Night fell over the manor, and Asher stood by his window, a slightly overstuffed rucksack on his back, weighing him down just enough to remind him this wasn't going to be some movie sneak-out.
For the past few hours, he'd done nothing but observe, obsessing over every little detail.
If it could, he would've learned the way the manor breathed.
The guards rotated every forty-five minutes. With the help of his scattered memories, he knew the maids cleaned the main halls around sunset and didn't pass through again until way later. Some windows stayed locked; some were loose enough to wiggle through if you weren't a fat idiot. He was a bit fat, or, well, he had some chub, but he wasn't an idiot. He mapped it all out in his head—an engineer's kind of thinking—break down the problem, figure out the solution.
Of course, he also had to deal with his angry father after disappearing like that, but it wasn't too hard, just a few well-placed promises, a few yes father's, and many nods of the head.
Asher was still set to marry the girl...
Heh. Yeah, he was. And he'd definitely do it. Hm. Definitely.
"It's time."
He stepped away from the window and crept out of his room, the door clicking shut behind him without a sound.
Step by step, he made it to the grand staircase, moving down it like he was floating.
The first floor was dimly lit—only a few lanterns left burning, mostly to keep the place from looking haunted.
There. A window near the kitchen. One he'd tested earlier—the latch broken.
Asher slid it open, slipping through and landing softly on the gravel outside.
Freedom...
Almost.
He ducked low, sticking to the shadows, zigzagging between hedges, statues, and God-awful fancy fountains.
Just as he was about to round the corner to the courtyard, he froze.
Footsteps were closing in. Fast.
A guard, turning the corner—too soon, off-pattern.
'Hm.'
Thinking fast, Asher grabbed a loose stone from the path and hurled it toward the opposite side of the yard.
Clack! Clack!
The guard jerked his head towards the noise and started walking that way.
'Good, good'—but not good enough.
A moment later, the same guard returned.
It seemed they weren't as dumb as the average NPC.
He half expected the guard to go, "It must've been the wind."
But unfortunately, no such thing was uttered. Truly, and incredibly unfortunate.
To make things worse, another patrol came from the other side.
Double 'Hm.'
He was fucked... or so the uninitiated might think.
Asher didn't panic, which wasn't much of an achievement; it might not have been possible for someone like him.
He crouched low and let the first guard pass him by, blending into the dark. The second neared, looking more closely, and just as Asher was about to get caught...
"ROLL CALL!"
A loud fuck punctured his ear drums.
It was all as he predicted~.
The guard paused his steps and looked over to where his captain's order originated.
Clicking his tongue, he joined the others, grouping up for roll call, leaving the main path momentarly wide open.
'Perfect.'
Slipping through the gaps, he made it to the final obstacle—the main wall.
The manor's gate was too heavily guarded to risk.
No problem. He had a plan.
Asher tossed his rucksack over the stone wall with a grunt.
It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.
Then, he jogged over to a tree planted way too close to the perimeter.
He chuckled under his breath as he climbed it, thanking his past self for all of those unconventional workouts he tried at the gym after seeing them on that God-forsaken app.
'But, hm. Seriously, they should cut this thing down. Total security breach.'
Well, they certainly would after this... not his problem, though.
"Hup."
With a final push, he leapt from a branch and vaulted over the wall, landing with a hard thud on the other side.
No alarms. No shouts.
'Freedom.'
He dusted himself off, threw the rucksack over his shoulder, and started walking toward the city lights blinking in the distance.
Of course, he couldn't hitch a ride; he was broke.
He only had a few coppers; he couldn't waste those—they'd be used at his inn for the night.
But that was fine, not at all a problem.
The "Faction Gate"—basically this world's version of the Adventurer's Guild, but way more complicated and political—was supposed to be somewhere nearby.
He didn't exactly know where, but whatever, he didn't bother asking anyone.
Part of the fun in playing games was figuring it out yourself; guides were boring.
Sure, now it wasn't a game, it was life and death, more or less, but it was somewhat of an easy world compared to the brutal worlds he most fondly remembered.
One was a sun-baked wasteland of despair, filled with endless tragedy, the other a neon-lit hellhole of murder and poverty—this world? This medieval fantasy-lite? It wasn't so bad... Well, it shouldn't be so bad, right?
Right?
...Right?
Asher smirked to himself, kicking a pebble down the dirt road.
And then, as if on cue, he heard a classic:
Ding!
A stupid, cheerful little noise that was somehow familiar rang in his head.
With it finally came what he so awaited.
Floating in front of his vision, crisp and clean like it always had been back when this was just a game:
╔════════════════╗
║ {Game System Online} ║
╚════════════════╝
{Health}
{Aether}
{Map}
{Inventory}
{Mastery}
{Abilities}
{Titles}
{Reputation}
{Quests}
He nodded, pleased.
They even added some new tabs. {Titles} and {Reputation} weren't there before. Maybe because now the stakes were real?
Before he could start poking around, the {Mastery} tab blinked open automatically.
Curious, Asher leaned in mentally, scanning the available paths.
There were dozens—no, hundreds—of potential Mastery Trees, each one starting with a Basic Element or Skill.
{Element Trees}
{Fire Arts}
{Water Arts}
{Earth Arts}
{Wind Arts}
{Shadow Arts}
{Light Arts}
{Skill Trees}
{Swordmastery}
{Archery}
{Unarmed Combat}
{Survival}
{Stealth}
{Alchemy}
{Rune Crafting}
{Beast Taming}
He scrolled through them, heart pounding with something close to excitement.
Each tree was split into dozens of paths. Fire could become Inferno Control, or Phoenix Flame Manipulation, or even just Basic Pyromancy if you wanted to stay boring.
Shadow Arts led to crazy stuff like Shadow Step, Clone Craft, or even Shadow Beasts.
He grinned.
This was it. This was his somewhat golden but not-so-much finger.
But, just as he was about to dive into exploring his favorite tree, the screen flashed red.
A new notification slammed into his face.
{WARNING: ANOMALY DETECTED}
[Eirik, son of Vannar, Warden of the North, has detected your existence.]
[Kaelen, son of Sorrin, Keeper of the Eastern Sky, has detected your existence.]
[Sylas, son of Merrow, Lord of the Southern Depths, has detected your existence.]
[Lucien, son of Vaelen, Guardian of the Western Vale, has detected your existence.]
{WARNING: YOU ARE BEING HUNTED.}
Asher's smile froze on his face.
He knew those names. And he knew exactly how fucked he was.
Each one ruled a different empire, and none of them were the kind of people you wanted knowing you even existed, let alone marking you as a target.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.
"Well..."
He slung the rucksack higher onto his back.
"I guess I got what I asked for."