In the pitch-black darkness, Sylas gradually regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, a blurry vision flickered across his retinas.
"Am I alive?"
What happens when someone dies in this world was still a mystery. Would they be reincarnated in another world, or would they disappear forever? Luckily, it seemed that disappearing wasn't the case. After blinking a few times, the surrounding scenery became clear.
Tanned animal hides, deer antlers, a bow and arrows leaning against the wall. It was an all-too-familiar cabin.
"My hunting cabin?"
Sylas wasn't born a noble in this world from the start. He had begun as nothing more than a rural hunter. His mother had passed away long ago, and he had lived in the hunting cabin with his grandfather, learning hunting skills.
He only became a part of the nobility later when his father came to find him. And now, the place where he had woken up was that same cabin from back then. Thinking it might be a dream, Sylas pinched and twisted his cheek. The stinging pain caused him to wince.
"Since it hurts, it's not a dream."
Rubbing his now-reddened cheek, he tried to recall his last memory. He was sure he had been dying after being hit by a crossbow.
"Wait, now that I think about it, at the very end..."
As he was dying, he had heard a voice. The memory was a bit fuzzy, but as he tried to recall it, the words came back to him clearly.
[Ending the 'First Round' for tutorial purposes.]
[Preparing to enter the main 'Second Round'.]
[Data inheritance complete. Removing the first-round-only trait 'Mediocre'.]
[Starting the Second Round from the restart point.]
"Second round!"
His mind snapped into focus. So, everything he had experienced until now had been the first round, used solely for practice? And now, this was the start of the real game, the second round?
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped as mixed emotions surged within him. He felt dumbfounded, angry, relieved, and overjoyed all at once. Either way, he had another chance. He could now start anew, something he had dreamed of. That alone made him feel as if all had been forgiven. Sylas grabbed the bow and arrows hanging nearby and headed outside.
Whoosh.
"Brr, cold."
A sudden gust of cold wind made his body shiver, but going back into the cabin was out of the question. He wanted to immediately test whether the trait 'Mediocre' had really disappeared.
As soon as he stepped outside, a few birds perched on a nearby tree came into view. Sylas carefully aimed his bow and pulled back the string.
Whoosh, thud.
-Screech!
Sylas often shot arrows even while riding a running horse, so hitting a stationary bird wasn't difficult. Whether or not he could catch the bird wasn't important.
"Please, please!"
Sylas silently prayed and swallowed nervously. Thankfully, he heard the result he had been hoping for.
[Due to a perfect shot, your experience has increased.]
[Current archery level: 'Skilled'.]
"...!"
Sylas's body trembled with excitement. The rank limitation caused by his 'Mediocre' trait had vanished. He nearly screamed with joy.
"Yes, this is it!"
How much suffering had he endured because of the rank limitation? Every time he reached the skilled level, everything was forced to stop at that point, leaving him in mediocrity. But now, that damned 'Mediocre' trait is gone. He felt like dancing with joy.
"Whew, calm down."
Sylas took deep breaths, suppressing his emotions. While it was good to celebrate, now was the time to plan. First and foremost, he needed to figure out where in time he was right now.
"Let's head down to the village for a bit."
Picking up the game he had just hunted, Sylas prepared to head out.
* * *
Brick Village. It was the village where Sylas had lived for 15 years after being reincarnated into this world. In a way, it was his second hometown. But Sylas had no attachment to this village whatsoever.
"It was a garbage place."
Expecting morality from people in this era was foolish. It was a world where overall moral standards were terrible. Scamming outsiders was common, and robbing and killing travelers with no connections was nothing unusual.
But among them, Brick Village was particularly bad.
"For 15 years, they exploited my grandfather."
Sylas's family had moved to Brick Village just before he was born. Naturally, they were subjected to the local villagers' hostility towards outsiders. He had no complaints about that. This kind of hostility was normal in any village.
Since no one knows what kind of people new settlers are, it's natural to be cautious. If there's a troublesome story behind them, the entire village could be at risk, so they had to be wary. As time passes and trust is built, the newcomers are eventually accepted as part of the village.
"But there should be limits."
Even if Sylas's family were newcomers, they had been living there for 15 years. By then, they should have been acknowledged as villagers rather than outsiders. However, the people of Brick Village continued to treat them as outsiders. The reason was simple.
They could exploit Sylas's grandfather's labour as a hunter at a cheap price. Outsiders have to curry favour with the villagers, so Sylas's grandfather had to sell animal meat and hides at reduced prices, and he had to help fend off wild beasts without much reward.
Once they accepted his family as villagers, they could no longer exploit them like this. That's why Sylas's family remained treated as outsiders for 15 years.
"Those bastards."
Sylas clicked his tongue as he looked around the village. It was still early in the morning, so people were just starting to wake up. At that moment, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared next to him.
"Sylas? What brings you here?"
"Oh, Uncle Andy."
Seeing the person who had appeared, Sylas bowed his head slightly. Andy was a woodcutter who often went into the forest, so they knew each other well. Of course, that didn't mean their relationship was a good one.
Andy often forced Sylas to keep watch while he worked in areas with good lumber
Most of the best wood had already been taken from safe areas, so good lumber was usually found in regions where wild animals and monsters roamed. Andy often came to Sylas's grandfather and asked him to act as a guard while he worked. When Andy came, they had to abandon hunting and help him, costing them time and resources.
The more Sylas thought about it, the angrier he became.
Sylas suppressed his frustration and maintained a calm expression. For now, gathering information was the priority.
"What brings you here?"
"I caught some game this morning. I was wondering if anyone might want to buy it."
"Oh, really?"
Andy's eyes gleamed. In a small village, it was rare to get fresh meat on an ordinary day. But in Brick Village, they could buy Sylas's family's meat for much cheaper. Thanks to that, the villagers had grown quite fond of eating rich meat.
"What did you catch? Let's have a look."
"This guy."
"A pigeon."
Seeing the plump pigeon, Andy's mouth watered. He was already thinking about how to cook it to make it taste even better.
"You came at just the right time. I'll buy this pigeon from you."
"For how much?"
"Hmm, let's see."
When Sylas asked, Andy kept eyeing the pigeon, trying to find a flaw to complain about while suppressing his greed. Unfortunately for him, the pigeon was in excellent condition. Finally, unable to find any issues, Andy reluctantly said,
"Well, it can't be helped. How about seven coins?"
"This guy?"
Sylas smirked inwardly at Andy's tone, as if he were doing him a favour. If he took it to the market, he could easily get 15 coins for the pigeon's condition. Yet, here Andy was, offering less than half the price, pretending he was doing Sylas a good turn.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, Village Chief!"
At that moment, an old man appeared, and Andy greeted him enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Sylas had to suppress the urge to scowl. One of the worst villains from his previous life stood before him—the village chief.
"Calling this guy trash would be an insult to trash."
Despite his appearance of a kindly old neighbour, the village chief was filled with greed. He was the one who led the effort to keep treating Sylas's family as outsiders so they could exploit his grandfather. Without thinking, Sylas's hand almost clenched into a fist, but he stopped and took a deep breath.
"Hello, Chief."
"Well, well, you two seemed to be talking about something."
"Oh, nothing much. I was just about to buy some meat from him."
Andy grinned and pointed to the pigeon in Sylas's hand.
"A pigeon, huh. How much are you offering for it?"
"We settled on seven coins."
Even though Sylas hadn't agreed to anything yet, Andy acted as if the deal was already done. Hearing this, the village chief's eyes shot up.
"What! Seven coins for a pigeon?"
"Wh-What's wrong with that?"
"Of course, it's wrong!"
Andy flinched at the village chief's sudden outburst. Pointing to the pigeon all over, the chief spoke quickly:
"Look at this! This one's quite old. And it hasn't even been eating properly recently. Its feathers are in poor condition too, so seven coins is far too much!"
"Oh, you're right!"
'These crazy people…'
Sylas clenched his teeth as the conversation between the village chief and Andy continued. They had already haggled the price down by more than half, and now they wanted to cut it even more? Moreover, the village chief's grumbling was baseless, and as a hunter, Sylas found it laughable.
It was like a farmer lecturing a fisherman on how to sell fish. After nitpicking for a while, the village chief stroked his beard solemnly.
"So, five coins is the fair price for this pigeon."
"Hmm, Sylas, what do you think?"
Both men turned their eyes to Sylas. Though they asked, it was more of a veiled threat—if he didn't agree to sell at this price, he'd face consequences later. Sylas quickly smiled and said,
"Of course, I'll sell it at that price."
"Hahaha! That's right, a man should be honest! Absolutely!"
Andy laughed heartily and patted Sylas on the shoulder. As he watched Andy and the village chief exchange winks, Sylas could only sigh. By this point, it was hard to even get angry anymore.
'Thanks for reminding me of something I'd forgotten, you bastards.'
Before his return, he'd left the village in a rush, without getting proper revenge. After that, he'd been too busy adjusting to life in his family to care. He had long forgotten about it, but now that he was facing this situation again, his perspective had changed.
In this life, these trash bags wouldn't get away without shedding tears of blood.
"Village chief!"
At that moment, a young man from the village came running from afar, panting heavily as if he had rushed all the way there.
"B-Big trouble !"
"Trouble ? What happened ?"
"A knight has arrived !"
Sylas's eyes widened at the young man's words. There was only one reason why a knight would come to such a rural village.
'A knight from the Corleone family !'
The Corleone Count's family. It was the place where Sylas's father served as the head, and it was a noble family with considerable power in the eastern region. When Sylas was fifteen, the Corleone family had visited Brick Village twice.
It was to take Sylas, the illegitimate child, back to the family. This was surely the first of those visits.
"A k-knight? Why would a knight come all the way here !?"
Unlike Sylas, the village chief's face turned pale. What was a Knight? To a commoner, they were nobles whose eyes they couldn't even meet, and slaughterers capable of defeating dozens of soldiers.
If they displeased him, he could easily kill someone like a mere village chief, just like swatting a fly.
"How many soldiers? How many soldiers did the knight bring?"
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