“NOOOOOO!”

Gasp!

Nash opened his eyes in a hurried state and panted hard as he glanced around, just to find that he was still in his old and rustic bedroom. His chest moved up and down rapidly as if he was being chased by something terrifying. Nash jumped from the bed and limped straight to the oak window to see outside.

Aside from the sun that rose over his birth village, casting a warm glow over the quaint homes and farms in Camden village, Nash could see some villagers that went out of their cottage to milk their cows or cutting logs with axes which the studs of the blades echoing through the crisp morning air.

Other than that, nothing strange happened.

People in Camden village were just doing their morning activities like usual.

“It's there—the people, the village. All of them are safe." He mumbled with a trembled lips and a pale face.

As he looked around the peaceful village, Nash began to realize that it was just his nightmare and not real. He dreamed that Camden village—his home, village, and birthplace was engulfed in a big, hot fire. It was chaotic. Nash forgot the major part of his dream, but he would never forget the painful screaming from the people trapped inside their house when that disaster happened.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Nash shook off the last piece of his nightmare and replaced it with the fresh cold air that brushed past his pale cheeks.

“Nasssssssh! Hoiiiiiii! You hear me?”

 A loud shrieking woman's voice came from outside Nash's house fence and made him instantly cover his ears to protect them from exploding due to the high octave. Well, Nash did not need to look down to guess whose voice it was because he had listened to that voice for the past fifteen years.

However, for that ginger-haired girl, Nash's behaviour made her even raise her voice. "NASH! WHY ARE YOU COVERING YOUR EARS—"

"I can hear you clearly, Chi. Can you stop yelling and talk normally? Gosh, it's still 7 a.m. you know?"

Pissed, Nash looked down from his window and found a 5.5 ft ginger-haired girl with a basket full of bread in her right hand standing outside his house fence with a wide grin after successfully gaining Nash's attention.

She waved cheerfully and lifted the basket, showing the fluffy warm bread inside it. "Grandma makes it, she wants you to come and pick some."

The aroma wafted from the basket through the air, made Nash could not help but begin to water when he saw the golden crusts glistening with a light sheen of moisture. The wheat bread made by Chisato's grandma was his favorite. No one was skilled enough to compare with her bread-making skills in this village, even on this continent.

"So, you come or not? I'm a busy person, you know."

Chisato tapped her index finger impatiently on the fence board while rolling her blue eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'll come down. Wait for me."

Nash giggled a little and walked away from the window. He put a long coat over his plain shirt and walked down the stairs at a hurried pace. The creaking sound that came from the old wooden floor every time he stepped on it made Nash remember that he needed to replace it with the new one as soon as possible.

"Better replace it after I get paid from Mr. Jenkins's place this evening."

Nash stopped walking. He scrunched deep his eyebrows as if he had found something strange just now.

(Hmmm, I think I have said that before. But when?)

Before Nash could even think about the answer, another loud voice came and pulled him back fast to the real world.

"NASSSSSSH! I SAID I DIDN'T HAVE MUCH TIME NOW—"

Criekkkk.

The door opened and showed Nash's full figure under the morning light. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a long foot. His raven hair looks shining even though he forgot to wash it one week ago. Well—he was working late until midnight in Mr. Jenkins' house and did not have time to do that. However, his tired complexion could not hide the handsome features that he inherited from his dead parents.

Yep, Nash was an orphan. He became an orphan five years ago when both his parents went to the capital to sell their farm goods and never came back again because their carriage fell off the cliff.

It was hard to survive alone as a twelve-year-old boy, but Chisato and her grandmother, who lived right beside Nash's house, never let him starve and showered him with love when he was on his bottom side.

When Nash had arrived in front of her, Chisato snorted short and put one hand to cover her nose. Then she pushed the basket toward Nash. "Here, and do something about that horrid smell! Just exactly how many days you skipped bath?"

Nash chuckled when listening to her complain because it was a rare thing to see Chisato behave like this. He shrugged his shoulder lightly. "I don't know, maybe one week? Well, Mr. Jenkins always give me extra tasks until midnight and I'm too tired to wash myself."

Chisato's round jaw dropped quickly, and she retreated fast from Nash. "One week? Are you crazy, Nash?"

He shook his head with an innocent expression. Then, he opened the fence gate and strolled toward Chisato. "I’m totally fine, Chi. What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s so wrong! And don’t come near me, you filthy human! Or I’ll speak to grandmother!” Chisato kept retreating backward while pointing her index finger before she ran from Nash with a terrified expression.

Nash stopped when she had gone behind the bushes, went to another place, and left him alone with the basket full of warm bread. He chewed one piece of bread from the basket while leaning on the fence. Nash was enjoying the peaceful morning in his village. However, he still remembered the lividness of his nightmare, and it scared him if it happened in real life.

He shrugged his shoulder and turned back toward his house again. “Well, it’s just a dream, after all. Let’s not get too affected. I need to work hard again today.”

However, he stopped midway and sniffed his sweaty body. Nash's expression became sour. “Chi is right, I badly need to take a bath.”

After that, Nash began to walk again without knowing that something—no, someone was watching him from afar. It was a dark square place with a blue hologram floating everywhere and a single chair in the middle. A person was sitting on that chair while watching Nash’s movement.

[The ‘Target’ found. The ‘resurrection mode’ will be activated with the voice command.]

After hearing the system announcement, a small grin appeared on that person's face. “Be the strongest and come to find me, Nash. I know you have the talent to do that.”

“System, activate.”