The next day. Virtual Space.
Amir logged in to the morning sun casting long shadows across the still-broken roofs. Dust and soot clung to the air, as if the village itself hadn't finished breathing out the trauma of the previous day.
NPCs moved in clusters, stacking wood, hammering planks, and clearing debris. A few laughed as they worked. Others barked short commands or playfully cursed when something fell the wrong way.
Amir stayed on the edge, watching. Something about the scene felt… real. Too real.
They looked no different from the workers he'd seen back home—faces worn by hardship, but still alive with grit and spirit.
The weight of it hit him. 'I killed people like them.'
He swallowed, but the guilt pressed harder. His limbs felt heavy. air escaped from his lungs. For a moment, he thought he might choke on nothing.
The edges of his vision darkened, narrowing like a tunnel.
Then a voice broke through the hurricane of emotions. "Hey! What'cha doin'? Whoa, how tall are you?!"
Amir blinked, shaken from the spiral. He looked down.
A boy no older than seven stood on the path, staring up at him with wide, unfiltered wonder. He had a mop of unbrushed brown hair, a shirt that was too big for him, and eyes full of stars.
The boy repeated himself, louder this time. "How tall are you, mister?!"
"Uh…" Amir hesitated. He was never great with kids. "I'm around 210 centimeters."
The kid scrunched up his nose. "What's that mean?"
Amir smiled faintly despite himself. "It means pretty tall."
"I'm Enzo!" the boy said proudly, puffing out his chest. "You saved my dad yesterday!"
Before Amir could respond, a rough but familiar voice called out, "Enzo! Get over here!"
They both turned to see a man standing near a damaged house, one arm in a sling, the other awkwardly holding a hammer. He was leaning his good shoulder against a fence, preventing it from falling.
It was the man who had crumbled against the wall during the fight—the one Amir had shielded from the bandit's overhead strike.
"Coming, Dad!" Enzo shouted back.
He looked at Amir again, beaming. "Thanks for saving him, mister!"
Then he gave an enthusiastic wave and sprinted off, nearly tripping over a stick in his excitement.
Amir stood there, caught off-guard.
"Didn't know you were so good with kids," came a voice behind him.
He turned to see Jayden walking up, a bundle of rope between his hands.
"I'm not," Amir muttered.
Jayden chuckled. "Well, you fooled one of 'em."
They stood in silence for a moment, watching Enzo and his father begin working side by side near the village square.
Jayden exhaled. "Most players go through what you just did. You just gotta remember that this is just a game—it's just a game, okay?"
Amir nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Jayden eyed him for a second then glanced around. "Looks like they could use some help. You down?"
They spent the next hour hauling boards, stabilizing a collapsed wall of a cottage, and helping rebuild a retaining wall.
Sweat beaded across their foreheads, despite the cool mountain breeze. The work was repetitive, but grounding.
Eventually, one of the carpenters shouted, "Any more timber?!"
A nearby NPC muttered, "Looks like we're out. We'll need a fresh batch."
Jayden stretched, rolling his shoulders before raising his voice. "Me and my buddy can get some!"
Amir gave him a look. "You just want to level up."
Jayden grinned. "That too. But hey—we're helping the town as well. Two birds, one stone."
Amir sighed, brushing dust off his shredded armor. "Lead the way."
They left the tools behind. The murmur of rebuilding slowly faded as they stepped into the edge of the forest, the trees casting shadows over the old trail. Amir pulled a rickety wooden cart behind him, following the narrow path that villagers had used for years.
After a minute, Amir spoke up. "So, what exactly are we hunting?"
Jayden brightened. "A monster called Murkribs, pretty much knee-high, frog-lookin' things. They've got a nasty acid spit attack, but they're weak overall. Pretty fast, though. If one jumps into the trees, good luck hitting it."
Amir raised an eyebrow. "What level are they?"
"Anywhere from five to fifteen, but we'll stay near the edge. Nothing we can't handle."
They walked deeper, the forest around them teeming with life—chirps, rustling leaves, distant growls. The cart jostled over rocks and roots, creaking with every bump.
Amir glanced over. "What level are you, anyway?"
Jayden thumped a fist against his chest, proud. "Level 7. Gonna rank up soon, too."
"Rank up?"
His friend stopped dead in his tracks. "Did you not read anything during the tutorial?"
"Uh, there was stuff to read besides the map?"
"The forums, dumbass!" Jayden groaned in anger. "I guess this is why you were so quick to join the game… Alright, listen up."
Amir kept pace as Jayden started walking again, gesturing animatedly.
"Everyone starts at Rank 0. Once all your stats hit twenty or more, you can go to a city and rank up. It usually happens around level ten to fifteen."
"Why do we have to go to a city?"
"Because ranking up requires a mana chamber. Those are rare and expensive—but every city is required to have one. When you first rank up, all you're doing is sensing mana inside your body; it's easiest to do in a mana-rich environment. The chamber helps."
"Why do we need twenty points in every stat, then? It seems like only mana matters."
"You don't necessarily need to, but the chamber's hard to access, and you only get one hour per session. Higher stats mean more mana can enter your body, and thus, a higher chance of sensing it."
Amir nodded. It made sense to him—a stronger body could hold more mana.
Jayden continued. "Ranking earlier gives you access to better scaling. The best players do it as soon as they can."
Amir glanced at his own page.
[Ashfall - Rank 0, Level 3 Warrior
Strength: 18 / Agility: 14 / Constitution: 24 / Vitality: 20 / Spirit: 19]
Eight unspent stat points floated at the bottom of the screen.
If he gained one more level and placed his points right… he could qualify to rank up, too.
"Hold up, stop for a second. Be quiet."
Jayden raised a hand and crouched low, eyes narrowing.
Amir halted the cart, wincing as the wheels creaked and almost buckled. For a moment, all he could hear was the wind brushing through leaves.
Then—a wet croak filtered through the foliage.
"Left side," Jayden whispered, already reaching for the daggers strapped to his thighs.
Amir followed his gaze. A cluster of hunched shapes crept through the underbrush, their skin slick and gray-green. Beady eyes glinted like dull coins, full of malice.
Four Murkribs.
They hadn't seen the duo yet.
"What's the plan?" Amir murmured, already stepping away from the cart.
"We each take two and try not to eat acid," Jayden muttered. "I'll draw them out. You get ready to pounce."
Without waiting, Jayden stepped off the path, picking up and tossing a small stone into the brush. It smacked against a trunk with a dull thunk—immediate croaking erupted.
Two Murkribs bounded forward, both launching acid toward Jayden with impressive speed. He dodged, rolling to the side.
The acid hissed past him, eating into a moss-covered stone.
Amir focused on his own battle. He grabbed his spear and shield from his back and charged.
He slammed his shield into one of the Murkribs before it could react. The creature went flying, limbs flailing, and hit a tree with a sickening crunch. In one smooth motion, Amir drove his spear through its chest, pinning it to the bark.
[Level 7 Murkrib killed. EXP Gained.]
Amir grunted, yanked the weapon free, and spun to find the last one.
He spotted it perched on a low tree branch. The second their eyes met, the Murkrib turned and bolted, leaping branch to branch.
'Not on my watch.'
Amir winded up his spear, arm leaning back. He analyzed the trajectory, making sure to avoid any branches in the way. At last, he launched, his spear hurtling through the forest, cleanly entering the last Murkrib's chest from dozens of meters away.
[Level 8 Murkrib killed. EXP Gained.]
The body fell harmless through the leaves and landed with a soft thump on the forest floor.
Jayden jogged up beside him, eyebrows raised. "Since when could you do that?"
Amir glanced at his hand, still half-raised from the throw. "Since now, I guess."
Jayden clapped him on the back, a grin spreading across his face. "Congrats, warrior boy. Look at you—growing up so fast. Now come on—let's grab that wood before something bigger shows up."
Amir jogged over to retrieve his spear from the fallen Murkrib, wiped the blood off on the grass, and slung it across his back. Then he returned to the cart.
They followed the narrow trail until the forest opened into a wide clearing. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the canopy, flickering across piles of logs stacked from previous foraging runs. The air was rich with the scent of sap and damp bark.
Jayden let out a low whistle. "Either the town's been busy, or we just got lucky."
Amir walked up to one of the piles, knelt, and tested the weight of a log. Dry, light, and solid, it was perfect for rebuilding.
They got to work without another word, lifting and stacking timber onto the cart in a steady rhythm. With each log, the wheels creaked under the growing load, but held.
Birds chirped overhead, and distant rustling from smaller wildlife echoed through the trees. Aside from the occasional grunt of effort, neither of them spoke much.
Jayden dropped a log into the cart and straightened up. He was quiet for a moment. "Do you think we'll ever be able to find something… a place where we belong? A base? Just something permanent, something we can always come back to."
"You mean a guild hall?"
Jayden gave a quiet laugh, almost embarrassed. "I mean… like a home."
Amir didn't answer immediately. He grabbed the last log and heaved it up, the wood scraping against the side of the cart. "I don't know. Not yet, at least."
Jayden glanced toward the sky, where the sun peered through clouds and trees in rays of gold. "That's fair."
For a while, they just stood there—two silhouettes in a clearing, listening to the life of the forest around them.
Then Jayden clapped his hands together. "Alright, that should hold. Time to haul this stuff back!"
Amir grumbled. "Why're you acting like you're the one luggin' it back?"
Jayden wagged his finger back and forth. "Nuh, uh, uh… I can't be weighed down by both your questions and the cart, now, can I?"
"Right…" Amir's face was dark, but he was faintly amused—just barely.
He took a few steps forward, and after a pause, asked, "So what's this reputation thing we got from the last quest?"
"Reputation's how NPCs view you. It can mean trust, fear, admiration, neutrality—whatever. Higher reputations might get you discounts, hidden info, or maybe even special quests. It's like social EXP in a way…"
Jayden's voice trailed off as they made their way back down the village trail. The wheels groaned under the weight of the cart, bumping over roots and soil.
Above them, the sky stretched wide and silent.
Two orphans beneath the clouds, dragging the weight of their future behind them.