Chapter 4: 03 – Fun Hardships begin

I slowly ascended the staircase and made sure I don't run into those guys. As I was doing so system talked;

[I have completed optimizations, your first quest will depend on your first encounter. Be careful as I am not in charge of these things and am only able to inform you of it.]

"Got it," I replied before thinking 'then I gotta choose carefully, harder would be fun.'

I definitely thought something weird this time but paid it no heed since now is not the right time.

I heard some voices when I neared the staircase's end. I listened carefully and thought the voices were familiar. I climbed the rest of the stairs and recognized those voices. When I was just about to turn in another direction away from them, someone shouted at me.

"You're still alive?! You little bitch, come here!" I heard from a distance.

I instantly knew whose voice it was and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction. That was when I heard a mechanical bell rang inside my head and a flat glowing square appeared right beside me. I thought that was weird because I was running and it wasn't left behind.

But due to the stress and panic that assaulted my heart, I didn't pay much attention to it until I finally stopped. I crawled into a small hole sat there and hugged my knees to my face. That hole perfectly fitted the small me in. After I calmed down, I heard the system.

It was him, the leader that wanted to kill me…

[Finally calmed down? I'm sorry to break it to you when you just experienced something awful, but please look at the screen that is in front of you.]

After he said so, I raised my head and looked in front of me. There was a glowing flat screen in front of me and words were written on it. I focused my eyes a little harder and read the details written. What it said both made me overjoyed and terrified.

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(!) Quest 1: An eye for an eye, a murder for a murder

Objective: Kill the party leader of the adventurer's party, Glowing Eyes, and prove to the guild and the other adventurers how he plotted against you. Also, make sure that the reputations of the party members will plummet and hit rock bottom.

Completing Rewards:

Weapon: Hunter's Arc

Skill: The way of the Bow, Eyes of the Hawk Queen, True Beast

Evolution: Path: Claws of Vengeance

More suitable rewards will be given after evaluation of the results

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"Why..? I know I must get out of here and am supposed to be free now but… despite that, why, why am I feeling happy about this..?" I uttered as I gently caressed my grinning cheeks.

[That is one of Raquel Crimson's major traits. As someone who was guaranteed wealth, power, talent, beauty, and fame the moment she was born, she grew up chasing after challenges that would cease her boredom. Which she totally busted. Unlike you who-]

"I know that already! There was no need, to remind me…" I shouted as I was reminded of my past.

It wasn't supposed to end up like that. I didn't mean it. If it wasn't for that human then I wouldn't have been kicked out of the village. That same night, flame engulfed the village. Bandits came raiding. Women were assaulted, men were murdered, children were abducted, and even the elders were not given mercy, with me as the sole survivor. I should've not invited that human into the village.

Why? I thought I was helping him for helping me. For beating those bandits that attempted to abduct me for slavery. I was too naive at that time, but I am also grateful for him. He was an eye-opener. That is what I thought. Now I was betrayed again.

You are reading story Suffering is our strength at novel35.com

I never change. I-

[I am very sorry to interrupt you in the middle of your self-doubting session, but there is a hostile individual approaching you.]

'No, I needed that. Is it a person or a monster? How far is it right now?' I asked as I reached for the slingshot from my back pocket.

[A bat rodent, 4 meters to the right. It is likely that it smelled the miasma leaking from your negative emotions. This is a one-time privilege since you were having an emotional breakdown. Please keep in mind that these warnings won't be always given.]

'Yeah, I got it. By the way, I have a question after I deal with this,' I replied.

I crawled out a little of the cave and confirmed the bat's position. Shot at it, and extracted the essence crystal. At that moment, the crystal disintegrated into nothing. Right at that moment, a mechanical bell rang inside my head.

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(!) Quest 2: A handful of Essence Crystals

Objective: Collect 1/10 lesser Essence Crystals

Completing Rewards:

Soldier's a week worth of ration

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'Isn't that nice? Oh right, for how long was I dead for?' I asked

[You were dead for approximately 43 minutes. Approximately because when I started to revive you, you were already dead. Oh also, I thought that you are going to be locked here for a while so here is a week worth of food, please use that time to get stronger. Anything else?]

'Nothing else. Also, what's your reasoning for saying that?'

[Simple, you were found by those guys, alive. So I have come to the conclusion that they will spread words of you betraying them and will be hunted. Based on your memories, you're a member of the adventurer's guild and have signed in a contract that says you are to be hunted in the case of betrayal towards a fellow adventurer. Easy as that, I would appreciate it if you are to grow a brain anytime soon.]

With my past tragedies, that one hurt.

'R-right, please don't remind me of my naivety anymore…' I replied…

[Alright, now please collect all those essence crystals. You're saturated because you were just resurrected. If you want something to stuff your stomach then you will be needing that completion reward.]

'Alright, you're exactly right. If I want to get back at those guys then I need to survive here first. I am guessing it's a week worth of ration to let things cool down?' I replied.

[Not exactly, but nice try. You are growing a brain. It is not like that because you're sure to run into some adventurers down here in the dungeon. It is true that some will give up on you but it is mostly to help you grow. With that said, good luck not running into any person down here.]

"Thanks, but you should know now that it's unnecessary," I replied with a grin.

*****

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