Chapter 6 - Happy Happy Oren

It took half the time to get to Oren than it did to get to Astora. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any traces of Sarah’s husband along the way. The leading theory right now is that he’s currently safe and probably in the village somewhere. I would just go in, find him, tell him to write home, and all would be well.

Yet the first thing I saw when I walked through the village gates was how quiet everything is. I would have assumed it was a ghost town when I finally saw someone walking nearby.

“Wait! That face!” It was Sarah’s husband. “Hey! Sir!” I called out for him. However, he simply turned to face me with a big ol’ grin. “Today is a happy day! Be happy and never look back!” He then began to dance off down the street.

“What was that about?” I wondered. A sense of suspicion filled me; I figured it was worth checking the village further.

I then saw another villager walking my way as I went further into the village. She, too, had a similar grin. “I’m happy! So happy! Today is the best day of my life!” This time, she decided to skip the rest of the way to wherever she planned to go next.

“Ok, this is getting weirder and weirder…” I sighed as I wandered through the village some more. I heard a commotion, so I decided to follow it.

When I got closer, I saw a village square. Around it were music, festivities, and games. Everyone was cheering, celebrating. Yet there didn’t seem to be anything obvious to indicate what was being celebrated.

“Excuse me? What’s everyone celebrating?” I tapped the shoulder of a nearby man.

“Nothing in particular, every day is worth celebrating after all!” Of course, he had the same stupid grin plastered on his face. “You don’t look too happy.” The man said, as if reading me.

“Not a whole lot to be happy about these days,” I replied plainly. I get being happy and all, but this seemed a little much.

“But there is always a reason to be happy. You should be happy too.” The man exclaimed.

As he said this, I felt a familiar sting on my cheek. Was that Knight nearby?

A new person turned the corner. A short, rather rotund young man with a red bowl cut and a content-looking face appeared. The number ‘42’ is tattooed on his cheek. He held no weapon, and his clothes were plain.

“You’re a contestant?!” I asked, rather shocked to see another competitor here. Was he also investigating?

“Why yes, I am. My name is Simon Rockwell.” He introduced himself with a bow. “I hope you like my village.”

“Razan Hamada.” I introduced myself. This seeming utopia is his? “Then is everyone happy here because of what you're doing?” I asked inquisitively. I needed information.

“Of course, everyone here was so unhappy due to the bandit raids. So me and a few friends of mine. We not only liberated them, but we made them happy again. Now this is a true paradise where nobody can be sad.”

As he said this, a giant rock monster appeared behind him. My cheek stung quite a bit as another person arrived as well. This one was a woman; she wore green huntress robes. Though I couldn’t quite make out her face.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. We just want you to be happy like everyone.” He walked past me and picked up a cupcake before offering it to me. I reluctantly accepted it. I remembered all the bad things that happened, and the cupcake sort of made me forget about all that.

“You don’t look too happy, besides. You’re a competitor. Isn’t it better to just forget about the games and live in happiness? Grow old here and die?”

I thought about it for a second before admitting. “Maybe it is.” I thought about Tetsuo, Miko, and Grace. I wouldn’t have to die, but then I remembered. “But I also have other people who rely on me. Need me. Besides…”

“A real man does what he can and tries his best.”

I wanted to give up. I did, and the offer was tempting. But I could now feel some sort of magic flowing through me. I couldn’t help but laugh, smile. It was wrong.

“A real man does what he can and tries his best.” I snapped out of it. I realize what was happening now. Simon he must be using magic to make everyone happy. Manipulating everyone's emotions. How he was doing it, I didn’t know.

“I’m sorry, but I am busy…I’m here to find this woman's husband; he’s in the village. Once I get him, I’ll be out of your hair.”

However, this seemed to make all three competitors facing me twitch. The bigger one, he didn’t seem to move. He seemed to be the most expectant out of all of them. Did he know I would say that?

“I see, so you don’t want to be happy. I don’t understand, but. If you’re not with us, you must be an enemy.” Simon huffed, almost offended that someone rejected his paradise. That someone could choose not to be happy forever.

The huntress woman stepped forward. “Allow me to take care of this one for you.” She readied what looked like a thin rod in her hand. A blowpipe.

“I’m not looking for a fight.” I wisely backed up. However, the huntress initiated and shot a dart right at me.

“Shield!” I yelled.

A shield appeared before me, and I blocked the shot. Yet I slowly began to feel drained. I was still pretty hungry. “Sword!” I changed to a sword, and I was able to gain a short burst. I jumped at her; however, she managed to get out of my reach by leaping onto a nearby building.

“Nice try.” She exclaimed before firing more darts at me. I switched to my shield and blocked them again. I was outmatched here; she had the height advantage. Unless…

“Take this!” I fired a beam from the shield, which grazed her. It tore off a bit of fabric, but otherwise not much. She was too fast. I had no choice.

“See ya!” I ran; the armor was slowing me down, but I didn’t have time to change. I needed to get out of here. My shield lost its power due to me losing too much energy. My sword appeared back in my hand. I had no choice, I ran into the nearby woods in an attempt to lose her.

That was how I got into that situation. The huntress was Lorelei Raynes.

The present... 

Every so often, I get the same nightmare. A village burning, people dying. It all ended with that Black Knight stabbing me once again. After what felt like a while of nothingness, I got the same nightmare again. Yet this time, I forced myself to get up.

I found myself in a mysterious village. At first, I was worried I ended up back in Oren. But when I looked outside of the house I lay in, I saw normal people. The first person I saw was an older woman. She walked into the room I woke up in.

“Oh goodness, you’re awake. You’re in Karken. Safe.” She assured me as I looked visibly panicked. She was demihuman. I remembered her.

“You’re Grace’s aunt…then in that case.” Another person walked in. Grace.

“Grace?!” I immediately shot up. The shock of seeing such a familiar face was quite the blow to my system. But I was immediately rewarded with a searing pain that filled my entire body.

“Stupid! You shouldn’t have run away from the village like that. I could have explained…I tried.” She muttered. Her face looked relieved, though a bit upset at the same time.

“Did they listen?” I asked.

“No. I guess not.” She answered. “Then there you go. But why save me? Your village got destroyed, Grace. Because of me.”

The older woman shook her head. “No, because of that Knight. Don’t let those foolish villagers say otherwise.” It wasn’t me.

Grace simply nodded. “Father sent me here to stay with my aunt. While the village gets rebuilt, I was washing clothes by the river when I saw you wash up, unconscious and almost dead.”

“You were out for a week.” She finished her statement. “So what happened anyway. Now that you’re awake and all.”

I explained everything that went down. From the journey to Astora to the village of Oren and the chase through the forest.

“So, you see. They’re probably looking for me as we speak. If I don’t leave now, they will probably go after everyone here.” I protested weakly, though I was hardly in the shape to be fighting.

“Then when they come, we’ll fight them together.” She stated, rather determined as well. It was weird seeing Grace like this. But after losing me once, she probably wasn’t too keen on a repeat of that. “Suit yourself.” I sighed, no point arguing with her.

“Now, lie down, you need your rest.” Grace’s aunt spoke softly. I reluctantly lay back down on the bed. Ignoring the sunlight peering slightly through the curtains, and went back to getting some sleep.

Remaining participants: 89/100.

Game status: In progress.

Razan Hamada Status: Alive.