Online: Eiodolon Realms – Child of Ruin

The world blurred into streaks of divine light before abruptly fading into clarity. Rai staggered as his feet touched cobblestone, the static hum of the teleportation gate fading behind him. Cool wind brushed against his cheeks, carrying with it the familiar scent of damp grass and morning dew. He looked around and blinked.

"Elorin's Rest..." he whispered.

The same village. The same starting point.

Just like in his past life.

'What are the chances of me getting summoned into the same village? I don't really understand on what basis are we distributed into the newbie villages, but this works for me. I know most of the hunting spaces near the village and this was also the time during which i gave max efforts into the game. So, I know some of the special quests as well.' thought Rai.

He stood in the heart of a quaint settlement nestled in a serene valley. Wooden fences lined tidy houses with straw rooftops. Farmers carried bundles of wheat. Children ran past with wooden swords, giggling. A windmill creaked lazily in the distance. Birds chirped in the branches of a blossoming tree beside the local chapel.

Rai let out a shaky breath, his eyes trailing over the horizon.

In his past life, Elorin's Rest had been the humble beginning of his journey. He had struggled, been mocked by many, in fact, he had nearly given up. But eventually, he had risen—grown into a player that even the gods had to take seriously.

But this time... things would be different. He will fight from the beginning, make plans and defeat the gods.

He opened his system menu with a flick of his wrist. A semi-transparent blue screen materialized in front of him with a soft chime.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Rai Kurozawa

Class: The Fallen Blade (Unique Class)

Level: 1

HP: 100/100

MP: 80/80

Stamina: 100/100

Base Stats:

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 10

Vitality: 10

Agility: 10

Luck: 10

[NOTE: All classes have same stats in the beginning. Stats doesn't depend upon the class but instead depend upon the hard work done related to those classes]

Affinities:

Shadow Affinity: 75%

Darkness Affinity: 40%

Time Affinity: ???% (Locked)

Class Skills:

Phantom Step (Active) – Instantly dash a short distance, ignoring enemy collision. Can be used mid-air. Cooldown: 8 sec.

Shadow Rend (Active) – Slash with shadow energy, ignoring a portion of defense. Deals bonus critical damage if attacking from behind.

Passive: Death's Whisper – Chance to evade death once per day. Triggers slow-time reflex boost along with immortality for 2 seconds.

Class Perks:

Hidden Paths: Able to access shadow-locked areas others can't.

Blade Memory: Can record the motion of unique sword and dagger techniques and replicate them at reduced efficiency. Also increases talent for learning and using blade techniques.

Legacy Veil: Class and skills cannot be detected by others unless Divine detection skills used.

Special Title Acquired:

Title: Child of Ruin (Cursed)

Description: A soul marked by forgotten divinities and fractured timelines. Attracts threads of fate both terrible and great. ???????

Effect: Greatly increases chances of being pulled into world-altering events. Unknown entities are aware of your existence.???????

New Passive Skill Acquired:

Fatebound Echo – When entering major narrative events that may affect the balance of the world, receive instinctive insights or glimpses of alternate futures. Has a chance to resist fate-based effects.

Rai's jaw dropped. He stared at the glowing blue text for several long seconds, completely silent.

"What the hell...?" he muttered.

He felt a strange cold crawl down his spine. His fingers hovered over the title.

"Cursed?" he thought. "Child of Ruin... That voice called me that. But what does it even mean?"

He tapped for more information, but the rest of the data was locked behind question marks. He bit his lower lip.

"A cursed title... but not necessarily a bad one," he reasoned. "If it attracts fate, then sure, that means danger. But danger also means opportunity. Power. Hidden quests. Maybe even things no one else will ever see."

The gravity of it sank in slowly.

"I didn't get this from a legacy item and it doesn't seem to come along with my class... this is from something else entirely. Something watching me. Unknown Entities, huh."

His gaze grew sharper.

"And then there's also this passive skill 'Fatebound Echo' must be from the time affinity but where did I gain time affinity from. Is it related to me coming back from the future."

"Are gods aware of my existence. Goddammit, What should i do? I'll have to take the risk. If the gods really are aware of this and are just playing games with me then i can't do anything, anyways. So, better take risk and carry on."

He then tapped the skill names, pulling up detailed descriptions.

"Shadow Rend scales with dexterity and agility? And Phantom Step can be used mid-air? That's broken early on. Not as unique as my title but still quite good. And this passive skill if i remember correctly another top player known for his greed had something similar."

He rubbed his chin, trying to ground himself in logic despite the adrenaline rising in his blood.

Memories of his previous life flickered behind his eyes. He had clawed for every skill, had to beg for legacy quests, and even then, never had anything close to this from the start.

But now?

Now he had power.

And purpose.

Rai dismissed the window and looked around. The village had changed slightly or maybe it's just cause its been a long time since he last came here. 

A notification popped up in the corner of his vision.

[New Objective: Get your first mission]

He let out a soft breath and began walking.

As he passed a well, an old man in a brown cloak waved at him.

"New to Elorin's Rest, are ya?" he asked with a grin.

"Something like that," Rai replied.

The old man chuckled. "Plenty of work for adventurers. Wolves been gettin' bold near the east woods. Maybe the elder can guide ya."

Rai nodded politely and moved on. A part of him was itching to race into battle, to begin the grind and start leveling up—but he knew better.

Doing anything for the first time yielded significant benefits. And if he was able to do something like being the first player to complete a quest then he would gain a world announcement with really good rewards. Most of the other players will go for the harder quests, cause they give more rewards. But, completing a easier quest is something that can be done far quicker and he will be able to get first-serve rewards which will be a lot more better. Other than this he will also be able to gain some reputation points which will come handy later onto form official guild or to become a noble.

The village elder gave out early quests, some of which had branching storylines that led to major lore revelations.

"I remember one guy ignored the elder and missed the entire Nightshade quest chain... ended up five levels behind the rest of us."

Rai followed the winding path toward a large manor near the town square. As he walked, his eyes drifted toward the distant walls surrounding the village.

Beyond them lay the vast world of Eidolon Realms.

The game's world was currently divided into eight major factions:

The Kingdom of Valoria – Where Rai currently was. A human-led monarchy known for its knights and rigid class structure.

The Empire of Drekar – A ruthless expansionist nation with brutal military training and gladiator arenas. Doesn't really have much to do with the main story and, in fact, got destroyed quite early in the game.

The Elven Dominion of Aelyrien – A mystic forest kingdom ruled by immortal high elves. Humans are their natural enemy cause of how they use and destroy forests.

The Dwarven Holds of Karagorn – Deep mountain cities filled with ancient tech and powerful enchantments. Consists mainly of dwarfs but respects craftmanship above all. So, any great craftsman, despite of their race can easily gain power here.

The Ashen Republic – A rogue nation formed by exiles, rebels, and merchants. Known for political intrigue.

The Nomadic Clans of Zeir – Desert wanderers with powerful beast tamers and elemental shamanism. 

The Undying Reach – A secretive cult-like nation dealing with necromancy and forbidden magic. They are enemy of most of the other factions cause of their dark tendencies and people from this faction are not allowed permission to get in other regions. The players who get transported here in the beginning in fact start showing dark tendencies in the real world as well.

The Floating Isles of Celestia – A divine faction tied to the gods themselves. Accessed only at higher levels.

Each had their own storyline, factions, guilds, and divine allegiances.

Rai smirked.

"I'll play the long game this time. Work from the shadows, gather information. And when the gods begin their descent... I'll be ready."

He stopped before the elder's manor but didn't enter just yet. Instead, he glanced up at the sky. Clouds drifted lazily above.

He placed his hand on his chest where his heartbeat echoed faintly against the vest of his rogue gear.

"Last time, I was powerless when the divine fell from their heavens. This time, I'll drag them down myself."

Rai smiled.

His journey had only begun.