I Refuse the Tragic Ending

The Commercial District was one of the busiest areas of Eldoris, filled with tall buildings, wide streets, and countless shops. Unlike the older parts of the city, its architecture felt surprisingly modern. Most buildings stood several stories high, with large glass windows, spacious entrances, and carefully organized storefronts.

Yet the absence of modern vehicles immediately reminded Kael that this was still a fantasy world.

Horse-drawn carriages moved along the streets instead of cars, while merchant wagons carried goods between stores. Magical lamps illuminated the roads, and glowing signs floated above certain shops like fantasy versions of modern advertisements.

Restaurants, clothing stores, weapon shops, potion stores, jewelry boutiques, and adventurer supply shops stood side by side. Some establishments even used magic for everyday conveniences, such as enchanted refrigeration, heating, and storage.

The result was a strange mixture of two worlds.

To Kael, the district looked almost like a modern shopping area that had somehow been rebuilt with magic instead of technology. Familiar enough to feel comfortable, yet fantastical enough to remind him that he was no longer on Earth.

This was exactly Kael’s destination, the commercial district.

He passed by some big shops and proceeded to a certain location, where most of the travelling merchants haggled together and built their stalls.

He wasn’t looking for anything particularly expensive. He simply wanted to check whether any merchants from the northern mining settlements had arrived in Eldoris.

In Eclipse Hearts, the commercial district occasionally received caravans from the north. The timing wasn’t fixed, but there were usually several merchants who came down from the mining cities to sell ores, weapons, and enhancement materials.

For Kael, that made the market worth checking from time to time. In the game, to become stronger, you shouldn’t focus only on improving yourself but also enhancing your equipment.

And that’s only possible if you have the materials needed for enhancement.

If he could get his hands on even a few low-grade Enhancement Stones, it would help him a lot.

He walked through the crowded streets with his hands tucked into his pockets.

Merchants called out to passing customers from both sides of the street.

”Fresh Spirit Fruits!”

”Fine-quality steel from the western mines!”

”Newly forged swords! Special price for academy students!”

Kael glanced at the stalls as he passed. Most of them were useless to him. His eyes moved from one stall to another.

Internally saying, ’No’, ’Not that’, ’Absolutely not that as well’, as he glanced at each item on display.

Shopping without a quest marker was surprisingly inconvenient.

In the game, finding a specific merchant was simple. Open the map, check the icon, follow the marker, and there you were.

Real life apparently didn’t come with a convenient UI.

’They really should’ve added a minimap,’ Kael thought sarcastically.

He continued deeper into the commercial district.

He checked several stalls that might be selling ores and magical materials, but he didn’t find any low tier ones.

It wasn’t wise to use high-tier materials to enhance a weapon before it had reached the appropriate stage. In the early stages, low-tier materials were more than sufficient. High-tier materials only became worth using after a weapon broke through the seventh enhancement. From the eighth to the fifteenth enhancement, they were the most advisable choice.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anyone selling low-tier ores or enhancement stones. He was beginning to think his luck had abandoned him this time when a sudden commotion caught his attention.

”Please! Someone help!”

Kael stopped.

The voice came from somewhere ahead. Several people had gathered around an old man standing beside a wooden carriage. The old man looked distressed. A small creature was lying on a blanket at his feet.

Kael frowned.

An injured animal wasn’t particularly unusual in Eldoris. He almost continued walking. Then he saw the old man’s face. Kael stopped again. His expression slowly changed.

’Wait.’

He stared at the old man.

The gray hair, the thick eyebrows, and the brown traveling coat. Even the small scar beneath his left eye.

Kael’s eyes widened slightly.

’No way.’

A memory surfaced. Not from the main storyline but from the beta. The early version of Eclipse Hearts that Kael had played before the game’s full release.

He remembered this old man.

More importantly...

He remembered this exact scene.

’Benn Teyne.’

Kael’s gaze immediately moved toward the injured creature. A small beast with white fur and faint blue markings.

’And that’s Snowbell.’

His memory became clearer. This was a side quest from the beta version. Most players probably never paid much attention to it because the quest wasn’t particularly important to the main story.

Benn was a traveling merchant from the northern mining settlements. During one of his journeys to Eldoris, his caravan was attacked by goblins while passing through a forest.

His daughter’s pet, Snowbell, was injured during the attack. The player could help treat the creature and earn Benn’s gratitude.

The reward?

A small amount of money, some northern ores, and most importantly, several low-grade Enhancement Stones.

It wasn’t an impressive reward by normal standards.

Of course, that depended on whose standards you were using. If the main protagonist was the basis for comparison, then these rewards were practically worthless. The protagonist was already ridiculously overpowered from the very beginning, making low-grade materials like these almost completely useless to him.

But for Kael...

It was lifesaving. His eyes subtly brightened.

’This is the quest.’

For a moment, Kael almost felt like laughing. He had spent the last several minutes searching the market for northern merchants. And instead of finding one through his own investigation, the game had practically thrown one directly in front of him.

’Okay.’

He took a slow breath.

’Maybe my game knowledge isn’t completely useless after all.’

However, Kael didn’t immediately approach. He remembered something else. The beta version had been full of bugs. Some quests had changed between beta and the official release. Some NPCs had different dialogue. Some rewards had been altered.

And this world was already proving that events no longer followed the game’s original sequence perfectly. So he couldn’t simply assume everything would happen exactly as he remembered.

Still...

It was worth investigating. Kael approached the crowd.

”What’s happening?”

The old man immediately turned toward him.

”Please, young man. If you know anything about healing, I need your help.”

Kael crouched beside the injured creature. He carefully examined it. The wounds weren’t particularly severe. But there was something else. A faint dark coloration surrounded one of the wounds.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

’Poison.’

That matched his memory.

In the beta quest, Snowbell had been injured by a goblin weapon coated with a weak toxin. Normal healing potions wouldn’t completely remove it. The player had to obtain a Frostleaf Blossom and use it together with a healing potion.

Kael looked toward the old man.

”How long ago was the attack?”

”About an hour and a half.”

”Did goblins attack your caravan?”

The old man froze.

”How did you know?”

Kael pointed toward the carriage

”Those scratches aren’t from ordinary beasts.”

He then pointed toward the creature.

”And that wound looks like it came from a crude weapon.”

The old man’s expression became complicated.

”Yes. Goblins attacked us while we were passing through the Darkhill Forest.”

The Darkhill Forest was located a few kilometers outside Eldoris. It was a dense forest nestled between two enormous hills that blocked the sunlight from both sides, leaving the forest shrouded in perpetual shade.

Kael nodded.

Exactly as he remembered.

’So far, everything matches.’