Toge sat in front of the four men, his face devoid of any expression, while the dagger gleamed coldly in his hand. He slowly raised the dagger, bringing it closer to the eye of the thin man who froze in place from terror.
"As I said, I have two options for you," Toge said in a calm voice, but it struck like thunder. "Either you tell me about a safe place where I can stay, or... I'll send you home without your eyes."
The men's faces turned pale with fear. This boy wasn't joking. He seemed completely serious.
"S-sir, we can't... we can't give you a place to stay," the lead man stammered with a shaky voice.
"Then I have no choice," Toge said, bringing the dagger even closer to the thin man's eye.
"I wonder what it feels like to gouge out a human eye," Toge said in a voice laced with pleasure. Though he didn't actually want to blind them, he chose to scare them.
"How do you feel knowing you're about to go blind in just a few seconds?"
The thin man screamed and backed away as blood spewed from his mouth. He knew he couldn't back out now.
"Wait! Wait! I'll tell you! I'll do anything you ask!" the lead man cried out, his eyes pleading.
Toge pulled the dagger back and placed it in his pocket, his gaze cold as he looked at the man. "That's better. Now, where can I find a place to stay?"
"W-we have... we have a place. But it's a bit messy," the lead man said, sighing in relief.
"Doesn't matter. I want to go now," Toge said, standing up.
The four men followed him, trembling with fear. Walking through the night with those men was a strange experience, but Toge didn't care. He had only one goal: to find a place to stay and prepare for his next move.
After an hour of walking, they reached a very ordinary house — but what stood out was the old shack inside.
"Here you go," said the lead man before pointing to the old shack. "It's a little messy, but it's livable."
"I'll see about that," Toge said.
Toge entered the shack, followed by the four men. The shack was filthy and smelled awful, but Toge didn't care.
"It's fine," Toge said.
"This is all we have," the lead man said. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Toge said, looking around the shack. "It's better than I expected."
Toge stood up from the old shack, ignoring the four men before heading directly toward the regular house, which looked luxurious compared to the shack. He opened the door and walked in without asking.
"What are you doing?" the man asked in a shaky voice. "We told you the shack was suitable."
"I'm exploring my new place," Toge said coldly, giving the room a quick glance.
"But... this is our house!" one of the men shouted. "You're supposed to live in the shack!"
"Hahaha..."
Toge burst into a mocking laugh, looking at the men with a cold stare. "No, you're the ones who will live in the shack," he said firmly. "I said the shack was suitable, and I didn't lie. It's perfectly suitable — for you."
"No, wait..." the man tried to protest, but the moment he saw Toge's cold stare, he fell silent.
"Any objections?... No objections then," Toge said coldly before the three men nodded their heads and headed toward the shack, grumbling.
Toge ignored them and slammed the door shut.
But suddenly, he froze in place.
A strange feeling began to creep into his head... a sharp pain before Toge's vision began to shake.
"Damn it..." he muttered, staggering toward the bathroom.
He opened the door quickly and knelt in front of the sink. He couldn't even lift his head before vomiting violently.
"Gwaaagh"
The smell of blood spread in the bathroom as Toge struggled to breathe.
"Damn it....."
[System]
Warning: Cursed energy consumption has reached a new threshold.
Cursed speech upgraded: +2%.
Current percentage: 10%
Current side effects: Headache, vomiting blood, distorted perception.
Warning: Continued use today may lead to permanent partial paralysis.
Toge's read the message that appeared from the system, but he didn't care — he wasn't planning to use the skill today anyway.
But tomorrow would be a tiring day, so he went to sleep.
"I'm excited to see what'll happen tomorrow," Toge said lazily before drifting off to sleep.
End of Chapter
Honestly, I was late in publishing the chapters yesterday, but I had my personal reasons. And although I know that's not an excuse, I hope you continue to support the novel.
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