"Get out! We don't have a son anymore..."
My blood ran so hot it felt like it was boiling over. My teeth clenched so tightly they threatened to crack. My fists clenched so hard my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.
Get out? From my own house? Thrown out by these people? And more importantly... no longer a son?
"You... don't you fucking dare call yourself my mother. I was never your son!" I spoke in a low voice, glaring at the woman's face. She sat cross-legged on her large, throne-like chair, looking down on me. This woman. My aunt, Lady Rizabtha Tusk. Thirty-seven and unmarried. An usurper.
"I raised you as my own for eighteen years. Now it's time for you to move out. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," she said casually, as if brushing away a fly.
"There is no way I am moving out of my own house. This estate, this keep—all of this is rightly mine by birthright, by the right of my bloodline. Don't think you can keep me from it for long."
"You have no one left. The blood laws are clear: you aren't pure enough to inherit anything. Be grateful I kept you this long. But not anymore. I am planning to start my own family, and you are an eyesore and a hurdle on that path. Don't make me use force. Out!"
I spat on the floor. Spit and blood. I had been biting my tongue. Raised me? Sure. That still doesn't give her the right to take away the fortune, the inheritance that's rightfully mine.
"I am not leaving," I declared, staring right into her eyes.
"Is that so? Oh well... don't blame me for what happens next."
She snapped her fingers, and two of her guards moved forward, covered head-to-toe in armor.
Bam!
The butt of a spear slammed into my chest. The air exploded from my lungs.
Bam!
A kick this time, straight to my stomach. My vision blurred, then darkened. It was so painful.
"Cowards... show... your faces... I will come back to hunt you down. All of you."
Slap!
A rough, gauntleted hand struck my face. My head snapped sideways.
"I will... for my inher..." Everything went dark. My ears worked for a moment longer, and I heard her say:
"Filthy bastard. Tie his hands and throw him in the river."
Yeah. I will never forgive this woman. I will come back for her.
***
The water was freezing, yet my face burned. I tried to move my hands, but they were tied tightly behind my back. I was sinking deep... deeper. My blood pressure plummeted; my heart was barely beating. My legs thrashed helplessly. Panic. Pure fear. My eyes rolled back.
I couldn't hold my breath any longer.
I inhaled. Cold water flooded my lungs. My upper body grew heavy, and I sank even faster. My body was too cold. I couldn't feel anything but my own fading pulse.
It weakened by the second.
50 bpm... 20 bpm... 5 bpm...
Flatline.
***
My eyes snapped open, and I immediately shut them. The sun was too bright. My face felt hot, and my clothes were soaked. I moved a hand to block the sunlight. I was free.
I turned my body, laying face-down with my cheek pressing into the soil. I could hear running water. Where the fuck was I?
"Riya... Wher..." I coughed, and a gush of warm, disgusting water came out of my mouth. So much water. From my stomach? My lungs?
"Did I drown? Hey, wait a second. This place... Riya... This..." I looked at the sky and saw two suns, not one. I remembered those suns.
I couldn't believe my eyes. I was back in my world. After spending eighteen years on Earth, I was finally back. Was this for real?
I slapped myself hard across the face. It hurt. I smiled.
"Haha... cough... The gods have blessed me..."
But what about Riya? My family on Earth?
Tears welled in my eyes. Why... why are the gods so cruel?
[System installation...]
[System Bound Successfully]
[Host: Diet Tusk]
[Primordial Blood Purity: 4%]
[Class: None]
[Level: 1 (4/10 XP)]
[Mana: 100 (+40/hr)]
[Skill(s): {System} Level 1]
[Inventory: Empty]
I swiped my hand right through the display, dismissing it. Thanks for reminding me how pitiful I was in this world. 4% purity? I was barely human. Even peasants have more than 10%. I might as well be a dog.
Bam.
I punched the soil.
Bam.
I punched it again. A small crater formed, and my tears welled up inside it. Fuck. Fuck this shit. I thought I had gotten away from this world, but here I was, back to my pitiful existence.
How did I even survive the river? My hands weren't tied anymore. Did someone help me? Was Earth just a very long dream?
I lay there for a while, then stood up. Looking around, I found myself on the bank of a river, deep inside the Mura Forest. Did I really wash up this far? I patted myself down. No injuries, no pain. Not a single coin in my pocket.
Perfect. Let's start from zero again, right? What could go wrong? All alone in this jungle.
"Pathetic... so pathetic..." I hated to admit it, but... "that woman... she might have been right about me."
[Hidden Quest Complete: Self-Acceptance]
[Reward: Primary Skill Unlocked - Unique Skill {Blood Purification} Lvl 1]
Description:
Name: Blood Purification
Class: S
Affinity: Blood, Dark
Cost: 100 Mana per use
Effect: After killing a being with primordial blood, the host can use this skill to absorb fragments of Primordial Blood that the host is lacking, increasing their own blood's purity accordingly. The higher the purity of the target, the higher the chance of activation failure.
"The... fuck...?" Did I really gain an S-class skill so easily? Just by admitting that I was, indeed, pathetic?
"That's not important right now... this is my chance."
I was always told that blood purity decides your place in this world because it can never be changed. To think such a skill exists...
"This changes everything... haha... Finally. For the first time, something good has happened to me."
However, I couldn't get too happy, or I might jinx myself.
"First, I need to test it. Because if this skill is real... then no one can keep me from my birthright."