System Change

A couple of hours later, the group was back at the village. Brandi had fallen asleep leaning on Derek. The girl had been through a lot recently and she was beyond tired. Derek patted her head, gently waking her.

“We’re back.” He said.

Malorie directed the Equvins towards a makeshift stable that had been created outside the village due to the influx of adventurers recently. Everyone hopped off the carriage, and she tied the beasts to a post before gathering with the others.

“What are we going to do with the carriage?” She asked Derek.

Derek chuckled. “Well, now that we have it, it makes it easier to travel. I say you keep it.”

They chatted as they walked through the gate and headed to Rayna’s new, old residence. Before long, they were all gathered in the meeting room.

“Did they give you any trouble while I was gone?” Derek asked Rayna, talking about the three unconscious guards who were now laying in the corner of the room.

“The pretty boy woke once, but that was it. Didn’t take much to knock him back out.” She answered.

Derek nodded and walked over to said guard. “Let’s get this over with.” He bent down and lightly tapped on the guard’s face. Noticing that it wasn’t enough to wake him, Derek sighed and pulled out a cup of water from his storage bracelet.

He poured the water onto the man’s face. Slowly, the man’s eyes opened. He looked around in confusion before realization struck him.

“Y-you.” He looked up at Derek. “Where’s the young lady?” He half yelled.

“Dead.” Derek answered blandly.

“No!” He jumped to his feet and rushed at Derek. “You bastard!” He yelled as he cocked his arm back to him.

Derek sighed and wrapped the pretty guard up before he could do anything. Standing behind the man, holding him off the ground in a bearhug, Derek spoke to the room. “I think he’s a lost cause.” The man was clearly in love, or lust, with Katrisha. As she was dead, there was no reason to leave somebody like this alive.

“Brandi. Go to the other room.” He said to the girl. She had seen death before, but it all came at the hands of beasts and monsters. She hadn’t been in the village center when Derek took out Wallace and his adventurer team. He thought it better for her to not see him kill these people.

She shook her head. “No. Don’t worry about me.” She replied mechanically.

Derek, still holding the struggling guard, looked over at Malorie. The woman sighed and nodded.

Even if she’s so adamant to watch, I can at least try to make it as least gruesome as possible. He thought. Derek transferred the struggling man over to his left arm, holding the man tightly against his chest. With this move, the man’s right hand was free, but it didn’t matter.

Derek’s right hand was also free, and it was channeling the void. Derek had grown to really like this technique ever since he used it on the Void Beast. With a quick strike to the side of the head, the man went limp, then disappeared into his storage ring.

After taking care of the young guard that was found in bed with Katrisha, Derek moved to the next one. This guard woke up easily.

It was odd, though. Once the guard stood, he just stared vacantly into space. Derek prodded him with a few questions, then eventually tapped him on the cheek a few times. Finally, after minutes of trying to get the man’s attention, the man fell to his knees in tears.

Derek looked over at the others, they were just as confused as he was. He bent down and finally got the sobbing man’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” He asked when the man finally noticed him.

“She… she’s dead isn’t she?” The guard asked.

Derek nodded. “Yes. After what she did, I couldn’t allow her to live without punishment. Death was the best option.”

The man’s sobbing continued. “Two more months… Just two more months…”

“Two more months for what?” Derek asked.

“Before I fulfilled my oath to that family.” He answered.

At that, Derek started putting the pieces together. “You were under oath to protect her? To keep her alive?”

The man bobbed his head up and down. “It was a temporary oath. Once completed, all my debts would be wiped out and I could start over with my family.”

“She died, so the oath is broken?” Derek asked.

The man nodded furiously, another bout of tears on the way. “M-my skills. The Great System…. It’s all gone now. I can’t even see my status anymore.”

Derek stepped back and examined the broken guard with Identify.

Human Male

Level N/A

State: Oathbreaker

Wow. Derek thought. This system really doesn’t pull any punches, does it. Not only does he lose all his skills, but he is labeled as an Oathbreaker for all to see. Derek looked over to the group.

“Do any of you have Identify at a low level?” He asked.

Brandi raised her hand excitedly. “I do. It’s level 5.”

In Derek’s opinion, that wasn’t actually too low of a level, but with her base level on top of it, it should do. “Good, use it on this man. Tell me what it says.”

Brandi nodded and stared at the weeping guard. Then, her eyes opened wide. “Oathbreaker.” She said. “Human Male. Level ‘N’ ‘Slash’ ‘A.’ State is Oathbreaker… What does ‘N’ ‘Slash’ ‘A’ mean?”

“Not Applicable or Not Available.” Derek answered. “It means that the Great System took away all of his levels, so they are no longer there.”

“Why not just say level 0?” Brandi asked.

“Because that would be confusing. He gets to keep all of his prior invested stat points. So, his strength would still be at whatever level it was before he broke his oath.” Derek explained.

Brandi nodded.

“Now.” Derek directed his question towards the man. “Why were you under an oath to that family to begin with?”

“It was only supposed to be a temporary guard duty for Katrisha while she got sorted as an Overseer. I… I made some bad investments and got into some trouble.” He said.

“Gambling?” Derek asked.

“Yes…” The man answered truthfully. “Because establishing an outpost for the new dungeon was urgent, the house offered a bunch of these temporary oaths and contracts until they were able to provide more permanent positions. Once it was finished, I would have been able to go back to my wife and daughter and beg for forgiveness… Now…” He broke down again.

“Now you’re marked as an Oathbreaker, and the Collins will probably kill you on sight since you let Katrisha die.” Derek thought for a moment. “Do you think they will go after your family?”

The man’s eyes widened before he released a breath and shook his head. “I’m not sure about the others, but because of the time I spent… gambling, I knew about the rumors of the noble house. I made sure to include it in my oath that my family wouldn’t be harmed in any way, even if my oath was broken.”

“Who did you make the oath to?” Derek asked. He hoped that the man had not made the oath to Katrisha. If he had, then the man wasn’t as smart as he seemed.

“The House Manager.” The guard answered. “He’s basically the head butler of House Collins. He also oversees the guards and staff.”

So, he’s basically the Collins’ Bronson. Derek thought. “I see. Well, at least you were smart about it. What are your plans now?”

The man looked up into Derek’s eyes. “You’re letting me go?” He asked.

“You don’t seem too bad of a person. You just put yourself in a bad situation and made a poor decision on how to get out of the hole you dug yourself.” Derek answered.

The man got excited. “I… I can…” He spoke, but eventually lost that excitement. “There’s nothing I can do. I can’t go into the city for my family. Beth won’t even look at me… and that was before I became an Oathbreaker. Not to mention the people who will kill me on sight just for a chance at the Award.” The man shook his head. “No, there’s nothing left that I can do. My family will be in danger beside me.”

Derek felt for the man, but there wasn’t anything he could do for him. He wasn’t about to take him in. And apparently there was some Award that was given for slaying an Oathbreaker. “What is this Award you mentioned?”

The man paled at the question.

Derek realized what the guard was thinking and tried to calm him down. “Don’t worry. None of us are going to kill you. I don’t think you deserve to die. I’m just curious.”

The guard cautiously answered Derek. “I-it’s an Award you get for killing an Oathbreaker from the Great System. It’s not a big Award, but it’s something. I think it gives you extra skill points depending on what tier you have. It’s a popular Award to get, which is why there are people who constantly look for Oathbreakers.”

Derek nodded. “That’s unfortunate.” He said. “Well, I can’t offer you my protection or anything, but I can let you go. You are strong enough that you could find a decent life in some rural village. That would be my suggestion.” Then Derek spoke in a serious voice. “But you had better play nice. If I catch wind of you killing or otherwise being shady, I will find you. You will die, and it won’t be quick nor painless.” Derek let a little of his aura seep out towards the guard. He was getting better at controlling it, and it seemed to really drive home a threat.

“Y-yes. I-I promise, I will be a good person.” The guard said.

“Good… Now get out of here.”

The guard bolted up from his knees, then ran for the front door.

Derek turned to look at the last guard. “You can quit pretending. I’ve known you were conscious for some time now.”