Daniel rushed toward his house, feet pounding the dirt, breath ragged, sweat pouring from his body. It was more than what he had shed during training; this was fear, urgency, and desperation colliding all at once. Behind him, Klav followed close, though a few paces slower, struggling to keep up.
They took sharp turns down the narrow paths between buildings, ducking past fleeing villagers and skirting around blazing debris. Daniel barely registered the goblin that lunged at him from the left: his fist connected squarely with its jaw, sending it crashing into a wall with a crack and a lifeless thud.
Anger surged through him, fueled by Daren, by his father, by the failure of men who were supposed to protect their people.
Then, finally, his home came into view.
The door was half-smashed, the windows shattered. Inside, Elira stood before their mother, clutching a dull kitchen blade in trembling hands, blocking the entryway from two snarling goblins who were pushing in through the frame.
She was holding on, barely.
Daniel did not stop to think. He sprinted forward and spotted a sword on the ground, half-buried in the dirt. Steel, chipped along the edges, but it gave off a strange, humming aura. It was far too powerful to be discarded so carelessly.
He grabbed the hilt.
In that instant, the world broke.
Everything around him froze—Elira, the goblins, the flames, even the wind. Klav, still rounding the corner, halted mid-stride. Torren, far behind them, stopped as if sculpted from stone.
And then, the world cracked like glass.
The next moment, Daniel stood in the same place where he had been before his reincarnation: a boundless white space, silent, timeless. He looked around, heart hammering with confusion, his thoughts consumed with Klav, with Elira, with his mother. Were they safe? Was time still moving?
Then, before him, the light coalesced, warm and soft.
The Goddess of Light appeared.
She smiled gently, her radiance falling across his face like a dawn breeze. Calmness settled into his bones. The panic dimmed, not gone, but softened, and his mind cleared.
"Welcome back," she said.
Daniel swallowed hard. "What am I doing here?"
The Goddess tilted her head, then gestured toward the sword still clutched in his hand. "Look again. Does it seem familiar?"
He studied it, confused at first. Then, the feeling returned—that strange familiarity. Not just the shape or weight, but the very soul of the weapon. It felt like an extension of himself. His memory stirred.
"This sword…" he said slowly, realization blooming, "this was mine. In my past life. The blade I used to scratch the Demon King."
She nodded, her eyes full of pride. "Yes. You were meant to find it during your raid on the Treasure Goblin King. That was when you were supposed to return here, to awaken its power. But you only recovered the Crimson Vial that day and gave it to your friend. The sword remained with the Goblin King—until now. He must have dropped it during this raid, guided by fate. It called to you. And you answered."
Daniel muttered, more to himself than to her: "I knew I should've taken more from that hoard…"
Then it happened.
A shimmer of light formed before him. A familiar interface appeared.
------
[System Window Updating...]
------
He blinked.
The Goddess explained: "Touching the sword lifted one of the curses bound to your soul. The System recognizes you now. And your mana, though still faint, can begin to awaken."
Daniel could feel it: a trickle of warmth threading through his body, faint, but unmistakable. Mana. Real, undeniable, his.
Then another screen opened before him:
------
[Character Status]:
Name: Daniel Vaelwyn
Race: Human
Age: 5
Rank: D+
[Attributes]:
-> Strength: 20
-> Speed: 16
-> Durability: 20
-> MP: 3
-> INT: 20
[Skills]:
Absolute Lightblade (ZZZ-tier Awakened | Power: F-tier)
Allows the user to summon the True Blade of Light, crafted by Goddess of Light. The blade is made up of mana, which cannot be dispelled. The blade pierces all darkness, nullifies corrupted energy, and strikes with divine precision.
MP: 10,000
Passive Drain: 100 MP/min while active
------
The numbers did not matter yet. The skill did. The potential it carried felt unreal. Daniel looked up, expression shifting, softened by something that had been missing for a long time: gratitude.
"I… I didn't expect this. Not a gift like this."
The Goddess smiled, placing a hand over her heart. "I believe in your path, Daniel. This blade—my blade—belongs to you now. Even if you cannot wield it yet, it will remain with you, as proof of what you can become. One day, it will shine in your hands against the Demon King. I saw that once. I still do."
Daniel bowed his head slightly. "Thank you… truly."
She stepped back, fading once more into the light.
The sword pulsed.
And the world around him snapped back into motion.
Goblins roared, Elira screamed, the battle resumed in a heartbeat—and Daniel, still holding the divine weapon, surged forward.
He was not ready to use it, but he was not powerless anymore.
Daniel leapt into action. The moment his feet hit the ground, he lunged forward, the Blade of Light humming in his hand. The air around it shimmered faintly, as if resisting the corruption that the goblins carried with them. It felt like an extension of himself, molded to his palm, reacting to his every thought.
He moved swiftly, slicing through the first goblin with a clean upward arc. The creature didn't even have time to scream. It fell, bisected from clavicle to hip, as its green blood hissed against the divine metal. Daniel spun, his eyes calm, slicing another one through the chest. Then another. In seconds, three goblins had fallen.
Elira, just a few steps away, gaped at her little brother. Her dagger trembled slightly in her grip. She had been holding them off, barely, trying to protect their mother. The arrival of Daniel, now wielding a radiant blade with impossible finesse, stunned her.
He smiled briefly at her.
But then, a system notification blinked into his mind.
------
[Character Status]:
Name: Elira Vaelwyn
Race: Human
Age: 7
Rank: D-
[Attributes]:
-> Strength: 5
-> Speed: 15
-> Durability 4
-> MP: 85
-> INT: 20
[Skills]:
Aetheric Threading (B-tier Awakened | Power: D+ tier)
Allows the user to weave latent mana into invisible threads that can bind, restrain, or manipulate objects and magical constructs. Threads can anchor spells in place, interrupt enemy casting, or act as remote extensions of the user's will.
MP: 18 per weave
------
He blinked.
Why can I see her status? Am I able to see others' status somehow...
He smirked, realization dawning on him. The Goddess had given him more than one gift. And a damn useful one at that.
Fuck yeah.
The satisfaction burned briefly in his chest, but then more goblins poured in from the eastern edge of the village. The trees parted like a curtain, revealing waves of green bodies, snarling, clad in scavenged armor, some even wielding jagged blades with a modicum of discipline.
Klav arrived beside them, panting. Ice laced the air around his hands, and his pupils glowed faintly. He blasted a group of goblins trying to flank from the side, encasing them in a sheet of frost that cracked and splintered under the weight of their flailing bodies.
Daniel, Klav, and Elira formed a triangle, their backs to each other.
"Focus on defending, conserve energy!" Daniel shouted.
Elira nodded, her hands glowing faintly as invisible threads sprung into existence. She caught one goblin mid-leap and slammed it into another with a flick of her fingers. The goblins screeched in surprise, tangled together in mid-air.
Klav launched three mana spheres that exploded in icy shards, freezing limbs and turning breath to mist. He stumbled slightly.
Daniel noted it.
"Klav, pull back when you need to!"
"I can still go!" Klav said through clenched teeth, but Daniel could see his friend's legs wobble. His robes were scorched in places, and his face pale from overexertion.
Elira's mana was visibly thinning. Threads shimmered inconsistently, and sweat dripped down her neck.
More goblins. Bigger ones. Their auras were darker, more organized. C-rank.
Daniel sliced two more with fluid grace. The blade almost guided him.
Then a goblin shaman appeared, its staff glowing green. A bolt of corrosive energy launched toward Elira. Daniel stepped in front of it instinctively. The blade absorbed the spell on impact, humming louder.
The shaman screamed in frustration.
"Fall back to the well! We'll bottleneck them!" Daniel commanded.
They moved. Elira weaved barriers behind them, delaying pursuit. Klav flung an icy barrage backward, slowing the faster ones.
At the center of the village, the well offered some high ground. They climbed up and took position. Daniel in front, Klav to the left, Elira to the right. Goblins surged in waves.
Daniel's body burned, each swing eating into his stamina. But he endured.
Elira dropped to one knee, gasping. Her hands trembled.
"I... I can't weave anymore..."
Klav fell backward. Fatigue overtaking his body, disrupting his mana output.
Daniel stood alone, as his blade was covered in blood of the goblins he slayed. He was the last line of defense until Saint Torren showed up to rescue them. He had to hold on, just a little longer.
The goblins hesitated. They sensed something, perhaps the sword, perhaps the will of the one who held it.
But they advanced anyway.
And Daniel roared, meeting them head-on.
Steel rang against claw. Blood flew. He spun, stabbed, sliced. A goblin slashed his arm, but he retaliated with a strike through its eye. Another clawed his leg. He grit his teeth and kept moving.
He wouldn't fall.
Not now.
Not while Klav and Elira were behind him.
The battle raged on. Screams echoed. The village burned.
But Daniel stood firm.
The beginning of a warrior's legend had just begun.