Eternal Kingdom

"Accept."

Tring

- You have accepted the quest. Quest time limit activated. 3500 Hours remaining. -

'I have four and a half months to complete it...That's quite a long time limit...' Yuri closed the journal as soon as the quest indicator showed up in his eyes. He didn't hesitate to put it aside and throw it into his inventory. He sighed once more, that was a hefty bunch of words, he thought.

His eyes wandered and landed towards the [Heaven's Will] that were lying on the table.

"Now, let's activate this thing..." He mumbled.

He grabbed the rolled down pieces of parchments in front of him. The paper felt rough in his hand, maybe because it was written down on a piece of papyrus paper. Although he knew where he will end up, from the old man revelations in his dream. However, he didn't believe it one hundred percent, because it also can be just his imaginations.

He opened the royal seal, and the red ribbon just under it untied itself. His hands moved and opened the rolled parchment. He was baffled by what he saw, text inside the brown antique parchment.

"Congratulations? Is that it?" He was perplexed by the contents of it. He thought that it was like a joke item, instead of an item that holds great importance and coveted by many. Whoever wrote this is a genius he murmured in his minds. A small smile was shown in his stoic face, it was quite a refreshing moments for him.

Tring.

- Do you want to use the item [Heaven's Will]? (One-time usage, use with cautions.) -

"Use with cautions? What's that supposed to mean?" He was puzzled by the warning, he thought about it for a while, however, he shook his head and decided not to dwell into it further, "Whatever, Accept!"

Tring.

- Congratulations, you have become the lord of Marinea. You have been bestowed with a nobility title of a baron, issued by Vix Vol Algis the sovereign of Crimea. -

"Marinea...Is that the place where I met the old man in my dream?" He murmured under his breath, "And who is this Vix Vol Algis? Crimea? Where is that?"

Tring.

- You have acquired Territory Teleportation Scroll. -

- You have acquired Ring of Marinea. -

Yuri knowledge of Fantasia was shallow, even when he got a journal that basically tells him everything about it he still dismissed it. The scroll in his hands disappeared, turning into light motes. While at the same time, Yuri moved his finger fast and scrolled towards his inventory. He took out the two item that he got after he used [Heaven's Will].

- Territory Teleportation Scroll -

- Transporting the user or the user party towards the designated territory. (Designated Territory, Marinea Village. One time use.) -

- Ring of Marinea -

- Sign of nobility as the lord of Marinea. (+1 CHA | Requirements: Lord of Marinea) -

He equipped the ring almost instantly while holding the teleportation scroll in his left hand. The ring was fitted in his middle finger. It was silver in color and shaped like a snake trying to eat its own tail. Adorned with two small jade jewels on the snake eyes, it was exquisite in design and exuded a certain charm.

He looked at the ring for a while and turned his gaze toward the teleportation scroll after.

"Should I contact Felix, before I used it?" He mumbled his thought.

The first thing in his minds was Felix. He wasn't that worried for Lillie and So-Hee, because the two girls had enough knowledge for this game than he is, however, it was different for Felix, because he was a complete newbie, just like him. He had the thought just to contact Felix, but, he felt bad if the two wasn't included. In the end, he decided to contact the three of them in the game.

"Communications."

Tring

- ElSensual: Online. -

- Kiya: Online. -

- Lillian: Offline. -

- Byrne: Offline. -

- Rommel: Offline. -

Weird, his sister didn't log-in into the game. He was certain that he saw Lillie goes into her room at the same time as him, what is she doing then, if not logging in into the game? He was a bit worried but shook his head afterward, 'She'll be fine...'

His finger moved and contacted the two.

Ring

Ring

"Hello!" So-Hee replied with a high pitched voice. From her tone, anyone can tell that she was excited. Yuri noticed it too, however, he didn't tie it to himself, he thought, maybe she was excited because of something else and disregard it completely.

"Hello? HELLO?" Felix chimed in the next second.

"Can you not scream next to my ear!" So-Hee scolded.

"Where are you guys?" Yuri asked the two.

"Xeipes. Where are you?" Felix answered, just a second faster before So-Hee could answer.

"I'm at Lindow...I thought you guys going towards Lindow..." Yuri said.

"Why are you going that way? So-Hee said there's nothing there except a big farm..." Felix reasoned.

"Ah...You're right about that...Wait there! I'm coming to pick up you guys." Yuri ordered.

"Ye—"

"I'll be waiting~" So-Hee chimed cutely while at the same time cutting off Felix sentence.

The three became close, after that meeting in the hospital. They've exchanged addresses and also contact numbers for easier communications, knowing that their survival rests on each other shoulders. For Yuri that is, however, So-Hee had different reasons for it. They also have their own chat room, provided by So-Hee, and approved by Lillie. Although the two men dismissed the ideas at first, the two girls persuaded and scolded them, making them submissive and just nod their heads, knowing they have no chances beating the two.

The three of them were supposed to meet at Stonehelm, but, because of the strange circ.u.mstances. Yuri decided to progress ahead without them. He forgot that he got to wait for the two, because his minds were preoccupied with the strange situation of Stonehelm, also, there's Byrne and Rommel that flooded him with informations.

When actually, if Yuri just waited a little bit, he was bound to meet them. To be precise, they came online just after Yuri departed towards Lindow, and they also saw that Stonehelm in ruins. At first they were baffled by the scene, however, So-Hee was an expert at gathering information on the internet. She speculated that Stonehelm was a casualty of war, however, she dismissed that thought because no war could cause a crater in the ground.

The two searched near the vicinity of Stonehelm, but, seeing that Yuri was nowhere to be found, the two decided to move on towards the next town. The two tried to contact him before, but Yuri didn't pick up his communications, they've called him three times and still no answer, so they've thought maybe he was busy with something, and picked different route than him. However this wasn't the case, if Yuri was conscious maybe he will pick up the voice call from the two, but, he was unconscious because of his newfound power.

They've decided to go towards the direction of Xeipes, and hunt along their way. They didn't expect Yuri to go towards the direction of Lindow, because that town wasn't focused in the combat arts, instead, it was more focused on life skills. While Xeipes, on the other hand, was the hub for a newbie that tried to learn the combat arts and skills.

----

Yuri still equipped with his torn and ragged equipments walked out from his room. He moved towards the Inn Keeper and asked information about Xeipes. He was nonchalant with his question, because he didn't know that the army that he just massacred today, was, in fact, the army of Xeipes. If he knew about it, maybe he will be wary with his questions and asked more specific details of the town.

"Excuse me. How do I get to Xeipes from here?" He asked towards the Inn Keeper.

"You can get there from Lindow Forest, just walk north-west if you're inside the forest, there's should be a dirt road leading to there too." The Inn Keeper explained, however, his eyes were scrutinizing Yuri body, "I suggest you didn't go there though...Looking at your armor, it's better if you didn't go because there have been reports of a frequent monster's attack. However, if you're still bent on going." The Inn Keeper rummaged his desk, "Here, take this twelve pieces of copper and buy yourself some decent armor. When you see a monster just run. Don't stay in the forest for too long."

Yuri was fl.u.s.tered by the Inn Keeper actions, he declined the offer but the Inn Keeper insisted it and stuff it inside his hands.

"S-Sir...I— Yes. Thank you." He was baffled, he can't say anything except his deepest gratitude. He bowed slightly towards the Inn Keeper and said his goodbye. His eyes looked determined, he was already happy that the Inn Keeper was kind enough to give him information of the path towards Xeipes, however, he wasn't expecting that the Inn Keeper would be giving him remunerations too.

The Inn Keeper sympathized, looking at his torn equipments. The Inn Keeper was a good man, he was a father of two children, he sympathized with him because his two children wanted to become an adventurer, just like Yuri did. However, he didn't like the idea of it, however, he can't change his two children minds, in the end, he gave up, and seeing Yuri state, he felt pity and decided to give him some remunerations for his journey. Hoping that someday, some strangers on strange land would give his children the same hospitality.

Twelve pieces of copper coin were not that many, however, it was enough to buy one leather armor with a decent quality, and if Yuri can haggle the price, it can be lowered to ten pieces of copper, just enough for him to buy some bread too.

The twelve pieces of copper coins were now inside his inventory, bringing his previous zero balance towards twelve copper. In this day and age, single copper coins were worth one hour of manual labors in Fantasia, while a single silver coin was worth a hundred hour of manual labors. And, if one possessed one gold coin beware, that thieves and bandits already set their eyes on that. It's a harsh world but, even on Earth, people would greed over each other over a hefty sum of money, that's just how reality works.

----

Yuri walked himself out of Lindow. Towards the forest, where his first murder was commenced. He didn't think about it too much, because no matter what he did, nothing will change. Even if he didn't kill the soldiers back then, he was bound to kill another in the future. Of course, his conscience was telling him that it was wrong, however, he didn't have a choice either. If this is what it takes to grant him and his loved one a path of survival. He would gladly do it, even massacring millions and millions of soldiers.

He walked firmly, and stopped for a moment at the entrance of the forest. This was his massacre began. There was no stains of blood, only pieces of armors and cloth that were once a banner with a boar sigil on it. He closed his eyes and prayed to whoever barred the gates of the afterlife, if there is one. He prayed for a couple of seconds and opened his eyes. His jade eyes gleamed like a pearl, and took his steps forward towards Xeipes.