Rein was overcome with despair. He expected this to happen at some point, but he wasn’t mentally prepared for it. Voron handed Rein the newspaper, its headline read:

“Orthlys Village Massacred by Econica. King Fredric Declares War.”

The room was filled with silence. Rein continued reading.

“When Prince Zane arrived at the scene, he saw a white-haired boy wielding an Econican army sword killing Orthlys soldiers. The Prince was able to defeat the boy, but a tall black-haired woman came to his rescue. These two are believed to be the Econican spies who wiped out the border side village as a declaration of war.

Annie Lakuna, Lomia News”

Rein gripped the paper with immense force. He felt indescribable anger in his heart, but he was able to contain it as to not let his System loose.

“I’m sorry… Now you and the village are gonna be endangered,” apologized Rein, feeling partially guilty.

“Don’t worry about it kid. This forest is on neutral ground. Though being on Econican land, it doesn’t belong to Econica or Orthlys. It’ll be the safest place during the war,” informed Voron, followed by a sigh of relief from Rein. He looked over at the 2 girls, who sat there silently.

“Rein… Is this what big sis Leo died for?” Said Emria cheerlessly, beginning to cry. Rein put down his swords and walked over to Emria, placing an arm around her and a hand on her head.

“Don’t worry… I’ll make sure her death wasn’t in vain. I’ll change the fate of the world, just watch me,” he dried her tears with his hand and cheered her up. Rein wore a wistful smile, somehow not believing his own words.

“Rein, I suggest you do not blame yourself. That will only be a detriment to you in the future. From a rational perspective, you did not cause this war,” Saphrilla consoled him, seeing his sorrowful facade.

“Thanks, Saphrilla. You know, you don’t show much emotion, but you seem to be an expert on it. Haha.” Rein said, cheering up. Saphrilla lightly blushed, flattered by Rein’s comment.

“Oh yeah, did you see what the girls bought you?” Asked Voron, pointing at the bag of clothes in the corner.

Rein picked it up, taking the clothes out. It was a white coat, with red highlights along with a plain white shirt and black pants.

“Thank you both, these look really good!”

“Try them on Rein!” Emria jumped with excitement.

He went upstairs and put on the clothes. They fit perfectly and worked well with each other. He went back downstairs to show everyone, receiving very positive opinions on his looks. Once everyone settled down, Rein, Emria, and Saphrilla went to make dinner. Appreciative of the help, Saphrilla thanked them. As they began to eat, Voron said:

“I’m gonna take you somewhere tomorrow Rein. Prepare yourself, it won’t be easy,” Voron informed him.

Nervous, Rein gulped his food and nodded his head. After that, Rein went back to sleep on the couch, feeling even colder this time.

“Oh yeah, I turned on cooling in here, so it’ll be even colder from now on. Good luck!” Said Voron, popping his head into the living room before heading to sleep.

Annoyed, Rein was contemplating locking Voron out of his room for revenge, but decided against it.

Before he slept, he decided to take another look at his menu.

“[New Skill Aqcuired] – Expert Cook” is what it said. He laughed at it, feeling slightly insulted that it only ranked him as an expert, Rein being very defensive of his cooking skills.

Eventually, he drifted to sleep, waking into the white void yet again.

“Heya! Looks like you got new clothes!” Said Versys.

“That’s what you’re focusing on? More importantly, a war began. Also, I’ve got these cool new swords,” Rein and Versys began to talk, Rein telling him about his life before. They barely talked for what felt like an hour, Rein and Versys beginning to forge a bond, him being the only one he could speak freely to.

Eventually, he heard a familiar voice through his dream.

“Wakey wakey! Time to leave! Get dressed, grab your swords and follow me! Oh, and check your stats,” Voron rushed Rein, forcing him to follow him without even eating breakfast. He wore his new clothes and stored his new swords in his inventory. As he followed Voron outside, he checked his stats, which were:

Health: 340/340

Energy: 170/170

Speed: 68.2

Strength: 73.7

Defense: 65.2

Intellect: 119.2

“My defense went up again,” He told Voron.

“Nice! Hmmm? Didn’t I tell you to bring your swords?” Asked Voron trying to look behind Rein to see if he was hiding them.

“Oh, they’re right here.” He reached into the air and pulled out a pair of sheathed swords.

“WOW! I didn’t know you were a magician!”

“I’m not. This is part of my power,” Explained Rein.

“Oh? Fascinating… Is there anything else you can do?” Pondered Voron.

Rein had checked all of the tabs but one. The Springs tab, which he had completely neglected to check. He didn’t know what to expect when he pressed it. He saw a blank screen with one name on it: “Emria Yaku”.

“This must be my copy history. Emria’s the only one who I’ve copied so far, so it makes sense.” He concluded in his mind as he heard Versys voice affirm his thought, Rein realizing that he could speak to him subconsciously.

They continued down a path, Voron eventually stopping atop a hill.

“Huh? Why’d we stop?” Rein asked as he caught up with Voron.

When he reached the peak of the hill, he looked out into the outstretched horizon. He saw something unbelievable. A ginormous crater, much larger than the one in Lifah. The crater was crawling with monsters. Slimes, low demons, undead, and others.

“That’s where your father, Drevius Alister, died.” Informed Voron.

“Why… are we here? Why is it over-run with monsters?”

“Frankly, I’ve put up some ranger commissions to come and clean this place up. Your dad’s grave is down there after all. But for some reason, no matter how many times we kill them, this place is like a hotspot. They keep gathering.”

Rein knew what Voron wanted him to do. Clear out those monsters. Rein didn’t feel scared at all. He made his way down to the crater and unsheathed his blades.

“Use your strength. You won’t be copying anyone’s abilities. Fuel your power by killing these monsters,” Voron instructed, Rein smiling as that was what he’d planned on doing.

“I know that. I need to get stronger to join the guild and stop this war. I won’t stop at anything. I’ll ravage all of the monsters, these ones, and the ones who started this war. Just watch me.”

After that day, Rein began vigorously training every day, getting stronger and stronger as he progressed. But time never waits for anyone. Day by day, hundreds continued to die as the war stirred the continent into chaos.