Chapter 5

"Alright... thank you." Rodi's throat felt dry, and he seemed to suddenly become somewhat at a loss. His gaze swept around for a long time before he asked in a low voice, "Where... where is the resting place?"

The scout in front of him, seemingly having adapted to his odd questions, pointed to a nearby building. Rodi, feeling as if he had been granted a reprieve, turned and walked away, leaving the remaining food on the simple wooden table, which gradually grew cold.

"What's wrong with this kid?"

Ruger, the team leader, curled his lip. He usually looked down on these young people, always cursing and complaining. Although he found "Rodi" a bit strange, he was too lazy to think about it. Turning his head, he saw the bread Rodi had left on the table, snatched it, and continued to mutter, something along the lines of "This kid just knows how to waste food, he'll starve to death sooner or later."

Rodi, who had walked to the "dormitory," didn't care at all about what those guys were saying. His mind was already filled with one piece of information...

He had somehow returned to nine years ago?

The year 588 of the Elon calendar, before the game "Rift" had even launched... Rodi, as a player, had experienced the years from the autumn of 590 to the winter of 597—during which the entire continent saw countless battles, frequent wars, and the rise and fall of many heroes. Players experienced the grandeur and epic scale of history through one event after another, and this was one of the main reasons why "Rift" remained popular for so long.

However, when Rodi overlapped the game world he had experienced with the reality in front of him, he still felt an extremely bizarre and unreal sensation.

"Damn it!"

Rodi suddenly cursed, reaching into his pocket. But he immediately realized he wasn't wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and there were no cigarettes or lighters in his pockets. He couldn't help but sigh deeply— "What the hell is going on!"

From the inexplicable battle after waking up to now, realizing he wasn't in the "game," Rodi broke out in a cold sweat when he recalled everything... His habitual thinking almost killed him. If he had known these things, he wouldn't have been so calm when he used a bow and eight arrows to take down those orcs.

After all... in the real world, there's no such thing as "respawning at the graveyard."

Rodi rubbed his head and sat on the hard bed in the low house.

Today's events were truly unbelievable, and it was hard to remain calm... But as a tech geek, his mind was far more practical than others—when there's a problem, you need to find a solution. Just complaining or spacing out won't do any good, so Rodi immediately began to think about his current situation...

The world he was in was far from peaceful. From the name of the game "Rift," it was clear that territorial wars and power struggles had never stopped since the game's launch. Whenever a major battle ended, the developers would release a new expansion, allowing players to fully experience the thrill of a "turbulent era"...

Playing the game was one thing, but experiencing it in real life... Rodi didn't think it was a good thing at all.

Thinking about the entire timeline of the game, which had yet to begin, Rodi suddenly realized what he possessed—countless images flashed through his mind... the Kingdom of Carren, whose lands were devoured by orcs and undead, the repeated betrayals by the nobility leading to the army's defeat, the royal family's incompetence and cowardice, the dukes' arrogance after amassing their own armies...

None of this had happened yet!

But then Rodi couldn't help but think of a face he would never forget—the young wizard who died for her homeland. Her words seemed to still echo in his ears.

"As a wizard, I could choose to continue pursuing truth and law, but I chose to stay with you. You should feel honored, Rodi."

"You say you can resurrect? That's a joke by the Creator. If you can stay here to protect them, why can't I?"

"Rodi! I won't allow you to say that! You can't use our... friendship to threaten me. I won't leave!"

"I am a wizard, and I know my condition... but before... before all this ends, can you—kiss me?"

The memory stopped abruptly, ending with the dark red of blood in his field of vision.

Rodi almost bit through his lip. He suddenly realized how foolish... yet how smart he was. Why? After graduating from a third-rate university, "Rift" became his only source of income. Earning a living by playing games wasn't embarrassing to say, but mainstream society didn't recognize it, especially when it came to dating. This was often a reason for breakups.

Thus, Rodi's girlfriend of three years left him, and he was deeply hurt. As a tech geek, he could only vent his energy into the game, until he met a "different" NPC and formed a brief but unforgettable "friendship."

At that time, when many players mentioned "Rodi," they would often say— "You mean the master tanner? He's also pretty good at making bows!" or "Yeah, the one who shoots arrows really well and speaks Brinjari fluently!"

And then, "The guy who treats an NPC as his girlfriend? Hahaha—destined to be alone for life!"

For a while, Rodi was grateful to "Rift" for its AI. The game used a computer-generated character to soothe his inner rage and hatred, preventing a generation of tech geeks from retaliating against society due to emotional issues.

But everything changed when the orcs tore through the Kingdom of Carren, and the smiling figure was completely destroyed in the war...

Regret, anger, Rodi's personality became even more extreme. Because of this, he transitioned from a "lifestyle player" who made a living by tanning and making bows to a PVP player, and in just two years, he rose to the top of the server!

But what was gone was gone. He once regretted not transitioning to PVP earlier, thinking that he might have been able to prevent the orc invasion and all the tragedies that followed. But now... seeing Noland Village, Rodi had to thank this damn fate...

He realized he had a second chance!

Rodi suddenly stood up, wanting to shout, but he bumped his head on the low wooden beam with a "thud" and cursed, holding his head and sitting back down. His disheveled appearance made the few comrades who happened to enter the dormitory stare in shock. One of them said, "Rodi, we have to thank you, no matter what. We hope you don't take our previous attitude... too seriously—"

"It's fine, it's fine."

Rodi winced in pain, not really paying attention to what the other person said, but then added two confusing sentences:

"By the way, call me Rodi, not Lodi."

"I don't like that name anymore."

...

The morning in Noland Village always had a faint milky scent.

It was April, and the morning on the grassland was still a bit chilly. In the village, shepherds were milking sheep, and although the milk had a slight膻味 (gamey smell), it was a precious commodity for the poor, something they could trade for a living.

In Lord Kirk's manor, the servants were busy as usual under the steward's direction, cleaning the pigeon coops and stables, farmers began plowing the fields, and carters started transporting the manor's crops to other territories. The carts creaked as they moved on the bumpy dirt roads, the sound carrying far.

In the morning mist, the peasants and farmers who had woken up also began their work. However, they had more to talk about today, thanks to yesterday's encounter between the scouts and the orcs.

The encounter of the scout team yesterday was a major event for the villagers of Noland—Carter had brought back the heads of the orcs, which were now impaled on wooden stakes in the village square, a neat row of them, the smell of blood permeating the air. As soon as the sun came up, one could see flies buzzing around the heads, making the faces of the villagers who came to gawk turn pale, and even causing some children to cry.

Lieutenant Sordin, who commanded the scout team, had already ridden to Holier City after receiving Carter's report. He ordered the scouts to increase their reconnaissance range over the next few days and avoid any further conflicts with the orcs.

Although Lieutenant Sordin was lazy and gluttonous, he at least understood Carter's capabilities—killing six orcs? The "battle details" Carter described were full of holes, but it didn't matter as long as the orc heads were real. Sordin was heading to Holier City to report to the Duke, believing that the merit earned from so many orc heads would be enough to get him out of this hellish scout unit.

As for the rewards for Carter and the scouts, Sordin spat— who cared about them?

Superiors not caring about subordinates was the norm in this society, which was similar to medieval Europe. "Pity" was rare, and the lower classes often struggled to even get enough food. In times of natural disasters or cold, they might not survive, let alone think about anything else.

For the surviving scouts of Noland Village, the dead comrades could not be brought back, and the hard life had to continue. Their only consolation was that their pay was slightly higher than that of the farmers who toiled in the fields every day. As for the rest... the young people who had never been to school and had long accepted this way of life never thought about it.

The scouts avoided talking about what happened yesterday—Rodi had wisely given up the credit, so the remaining scouts wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal the "truth." Thus, when the uninformed soldiers woke up in the morning, they were all talking about how Captain Carter "bravely killed the orcs," while the real hero, Rodi, had disappeared after waking up.

Honestly, anyone who was reborn into a game wouldn't be calm enough to fall asleep. Rodi thought he would spend a restless night, but unexpectedly, he fell asleep.

When he woke up, his mind was filled with some strange information—these seemed to be the memories of the original owner of this body, "Lodi," which he had completely forgotten when he first woke up.

His father died in a small-scale battle on the border ten years ago, and his mother had passed away long ago. "Lodi" was a typical "war orphan" of this turbulent era. He had learned dagger combat from his father as a child but had never touched a one-handed sword. Born and raised in Noland Village, his family was ordinary, with a few acres of land, and occasionally some surplus money. However, after several years of disasters, their family's fortunes declined. Three years ago, after his mother's death, he joined this team through his father's connections.

He was timid and cowardly, even stuttering when talking to girls. Despite inheriting his father's strong build, Lodi should have been a good soldier, but he lacked the courage and confidence. He was often bullied and had given up on himself.

Rodi felt a bit melancholic about these memories. In contrast, his own personality was the complete opposite of Lodi's—

As a tech geek praised online and a confident player in the gaming world, Rodi wasn't a model citizen, but he had a normal moral compass. However, he had a significant flaw... to put it bluntly, he was "vengeful."

This trait wasn't obvious at first, but after the incident, Rodi transformed from a harmless person into a cold and extreme individual.

He wasn't a "hero," because even before his穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in this context, which is a term used in Chinese literature for "time travel" or "soul transmigration"), Rodi was just a somewhat famous lone wolf in the game, not a guild leader or a major figure. But if given the right platform, the weighty term "hero" might not be too far-fetched for Rodi.

He had the potential... whether it was ambition or patience and strategy, Rodi had it all. The times make the hero, and perhaps what he lacked was just the right opportunity.