New Year, New World, New Game

Miles opened woke up with a start, but immediately squinted his eyes at the sunlight of the soothing morning almost blinded him.

"Oh, for crying out loud…" He grunted. "When did I fall asleep?"

The woods looked and felt so different during the day than at night. The leaves glistened with morning dew, the birds chirped and flew around, crickets and other insects went on with their lives, noisy as ever, just as the rest of the forest's wildlife.

Unlike the night, though, there were no threats for Miles to fight against. The morning breeze, fresh and crisp, whistled across the woods like a good omen. The only thing reminding Miles of what had happened the night before was the Beast's corpse, still there, dead and unmoving.

"Tarhut's corpse…" Miles thought back to the night before. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he gasped. "Yes! I leveled up and got rewards!"

He immediately opened the Glitch's system window, proceeding to check everything that had changed after the fight, glad that, somehow, he had survived the rest of the night without any other monstrosity preying on his unconscious body.

[Name: Miles Thorn]

[Affiliation: None]

[Level: 07]

"Seven… I… I LEVELED UP TWICE???" Miles almost jumped in excitement, but kept it to himself, still feeling sore from overexerting himself against the guardian. However, he did feel something different from before in him.

It was like he had gotten slightly stronger, and even though his muscles ached, the pain felt lesser than before, not just because of the rest.

"Yeah." Miles let out a deep sigh that was more relief than tiredness. "I got stronger!"

He continued reading his information.

[Class: Unacquired]

[Skills: None]

[Strength: 15]

[Agility: 10]

[Dexterity: 11]

[Perception: 17]

[Intelligence: 22]

It was a small difference with his overall stats having increased by just two points, but it was enough for Miles to actually feel it, differently from when he leveled up his first five levels when each leveling up felt like a far cry from a real change.

"It's a small change, but it's a change, after all." He sighed again. "Any change is better than none."

He then proceeded to check his inventory.

[Inventory: Guardian's Pendant x01; Guardian's Will; Scorching Rune x01; Key to What Was Lost]

"Sweet!" He grinned, immediately opening the descriptions of his loot.

[Guardian's Pendant]

[Category: Amulet]

[Item Description: Once worn by a powerful guardian, this amulet grants its bearer a boost of +05 points to a random two stat parameters]

[Guardian's will]

[Category: Unknown]

[Item Description: Tarhut's testament. It carries secrets to the bearer's hidden quest – Have you seen my hat?]

[Scorching Rune]

[Category: Weapon]

[Item Description: A gem carved with a rune of powerful fire magic. It can instantly kill any Creature at Level 10 or lower, deal significant damage to Beasts at Level 15 or lower, and deal a reasonable amount of damage to Monsters at Level 25 or lower]

[Key to What Was Lost]

[Category: Tool]

[Item Description: Once you reach your goal, you can use this key to open the cage where it has been trapped for so long]

"What? It doesn't explain shit!" Miles frowned, shaking his head. With a sigh, though, he smiled and looked back at the other items. "But well… I got a stat booster, more information about the hidden quest, and even a fancy grenade... After leveling up two times in a row? I guess Lady Luck is finally on my side."

He summoned the [Guardian's Pendant] from his inventory, and his mouth fell open when he looked at the item.

It did not look striking when Tarhut was wearing it, probably because it fit the Beast's size while alive, but as it appeared on Miles' palm, the item looked very different from the night before.

It was not just a pendant. It was a small chain with links carved from obsidian, and the pendant itself looked like two small fangs with a silver coin in the middle. Carved on the coin's face, an eye pierced by a spear, which Miles chuckled bitterly at, recalling his fight with the ginormous guardian.

"The irony…" He shook his head ever so slightly, wearing his new toy. "Please, give me strength and dexterity. Please, please, pretty please!"

Immediately after the coin touched his skin though, Miles felt something strange.

He looked around, and the forest seemed… Different, even though he could not understand how.

Frowning, he opened his stats window and checked what had changed.

[Strength: 15]

[Agility: 10]

[Dexterity: 11]

[Perception: 22]

[Intelligence: 27]

"Perception and Intelligence?" His eyes widened. "But I can't unlock even a single magic skill! What the hell, dude?" He shook his head. "What a rip-off…"

With a grunt, Miles proceeded to summon the [Guardian's Will].

"Let's hope that this one is any better…"

As soon as an old parchment materialized from a whirlwind of sparkles, he opened it and started reading.

"Worthy or not, if you are reading this, it means you were capable enough to defeat me in combat.

I entrust you with these three pieces, and I am sure you will find them of use in time.

I do not have anything else to say to the one who bested me, other than beware, for your journey might lead you to paths not even the dead would wish to walk."

As soon as Miles was done reading the few lines of text, the parchment disintegrated in a whirlwind of sparkles, and the system window showed him a message that made his mood turn sour.

However, the message was followed by a monotone, almost robotic voice, which made Miles flinch.

[Your item has been destroyed]

"Wha-" Before he could even finish speaking, though, the same voice echoed in his ears.

[You received: Scythe of the ???; Ether Teapot]

[Hidden Quest has been updated]

[Hidden Quest's map has been updated]

[A percentile of the player's data bugs has been fixed, the support team is working diligently to resolve the remaining issues]

"Bugs?" Miles frowned, more curious about the question marks in the scythe item than the last message, but his expression immediately cleared, as soon as he recalled what happened during New Year's Eve. "Oh, right. The bugs… Anyway."

Grinning, he summoned the [Scythe of the ???] from his inventory, and immediately regretted it.

The weapon, a blackened scythe apparently carved in obsidian, carried an aura that seemed to swallow the very light around Miles, distorting the space around it.

Its sleek shaft tapered into a sharp spike at the base, the blade arched gracefully, its edge razor-sharp and forged with a dark metallic sheen that caught glimmers of an eerie, spectral light. Intricate carvings decorated the blade, resembling wings unfurling toward its deadly point.

At the weapon's heart, just below the blade, a glowing crystal pulsed faintly with an icy blue hue, as if it had a soul of its own. Chains draped from the scythe's neck, dangling with a silver cross-like ornament, swaying gently as if stirred by an unseen wind.

The metal links were aged, their dull surface etched with tiny runes that Miles was unable to decipher.

As soon as it touched Miles' hands, though, he felt as if hit by lightning.

Immediately letting go of the scythe, Miles fell to his knees, coughing a mouthful of blood as the system's voice spoke again.

[Your HP is dangerously low]

Miles gasped.

"Wh-what?"