Chapter 09: Seriously, That Worked?!
Present Day
Ethan blinked.
Then blinked again.
'Wait... that actually worked?'
He wasn't sure what surprised him more — the fact that he blurted out a random excuse about "amnesia" or the fact that the entire damn entourage just nodded solemnly like it was the most tragic yet totally believable backstory they'd ever heard.
'Didn't he even say something like "similar amnesiac cases have been observed recently?" What kind of bullshit even was that?'
Now that the adrenaline had settled and the clanking boots of the soldiers had turned into a rhythmic march beside the carriage, Ethan had time to actually think about what just happened.
'Damn. Not even an hour in this world and I've already been dragged into mystery, military escort, and noble drama. Yep. Peak luck, baby.'
He sighed, flopping back against the slightly uncomfortable seat of the carriage as it rattled down the dirt road.
'Well, whatever. No point dwelling. Since we've got some time to kill before the next "plot twist", might as well check the system menu again.'
He opened the [Hollow Crown System] interface, eyes narrowing with interest.
'Let's see… guess it's finally time to distribute those sweet, sweet attribute points.'
Ethan scrolled through the interface with the kind of casual detachment one usually reserved for mobile games on the toilet.
[Attribute Points Available: 10]
(4 from level up and 6 from quest award)
'Well, let's start by keeping things fair.'
He tapped with mental intent, watching the numbers tick up one by one.
+1 to Strength
+1 to Vitality
+1 to Constitution
+1 to Agility
+1 to Stamina
+1 to Intelligence
+1 to Mana
'Balance is beauty,' he muttered with a smirk.
That left him with three points.
He paused, fingers steepled like some tactical genius, then went full caveman logic.
'Stamina means I can go longer. Agility means I can dodge better. Strength means I hit harder. Simple.'
He slammed the last three in.
+1 to Strength
+1 to Agility
+1 to Stamina
The moment he confirmed it, a rush of energy flooded his body like a raging current bursting through a dam. His breath hitched. Muscles subtly tensed, and his vision felt sharper, crisper. His mind cleared as if someone opened a window in a dusty attic.
He stretched his arm and clenched a fist.
'...I feel like I could crush a boulder with my bare hands.'
Pause.
'Okay, maybe not a boulder, but definitely some morally questionable pottery.'
Across the carriage, one of the guards squinted in his direction. The air had shifted — briefly tense, tinged with something arcane.
But none of them said a word.
"Must be the wind," one muttered.
Ethan exhaled, checking the system once more as the updated stats flickered into place.
---
[Hollow Crown System – Status Interface]
Name: Ethan Cross
Strength: 3.4
Vitality: 3.0
Constitution: 2.8
Agility: 3.6
Stamina: 4.3
Intelligence: 2.5
Mana: 2.5
Unused Points: 0
---
'Not bad… not bad at all,' he whispered, leaning back with a satisfied grin.
'Still no idea where I am, what I'm doing, or why people with swords are being nice to me… but hey—at least I've got numbers now.'
And in this strange new world?
Numbers meant survival.
Ethan leaned back, eyes glued to the glowing status screen like it was a lottery ticket.
'Strength at 3.4, huh?'
A smug grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
'Doesn't that mean I'm, like… three times stronger than normal?'
Then his grin faltered.
'…Wait. Hold up.'
A faint buzz tickled the edge of his mind as fragments of that mysterious knowledge transfer bubbled up — the one he barely understood but kept giving him useful tidbits at the weirdest times.
'Attribute scaling isn't linear... it's relative.'
'Right… 1 + 1 is 2. So, twice as strong. But 2 + 1? That's like… quadruple the original!!'
His eyes widened.
'…Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean the higher I go, the more broken each extra point becomes?!!'
He glanced down at his hands like they were suddenly made of gold.
'…So you're telling me these free quest rewards are secretly busted?'
He stifled a laugh.
'Damn, is this my golden finger after all?'
At first, he'd assumed the [Hollow Crown System] was his cheat code, but that illusion shattered pretty quickly.
'I mean… all Awakened have a system. Some kind of personal interface to track their progress, right? That's what the knowledge dump said.'
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
'So technically, I'm not special. But… maybe I am special because of how mine works?'
He filed that thought away. A mystery for another day.
For now, he had another goal — information.
The men around him still believed he was an unfortunate soul suffering from memory loss.
'Then let's act like it.'
He cleared his throat and leaned slightly toward the grizzled knight seated across from him.
"Hey… uh, sorry to bother you," Ethan said, voice uncertain and just the right amount of dazed, "but… do you mind reminding me again where we're going? And who exactly you said you were?"
He threw in a hesitant blink for extra points.
Operation: Dumb Amnesiac had officially begun.
The grizzled knight gave him a brief, sideways glance — one that said "not this again" — but still answered.
"You're currently traveling through the Iridale-Aurith borderlands, southern edge of the continent. This route leads toward Velkarth Village — decent size, a couple hundred families. Livestock, smithing, minor trade hub, nothing too fancy."
"Velkarth," Ethan repeated, nodding like it was new to him, even though the system had already told him the exact coordinates an hour ago.
Another knight leaned in with a chuckle. "The old man leading the village? Elder Remir. Veteran caster from back in the day. Still kicks like a mule."
Ethan noted that down mentally.
Then, slipping into a slightly confused frown, he tilted his head. "And about what you said earlier... that I'm the third person to lose their memory recently?"
The man's expression darkened a bit.
"Yeah. Two others turned up within the last moon — same look in their eyes. Lost. Claimed they remembered nothing. One started coughing blood and disappeared a few days later. The other one… well, let's just say he didn't last long."
That's suspiciously ominous, Ethan thought, lips tightening.
Just as he was about to press further—
"Monsters!!"
The booming voice of the leader — a robust, barrel-chested man riding ahead — shattered the air like thunder.
Ethan's head snapped up.
The carriage jolted. The guards were already on their feet.
So much for a peaceful ride.
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