LISTEN ALONG WITH AUDIO BOOK CHAPTER 4 (FULL VOICE ACTING, SFX, MUSIC, AND MORE): https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-4-139899061?collection=1796666

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The night sky was something to behold.

Each of the colorful orbs in the sky cast a colorful glimmer on the village below, giving the streets a festive vibe.

The streets were scarce as the pair walked, with Crow sneaking glances over at the robed figure now and then.

The robed figure’s voice spoke out, “Do you miss her?”

Crow stopped in his tracks.

His eyes widened as he slowly tilted his head towards the robed figure.

Yet, the figure sighed as he came to a random storefront that looked to be a cafe and sat down.

The figure beckoned with his hand, “Come sit.”

The boy slowly walked over, standing at his chair for 10 seconds before taking off his bag and slowly sitting down as he placed his bag on his lap.

The cold touch of the metal chair stung his skin through his thin cloth.

The figure continued, “Nearly every day this month you’ve dreamt of her.”

The figure’s eyes glimmered with red light from underneath his robe, “On the 1st day, you called out her name, Lóa. Quite the girl.”

The man slowly raised his bandaged hand, pointing towards the bag on the boy's lap, “Do take care of that flower well. Though there’s a lot I haven’t taught you yet, I will say you’ll probably never find anything like that anywhere in the world. She must have truly cared about you.”

Crow’s eyes widened, yet he could only lower his head and slowly nod.

The robed figure’s voice called out again with a sigh, “Boy...”

Crow looked up, meeting the figure’s gaze, “Never stop. That’s the only way. No matter what happens. Loved ones dying, everything taken, it doesn’t matter… never stop.” 

The 2 held eye contact in silence for what seemed like forever, “Otherwise you’ll sink. Take it from me.”

With that, he stood up and patted the boy on the shoulder, “Come along now..”

Crow slowly nodded his head and followed along. 

The rest of the trip was in silence as the boy pondered the robed figure’s words.

Finally, the pair arrived yet as Crow was about to leave and find his table, the robed figure put his hand on his shoulder, “Ey, here boy. Take this.”

He then handed Crow what looked to be a key attached to a thin rope.

“You’ve done well to earn yourself a little independence, strong enough not to get blown over by the wind. Just make sure to lock up when you get back in.”

The robed figure gave 2 firm pats on the boy’s shoulder, then turned around to meet with his drinking buddies.

Crow stood there for a bit, seemingly in a daze, before slowly starting to make his way over to a table.

His mind was racing, ‘Never stop? That flower is a one of a kind? How did he know about th-’

CRASHH!!

“Huh?!” Crow was awoken from his stupor as he bumped into a waitress carrying drinks, causing her to drench him.

She hurriedly apologized to him, to which he shook his hands, “No, it was my fault, I should’ve looked where I was going.”

A few moments after calming the situation down, Crow finally made his way to a table and began to order food.

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[A Few Minutes Earlier on the 2nd floor of the Tavern…]

At the balcony overlooking the floor below, a big round table was filled to the brim with food and drinks, and surrounding it was a group of 5 Blessed eating their fill.

“Pshhh, can't believe you almost died to a pig today!” a female slin donned in leather gear and wielding a bow laughed out.

“Well, my Stage is the lowest on the team. What do you expect?!” A Player with grey skin, white hair, and sharp teeth scowled, “If I were your stage, I could've taken out 3 of those pigs by myself."

A human male, wielding 2 gauntlets and a headband, voiced out, “More like 2 rabbits, and probably only barely!”

“Bahahahah!”

The group all ridiculed him as the grey slin pouted at this, “You forgot I lost a level, huh?”

The female party member with a bow shook her head, “That’s on you for dying to a simple NPC and letting one get away.”

The grey-skinned slin retorted, “Simple NPC?! You think a simple NPC would've been able to kill me??"

The grey-skinned slin stood as he pointed his finger at the slin woman across from him, "Players haven't even unlocked skills yet, and you think you would've been able to beat an NPC that had one?! Plus, I told you that other NPCs already dea-"

CRASH!! 

The group looked towards the sound, as the grey-skinned slin came towards the ledge of the balcony, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head at what he saw, “H-he’s alive?.."

"Hehehehe...hahahahHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!” the grey-skinned slin started laughing maniacally as he slowly backed away from the balcony, a malicious smile gleaming on his face, "Looks like our hunt continues, lil piggy."

A Player with Blue Fur, black stripes, and a Tiger-esque head spoke up, “Keep an eye on that NPC." We strike when he leaves.”

Yet the grey-skinned player came forward, “Boss, he’s right there. Why don’t we just kill him now?”

The blue-furred beastkin stared at the grey-skinned slin for 5 seconds before finally responding, “Go ahead.”

“Huh?” The grey-skinned player, as well as most of the party members, let out surprise gasps as they looked over to him in confusion before most started to get rowdy, each of them talking to another and clearing their plates as they stood up.

Yet a player with mid-back length blonde hair, green, clear eyes, and a grey robe looked over in confusion as she watched the party become increasingly rowdier.

“But don’t forget what happened to the last ones who did something like that.” The beastkin continued.

A cold bucket immediately doused everyone.

How could they forget?

This was no longer like their 1st day here.

The party uneasily observed the floor below, noticing NPCs donning silver armor, emitting a powerful yet subdued presence in each corner of the tavern’s 1st floor.

If not for directly looking for them, the party members wouldn’t have even noticed they were there.

Nonetheless, with their over-zealousness now doused, the group all responded one after the other, “We’ll wait, Boss.”

Yet it was a level 1 NPC, so the group continued merrily drinking, albeit keeping one eye open down below.

Especially the grey-skinned slin who was now staring at the boy with a wide grin.

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[An Hour Later…]

‘Sigh, I’m so out of it tonight.’ Crow mused to himself as he observed the Players and NPCs alike around him.

Despite not being able to collect any information for a month, it didn’t matter as he couldn’t even focus on the information at hand.

With another sigh, the boy stood up and waved to the robed figure who was caught up in drinking with his buddies before he turned and left out the door.

Seeing this, the group briskly made their way up from the table, down the stairs, and out the door.

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“Sigh…”

Crow rubbed his face as he walked through the streets.

The dim lanterns that hung above the various shops cast a haunting shadow onto the pathways.

Yet, Crow paid no mind as he lumbered on, ‘Fuk. Does the old man know who Lóa is? The way he talked about her?..’ 

Crow let out an exasperated sigh as he looked up into the sky, admiring the multicolored orbs that hung above, ‘This world is beautiful, but am I really gonna spend the rest of my life here?’

The boy felt the light weight of the bag on his back, holding a few books, a map, and, more importantly, a special flower.

As he walked, it felt like the bag was carrying the weight of the world.

Yet, as he continued to walk, he heard a faint voice far behind him, “Heh, can’t wait to catch and torture this NPC. That’ll show him, hehehe!”

Crow’s eyes widened, ‘That voice!’

Though it had been a month, Crow had never forgotten the day he nearly lost his "virtual" life, and he’d never forget the voice and face of those who did it. 

The boy creased his eyes as he listened in whilst continuing to walk at his same pace, “Quiet down. Let’s not alert him,” a stern voice responded.

Crow’s mind processed the sound, ‘That must be his group.’

Crow focused on the sound of quiet walking, as he detected about 5 footsteps behind him, ‘Sounds like their whole group is tailing me...’

A malicious grin slowly formed on the boy’s face as he squeezed his fist, ‘To think I’d have the opportunity so soon. This should be a great night.’

With that, the boy smoothly slipped into an alleyway on his left.

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