The world of Centria.
Plumes wafted from a burning city, the smell of blood pervading every corner.
Inside of the city's last standing temple, battle raged.
CLANG!
Staff and blade collided, sending the armored knight flying. A crackling noise followed, and a bolt of lightning hit him mid-air.
The body fell to the ground as the smell of burnt meat wafted from it.
The person responsible was a two-meter-tall man covered in blue tattoos. He was the grand priest of the temple and the strongest person in the city.
He tried catching his breath, when yet another three knights charged at him. A murderous intent raged in his eyes as he began swinging his large metallic staff once more.
"BEASTS! VERMIN!" His furious shouts rang out under the blue sky.
With a single mighty swing, he sent the knights crashing into the temple walls. The sound of cracking stone and clanging armor filled the air.
But as he steadied himself, his gaze swept over the battlefield. More than a hundred knights were surrounding him, waiting to exhaust him to death.
Realization dawned, and a glint of madness flickered in his eyes. Before the next wave of knights could charge him, he pulled out a purple crystal ball.
'Everything is gone, my loved ones lost, my city burning.' his madness vanished, replaced by momentary sadness,. 'If so- there is no point continuing. I will make them pay, no matter the cost!'
"ALL OF YOU, GET HIM!" a panicked knight shouted.
Yet they were powerless to stop him.
Crack!
Crushing the crystal ball, an incredible wave of pressure emanated from the priest. Like a tsunami, it sent the knights flying like toys.
"A demonic contract! Archers!" the commanders panicked shout rang out.
An ancient gaze chanced upon the priest.
Rage and sorrow gripped the priests heart, his expression growing fanatical. "I offer my body and my immortal soul, heed my call and obey! I-"
Pierce!
An arrow dug into his heart!
"I want the Empire to burn! Bring destruction to their kin! Death to the-"
A second arrow lodged in his throat. More arrows rained down on him, turning the once mighty man into a pin cushion.
The priest fell to the ground, despair written on his face.
Yet the pressure didn't vanish.
An unnatural light manifested, like a black sun floating mid air, emitting darkness. As its light expanded, it tainted the whole hall black. Crunching noises, accompanied by screams, rang out.
The darkness disappeared, leaving behind only spectral human. The priest, and everyone else, have disappeared from the face of this world.
Magnus.
"Is this... A new world?" his memory fuzzy, he remembered tried to remember what happened.
Looking around, instead of his cozy bedroom, a vast marble hall greeted him. The pillars lining the sides were enormous - ten men would need to wrap around them.
He tried to move around, only to realise he did couldn't feel his body. Looking down at himself, he saw he was a translucent human shadow.
'Ah... Im a ghost.' realisation dawned on him, 'Ah, I reincarnated! But why is no one here, shouldn't there be a hero's welcome or something? Maybe they're outside...' '
Making his way to the half open entrance door, Magnus looked outside.
The sight of a city going up in flames, of corpses piling into mounds. Blood had painted the streets red, as occasional screams rang out in the distance.
'What...what the fuck. Don't tell me this is a battlefield?! YOU'RE KIDDING ME?!'
Gazing at the brutal state of the bodies as he felt sick to the stomach, a gray window popped up in front of him.
[System activated.]
Seeing the window, he relaxed somewhat.
'At least I won't die he-'
[First Mission : Find a suitable host body or face extinction.]
[Time limit: 1 minute. Markers have been added. ]
'...'
A second- that was all it took for him to start running. 'Why. WHY! WHY ME!' he thought, while looking at the timer.
[35]
Passing by another pile of corpses, he turned the corner and entered the alleyway. 'The marker says it should be here-'
[15.]
'Where! Where are you damn it!'
Thats when he saw it.
A boy who looked like a younger version of himself, still breathing.
'Don't tell me-'
While approaching the boy, he noticed a stab wound on his chest.
[Initiate possession?]
[10.]
'I don't want to posses a child, damn it!' Magnus scanned his surroundings, his mind racing. The clock was ticking, and he was running out of options.
[5.]
'I-'
[3.]
"YES, POSSES HIM!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his hand reaching into the child's body.
His vision blurred and he found himself lying on the ground, now in control of a youthful body. The sharp pain in the chest made him realise he was alive. Yet he could only glare hatefully at the system window.
[Acquired the soul of Mor- White grade.]
[Soul extinction will not happen anymore, congratulations!]
[Congratulations for completing the mission. Injuries healed, map unlocked.]
'I just... Killed someone. Stole their soul. A child at that.' disgust welled up inside of him. Disgust at his powerlessness, and at the world.
'What a rotten system.'
Lying on the ground amid corpses, he gazed at the sky with an unfocused expression.
'I DON'T WANT TO BE A CONQUEROR , I DONT WANT BLOODSHED. I WANT A NORMAL LI-'
[It doesn't matter who it is. Someone will replace you. Plenty of idiots at that. Very evil idiots. So either shape the fate of countless by your own hands, or end your life and let me find someone more suitable.]
"...Go fuck yourself."
[Atta boy. Now get out of this place.]
Pausing for a moment, he questioned, "Who, or what, are you?"
Yet no reply came.
Gazing at the smoke filled skies, he clenched his fists, his nails drawing blood. 'Will I have to keep killing to survive? What kind of monster would I become in the future?'
His stomach churned, yet the systems words hit their mark.
'But... The system is right. There's plenty who would replace me. Plenty who would kill for a second chance at life. God knows what horrible things they would do...'
His fists relaxed, slightly...
'So instead of letting someone else have the system, I will be the one who has to carry this burden, and use it to the fullest!!!'
Taking a deep breath, his emotions calmed down, replaced by newfound determination. 'To make the most out of his second life, come hell or high water.'
'Now then, It said I got a map, so maybe I can get out using the map?'
Surprisingly, he only needed to think about it and it popped up in the corner of his vision. 'Grandia? Grand Name, hahahaha... Ha... Damn this thing even has enemy markers?'
Getting up from the ground, he started planning the fastest route out of the city.
Tall stone walls surrounded the city, with the four gates serving as entry and exit points. 'North has the least enemies. And I could go to any gate since they're all equally far away.'
He started walking towards the north gate.
Along the way, he saw yet more atrocities being committed by the Knights. Each one worse than the last, the screams of the population haunting him.
Yet he was powerless, stuck in the body of a 16 year old.
Hours passed, and he snuck through the city, successfully avoiding countless patrols. By nightfall, there were no more green or yellow dots in the city. Red covered the entire map.
Currently, Magnus hid inside a house near the north gate, looking for a way to get past the Knights guarding it.
'Damn it, they killed everyone, why aren't they leaving?'
Nervous, he noticed something that made his heart drop.
A red dot was slowly but surely approaching his location. Turning to look in the direction which it was coming from, he anxiously pleaded.
'Damn it, stop, go away!'
His prayers went unanswered, as it crept closer. His heart started pounding like crazy.
Judging by the distance, the enemy was right in front of the house. Turning to look at the stairs to the next floor he hatched a desperate plan.
---
BANG!
A knight wearing heavy plate armor kicked down the door, entering the house.
"Come out, don't waste my time!" his shout echoed through the house. With each step, a loud thud reverbated, shaking Magnus resolve further.
'If it's like earth's knights...' he tried to remember how to take down knights, 'the visor, the joints and the groin. And if luck has it-the neck.'
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He saw the dot stop right underneath him.
'Please, one more step!' his breathing accelerated, as he noticed the exposed flesh under the armor.
'He has no chain mail! I stand a chance!'
The final step.
Magnus did it hesitate, dropping down from the second story onto the knight like a falcon.
Both hands clutched firmly around the hilt of a knife.
The blade sank into the neck, and both of them fell to the ground. The man screamed and thrashed about, trying to throw off Magnus.
'Stay down!'
He endured a barrage of punches and desperate shoves, sinking the knife deeper into the neck.
The struggles grew weaker, until his body went limp. A pool of blood formed under him, and red stained his hands.
Panting, Magnus looked at the corpse.
'Luck. I survived through pure luck.' he though, before looking at the blood on his trembling hand.
'Ah, I killed him...' he paused before shaking his head, 'No, they are monsters. They slaughtered the whole city, they weren't human anymore.'
Giving excuses to himself, he calmed down after a while. The feeling of wanting to throw up disappeared and his shaking subsided.
Checking the map again, he noticed there were more knights gathering in this area.
'I could maybe ambush one or two more of them individually. Anything more and it's the end.'
Glancing at the full plate armor the knight was wearing, an idea sprang up.
A few minutes later, he was wearing said full plate armor. Although, created to fit the original owner, it was somewhat oversized for the current him.
'There's no way I would get past anyone asking any questions. Maybe I should fit into the city and wait for when they all leave?'
Taking a deep breath, he made his way outside.
Soon, he noticed another problem with the plan.
'WHY IS THIS STUPID ARMOR SO DAMN HEAVY?!' he thought, panting. Sweat covered him within minutes, and just when he thought it couldn't get worse- he stumbled into a patrol.
'Damn it!'
Step by step, they walked closer and closer, while Magnus did the same.
Step.
By step.
Until he stumbled.
One of the three Knights turned his head to look at Magnus.
Before pulling out a sword.
Looking at the Knight, who pointed a sword at him, Magnus had a deadpan expression. 'You've got to be kidding me...'
A tense silence settled in, with the other 2 Knights looking at the spectacle.
"Did you drink while on a mission?!" the knight shouted, a youthful voice coming from the visor.
'Drink?'
"Easy there, lad. That ain't wine in his armor, that's blood." Another knight chimed in, this time an elderly voice.
"And you." he turned towards Magnus, "Go to the field hospital to get checked. Dead men get no pay. Let's go, Roy!"
Then, the knight called Roy holstered the sword.
"I apologise." saying that, they continued walking, leaving Magnus behind.
Exhaling, Magnus turned around and beelined towards the gate. The entire time his head was blank, still shaken by what he just experienced.
Along the way, he nodded towards the Knights who greeted him. Step by step, he walked. And when he came to, he was already outside the city.
Turning to look back at the gate that was hundreds of meters away, he didn't hesitate anymore.
He took off the armor and started running towards the forest.
'Freedom!'
---
"Captain! Urgent report!" a large Knight mounted on a warhorse shouted.
"What is it,Rex, I'm busy." A middle aged man came out of a tent.
The man, unlike the other knights, wasn't wearing armor.
He was almost naked, bar the helmet on his head and a loincloth, showing off a muscular body.
"We found one of our own, Kastor. Armor was stripped." the knight said, looking at the captains loincloth.
"Grab Werner and give chase. I want the rat alive though so don't be too rough."
"Ah-Why would you want him alive?" confused, Rex asked.
"GO!" the commanders furious shout rang out.
Seeing Rex and Werner scurrying, a disgusting smile crept on his face.
'Those two should be enough to hunt any low level demons these savages might have summoned. If only I get to sell it to the magic tower, I would get my damn promotion. Though, if it's a hot female demon...'
Not finishing his thoughts, he went back to the tent.