At the Office

  Helvek sat behind his desk, his sharp gaze fixed on Aldric. “It seems you had quite the adventurous day… Tell me eveything about it,” he said, gesturing for Aldric to take a seat.

  Aldric sat down, his body still sore from the fight but his expression calm."In the eastern side , i was attacked by three goblins after defeating them I found some suspicious trails , as I followed them I discover a cave"

  “Inside, I found a group of villagers being held captive by goblins. They were in cages, starving and terrified.”

  He recounted the events in detail, carefully omitting any mention of the glowing blue stone. That stone, and its connection to the system, was a secret he wasn’t ready to share.

  Helvek listened intently, his fingers drumming lightly on the wooden table. When Aldric finished, the captain leaned back and crossed his arms. “That’s quite a lot of goblins for one man to handle. And their leader—an actual hobgoblin? That’s not just a regular foe. Even a lower-tier warrior would’ve given a trained squad trouble. It seems you’re hiding quite a bit of power, Aldric.”

  “I was just lucky,” Aldric replied, his tone calm.

  “Hmm… luck, you say?” Helvek raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a faint smirk. “Luck is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? But let me ask you this: you could’ve escaped and reported to us. Instead, you risked your life to save those people. That’s not just luck—that’s a choice. Why did you do it?”

  Aldric met Helvek’s gaze without flinching. “Is there a need to have a reason to save someone?” he asked.

  The question hung in the air.

  Helvek studied him carefully. He didn’t even hesitate to answer, Helvek thought, his mind racing. Is this his true self… or is he faking it?

  DING.

  A familiar chime echoed in Aldric’s ears, cutting through the silence. His eyes widened slightly, the sound sending a rush of excitement through him. The system…

  “Is there anything else?” Aldric asked quickly, rising from his chair before Helvek could reply. “If not, I’d like to get some rest.”

  Helvek blinked, surprised by Aldric’s sudden shift in tone. “Oh, right. You should go rest—you’ve earned it. I’ll call for you if I have any more jobs.”

  Aldric nodded . Without another word, he left the office, his footsteps quick and purposeful.

  As the door closed behind Aldric, Helvek leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. His smirk faded into a thoughtful frown.

  “He suddenly got too excited and left in a hurry…” he muttered to himself, tapping his fingers against his temple. “What are you hiding, Aldric?”

  Helvek’s instincts told him there was more to the story—more to Aldric—than met the eye. And he wasn’t the kind of man to let secrets go uninvestigated.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  *****

  The moment Aldric closed the door to his modest quarters, he let out a sharp breath and muttered, “System!”

  A familiar blue glow filled his vision, and the translucent interface appeared before him.

  [Updating: 1% complete.]

  Relief washed over him. “Sigh ...so that’s why it disappeared,” he said, his voice a mix of relief and curiosity. “It’s was undergoing an update this whole time.”

  The knot of anxiety in his chest loosened slightly. For a while, he’d feared the system had abandoned him, leaving him alone to fend for himself in this dangerous world.

  But his relief was short-lived as memories of the glowing blue stone came rushing back. He recalled the intense surge of energy that had coursed through him when he absorbed it. His fists clenched at the memory of its otherworldly glow.

  “What was that stone?” he murmured, pacing the room. “Why did it react to me? Did it cause the system to evolve?”

  His thoughts spiraled, each question leading to another. The stone had felt alive, like it carried an ancient power meant for someone—or something—worthy. But why him?

  He ran a hand through his hair, frustration gnawing at him. “I don’t know enough about this world,” he muttered.

  “The history, the myths… I’ve only heard fragments, tavern rumors, and old wives’ tales. That’s not enough.”

  He stopped pacing and turned to the small window overlooking the quiet streets of the village. The faint glow of lanterns flickered in the distance, casting long shadows. His resolve hardened.

  “I’ll go to the library,” he decided. “If I’m going to survive here—and understand what this system really is—I need to dig deeper. The truth about this world might be buried in its history.”

  The blue screen flickered in his vision.

  [Updating: 3% complete.]

  Aldric’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the progress bar. Whatever this update was bringing, it was slow and deliberate. But he felt certain it would change things.

  For better or worse, he didn’t know. But he welcomed the challenge.

  Exhaustion began to creep into his limbs, the toll of the day’s battles finally catching up to him. His sword, still dull from dried goblin blood, was placed by the door.

  "It must be the adrenal surge skill, nothing comes free."

  As he lay on his little cot, his thoughts racing with potential solutions, the thin mattress doing nothing to relieve his hurting body. His eyelids tired, he decided that the library could wait until tomorrow.

  Rest was all he could do for now. The answers would come later.