Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Forgotten Kingdom and the People’s Call

Chapter 2: The Forgotten Kingdom and the People’s Call

With the boar asleep and the adrenaline ebbing, Hiroshi felt exhaustion wash over his body. The experience of using the runes, though fascinating, had drained his energy. He checked his interface: his MP was low. He needed to rest and replenish. But where? The forest, though beautiful, was dangerous. He needed to find a safe place, perhaps a human settlement.

Guided by an instinct he hadn’t known he possessed, and by the subtle vibration of the runes that seemed to point in a direction, Hiroshi began to walk. After hours of travel, the dense forest began to open, revealing a scene of desolation. Massive stone structures, once grand, now lay in ruins, covered in vines and moss. Crumbled walls, broken towers, and what had once been a castle — now only a skeleton of stone. It was a kingdom, but a forgotten kingdom, swallowed by time and neglect.

As Hiroshi explored the ruins, he found signs of life. Thin smoke rose from a few chimneys, and low voices echoed among the stones. He approached cautiously and soon came upon a small group of people. They were human, but their clothes were ragged, their faces marked by hunger and despair. Their eyes, once full of life, now carried a deep resignation. They were the remaining inhabitants of that ruined kingdom.

Hiroshi watched them from a distance. They moved slowly, as if every step were a burden. Children played in silence, their games devoid of joy. There was an aura of oppression in the air, a sense that they lived under an invisible yoke. He used his Runic Vision and saw the runes of “Despair” and “Exhaustion” floating above them, not as abilities but as curses.

He approached an old man sitting on a stone, staring at the horizon with a vacant gaze. “Excuse me,” Hiroshi said, his voice a little hoarse. The old man turned, his cloudy eyes fixing on Hiroshi. “Who are you, stranger? There is nothing here for you but misery.”

Hiroshi explained that he was lost, that he was not from there. The old man, whose name was Elara, told the story of the kingdom. Once, it had been a prosperous place, blessed by the magic of the runes. But then the “Empire of Shadows” rose — a tyrannical power that conquered and oppressed neighboring realms, stealing their wealth and enslaving their people. Knowledge of the runes was suppressed, their practitioners hunted and executed. Elara’s kingdom had been one of the last to fall, and now they lived under the Empire’s constant shadow, paying heavy tributes and fearing for their lives each day.

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“Our old Masters of Runes are gone,” Elara lamented, his voice wavering. “Their legends are only whispers, and their runes mere powerless scribbles. There is no hope for us.”

Hiroshi felt a pang in his chest. Elara’s despair was palpable. But he had the runes. He could see them, feel them, activate them. He was a Rune Decipherer. He was the hope they had lost. He remembered the sleeping boar, the “Sleep” rune he had used. He could help.

“Perhaps not all is lost,” Hiroshi said, his voice gaining confidence. He looked at a child who was coughing incessantly, pale-skinned. He saw the runes of “Disease” and “Weakness” on the child’s small body. He approached the child, and with a thought, activated a “Cure” rune he had seen on a nearby flower. A soft light emanated from his hands, and the child stopped coughing, eyes widening. The runes of “Disease” and “Weakness” dimmed, and a rune of “Vitality” began to glow.

The villagers, who had been watching in silence, murmured. Elara looked at Hiroshi with a mix of shock and awe. “You… you are a Master of Runes?” he asked, his voice full of newly found hope.

Hiroshi nodded. “I may not be like the old masters, but I can use the runes. And I can help you.”

The news spread like wildfire. A Master of Runes had returned — one who could decipher forgotten symbols and bring magic back. The villagers gathered around Hiroshi, their eyes filled with a hope he had never seen before. They begged him for help, for guidance, to free them from the yoke of the Empire of Shadows.

Hiroshi, the archaeologist who had always preferred the company of books to that of people, felt the weight of responsibility. He was neither a leader nor a warrior. But he had knowledge, a skill that could change the fate of these people. He saw the runes of “Courage” and “Determination” shining in the villagers’ eyes. He saw the rune of “Freedom” in their hearts. He could not refuse. He accepted the call, knowing his journey would be long and dangerous, but that the fate of this forgotten kingdom now rested in his hands. The Master of Runes had awakened, and with him, the hope of a new dawn for an oppressed people.