The market was bustling with people today. With how excited everyone was, outsiders could never guess there had been a monster invasion near the border just a few days ago. That was how life here was. Common folk didn't care about those things. They were more concerned about what to do for lunch. 

"Freshly picked high-quality cabbage! Get them before we run out! Special offer for the first ten customers!!" The manipulative sales tactic was unnecessary, but laying them out and selling them was boring in many ways. 

"Aoi, don't be like that! We need to make sales too, you know?" He smiled at the shopkeeper a few stalls away. The market was a competitive place. Catching the customers' attention, and persuading them was a recurring challenge. And while these shopkeepers would feed him three full meals a day if he couldn't afford it, they would never let it off easy while he was their business rival. 

If it weren't for the built-in farming knowledge, Ryuu wouldn't even dream of standing against these battle-scarred professionals. He silently thanked his cheat skill. 

KS had been an odd game even before it came to life. While the players ran around like headless chickens across the continent to fulfill quests, most of the NPCs continued their daily lives, not caring about the turmoil of their homeland. There was a quip within the forums that they had hired outsiders to deal with problems they didn't have the time to solve. Hats off to the first speculator. They might as well be a modern-day foreseer or an underrated psychic.

"Thank you, come again!" A vegetable farmer's life was one of the easiest ones here. Living in the safest regions, one could grow their food and with enough effort, could easily live a decent life in the city. What more was there to ask for? This was the modern dream. 

A blue envelope fell from the customer's sleeve as he paid and left hurriedly. Aoi, no, Ryuu's smile didn't waver as he picked it up stealthily and put it in his pocket. "I'm closing up for today!" Picking up the remaining products, he closed up the stall. The shopkeepers nearby breathed a sigh of relief. He greeted every familiar face on his way out and gave away the remaining vegetables.

But his smile quickly turned into a frown after getting out of the crowd. 

Kyros's Sanctuary was nothing more than tens of other VR RPGs on the market. You log in, get a character, albeit randomly, customize it, and set off on a mission. The difference was in the world-building. It was because of the unpredictableness that the game got famous. 

Ryuu opened the envelope and a notification popped up. The black screen was something that fell between extravagant and lousy. The screen itself wasn't any different from the usual, but the content, from font to information, was utter nonsense. 

System: [Mission accepted. Report to the checkpoint in 13:58:30 seconds.] 

'If you're going to accept missions on your own, what's the point of me being here? DIY!'

Six months ago, when 500 people were suddenly transferred into the game they spent hours on, Ryuu was sound asleep. After wasting three days fighting and grinding, he had just climbed onto the global ranking and needed the overdue rest. But who knew that the day he finally ranked 499th would be the game's last day—as a game that is. 

So, when he woke up in a cowshed the following day, it was more than a shock. On top of that, his character was a farmer, unlike the one he played initially. Aoi, who resembled his original self in every way, had the full skillset of a top farmer. He who didn't have anything significant to look back to was quite pleased with the change in character as his original had been a front-line hunter. And he always wanted a garden of his own, vegetables would do just fine. 

The satisfaction lasted until he received an envelope for the first time and the black window popped up. It goes without saying that the current Scarlet Eye didn't finish, no, didn't even start his first mission out of spite towards his rotten luck. 

The character he played in K.S. was a frontline hunter. Killing monsters was the primary job. And suddenly, when this place could no longer be called only 0's and 1's, a job worse than before was given to him. 

Ryuu had read about a character similar to 'Scarlet Eye' on a forum about a month after the official launch. The one who posted it vented about how his character was too troublesome and had to follow too many rules because it also affected other people. So they quit the game entirely because more than one account wasn't allowed.

'Scarlet Eye' happened to be a character worse than that.   

The actual character's name was Aoi, a high-ranking assassin. Looking aside the fact that it was all about killing people with this job, for Aoi, as a character under the system, was a bigger mission.

For the game, there were some key characters for the main quest with specific duties. Aoi was one of them. An assassin character that was meant to keep the Final Boss entertained until the final act. Yes, entertained. Scarlet Eye was nowhere near strong enough to fight him. Keeping him distracted until the real 'heroes' were prepared. 

It directly affected other people's quests, big ones, and directly affected the main quest. So it was a burden indeed. More than whatever character the other guy couldn't handle. 

If Ryuu did not play out correctly, it could cause his death as well as many others. 

Anyhow, that was a problem for the future Ryuu Aoi, the radish farmer. The existing problem was to finish the mission at hand. 

Nightfall. 

System:[Checkpoint loading. Please wait.] 

Ryuu was hiding in the groove near the mansion. The security was tight. But with how he hid his whole being under the dark cloak, they would need night vision goggles to spot him. Unfortunately, this world wasn't that developed scientifically. 

It was a relatively large mansion. He had guessed that would be the case as the envelope was dark blue. Guards were stationed every 10 steps around the mansion. This was his first time seeing such tight security. 

But unfortunately for them, they were up against the greatest disturbance of all time. 

System:[✔]

The coast was clear. 

System:[ May luck be with you.]

Ryuu:???
Was the system watching Stars Wars? It didn't even wish him luck on his first mis—second mission. 

Ignoring the trivial matter, he slipped into the mansion through a window. And the rest is history. After he was done with his job he slipped out the same way without anyone noticing. Even if they did, they ignored it. Stopping assassins was the job of the internal guards. Aka, this was not something they, the external guards, needed to deal with. 

That's how weird this place was. 

System:[Tip: Tasting the blood of the victims can increase the assassin's fame and notoriety.] 

'GTH. Do I look like a psychopath? This is already beyond my moral compass.' The system was quick to throw weird suggestions like this. 

Another message appeared as he kept running. 

[Tutorial mission complete.] 

Like a car suddenly hitting its brakes, Ryuu came to a standstill with an imaginary screech. 'What tutorial mission?' 

It had been six months. On the first day, the system appeared and informed him of all that happened while he was catching z's. It told him to tend to his vegetables and connect with the townsfolk. It was closer to an order than a tutorial. 

Half a month later his first mission as Scarlet Eye appeared. That too was an order. Not once was there a line about the tutorial mission. 

[You have met the requirements to continue to the next stage.]

Had he been killing people left and right for a freaking tutorial? No, no, no, no. That couldn't be right. If this was Earth, he'd already be a death row convict. And for what? To get into elementary school? 

[Your skillset has been updated. New skills have been added.]

[Scarlet Eye title effect 'Scarlet Night' has been added.]

[Preparing missions for the main quest.]

[Preparation complete.]

Screen after screen popped up and he stood there, dumbfounded. 

[Initiating Upgrade. Preparing new mission outline.]
[After a thousand years of putting up with Humanity, Lord Kyros has begun to lose his cool. If ignored, the continent might suffer from his wrath. 

Lucky for you, he has yet to experience being a target of an assassination. Embark on your journey to his sanctuary. Sharpen your skills and become the best assassin of all time. 

With your unparalleled skills, keep Kyros occupied until the hero can seal him.] 

[Penalty for mission failure: Death. 

Penalty for dropping out from the scenario: Kyros's warth/ Ultimate destruction.]

[Character: Ryuu Aoi. 

Class: Farmer; Subclass: Mercent
Special class: Assassin; 

Subclass: Potion master; Subclass: Hunter 

Title: Scarlet Eye

Special Title: Radish Farmer]

[Thank you for playing Kyros's Sanctuary. But there's more to our world than what you know of. We are pleased to welcome you into our world of wonders. The lord of our land awaits for you to pursue your journey.]

[All the best.]