Chapter 10
Click, Click, Click!
Shuffle, Shuffle, Shuffle!
The sounds of footsteps echoed across the rubble-strewn ground as debris was shuffled aside, allowing some of the surviving villagers to trickle out of the wreckage.
Zen had thought the entire village had been massacred, but he was wrong. The second troll hadn't finished them off. It had turned back when it heard the death screams of its partner, abandoning the remaining villagers to go after Zen instead.
Although the villagers weren't entirely wiped out, their numbers had been severely reduced. Only about twenty remained, and they stood in stunned silence as they stared at the strange man who had swooped in and taken care of the beast.
"Woah! Th… that's… that's the famous B-rank Reaver: Tom!" one of the injured villagers exclaimed, pointing at the man who now stood with a confident smile after incinerating the troll.
"Yes! Now that you say that, I can see it clearly. It really is Tom!"
"I can't believe a B-rank Reaver was sent down here to help us."
"He is so dreamy."
"Thank you so much, Sir Tom!" one of the men shouted as he rushed forward, eager to express his gratitude to the Reaver who had saved them.
"Ah no! I didn't really do much," Tom replied with a cheeky smile as he rubbed his thick black hair slightly, a hint of humility in his tone.
"No, you shouldn't say that, Sir Tom. If you hadn't come when you did, we would have all died. So thank you, truly," another villager said, tears streaming freely down his soot-covered face.
"I guess I really did do something," Tom chuckled, shrugging as his eyes scanned the village ruins.
'But something still bothers me though...' he thought silently. 'How and why did C-rank beasts attack here? What's so special about this village that a portal break of that level occurred here? Something doesn't add up.'
"Sir Tom, how did you even get here so fast though?" a curious voice asked.
"I had just completed a mission not far from here, so I decided to drop by and see what was going on," Tom said without looking at the villager.
His eyes were still sweeping across the area until they landed on the beheaded troll, the very one Zen had killed. Not far from the body was a young man kneeling and staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
'Di…di…did he just kill that beast so effortlessly?!' Zen shouted internally as he locked eyes with the Reaver who was now walking toward him.
'Who is he? What is he? And that… that strange power he used earlier—what was that? How did he do that? What the hell is up with this bizarre world? Damn it, now I really wish I hadn't dropped a trashy review about this game and had just played it a few more days,' Zen sighed inwardly.
Just as that thought faded, the agonizing pain from earlier returned like a vengeful storm.
"ARGHHHH! Ouch, ouch, ouch! My body!" A blood-curdling scream tore from Zen's throat, rupturing the tense silence and halting the approaching Reaver in his tracks.
"Ow, ow, ow! I'm bleeding, I'm terribly injured!" Zen cried out, clutching his mangled arm and looking down at his blood-soaked body in horror.
'Huh?' Tom narrowed his eyes as he tilted his head, studying Zen closely, scanning him from head to toe. 'Did… did he kill this troll? But how? That troll was a C-rank beast. Honestly, even a C-rank Reaver might struggle against one, yet he killed it?
Who is this guy? I've never seen him before and he definitely isn't a Reaver… so who the hell is he? And how did he manage to kill a C-rank beast all on his own?'
"Di… did you kill this beast yourself?" Tom asked, pointing at the dead troll that lay a few feet away from Zen.
On hearing the Reaver's voice, Zen quickly looked up, blinking several times in disbelief at the man towering over him.
"Ye… yes, I did. But it did come at a cost though," Zen said, gesturing to his broken arm. The Reaver's eyes widened in clear shock.
'How is this possible? A frail-looking being like him killed a C-rank beast? If I were to classify his strength, he should be so terribly weak that he wouldn't even qualify to be a Reaver.
And yet, here he is, having taken down a C-rank beast. Could I possibly help him? Bring him over to our clan? Maybe… maybe I could even train him to become a Reaver.
But damn it, the clan master might not agree with me. He looks so pathetically weak. He looks like someone the wind could blow away without resistance.'
"Uhm… Mister Reaver?" Zen called out, snapping Tom out of his spiraling thoughts. The Reaver raised an eyebrow in response.
"I'm still injured and broken here! Is there anything you can do to help me?" Zen shouted as he pointed again to his bloodied body and mangled arm.
Just then, a system message blinked before his eyes.
Tring!
{Congratulations! First Quest Completed! System is surprised}
{Rewards will now be granted by the system}
{Calculating rewards… rewards granted}
{Ding! Personal message from the system}
{Just because you survived this doesn't mean you're safe, bug. The game will do everything in its power to eliminate you. Stay on your toes. You might be six feet under sooner than you think.
Good luck surviving this hell you've found yourself in, dear soon-to-be-dead NPC. Lol!}
'I swear, if I find the person who created this damned system, I will make them pay! I'll show you soon, you damned system. I swear!' Zen roared inwardly, his good hand clenched tightly in fury.
"What's your name, young lad?" Tom asked, interrupting Zen's internal rage.
"Zenixx," Zen replied.
"Zenixx? Sheesh. What an odd name. I think I'll just stick to calling you Zen instead," Tom said, folding his arms as he stared at the kneeling figure before him. "So Zen, what do you say about becoming a Reaver and joining our clan?"
"Wait, what?!" a few villagers gasped, clearly stunned by what they had just heard.
"Di… did he just recruit that weakling into his clan? But why?"
"Damn! That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be recruited by a strong Reaver like Tom."
"Even if he accepts, there's no way he'll survive life in the clan."
Tom remained calm, ignoring the villagers' whispers as he extended his hand towards Zen, his palm open and steady.
"So what do you say, Zen?"
'Join a clan and become a Reaver? What does that even mean for someone like me?' Zen thought. 'What even is a clan in this world? It sounds like a guild, maybe. But if I join them… what awaits me? What challenges? Can I survive that?'
Zen's hand trembled as he tried to process what was happening. His mind was racing, searching for clarity in the chaos.
'If I say no, there's no way I'll survive whatever this game throws at me next. There's no guarantee another strong Reaver will show up in time next time I get attacked. So how do I expect to return to reality if I die here?
Besides… if I'm going to beat that damned Game Lord, I need to be strong. This Reaver, Tom—he might be the key. If I can somehow learn his strange power, I might stand a chance. I guess the choice is obvious, huh?' Zen chuckled inwardly. But that thought was quickly interrupted as pain surged through him again.
"What do you say?" Tom asked once more, his gaze locked on Zen with growing interest.
Zen let out a tired sigh and raised his hand slowly toward Tom's.
"Fine, I accept you…" the young lad began, but his words faded as his vision blurred. His head throbbed. His body ached all over, each breath more painful than the last.
"Shit… I've lost too much blo…od. Damn," Zen mumbled under his breath, and the next moment, he collapsed, his body slumping to the ground, unconscious.
"Huh?" Tom muttered, blinking rapidly as he stared at the unconscious young man, still trying to process what had just happened.