The raw, panicked screams of the crew's women—Reorwynn, Hilda, Godiva, and Aelflaed—tore through the forest. "You killed him!" "Why would you kill him?" "Father's going to be so mad!" Accusations and blame erupted, spreading like wildfire through the bewildered crew.
"Shut up! Shut up, ahhh!" Alistair shrieked, clutching his head. He flung his sword to the ground and began pacing frantically through the trees. "I can fix this!"
The crew fell into a dead silence, their eyes fixed on Alistair, awaiting his next move.
"Alright," Alistair finally declared, stopping abruptly. "We'll say he was killed during battle."
Harold scoffed, his skepticism clear. "Smart. A son of Fire, killed by a petty thief? Ever heard of that?"
"Well, he's an Ash. He's weak," Alistair countered, his voice laced with disdain.
"Still far stronger than common folk, brother," Reorwynn interjected, her voice firm.
"Shut up!" Alistair's gaze swept over them, daring anyone to defy him. "That's the story I'll tell Aethearold, and you all will follow through. I'll fix whatever comes after. Understood?"
"Yes, brother," a few chorused meekly.
"Whatever," others muttered under their breath.
"Edmund, Dunstan, saddle the horses! We ride for the Capital!"
Within a minute, the crew had boarded their carriages and vanished into the darkening woods.
Hours later, as night fully embraced the forest, Jamie's still body stirred. A searing ache radiated through him as he violently coughed up blood.
"Agh!" Jamie groaned, attempting to push himself upright, but his hands trembled, betraying him. He collapsed back to the cold ground, his breath growing shallow. His eyes fluttered shut.
Suddenly, a glowing blue screen materialized before him. Jamie's eyes snapped open in shock, yet the screen remained, translucent, not obstructing his physical vision.
"What is this?" he whispered, bewildered.
[Bing]
[Subject has been Reincarnated Successfully]
[Welcome to the Almighty Elemental System]
"Reincarnated?" The memory of his brutal death, of Alistair's sword piercing him, flashed vividly. A grim, self-deprecating smirk touched his lips.
"Elemental System?" Jamie refocused on the glowing display.
[Bing! Message Received]
[Subject has been awarded The Almighty Elemental System due to unknown circumstances. Complete daily missions and other missions to receive points and level up.]
The message vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving Jamie's image centered on the screen, surrounded by various options.
"Character," he uttered, selecting one of the prompts.
Two new pages immediately overlaid his vision.
[Name: Jamie Hades]
[Age: 21 (Male)]
[Title: Son of Fire]
[HP: 1/100]
[Stamina: 5/100]
[Bloodline: Hades]
The second page detailed his attributes:
[Strength: E-]
[Agility: E-]
[Endurance: E-]
[Intuition: E-]
[Spirit: F]
"Hmm." Jamie continued to explore the system's interface.
[Inventory: Contains your skills and equipment.]
[Skills:]
[Flaming Sword]
[Level: 1]
[Requirement: Strength F+, Spirit F, Endurance F+]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Remark: Smear your blood on your sword, and it will ignite with fire, increasing damage by +1. Burn damage will occur continuously after hitting a target.]
[Equipment: Displays items you own.]
[Name: Longsword]
[Type: Melee]
[Rarity: Common]
[Attribute: None]
[Effect: None]
[Remark: Forged in the House of Fire, but nothing special.]
[Market: View and purchase available items. The rarity of items displayed is determined by the missions you complete.]
The market listed common items: Butcher Knife, Kitchen Knife, Longsword, and more.
[You have been rewarded 20,000 points as a welcome bonus.]
Jamie familiarized himself further until—
[Beep! Beep! Beep!]
[Subject is extremely weak. Heal now!]
[Force healing triggered.]
[Cost: 10,000 points.]
[Force Healing in Progress…]
[Force Healing is Complete.]
[HP and Stamina are fully restored.]
[Beep! Beep! Beep!]
[The day is almost over. Complete your daily mission now!]
[Daily Mission: Flame your sword 2 times.]
[Completion: 0%]
[Reward: 250 points]
Feeling a sudden surge of energy, Jamie sprang to his feet. "Wow, this system is magic!" Not fully comprehending its mechanics, he was nonetheless overjoyed by its miraculous effects.
"Mission: two Flame Sword ignitions. Easy," Jamie muttered, then slit his thumb with his longsword. The blade immediately burst into flame.
[Completion: 50%]
The fiery enchantment died after ten minutes. Jamie performed the action a second time.
[Completion: 100%]
[You have received Experience. You can now upgrade Flaming Sword]
[Upgrade with points or continue to master the skill and it will upgrade with enough experience]
"I can now upgrade? What level will that be?" he mused. He'd witnessed powerful forms of Flaming Sword; Alistair could ignite his blade with a thought, and Aethearold's sword could fight on its own. If this system offered nothing else, it would at least help him master this skill.
"Alistair…" The thought of his flaming sword brought his killer, his own brother, back to the forefront of his mind. Hatred contorted his face as he began his journey toward the Capital.
While walking through the woods, Jamie navigated the system with his mind. He then selected [Flaming Sword] and chose to level it up.
[Level up Flaming Sword Lv1-Lv2, cost 500 points, Yes/No]
As Jamie chose yes, a new notification appeared:
[Name: Flaming Sword]
[Level: 2]
[Requirement: Strength F+, Spirit F, Endurance F+]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Remark: Smear your blood on your sword, and it will ignite with fire, increasing damage by +1. Burn damage will occur continuously after hitting a target, Flaming Sword lasts 15 minutes]
Not satisfied with the result, Jamie decided to use all his remaining points to level up Flaming Sword.
[Name: Flaming Sword]
[Level: 4]
[Requirement: Strength F+, Spirit F, Endurance F+]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Remark: Flame up or deflame your sword at will and it lasts for 30 minutes, emanates heat that saps target's energy if their Endurance is F and below. Induce burn damage if target got hit, Burn Damage won't die off until Flaming Sword timeout.]
Satisfied with the upgrade, Jamie pondered further.
[Level up Flaming Sword Lv4 -Lv5, cost 10,000 points, Yes/No]
Jamie wondered what advancements Level 5 held and how many points it would take to reach even higher levels. "One step at a time," Jamie cautioned himself as he entered the Inn before him.
"What would you like, my lord?" Seeing Jamie's refined attire, the attendant immediately recognized him as a noble.
"Give me the strongest Ale you have," Jamie ordered, and the attendant swiftly went to fetch it. In a moment, Jamie was drinking, enjoying the temporary peace.
"Borno!" One of the guests called out to a man who had just entered the Inn. "Come here, my good friend!"
"You're drunk, my friend," Borno said, taking a seat beside the man who called him.
"Why wouldn't I be? The Sands just paid me my allowance. I just wanna drink and… well, you know," Bestar joked.
"Trying to buy people's love before the coronation, f**king nobles," Borno cursed under his breath.
"Hey, you look angry. Ah, all you need is some of this and a whore on your lap, all your troubles will be gone," Bestar laughed, pouring his friend some wine.
Borno grabbed his cup and drained it. "I was in the Trobriand brothel, had a whore's leg wrapped around my head, having the best time. And then those cockhead nobles came in and all common men had to leave the brothel!" He lamented.
"Trobriand, eh? They have the best whores in all the south," Bestar quipped.
"Suck it, friend, it's a new king's era, nobles will roam the streets now more than ever," a new man joined them, adding his voice to the conversation.
"I swear if I see a noble among common men, I'll take my knife and gut his throat," another man chimed in, striking his knife on the table. Laughter erupted.
Soon enough, the entire Inn was abuzz with discussions about the unfairness of nobles, their anger palpable.
"Fresh skin, no scar, nice hair, fine clothes. And where are you from, my friend?" One of the men questioned Jamie, noticing his refined appearance. The other men in the Inn drew their knives, axes, and rods, closing in on Jamie.
"A noble man, eh?" another man taunted.
"Nice sword you got there, nobleman, can it take us all down?"
"I am of the House of Fire. Drop your weapon now, and this act will be overlooked," Jamie stated, maintaining his composure. He might have been alone, but the name of his house commanded fear.
"Overlooked, eh? Who here needs a permit? Ha ha!" The men roared with laughter, then suddenly fell silent. One of them began whistling a melancholic tune.
"House of Fire, scram!" One of the men cursed, spitting on the floor.
[Quick Mission: Respect]
[Mission: The name of your house has been abused; defend your house in any way you can.]
[Minimum Reward: 1000 points]
[If you fail this Mission, your highest skill will drop by one.]
[Accept Mission: Yes/No]
"There is no way I'm getting out of this without a fight, so I might as well maximize my rewards," Jamie thought, choosing Yes.
"Why don't you come closer and spit on my face?" Jamie said, provoking the man.
"Aaaaah!" The man screamed, grabbing his axe and running toward Jamie.
SPLIT!
Blood splashed on Jamie's face as he slashed down the man's head.
The rest of the men drew back. They might outnumber him, but who wanted to die first?
"How about a fair fight, huh?" One of them said, then screamed, "Borg!"
"Yeah, Borg, Borg, Borg…" The Inn erupted, chanting the name.
They all made way for Borg to walk through. One could see why they put their faith in Borg; he was twice their size in height and strength.
Borg grabbed a cup and poured the drink into his mouth. He slammed the cup on the table, shattering the table with it.
"Yay!" The Inn screamed, witnessing Borg's immense strength.
Borg grabbed another cup and drank it. He stared at Jamie and belched. "Irritating, no?" he said, then threw the cup at Jamie.
Jamie rolled away quickly. He picked up his own cup and threw it at Borg, but Borg caught it and threw it back. Borg grabbed his axe and ran toward Jamie, slashing down. Jamie blocked the axe, Flaming his sword in the process.
The heated blade seared Borg's face, and he quickly drew back. Jamie used the chance to strike Borg, but Borg blocked all of Jamie's attacks.
"F**k, those Fires!" Borg cursed. "Gimme that!" He threw down his axe and grabbed a long, heavy rod from one of the men. The rod had a sharp, pointed end meant for striking.
Borg lunged toward Jamie and swung his rod. Jamie couldn't block this time, so he quickly dodged. Borg didn't stop his assault, and Jamie continued to evade, waiting for his chance to strike.
Borg's attack went on for five minutes; most of the tables and chairs in the Inn were now broken. Borg was panting heavily, clutching his rod.
"This is it," Jamie thought. Having no more tables to roll under, he decided to go head-on.
Jamie rushed at Borg. Borg grabbed his rod and swung it, but Jamie slid, dodging the rod and landing at Borg's feet. He slashed Borg's stomach and quickly rolled away.
"Ahh!" Borg dropped his rod and clutched his stomach.
The slash wasn't deep by any means, but it burned. Borg kept wiping the wound, but the fire wouldn't die off.
"What sorcery is this?" Borg said as he fell to the floor, groaning.