As he heard that he saw a clear image in his mind, it was like a system.
Name: Sola
Rank: Mundane
Tier: I
Soul: 0/300
Remnants: --
Curse: --
Marks: [Banished] [Solace]
Essence: [Dauntless] [Swift]
Mark description:
[Banished]: [Gods have turned their back on you. thy shall not receive any blessings from them, they bring omens and destruction to you if your paths cross]
'First they do this to me and now I am punished?'
He wanted to laugh and curse at them, but he could not stop reading the abilities he got. It was necessary to see all of his powers so he could fight better.
[Solace]: [every living thing abandoned by the gods may find solace in you. Every being that opposes the gods is bound to you]
Ability: [Locked]
Dauntless description: Fear finds no hold upon you. Even in the face of the horrors, your mind remains steady and your will unshaken.
Swift description: Your movements are fluid, precise, and effortless, allowing you to evade, strike, and reposition with uncanny agility.
[Your duel has been invaded]
Sola started looking around searching for something in the dark expanse.
But there was nothing.
If the beast wasn't here, what kind of duel was this? The furred creature might be hiding, or maybe it just wasn't here yet.
As these thoughts rushed in sola's mind he saw a bright light which made him close his eyes.
Suddenly, he heard the soft, delicate voice again
[Good Luck Challenger]
Opening his eyes, Sola was momentarily stunned by the view .
He was on a large mountain, looking down at the village, which was surrounded by mountains from all sides.
It was snowing, and despite wearing his grandfather's warm garb, he still felt incredibly cold.
'Where the heck am I'
He had to act fast or he'd freeze to death. Wasting no time, he started climbing down. The snow reached his knees, making each step a challenge, and steam rose from his mouth with every breath.
'At least the air is clear. It's like I can breathe easily here'
With every step he took, he looked around, searching and listening to everything around him.
It would be terrible if he got ambushed by the beast here.
Approaching the village, he thought about his hometown. How were his big sisters? Were they both dead?
Did these creatures appear only in his school? Maybe just his class?
No... that couldn't be right—he had clearly heard screaming from the other classrooms too.
Now, he could only hope it was just the school under attack… and not the entire city.
'How hard can it be to kill tier V as a tier I?'
He didn't know how many ranks above him the creature was, but 'Dread Fiend,' as the system called it, sounded like it was one or two ranks higher.
After long and tiring downhill, he finally reached the town.
The houses looked old but well-kept. There weren't many people outside because of the snow, but those who Sola were very strangely dressed.
Of course, no one cared how they dressed here, as long as they stayed warm but Sola felt something strange about them.
Well, he had never been in a village before, so maybe this is just how things were here.
Looking around he went in the house that looked like a bar, people were dancing, drinking and having a good time inside.
As soon as he walked in, the weight of everyone's gaze fell on him.
Their face showed no friendlieness and no hospitality.
The music stopped, and everyone froze mid-dance. The silence was so heavy it made him stop in his tracks.
One by one, he met their threatening gazes—but strangely, he didn't feel a thing. It was as if he could take them all in a fight, and there was nothing to be afraid of.
Until he could say something one guy stood up from his chair and went in his direction, He got close to Sola, took his hand, and slowly brought it to his forehead.
Sola didn't try to do anything because his hand was moving too slowly, like there was no bad intent in it. When the man's hand got to his forehead, he cleared the hair from it and looked Sola straight in the eyes as he moved his fingers across his forehead.
'What's wrong with my forehead? Why is he doing that? Is there blood on it from before? Were all these people mad because of one drop of blood?'
"What about my forehead, Uncle?"
Man was way taller than sola, his shoulders stretching so far that he blocked half of his view, there was a huge scar on his left eye and his hands were rough and bruised.
"You are not welcome here. Go back to where you came from"
Sola let out an amazed sigh and tilted his head sideways.
"I'm not welcome here? How different am I from you guys? You don't bleed from forehead or what?"
His voice carried a hint of unfairness, as if he were being judged for something truly stupid and unjust.
"Enough of your tricks devil, just get out until something really bad happens"
He was taken aback for a second.
'What is he talking about'
"Devil? What tricks are you talking about I just got here"
He started walking toward the empty table, but the next moment his eyes shut involuntarily as a sharp pain shot through his face—especially his nose, which burst into bleeding, covering the lower half of his face in blood.
He was dazed, and it took him a few seconds to get back to his senses. Tears rolled down his face but not from pain, it was from a bitter sense of unfairness that was hard to swallow.
Sola was angry, no he was furious. he wanted to break every bone in that man's body, peel his skin off from his flesh, and hear his screams for mercy.
Sola smiled and wiped blood from his mouth.