Enigmatic Crusade

“Get up!” An overly loud voice yelled, shocking Valen awake. His eyes adjusting to the dim light outside his window the owner of the voice peeked into his room. It was a small girl about nine years old. Her smug face rubbed him the wrong way so early in the morning. 

“Out!” He yelled back as he threw his lone pillow at her. She laughed, hardly moving to dodge the projectile as she changed targets to break someone else out of their dream filled break from reality. 

Valen’s forearm laid across his eyes as he tried to recapture that sense of his dream. He couldn’t remember what exactly had transpired but it felt like the dream was better than this place. Not that Valen had too terrible of a life, but even he knew it was terribly dull. 

With a sigh he removed his arm and looked out the small window. No direct sunlight hitting him, the rays were bouncing off a nearby window, almost giving him a view of the sun. Like every morning, he wished he could see the sun directly. But the buildings around his home were too tall. Due to their poverty it wasn’t like they had the money to move anywhere else anyway. 

Sitting up on his bed he heard the little girl screaming louder than any rooster at a new victim. With a shake of his head Valen walked the two short steps to his chest of drawers and quickly got dressed. He didn’t have overly many clothes to choose from anyway. With two full sets of clothes he really didn’t need the furniture, but the previous owner of the building hadn’t needed it so he left it to Valen and his friends. They were too poor to say no to free stuff as it was. 

When he was dressed Valen stepped out and almost ran into Polley. “Watch it,” he hissed, shoving her out of the way. The younger girl shoved him back. “It’s not your room yet,” he reminded her. 

“It will be tomorrow,” she said. The slightly younger girl had staked claim on his room since it was one of the few single beds with an actual window. Most of the other rooms made you share with someone or were built away from the outer walls. 

Valen was about to retort, but was reminded that she was right. He would be kicked out of the orphanage the next day. “Yep,” was all he could muster. Polley frowned, seeing the hurt on his face. Resting her arm on his shoulder he pushed back his fear and put on a smile. “Until then, stay out of my room.” 

She smirked saying, “Can’t I just take measurements? I want to get a nice setup ready.”

“Nope,” Valen said as he began to descend the wide stairs. The second floor as lively as the third, he moved down to the main floor where true pandemonium reigned. Kids ran this way and that. Off to do chores or try to get some breakfast the place was rarely ever quiet. 

The only orphanage in town, the building had once been the residence of the City Lord. At least until the Lord was killed about a decade ago. When the building was made it was probably a shining achievement of the town, now it was one of the lower class buildings. Three stories tall, almost every room had been renovated into a bedroom. The orphanage housed kids from newborn to Valen’s age of 16. 

Valen was one of the first kids dropped off at the orphanage’s original location 16 years ago. Probably the son of some unknown adventurers, he had been raised by the lovely women that volunteered at the orphanage. Currently he was the oldest kid there, which would all change the next day thanks to his Inauguration. But that was a problem for tomorrow. 

Pushing thoughts of that away he found Aunt Fiona busy in the main dining hall. Kids talking loudly with one another the older woman was the master of the household as she had been for years. Making sure each kid was fed, stopping to scold those acting up, quieting those that were too loud, asking questions of those too quiet. Though she was the main source of discipline in the orphanage, Valen knew she was also the heart and soul. 

“Valen, stop standing there with your thumb up your ass and help,” Aunt Fiona barked at him as they locked eyes. “Now!” She added when he didn’t immediately move. He was soon taking her role of spooning out eggs as Aunt Fiona grabbed the ear of one girl and practically dragged her out of the room after she called her an old hag. The young girl was new to the orphanage, but she would learn quickly. 

Valen knew most all of the kid’s names. As one of the oldest kids there he had a lot of responsibility to make sure they felt safe and welcome. A chore he had hated. But each day since his 16th birthday had made him enjoy the work more and more. At least at the orphanage he knew where he stood and had some authority. Out in the real world he was a nobody. Less than a nobody since he didn’t have a coin to his name. 

As he gave out food the other volunteers talked amongst themselves. Some kids wished him luck, others tried to talk about how excited they were for their own Inauguration. The morning was like any other he had spent at the orphanage. Most kids were quiet and reserved. Each with their own stories and problems as they tried to survive this world until they were of age, like he had. 

It wasn’t too long until the other 16 year-olds in the house came downstairs. Valen’s best friends, Claire and Peter waved at him, but Aunt Fiona appeared out of nowhere and had them working as well. When the two tried to weasel out she shut them down by barking, “You aren’t out of the house yet. You all got chores today.” And with that their work began. 

After feeding all the kids they were allowed their own quick meals before Valen and Peter were out back cutting firewood, running off to get food donations for meals, and completing all the labor intensive tasks she had. Claire was on newborn duty for the morning anyway so they went about their work. Talking sporadically throughout their morning made it feel like any other day. 

Valen was actually happy for the distraction. He had been more than a little worried about the new year coming up. Rather than dwelling on it he was taking out the trash, running out for a few groceries here and there, and every little thing Fiona could think of. After lunch Fiona set them free, focusing on other kids to keep up with the chores.  

“Where to?” Peter asked as the trio stood out in front of the orphanage. Peter was taller than Valen by a few inches. Broader in the shoulders he had an uneven haircut of straw colored hair. One of the younger girls had practiced cutting his hair and he hadn’t bothered to fix it. Peter was Valen’s oldest friend. Having been dropped off at the orphanage after his parents were found killed by a monster, they had been by one another’s side ever since. 

“I vote for the Square,” Claire said, raising her hand. Peter and Valen groaned. 

“We don’t have any money,” Valen reminded, for what felt like the thousandth time. 

“I know, I just like to look around,” she said in almost a conspiratory tone. As if that was news to him. Claire had only been at the orphanage for a few years. Her dad was killed after pissing off an adventurer. Something all the kids in the orphanage had learned not to do. Despite the death of her whole family though she still had a bright smile. Long blonde hair, and an ever growing feminine figure she was a breath of fresh air to Valen. Somehow able to make his day brighter. 

“Let’s just do the Training Hall again,” Peter said, trying to hide his excitement.

“We do that every day,” Claire whined. Which she wasn’t wrong. For over a year the three of them had been stopping by the Training Hall at least five times a week. It was hard not to with their Inauguration coming up. 

“Training Hall for a bit,” Valen said. “Then Town Square.” But before they could affirm or deny he headed off in the direction of the Hall. He didn’t want to stick too close to the orphanage or else Aunt Fiona would put them to work again. 

As they began walking down the sidewalk the large buildings around them were a constant reminder how low they were in the pecking order of the city, New Rapids. The large town had been founded almost 17 years ago. Back during planet Earth’s Integration. The town had a different names over the years, but after the current city lord took power a decade ago, New Rapids had stuck. 

Valen still remembered the day the current City Lord took power. The fight that took place for ruling the town had lasted days. Dozens of buildings had been destroyed in the process. Hundreds dead from stray attacks, it was a wonder that anyone had survived. But he had, and when the new lord took power, life went on. The large town skyrocketed in size thanks to the authority of the new ruler. New Rapids had quickly become the massive city that sported buildings ranging in size from the 3-story orphanage he lived in to the 50-story tall monstrosity that the current City Lord supposedly resided in. 

About to walk across the street near the Hall, Valen was stopped by Peter. A large rumbling sounded and a line of vehicles screeched around the corner and drove in front of them. The vehicles were the newest models in the city. Huge 12 foot tall Behemoth-class vehicles covered in thick metal plating that had a blue sheen to it. Tinted windows didn’t allow him to see the drivers, but Valen was sure only the best of the guild would be driving those things. 

“Woah, Monster Bash has the new models?” Peter noted. The side of the half-dozen vehicles was marked with the Monster Bash symbol. A side-view of a goblin’s head and a blacksmith hammer next to it. 

“Looks like it,” Valen said. Eyeing the vehicles. “Think they’re off to a dungeon?” 

“That’s all you ever talk about, dungeons,” Claire said. 

“What else is there to talk about?” Peter asked, annoyed. 

“I don’t know, life,” she said sadly. All three thought about the coming day but didn’t speak aloud about their fears. When the trucks passed they crossed the street and joined the main throng of human traffic. Most were everyday people. Off to their profession, to get groceries, or any number of things, but there were some adventurers mixed in. Swords strapped to sides or backs, wizard robes on, there was an aura around most that exuded power. The trio had learned a while ago to give those adventurers a wide berth. 

Moving down an alley between large buildings they took their normal shortcut to the Training Hall. Valen’s thoughts were stuck on Monster Bash as they quietly moved through the city. Bash, as the guild was normally called, was one of three main guilds in the city. Preternatural was the second best guild. Their headquarters was across town and had a tenuous relationship with the leading guild, Raging. 

The current City Lord was also the guild master of Raging. As the ruler of the city he made the laws and people followed them. Not a completely lawless town, New Rapids had a strong Guard Force that patrolled the city. Though bribes could get most people out of danger there was one rule that applied in New Rapids and every city. The strong did what they wanted. 

Aunt Fiona had told him and all the other orphans that humans hadn’t always been that way. Back on Old Earth, before everyone on the planet was transferred to this new place by the newly born System, there had been laws against killing. Now, in this new world, where people could kill monsters, gain immense strength by leveling up, people that were strong simply did what they wanted. 

Valen understood it of course. Those individuals that were over level 100 were considered gods to most people. Able to knock down buildings with a wave of their hands, it was hard to guard against something like that. But understanding it didn’t make him like it. Though he had never lived on the Old Earth, he wished that the world could go back to that way of thinking. 

Since their orphanage was poor, none of the kids had money. Which often led to a few of them trying to steal for a little extra. Those kids were quickly killed off though. Some of Valen’s best friends had been killed by trying to pick the pocket of some adventurer only to lose their lives. Others were caught in the crosshairs of adventurers fighting in town. His friends mere collateral damage to the ways of the new world. 

Valen himself had been nearly killed almost half a dozen times in his 16 years of life. Narrowly dodging an errant ice spike, or laser blast sent his way. The orphanage itself was actually quite lucky it hadn’t been destroyed, as buildings were taken down and rebuilt practically every year around them. 

“Holy cow, what do you think their Class is?” Peter asked, pointing down the street as they were about to cross. Valen turned to see an adventurer with white shining armor. From so far away they looked like an avenging angel. Their armor was pristine, and had an actual glow to it. The man had long blonde hair that hung loose down his head. Valen continued to stare at the man and felt an intense attraction to him. 

Ripping his eyes away he knew that the man must have had some pretty high stats to make even Valen want him. “What the hell kind of stat causes that?” He murmured, guessing charisma. Again Valen wished he wasn’t so poor. Regular kids had a general idea what to expect at their Inauguration, but most of what Valen knew was hearsay. Tiny tidbits from Aunt Fiona and the other volunteers.

“No idea, but I want it,” Claire said, her eyes locked on the man as he continued to walk along the street. Valen’s eyes were having trouble staying away as well. The adventurer’s aura glowing brighter somehow, he thought that there was an actual halo floating above the guy’s head, but then the image was gone and the holy knight walked out of sight.

“Finally,” he muttered and they were on their way again. 

After a few more blocks they finally made it to the Training Hall. The Hall itself was a construct of the System as was every other building. Though the Hall was only a couple of stories tall, there was a massive 20-foot tall wall around a large courtyard behind it. Even a street away the sound of metal striking metal could be heard. 

The trio ran across the street and walked over to a side entrance. Pounding on the door a familiar face looked out of a small door at the top.

“Again?” The voice asked. 

“Come on, Jasp,” Claire said. “We get our level tomorrow.” Jasper was one of the few kids from the orphanage to make something of themselves. He was 18, and was assigned as a guard to the Training Hall because of his low level. There really was no need for guards at the place since the powerhouses in town spent most of their time there. But the job was dangerous and not sought after because stray spells and arrows were known to strike unsuspecting guards. Jasper was low man on the totem pole though, so he was volunteered. 

“Fine, this is the last time,” he said as the door clicked and opened slowly. 

Inside was as Valen had seen every other day. People attacking System constructs. The targets were gray mannequin-like representations of monsters and humanoids. Able to take major damage they were hit with spells and weapons constantly. The trio slid in and moved to a side of the wall they had noticed was mostly safe from stray attacks. 

Seeing all of this had once been Valen’s dream. All these high leveled people using their skills. Himself, dreaming of being able to use those very skills. He could spend hours watching them. Fireballs striking lifeless dummies, sword slashes digging into gray faux-flesh, all of it had a calming effect that helped him dream of being able to do the same. 

But as time passed and his 16th birthday came and went, he became more scared of this life. Able to finally earn a class, stats, and strength, the reality of adult-life had started to sink in. A fact that he pretended wasn’t there, but it was. Deep down he wasn’t sure he was ready to live a life of an adventurer. Ready to leave the orphanage and the simple existence he knew. 

Like it or not though, it would happen. Just as the old world had ended, so would his old life. Valen just hoped he would be able to keep up. So many people had years of practice fighting. Oftentimes he wished he had been able to come to this new world at the same time as them. Maybe he could have been afforded the same advantages they had. 

Plenty of monsters to fight. Virgin dungeons to explore. Advantage after advantage as they tried to make sense of the new world that humanity was brought to. 

“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” he whispered to himself. There were plenty of strong people all around him. But like City Lords, they only stayed that way until someone stronger came along. Valen just had to put in the effort to become the strongest and make his own name known around the new world.