Chapter 2
Originally, he was just a regular young worker with no extraordinary skills or achievements. His only hobby was gaming, particularly single-player RPGs. He stayed away from online games to avoid feeling the gap between him and those with more money and talent. This led him to often visit gaming community websites.
While he liked watching videos and reading strategy articles by experienced gamers, what often attracted him were illegal download links for pirated games. He knew it was wrong, but his low income made it easy for him to justify it.
So, clicking on a post titled “Rare Game DLC, Full Mod Package, First Come First Serve” was nothing out of the ordinary for him at the time.
[Aquilonia. A semi-open-world dark fantasy, rife with betrayal, corruption, rebellion, and conspiracy.]
The description piqued his interest, and the screenshots looked promising. However, it was a game no longer sold due to the developer's issues. The post was deleted just after he downloaded the link. Proud to be among the first, he immediately launched the game and planned to spend the entire weekend on it.
In Aquilonia, players could choose from five classes: Knight, Barbarian, Mage, Scout, and Acolyte. The installation tip mentioned that in special situations, such as boss fights, players could receive assistance from other user characters registered on the server. However, the server connection failed to work, likely because the game was a pirated copy or the server had been shut down.
Either way, he knew he had to tackle everything alone. So, he chose the Mage, a ranged dealer and the most straightforward choice for beginners. The character's unique traits were Intuition and Concentration. He set the difficulty at medium and went with the default appearance and a random name. His character, Ian Hope, was thus created.
...I should have looked up the strategy first. Ian sighed. It was too late for regrets now. Back then, he was too focused on the game to even think of that.
Aquilonia was a pretty impressive game overall. The graphics were a bit outdated but had a unique atmosphere. The combat was engaging, based on a diverse skill tree. Being a semi-open world, players had to complete certain quests to move to the next area, but the game wasn't overly tedious thanks to the high level of freedom, subquests, and skippable cutscenes. He particularly liked the many choices that led to dark, gloomy endings, fitting for a dark fantasy.
However, the game was not easy. Items had no class restrictions but required certain stats to wear, often with random options. Compared to the extensive skill tree, skill points were scarce. Boss fights and named mobs were especially challenging. He selected skills and attributes as needed, progressing through the game.
The difficulty really ramped up in chapter four. Even regular monsters had become tough to handle, and a bit of level grinding did not make much of a difference. He ended up searching for strategy guides and found a detailed one by an experienced player. It was long, so he read only what he needed. Slowly, he realized how difficult his situation was.
The first issue was his unique traits. Intuition and Concentration weren't very helpful for a character that fought from a distance. Instead, Elemental Affinity, Magical Bloodline, Insight, Parallel Thinking, or even Luck and Reflexes would have been more beneficial. His character lagged behind other mages of the same level in terms of abilities, especially in Intelligence and Mental Fortitude.
This was a trade-off for investing more in Strength, Agility, and Stamina, necessary for solo encounters. To overcome these deficiencies, he had to rely on control and overwhelming firepower.
Skill allocation followed the same principle. Focusing on a single attribute rather than spreading thin across many was key, so he had to learn only the essential arcane and common skills. Skill points were precious, especially given his lack of magical power and financial resources. This often meant confronting bosses with extreme resistances, which ideally would have been countered by item farming and reducing the enemy's resistance.
However, the most critical issue was his choices in quests and decisions. He had missed or skipped too many essential side quests that provided extra stat and skill points. Worse, by deliberately choosing the worst options, he had caused too many key characters who should have been his allies to die or turn corrupt. In short, Ian Hope was a failed character, with no apparent way to reverse it.
Fortunately, there was still time left before the weekend ended. He decided to start over, this time using a guide and choosing an easier profession. However, he faced a dilemma as there was only one character slot available, and opening another required a payment he couldn't afford. Reluctantly, he chose to delete his character.
That was when the error message appeared.
[Deletion has been denied.]
Denied, not just impossible? While he was stunned by this message, more pop-up windows followed.
[The ◆◇??s are watching you.]
[The ◆◇??s wishes for the end of the world.]
[The ◆◇??s....]
The last thing he remembered was the monitor flashing blindingly.
*
When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying in the middle of a strange swamp, with the tutorial quest screen from the game's beginning in front of him.
"...!" Startled by a noise, Ian's eyes snapped open and he instinctively grabbed the sword leaning against the bathtub, pointing it at the intruder.
"Ah...!" A muffled scream escaped her. The maid, carrying a bucket of water, had lost her grip on it from surprise. The water splashed onto her legs, and hot steam rose.
"I, I was just going to change the water...." Her voice trembled as the blade hovered near her throat.
"...." Ian watched in silence as fear flickered in the maid's brown eyes.
Was it because he was reminiscing about something that had happened way back? An age-old question bubbled up in his mind: was she truly a person, or just intricate graphics, considering that this world originated from a game?
"It seems I misunderstood," said Ian, putting away his sword.
"I'm sorry...." The maid set down the bucket, collapsing in relief. She was visibly shaking, sweat beading on her forehead.
Ian, observing her, reached the same conclusion as before. Even if this all was fake, he couldn't think of it as anything but real. If fakes were this lifelike, there wasn't much difference.
"I'll empty the bathwater for you.” She stood up, bending over the bathtub to release the plug. Ian noticed her reddened legs, likely from the hot water.
"Sorry about earlier. It was instinct. I've been attacked often,” Ian awkwardly spoke up.
"It seems you've been through a lot,” said the maid with an understanding smile. Her voice was now calmer.
Ian shrugged, recalling the swamp where he had first awoken. A place of sickness, refugees, fugitives, bandits, and cursed creatures. He had spent more than half a year in that tutorial area he once cleared in just ten minutes. That was enough time for him to accept and adapt to his situation. The game had transformed into Ian's reality; scenarios he had previously cleared were reset, and ironically, he had become more of a game character than ever before.
"I'll bring another bucket of water. ...And this time, please don't point your sword at me.” The maid turned away with these words.
Ian remained silent, lost in his thoughts about the past. He recalled how he had changed from a common man afraid of cockroaches to a ruthless mage who did not hesitate to kill. If he hadn't kept his character's powers and skills, he would've probably died long ago. He wondered why only his level and skills stayed the same when everything else, like time and quests, had restarted. It seemed like someone had arranged it this way to keep him alive. It was a weird kind of help from whoever it was that had brought him to this world.
‘If only they had given me points instead.’ His main problem was still the same. Ian Hope was a failed character. Right now, he was strong enough to defeat the weak locals without the need of equipment, but soon, he'd be helpless again. He couldn't stay hidden in this small place forever. Time was moving on, and things would happen, maybe even more unexpectedly without him.
Staying in this land meant he couldn't escape what was coming. If he did nothing, he would surely die. This world was bigger than the game, with more and stronger enemies, as well as new places, people, and monsters. The point of no return might come sooner than expected. Actually, he was certain of it. Maybe as early as the end of chapter two or mid-chapter three.
I am living on borrowed time, Ian thought. He let out a hollow laugh.
In the last year, he hadn't leveled up at all. He had only gained a little experience. Most of that was from completing quests and receiving experience as a reward. Probably because the enemies he faced were too weak compared to him, like the kobolds or the vigilantes he had encountered earlier. Still, not everything was bad.
The story has reset. He had another chance to complete quests that offered additional ability and skill points. He could also make different choices from those that had led to the worst outcomes. Furthermore, the points he had previously earned hadn't disappeared.
Three points gained so far in chapter one... Not bad. While becoming the ultimate mage as per the guide was out of reach, there was still hope to reach a survivable level. The best scenario would be to maintain his current advantage as long as possible.
But life never goes as planned. He looked at his swollen ankle by the empty bathtub. The problem was the ax thrown by the Kobold chief. His Whirling Barrier skill had made the ax miss him, but he had hurt his ankle in surprise. This was a new attack pattern.
"New patterns, huh...” said Ian, almost mockingly. To think that after going through so much, he had become this complacent. He was lucky that the only price for such an important lesson was a sprained ankle. Thanks to his high stamina, he'd be better by tomorrow.
Creak—
The door opened slowly and very carefully.
"I'm not holding a sword," Ian called out. Hearing this, the maid hurried in, carrying buckets of steaming water. It seemed they intended to boil him alive.
"Sorry for the delay, hero.” She bowed slightly.
"I'm a mercenary, not a hero,” said Ian.
"But you saved our village,” the maid replied.
Technically, she wasn't wrong. But this village was destined to burn eventually.
"Just pour the water. No more nonsense." Ian gestured dismissively. The maid picked up the first bucket she had brought.
"...Tell me if it's too hot,” said the maid. She began pouring the water slowly, sneaking glances at him while pretending to look away. On closer inspection, her cheeks were slightly flushed.
It was only then that he realized it.
‘Ah, it's because I’m naked.’
He had adapted a bit too well to this dark age.
"Don't get any weird ideas," said Ian.
"Me? What do you mean?" The maid shivered, taken aback.
"Exactly what I said. Don't let your imagination run wild,” Ian added calmly.
In this world, she might be considered an adult, but to him, the freckle-faced maid seemed too young. Maybe fifteen, sixteen at most? Feeling anything more than paternal affection toward such a young girl was a crime in itself.
"I... I didn't think about anything,” said the maid.
She was a terrible liar. It made sense, though. Having seen only toothless drunks reeking of alcohol, a well-built body like his must be a novelty to her. He looked down at his own body. Even though he was a mage, thanks to his Strength and Stamina stats, he had well-defined muscles. A six-pack, clear as chocolate bars, something he never had in reality.
His Intelligence and Mental Fortitude had also improved. He was faster and thought more multi-dimensionally than before. Even with his character's poor stat distribution, he was quite strong. If he had allocated his stats properly, he might have been like an enlightened sage.
"Hey, the water's going to overflow.” Ian finally raised his hand.
The maid, who seemed ready to add another bucket of water, reluctantly stood up.
"Should I boil more water?" she hesitantly asked.
"The water's enough. Prepare some food. I'll leave in an hour,” said Ian.
"And after that...?" the maid asked.
After that, what? Ian thought.
"Nothing. Leave,” Ian firmly spoke.
His firm dismissal made the maid pout as she turned around, but she didn't forget to leave a defiant look in her eyes.
"Ha....” As Ian chuckled, the rowdy voices of the drunks filled his ears again.
Perhaps it would've been better to ask the maid to keep talking instead of this noise. Ian closed his eyes, and submerged up to his chin in the bathtub, activating his level three Meditation skill. Originally, this arcane skill was supposed to be capped at level one.
***
The next day, Ian led the innkeeper and a few village youths back to the kobold stronghold, accompanied by a wagon.
"What a mess... Did you pour oil and set it on fire or something?" the innkeeper asked.
The stronghold still bore the scars of last night's devastation. Charred bodies and ashes, remnants of half-burnt fences and huts.
"How many are there? Were they planning to start a nation?"
"Anyway, the lord probably doesn't care. Too busy with war preparations.”
"The lord and vigilante. Tch, spit. Thinking about it again, it feels refreshing. They got what they deserved, those bandits.”
"Should've trampled on their corpses instead of just spitting on them."
The chatter of the village youths quieted down as Ian turned to look at them. Having witnessed the scene Ian had created, they looked at him with a mix of awe and fear.
"As I said, your job is simple,” Ian continued in a calm tone. "Search every corner and gather anything useful."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om