Overwhelming Firepower

It didn't take too long for Lucen to arrive at Valerious Village, but it was already nighttime, and this was the final stop of the train for the day.

The first impression Lucen had when he saw the starting village was. 'It's completely different.'

The starting Village in Lucen's memory was a simple village you would see in most fantasy RPGs.

Yet the sight before him was completely different. The first difference was, of course, the train and the train station.

Then there were the mana lamps that lit the streets. In the game, there was only one inn in this village, but now there were around three of them, and several shops that seemed to be selling something like specialty goods.

Several villagers were still outside despite the late hour, their voices mixing with the distant sound of the train cooling behind him.

Lucen slowly walked forward, his eyes moving from one building to another.

The roads were wider than he remembered. The houses looked sturdier. Even the fences were made of better wood instead of the uneven planks he recalled from the game.

'This place is basically an upgraded version of the starting village. Still... The people in the village should be the same, more or less, right?'

Lucen decided to walk around the village to see if he would spot someone he knew from the game.

He moved without any particular direction, letting his feet carry him through the well-lit streets.

The mana lamps cast a steady glow across the village, leaving very few shadows behind. Every corner was clearly visible, every movement easy to follow. It was nothing like the quiet, dim starting village he remembered.

It didn't take too long for Lucen to recognize one of the people in the village. The only blacksmith in town was a large man who looked like a grizzly bear with a rugged beard.

In the game, the man had always been standing behind an anvil, hammering away at a sword which he could never finish.

He was just someone you would talk to if you needed repairs or you wanted an upgrade. But his level of skill wasn't high enough to produce great upgrades, so at most, he was only used for repairs.

With Lucen's current level of skill in blacksmithing, he was far above this starting village blacksmith; still, he felt happy to see him.

"Excuse me," Lucen could not control himself and approached the blacksmith, who was closing up the smithy.

"Sorry, but I'm closing for the day. If you want your weapon sharpened or repaired, or if you want to buy a new weapon, you'll need to wait until tomorrow morning."

Lucen paused for a brief moment, then shook his head slightly. "I'm not here for that. I just wanted to meet you. I'm Lucen Thornehart." Lucen extended his hand.

At first, the blacksmith was startled by the sudden introduction, but then, when he finally realized who he was talking to, his eyes widened in surprise.

That silver hair, the ruby-red eyes, and the trench coat with the emblem of Thornefang. This person in front of him was the real deal, the ruby-eyed monster, the ever-victorious, Lucen Thornehart.

The blacksmith was about to kneel, but Lucen caught him before he could do so. "There's no need to do that."

The blacksmith froze mid-motion, his calloused hands hovering awkwardly in the air. "I- My lord... I apo-"

"There's also no need to say such words. You have done nothing to apologize for. Also, don't call me lord, it will attract attention, just Lucen is fine."

"I-I don't think I can my lo-"

Lucen interrupted him and said, "Please."

The blacksmith looked at Lucen and felt the sincerity in his tone. It took him a few seconds, but the blacksmith nodded his head.

"Alright, Lucen... So how can I help you?"

"I don't need anything, I just wanted to meet you and shake your hand." Lucen once again extended his hand.

The blacksmith hesitated for only a moment before taking Lucen's hand. His grip was firm, rough from the years of work.

"It's nice to meet you, Lucen. I'm Morgan Kroll, the blacksmith of this small village."

Morgan Kroll, the blacksmith of this small village. Lucen gave a small nod at the introduction, his grip loosening as he withdrew his hand.

"I'll be in your care if I ever need anything, Morgan." The blacksmith blinked, clearly not expecting those words from someone of Lucen's standing.

"I... Of course, anytime." For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. Lucen studied him quietly.

In the game, Morgan had always been stuck in place, endlessly hammering a blade that never seemed to take shape. A background figure. A function.

But standing here now was the real thing, a living being that would go to sleep when tired, and would continue to work in the coming morrow.

"Well, that's all I wanted to do. See you next time, Morgan." Lucen turned around and waved his hand goodbye to the bewildered Morgan, who simply watched Lucen walk away into the dark night.

***

Lucen was walking around and saw other familiar faces, and like with Morgan, the blacksmith, he introduced himself to them and shook their hands.

Lucen was feeling rather happy right now, that he was able to shake the hands of the people he saw the most while playing the game in the past.

No matter the route, no matter the ending, he would always start in this village and meet these people. Now meeting them in real life was making his otaku spirit burn.

The only landmarks in the village he hasn't been to now were Alexander's house and the temple of the unknown deity.

He decided to visit the temple of the unknown deity last since he wasn't sure if some sort of event would happen if he went.

In the game, the temple of the unknown deity was quite a famous anomaly. Many gamers, including himself, tried to figure out if there was any deeper meaning for such a temple to exist near the starting village, but no matter the route they took or what they did, nothing happened when they went there.

Still, in this new route, in this unknown timeline, something might happen, and despite his curiosity, Lucen decided to hold himself back for now.

Lucen headed to Alexander's house, and when he got there, to his surprise, the house was the same as it was in the game. Unlike everything else, Alexander's house was practically the same as in the game.

Lucen almost cried seeing the house of the hero he played countless hours with in real life, but then he heard the sound of someone swinging his sword.

Lucen looked at the area behind the house and saw Alexander swinging his broadsword. Watching him for a few seconds, Lucen suddenly had a thought.

'Could I appear before the protagonist right now? Maybe I can try to act like the mysterious, powerful character archetype that suddenly appears at the beginning of the story, or like the seemingly OP character at the beginning that seems like he should be appearing mid-game instead of the beginning.'

Lucen continued to watch Alexander's sword practice. Unlike him, Alexander was very talented in swordsmanship and other forms of combat, from archery to unarmed combat. Also, depending on what he does later, Alexander actually has a chance to awaken a mana core, making him a magic knight.

His younger brother Cael, in the game, later becomes known as the Sword Fanatic, the one who was obsessed with the sword.

Cael was a genius who was above almost all other characters in terms of swordsmanship, but Alexander was an almighty all-rounder, and depending on how you raise him in the game, he can match Alexander's swordsmanship; that was the kind of genius Alexander was.

Lucen watched as Alexander swung the broadsword again. The movement was still simple.

No aura, no mana, no special technique, just a clean horizontal slash followed by a step back and another swing.

Yet for some reason, Lucen could not take his eyes off him. This was the same boy who, in the future, would stand at the center of countless battlefields. The one who would fight demon kings, outer gods, and other powerful enemies.

'I guess it's about time to make my entrance.'

Lucen picked up a nearby stone and tossed it at Alexander. When the stone got near him, Alexander's body reacted and sliced the small stone in half.

"Who's there?"

Alexander asked, looking in the direction of where the stone was thrown. It was at that moment that he felt an incredible pressure weighing down on him.

It was a suffocating pressure similar to the bloodlust he felt as a kid, but this one was different. It felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on him, wanting him to kneel, but he gritted his teeth and refused to bend as he gripped his sword even tighter than before.

"Well, that's rather impressive."

From within the shadows of the night, someone appeared before Alexander, someone he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A man wearing a black trench coat, his ruby-red eyes were shining in the darkness, his silver hair seemed to reflect the moonlight. He was smiling with a ferocious-looking grin, like a beast that had found its prey.

Alexander was so focused on trying to keep himself upward that he could not think properly due to the pressure. That, despite knowing what Lucen looked like, he did not think the person in front of him was the famed Lucen Thornehart.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?"