Free Web NovelChapter 20: Promise Me
The orphanage courtyard was as quiet as ever.
In one lonely corner, beneath the shade of an old oak, a little girl sat by herself. Her knees were drawn to her chest as she silently watched the other children laugh and play together. No matter how hard she tried, she never found the courage to join them.
If only she knew this attitude of hers was going to make her a constant target... she would have probably tried more to socialize. She had long grown used to being alone.
While she was solo in the corner, a luxurious black car rolled through the orphanage gates.
As if in an early cue, the director of the orphanage hurried out to welcome the man who stepped out of the car, their wealthy benefactor. He bowed repeatedly in gratitude as the man’s employees unloaded boxes of food, clothes, and supplies.
Trailing behind the man was his son — a crimson red jagged haired boy, neatly dressed with polished shoes and an arrogant smile that never failed to irritate everyone around him.
Unlike his father, who genuinely wished to help, the boy had a different reason for always visiting.
While his father and employees were led by the director into the building, his eyes immediately found the lonely girl.
"Found you," he muttered with a grin before walking over.
"So this is where the little orphan likes to hide."
The girl’s shoulders trembled, but she kept her head lowered between her knees.
The boy’s face wrinkled into a frown, but he maintained his calm and instead continued with his annoying grin.
"Did your parents throw you away because nobody wanted you? Or... did they just forget you existed?" he sneered, and still getting no response added, "Oh, I see. You don’t even know if you have parents? Or just a bastard child, do you?"
On hearing these words, a few nearby children stopped playing and lowered their heads. But none of them dare interfere.
The rich boy mixed laughter with annoyance, enjoying every second of her silence as well as getting infuriated.
"I heard orphans don’t even know what it’s like to have a real family."
Just as he reached out to shove her shoulder—
"Back off."
A calm but firm voice cut through the courtyard. On hearing the voice, the rich boy clicked his tongue before turning around.
Standing behind him was another child from the orphanage. There was nothing so different about the boy except the fact that his physical features made him appear handsome even at a young age.
And unlike the frightened girl, the boy’s eyes burned with quiet defiance.
"What?" the rich kid scoffed. "Another stray wants to play hero?"
"I said..." the orphan boy repeated, stepping between them. "Leave her alone."
The rich boy snorted.
"Or what?"
Without another word, he shoved the orphan boy backward.
The orphan staggered... then rushed forward.
The two boys crashed into each other. In a blink, punches flew wildly.
The rich boy managed to land a bit across the orphan’s cheek, but the orphan answered with one straight punch that knocked the rich kid onto the dirt.
They grappled, rolling across the ground while the surrounding children gasped.
"Stop!"
Luckily enough, the supervisors at the orphanage had arrived just in time to prevent more harm from occurring.
The rich boy shouted in anger, pointing at his opponent.
"My father gives this place money! You’ll regret touching me!"
Blood trickled from the corner of the orphan boy’s lips, yet he simply wiped it away and ignored him.
While the supervisors were busy paying attention to the rich kid, the orphan boy went over to the girl.
"It’s okay now," he said softly, extending his hand toward her. "In a few more years, we will awaken as players, and he won’t bother you anymore."
From that day onward, whenever the rich boy visited the orphanage looking for someone to torment, the orphan boy would always be there.
The memories swept off as quickly as they had come, as tears unknowingly dropped from Sandra’s eyes and pelted into the sheet covering Tony, where he lay on the bed.
Even as kids in the Commoner’s City, Tony had believed they were going to make a difference and be able to awaken as Players.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to awaken early. And fortunately for him, Sandra had awakened just on her first trial, and both of them had moved to this city after she was chosen by the Monarchs.
The rest was history.
But here he was...
"Are you crying?" Tony’s voice rang out as he gradually rose from the bed into a sitting position.
He had been half awake for some time now without Sandra knowing. That way, he had also realized that he seemed to have ended up in the Guild’s clinic.
Sandra smiled in a way that did no good to conceal the paleness of her face, as she burst out and ended up burying her face into Tony’s chest, soaking the ward clothes and sheets more.
Tony still didn’t understand what was going on, but instead of asking questions, he thought he should better console the lady before him. Hence, he concernedly tapped her head like he was soothing a baby.
Tony continued patting her head gently, saying nothing. Sometimes, it was better to comfort someone in silence than with words.
Sandra clung to him tightly, as though the moment she let go, he would disappear before her eyes. She bit her lower lip, desperately trying to stop the tears that refused to obey her.
Just then, a soft knock came from the ward entrance.
"Captain Sandra."
The couple turned toward the voice.
Standing by the doorway was a young woman dressed in the Monarchs Guild uniform.
"The preparations are complete. Everyone’s waiting. It’s time."
Sandra remained quiet for a brief moment before slowly nodding.
"...I’ll be there shortly."
The woman glanced between the two before giving another nod.
"I understand."
With that, she quietly closed the door behind her.
The room fell silent once more.
Sandra finally pulled herself away from Tony’s embrace, wiping away the remaining tears before forcing another smile.
"I examined you while you were unconscious," she said softly. "Thankfully, it wasn’t due to any physicalities or internal injury of the sort. You simply exhausted your mana reserve beyond its limit."
Tony blinked.
He had almost wondered how he fell unconscious with all his overpowered stats even so someone in his rank. But now that Sandra mentioned this, it meant that his [Blade Awakening] even used more mana power than he thought.
Or... he had miscalculated its usage during the fight.
He would have to learn how to put his mana power into proper use while using his skills at the same time, especially since [Blade Awakening] remains active once it has been activated.
Tony let out a relieved sigh.
"Good... I thought something serious happened."
Sandra looked at him quietly. Her look informed the attentive Tony that she wanted to tell him something.
Hence, Tony asked, "What’s the problem... sweetie?"
"Hmm... did you see what I left you at home?"
Tony nodded.
"...Babe, promise me you’ll always stay safe."
Tony raised an eyebrow. Here she comes again with the same thing she wrote in the letter.
"And..." She lowered her gaze. "...take care of yourself."
Tony couldn’t help but smile.
"Of course I will."
"No."
Sandra shook her head.
"I want you to promise me."
Her unusually serious expression caused Tony to become confused.
"...I promise."
Only then did Sandra’s shoulders relax.
Tony scratched the back of his head.
"But... why are you suddenly asking me something like—"
Before he could finish, Sandra suddenly ventured closer. Her hands gently grabbed the front of his hospital gown.
Tony’s eyes widened.
The next instant, her soft lips met his.
Time seemed to stop for Tony at that moment. In as much as he had gained the body of Sandra’s original boyfriend, this was naturally the first time a girl had ever kissed his lips.
His mind went completely blank. He could neither think nor react.
All he could feel was the warmth of her lips and the trembling of the girl, now standing before him but hunched over.
After what felt like an eternity — but had only lasted a few seconds — Sandra suddenly pulled away.
Her cheeks had turned crimson.
"Thank you, my love."
Those were the only words she spoke before she turned around and hurried toward the door.
’I hope that isn’t her last words to me,’ Tony thought and stretched his hand to call out to her. However, he was late.
Sandra didn’t look back as the door clicked shut behind her.
Tony sat frozen for some seconds on the hospital bed.
One thing he knew as general knowledge about Sandra was that people considered her to be talented and fiery at the same time. Except for the little time he had practically shared with her since his transmigration, he didn’t imagine she could be this downhearted.
More so, he didn’t think one could love or be loved this much.
’Scratch that.’
His brain refused to process what had just happened. He slowly retracted his outstretched hand to touch his lips.
"Did..."
He blinked several times. And just before the next words could follow, the marvelous mechanical chime of the system echoed in his mind as the screen materialized before him.
[Congratulations. Your challenger has agreed that he’s weak and vowed to get stronger.]
[You have completed the objective: Teach him humility.]
[Congratulations. You have completed the quest: defeat your challenger gloriously within the time limit.]
[You have received: 1 Free Pull; +10 EXP; +1,000 FGP.]
[Your rewards have been distributed accordingly.]
Tony’s dazed expression instantly vanished. His eyes sharpened, and he shifted the floating screen before him and called upon the system to show him his profile.
The purple screen slowly unfolded before him, illuminating the quiet hospital room with its familiar glow.
[Host’s Profile Updated.]
[Name]: Tony Starke
[Age]: 18
[Class]: Infinite Summoner (Divine)
[Sub-Class]: Divine Blade
[Level]: 0 {Earn Exp to level up.}
[Title]: - {Clear floors to earn a title}
[Exp]: 10/50
[HP]: 18,500/18,650
[MP]: 1,780
[Stamina]: 9,618
... {Stats} ...
[Strength]: 499
[Agility]: 454
[Vitality]: 526
[Intelligence]: 220
[Fate Gacha Point (FGP)]: 1,010
[Gacha Pulls]: 1
[Passive Traits: Shared Growth, Gacha Player Body, Summoner’s Link.]
[Skills: Blade Awakening, Divine Edge, Saint’s Step, Severance.]
[Active Summons]: 1/∞
[Artifacts]: -
Tony took another glance at his profile, taking note of the subtle changes.
He noticed that his [HP] had also been among his stats that were affected during the duel. Probably because he faked weakness from the beginning.
But it didn’t seem to be recharging itself. Does that mean he needed to do something to fill the bar back up?
He especially noticed that his mana power seemed to still be recharging, but it will be enough for what he has to do next. In as much as he wanted to use his free pull, he decided that it would have to wait.
For now, there was something he was worried about.
Hence, he dismissed the screen before him and called up another different screen.
[Minor Quest: Completely Clear an F-Rank Dungeon.
Time Limit: 32 hours
Objective: Level up as much as you can.
Reward: +1,000 FGP.
Failure: 50% of all stats get drained.]
Looking at the quest, it meant he still had a day and a few hours left to complete the quest. Hence, he quickly pulled away the sheets that were covering him and soon began to change out of the hospital gown into his clothes.
The instant he flung his coat over his body, the ward’s door clicked open, and a familiar figure stepped in boldly.
Before he could turn to see who it was, the figure spoke out of turns.
"I thought as much," the figure said, disregarding the surprised expression on Tony’s face.
