Braiten sat on his bed. Many if’s whirled about in his mind. Memories of the past flitted through his mind…

***

Spring had come. The air was slightly chilly, but was warm enough to be considered refreshingly cooling. Thick layers of snow had already melted and revealed the vibrant grass beneath.

Beside a brook, a young lad of twelve sat on a decent sized rock. In between his legs, he had a long fishing rod. The young lad chewed on a piece of herbal grass as he patiently waited for a catch.

All of a sudden, a young girl of the same age dashed out from the bushes behind the boy and latched onto his arm.

“Gwydion!” The young girl called out joyously.

“Hey now, Ilasha, you’re going to scare the fish,” Gwydion said as he tried futilely to extricate himself from the arms of his childhood friend.

“Mm…” Ilasha mumbled something incomprehensible as she buried her face into Gwydion’s shoulder.

Right at that moment, a chorus of screams were heard in the direction of their village.

With a panicked expression, Gwydion and Ilasha quickly got up and ran towards their home. Anxiety and worry filled their minds as they thought about the safety of their parents.

***

As the two reached their village, what they saw was absolute carnage. A wyvern swooped down, grabbed a villager and ripped him apart in the air. Blood sprayed from the severed body and rained on the already bloodied village. Pools of blood were everywhere as various monsters, ranging from sabre-tooth gorillas to dragon-kin, roamed about and feasted on the multitude of corpses.

The hundred or so villagers had already been reduced to over twenty. The remaining villagers were either in hiding or trying to find an opening to run out of the village.

Feeling slightly nauseous, Gwydion and Ilasha hid within the protective underbrush that surrounded the village. They snuck around the outskirts as they tried to find their families.

Halfway through their search, Ilasha saw her sister. She was nothing but a half-eaten corpse. Her bloodied head only contained an expression of pure terror. Ilasha nearly screamed but Gwydion had clasped his hands over her mouth, gathering her wits and reminding her to be quiet.

The two proceeded on with much more urgency. They surveyed the town desperately. Hoping that somehow, their parents may still yet live.

However, their hopes were dashed as they spotted their parents’ bodies that lay together in their family fields. However, the bodies were not in one piece. The dismembered body parts were strewn all over the farm fields. Two pitchforks were on the ground, hands still clasped around their handles. Obviously, their fathers had attempted to fight back but failed and met a miserable end.

Gwydion’s body was tense and had stiffened up. His muscles were all taut and his hands were clenched so hard that his nails drew blood from his fists. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he gritted his teeth hard. Ilasha was no different, except that she hugged Gwydion’s arm tightly and cried silently into his shoulder.

When the two had gradually calmed down, battle horns could be heard in the distance. Help had finally arrived for the village. A courier pigeon was sent for help the moment the monsters had invaded. Help had arrived in the form of an army via a teleport spell. The first to arrive was the church’s forces.

The enraged monsters that were interrupted from their mayhem and charged at the nearing army. Soon, there was an intense battle and it slowly progressed. All the while, Gwydion and Ilasha stood by.

As Gwydion observed the battle, something in his mind clicked and he felt as if he was seeing through new eyes. He had unlocked the ability to sense mana. Gwydion did not know at that moment, however, as he was entranced by the battle. All that went through his mind was the sight of the villagers being killed. Their corpses desecrated.

When the fight concluded, the thoughts that ran through Gwydion’s head was that he needed to be much stronger. Much, much stronger.

The church then moved closer to the village to give the dead a proper send off and they helped the ten or so survivors with their injuries. The church also offered them help in the form of coming back with them to work for the church. Gwydion and Ilasha were among them.

However, Gwydion felt that working for the church would not give him the power he wanted. The power he needed to protect any and all that he loved.

Turning to Ilasha, he asked, “Ilasha, I won’t follow the church. I’m going on a journey to become stronger. Much stronger. Will you come with me?”

Reluctance filled Ilasha’s face as she pondered over the words. However, no matter how much she wanted to go with Gwydion, something in her heart told her that she would be able to do much more if she helped others through the church.

With a painstaking expression on her face, she replied, “I-I think I will stay with the church.”

***

This was the beginning of the greatest magus, Gwydion and the most benevolent leader of the church, the future Pope Ilasha.

This was also the day when the first immortals stepped foot onto their lands. It was the day known as the start of closed beta for the first virtual reality game.

===

Author’s notes:

Calculating review stats is strangely relieving. It really is cathartic.

Reviews as of this chapter: 16. Rating as of this chapter: 4.31. Latest ratings: 4.5 x2, 5 x5, 0.5(oh my shit, where did I seriously go wrong for this to come up).

As of this edit - Reviews: 17. Rating: 4.18. Latest rating: 2. He had even added his own review, upvoted it and downvoted someone else. Looks like I have to look at the first 4 chapters again according to his review.

I guess this writing style is not for everyone. I wanted to go for a style where the world is built as we go along and not just built all in one shot and have info dumped on you all in one sitting. It makes for a boring chapter. That's also why I started out with the world only being as small as one continent at the start and so many unknowns left about. It makes for a more flexible future events.