The morning after the "Void Ambush" did not bring the usual peace of Oakhaven.
Usually, the sun rose at exactly 6:00 AM with a cinematic flare that bathed the village in honey-colored light. Today, the sky looked like a bruised peach. The clouds were flickering at the edges, the textures struggling to decide if they were supposed to be "Post-Tragedy Grey" or "Optimistic Morning Gold."
Elian sat on a stump outside the scorched remains of the Rusty Tankard. His head felt like it had been used as a practice dummy for a mace-swinging tutorial.
[Current Stats]
[HP: 8/10]
[Ink: 4/10]
[Suspension of Disbelief: 91%]
He had recovered a small amount of Ink by staring at the charred wood and contemplating the futility of existence—apparently, "Cynical Reflection" acted as a passive mana regeneration skill for his class. But the SoD meter was a problem. 91% was still a "Safe" zone, but the flickering sky told a different story. The System was starting to notice that the math wasn't adding up.
"It doesn't make sense!"
The shout came from the village square. It was followed by the sound of a wooden crate splintering into a thousand pieces.
Elian sighed, pushed himself off the stump, and walked toward the noise.
Prince Valerius was in the middle of the marketplace. He wasn't fighting monsters. He was fighting a fruit stand. With a roar of "Excalibur!" he brought his glowing sword down on a stack of empty apple crates.
CRUNCH.
"Zero!" Valerius screamed at the sky, his golden hair disheveled. "Zero XP! No loot! Not even a single copper coin! This zone is trash! The drop rates are bugged!"
Old Man Miller, the owner of the stand, stood three feet away. He was stuck in a [Confusion_Loop]. His script told him to say, "Fine morning for a cider, traveler!" but his logic center was currently processing the fact that a demi-god was turning his livelihood into kindling. He just blinked, his jaw hanging open, a small "Error" icon flickering briefly over his straw hat.
"My Lord," Elian said, stepping into the splash zone of flying splinters. "Perhaps the... uh... Void Beasts didn't carry currency?"
Valerius spun around, his sword narrowly missing Elian's nose. "It's a breakable object, Elian! In every world, in every chronicle, when a Hero breaks a crate, there is supposed to be loot! It is a fundamental law of the universe!"
Valerius stomped over to a nearby ceramic pot—a decorative urn that had sat outside the apothecary for a decade. Before Elian could protest, the Prince delivered a heavy, armored kick.
The pot shattered. Out tumbled a handful of dirt and a very confused beetle.
Valerius stared at the beetle. The beetle stared back.
"This is an insult," Valerius whispered, his voice trembling with the kind of rage only a thwarted gamer can feel. "I am the Chosen One. I have a 'Destiny Blade'. I should be drowning in rare crafting materials by now. If the environment won't give me XP, I'll find it elsewhere."
He turned his gaze toward Old Man Miller.
Elian felt a cold spike of dread. He saw the flag appear over Valerius's head: [Objective: Force Dialogue/Interaction]. But beneath it, a darker, hidden intent pulsed in red: [Sub-Intent: Check for 'Essential NPC' Status].
In many stories, if an NPC didn't give a quest, they were just "XP on legs."
Valerius marched up to the old man and grabbed him by the tunic. "You. Miller. Tell me where the secret dungeon is. Tell me now, or I'll see if your death triggers a World Boss spawn."
"Fine morning... for a... cider..." Miller stammered, his voice pitching up into a mechanical whine.
[Warning: NPC Stress levels critical. Narrative collapse imminent.]
Elian acted. He didn't have much Ink, but he couldn't let Valerius murder the village's only source of cider. He looked at the shattered crates on the floor. He focused on a single splinter of wood.
Change Property: Item Identity.
[Ink: 3/10]
Elian [Nudged] the splinter. To the System, that bit of wood was no longer a [Debris_Object]. He edited its metadata to read: [Old_Map_Fragment (Quest Item)].
He reached down, pretended to pick it up, and shouted, "My Lord! Look! One of the crates was a Mimic in disguise! It was hiding this!"
Valerius froze. He dropped Old Man Miller, who promptly fell over and began repeating his cider line to a blade of grass.
The Prince snatched the splinter from Elian's hand. He held it up to the light, squinting.
Under normal circumstances, Valerius would have seen a piece of wood. But because Elian had edited the tag, Valerius's Hero-vision saw a glowing parchment fragment covered in "Ancient Runes."
"A map fragment!" Valerius gasped, his ego instantly inflating back to its usual, bloated size. "I knew it! A hidden objective! 'The Path of the Shattered Sun', it says!"
It actually said 'Property of Oakhaven Carpentry', but the System's translation layer was doing some heavy lifting to accommodate Elian's edit.
"Where does it lead?" Valerius demanded.
"To the... uh... the Blacksmith," Elian said, thinking fast. "It says the next piece is hidden in a 'Vessel of Eternal Flame'."
"The Forge!" Valerius roared. "Of course! To the Smithy!"
Valerius sprinted off, his heavy armor clanking. He didn't use the path; he jumped over a fence, then jumped again, then again—apparently trying to level up his [Acrobatics] skill through sheer, repetitive idiocy.
Elian leaned against the remains of the fruit stand, wiping sweat from his brow.
"You're welcome, Miller," he muttered.
He followed Valerius to the forge. He found the Prince standing in front of Barnaby the Blacksmith. Barnaby was a massive man, an NPC with a bit more "Weight" than the others. He was a Tier 2 NPC—essential for equipment repairs.
Valerius was currently poking Barnaby in the chest with the tip of his sword.
"Give me the hammer, Smith," Valerius commanded. "The map says it is a Vessel of Eternal Flame. I require it for my ascension."
Barnaby looked at the sword, then at the Prince. His AI was more robust than Miller's. He didn't glitch. He got angry.
"That hammer's been in my family for three generations, ya golden peacock," Barnaby growled. "It's not a 'vessel'. It's a tool. Now back off before I use your helmet as an anvil."
[Conflict Detected: Hero vs. Essential Vendor]
[Risk Assessment: 100% chance of 'Murder-Hobo' behavior.]
Elian saw Valerius's grip tighten on his sword. The Prince wasn't used to being told 'no'. In his mind, this was a "Boss Dialogue" where he had to prove his strength.
"You refuse the Chosen One?" Valerius's voice dropped into that dangerous, cinematic bass. "Perhaps a lesson in humility is required."
"Wait!" Elian pushed between them. "My Lord! The 'Vessel' isn't the hammer! Look at the heat! The forge itself is the vessel!"
He turned to Barnaby, hissing under his breath. "Just let him 'inspect' the coals, Barnaby. I'll pay for the damage."
"He's crazy, Elian," Barnaby whispered back. "He's been jumping in place for ten minutes outside my door. He's not right in the head."
"He's a Hero," Elian said, a world of weariness in his voice. "It's the same thing."
Valerius shoved Elian aside and marched to the forge. He stared into the glowing white coals. "The fire... it speaks to me. It says... it says I need to 'Optimize my Build'."
He reached into the coals with his bare, gauntleted hand.
Sizzle.
[Damage Taken: 5 HP (Fire)]
[Status Effect: Burned]
Valerius didn't flinch. He just watched his health bar flicker. "A trial of fire! I accept! I shall stand in the flames until the hidden stat is revealed!"
"He's going to stand there until he dies, isn't he?" Barnaby asked, watching the Prince literally cook himself in the name of "Optimization."
"Most likely," Elian said.
He looked at the SoD meter.
[Suspension of Disbelief: 88%]
The meter was dropping because a Prince was currently trying to use a blacksmith's forge as a hot tub. It was illogical. It was "bad writing." The world started to shudder. A nearby tree turned into a low-poly green triangle for three seconds before snapping back.
Elian had to do something. He couldn't [Nudge] Valerius out of the fire—the Prince was too "heavy" narratively.
He looked at a nearby chicken pecking at the dirt.
An idea—a terrible, meta-fictional idea—formed in Elian's mind. He remembered a legend from a distant land, a story of a Hero who attacked a bird and faced a wrath greater than any Dark Lord.
Change Property: Aggro-Chain.
[Ink: 1/10]
[HP: 6/10]
Elian [Nudged] the chicken. He didn't change its strength. He changed its Relevance. He gave the chicken a temporary tag: [World_Boss_Trigger].
Then, he picked up a small stone and chucked it at the chicken.
The stone hit the bird.
Under normal circumstances, the chicken would have squawked and run away. But with Elian's edit, the "Aggro" signal didn't just stay with the bird. It broadcasted a signal to every feathered creature in a five-mile radius.
BWA-GOCK!
The chicken's eyes turned red. It didn't run. It flapped its wings and flew directly at Valerius's head.
From the rooftops, ten more chickens descended. From the fields, a literal wave of white feathers began to swarm toward the forge.
"What is this?" Valerius shouted, finally stepping out of the fire as a dozen chickens began pecking at his golden visor. "An avian ambush? A hidden encounter?"
"It's the Curse of the Feathered King!" Elian yelled, improvising wildly. "My Lord, if you stay in the village, they will never stop! You must leave! The map says the next piece is in the Forest of Whispers! Away from the birds!"
"A swarm-type boss!" Valerius swiped at the air, looking delighted despite being covered in poultry. "Fantastic! I shall retreat and return when I have an Area-of-Effect skill! To the forest!"
Valerius turned and sprinted for the village gates, pursued by a screaming cloud of chickens.
Elian slumped against the forge, his heart hammering, his nose bleeding.
Barnaby looked at the empty street, then at Elian. "Did you just save my life with a bunch of hens?"
"Don't ask," Elian wheezed.
He looked at his vision. The SoD meter had stabilized at 85%. The chickens had provided enough "Action" to distract the System from the illogic of the forge incident.
But as he looked at the gate, he saw a message he hadn't expected.
[Quest Updated: The Escort]
[Objective: Ensure the Hero reaches Level 5 without killing essential NPCs.]
[New Skill Unlocked: [Red Pen - Basic Strike]]
Elian looked at his hand. A faint, red glow surrounded his fingers. He had done it. He had survived the "Grind." But as he watched Valerius disappear into the woods, he realized the "Tutorial" was officially over.
The real story was beginning, and it was going to be a lot bloodier than a few chickens.