[ You have unlocked a mystery ]
[ Congrats on tasting the blood for the first time ]
[ More information on your title is now available ]
'' What the hell '' Rhys looked at his system window while lying on the bunker bed.
'' Let's see what we've got over here. ''
[ Title: The Cursed One ]
[ You have chosen your path. They say to survive, one must kill. You are the very existence that has to walk on this path. The more you kill, the more power you will gain and be able to unlock the mystery of your powers. ]
[ Level up to find out more ]
'' This is tricky, so I can level up as long as I keep killing. But then why am I titled the cursed one? Is it because I have to kill someone or something to keep moving forward? Or does it hold some ulterior motive? I have to find out more. ''
Suddenly, another system notification pops up.
[ Main Quest: The first step ]
[ Kill a Human ]
[ No time limit ]
[ Penalty: Death ]
'' What ?? Is it telling me to commit murders? Hah... so practically if I don't kill, I die. I am loving this.'' Rhys smirks.
''There is no time limit to the quest, but there is a penalty.''
''Is there someone behind all of this? Who is pulling the strings? I have to find out, and for that I have to level up no matter what.'' Rhys thought.
The next morning, Rhys got ready and headed towards the orphanage library. Everything was quiet today due to the incident last night. There was chattering among the kids about how scared Max was and about the horrifying scene on his bed. Some of the caretakers were looking into this matter, but it was hard to find the culprit due to a lack of evidence and witnesses.
Max was nowhere to be seen, it was said that he had developed a high fever and was resting in the nurse's office. He was quite famous among the kids due to his bullying nature, but hopefully, after what happened, there won't be any more bullying victims.
The library was huge and filled with books of different languages and genres. While finding out more about this world, Rhys was enjoying the knowledge and gaining more information. Kids around his age weren't usually found in the library; the other kids were spending their days making friends and playing games.
Education for kids like them wasn't a necessity, and in this era, it was a luxury to have private tutors and attend academies to gain knowledge, which only the nobles could attain. Commoners either needed a lot of money or had to be a scholars to attend the academies.
By this time, the talk of a five-year-old attending the library and studying complex topics had reached the whole orphanage. Some called it a fake facade, while some just ignored it.
"Good morning, Rhys,"
As Rhys took his head out of the book and looked in the direction of the voice, he saw Toby and Eric walking towards him. In the few weeks, they had become good reading buddies who shared a common interest in books, except Toby. He was there for morale support, that's what he said.
Eric's book suggestion helped Rhys figure out the world geography and political standings of the nations.
"Morning,"
Rhys said it casually, looking at his book. Spending some time with Rhys, Toby and Eric knew that it was in his nature and a so 'Rhys-type' reply. They sat across him; Eric also had a book with him, but today his eyes were secretly surveying Rhys, who was unaware of this fact.
After last night, Eric had some suspicions about Rhys, and he was more alert around him.
Suddenly, Rhys's eyes turned from his book to Eric, who was sitting opposite him, and as their eyes made contact with each other, Eric acted as if a person caught in the act and gave an awkward smile. He asked Rhys.
"What are you reading, Rhys?"
" Nothing, just some stupid stuff, "
Rhys replied normally, as if nothing had happened, making Eric comfortable to keep his guard down.
Saying so, he closed his book. The book cover stated -
"Religions of the world"
Both Toby and Eric looked at each other awkwardly, seeing the book.
"Oh, so that is what you were reading..." Toby said.
"Yeah, to summarise it all, it says that this world has two divine beings - the god of creation and the god of light. Our empire is divided into people who follow one of those and believe in their teachings and faith. So we can say that half of the population is of the people who follow the god of creation, and the other half follows the god of light."
"But the thing is that followers of these two don't believe in the teachings of the other one. And that's why a lot of times they contrast, and there have even been incidents between the followers in the past within the empire."
" The god of creation was the only one who was worshipped in the earlier times, then as time passed by, suddenly the church of the god of light came into existence with its followers, they started to spread his teachings to everyone, making half of the population his believers. It is said that they came from somewhere far east. This is all boring and stupid stuff."
"Huh, but everything you said and have studied is true. There is nothing wrong with it. Why do you think of it as stupid stuff ?"
As Toby asked, Eric looked towards Rhys with eager eyes, waiting for his response.
"Isn't it simple?" Rhys said calmly.
"I don't mind what anyone believes in. Faith should be something sacred and personal. The moment it starts fueling wars, it's no longer divine… It's just another excuse to control, kill, and conquer."