Gautam, the leader of the Black Sun trio, puffed out his chest until the seams of his silk tunic
groaned. He was at the Foundation Establishment stage—a big fish in this tiny pond of a
village, but to a reincarnated soul like Aditya, he was just a slightly more colorful ant.
"A Cursed Cellar?" Gautam laughed, his golden headband glinting with a smug, solar light.
"Stand aside, boy. My 'Sun-Fire Qi' will incinerate any ghost or hex in its path. Lead the way."
Aditya led them to the edge of the woods, where a heavy, moss-covered stone hatch lay
half-buried in the dirt. It wasn't actually a cellar; it was a long-abandoned ventilation shaft for a
collapsed spirit-mine Aditya had mapped out during his "naps."
"Here it is, Great Master," Aditya whispered, his voice trembling with a performance that
deserved an Oscar. "The elders say those who enter never come out the same. Some say they
come out... smelling like the breath of a thousand demons."
"Ignorant peasant superstitions!" Gautam scoffed, kicking the hatch open. "Follow me, brothers!
Let us show this brat what real power looks like!"
The three disciples vanished into the dark, damp hole.
The Trap is Set
The moment the last golden boot disappeared into the shaft, Aditya's "terrified" expression
vanished. He straightened his back, a cold, predatory glint entering his eyes.
"System," he muttered. "Is the 'Aromatic Confusion' primed?"
[System Message] [Item: 'Skunk-Essence Qi Bomb' — Ready for Deployment.] [Cost: 200
Spite Points.]
Aditya wasn't interested in killing them. Killing disciples of a major sect was a magnet for
trouble—it brought "Grand Elders" and "Vengeful Fathers" knocking on your door. No, Aditya
wanted something much more permanent: Social Death.
He dropped a small, marble-sized glass sphere into the shaft and sat firmly on the stone hatch.
Inside the "Cellar"
Below, Gautam and his lackeys were wading through knee-deep muck, looking for hidden
treasures.
"Hey, do you smell that?" one disciple asked, sniffing the air nervously.
"It smells like... like a dead buffalo's armpit fermented in a swamp," Gautam gagged, covering
his nose.
POP.
The Skunk-Essence didn't explode with fire; it exploded with a thick, neon-green, sticky vapor.
This wasn't just a bad smell. It was a High-Tier Alchemical Stench, engineered by the System to
bond directly to the victim's Qi, skin, and soul. It was a fragrance that water couldn't wash and
fire couldn't burn.
"BLEGH! MY NOSTRILS ARE MELTING! MY ANCESTORS ARE CRYING!" Gautam screamed.
[System Message]
Detected Emotion:Absolute Disgust, Spiritual Terror, and Violent Nausea.
Gain: +400 Spite Points.
The "Heroic" Rescue
Aditya heaved the hatch open. "Masters! I heard screaming! Oh, the heavens have mercy... the
curse! The Curse of the Eternal Stink has claimed you!"
The three disciples scrambled out of the hole, green gas clinging to their robes like a toxic cape.
They were vomiting and coughing so violently that the birds in the nearby trees literally fainted
and fell from the branches.
"You... you brat! You knew!" Gautam tried to draw his sword, but the stench was so foul he
couldn't maintain his focus. He ended up puking directly onto his own expensive leather boots.
"I warned you, Master!" Aditya cried, wiping fake tears from his eyes. "Quickly! You must run to
the river! But stay away from the village—if the villagers smell you, the curse will become
permanent for seven generations! Run! Run like the wind!"
The disciples didn't need a second invitation. They bolted toward the river, leaving a visible trail
of green, stinking air behind them. Aditya knew their fate: the river wouldn't help. They would
return to their Sect smelling like a garbage fire, and their Sect Leader would likely exile them to
a remote mountain peak just to save the Sect's reputation.
Total Gain: 1,200 Spite Points.
The Midnight Breakthrough
That night, the village was quiet, save for the faint, lingering scent of skunk on the breeze.
Aditya sat cross-legged in his room. He had finally reached the threshold.
"System. Spend the hoard. Break the seal."
[System Message] [Consuming 5,000 Spite Points...] [Foundation Establishment:
ACHIEVED.]
For a split second, a blinding golden light flickered in Aditya's pupils. His skin became as clear
as polished jade, and his muscles hummed with the density of tempered steel. He felt like he
could punch a hole through a mountain.
But within a heartbeat, he triggered his [Humble Aura], suppressing his power back down to
"Average Village Boy." To the world, he was still just a 14-year-old who loved mango pickles.
Internally, he was now a monster who could crush the Sect Scout who had rejected him with a
single flick.
[New Quest: The Great Tournament] Objective: Visit the Green Leaf Sect. Watch Radhika
fight. Constraint: Do NOT let anyone realize you are a powerhouse.
Aditya grinned into the darkness. "Watch her fight? Miya, I'm going there for the free buffet and
to see how many 'Arrogant Geniuses' I can accidentally drive insane."