Loss

I hurried back as fast as I could. Damn my speed, it took forever just to cross the forest. My body was cracked from head to toe, and I didn’t have enough mana to regenerate fully.

I tried making the dirt hill muddy and slipped down for some added speed, but my mana dropped to zero in an instant. I felt myself slowing down again. My body couldn't bear it.

This is worse than before… how come I’m so tired all of a sudden? I continued through the fatigue and ran towards the boundary line. Is this due to my evolution? I knew I was a bit more in tune with magic, but I didn’t realise I had become so dependent on mana…

Although my body didn't have muscles that could get tired, my entire being was drained. My soul and mind were running on fumes as I pushed each leg in front of the other.

I made it.

My heavy body crossed through the fields, but nobody was there to greet me. Not a soul in sight, not even as I trampled across the crops, absentmindedly towards the huts.

It was strange, usually at least one person was always working through the vegetable patches or checking the crops. I couldn’t help thinking something was going on. My mind was in such a mess, I barely had control of my body. Perception wasn’t able to pick them up at all.

Where is everyone? Did they leave? No, they wouldn't be able to leave that quickly. Also, there's no reason for them to leave.

I turned the corner around the buildings and found them all gathered around the chief's hut. Their faces were locked in horror, with a few tears between some of them.

Why are they crying? Where is the chief… Where's Rorick?

“G-Guardian?”

I pushed through, not paying any mind to whoever was in my way and got to the entryway. The chief was sprawled over the edge of Rorick's bed, his hands clasped over his son's limp palm. Face buried into the blanket over his stomach, the chief's cries and sobbing broke through clearly.

Rorick…? No... No. No. NO! Appraisal!

{Human Corpse}

You’re wrong… system, you’re wrong! Appraise it again!

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

{Human Corpse}

No matter how many times I did it, the outcome never changed. The colour was completely drained from Rorick's face, the shine completely void from his eyes. I dropped the flowers at my side and waddled over to the body, where I stopped just at the foot of the bed.

I made it back, so why did he die? It’s not fair… this life was supposed to be different, I'm not supposed to lose here...!

Suddenly, the air shifted outside the hut, and a commotion brought about faint murmurs. A second later, Bell burst through with a panicked face, “Chief– I’m sorry, but… there’s a carriage approaching the village.” He clenched his teeth as the words left his mouth.

I’m sure the gravity of the situation hit him the moment he entered the room, but he was still quite level-headed to worry about such things. I couldn’t do the same. The words passed over me like empty noise.

“I believe it’s one of Lord Midas’ men again.” Bell formed a fist at his side. “What should we do?”

“I…I’m not sure,” the chief barely lifted his damp face off the bed to answer. His eyes were bloodshot, clearly not in his right mind. It would be a lot for anyone, but as father and chief of the village, it couldn't be anything less than brutal for him. “Do I have to meet with him…” The chief muttered miserably under his breath.

The carriage came to a halt just outside the border, and an armoured man stepped out and stood in front of the erected wall with awe.

“Since when was this here…? These peasants, they’re like roaches. They'll struggle to survive, even when there's no point to their lives.”

“What do you want!” Bell screamed out from behind the wall. He marched towards the man, fury in his eyes. “I thought lord Midas tossed us aside, so why are you back here?” Bell urged again.

“What’s got you so bent out of shape? You lot were practically begging him to reconsider last time?” The corner of his mouth rose with a snarky curve.

This bastard…has the nerve to smile?

I’d felt a lot of emotions in my life, and anger was pretty common. I felt angry that I got sick, that there was no cure and more than anything, I felt angry that I died. All of that seemed so small compared to the fiery rage that welled up when I saw his face.

My vision, still blurry, focused like a tunnel on the knight. Before I realised it, I was walking towards him.

“Rorick’s… he’s dead now, thanks to you! If Lord Midas hadn’t thrown us out like scraps, we could have saved him! We worked tirelessly to grow and harvest crops for him, and this is how he repaid us?!” Bell gripped the cloth of his collar as he screamed out.

“Hmph, so that’s it? You’re a bit heated, ‘cause one of you died?” The smirk on the knight's face grew twice in size, his hand that rested on the hilt of his sword gripped and unsheathed it. “To be quite honest, I’m a little sad I didn’t get to finish off the runt myself.”

Bell's expression stiffened, “What did you say?” He took a step towards the wall.

“I’ve been seeing to these supplies for months now, protecting the carriages and making sure you lot don’t step out of line, but now… I finally get to release all this pent-up frustration.” He raised the silver blade of his sword. A cold expression clouded over his face as he locked eyes with Bell, “Lord Midas plans to change this country. For that to happen, he needs to shed some dead weight. Consider this your contribution to the new age of Midas!” The sword was brought down with a swift strike as he rushed through the opening in the wall.

With the sudden appearance of a circle on the ground, mud rose in a clumsy attempt at a pillar. The sword got about halfway through before it slowed and came to a complete stop.

“What the… is this magic?”

Bell stumbled back in fright. He definitely would have died had the sword hit him. The knight, however, broke his sword free and created another foot or two of distance. His eyes darted to me.

“Since when was there a golem here? Wait, these walls, that pillar, I’m guessing you’re the cause of it? Look at me, talking to a monster like it could understand me.” His eyes looked past me and to Bell, who was still on the ground. “You don’t have resources to heal your sick, but you can tame this monster to fight for you? You’re a strange bunch, you lot and this damn forest. Good thing I’m here to wipe your sorry asses out.” He adjusted his stance, his sword raised at his side.

That was my last MP, so I can't use any more magic. I don’t care, though. Right now, all I want to do is hit him as hard as I can... No, I might just kill him instead.