Legacy of the Betelgeuse

I'm on my way to Hacal's house. I used the teleportation device to Fjel town wearing a cloak and cover my face with the hood and [Red-blood Tainted Scarf]. I never thought I would use this scarf again to hide my identity and to make my cover looks perfect, I'm holding a staff and a spellbook in my hands. Nobody is even looking at me and I can hear their conversation when I walk past them, they're talking about me, and how shocking for someone who helped the players and NPCs back then is now doing the exact opposite in a short time.

I'm at the front door of Hacal's house, I thought he would be waiting for me like always, but he's not. I knock on the door and I can hear footsteps so slowly walking toward the door. He opens the door and he furrows his forehead for a moment, I remove the hood and he's surprised when he sees my face.

"Trevor! Come in!"

I nod and get inside his house.

I sit at the table with Hacal. He's looking at me with curiosity and waiting to hear the good news, I look at him and take out a bag from my inventory. I show him the bag and he looks at it for quite a while, he then grabs it while looking at me. He's slowly opening the bag and he sees Ralphe's head and he lifts it up from the bag. He puts it on the table while crossing his arms.

"Is this him?"

I nod.

"Yes. His name is Ralphe Clavell."

Hacal is looking at Ralphe's head that's still wearing a mask. He's slowly opening the mask and looks at Ralphe's face with his mouth wide open and his white eyes. Hacal is staring at his face for quite a while and then he walks toward the fireplace with Ralphe's head in his hand, then he throws it in the fireplace while looking at it. I'm just watching him from the table and enjoying my cup of tea.

The sound of wood crackling and burning from the fireplace is relaxing.

"Thank you, Trevor... I think I can live normally now..."

I'm humming with understanding.

Hacal turns around and then he walks past me. He walks toward one of the rooms, and I can hear a rustling sound coming from there. He comes back with a doll in his right hand and [Reginal's Sword] in his left hand, then he sits in front of me while staring at the doll. It looks like a homemade doll and it looks old but at the same time, it's still in a good condition.

Hacal looks at me and then puts the sword in front of me. I raise my eyebrows.

"What is this?"

Hacal smiles weakly.

"It's yours."

[Hidden Quest: Hacal's Revenge (Completed)]

[You have fulfilled your promise to Hacal. Hacal now can live peacefully without hatred and revenge, the wall that has been blocking is tearing down.]

[Hacal is very grateful for what you did.]

[Affinity towards Trevor increased by 50%]

[Hacal Augustus (100%)]

[Your bond with Hacal Augustus cannot be broken!]

I look at the sword and shake my head.

"I don't need it. You can keep it, Hacal. Just because you don't have a reason for vengeance that doesn't mean you don't need a weapon to protect the people. Use it to protect and help the townspeople, and I believe with you doing good deeds will help you to see your wife and children in the Paradise City."

Hacal looks at me and smiles then he nods with understanding.

"I will do that."

Hacal is humming while staring at me.

"Since you don't want this sword, then I can at least give you this..."

[Congratulations! After fulfilling Hacal's request and maxing his affinity, he passed down his unique skill to you!]

[Congratulations! Unique Passive Skill: [Jack of All Trades Lv.Max] has been learned.]

[Jack of All Trades: Increase Damage Output by 10% when wielding a weapon, the player now can see all the locked weapon's skills and spell and how to unlock it. Reduced the requirement of unlocking the skill by 30%]

[Congratulations! [Understanding (Lv.Max)] has discovered a new Unique Passive skill [Variation (Lv.1)] from [Jack of All Trades (Lv.Max)]!]

[Congratulations! [Understanding (Lv.Max)] has increased:  [Variation (Lv.1) > (Lv.Max)]

[Variation: When the player wielding two weapons or more during the battle, it will have a 1% chance to learn a combination skill between the weapons]

I look at the notification with disbelief and then I look at Hacal.

"Are you sure about this? Aren't you needing this skill?"

Hacal smiles and shakes his head.

"No, I don't think it will affect me that much without that skill around. If I need power then I can just train again like I used to do. Please, take it and it will help you with your journey, Trevor."

I slightly smile and nod.

"Thank you, I will treasure this."

Hacal nods happily, then I look at the doll.

"That doll, what are you going to do with it?"

Hacal looks at the doll and chuckles softly.

"This is the doll that Hermia used to hold every night when she's asleep. I found it when I cleaned the house a few days ago, and holding this doll makes me feel a bit at ease and peaceful, but I guess I need to start letting everything go and live to the fullest with the time I have left."

I look at the door and raise my eyebrows.

"Then, do you want me to give that doll to Patricia? I think she would be very happy when she received this doll."

Hacal's breath is trembling, he chuckles softly and he starts crying. He nods repeatedly while staring at the doll.

"Yeah... I think that would be great..."

I reach my hand at him and open it. He looks at the doll for one last time and then puts it in my hand. I hold it and put it in my inventory. Hacal is wiping his tears while snotting and clearing his throat.

"Thank you, Trevor."

I smile and nod.

"Well then, I will go now. Take care, Hacal. I will come and visit you sometimes to check on you. See you later."

Hacal nods and smiles.

"Hmm, see you later, Trevor."

I put my hood on and then leave Hacal's house.

*Ding!*

A new message from Ivonna. I'm immediately gulping and open the message.

[Trevor, where are you right now? I left the Land of Sigrid and I have no idea where I am right now. If you are free, can you come and pick me up? If you're busy then I will go on my own and find a way back.]

-

[I'm free right now, I will pick you up now.]

-

[Thank you and sorry for bothering you.]

-

[No need to mention it.]

I sigh with relief because I thought she's going to ask about the incident that happened, but turns out she's just lost and wants me to pick her up, but I think she should have known by now about it, so I guess I just need to prepare and give some explanation if needed. I immediately open a portal to the Temple of Gloom to pick her up.

I enter the portal and as soon as I'm leaving the portal, I see Ivonna is sitting on her own on the stairs while looking down and brushing her hair with her left hand. I approach her and Ivonna lifts her head and looks at me. She waves at me and stands up while walking toward me.

"Sorry for this."

I shake my head.

"It's okay, I'm free anyway. So, you want to go to the house?"

Ivonna shakes her head.

"No, I need to talk to you."

I knew it. She knows about what happened and I think Francesca and the others are the ones who told her about it. I look at Ivonna's expression but as always I can't see what's she really thinking or what kind of emotion that she's having right now.

I clear my throat while nodding.

"Okay, but can we do it in real life? I have been playing for quite a while and I'm starting to feel dizzy."

Ivonna nods with understanding.

"Okay that's a good idea, I'm also starting to feel dizzy because I have been in-game for quite a while as well. Let's log out."

We both log out from the game and my head starts throbbing. I sit up and lean on the pod for a minute while massaging my head. Ivonna gets up from her pod and then she approaches me and sees me groaning in pain. Ivonna offers her hand and I look at her with confusion, but I grab her hand and she helps me get out from the pod.

We both are walking out of the gaming room and I'm just following her.

"I need some wine, do you care to join me, Trev? I think you know what I'm going to ask you, so, let's have a talk while drinking a bottle of wine."

I'm humming.

"That's a good idea."