The strict quarantine after the incident with the worg pup gradually faded away. The elder's patrols never found the pack of worgs—either the monsters had gone deeper into the thicket, or they were just a stray, lone group. The tension in the village eased, and life returned to its usual routine. This meant the children were once again allowed to play together on the common lawn inside the palisade.
For Seito, this was a new challenge. After months of secluded training and living in his own system-filled world, the need to interact with peers seemed harder than push-ups to exhaustion. They were… so *childish*. Their interests were limited to tag, hide-and-seek, and playing with pebbles. Their conversations were full of naive fantasies and arguments about whose dad was stronger.
But he was a strategist. And he understood that being an outcast, a recluse, was a sure way to attract unwanted attention. He needed to blend in. To create a plausible mask of an ordinary, perhaps slightly quieter and more thoughtful child.
His "friends" were three: Liam, the hunter's son, a stocky and noisy boy with freckles all over his face; Mira, the potter's daughter, a quick and giggly girl with two long braids; and Alvin.
Alvin was… different. He was a year older than the others, and his family had moved to Stonedale just a couple of years ago due to some conflict in their hometown. He was slender, with features uncommonly neat for a village, sharp ears, and a slight, barely noticeable slant to his eyes that betrayed his half-blood heritage. Rumor had it he had a drop of elven blood in his veins. Alvin kept to himself, with a slight contempt for all these "village simpletons," but for some reason, it was Seito who interested him the most.
The first few days were unbearable. Seito had to forcefully restrain himself. When they played tug-of-war, he had to pretend he was pulling his side with all his might, though he could have pulled all three of them with one sharp tug. When they climbed the large sprawling tree on the outskirts of the village, he purposely pretended to slip and struggle to find handholds, even though his "Balance" and "Agility" would have allowed him to run up the trunk like a squirrel.
He observed the others, studied them like he would a new mechanism. Liam was simple and straightforward; his strength lay in his stubbornness. Mira relied on speed and cunning. And Alvin… Alvin never got his hands dirty, never ran until he was drenched in sweat. He preferred to stand aside and watch with a smug smirk. But when it came to throwing pebbles at a target or games of attention, he was always first. His elven blood gave him innate coordination and sharp eyesight.
This was what caused the conflict.
One day, they found an abandoned log and decided to have a contest: who could stand on it on one foot the longest. Liam and Mira fell off almost immediately, giggled, and started watching the others. Seito, staying in character, swayed, waved his arms, and pretended he was about to fall. In reality, his "Balance" skill would have allowed him to stand like that all day.
But Alvin held out the longest. He stood motionless, like a statue, his face calm and arrogant. Five minutes passed, then ten… Seito grew tired of pretending to struggle and decided to "slip" to end it.
And at that moment, his system, always silent in the presence of others, issued a daily quest.
[Daily Quest: "Victory in the Trial"]
[Goal: Win the current balance contest.]
[Reward: +0.2 to Agility, +50 experience points.]
Seito froze on the edge of the log. Fifty experience! That was almost a quarter of what he needed for the next level. And +0.2 to Agility—a substantial increase. The temptation was too great. The thought of losing to that arrogant Alvin, who looked down on him, also played its part.
He caught his balance. His body, accustomed to discipline, reacted instantly. He stopped swaying. His posture became collected, perfectly balanced. He stood just as motionless as Alvin, but his stance radiated not innate grace, but precise, trained strength.
Liam and Mira gasped. They had seen Seito was about to fall, and suddenly he had become a picture of concentration.
Alvin noticed it too. His arrogant expression changed to surprise, then to a narrowing of his eyes. He hadn't expected competition from this quiet son of a carpenter.
Another ten minutes passed. No one gave up. Their legs began to ache, the sun beat down. Mira and Liam grew bored and moved on to another game.
And then Alvin faltered. Not physically—his body remained still. His patience faltered. He couldn't bear that some village boy, without a drop of noble blood, was competing with him.
"Well, you stand there like an idol," he hissed through his teeth at Seito. "I guess all your strength went into standing like a post?"
Seito didn't answer. He just stared straight ahead, completely focused. He already regretted giving in to the system's provocation, but it was too late to back down now.
"Hey, are you listening to me!" Alvin's voice grew angrier. "I'm talking to you! Do you think you're special? Your father is a simple carpenter. My… my father was a captain of the city guard!"
Seito remained silent. It was a mistake. His silence was perceived by Alvin as contempt.
Enraged, the half-elf did what he shouldn't have. He abruptly jumped off the log and, taking a running start, kicked it, trying to knock it out from under Seito's feet.
But Seito didn't need his system to react. His body, honed for months, acted on its own. The moment the kick landed, he leaped lightly; the log swayed beneath him, and he, performing a light, almost imperceptible twist in the air, landed on both feet on the ground without even staggering. It was a movement impossible for an ordinary child.
Everyone froze. Even Alvin, who had expected Seito to fall into the mud, stared at him with wide eyes.
[Quest completed. Reward received.]
The system's chime sounded like a death knell for Seito's cover.
"How did you… do that?" Mira whispered.
"He almost flew!" exclaimed Liam with undisguised admiration. "Wow, Seito! You're like a squirrel!"
But there was no admiration on Alvin's face. There was burning, venomous envy. He, with his elven blood, his innate abilities, had been outdone by some bumpkin. And this bumpkin had demonstratively ignored him!
"He just got lucky with his fall," Alvin hissed, his voice trembling with anger. "You liked showing off, huh? Think you're the big man now?"
Seito finally looked at him. He saw not just an angry boy. He saw a face twisted with malice, and his memory conjured other faces—those that had beaten him to death in his past life. Faces full of contempt for those weaker. Only now, he wasn't weaker. And that infuriated Alvin even more.
"I didn't want to compete," Seito said quietly. It was the truth.
"Yeah, right!" Alvin snorted and spat on the ground right in front of Seito's feet. "Just stay away from me, upstart. And don't get in my way."
He turned and left, chin held high, but his back showed he was trembling with humiliation and anger.
Liam and Mira stood in awkward silence for a moment, then, muttering something about being called home, hurried away. They didn't want to quarrel with Alvin.
Seito was left alone on the lawn. He watched the retreating figures, and conflicting emotions raged within him. On one hand, he had gained valuable experience points and stats. On the other—he had revealed some of his abilities and acquired an enemy. A small one, but an enemy nonetheless.
He looked at his hands. They weren't shaking. Inside him was only cold, calm analysis. Alvin was a problem. Potentially dangerous. He could spread rumors, start watching him, suspect something.
*Fine,* Seito thought with that same cold resolve that had appeared in him after the forest. *If this is a game, then I'll play it.*
He wasn't planning revenge on anyone. He would just be more careful. He would watch Alvin just as Alvin would probably watch him. And his strength… he would hide his strength even more carefully.
He turned and walked home, towards the sound of his father's axe and the smell of his mother's soup. His world had grown more complex again. It now held not only monsters and secrets, but also the first, bitter shadow of human envy. And he realized that sometimes the greatest danger might come not from the dark forest, but from those standing next to you in the sun.