Rain fell steadily, mist draping the forest in melancholy, as if the skies acknowledged the pain in Veric's heart over what transpired a few hours ago.
Veric shivered from the cold, arms wrapped around his knees that were tucked under his chest as he tried to huddle deeper inside the hollow of a massive tree. The trunk was wide enough to shelter him, providing a safe refuge from the rain.
And in front of him, hovering in the dim, blue light, was the same box that had haunted him for hours.
A glowing, translucent box floating in the air. Its light reflected faintly in his golden eyes.
Veric stared at it. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy after sobbing his heart out.
"Just... what is this?" Veric muttered, voice raspy from crying. "Have I truly lost my mind? Am I hallucinating?"
He reached out to touch it, but his fingers passed right through.
"Hey, tell me what you are," Veric addressed the floating box, and he gasped when lines of glowing text formed inside it.
[System Has Been Activated.]
[Objective: Build a City Strong Enough to Overturn King of Nethir.
[Current Mission: Find a land and claim it!]
Veric stared, blinking in confusion.
"A system?" Veric tilted his head to the side, his left ear twitched, and his tail thumped against the tree. "What is that?"
The box—or what was called a system—didn't really respond or provide him with any explanation.
"But, build a city? That's ridiculous. I'm just a kid," Veric huffed, golden eyes narrowing. "How can a ten-year-old build a city?"
Again, the system didn't respond.
Veric leaned back, thinking.
Maybe... this was the gods' doing. Maybe they heard his anger, his vow to destroy the tyrant who had slaughtered his father and the other beastmen in cold blood. Maybe they gave him this strange tool to aid in his revenge.
"Um, are you going to help me? Is the only way to kill that king by making a city?" Veric asked. The system didn't respond. "Then, what should I do next?"
The system didn't respond.
"Hey, you don't expect me just to find a random land, right? You could at least help me with what to do first."
[...]
"Hello?"
[...]
"..." Veric stared at the box flatly, then sighed exaggeratedly.
Fine, he'll have to figure it out himself.
Veric wondered if the box could disappear since it's distracting him too much.
"Can you disappear?"
He gasped when the system suddenly disappeared.
"W-Wait, come back!"
The system reappeared in an instant, its glow returning. Veric blinked, then he let out a quiet, disbelieving laughter.
"Hah. So you do listen. You're just being a brat!"
[...]
Veric rolled his eyes, then hummed. "I'm ten years old. A beastman, too. After the tyrant declared that beastmen are no longer welcome, I would get taken away before I could even say anything. No one's going to follow what I say or help me build a city,"
He reached out his hand to feel the droplets on his fingertips as the rain slowly subsided.
"I can't even build a fire properly. How am I supposed to build a city big enough to take that king down?" Veric sighed.
What if it'll take him years and years to finish his revenge?
Veric then clenched his fists.
"Fine. Let's find a land first. Once I found one, you'll tell me what to do next, right?"
[...]
"Hey! Answer me!"