Vol. 2 - Chapter 22 - The Cast of the Curse

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The whisper was barely audible, making him think it was just his brain acting weird that he asked himself something unlikely.

‘Don’t tell me I have schizophrenia? Nah, no way, even if there have been some cases in my family of crazy ones, and maybe I am talking to myself sometimes, but it is one to have your brain go crazy on you, and one talking with your inner self.’ (A/N: I don't know Mat, I am not a doctor, can't tell if you are crazy or not)

Still working on the wood of the ancient tree, the whispers kept repeating, where the <I am> kept on repeating until he stopped and turned around for which direction those whispers came, until he found they came from the ground.

{I am here, ohh you chosen one, the one who shall grant you with power.}

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“What the? So I wasn’t crazy, there’s actually something here. Hey, whoever is there, aren’t you tired of repeating the same line.”

Inside the ring, a voice came extending toward Mathias who replied back to the voices.

{If you managed to hear my voice, it means you are the rightful one, who is destined for greatness. I am the spirit of this land, and saw you since you came here, I observed you since the moment you stepped on the Heavenly Mountain.}

Yet the person inside the ring looked rather annoyed for being required to use such tactics to entice Mathias, and even told himself, without transmitting his voice outside.

“Ahh, Dehakel, old friend, I even got to use your dirty tactics of misleading young pure girls, only that I do it for a man. No space for being shamed in those moments, my power is drying with each second I talk. Let’s stick out the bait more.”

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Mathias, who heard the initial whisper, mentioning about its presence and about the fact it was the spirit of the land, even mentioning the name Heavenly Mountain which reminded him of what the Elder Kobold said in draconian.

‘It must be legit, otherwise, I can’t explain how someone would know about the original name of this place as the Kobolds have mentioned. Heavenly Mountain. This is also the place holding Dahlia’s Tears, so I should visit the kobolds too before descending the mountain.’

“Where are you spirit? How can I help you?”

{Deep down, forgotten by time, but I remain strong awaiting my champion.}

<Wow, that went so smoothly, this old man really perfectioned the art of shameless talk after all those political dances I did with the Elves, Dwarfs, Aarakocras, Orcs, Draconians, and Human Kingdoms. Zik, you are the only one my smooth talk wasn’t going anywhere, you damn ghost of the past. Ahh, wait, I am also one too.> (A/N: The outside speech for the ghost is with {}/ while when he talks with himself it is with </>. Hope I didn’t confuse you on this part and you understand how they talk.)

When Mathias got the confirmation from the voice, he looked around the tree, and thought of more possibilities of where it could be calling from, but to be sure he asked.

“Could it be that you are inside the tree? Down in the tree?”

{Yes, champion, some wicked person trapped me here.}

Obtaining some information on where he should look, he started digging close to the ancient tree trunk and moving toward the roots, but quickly enough the soil was too hard for him to clear. Switching his tactics, he started using Ragnius as a digging tool, which had some success at first, until it too, got stuck, unable to progress.

“It’s stuck. Hey, spirit, how close am I to finding you?”

{I don’t know, champion, but I can sense your presence even stronger which means I am somewhere out there.}

“Tsk, this doesn’t help me at all. Can’t you be more specific at least?”

{Unfortunately, I have been slumbering to conserve my energy for a long time, and I forgot about my surroundings}

Hearing that young woman’s voice that was saddened and even held some despair in it, he could only sigh and ponder on how to dig deeper, which had him stop for about 15 minutes before a light bulb shined and he started using his arcane powers to dig, slowly proving a success.

The one inside the ring could feel this arcane power and was surprised by how pure it was compared to other forms of magic that were diluted by other elements.

<I wonder what form of magic is that? Even the Elf King's magic wasn’t as pure as this young man's.>

The progress done by Mathias was visible, where he even reached the roots of the ancient tree, and there was the moment he saw a red light coming from the location of the roots.

Digging and clearing around the roots, he could see a ring full of mud and dirt that was giving off the red light guiding him, but it was entrapped by the roots of the tree.

{Young champion, I can feel your presence. Can you take me from this agonizing place?} asked the one from inside the ring using a young woman's voice, without even breaking the immersion.

Mathias waited for his mana to recover before he used the arcane energy to sever bit by bit like a surgeon the roots which entrapped the ring.

{Slowly, champion, I am worried if not that wicked person might have left some traps to stop you.}

"There's nothing here, just the roots which seem to be drawing upon mana the ring releases. This should be the trap?"

{Most likely, champion. Please, continue, I will reward you generously.}

He looked slightly surprised and full of curiosity as the tree roots were stealing some of the ring's mana before he acted and started severing for good the roots keeping the ring hostage, and once it landed on its hand, he could feel the strong power of the mana released by the ring.

Using the system power to gaze at the information of the ring, he was confused.

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[Engagement Ring]

Rating: Ancient

A simple ring of common origins, that marked the love between man and woman. It doesn’t have much properties instead of signifying the reunion between a couple to not be separated until death.

Condition of Use: none

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There was nothing to tell Mathias about the spirit inside the ring, but the rating of the ring, a [Ancient] rating, something he never saw or heard about was a lead telling him the ring was old, just like the Egyptian Artifacts, if not this ring was something following that theme.

Looking at the ring reminiscent of Smeagol with his “Precious” the spirit inside the ring started spreading its words up close.

{Young Champion, I have been freed, but I don't have any place to go. Will you take me with you? My only remaining wish is to explore the world.}

The red light released by the dirty ring was a warm one, and the mana it gave off was also something it made Mathias even more curious, awakening his desire to explore the story of this ring and spirit.

Thus, Mathias placed the ring on his index finger wishing to find if there was any change in the item.

"I guess, there's nothing new." remarked Mathias, before the dried dirt and mud, shattered from the ring, revealing a crimson ring decorated with a jewel made from a simple rock.

Still surprised by this sudden change, he still didn't feel anything wrong with it, until he asked the spirit inside the ring, curious about the new change.

"Spirit of the ring, can you tell me your backstory if it is not too hard for you?"

He asked that, but there was no voice replying back which turned the situation slightly weird. Asking again, once again it was silent, until he started getting suspicious, and immediately moving to take the ring off.

Tried he tried, but the ring wrapped on his skin, tightening on the index finger scarring Mathias, and in a panic, he began to try to pull the ring out.

Opening the information tab on the ring, he could see that it was unchanged, making him question this event if it was premeditated.

Another weird event happened for Mathias, where he gained a notification window, stating something unexpected for him.

[??? Class change has been triggered. Do you accept the class change?]

Immediately he gazed at the crimson ring with the polished rock jewel giving off a red light, and asked himself, before targeting the question to the spirit inside the ring.

"Wait what? What change? I don't even know what this ring is all about, and that ghost? Don't tell me I got cursed and scammed at the same time by a Great Demon? Something a Great Demon left for some fool like me to be scammed while I left my guard down feeling safe in this place?"

"Arghh, I can't get this ring off my finger! What's this, it got even tighter. Hey demon, if you wish me so much, don't get too attached to me, since I am also crazy at times and you might regret it."

[Decline] pressed Mathias on the choice the system gave him, before once again gaining the offer.

[??? Class change has been triggered. Do you accept the class change?]

"No! If you can't even explain to me who you are without fooling me, I can't accept anything."

Still no response, but the ring was getting redder with a bright aura, and the mana it released dwarfed Mathias by so much he couldn't explain it in words. The feeling was similar to watching a volcano erupting while his mana was similar to a bottle of coke where you placed mentos on it.

"Motherfucker, it hurts like heck. If I can't get it off, I'll cut it off."

Making his mind, he gritted his teeth and started channeling his mana for an ‘Arcane Missile’ which formed rapidly and not caring about the consequences he fired at his index finger hoping it would be severe, or blew away with the finger along.

The pain he felt after that got even more intense, and watching his index finger, he could see a barrier made from the red light protecting his finger, and immediately with a heartache, he felt his veins throb, as if someone injected something in his circulatory system.

Dropping on the ground from the pain he suffered, he saw another notification of the game, stating something he didn’t accept or planned to do in the future.

[Your class has been forcefully changed to ???. You can't decline the class change.]

“What the fuck, what's going on? I don't want anything that I didn't work for. What's this class appearing from nowhere? Hey, you demon explain to me, who are you?” shouted Mathias, with anger and frustration for the situation he was in currently.

Before getting any response from the spirit inside the ring, who inside the inner space of the ring was giving off a pressuring red aura, that dwarfed even Juander’s aura if compared, his middle-aged face was dead serious as he stared in the space with his crimson eyes.

<A strong body indeed, you will manage the entire process and gain my powers.> said the middle-aged man in a serious voice inside the inner space of the ring, and soon enough the ring on Mathias index finger started pulsing as if it also contained veins, tightening up around it.

 

“ARGHHH! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? I JUST WANTED TO HELP YOU! FUCK THIS! DEMON YOU BETTER REMEMBER THIS, I MIGHT BE TURNED BY YOU IN YOUR KIND, BUT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ME!” shouted Mathias full of emotion, to the sky, before he heard a tired voice of a matured man, say to him.

{Sorry kid, I had to do it. You turned a sissy right in the moment you should have accepted my offer nicely. This is a once in a lifetime chance, and I was willing to give it to you because you got me from that trap that drained me of my energy.}

“WHO ARE YOU?” shouted Mathias when he heard his voice.

There was still no response from the entity inside the ring, but the constant throbbing of his veins was real, barely enduring, still, to release steam, Mathias kept on asking his questions in a loud voice.

"What have you done to me? Why does my body hurt like this, as if someone sent my veins on fire?”

It didn’t take long for the tired voice of the man to respond to him in an evasive way.

{Too much for me to explain to you right now kiddo. I am tired, really tired. I will tell you who I am after sleeping a bit. I look forward to seeing how you turn out by tomorrow. Nonetheless, don't panic lad, all the changes you will go through will be beneficial to your growth as a person and as my successor, so hang in there.}

 

In such a way, the sea of pain, turned into a hellish moment for Mathias who felt his veins throbbing as if they got alive, he was rendered disabled to even move in those moments as he felt his body being set on fire.

Gritting his teeth to fight off the pain, he kept on fighting the pain, but it was too much, and blood began oozing from his mouth, from his clenched teeth. His fingernails kept on digging in his palms from how he clenched his hands to endure the fight.

The notifications about him losing HP and recovering it at an alarming rate was visible, in those moments, one could say he was immortal.

“Cursed game, cursed old ghost. You will regret all the pain I will endure.”

Inside the ring, the middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and crimson hair, slowly turned into an old man with wrinkles around his face, with his crimson hair slowly shifting to a white snowy color, while his eye color remained the same crimson.

He could hear all of Mathias swearings and even feel his pain because, at this moment, he was giving all of his remaining powers to Mathias to keep the torch aflame, and could only chuckle like a crazy old man, before telling himself.

<Boy, I will let you even screw my descendants to keep you satisfied after all you will endure, for all I care. Seeing you endure this pain like a monster, makes me want to see how much you can handle before your mind shuts down.>