After Orlax finished reviewing all the attributes, he stood still, stunned by the shock.
"Damn! All these attributes are broken, and they complement each other, so their effect is much better together than individually. No one can possibly defeat him."
[Do you want to retrieve the memory?]
While Orlax was lost in his thoughts, this prompt appeared before him.
"Retrieve the memory? Does this mean Orlax's original memories?"
"Yes."
As soon as he uttered these words, the screen disappeared, and his mind began to burn from the flood of information that struck him.
"Ughhh."
He clutched his head, trying to calm himself down from the intense pain.
[The Pride attribute has been activated]
[The Patience attribute has been activated]
The pain gradually eased until it completely disappeared.
[Memory retrieval is complete]
After taking a deep breath, he focused on the memories that had invaded his mind.
Orlax Tirshtain was born on a rainy and thunderous day.
When his mother saw him, she despised him immediately because of his black hair and blood-red eyes. His father, the emperor, didn't even come to see him, as he was the result of a fleeting affair with a servant.
His mother left his upbringing to the maids and never showed him any maternal love. But this only made things worse.
In this world, black hair and red eyes are considered traits of the devil, so all the maids despised him instinctively and provided only the bare minimum of care to keep him alive.
When he turned one year old, his consciousness began to form, and he started to understand his surroundings. He gradually realized that his mother couldn't stand looking at him and understood why others despised him.
So, he tried to behave kindly and rely on himself so as not to disturb the maids or his mother.
Gradually, the maids' care for him decreased because of his growing independence.
A boy at the age of two was left to take care of his own needs.
He started preparing his own meals, washing his clothes with his small hands, and yet he never complained or grumbled because he believed that one day people would change their treatment of him and begin to love him.
But by the time he reached three years old, the people around him started treating him as if he didn't exist at all.
Whenever he spoke to someone, they would turn their gaze away, completely ignoring him.
The young boy's hopes slowly dwindled as he began to understand the reality surrounding him.
By the age of four, he met his father for the first time—but not because his father had come for him. Rather, he had come to expel Orlax and his mother from the palace because the empress wanted to transform their living area into her private garden.
When they were thrown out of the palace and left in the streets, his mother completely lost her mind and began to beat the little boy to vent her frustration and anger.
His mother had no family to turn to, so the small boy resorted to begging in the streets to obtain food for both himself and his mother.
Despite everything his mother did to him, he did not give up. He believed that one day she would start to love and accept him, so he did his utmost to provide her with a good life.
"Fool! Fool! Why didn't you understand? No matter what you do, this woman will never appreciate you. No matter how much effort you put in, the love you long for will never come."
Orlax wiped his tears as he recalled those memories.
"No, I understood at that time that no matter what I did, the love I expected would never come. But I did it to create a reason for myself—a reason to stay alive and not succumb to madness."
At that time, Orlax started learning how to cook to prepare delicious meals for his mother.
This routine continued until he turned five, when his mother fell ill.
He couldn't afford hospital examinations and treatment, so he made a painful decision.
He decided to steal the money needed for the treatment. Due to one of his attributes, [Pride], this decision was extremely difficult for him, as it would humiliate him and force him to commit one of the lowest and most despicable acts imaginable.
So, on that day, he stole from a random passerby in the street.
Ironically, that person turned out to be a member of a local gang. The gang member gathered his companions and cornered the small boy in an alley, beating him until one of his legs was broken.
The small boy was left on the brink of death, and the gang planned to kill him and get rid of him.
But at that moment, a miracle happened for him.
His mana awakened. Compared to others who needed to be at least ten years old, undergo proper training from childhood, and receive guidance in mana awakening, this was an astonishing feat.
This miracle occurred due to one of his attributes, [Genius].
[Genius]: You can learn and master anything four times faster than an average person.
Thus, despite it being his first time using mana and fighting, he managed to overcome the gang, take their money, and limp away with his broken mother for treatment.
After his mother's treatment was complete and her condition stabilized, the doctor told him that her illness had been caused by a lack of hygiene and personal care.
From that day on, Orlax became obsessed with cleanliness. He cleaned the house twice a day, took three showers daily, but his mother refused to heed his advice. So, he created a spell for cleaning and cast it on her every time she went to sleep or was unaware. Because of this, he acquired the attribute [Obsessed with Cleanliness].
[Obsessed with Cleanliness]: You are extremely obsessed with hygiene and will not rest until you are completely clean, along with your surroundings. Due to this attribute, you have gained the skill [Cleaning].
[Cleaning]: Cleans the targeted object, removing dirt and filth.
His life continued like this, oscillating between preparing delicious meals for his mother, and struggling to gather food and ingredients.
Fortunately, when his mana awakened, it began strengthening his body to compensate for the nutritional deficiencies he suffered from. His body started growing normally, unlike before when he ate the bare minimum and gave the rest to his mother.
Orlax then started developing his magic to make it more practical. However, due to a lack of knowledge and guidance, he ended up creating his own unique magic—[Control Magic].
[Control Magic]: Creates an invisible mana hand that allows the user to move objects remotely. The size and weight of the object depend on the skill level.
Life started to feel manageable for Orlax, and he gradually adjusted to it—until disaster struck at the age of ten.