Interlude: The Boy Dressed in Blood

The stench from the mid-sized goblin village was overpowering. From only a whiff, one could imagine the horror that had occurred. It was a smell I had become very familiar in this past month: the smell of death. Except it was countless of times more powerful. It was warning others, telling tales of despair, doom, and misery. A message could be felt from the smell, “Death is all that awaits.”

There was an animalistic presence that could be felt when approaching any side of the village, guarding the area, intimidating other creatures of the deep dungeon to stay away. I knew what this entailed. There could only be a terrible, fearsome monster residing inside. One that we’ve had the luck to never encounter in the time we’ve been here. But still, we had to go in. Stella was there.

I gathered my courage, not sure to be happy or sad as my Willpower was barely scraping the minimum to endure this beastly, ferocious aura. Then, I uttered something that I hope wouldn’t lead us to death.

“We need to go in.”

I was prepared to go alone. They had no obligation to join me in this death march to save Stella. It might be a suicide mission for others, but if I didn’t do at least this… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I kept my eyes forward, scared to see the look on their faces. My companions, my best friends, my family.

This is who these people were. They were people I had entrusted my life to countless times over this past month, and we pulled through. Yet, someone above must have forsaken us, and Stella was captured. It was my duty to get her back. She sacrificed herself for me, and I needed to get her back.

No, I must get her back.

Silence prevailed throughout the next moment.

A more definite message couldn’t have been made. I thought they might have felt the same as me, but I guess I was wrong. I don’t blame them for their choice, and will never hold it against them. They will always be my companions. I only hope they can live a happy life when I leave them.

I began stepping forward towards the dilapidated village, conviction oozing out of every movement. I didn’t stop either moving; else I don’t know what I would have done. My hands were holding tightly to my sword and shield, ready for any surprise. Hopefully, it would be able to buy some time for Stella to run.

While I was never going to be angry about their choice, why was I the only one that felt this way? It was a sad thought to me. Would they refuse to help each other in times of need? Or were they just waiting for someone to save them? This was their way of life, but not one that would allow one to survive here in the dungeon. I realized this when I was conferred a title by The Source.

I won’t be here forever you know.

Two hands, one from each side, stopped my movement from each side after a couple of steps. They were gentle, trembling even. I could have kept on walking, throwing off the hands without breaking a sweat. But I knew. This was their resolve. They couldn’t walk there by themselves; they needed me to lead them. These were the bravest, most strong-willed people I knew. Yet they needed me; they could only function with me. I slightly dipped my head, as if in approval, but if someone really understood me, they would know it was in disappointment. Still, my Perception picked up their own stabilized Willpower, and I moved forward once again. This time, with two others joining me in my charge.

The wild aura only got more and more dreadful as we approached. My eyes never strayed from the insignia on my right hand, in case a system prompt was triggered. If I were overpowered despite my ability, then I would have them retreat immediately. It didn’t take three seconds before the message I was waiting for appeared.

The Will of a ???? washes over you, intent on deterrence.

Fear of the ???? has been planted in humans from eons past, but the Willpower of a Hero proves unyielding.

You have successfully resisted with the help of Hero: Overcoming Fear

Under the baptism of the ????'s aura, your Willpower has been tempered.

+1 Willpower

I let out a pent-up sigh of relief, glad that I made it through. I was a little surprised about the unexpected gain; it had been ages since the last bonus. But it wasn’t over. I could feel the two hands on me tightening in fear.

“Hero: Age of Inspiration.”

I chanted a short spell through the system, one that proved immensely useful immediately.

The hands tightly grasping my shoulders had loosened considerably, and the one on my left side had even given a slight squeeze of gratitude. No problem, just doing my job.

And so, we continued forward as one.

After that slight system check, the pressure on us from the presence had lessened significantly, allowing for faster, stronger steps towards the village. It made me marvel at the importance of Willpower. We were lucky and hadn’t encountered any monsters with a strong Will when we first appeared; else our fate would have only been death.

Maybe that had happened to Victor when we all first transferred. Alone, without anyone else, he had to face up against monsters crueler than the devil. He’s probably dead.

It made me sad; he was a good friend. But more than that, he was my model.

The ideal person that I wanted to be.

I thought he was the sun when I first saw him up on that podium. No, he was even brighter than the sun.

His pure arrogance, his overflowing dignity. That courage that seemed never to end, the absolute confidence he had in himself. Elegance in every movement, a noble aura that could have only been instilled at birth.

He was beautiful. He is a king.

Those were the only thoughts I had when I first gazed upon him.

It’s all in the past now.

I shook my head as the smell of blood, death, and rot was gradually becoming stronger. We had reached the front ‘gate’ of the village, nothing more than a large hole in the primitive stone barrier.

“You guys ready?”

I asked, wanting confirmation that this was what they wanted. I received two small squeezes, but no words. They were probably too scared. Or maybe they didn’t want that stench in their mouth. Either way, I closed my eyes, steeling myself for a split second.

We need to get everyone out alive. Stella, you must be okay. I promised that I would protect all of you. But you were the first.

Regaining my confidence, and renewing my conviction, I stepped into the village. At first, there was nothing more than smell in the air. But it was peculiar. There wasn’t any movement in the village. The former villages we had raided were always full of goblins, charging at us or hiding somewhere for an ambush. While it was always tiring, it was never silent and lifeless like it was now. I paused for a moment, sweeping out with my Perception. I immediately felt immense fear.

There was something wrong.

My Perception only felt one living being in the entire village. Nothing else. Goblins were many calibers below me. It was fundamentally impossible for them to escape from a Hero’s Perception. The question was…

What happened to Stella?

The worst case had immediately presented itself. There were no signs of life except for one, which I assumed belonged to the monster that this formless pressure originated from. It was a located deeper into the village, at the core, where the hobgoblins and the goblin chief would usually reside. A panic that I had been suppressing ever since she was taken away had suddenly gushed out from within. I bent down, confusing the two companions beside me. I tried to keep silent, tears flowing out of my eyes non-stop.

Sorrow replaced the panic in a blink of the eye, memories of Stella and me filled my vision.

When she first discovered my talent for magic in the first week of school.

Our meetups everywhere following that discovery.

The days in the Human Nature Research Club.

Our misadventures in the forest.

After confirmation from her father, the beginning of magic lessons.

Our time together grew, and more meetups were encouraged.

The panic we had when we first awoke in the dungeon. The brave you, who took the lead.

You led us, taught us all how to use magic. Without you, we would have all been dead from day one.

You are the real hero.

I silently sobbed, grieving for a true friend. This wasn’t because I loved her romantically, but because I loved her as my family, my companion, my best friend. I had lost someone dear to me.

This isn’t the time.

A voice of reason floated in my mind, calming me down. It made me angry. How did I come to this? The me from a month ago wouldn’t have calmed down no matter what happened…

All I’ve ever wanted was a life of happiness.

I had stopped sobbing abruptly, but I took a moment before standing back up. I didn’t really feel up to the task anymore. But in the end, I decided that I had to kill it.

I would take revenge.

Stella, even if this fails, I’ll be joining you soon. But not making before making sure that Aria and Lisa make it out alive.

I stood back up, no weakness in my eyes. We continued once again, but this time Aria and Lisa behind me got out their weapons: a magic staff and a bow. As we delved deeper into the broken village, the once tolerable aura turned ferocious once again. It felt like knives caressing my cheeks, warning of a bloody and painful death. There was only a turn left before we could reach the center of the village. But it was the hardest turn that I was ever going to make in my life. The pungent stench of shit, blood, rot, and death was overpowering. I could hear Aria slightly gagging behind me, trying to keep her vomit. We needed to hurry.

If the beast were lying in wait, then the smell of vomit would alert them.

We were only half-hidden because of my passive Hero specialty, but it wouldn’t last long against a monster with more than 30 Perception. I signaled with my hand, indicating that we were about to start.

“Haste” “Blessing of Protection” “Knighting of Justice” Soft chanting of spells, resembling a whisper, originated from Aria. A golden shine came from her before a green, purple, and white light went out of her staff to cover both me and Lisa. I counted down to zero from three with my sword in my hand, crouching down in preparation for a swift take out.

Once I hit zero, my muscles bulged, and I dashed around the corner smoothly, thanks to my high Agility.

“Fear Me!”

A loud roar came from me. It was a skill, one that I learned once I had hit level 10 and transitioned into the Magic Warrior occupation. It was a fight initiator that came habitually, created from countless battles. It was even more effective than the usual Warrior skill as I inputted mana into it. It gave the chance of inflicting Fear and Stun on the targets, with a slim chance of inflicting Bewitched. I was looking for an opening, and this was a perfect skill for that. But I stopped mid-charge when I could get a clear view of the central area of the village.

There was no monster.

The gruesome sight of corpses everywhere, greeted me as I turned the corner. Goblin corpses, hobgoblin corpses, even a big goblin shaman corpse in the middle. The ground was flooded with green blood, half-congealed. It was smelly but had a weird morbid allure to it.

The entire village must have been there. The corpses were in all different types of states. Most of the goblins were oozing green blood from one or two cuts on their throats or a stab wound on their heart. The rest could be seen with deformed cavities in their chests, or their skulls cracked open, revealing a blackened brain and even more green blood oozing everywhere. Some corpses died screaming, long purple tongues hanging out of their mouth and yellow canines framing it. There were some decapitated bodies here and there, creating a nauseating sight. Some had small, rusted knives in their hands.

The hobgoblins all had at least one distorted or broken leg, the only difference in their corpses was what happened above the shoulders. Some had their throats cut; some were stabbed through the eye, some had stab wounds in their foreheads. All the hobgoblins had rough, leather armor that covered their body. It looked absolute untouched by a weapon if not wholly dyed green by blood. These guys had snarls on their faces, some with disbelief as if they had died without realizing it.

The goblin shaman was the most revolting sight. It was covered in slashes. It was clear to see that it used to have a magician’s robe, but it was shredded. But it was enough to cover the emancipated body of the corpse. This one died afraid, fear engraved on its face. It looked like it was going up against a Demon King, finally dying from a dagger stuck in its head. It held a fetal position, facing upwards towards the sky. It looked like a mummy. Blackened skin hugged its skeleton, filled with cuts and scratches, revealing even blacker bones. A broken, wooden magic staff was off to the side, fragments floating in the green pool. It looked like a vampire had gone sucked out all the blood from the corpse. It was a chilling sight, unnatural even for a game world.

The smell was even denser now, almost a solid, as it pushed me. The aura was vicious, whipping the air around us like a storm. It made me feel an unprecedented sense of danger, keeping me on my toes for any threats.

But what caught my attention the most was the girl holding a corpse in her arms. She was sitting down in front a broken, wooden cage, ignoring my skill.

It was Stella.

She wasn’t crying, nor did she look harmed. However, she seemed worried about the dead body in her arms. She had her face held close to the head of the corpse. The look on her face was grave as if hearing something troubling. Her head blocked my vision of the corpse’s face, so I couldn’t see who it was. My Perception couldn’t feel any trace of life from it, making me faintly wonder what she was so worried about.

I was sure it was a human corpse. It had red blood.

It was in a terrible state, even worse than the various monster corpses around us. Both of its legs were distorted, parts of meat missing as if bitten off. It was very pronounced, as the legs were almost like sticks. It was covered in claw marks, stab wounds, and bite wounds. The whole thing was doused in bright green blood, making the skin look like a goblin’s. I would have thought the corpse was a hobgoblin if it weren’t for faint traces of red coming out of the wounds. That was just the legs.

My eyes traveled up the body, which was only half-covered in tattered rags, allowing me to identify the corpse as a guy. It seemed like a miracle that the cloths, dyed green from blood, were still able to cover his body. Even his pants were in a worse state, barely concealing his groin. It resembled a diaper, only much more disgusting and smelly. It wasn’t as injured as the legs, but one could see a thick claw wound going down his chest, which seemed like it would have instantly killed this stick-like figure. His arms were even more so stick-like. His right forearm was broken, unnaturally bent, while his left arm contained a few teeth stuck deep inside. I couldn’t see any slight injuries, as green and red blood was plastered on his body as if he was papier-mâché.

He was holding onto a dagger that looked like it belonged to a pair with the blade stuck in the goblin chief’s head, only this one was half broken with no clue as to where the other was. The quality of the dagger was inferior; one could see how unbalanced it was at just a glance. Rust speckled the blade, and it was slathered in green blood, some running off towards the ground.

It was unbelievable that such a knife could kill anything, and even resembled those of the goblins’ weapons.

It was clear that the aura had originated from the corpse.

It took me a moment to take this in, and I felt a little sick at the sight. It wasn’t at the level of throwing up, but I was worried continued looking would force me to hurl.

Lisa and Aria, however, had no such reservations. It only took a moment before they started throwing up because of the visual impact and smell. I didn’t blame them, and there were no monsters around, so it didn’t seem like such a big deal. But we’ll have to work on our resistance to gore; it’s no good if we become like this in the middle of a battle.

After taking a second to calm myself down, from both disgust of the scene and the joy of seeing Stella alive, I ran over to her.

Why is she so close to the corpse? That aura might hurt he—

It disappeared. It was like the eye of a storm, where the center is the most peaceful of all. It happened when I was only about 2 meters away from the pair. The moment I stepped into this quiet area, the smell from the corpses was gone. Stella’s head snapped over in my direction, alarmed. When she realized it was me, her face visibly softened, losing tension gained from her capture.

“Took you long enough. What makes you think you’re allowed to be late for a girl like me?” It was the usual snarky greeting she did. It made me relieved when I heard that. It meant she wasn’t too shaken. Yet my legs were made to tremble when I saw the look on her face. It was one of sadness, one of worry that I had never seen before, even when Lisa had almost died that first day. Her eyes weren’t focused on me when she was talking but at the corpse. “Keep what you have to say to yourself. Get Aria over here. QUICKLY!”

My mouth was open, my heart filled with words that I wanted to say to her. Words of thankfulness, words to greet her, words to say sorry. It was all stuck in my throat. They refused to come out.

“Well?! Did you not bring them?” Words of impatience stabbed towards me when she heard no movement from me. She looked towards me, and after seeing my conflicted face, said, “Don’t tell me you stormed in here alone like a fool… If that’s true…”

Her eyes turned moist, tears quickly dripping down her face. She turned back towards the head of the corpse, and started to apologize, “Sorry! SORRY! I can’t save you…! Just wait a little longer… Aria will be here then you’ll be saved. Stop talking, and save your energy… please stop talking…”

“BEN HURRY UP AND GET ARIA!” Her tone demanded compliance. It was the tone she used when she was serious, something I had only heard a couple of times this past month.

Can she not see Aria and Lisa?

I didn’t know what was going on, nor why Stella was apologizing to a corpse, but I decided to hurry. I turned around, but I paused. I didn’t know where I was. The area was devoid of life, Aria and Lisa gone. What was happening? Still, I took steps forward, intending to search for them.

Once I stepped out of the 2-meter area of peace, the aura had appeared once again, and Aria and Lisa were right in front of me. They were still throwing up bile, with no sign of letting up. I was confused before it hit me.

It’s an illusion. The smell, the presence, maybe even the corpses… I haven’t come across one that inflicted this sort of effect on us, but here it is.

It made me doubt if Stella was real or not. But I needed to take the chance. If she was a fake…

“Aria! Lisa! It’s an illusion! Use Dispel!” I didn’t know if it would work with such a high-level illusion, but it was worth a try.

Aria nodded her head before silently casting Dispel on herself.

I regretted making her do so while throwing up, but its effects were quite evident. She immediately stopped retching and spat out the bile that was in her mouth.

“Sorry for showing you such a disgusting sight.” Polite as always, she nodded towards me. Her attitude was much friendlier towards me than what it was a month ago, but that’s only expected considering what we have gone through. But really, I’m not sure you have your priorities in order…

“Umm… Aria, you need to get Lisa too…”

She turned towards Lisa, suddenly jumping backward as if disgusted by Lisa throwing up.

Lisa saw what had happened, and was glaring at her murderously, but was unable to say anything back.

“Dispel” A white light came from her staff and covered Lisa, merging with her. Lisa immediately stopped retching as well and spat out bile. Towards Aria.

“You bitch! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!” Anger was the reigning emotion on her face, along with relief. Her face turned red, as if ashamed of what she had just done. “Sorry, you had to see that Ben.”

I shrugged my shoulders, indicating it wasn’t a big deal. The girls were cute, but we didn’t have time to waste. “Aria come with me. Lisa join if you feel like it. You don’t have to come.”

I saw Aria’s triumphant look on her face, as I turned around and started walking back to the area of peace. This smell, corpses, and aura were still there. But it wasn’t as bad as before, strengthening my assumption that this was an illusion.

I still wanted to know one thing though… was Stella an illusion?

Right before we entered the 2-meter peace area, I stopped Lisa for a second. “Use Clear Vision when you don’t smell anything. If Stella’s an illusion, we attack the corpse. Greet her if she’s real.”

Then I carried on, Aria and Lisa in tow. The smell disappeared in the next step, and I could feel Lisa using her skill next to me. This was the moment of truth. Stella looked towards us, with tears still falling down her eyes. She quickly wiped them away to look more presentable. “Oh Ben, you returned earlier than I thought you would. Hurry, Aria use Resurrection!”

I waited with bated breath, to see what would come next. Lisa took a step forward, standing in front of both me and Aria. She had a big smile on her face.

“Hello, Stella! How are you doing?” I released my held breath, in relief. She’s real. We saved her. She’s back. I stepped forward as well, about to speak, but Lisa continued with malice. “Is this your type of man? Crying over a corpse? I always knew something was off about you…”

She was trying to start a fight. But this was the wrong time to start something. Usually, I would have just let it play out, but not this time. But Stella beat me to it.

“What the hell are you going on about? Stop your nonsense. Aria come over here.” Her brows were furrowed, eyes serious. Aria sensed this and stood beside Stella. “Hurry and cast Resurrection!”

Resurrection was a spell. The ultimate spell of a priest, one of the most significant benefits of transitioning into a support occupation. It couldn’t bring someone back from the dead but was able to heal an almost dead man back to full health. Thus, ‘Resurrection.’ Or at least that’s what the system told Aria.

There was a downside. The priest who uses Resurrection can’t use any spells for the next month and is weakened for a week. The skill can’t be used for six months afterward. It was a big price and our safety net. We had never cast it before, even when I had almost died because without healing spells there would be no way for us to survive for as long as we have now.

I had to step in. I signaled Lisa to stop her fighting, before starting.

“Stella, who are you planning to use the Resurrection on? Surely not that corpse, right? We need Aria’s healing spells… I know you’ve been through something tough, but that person is dead. My Perception can’t pick up any signs of life from him.” It hurt, having to say something this to her. But I needed her to get back to reality. We’ve saved you, and you’re ok now. That’s what I wanted to convey. I guess I failed miserably.

“WHAT?! What do you know?! A corpse? He’s not dead! He’s talking, even now! He’s sustaining an illusion around us right now too! I thought you were a nice guy, Ben, but I guess I was wrong. Aria, hurry up and cast Resurrection. He doesn’t have much time!” She went ballistic. She was screaming her lungs out, showing her stubborn nature. Her best trait was her steadfast will and stubbornness, but it wasn’t something I admired in her right now. Why can’t she see the reality of the situation? She must have sensed my unwillingness and disbelief, so she explained. “You can’t sense anything from him because he’s sustaining himself on origin energy! He’s going to die if we don’t do anything… please! He saved me, I promised him… Aria, please I’m begging you! I’ll be in your debt forever, just cast Resurrection!”

It shocked me; sustaining yourself on origin energy? Impossible. The system said the requirement for reaching 50 attributes and above was to be able to live off mana. Origin Energy is a much higher tier than mana and yet…

It didn’t make sense. Why would an expert like this die in a mid-sized goblin village? As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I had to acknowledge the fact that Stella had gone crazy. But I was willing to play along, to appease her. I gave a slight nod to Aria, who was looking at me, waiting for a signal. She nodded back, in understanding. And so, our performance began. Or at least it was supposed to…

“Stella, I believe you. I’ll cast it.” A shock went down my spine, realizing she didn’t understand that nod at all. You’re supposed to console her, not agree with her… “But, I’m a little curious. What’s he saying? You told me he was speaking…”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Stella nodded calming down at the words. She moved over to the side, freeing up some space. “He’s talking about his life. It’s a little quiet, so you can’t hear him. But that doesn’t really matter right now; he doesn’t have much time! Hurry and cast Resurrection!”

This allowed me to see the head of the corpse. It had long, messy, black hair that was covered in green goblin blood. It was hiding his face, so I still couldn’t see who it could have been.

“Don’t worry; I’m only a tiny bit curious.” Aria stooped down, shrinking her magic staff into a more wand size tool, before coming to a rest where Stella was before. She put her head closer to the corpse for a second. And then paused. And after a few seconds, it seemed like she couldn’t hear anything. “Um… Stella, I don—AGHH IT’S TALKING! IT’S TALKING!”

She jumped up in fright, like a frightened rabbit, and took a couple of steps back. I watched on in disbelief.

It’s alive? He’s living off origin energy? Why is he here…

“I told you already! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and cast it! Seriously, he’s about to die!” Stella stood up and brought Aria back by her arm. Aria was trembling as if she didn’t want to get too close to the zombie man.

“O-okay, j-just give me a moment.” Creeped out, Aria was stuck stuttering. It was going to go awry if this kept on going. I decided that I needed to step in again.

“Wait,” I walked closer to the body, on the opposite side of Aria and Stella, Lisa following behind me. “Let me see his face.”

I squatted, with slight displeasure. I wanted to check out this man, who Stella was willing to throw all of us away for. I had a knife in my boot, and I was planning to stab him in the throat, ending his life after I saw his face.

Mr. Corpse, you’re going to kill us if you do this to us. It’s either you or us. I’m grateful you’ve saved Stella, but we can’t pay you back with our lives.

For someone of your caliber, Aria can’t save you with just one Resurrection spell. And healing spells don’t have much effect on people attuned to mana, much less origin energy.

Die so we can live. I’ll engrave your face in my mind, and make a grave once we get out. You deserve that much.

Become my experience, become part of my strength. I’m a Hero, and I will make sure everyone knows your sacrifice. It will not be in vain.

I could feel the stares of everyone present as I stretched my left hand out towards the man’s face. I tightened my right hand on my knife, ready to kill him in a moment.

I could feel a disgusting sensation of slime on my hand as I lifted his hair, uncovering the face. While doing so, I raised the knife, slowly so no one would notice my plan.

I closed my eyes before fully as I completely showed his face to the world, preparing to murder my first human, and ready to remember his face for the rest of my life. I want them to live a happy life, one that I have always wanted. They can’t do that if they kill someone.

So…

Even if I must bear all the sins of the world…

I will make sure they are safe.

I opened my eyes, to gaze upon the face of the man I will kill first in this world and swiftly brought the knife to cut his throat.

Sorry! Sorry! Please don’t be angry at them in the afterlif-

But I stopped my hand mid-way before it left my boots.

Gasps sounded from everyone around me, in shock.

The man looked younger than I had first imagined, about our age. He looked average. His face was dirty and smeared with blood, featuring a sharp nose, small face, prominent cheekbones, and a delicate chin.

My entire body shivered as if shocked by electricity. I knew this man. Despite the blood-smeared face, changed aura, and slightly different looks, I was absolutely sure I knew him.

Because he was my idol.

It was Victor.