Chapter 1 — The Boy Who Saw the Numbers
In the village of Mosswillow, heroes came from songs, not from woodcutters' huts.
Elrin learned this early.
His father rose before dawn, shouldering his axe while frost still clung to the grass. Elrin followed him into the forest with a toy blade carved from scrap wood, dragging it through fallen leaves as if it weighed a hundred pounds.
Adventurers passed through Mosswillow a few times a year—armored, scarred, confident. They smelled of iron and fire instead of sap and soil. Elrin watched them from the roadside, heart pounding.
He wanted to be like them.
More than sweets.
More than rest.
More than anything.
On the morning of his fourth birthday, the forest froze.
Birds halted mid-flight. Wind stilled in the leaves. Even the creak of tree trunks went silent.
Then words appeared in the air before Elrin's eyes.
[System Initialized]
[Player Detected: Elrin Woodson]
[Age Requirement Met]
Elrin blinked.
The words stayed.
"Papa?" he asked, tugging at his father's sleeve. "Why is the air talking?"
His father laughed, ruffling his hair. "Too much sun already?"
Elrin turned back to the floating light.
When he lifted a fallen branch, more words appeared.
Strength +1
Skill Learned: Beginner's Grip
The branch felt lighter.
That night, while his parents slept, Elrin swung his toy axe behind the house. Each clumsy motion was followed by a faint chime only he could hear.
Numbers grew.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
By the time the moon set, one final message hovered before him.
[Main Quest Unlocked: Become a Hero]
Reward: Unknown
Elrin smiled into the dark.
The forest had noticed him.