Roke woke up drenched in sweat, unable to grasp what was happening, yet it had felt so real.
He was in the forest, and suddenly, several demi-humans appeared; he ran and ran. But they were all too fast, and then his body exploded in white light.
He woke up.
"What was that?" he asked himself, gripping his grandfather's hand.
As the dream lingered in his mind, Sevin suddenly burst into view, sprinting and soaked in sweat.
"Found you at last, man," he said, his breath hitching.
"Sevin? What's going on?" Roke asked, completely lost.
"That damn god! How dare he keep me in the dark about you?" Sevin's face was a mask of pure irritation.
"God?" Roke asked, still completely lost.
"Never mind that, man. More importantly, how's the old man doing?" Sevin asked, quickly changing the subject.
They talked for hours, until…
"Wait, bro, I just thought of something genius," Sevin said, jumping up.
So, they left the hospital and headed straight to a secret location near the central plaza in City 3.
"Hey! Sevin, wait up!" Roke called out to him, a look of pure dread on his face.
"Relax, it's just the black market," he said, stepping inside right after the guard checked his CEF.
"But I…" But before Roke could get a word out, Sevin had already disappeared inside.
Roke tried to slip past next, but the guard's arm shot out to stop him.
"Hold it, kid. Where do you think you're headed?" The guard eyed him, sensing something was off.
"I'm with my friend," Roke said.
"CEF first," the guard said, still blocking Roke's path.
What is your name, boy?" the guard asked with an intimidating voice.
Nevertheless, Roke spoke, believing that at least within the system, everything would be normal.
But… when the guard looked over his CEF.
CEF: 00/00
"Hahaha! You really think you're passing through with that CEF, brat?" The guard let out a booming laugh.
"Just stay right there and wait for your buddy," he asserted, unable to stop laughing.
While all that chaos was unfolding at the entrance to the black market, Sevin glanced back, but Roke wasn't there. He knew he couldn't afford to waste time, so he kept on walking.
Merchants inside were hawking their wares: "Check out this jewelry, buy now!" while others bellowed: "Who wants passage to City 2? Come haggle!"
But Sevin made a beeline for a medicinal shop, his eyes searching frantically for the antidote.
The medicinal merchant eyed him and leaned in, grabbing him.
"My boy, is there something you need?" he asked, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"I want the famous antidote from City 5. Do you have it?" Sevin asked, his eyes still searching for anything that looked like it.
The owner backed away with a look of utter disdain. "Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing is worth 10,000,000 gold coins in City 5!"
"What? That much?" Sevin asked, stepping back from the merchant.
As Sevin turned away, ready to head out, the merchant called after him.
"Hey, I know someone who can get you there in no time."
"No…" Sevin started, his mouth hanging open as he tried to find the words.
But the merchant cut him off, calling out to someone else.
Oh, my boy, looking for a trip?" the travel merchant asked eagerly.
They talked for a long time. Sevin asked if the man could take him to City 5.
"Ah, my friend, City 5... that's going to cost you more," he said, his voice trembling slightly.
"Say what? Are you kidding me?" Sevin asked, completely outraged.
Soon after, the merchant explained that getting there is extremely dangerous because you have to cross the Sealed Forest.
"We charge 1,000,000 gold coins," he said, waiting for the reaction.
Sevin pulled out everything he had and placed it in his hand.
"That's it? You think I'm a panhandler?"
When the merchant realized Sevin had a mere 500 gold coins, he backed away and burst out laughing, joined by the other merchants who had been watching. They were all laughing at him at once.
Sevin simply started to walk away, unable to do anything else.
Meanwhile, a boy and a man arrived outside and saw Roke sitting there, looking deeply worried.
"And what is your name, young man?" he asked, seeing him there alone.
"I'm Roke, and yours...?" But before Roke could finish, the stranger was already scanning his CEF system for the name.
"Unh, let me look... where are you, Roke?" He searched through the sea of names in his system.
"There you are, finally," he whispered, his expression turning to one of pure disappointment.
And he began to laugh along with the boy.
"Your CEF is zero? Are you for real?" he asked, doubling over.
"Yeah, but…" As Roke tried to speak, he was cut off by a punch to the gut.
The guard directly in front of him simply looked away.
Roke doubled over, clutching his stomach in agony.
The boy seized the opportunity, repeatedly kicking him while he was down.
Suddenly, his hand began to glow with a white flow, much like the light from the sleep explosion.
A menu flashed in front of him.
Awakened Power
POWER UNLOCKED
CEF: ???
But there was no time to make sense of it.
And before a single thought could cross his mind, a white light erupted, killing everyone in the vicinity and hurling Roke a great distance.
After a long while, Sevin finally stepped out of the black market, only to be met by a devastating blast.
He saw Roke on the ground, surrounded by the bodies of the three men and several nearby merchants.
Sevin rushed to Roke, Sevin just grabbed his hand and hauled him up. There was no time for questions, the surviving merchants had already started chasing them.