[Congratulations, you have leveled up.]
Riven saw the screen, a wave of shock, confusion, and other mix of feelings hit him. It took him almost dying at the hands of these men, and him killing them for the system to level him up?
[You have gained 10 free stat points, lv2 item box]
He read the second line beneath it, it was the rewards he got for leveling up. He wanted to stay and check it out, but he needed to leave here. He couldn't be seen here or it would be a case.
He looked up and noticed that the other friend was still alive. Though he had taken that attack point blank, he still managed to stay alive.
Without hesitation, Riven picked up his sword and walked there, his feet hitting the ground heavy, as the weight of what he was about to do settled on him, making his heart sink.
In one day, he would have to take two lives. He didn't know if he would sleep after this, but he understood that what must be done must be done. If he didn't kill this man, he knew that he would live a life with a massive bullseye on his back.
He got close to the man, the pained groans reached his ear. The ground underneath was soaked with blood. Riven felt if he left the man here, he would probably still die, but that was not a risk worth taking.
"You did this to yourself," Riven said and lifted up his blade, but he hesitated to stab. Suddenly, the man's good hand moved and grabbed Riven by the ankle.
Riven was stunned by this. He looked at the man and saw his eyes opened, glowing with rage. The man roared and pulled on Riven's leg, pulling him to the ground. Riven took a nasty fall, but he refused to stay down. He immediately lifted his second leg and sent a kick at the arm of the man. He kicked twice and the arm came off.
Immediately, he lifted his sword, and without hesitation this time, he stabbed right into the chest of the man, going through the heart and killed him.
Riven stared at the new corpse on the ground. He felt a gag, but there was nothing to vomit inside him. He pulled out his sword, the blood dropped off the tip of it.
Riven pulled a deep breath and looked around again. 'I have to get rid of the bodies.'
After a few seconds of contemplating what to do, he decided on burning them. His mana seemed to have recovered a bit. He gathered dried sticks from all around.
He pulled Crooked Teeth's mutilated body all the way to the second man, gagging every few seconds. He tossed the bodies together and piled all the sticks on the bodies until you could barely see them.
He gathered all his things first, put on his armour and carried the flowers he had gathered. He put his sword back into the scabbard and finally walked to the pile of woods.
Without looking, he used his fire to set it ablaze, and as the fire spread, he walked away slowly, leaving the blaze behind him. The crackle of the woods burning filled the air as the embers soared through the sky along with the smoke.
On a tree not too far from where the fire burned, Liam stood. He had watched everything that had happened, almost stepping in at multiple occasions, but Riven came out of all alone.
What had stunned Liam more was the fact that he was a mage and also had powerful spells. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Flame Blast.
When he saw Riven kill the two men, he felt a sense of conflict and happiness. Riven had just become a man, a warrior, but at the same time, he had lost all his innocence. He could never see the world the same.
'Thankfully he dealt with it well, he is a strong kid,' Liam thought before leaping to the next tree like a ninja.
[.....]
Riven followed the path that he had used to come, headed back for the town. He wiped away most of the blood that was on him with leaves and the shirt he used to tie the flowers, but the subtle stains of blood remained on his skin.
It was already long past noon and the sun would soon set for the day. He made it to the town and as he entered, he heard guards gossiping.
"Did you see that chariot? It had the emblem of the Duke on it. I'm very sure the Duke was in it," the first guard said.
"But what would the Duke want to do in a place like this? You can't tell me he wants to see the baron," the second guard responded.
"Then who else would he come here to see? It can only be the baron," the first guard said.
'The Duke came to Ribest? To do what? Something like this never happened in the story. The Duke never came to Riven's home. Something is not right here, I have to head back quick.'
Riven headed to the guild at a hastened pace. He made it there in no time. Pushing the doors open, he walked straight for the counter, to the exact same lady that he had met here.
When she saw him, she tried to bow her head to him, but Riven interrupted her. "No need to greet me, I've completed my quest," he said quickly and raised the flowers to the counter.
"Forgive the means I used to tie it up. I forgot to take a sack or something," Riven said.
But the lady wasn't focused on the shirt he used. Her eyes were on the blood stains that were on the shirt. Why were there blood stains for a plant gathering mission?
Regardless, she took it and loosened it, and when she was sure he had completed the quest, she counted five copper coins and placed them on the table.
He gladly took them and thanked her before rushing out of the guild. He ran all the way to his home, not stopping to even catch his breath.
When he finally got close and could see the house, he stopped. He walked to the gate, and immediately the guards saw him, they rushed to open the gates that had been locked.
Normally the gates wouldn't be locked, but it seemed a visitor of high caliber had come — the Duke.
Riven walked in, only to see knights standing around his house. He saw the crest on their shining armours, and immediately he knew who had come.
"Oh shit."