice still calm yet cold.


    "Sigh. You¡¯re one stubborn chump. But you know what? I like that. So for now, let¡¯s just say you promise me that you''ll do one thing for me in the future."


    "I won¡¯t!" Venfir rejected the help without any hesitation.


    Making a promise to a being he knew nothing about, without knowing what it entailed, felt like giving away his freedom.


    But now that he was alive again, he wanted revenge on the people who had killed his parents and it felt like he was heading toward a life similar to his previous one.


    If this wasn¡¯t a joke of epic proportions, then he didn''t know what was.


    "Do you have any idea who you''re talking to?"


    This time the voice clearly sounded angered


    Suddenly the sky darkened, while an enormous pressure descended onto Venfir, making him feel as though he were being crushed by a thousand tons. Every bone in his body cracked, and he struggled to even breathe.


    "Just because I am talking with you kindly, you think I¡¯m someone insignificant?"


    "Kid, I can erase you like the insignificant bug you are in my eyes. Just be glad that I¡¯m in a good mood right now."


    The pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Venfir gasping for air on the ground.

 Chapter 8: Words of Enlightenment and an Oath

    As Venfir was thinking about the purpose of his life, the sky suddenly darkened, and an enormous pressure descended upon him, making him feel as though he were being crushed by a thousand tons.


    He felt as if every bone in his body was about to turn into powder while he struggled to even breathe.


    The voice spoke in his mind again, but this time it was cold and emotionless.


    ¡°Do you have any idea who you are speaking to? Just because I am talking to you amicably, do you think you can speak to me however you please? Let me make this clear once and for all, so get it through your head.¡±


    ¡°If it wasn''t for the pendant you had on yourself, I wouldn''t have even noticed that an insignificant bug like you even existed. And if you annoy me any further, I¡¯ll erase your insignificant existence without a second thought. So just be glad that I am in a good mood right now; don¡¯t test your luck any further.¡±


    The pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Venfir gasping for air on the ground while his whole body ached with pain.


    His mind buzzed the whole time under that relentless pressure, and now that it had vanished, the buzzing had slowly begun to fade.


    Venfir slowly opened his eyes. His body still ached, his mind still buzzed, and his eyes were still bloodshot due to it, but there was not even an ounce of fear in them.


    Venfir remained silent for a while, and even the voice did not return to his head. After about ten minutes, he stood up and looked at his surroundings.


    Most of the houses had already burned down to piles of rubbles, but there were still some that were still burning, though the flames had started to die. By the looks of it, a few hours had clearly passed since the attack.


    After taking in the absolute devastation of the surroundings, Venfir slowly moved toward the corpse of his parents, or what was left of them. Tears had already streamed down his face uncontrollably.


    Suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning as he walked. So, without even considering whether he might get a reply, he spoke out:


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to become strong. But if you can bring my parents back, I promise you whatever you want.¡±


    He waited, desperation as well as hope clinging to his every breath.


    Though he didn''t have to wait for a long time to get the reply.


    ¡°Sorry, kid, but I could only bring you back because you had it just a few seconds ago, but more so because you were wearing that pendant, which had a very strong soul-preservation rune carved on it. But they had died a long time ago."


    The voice paused for a bit but then continued to speak.


    "When someone dies, their souls disperse pretty quickly unless something keeps them tethered. You can use your soul energy, but for that you have to be strong enough, and I can say that no one in the world that you are is even remotely close to that."


    "There is another possibility, and that is if the soul has a strong enough emotion. It doesn''t matter if it is anger, affection, greed, or any other emotion; what matters is that it must be very powerful. Even then, there are limits, and without the system, it becomes even harder.¡±


    After hearing that, Venfir stood in his place, dazed, as his last shred of hope crumbled like ash.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there any other way?¡± Venfir pleaded.


    ¡°You¡¯re so powerful; you must know something. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes. If you want, I¡¯ll even become your slave. Just bring them back!¡±


    Venfir broke down, sobbing as he begged the voice.


    The voice sighed.


    ¡°Kid, I am powerful, so powerful that you can''t even imagine, and there are only a few who can rival me. But there are a select few that are even stronger than me, and even they couldn¡¯t do what you want. Do you think I haven¡¯t lost loved ones? You think I don¡¯t want them back?¡±


    Hearing that even a powerful being was helpless in this kind of situation, Venfir lost all hope.


    Now, he was truly lost.


    He was alive once again, but his family was gone forever. He broke down and started weeping uncontrollably. He cried for hours, until even the sun began to set.


    But as the time passed, his pain and sorrow had started to turn into anger and rage.


    Why was it like this?


    Why was fate so cruel to him?


    What had he done to deserve this?


    These thoughts spiraled endlessly through his mind.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Suddenly, Venfir felt as if a jolt ran through his body, and the voice also returned.


    "Calm down, kid. Feeling angry won¡¯t help you achieve anything in this world. So, I''ll ask you again, do you want to become strong?"


    This time, Venfir neither rejected the offer nor asked any more questions. He simply said, "Yes."


    "Good. As I said before, in return for this opportunity, you just have to promise me that you will do one thing for me in the future when you reach a certain level of strength. Don¡¯t worry, I''ll not ask you to do anything that you wouldn''t want."


    "Now that we''ve cleared that up, I will send a speck of my soul energy into you. If you survive, you¡¯ll awaken the system. If not, and you turn into an abomination, I''ll simply erase you. Understood?"


    "I understand. I promise you that no matter what you want I will do it for you," Venfir replied, his voice filled with determination.


    "Good. Now get ready."


    As the voice spoke, the surroundings plunged into darkness, and Venfir felt as if his body were being torn apart. Every muscle in his body strained to its breaking point, his skin started to split open, and blood gushed out from his wounds like a dam had burst.


    The being that was watching all of this, narrowed its eyes because this was a bit different then it had expected. It had sent a fragment of the quadrillionth part of the soul energy that should only be enough to gently stimulate the awakening in the human.


    Even then it had known that there was a minuscule chance that the human would mutate and turn into a monster. But what was unfolding before it was something unexpected.


    It''s not like this was the first time that it was doing this. It had done this countless times before, some awakened where as even more mutated into monsters that it had erased, yet what is happening right now has never happened before.


    As it was thinking for a possible reasons, a system message appeared before it:


    [Soul energy sent by you has successfully awakened the system in the being called "Venfir."]


    After seeing the message the being came to a conclusion that maybe the human was going to turn into a mutated being, and that was the reason for that bizarre situation.


    While the being considered this anomaly, Venfir successfully awakened the system, but at the same time he was shocked by what happened to him.


    [*********** has sent his soul energy to awaken the system!]


    [Congratulations to the host for successfully awakening the system!]


    [Error!]


    [Error!]


    [Error!]


    [Detected: the host has a dormant system!]


    [Replacing the dormant system with the current one...]


    [Error!]


    [Error!]


    [Error!]


    [Unable to replace the dormant system!]


    [Attempting to merge the current system with the dormant one...]


    [...]


    [...]


    [...]


    [Merging of the two systems is possible.]


    [Starting the merging process...]


    [Merging 1%... 17%... 44%... 76%... 85%... 99%... 100%!]


    [Merging successfully completed!]


    [Congratulations to the host for successfully awakening the system!]


    Venfir gasped for air, enduring the searing pain. But suddenly all of his injuries inexplicably vanished while leaving him feeling strangely refreshed. He blinked in shock, but then thought that the being must have healed him.


    The voice echoed in his mind once more:


    "With this, I''ve given you a chance to become strong."


    It paused briefly, then continued:


    "I know you seek revenge, but don¡¯t let it become your life''s purpose. I suggest you focus on becoming strong first, because in this world, strength allows you to accomplish almost anything."


    The voice grew firm.


    "Now whatever happens to you from here on out, I won¡¯t intervene. You''re on your own. But if you walk far enough on the path of becoming strong, we might even meet in person one day. If not... just consider this a miracle."


    With those parting words, the voice faded into silence, leaving Venfir to ponder the mysterious parting message.


    Venfir closed his eyes, repeating the last words the being had said to him. He had to agree with the truth in them:


    ''If you have strength, you can accomplish almost anything in this world.''


    Anger and rage still burned in his heart, but what the being had said was also true, he cannot make revenge his life¡¯s sole purpose.


    When he was born into this world, he had believed it to be a place of peace, a world without superpowers or monsters.


    But he had been wrong.


    This world was far more dangerous than his previous one. The beings here were so powerful that even if every awakened individual from his former world came together, they couldn¡¯t hope to defeat them.


    Even then, Venfir had only been curious about such beings, but was more than happy with staying far from their influence, believing that this distance would grant him peace.


    He laughed bitterly at his own naivety for believing that living away from the world was the best way to live in peace.


    But now, the reality of that was all around him.


    The peace that he had in this life which he had cherished so deeply had been ripped away by the whims of a spoiled girl from some powerful background.


    If it had been a natural disaster or even a genuine bandit raid, he might have found a way to make peace with it.


    But this? No.


    Venfir clenched his fists tightly, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath to calm the storm inside. Slowly, he opened his eyes, relaxed his fists, and looked at whatever remained of his parents'' corpses.


    Tears welled up once again in his eyes, streaming down his face. But this time, alongside the grief and sadness, there burned a piercing determination.


    "I, Venfir, vow to rise above all and seize control of my fate with my own hands. I will never again lose those I hold dear. I will crush anyone who stands in my way and bend the world to my will. I will create a future where no one can take anything from me."


    "No kings, no gods, not even fate will decide my path."


    "This time, I will not be an avenger, but a conqueror."


    "This time, I will live for myself."

 Chapter 9: Talent Mastery & Talent Evolution

    A woman was sitting cross-legged on a lotus that was placed in the middle of a small pond, which also contained several smaller lotuses glowing faintly in white light.


    The surroundings seemed to be a very big room whose walls and ceiling were densely covered with glowing runes.


    Her face appeared to have been carved from flawless marble, while her red hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She wore an outfit that barely covered her slender yet voluptuous figure.


    Her skin was covered in runes that glowed in red light. If anyone who looked closely at the runes could easily tell that they were pulsing in a set pattern.


    The woman opened her eyes, revealing pupils as black as night and contained multiple glowing dots as if they were stars glowing in the night sky.


    Suddenly, beyond the pond, a figure appeared, kneeling on one knee. Covered in a green glow, the figure¡¯s form made it impossible to determine whether it was humanoid or it was something else.


    ¡°What happened, mistress?¡± The figure spoke in a deep and authoritative voice, yet it was clearly filled with reverence for the woman before it.


    The woman said nothing, her gaze fixed in the distance as if she could see something no one else could. The kneeling figure remained silent, waiting patiently for her to speak.


    Her brows narrowed and her eyes squinted for a moment before she closed them.


    After a while, she reopened her eyes, but this time, instead of the previous darkness with glowing dots, her pupils glowed red.


    ¡°The future has started to become murky,¡± the woman said in a low voice. Her voice was as beautiful as an angel¡¯s, yet entirely devoid of emotion.


    ¡°WHAT?¡± the figure suddenly stood up, Its height was easily over five meters, and shouted, clearly shocked by her words.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s impossible?¡±


    ¡°Why should it be impossible?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your unique innate ability. How can a unique innate ability stop working?¡±


    ¡°When did I say it isn¡¯t working? I merely said that the future has started to become murky, and the reason is very simple: the future has become so unpredictable that everything has become uncertain.¡±


    Hearing the woman, the figure was confused, not knowing how to respond. After hesitating for a moment, it spoke again.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    ¡°We do nothing. The only thing certain about the future is that it is always uncertain. The future I have seen has changed many times, but this is the first time it has become murky. And if it has become murky, then there should be a reason behind it.¡±


    ¡°If my understanding of the law of time was more advanced, I would have found out when this change would occur in the future. So, for now, my only priority is to improve my understanding of the law of time so that I can not only find when it will happen but also uncover the reason behind it.¡±


    Having said that, the woman closed her eyes once more and began to meditate.


    The figure stood still in its place for a while before speaking again.


    ¡°What about Lord Heiteng?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t be arriving anytime soon. But when he does, just tell him that I am in seclusion and in the midst of a major breakthrough in my law of time,¡± the woman replied without opening her eyes.


    After speaking, she waved her hand, signaling for the figure to leave. The figure shook its head and then vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the vast room quiet once more.


    *****


    Venfir, after cremating his parents, had done the same for the villagers. Although he was not particularly close to the most, it was the least he could do for them.


    Afterward, he gathered whatever he could scavenge and started walking toward the city. By then, it was almost midnight, yet he felt no fatigue. Still, he decided to take a break for the night.


    This break would also allow him to review everything that had happened to him as well as refine his future plan further.


    The first thing he did after building a fire was to finally open his status window:


    ___The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    [Status]


    Name: Venfir/Pran


    Species: Human


    Bloodline: [Locked]


    Grade: 0


    Soul Fragment: 0


    [Talents]


    Talent Mastery (Unique), Talent Evolution (Unique)


    [Equipped Talents]


    Slot 1: Soul Energy - Novice Tier


    Slot 2: Empty


    Slot 3: Empty


    Slot 4: Empty


    Slot 5: Empty


    [Skills]


    None


    ___


    Venfir was somewhat shocked upon seeing his status. He was familiar with some aspects, while others were entirely new.


    For instance, in the name section, both his current name and his previous life''s name appeared, an oddity that didn¡¯t make any kind of sense at first glance.


    But then he remembered that an error had occurred during the awakening process, maybe this was due to that.


    Next was the ¡°Bloodline.¡± And why was it locked?


    Could it be related to the mysterious being that had brought him back to life?


    It was quite possible that, because according to that being, it had sent its own power to awaken him, so maybe the bloodline was a result of that.


    If so, then the bloodline''s locked state could simply mean that he was not yet strong enough to handle it.


    Then there was the ¡°Soul Fragment¡± section, something he had never seen or even heard of before.


    But the most bizarre aspect, however, was the ¡°Equipped Talents¡± section. And it already had the Soul Energy talent on that list instead of it being listed in his abilities section.


    However, Venfir was not only shocked with all of these things, he was also delighted because he possessed the same unique talent in this life that he had in his previous one, so becoming strong was only a matter of time.


    Moreover, in addition to his previous talent, he had another unique talent: Talent Mastery.


    First and foremost, Venfir decided to check the effects of the talent he had in his previous life to see whether it was the same or merely shared the name while having an entirely different effect.


    He then thought about "Talent Evolution," and its information appeared in his mind:


    ¡ª


    [Talent Evolution (Unique) - This unique ability allows its holder to perform the following actions:


    Talent Upgrade: Enhances any non-unique ability by advancing it one grade higher. This process requires soul fragments, the number needed depends on the talent¡¯s grade.


    Talent Synthesis (Personal): Combines two to five non-unique abilities into a new talent. Note that any newly synthesized talent begins at the base ¡°Weak Grade.¡± This also requires soul fragments, with the amount depending on the number of abilities combined and their respective grades.]


    ¡ª


    ¡°Wow. It¡¯s the talent I had in my previous life, but even better. Not only can I upgrade my talent, I can even¡­¡± He stopped mid-sentence and did a double-take at the description he had just read.


    Venfir glanced at his status window, then back at the talent¡¯s description, and considered the other new unique talent: Talent Mastery.


    ¡ª


    [Talent Mastery (Unique) - This unique ability grants its holder advanced control over their talents through two key features:


    Equip Talent (Personal): Allows you to equip talents directly. When replacing an equipped talent with another, you must invest soul fragments; the required amount is determined by the grade of the incoming talent. Additionally, this ability lets you unlock extra talent slots to expand your equipped abilities. Your active talent pool will be visible to anyone who can view others¡¯ talents.


    - Adding the 6th [Equipped Talent] slot costs 5 Soul Fragments.


    Talent Library: Enables you to copy and store talents of any grade¡ªincluding unique talents¡ªcreating a personal repository of abilities. It also allows you to bestow non-unique talents onto others, though doing so requires soul fragments; the cost varies based on the talent and its grade.


    - Currently, the library can hold 10 talents. Increasing this capacity will require 10 Soul Fragments.]


    ¡ª


    Upon reading the information on Talent Mastery, Venfir¡¯s eyes nearly popped out.


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Not only can I copy and store talents, but I can also give others the talents I¡¯ve stored?¡±


    Venfir took several deep breaths to calm his mind, then began sorting his thoughts.


    ¡°So, I have two unique skills, each with two effects. With Talent Mastery I can copy and store talents, increase my storage capacity, and give talents to others. I can also equip talents and expand the number of talents I can equip. With Talent Evolution I can  upgrade talents to higher grades for myself and others, and combine multiple talents to create a new one.¡±


    ¡°Damn, am I op or what?¡±


    Soon Venfir remembered that besides copying and storing talents, he would need soul fragments to use other effects. So he focused on ¡°Soul Fragments¡±.


    ¡ª


    [Soul Fragments: Defeating enemies yields soul fragments, with the amount received varying according to the enemy''s grade.]


    ¡ª


    ¡°Okay, this seems pretty straightforward. Honestly, I kinda want to get a few soul fragments to upgrade my Soul Energy Talent¡¯s grade.¡±


    With that in mind, Venfir recalled his Soul Energy Talent, and its details appeared before him:


    ¡ª


    [Soul Energy ¨C Novice Tier: Allows you to gather soul energy. The tier determines the maximum grade you can reach as well as the rate at which you gather soul energy. (Requires 1 Soul Fragment to upgrade the talent).]


    ¡ª


    ¡°Damn. Now I really wish I had 1 soul fragment to upgrade my Soul Energy Talent.¡± Venfir sighed after checking the upgrade requirements.


    He calmed his excitement after a bit and adjusted his plans with this new information he got related to his unique talents and waited for morning so that he could resume his journey towards the city.