The lawyer could sense that Liam's condition was now a little calmer. Some time before, the boy was caught up in a stress so heavy that it made him unconscious for a long period of time; back then his body was like an empty vessel, his mind was thrown into a dark space with no direction. Slowly, the wave subsided. The calmness that emerged was no ordinary calmness, but the remnants of a soul that had been battered time and again by fear, trauma, and despair. The lawyer, who was both observer and guide in that body, could feel this small change very clearly.
Liam's senses were still not functioning perfectly. His vision was blurry as if the world was shrouded in a thick curtain of fog, his hearing was not sharp; many sounds came in like faint whispers echoing from a distance. From the snippets of conversation that were captured, the Lawyer could understand that they were in the forest. The forest is not a safe place, but a wild land full of threats; from wild animals, hunger, to piercing cold. But compared to life as a slave, this decision is still better; slavery means losing your freedom, losing control over your life, and accepting a fate that only ends in death.
In the past five years, it wasn't just sports quests that were given by the system. Lawyers also instilled other quests that were more subtle in nature but no less important; there were learning quests that were structured over a long period of time. The child is encouraged to understand English, learn foreign words that never existed in his environment, and is slowly introduced to strange RPG terms. It was all polished into the illusion that the system was giving it to him, as if a majestic entity was guiding him towards the future. Unknowingly, Liam grew up with completely different provisions from other children his age.
The notification appeared in a blurry view obscured by cloth, etched in the blue light was a familiar neat paragraph. At the same time, a cold and professional adult female voice rang out to him.
[Congratulations! The host successfully obtained the first tittle: "The Nemesis"
The Nemesis, a person who walks in the dark world for revenge. An individual who is willing to sacrifice anything to bring destruction to his enemy.
Hosts are immune to all forms of basic mental attacks; anxiety, fear, and confusion are eliminated. The steel heart's ability creates a clear mind, allowing the host to think at its worst.]
Liam stared at the words with his heart trembling. "Revenge", a phrase that instantly burned into his memory; The Nemesis was not just a title, but the embodiment of his new self. The silence was then broken again by a mature female voice; a cold and firm voice, emotionless, yet very familiar. Liam had heard that voice many times over the past few years; he was used to, even comfortable with, that familiar yet authoritative tone. The first line the voice spoke was revenge; it was like a magic spell, something that fueled his life.
[Quest opens: "Escape from the Mysterious Forest"
Reward: increases the chance of revenge by 80%; permanent level and stat increases by ?%.
Penalty: decreases the chance of revenge by 80%; increases the risk of death by 70%.
|Accept| |Reject| ]
For Liam the choice was not complicated, there was no hesitation or dilemma. He moved his head down slightly, a small gesture that signaled agreement; although simple, the decision was a declaration that would determine the course of the world. The screen switched again; new pop-ups appeared quickly, displaying detailed instructions. The woman's voice came back, longer this time, providing step-by-step guidance. Liam listened intently, swallowing every word as if it was an absolute law; to him, that voice was a savior, a light that led him out of the darkness.
••••••••••••••••••••
Liam began to execute the plan whispered by the system in his head. The rough ropes wrapped around his body were impossible to untie on his own; moreover, his body was weak, sluggish, and almost paralyzed from being bound for too long. His only option was to create chaos. With a hoarse, forced voice, he shouted for the guards, pushing the bodies of those around him to cause chaos; the carriage shook, people whimpered, and attention was drawn to him.
The soldier sitting in the front was uncomfortable with the commotion. The carriage was finally stopped which caused the line of carriages behind to come to a halt. With an exasperated look, he pulled Liam out. The boy's body was drenched in sweat, dirt, and a pungent odor that made anyone's nose cringe; the urine and feces that had accumulated due to days of not being able to clean themselves had created a piercing stench, making the soldier holding him almost vomit.
"Damn brat," hissed the crested soldier with a disgusted grimace on his face, then he continued, "No use but a burden."
Liam was led to the right side of the carriage. The moist soil under his feet absorbed the foul odor carried from his body. The gleaming sword was half drawn, ready to separate the head from the body; before it was completely unsheathed, Liam shouted in an artificially panicked tone.
"W- Wait! I... I'm Count Gerrard's son!"
The soldier with the quiff crest stopped his movements. His brows furrowed, his face filled with doubt mixed with impatience. "What nonsense are you saying?"
Liam looked at him with eyes full of conviction, as if the words he spoke were the absolute truth, "I am indeed his child. If you kill me here, you will regret it; after all, royal blood is still royal blood even from an enemy country."
The soldier clucked his tongue, fuming, "If that's the case, why didn't you confess from the start?"
Liam swallowed, then replied in a trembling yet confident voice, "You know, even illegitimate child still have influence; and I didn't know that my condition could be this bad."
Those words pierced the soldier's logic even though they were clearly full of loopholes; no one knew who Count Gerrard was, nor was there any guarantee of the truth behind the story of the stinky boy tied up in front of him. However, the Lawyer who resided in Liam's mind had calculated the loopholes; in war or slavery, the children of nobles, whether legitimate or not, still had more value than commoners.
The soldier growled softly, considering. His gaze was still full of disgust, but the hand holding the sword slowly lowered; then he took out a small knife from his waist, approached, and began to untie the rough bonds on Liam's body. "If you lie, you will regret it," he said coldly.
The ropes came off one by one; Liam's body immediately staggered, his stiff muscles whimpering from being bound for too long. He didn't run, he knew this wasn't the time; instead, he sat weakly, stretching his body little by little.
"Who is Count Gerrard?" asked the soldier who was provoked, his voice still filled with suspicion; and there was another soldier who came from another carriage.
Liam only answered vaguely, a vague yet confident answer, "I don't know all the details... I only know that my father is Count Gerrard, and my mother is a commoner. I was raised secretly, but noble blood runs through my body."
The soldiers looked at each other, after all none of them really knew the intricacies of the enemy country's nobility. Count Gerrard's name sounded unfamiliar, but not impossible; although reluctant, they were forced to accept the possibility. Killing a noble's son no matter how small the chances were, could lead to bigger problems.
While still half-believing, another newly arrived soldier brought the leftover food and placed it in front of Liam. "Eat up. If you're really a noble, you need energy. But if you lie... We'll drag you to hell ourselves."
Liam nodded slowly, pretending to obey. He grabbed the food and chewed slowly. Actually the food was not the main thing, each chew gave him extra time to stretch his stiff back, legs, and hands; he needed his body to be ready, because the opportunity to escape would not come twice.
"Tell me more about Count Gerrard," urged the soldier with the quiff hair and suspicious face.
Liam swallowed his food, then replied vaguely, "My father is a big man. I can't say more, the secrets of the noble family I can't just mention," his words were deliberately ambiguous to let the opponent's imagination play.
As the soldier was about to press further, Liam felt that the time had come. He put his hand into the back of his pants; something mushy, warm, and disgusting. Without hesitation he grabbed the feces, grasped it tightly, then threw it into the face of the crested soldier standing closest. The feces that entered his eyes obscured his vision, the soldier screamed in shock and cursed loudly. His eyeballs were smeared with feces, the stench instantly filled the air; and in that chaotic moment, Liam carried the leftovers, then ran with all his might towards the forest on the right side of the road.
It was noon, but the sky above the carriage was gray because of the dense forest that blocked the sunlight. The forest greeted Liam with a wild face; there were no tree trunks growing straight up into the sky like a normal forest, but wooden giants spreading in all directions, growing blindly without any predictable pattern. Thick branches the size of a highway intertwined in the air, crossing and arching like a giant bridge creating a multi-layered canopy that blocked the sky from view; from each branch and trunk of the tree huge roots hung down like snakes frozen in mid-motion, some hanging straight, some curved and intertwined. It was as if the earth itself spewed out life in its most chaotic form, then left it to fight for space and light.
The sunlight only managed to penetrate a small gap between the lush trunks, branches, and roots; even that had lost its warmth and left only a pale gray tinge that fell to the ground. There was a fresh and menacing feeling, as if Liam's every step felt like going through the stomach of a giant that breathed slowly but contained millions of jaws ready to swallow him at any time. With his body half paralyzed Liam ran desperately; his breathing was ragged, gasping, his lungs seemed to be slashed by a knife from the inside, with his leg muscles rebelling against orders. Every time his feet hit the ground the pain shattered his joints, but he pushed on. The shouts of the two soldiers chasing him echoed through the forest bouncing off the trunks and roots of the giants, the clang of their swords against the twigs adding to the pressure like a death knell that kept following him.
"Don't let him get away!" roared one of the soldiers with a forelock. His face was full of anger with great disgust, the stench from Liam's body not completely gone.
The forest was a three-dimensional maze. Roots as thick as concrete crisscrossed around, some were so low that Liam had to duck; there was a large branch that grew obliquely to the ground, forcing Liam to climb with trembling hands. The forest seemed to move as if every trunk and root was trying to ensnare him; but underneath it all, the forest was also on his side. The adult warriors were difficult to maneuver; their swords snagged on roots, their leather armor bumped into branches, the sound of their steps was loud and heavy. While Liam despite his half paralyzed body, could utilize his small body to escape from narrow gaps; he ducked through the cavity between the intertwined roots, he climbed the gap that was too small for an adult to pass through.