"Ugh, why does my head hurt this much?" Davin muttered as he rose from the ground—only to stumble and collapse again. His entire body ached, weak to the point that even standing was a challenge.
His clothes were rumpled, torn in places... but he couldn't remember why.
[Stay still for a while.]
"Damnit! What did you do to me this time, System?!"
[Nothing.]
"Then why does it feel like I got run over by a truck?"
[Because of your mother's curse.]
"My mother what now—?"
[Look behind you, Host...]
"Huh?" Confused but obedient, Davin turned his head with effort. What he saw made his stomach sink.
A wrecked carriage lay twisted in the middle of the rocky road. Three bodies surrounded the crash—one horse, two humans.
"Did I... do that?" he whispered.
[You can check the playback using your system screen.]
Instead of an answer, the System offered a suggestion. With shaking fingers and hesitant breath, Davin complied.
"Open system screen."
~ A Few Hours Earlier ~
"After we get the silver, let's hit the tavern. Some drinks. Some girls. You in?"
"Hahaha, hell yeah," Richard chuckled. "You know any good ones?"
"Uh… nope. Haven't traveled enough, I guess."
"I think it's 'cause you were too poor to know."
"Hey! You're also Eleanor's miserable lapdog—don't act all high and noble!"
"Sure, but not as miserable as you."
"Tsk," Jeremy clicked his tongue, biting down the comeback. He knew better than to argue with Richard—it would just end with him being humiliated even more.
[Warning: The curse has activated.]
[x10 to all stats!]
[-100 Pulse Points per minute!]
[Current Balance: 790 Points]
A ping echoed in Davin's head.
Sitting in the back of the carriage, he observed the two men argue—detached and eerily calm.
Then—
"Tsk."
A subtle sound escaped his lips.
Both men turned.
To their surprise, their gaze met two glowing golden eyes.
"How did you pathetic humans manage to tie me?" Davin asked, his voice calm and expression unreadable.
He sat tied up—but didn't seem bound.
Neither man responded, stunned by the child's words.
"And with cheap ropes? Do I look like some weakling to you?" He tilted his head, with disdain clearly printed on his young face.
Jeremy blinked. "What's gotten into him?"
"Did he just call us humans?" Richard narrowed his eyes.
"Maybe he hit his head hard when he had fell from the sky." Jeremy shrugged.
A sudden jolt shook the carriage as one of it's front wheels hit a rock.
"Shit." Jeremy cursed and turned back to Richard, who realized he'd let go of the reins.
"I say we knock him out. Better than listening to his creepy nonsense," Richard muttered as he grabbed the reins again.
"You're not scared of a kid, are you?" Jeremy sneered.
"He should be crying for his mom right now. Not glaring at us and talking like some... dramatic weirdo. Oh, and don't you see his fucking eyes are also glowing!"
"Hahaha! You can't be serious... besides as long as he is tied. He can't harm us, plus he hasn't reached the age of using mana—"
"You think my words are nonsense? And I'm a dramatic weirdo?" Davin cut in, a sinister smile forming on his lips.
"How amusing." The boy added with a short chuckle.
Jeremy turned to face the boy again.
While Richard gave the boy a side glance as he continued to steer the carriage.
"Go knock him out. Now!" Richard snapped almost losing his cool after he saw the eerie smile plastered on the boy's face.
"Alright, alright." Jeremy groaned and moved to the back.
"Sheesh, what's with the brat and you?"
Davin didn't look at him as he approached—just kept his gaze forward.
"Fuck this." Jeremy swung a punch at the boy's head after a short sigh.
'Why is Richard scared of him?' He thought.
But to his shock, his punch went through thin air! He immediately turned to search for his target, only to find the boy standing beside him.
Eyes widened as a realization hit him.
[Stamina: 450/500]
"You dare try to lay your filthy hands on me?" Davin hissed.
The ropes that had earlier bound him, were lying on the place he was previously sitting on.
"How did you—!" Jeremy didn't finish his sentence when a small fist connected with his chest.
"You have no right to question your god!"
Jeremy's body flew back, smashing through the front bench and landing like a ragdoll outside the carriage.
[+1000 Points]
[Stamina: 350/500]
Richard's eyes widened in horror upon seeing his companion's lifeless state.
The worst case scenario in his head just came true, the boy they were planning to sell, has turned out to be a freakish monster!
Then a small seven-year-old's hand touched Richard's shoulder.
"A thousand silver? Really?" Davin said beside him.
"I'm worth a million gold, at the very least. Your low offer insults me."
Richard suddenly yanked the reins, hoping the horse would bolt and knock the brown-haired boy off-balance.
But before the horse could move, a golden-eyed blur landed on its head.
And the figure delivered one brutal kick at the back of the horses' head.
[+2000 Points]
[Stamina 150/500]
The poor animal collapsed mid-motion, dead.
The carriage also crashed, flipping sideways. Causing Richard to be thrown off, hitting the ground hard.
Before he could rise though...
Crack!
Davin's foot stomped on his neck, silencing him forever.
[+1000 Points]
[Stamina: 10/500]
Davin stood silently, uncaring of the blood he had just spilled.
After walking for a few meters:
[Warning]
[Stamina: 5/500]
His body swayed... then he collapsed on the rocky ground...
Unconscious.
Inside the void of his mind...
[Master, what just happened to the boy?]
"I added a few tweaks to his mother's curse… making it more efficient." A deep voice echoed through the darkness of Davin's sea of consciousness.
~Back in the present time~
"What... what did I just do?!" Davin gasped.
[Your mother's curse has turned out to be a poison to your body. My advice, avoid letting it loose.]