Ren returned to his room, shutting the door softly behind him.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, sorting through everything he had just learned.
The Ross family was in a state that was nowhere near ideal with most of his father's knights and soldiers at the northern border, keeping the barbarians at bay. And with the king living it up in the capital, they had been left to rot.
They had a skeleton crew of servants, their coffers unable to handle more. As for their vassals, they were just as poor as their lord.
He exhaled. He had taken stock of his surroundings and the fragmented memories that now belonged to him. It was time to plan.
First, the calamities.
In the game, the calamities had arrived in a set chronological order, each bringing a different kind of ruin to the world. But this wasn't a game anymore.
There was no guarantee that events would play out in the same way, and Ren knew he couldn't afford to make assumptions. What he could do was use his knowledge as a guide and adapt.
And this brought him to the main thing he remembered about this territory.
While the Ross family had been insignificant and already dead by the time the game started, he remembered them clearly because their territory was one of the places he'd battled the first Minor Calamity.
The Plague is a bloodborne illness that spreads uncontrollably. The victims of the plague, both human and animals alike, would succumb to madness, their aggression rising until their bodies burned out in violent explosions that spread the contagion further.
They were basically magical zombies that spread their virus by exploding.
In the game, the plague had started in the kingdom of Elnoria, a neighboring realm to Albion, where the Ross family's lands were located.
The Elnorians had fought with all they had against the plague, but when they realized that they were fighting a losing battle, they turned their desperation outward.
Albion became their scapegoat, and their armies invaded, starting with the border territories. The Ross family's lands were among the first to fall.
Ren ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly.
In the original game, the Ross family was just a footnote in the game's story, but now, Ren was part of that family.
He had six years before the plague would appear, six years to prepare. This was his timeline now, his chance to rewrite fate.
The Plague was one of the calamities that didn't have a magical way to stop. You had to kill all the infected.
And when there were millions spread across the world, there was only one way to stop it.
"I'll stop it at the source." He murmured to himself. "I just need to be strong enough in six years to travel on my own to Elnoria and destroy the Red Plague before it spreads past a few infected people."
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling as his mind began to map out the steps ahead.
First, he needed to understand this world even more. While his memories of the game's lore were extensive, there was no guarantee that it was a perfect replica.
There could be important differences, details that hadn't been included in the lorebooks.
That was when a place came to mind. Somewhere he hadn't explored yet.
Ren rose from the bed and made his way to the library, which was an underused room in the eastern wing of the castle.
It didn't take him too long to get there, and when he did, he pushed the door open and entered.
The room was modest compared to the grand libraries he had visited in the game.
While it had shelves lining the walls, it was nowhere filled. Sitting sparsely were aging tomes that smelled faintly of dust and mildew.
A large wooden table sat in the center, surrounded by chairs that looked like they hadn't been used in years.
His eyes scanned the shelves, noting the subjects. History, warfare, and local politics.
The books were old but not irrelevant. If anything, they were a treasure trove of information about this world, and that was information he needed.
Ren lit a candle on the table and began pulling books from the shelves, stacking them in a haphazard pile.
He started with a tome on Albion's history, skimming through its pages for anything that stood out.
Most of it was familiar, recounting events he already knew from the game. But there were a few tiny differences, small details that made him pause. He took mental notes, piecing together the discrepancies.
Hours passed as Ren worked his way through the books, his candle burning lower with each turn of the page.
He learned more about the Ross family's ties to the kingdom, and their long-standing but fragile relationship with House Underwood, a neighboring noble family known for their wealth and influence.
"House Underw—" He froze, his eyes growing wide.
He knew he was forgetting something!
The Underwoods were one of the most prominent families in the game. Not just because they were powerful and influenced the game's narrative but also because Lilith Underwood, the girl who would become the third Great Calamity was from this family.
But that wasn't what filled him with panic.
No. It was a passage he'd read and forgotten on Lilith's wiki page.
He clearly remembered it talking about a betrothal between the third son of the Ross family and the youngest daughter of House Underwood.
How could he have forgotten? Terence Ross would soon be engaged to Lilith Underwood!
Ren leaned back in his chair, his heart pounding.
He could remember his battle with Lilith. In the game, she had been the final boss, a figure of overwhelming power and tragedy.
Her divine gift, Soul Dominion, allowed her to manipulate and consume the souls of others, growing stronger with each one. But the more she used her power, the more it eroded her humanity and drove her to madness.
By the time any player faced her, she was nothing more than a monster.
But here, in this world, she wasn't a calamity. Not yet.
She was a child, no older than Terence himself.
And if the engagement he'd remembered was still coming, then Ren would be the one tied to her fate.
"This changes everything." Ren muttered, his mind racing.
He had been so focused on the Red Plague, on the immediate threat, that he hadn't considered the larger picture.
Lilith's descent into calamity was years away, but the seeds of her fate were already being sown. If he could influence her now, maybe he could prevent her fall. Or maybe his involvement would only hasten it.
He exhaled at that. His knowledge of the game was both a blessing and a curse. He had the advantage of foresight, but every decision he made could send the narrative down a path he hadn't even intended.
One wrong move, and he could doom not just himself but everyone around him.
"Alright." He nodded decisively. "First things first. The Red Plague."