Chapter 9
…
At first, his mother became so frantic with worry that she kept bringing him to a Witch Doctor, a Healer, and even an Exorciser from the Church of Light, draining all of her savings, trying to heal his condition.
But when they examined Kyren, all of those people realized he was being cursed.
However, none of them could glimpse what the curse actually was.
Automatically, the conclusion they came up with was, it was some kind of ancient curse or affliction.
One solution was given to Chriselda by the end. A glimmer of hope.
And that was to bring her child in front of the Priest from the Church of Light or a Monk from the nearest Buddhist Monastery.
But the path to such help was fraught with obstacles
She had no means, no connection, nor money either to reach a Priest or a Monk.
It had been that way for a long time, since the Church of Light or Buddhist Monasteries, conditions to meet a Priest or a Monk who had Divine Talent, suddenly had so many restrictions.
Eventually, her mother learnt to accept Kyren's condition.
Though from Kyren's observation, her mother seemed to be waiting for something.
What she was waiting for―He didn't know.
On the other hand, despite the many challenges in his life living in this mansion, Kyren thrived intellectually.
For these past 10 years, Kyren had been learning a lot and was known as the smartest kid in the House of Valentine.
Before he even reached 2 years old, he was already busy reading books at the library, accompanied by her mother, who was marveled by his extraordinary intelligence.
Meanwhile, many extraordinary children at his age and had better Aptitude than him, still liked hearing stories or throwing tantrums.
Yet, he still felt a profound helplessness regardless.
Because even when he was already two years old, he still pretty much looked like a baby.
His body didn't even change much since the time he was six months old.
At 5 years old, he looked like a 2-year-old toddler. And so on, with the pattern continued.
So, for years in his room, he remained trapped in being a child.
And what he pretty much remembers was how her mother hugged and cuddled him, while he was busy browsing his system menu or reading books.
He had also bought anything that was nice and pretty much useful for him in the system store, like Memory and Intelligence Enhancement, each was 6.000 Points.
Now, he finally understood what it meant to be a genius.
In his previous life, just to focus on reading had always been a real struggle, much less learn about complex concepts, which left him feeling drowsy and overwhelmed instead.
But after the enhancements, everything he saw and appreciated had completely changed.
His mind felt as if it had been rewired from the very foundation, transforming his entire existence into something akin to an evolution of sorts.
With this newfound clarity he had never felt before, he could approach problems from multiple perspectives, unraveling enigmas that previously in his first life seemed impossibly cloudy and confusing.
…
Kyren looked at his system. To be exact, at the points he had accumulated for these 10 years, acting cute in front of his mother.
It was a real struggle for him, as his mind was not really a child.
But he needs to do it anyway, to make sure he gets stronger and eventually survives in this world.
[Kyren Valentine]
Aptitude: 1 Star (9 Star: Locked)
Talent: None (Silver Insignia: Locked)
Realm: Refinement
Status: Cursed (Chains of Mortality)
Status:
Joy: 213. 504
Love: 14.820
Sorrow: 74.000
Hatred: 112.000
Ability: Identification (lv. 2)
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He managed to make her mother less sorrowful about his condition and the treatment from the family toward him.
But for ten years, her mother still let him harvest her Sorrow Points that passed fifty thousand. And that makes him genuinely sad.
He also finally knew who her mother was in the novel. And it appalled him greatly.
Chriselda Raven.
She was a demoness that the MC party met in the Abyss Dimension, at the deepest part of an unknown cave, where she was chained to the gigantic stone.
Kyren knew about her name because the MC had asked what her name was in her dying moment, because he knew that she was corrupted, not someone born from the Abyss.
In her tears, she said, "I'm Chriselda Raven. I… miss my child…" then she passed away in MC's hands, who stabbed her right in her Demon Core.
That plot was something very small compared to the rest of the MC's adventure in their struggle to fight against the Abyss, which was the reason Kyren didn't remember it at first.
Afterwards, Kyren proceeded to the exchange store for Identification Ability, which cost 50.000 Joy Points.
Yet, when he scanned his mother, all that Kyren received was only her mother's name, and nothing else.
It frustrated him greatly. Feeling like the system had cheated him out of points.
"Damn you, greedy system, can you give me at least something proper for those 50.000. Do you know how long I accumulated it and how much energy I spent acting cute in front of my mother?" Kyren chewed his lips and cursed his own system incessantly for a whole night.
But because he was curious about her mother's crippled condition, Kyren patiently waited and waited until the upgrade option in the Miscellaneous Love Store was finally granted.
On the other hand, after the upgrading of the Identification ability, which cost him 150.000 Love Points in total, it finally revealed her mother's full status as,
[Chriselda Raven Valentine (Corrupted)]
Age: 73 Years Old
Race: Human ― Gender: Female
Aptitude: 0 Star (9 Star: Suppressed)
Talent: None (Black Plumage: Suppressed)
Realm: Refinement (Foundation Stage 9 Peak: Suppressed)
Status: Corrupted
(Abyss Demon Seed (Sealed): The seed of a demon, along with all of her power, had been sealed by Black Raven Divine Blessing to stop the seed's growth. It will be broken ten years later. But unknown to everyone, the demon had already awakened when she conceived you. The demon is the origin of the Host curse and is currently bound with you. Ten years later, it will eat your soul that is mature enough, regain its strength, break the seal, and exert control over her.
Connection: The seed surprisingly has a benefit between the mother and son, which allows the two of you to feel each other's emotions when the distance is no more than 30 ft.
Additional advantages exist but cannot be identified due to the current level of the Identification Ability.
Hint: Destroy the seed to let her be free of this affliction.
But, if you can erase the seed consciousness and let your mother control it, she will inherit all of the demon's inherent abilities and strength. And this Connection status between the two of you will also be permanent, and possibly enhanced.
The current level of the Identification Ability is insufficient to fully understand the consequences of these actions on you.)
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It took Kyren a few moments to…