Riku was walking through the forest with a calm expression.
The sounds of nature surrounded him, soothing his mind.
Perhaps a little too much for his liking.
He suddenly came to a stop.
"How long has it been since I last ran into someone!?"
He looked around.
"At this point, I only open my mouth to eat..."
He let out a sigh as he leaned against a tree.
A few seconds passed.
"Seriously, out of the millions of people on this planet, nobody wants to interact with me!? Not even the mythical creatures come anywhere near me!"
He abruptly stood up, the Val Spear in his hands.
"I'm even training for every possible situation!"
He swung the weapon through the air with speed and precision.
"Are you all avoiding me because you're scared!?"
After a couple of strikes, however, he accidentally nicked his arm.
"Ow! That hurts!"
He set the spear down and examined the wound.
"Thankfully, it's only a scratch..."
He paused for a moment before opening his status screen.
[Inari Riku: Level 3]
"The problem with never meeting anyone is that it becomes a disadvantage for leveling up too. If I don't fight, I won't gain levels, and I'll eventually fall behind."
He remembered Riccardo's strength and speed on the very first day, when he had saved him.
His expression darkened.
"If that was his strength at Level 1, I don't even want to imagine how strong he's become by now..."
Riku calmed himself in the silence of the forest.
"Damn it."
He started walking again.
Eventually, he arrived at a river and splashed some water on his face.
"What am I even doing... I'm just wasting time..."
He stared at his reflection in the water.
Memories resurfaced of the moment he had been ready to end his own life.
He let out a small, self-aware laugh.
"I don't stand a chance."
He lifted his gaze and noticed three figures watching him from the other side of the river.
Riku blinked in surprise, staring at them in confusion.
Their long, pointed ears were enough to make his eyes widen. Their features were elegant, yet their ash-toned skin and wary gazes made them very different from the elves he remembered from stories.
Elves...?
The three figures returned his stare.
Riku raised a hand and waved awkwardly.
"H-Hello..."
An arrow grazed his face, sending a chill down his spine.
I'm having déjà vu...
The boy immediately turned and ran, with the elves chasing after him.
Why does this always happen to me!?
Suddenly, one of the elves caught up to him, flying at incredible speed.
"Oh no!"
The elf grabbed him and dragged him into the air.
"Let me go!"
Riku looked down and noticed how high they were climbing.
"Woah!!!"
He desperately tried to figure out a way out of the situation.
"We have to bring him back with us!"
The elf spoke, astonishing Riku.
"Yes, we must have him examined by the King!"
The other two elves flew closer.
Riku listened to their conversation.
A king? I'd rather avoid that.
He glanced around, but apart from the endless drop beneath his feet, there was nothing.
His expression turned resigned.
Even if I don't have much of a choice...
[Flashback]
Riccardo turned around and started walking back toward the forest.
"Try not to die before we meet again!" Riku shouted.
Riccardo gave him a faint smile.
"Of course. The same goes for you."
[End Flashback]
"Hey!" Riku suddenly shouted.
The elf looked at him irritably.
"Wha—"
Before the elf could process what was happening, Riku had wrapped his legs around the elf's neck, attempting to strangle him.
"Insignificant creature, what are you doing!?"
The elf's flight became erratic.
Riku tightened his grip even further.
The other two struggled to figure out how to intervene.
As Riku tried to finish off the elf, the Val Spear resting in the sheath on his back began slipping toward the void below.
"Shit!"
He tightened his legs around the elf's neck with even greater force until he heard it snap.
Then, at the very last moment, he managed to catch his spear.
"Let's go—!"
An excited grin spread across the boy's face...
Until he realized he was plummeting through the sky.
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 4!]
[You have 3 attribute points available to allocate to your stats.]
The notifications popped up in front of Riku, obstructing his vision.
"I can't see shit!"
Fortunately for him, he crashed straight into another elf.
The two stared at each other in confusion for a brief moment.
Then the creature reached for the sword at its waist.
Riku, however, forcefully jammed two fingers into the elf's eyes.
"You filthy worm!"
Blinded, the creature flew wildly toward the enormous mountain range bordering the forest.
Riku noticed it immediately.
The mountain range... I might be able to land there...
But then he realized just how fast they were approaching it.
"The mountain! Avoid the mountain!"
Riku pulled the elf's head upward, trying to force him to change trajectory and fly over the mountain.
"Pull up!"
Then he realized the impact was only moments away.
"Oh shit!"
The two crashed into the mountain's snowy peak.
By an unbelievable stroke of luck, Riku avoided the devastating impact, his momentum carrying him past it.
The elf, meanwhile, was smashed to pieces, reduced to nothing but scattered remains.
Riku looked up, realizing that this was yet another one of his falls into the abyss.
The last elf tried to reach him, though certainly not with good intentions.
Shit... this is really the end...
Riku seemed on the verge of passing out from exhaustion.
But just before his eyes closed, he thought he saw something shoot past him on both sides, flying at incredible speed.
They were two more creatures, apparently elves as well.
However, they stood out because of their white clothing.
The two immediately engaged the remaining elf in combat.
Help me... I'm still falling...
At that very moment, someone caught him.
"Got you."
Riku tried to look at the person who had saved him, but his vision had already become blurry.
A moment later, he lost consciousness in their arms.