Online: Eiodolon Realms – Child of Ruin

he skies above Elorin's Rest burned orange with the descent of the digital sun, painting long shadows over the cobblestone paths. Across the player forums and in the many taverns, inns, and guildhalls springing to life within Eidolon Realms, conversations buzzed with speculation.

In various corners of the world, elite players—those known as veterans of countless VRMMORPGs—paused at the global announcement still flickering on their system logs.

 [WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT]

Player [The Fallen Shade] has become the first to complete a quest in Eidolon Realms!

Their actions have been etched into the Legends of Eidolon.

Reputation with the Kingdom of Valoria increased.

REWARD: KINGDOM-LEVEL REPUTATION (VALORIA), UNIQUE BLESSING GRANTED

Seeing the announcement some of the players scoffed. Others seethed.

"Must've been a fluke," muttered Keiran, a renowned guild leader of the guild known as Nightblade. He stood atop a balcony in the capital of a different starter region, watching as his subordinates accepted quests. "No way someone outpaced us already."

"He picked a easy quest maybe?" offered his second-in-command.

"Even so… " Keiran's voice narrowed. "I don't like how he defeated us. Get me information about him"

Across the sea in a desert kingdom, a robed figure chuckled to himself as he closed the announcement tab.

"That name… 'Fallen Shade.' Either an edge lord, or a very dangerous man."

In the same kingdom as Rai, a young lady wearing a mage's robe and having a wooden staff with a purple coloured gem on top, seeing the announcement in the sky, furrowed her brows, 'Someone from the same kingdom defeated us?' Then she suddenly smirked, "This game is more interesting than I initially thought. But I do wonder what that blessing is?"

Back in Elorin's Rest, Rai ignoring the continuous announcements, walked along the dim trail out of the village and toward the nearby forest. He had decided that it was time to grind for exp.

"I guess it's about time I level up properly."

His mind wandered, pulling up thoughts about his previous life.

"If it is anything like my past life then right now, almost no one knows how to properly use mana. The system never explained it thoroughly. Most assume it's passive or tied to spellcasting. Even most mage-type players are just swinging staffs and hoping for the best or using some other weapons."

He flexed his fingers, curling them into a light fist as a soft blue hue danced faintly around his skin.

"But I know how to use it properly. Mana isn't just about casting—it's a flow, a rhythm you control with intent. With the right mental state and breathing, even basic attacks can be enhanced."

That edge—knowledge of how to manipulate mana manually—was something only a few gaming prodigies would uncover in the early days of the game. In his last life, Rai had been clueless like the rest, relying purely on weapon strikes until much much later. In fact Rai had even seen one prodigy in early game a beautiful woman with a wooden staff with a purple coloured gem on top. That lady was the guild leader of a future first class guild.

She was one of the best players in the game, but in the previous life he had an accident with that lady that he didn't like thinking about.

[Flashback - Previous Life, Early Game]

The training fields outside Elorin's Rest were buzzing. Players swung swords, fired arrows, and attempted clumsy spellcasting. Among them stood a girl with long silver hair cascading down her back, wearing elegant navy-blue robes with silver threads running like starlight along the sleeves.

She raised her staff—Veilstone—and with a fluid motion, conjured a spinning arcane circle in the air. The spell ignited, lancing out toward a training dummy with stunning precision, sending it flying.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"That's Lyra Moonveil! She actually use magic so proficiently already?"

Rai had just turned, distracted by the noise, when he stumbled backward—right into her.

His hand, by pure accident and poor timing, found itself pressed against her chest.

Silence.

Then pain.

A brilliant explosion of light sent him flying ten feet across the field, his hair singed and health bar blinking red. The staff's crystal hummed ominously as Lyra glared down at him, eyes glowing faintly with arcane power.

"You better hope that respawning is painless," she had said coldly, turning away as he groaned.

[Back to Present]

Rai sighed, adjusting his sword as he walked.

"Lyra Moonveil… She was a monster even in the early stages. While others were swinging swords like toddlers, she was already weaving Tier-1 spells. No wonder she became one of the top guild leaders."

"That staff… Veilstone. She always had it, even before anyone knew where legacy items spawned. She even named her guild after it. I wonder where she gained it. Her control over mana was terrifying, maybe her staff helped, it was said that it is a special growth type item."

"Remembering about it, she beat me up a bit too much for that accident. The same thing happened with Aelina, in this life, during the summoning ritual and she forgave me within moments after the accident. Heck, why do such accidents happen to me in the first place?"

In his previous life he was a clueless guy with no experience, both, in women and magic usage

But now… now he had experience.

Getting serious he stepped into the edge of the Whispering Forest. The trees stood tall and thick, the underbrush damp with dew. Wind rustled overhead, and faint growls could be heard deeper within.

[Zone: Whispering Forest - Difficulty: Low]

His current level: 0. Experience: 10/1000.

Reaching Level 1 was relatively easy. Even a few kills of basic monsters would push a player over the threshold.

"Still, most players are about to reach level 1 by now. That shrine detour put me behind." Rai's lips curled into a smirk. "But in the long run, I'm already miles ahead."

He unsheathed his simple starter sword—durability still solid—and began walking slowly through the forest, eyes scanning.

Before long, a lone grey wolf prowled into sight. Its yellow eyes glinted in the dark, and its snarl rumbled low.

[Grey Wolf - Level 1]

HP: 300/300

Rai crouched slightly.

"In terms of real-world strength, these wolves are almost identical to actual wolves. Good bite force, agile, and deadly in packs. It would be best if I could fight them on on one but that's not really possible. I am sure if this guy screams rest of his pack will be here within seconds."

He exhaled slowly, focusing his mana. His hands warmed, and a faint shimmer glowed around his weapon.

Skill Activated: [Mana Blade: Minor]

Effect: Temporarily imbues your next strike with raw mana. Increases base damage by 50%.

Rai lunged. His blade slashed in a clean arc. The wolf yelped as the attack cut deep.

[Critical Hit - 212 Damage]

The beast reeled. Rai spun, striking again.

[Strike - 105 Damage]

[Grey Wolf Defeated]

+40 EXP

"Hah. That went smoother than I thought."

But his smirk died in an instant.

Snarls echoed from behind him.

Three more wolves charged from the shadows—then a fourth. Yellow eyes, gleaming teeth.

[Grey Wolf x4 - Level 1]

"Perfect," Rai muttered.

He sidestepped a lunge and activated another skill.

Skill Activated: [Phantom Step]

He blinked behind one wolf, slashing its flank, then spun to block a second.

He weaved between bites, dealing calculated damage, relying on timing and positioning. His mana reserves dwindled quickly.

Mana: 5/120… 3/120… 0/120

Sweat beaded his brow.

He downed the fourth wolf with a fierce stab through the neck.

[Grey Wolf Defeated] x4 +160 EXP

His breath came ragged, vision shaking slightly from mana exhaustion.

"That was close. If I didn't know how to enhance my movements with mana then i would have died."

He turned and sprinted out of the forest, avoiding further aggro.

Back in Elorin's Rest, the quiet hum of the village soothed his nerves. He walked back across the wooden bridge into town, now bathed in moonlight.

[EXP: 210/1000]

[Level: 0 → Still pending]

"Not a bad haul." He sighed in satisfaction.

His mind wandered again, assessing the skills he'd used.

Titles:

Curse of the Child of Ruin: Increases chances of being caught in fateful events. Danger and opportunity rise simultaneously.

Affinity:

Shadow Affinity: 75%

Darkness Affinity: 40%

Time Affinity: ???% (Locked)

Unique Skills:

Fate Interference: Passive – Interactions are more likely to trigger world-changing outcomes.

Shadow Rend Instantly dash a short distance, ignoring enemy collision. Can be used mid-air. Cooldown: 8 sec.

Phantom Step Slash with shadow energy, ignoring a portion of defense. Deals bonus critical damage if attacking from behind.

Spirit Sense (Locked until reaching Aelyrien)

Blessing:

Blessing of the Forgotten Spirits: Drastically increases mana regeneration. Allows communication with lesser magical spirits in spirit-dense regions (currently unavailable in human territory).

He rubbed his temples.

"Not bad bad but I'm still level zero others must have reached level 1 by now.… but I've got better skills, better growth potential, and a rare blessing."

The breeze tickled his face.

The village bell rang softly in the distance. A real-world prompt appeared.

[Time until system logout: 00:15:00 — Estimated dinner time approaching.]

He had saved a dinner time in the system so that he would know when to log out.

He smiled and moved toward the exit gate.

"Right. Let's log out for today."

As his vision began to blur into system exit mode, one final thought lingered:

"My stats might be lower, but I'm the one who's ahead of the curve."

With a soft chime, the VR interface faded away, and Rai slowly opened his eyes to the ceiling of his bedroom. The faint hum of the VR gear winding down filled the quiet room.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes."That was close… those wolves nearly had me. But it was worth it."

He stretched his back with a light groan and glanced at the time—7:15 PM.Fifteen minutes before dinner. Perfect timing.

He made his way downstairs, his house filled with the familiar aroma of food. The simple, comforting scent made his stomach grumble almost instantly.

At the table, his parents were already seated. His mother was serving food while his father scrolled through something on his phone. His younger sister was helping set the final plates.

"Rai, wash your hands first," his mom said, not even turning around.

"I did!" he called back automatically.

She gave him a look over her shoulder, and he chuckled as he made a quick detour to the sink before sitting down.

Soon, everyone was seated. The TV murmured quietly in the living room, broadcasting a news segment no one was really listening to. Plates clinked softly, and conversation began to fill the air.

The conversation was about light topics—neighborhood news, his cousin's exam results, a funny thing that happened at the vegetable market that morning. It wasn't exciting, but it was peaceful.

The kind of peace Rai didn't get inside the game.

The meal continued in gentle silence for a while, the occasional clink of metal on ceramic filling the space. When they were done, his mom stood to clear the plates, and Rai helped carry the water jug back to the kitchen.

Later, as he returned to his room, he lay back on the bed, full and satisfied. The quiet rhythm of home life was something he had always taken for granted before.

But now, with a dangerous and unpredictable new journey ahead in Eidolon Realms Online…

He was grateful for the normalcy.