Save & Reset

After the mountain's eruption, we located a safe area and rested a little, since it was dark, and we were all exhausted.

The twins were sleeping soundly while Mark was holding on to them. I was sitting around the lit campfire and playing with the fire. I tried not to notice, but I could feel Brass's gaze; he was sitting not too far from me.

I didn't know what he was going to do. He wasn't one of the 147 Novels' main characters, and there weren't a lot of stories about him. The little I knew was mostly because of the visits I had when playing as a Demonic Bloodline Cultist, which I wasn't proud of.

The Brass I knew would have killed me and summoned me into an undead by now. He was acting unlike the Brass I knew. This was frustrating.

"Why don't you say anything?" I said while looking at Brass.

"What should I say?" said Brass, looking indifferent.

"Don't you want to know the reasons for my actions?"

I didn't know why I said that. For some reason, I wanted him to demand an unanswerable question from me. I wanted to see what he would do if he knew the answer. I was sure that if I could [Save], I would have done that.

"Are you going to answer?"

"… No," I said with disappointment.

Brass quieted down after I answered his question. I wanted to talk, but I didn't know what to say.

The night was quieter than usual because of the eruption. No sound of any being could be heard, but the crackling of fire.

After a while, Brass began to talk and said: "I was an adventurer a long time ago. I wasn't famous, but I was stronger than the famous ones. I was a solo man who hunted alone and enjoyed being aloof… until I met her. An adventurer, with a lot of light in her eyes and a power to emit that light in her surroundings. Before I knew it, I fell for her, and thankfully she did too. We began adventuring together, helping each other, and making a lot of money. And after a long time, we settled down in a small town to live happily ever after with our little child…" He stopped his dialogue and waited while looking at the campfire.

"…" I was looking at the sky while thinking about the things he was saying. As an observer who only saw the people of this world as simple game characters, I couldn't completely understand what he was gaining from telling me those stories.

But I stayed quiet and let him finish his words.

"I remember it was 15 years ago as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was outside collecting some wood with the undead, and when I returned, I saw nothing but flaming houses and dead bodies all over. No living being could be seen. In the middle of the town, I saw my half-dead wife who was breathing her last breath as she endured the multiple slashes on her body. She looked at me and died without saying a thing. I couldn't find my daughter's body… after that incident, I looked around for a culprit, again and again, and I couldn't find anything but a name. I lost my hope and decided to stay at a graveyard until you showed up." He then shifted his look from the fire to my eyes. He wasn't angry, nor sad. He was in regret.

"I can't understand the things you're going through, and I won't be able to. But I know one thing. Living without any regret is impossible, and there are many who think of fixing it but they can't. I'm not one of them. I don't live in regret since I either break them or make my life even better than. I don't regret anything I did and I won't. And I know you might not like it." I said while looking into Brass's eyes.

I didn't know why I was escalating this speech. There was a possibility of Brass turning mad and killing me, and yet, I was looking into his eyes like nothing happened. I was a precise guy who did nothing if it was going to fail, but after I gained the power of [Save & Reset], I turned bold.

"… Action… I'm old and I won't be living for too long. I want you to be my disciple. I saw what you did with the Dark Mana Circle in the mountain. You have a lot of potential, even more than I do. Be my disciple and I will teach you anything I know." He said out of nowhere.

Brass's sentence took me by surprise. I didn't know he was going to do that. I was sure about him hating me, but he suggested I be his disciple, which was odd.

I thought for a little, but I knew the answer without thinking a lot about it. Sure, being Brass's disciple was quite profitable for me since I could learn a lot of Necromancer-related skills despite being Classless, but I couldn't be one. Being a disciple meant that I was going to stay by his side for a long time, and I couldn't do that.

"Let me think about it."

"Of course, you can think about it as much as you want." He said with a smile.

The next day, we began to head towards the city. The people were re-entering the city with their families, one by one, and that made the twins really happy. It took us around an hour to reach the guild due to the commotion that happened in the city. Among that commotion, Brass left us to check up on his house.

The guild was super crowded and many were talking and drinking.

"It seems like you did a good job. I was sad after I heard that the fun part was taken from me," said the man who appeared suddenly from my back.

"I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," I said, smiling.

"Hey Action, who is this old man?" said Mark.

"He is one of my friends. Why don't you three go and redeem your rewards while I'm talking?"

"Okay(?)" said Mark.

After the others left, I looked around to see if there was anyone eavesdropping or not.

"Gabriel. It was surprising to see you. I thought you were planning to go out of the city." Well, he was supposed to be.

"Tsk—you know too much for a little kid. I was out of the city, but after I found out about the monster rampage, I returned," said Gabriel.

"Who told you about my doings?"

"Dalv told me about you after I returned. He said you were the most truthful adventurer he had ever seen. I wonder if you really are or if it was because of your special skill?" He said, smiling.

"Who knows."

"Oh, by the way, Dalv wants to meet you. You can see him in his room upstairs."

"Really? Thanks for letting me know."

I didn't know what Dalv wanted from me, but I could guess. This was going to be a profitable talk.