The Gamer's System

Zeke's consciousness came back without the feeling of his body being intact. He knew exactly what this meant.

"I'm still alive." He said. Zeke knows this familiar feeling all too well. He's currently conscious as his body sleeps.

The system recognized this right away and started displaying the notifications that came after the fight ended.

[You leveled up!]

[You are now level 12.]

[System has updated to version 1.2]

[The next update will be available at Level 20.]

[11 skill points are given as reward.]

[11 attribute points are given as reward.]

[You have successfully cleared the Optional Quest - Eat Dinner.]

[1 Skill Points is given as a reward]

...

[You have successfully cleared the Optional Quest - Sleep Properly.]

[1 Skill Points is given as a reward]

...

[You have successfully cleared the Optional Quest - Protect Keith.]

[2 Skill Points are given as a reward]

...

[You have successfully cleared the Sub Quest - Survive the Mercenary Attack.]

[The Crucial Memory Piece is given as a reward.]

"I've been wondering about this for a while." Zeke said as he clicked on the reward.

[Would you like to play the memory piece now?]

"Yes." Zeke answered, seeing a wide white screen appear in front of him.

[Crucial Memory Piece is beginning to play…]

…

…

…

"Come with me." Hark motioned, offering his hand to Sylvia.

"You know I cannot do that. I have a duty to the people of Elysium." She replied, wanting him to leave immediately.

Throughout the halls of the Elf King's castle, there are humans and elves fighting for their lives. Steel clashes against steel as the swords try their best to reach their targets. Arrows are being fired into the air, only to be met by shields made of sturdy metal.

"For humanity!" Shouted the human soldiers, trying their best to get past the barrage of arrows.

"For the Elf King!" The elves shouted in return; but a bit concerned with how many arrows they have left.

As all of this transpires, Hark continues to plead his lover to run away with him. They are within the upper chambers of the Castle. The Elves guarding Sylvia lay unconscious on the floor as Hark refused to show his lady any bloodshed.

"There's not much time. This is a losing battle. We cannot afford to lose even more men." He said, hearing the marching footsteps of the Elves.

Right now, there are a lot of things running on Sylvia's mind. She thinks of duty and responsibility. She thinks of her family; her little sister who looks up to her. All of this has been suffocating her for so long that, all the expectations made her forget who she even is. But then, Hark came. He came and promised to save her from all this.

It was a silly promise. One that she knew could never happen. After all, Hark is a worker in the coalmines of the elves during that time. Bound to his chains and to the whip of the warden who watches over the workers. Yet, Hark's warm smile as he said this gave her a glimmer of hope. One that believes, someday she could be free.

"You keep on talking about your duty to the people…" Hark continued, seeing the worried expression on Sylvia's face.

"…but what about your duty to yourself?"

With this, the face of Sylvia lightens up. This is the reason why she fell for Hark. He was the only one who understood her. The only person in the whole of Elysium who saw her as Sylvia Windsprite, and not some political chess piece that must move as the people wishes.

"You're just so full of surprises." She said, finally taking his hand.

…

…

…

[…end of memory piece.]

Zeke sat as he tried taking all of this in. He knew that he wouldn't just be transported to a random spot but, to be transported to a runaway queen and a King murdering swordsman, is bit more difficult to digest.

"I bet this is Chrono's idea again." Zeke thought. He's wrong about this though. It was Sinclair that planned for him to get taken to this lovely family that spends their days fighting mercenaries and bandits that come looking for them.

I have a lot of questions for those two once this body wakes up. He said to himself and, it didn't take that long actually.

Zeke woke up to his real body, getting hit by the gentle warmth of the morning sun. He slowly adjusted his eyes to his surroundings and felt his body completely recovering from the fight. He got up from the bed he's lying on and tried stretching everything out.

"Yup. Works fine." He said, feeling no pain from any part of his body. There are scars to where the blades have hit him but, other than that, he seems to be in perfect health.

"Wait, where am I exactly?" Zeke thought as he looked at his surroundings. The walls are made of concrete and a small plant is placed on top of a table at the side of his bed. There is a small pouch on top of it which Zeke immediately grabbed.

"Coins?" He said, shaking it and getting the sound of coin hitting coin.

Under this pouch is a letter which he immediately read. Strangely, he is able to understand the symbols that they used.

"This must be another perk of having the updated Gamer's System." He thought as he began reading the contents which wrote:

Dear Zeke,

We are terribly sorry for what happened to you. We made sure that you have recovered completely before sending you to that room you are currently in. It is owned by a close friend of ours and, rest assured, they aren't as high profile as we are so no other bandits will be coming to you.

On that pouch is compensation for all the trouble you've gone through. We know that a few coins aren't enough for what we put you through but, please forgive us as that is all we have to offer.

If you need anything more, please ask it from the owner of the house, mister Felroy Maurthy. You probably won't see us again as; our family will be on the move. But if our paths do meet again, I pray that you would have no hatred toward us.

Best wishes,

Sylvia Windsprite

After reading the letter, Zeke couldn't even put it in himself to get angry. The word used were so sincere and, it felt bad getting angry at a family who just wants to have a normal and peaceful life.

*Sigh*

"Whatever." Zeke said, placing the letter inside his inventory as, there may be people who can use it to trace where that family has gone. Then, the system notification popped out again, already giving him a new set of quests to finish. 

[Optional Quest: Meet the owner of the house.]

[Reward: 1 Attribute Point]

...

[Optional Quest: Eat Breakfast]

[Reward: 1 Attribute Point]

...

[Expiring Quest: Gain information on Mythos]

[Reward: Dependent on the amount of information gained.]

[Time left before completion: 5:00:00]

...

"As expected from the system. I'm not even given any time for a breather." Zeke wore the clothes provided within the room. He began by looking for the owner of the house in order to finish one of the quests. A task which didn't even need much effort.

"Oh good. You're finally awake." The man said as he saw Zeke get out of the room.

[You have successfully cleared the Optional Quest - Meet the owner of the house.]

[1 Attribute Point is given as a reward.]

Zeke didn't mind the notification and continued looking at the man who's holding on to a large pile of clothes. Zeke offered to assist him and the old man smiled at him as he gave the pile. You'd think that it'd be light seeing how an old man is carrying it but, it took all of Zeke's effort to even keep it up in his arms.

"Thank you young boy." Felroy said.

"Don't sweat it." Zeke said as he caught his breath, dropping the clothes to the area pointed by Felroy.

"How long was I out sir?" The old man then went and got some bread and water, offering some to Zeke.

"A couple of days." The old man replied, pouring water on an empty glass.

"Oh I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Zeke Elwood sir." Zeke said, bowing his head to the old man.

"A pleasure. I owe a lot to the family that brought you here so you might as well get comfortable while you're here." The old man said, handing the bread next.

They talked for a while longer and, Zeke was told that this is a town that is stationed far away from where Zeke got attacked. The place is complete with every known hobby and job.

"They said you're looking for a job so they sent you to me." The old man said, referring to how he has connections all over the town.

Zeke thanked the old man and asked where the library is. The man responded in kind as they went for the door of the house. As they did, Zeke saw a lion shaped staff lying on the corner. He thought of how good the carving is but didn't look for a second longer.

"Okay, once you get outside, just go left. You'd see the signage of the library immediately." Felroy said, pointing to the right which confused Zeke.

"Thank you sir." Zeke said in a mannered tone.

"You're a strange kid aren't you? You just woke up from almost getting killed and the first thing on your agenda is reading books?" The old man said, laughing at the idea.

Zeke also knew how weird it seemed but, all his life he has never bothered with things too much. He just did what needs to be done and, if there are obstacles along the way, then he'd simply jump over them or crush them in the process.

Right now, that is what's going through his head. He needs to finish the [Expiring Quest] connected with information gathering. The easiest route to take is, of course, going to the place where all records of information are being stored.

At this, he went out of the house and, headed straight for the town library. Meanwhile, the flying object he saw before he lost consciousness has finally reached the Capital of Elysium.