Zhong She felt the spearhead burning his soul as tormenting pain rippled through him. He could feel the blood filling his lungs, drowning him from the inside. He forced his eyes open with all his might and coughed up blood.
He felt a shiver through his spine as his vision darkened.
"I... will... have... my... revenge," Zhong She muttered with his last breath as darkness completely enveloped him.
He found himself suspended in a sea of darkness.
"He who faces the spear is forgiven for a price," an ethereal voice reverberated through the void.
"What do you offer?" the voice continued.
"Everything, every sword I collected, every bit of gold and silver, every delicacy I had, everything you want," Zhong She said, his eyes pupil-less.
"Not enough," the voice reverberated.
"I will be your slave. I will do your tasks," Zhong She groveled as his eyes started to regain their pupils.
"BRING ME BACK AS A SLAVE, A SAVANT, A SOVEREIGN, BUT OFFER ME A CHANCE AT REVENGE." Zhong She's groveling voice echoed through the void.
For a split second, a bright light flashed through the void, illuminating a smirking face that could only be described as a ledger of all things unholy.
"WE ACCEPT," the voice screeched through the void as brightness blinded Zhong She.
The blinding light burned through his eyes as he forced himself to keep them open, while memories not his own flooded his mind. He felt weaker, younger, and more alien.
He looked at the new body's palm, covered in calluses but different from his old ones.
They were broad and flat, formed by handling shovels and hoes in the fields, rather than the smaller, deeper marks made by a sword.
The body's original host was named Lucien, a farm slave under Viscount Eldrid Dracone. His parents had been slaves as well. His mother died during his birth, and his father three and a half years ago from a septic wound.
|Welcome, host|
A metallic voice, void of human emotion, echoed in his brain.
"Who... who are you?" Zhong She, now Lucien, asked aloud with a cautious look on his face.
|I am your taskgiver| the voice said.
"So my new master?" Lucien asked with a displeased look.
|I am not your master. I am the servant of the one with whom you made the deal, just like you| the voice explained.
"And who is that one?" Lucien questioned.
|You do not have enough authority|
|Would you like to see the stats of your current body|
The voice continued as Lucien kept mum to its remark about his authority.
The Poison Sword, betrayed by his brother and now a slave for someone he didn't even know, working in the fields.
It was all too funny.
"Yes," Lucien said as he let out a sigh.
|Name: Lucien
Age: 13
Strength: 5
Endurance: 9
Agility: 7
Charm: 4
Perception: 8|
"What do all these numbers even mean?" Lucien said.
|All biological stats are based on your genetics. An avg score of 10 is the peak you can achieve without external force|
"So I am not even as strong as a normal human?" Lucien said, his pupils turning red as he slid his fingers through his dark hair.
|It would appear so|
The system's cold voice rang again without any empathy.
"Ha... ha... haa." Lucien let out maniacal laughter.
"The great Poison Sword, the destroyer of the Serpent Islands, now a weak pathetic farm slave." Lucien laughed like a maniac as tears flowed from his eyes.
|SCREECH|
The system rang a loud metallic screech for a second in his mind that calmed him down.
|Would you like to see your daily task, 3-month quest, 6-month quest, and year quest? You can only pick two.|
"What type of quest can I complete for an entity that can influence life and death with this weak vessel?" Lucien asked, his voice hopeless.
|The tasks are easily doable with your experience, and the quest may be easy or near impossible, but never impossible, and you will be rewarded accordingly|
The system explained.
"Tell me my daily task and the 3-month quest then."
|Daily task:
Run 15 km at a steady pace.
Reward: 50 xp|
|3-month quest:
Lose the slave status.
Reward: — |
Lucien stared at the holographic screen as he passed his hand through it.
His hands passed through the neon scwithout any resistance.
|I am only visible and audible to you|
The system stated.
"Good to know," Lucien said as he bent down, rubbed his feet, and then stretched his body.
He straightened his back and looked into the setting sun as he started running.
There was no point in mulling over what had happened. His goals were clear, and he had been given a second chance. He wouldn't let it be wasted.
5 km was once the type of distance that marked the radius of the impact of his attacks, a span he could skip past in seconds.
But now even 5 km was enough to make his lungs feel like they were burning.
Despite all this pain, the feeling of the dirt against his feet was nostalgic.
Even running was nostalgic.
His chest burned, his legs screamed, but he refused to stop. Step after step, he pushed forward until the world blurred into dirt and breath and pain.
|Daily Task Completed
15.3 km / 15 km
Reward: 50 XP|
|Level Up: Level 2 Achieved
Stat Points Available: 1|
"So I can put this point into any stat, and it will improve?" Lucien said as he sat down on the ground, taking deep breaths.
|Correct,| the system replied. |Would you like to assign it now?|
Lucien let out a dry laugh.
"So that's how it works. I run your missions, you hand out rewards, I get stronger… then you give me harder ones, and the cycle repeats."
"I am not assigning it now," Lucien said as he got up. "I don't even know what influence one stat point has. Better to use it when needed than waste it aimlessly now."