Chapter 142-141- The Devil's Curse

After crossing the Abyss and arriving at the Land of End, he was rescued by the legendary Silver Witch, and even got the chance to become the apprentice of the god. For a country boy like Lant whose family had just been broken up, the experiences of the past two days were like a dream.

The first night, he didn't even dare to sleep, fearing that everything he saw was just a dream. When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he saw the burning village again, and the bodies of his parents and sister lay before him again.

But what he didn't expect was that this feeling of happiness only lasted for the first few days, and then his life fell into a deep trough.

The reason is very simple. Someone dislikes him and hates him. That person is Abella, the witch's servant.

When they first met, he didn't realize this. He just thought that the servant girl was aloof, sullen and quiet. But the next morning, when he ate a sandwich from the refrigerator and she humiliated him by saying, "You have hands and feet, can't you solve it yourself?", he could clearly feel that she seemed to really hate him.

This actually doesn't make any sense, because yesterday, the Witch allowed him to eat the food in the refrigerator. Besides, he is an ordinary person who needs three meals a day and is not yet at the level of fasting.

But the servant lady spoke so directly and in such a harsh tone, and Lant was a child with self-respect, so he immediately put the remaining things back, then left the manor and went out to find food by himself.

The foraging process went quite smoothly. All the deformed creatures in the central area had been cleared out by the skeleton soldiers. He found a nest of pheasant eggs in a hidden corner formed by the collapse of an overpass and had a hearty meal.

But after he finished eating, when he went back, he was attacked personally by the lady servant of God again because he was covered in dust while playing outside, and even after changing into slippers, he was considered dirty just by walking into the room.

Lant sincerely apologized and quickly borrowed the bathroom here. However, he didn't know how to use the shower here, and in the middle of winter, he took a shower in ice water and almost froze to death in the bathroom.

When he changed into a bathrobe and came out trembling all over, he fell to the ground due to muscle spasms. Seeing this, the lady servant became even angrier. She had no mercy at all and asked him to get up quickly and wipe the water stains on the ground. She also forbade him to hang his clothes in the manor to avoid being an eyesore.

Lant endured the pain and climbed to his feet, wiping the floor. By the time he was done, the divine servant had already left. He stood there, feeling the corners of his eyes warm. He immediately raised his head to hold back the tears, then quietly returned to his room, hung his clothes in the bedroom, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

This went on for many days.

Since he was in the probation period and had not yet become a formal student, the witch basically did not teach him anything. She just gave him a notebook and left the rest to his own devices, letting him solve everything on his own or ask Abella for help.

But the servant girl disliked him in almost every way. Not only did she not allow him to eat the food at home, she was also extremely impatient when he asked her questions, as if even breathing was wrong in her presence.

Lant knew why this was the case. Young men whose families were broken up always matured precociously. He soon understood that the lady servant's disgust for him came entirely from himself.

Because he is too ordinary.

The demon race also had a glorious history and legend, but now the demon race is just an ordinary branch of the human race, and its talent in magic is even worse than that of humans. Lant is an ordinary country boy with plain looks and average magical talent in the village. What qualifications does he have to become a student of the gods?

If he was the son of the Fire Dragon King named Dugrabi, he would not be treated like this. If he was a genius like His Majesty the Supreme Demon King, then perhaps Miss Divine Servant would have been finished before being looked down upon.

But he is nothing. He is just an ordinary country boy with a rough fate, who can be found everywhere like a weed.

Such an ordinary identity itself is enough to constitute original sin.

After realizing this, Lant became more silent. His dissatisfaction with the servant lady disappeared, replaced by an even stronger obsession to become stronger. This was not only for revenge, but also to prove to the servant lady that the witch's vision was correct, that he was worth investing in and training, and that he was worthy of everything the witch taught him.

In the days that followed, apart from going out to fill his stomach, Lant spent almost the entire day in his bedroom without going out. Apart from meditation and study, his only entertainment was to stare at the scenery outside the window for a while and miss his deceased relatives.

He was like a madman, reciting basic rune knowledge even in his dreams, and turned all the ridicule and indifference of the divine servant lady into motivation to spur himself on.

In such a crazy state, he actually took only more than seven months to learn the basic content of runes. Even Rosaline, who had a strong obsession with runes at the time, took a year to complete the same amount of learning. Not to mention Dugrabi and Abela, who each spent more than five years, which was completely inefficient.

Of course, this does not mean that Rant's talent surpasses theirs, but this thing is similar to memorizing words. Hard work is more important than talent.

Rosalyn was able to complete the course in a year, partly due to her incredible hard work and partly due to her passion for the subject. But Rant lacked that passion, so he mastered it in seven months. That wasn't hard work; it was sheer sheer desperation.

But he could only try his best.

For a country boy as mediocre and lowly as a weed, fighting hard is his only way to change his fate.

…

One afternoon in midsummer, Yvette was sitting in her study, exploring the untouched field of Potions. Then she saw Lant knock on the door and come in. He reported his learning progress to her with a haggard but energetic face.

"You've finished studying that notebook?" Yvette said in surprise.

"Yes, Lady Witch." Lant said respectfully.

After doing a quick check, Yvette fell silent.

In fact, she was not completely unaware of Rant's humiliating life as a punching bag here.

But since Lant didn't look for her, she pretended not to know.

If you were to question Abella, she'd have something to say—she worked diligently as a maid, second only to her master. And then this random little kid came along and called her "Auntie" the moment they met. He didn't even have any special talents or status, and yet he was being offered the title of master's student, a position higher than hers. How could she tolerate that? Especially the food in the crisper—she'd made it for her master, and the little kid had eaten several of it. She was furious.

So Yvette thought that this would be part of the investigation. First, it would give her a glimpse into the boy's personality and approach to things. Second, as an avenger, if he had the chance to return, he would have to endure various dangers and endure humiliation. If he collapsed, then it was not his destiny.

However, she never expected that Rant neither quarreled with Abella nor told tales to her. Instead, he accepted everything and turned all the sarcasm into motivation. He finished learning the basic content at an incredible speed. Such a strong heart is indeed rare.

Without saying anything else, Yvette handed him a notebook, which recorded some techniques and requirements, mainly to practice the mastery and control of the techniques.

This is the last level, the talent test.

From his meditation skills, it was clear that Lant's cultivation speed wasn't very fast, and his talent was average. However, there was one area that also depended on his talent, and that was his mental strength. If he performed well in this area, he still had a good chance of passing the assessment.

…

In the blink of an eye, spring goes and autumn comes, and a year has passed.

Confused by the study of necromancy, Yvette turned to studying potion mixing, intending to strengthen her practical application in the field of rune medicine.

Abella had nothing to do all day, and when she got bored she would torture Rant. But since Rant had learned the basic runes in just seven months, and his performance was so astonishing, her attitude improved a little, and she was willing to teach Rant some tips on practicing the techniques.

Of course, you wouldn't say that she really likes this guy. She simply feels that the probability of this guy passing the probation period has increased a lot, so she cautiously adjusted her attitude.

However, what is disappointing is that Lant's magical talent is unexpectedly mediocre. Not to mention his slow meditation efficiency, his ability to manipulate spells is very poor, a state that cannot be compensated even with desperate efforts.

So, that afternoon, after noticing this, when Lant finished practicing outdoors and returned to his bedroom, Yvette stopped him and asked, "Is your talent really considered average in your village?"

"Yes." Lant said respectfully.

"Is it your problem, or are the magic talents of the demon race just that poor?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Witch..." Lant lowered his head in shame.

"No, what I really want to ask is, with such poor talents, how did the demons survive in the Demon Abyss Continent?" Yvette asked.

She had felt it was inconsistent before, because in Rosaline and Dugrabi's descriptions, the Western Continent was a very scary place, and all the ethnic groups living there were much stronger than similar ethnic groups in the Eastern Continent.

The most typical example is the goblin. The goblins in the East Continent are a weak green-skinned intelligent race that also go to the human world to work. However, the demonized goblins in the West Continent are powerful and have extremely vicious personalities. During the war between humans and demons, they are the nightmare of many soldiers.

But the demon race is very strange. Apart from their appearance, they are similar to humans in all aspects. Some of them are even less talented than humans, which is obviously unreasonable.

"My clan...my clan has always been taken care of by the previous Demon King. Even earlier, I heard from my grandfather that my clan actually has very strong talents and abilities. We were once the most powerful clan in the Western Continent and the strongest among all branches of the human race. Even the demons in the abyss are afraid of us..." Lant said hesitantly.

"Then why did it become like this?" Yvette asked.

"Grandpa said that it was because our ancestors angered the demon god and were cursed that they became what they are now..."

"Curse?" Yvette raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Well...but I don't know whether it's true or not." Lant said hesitantly.

Yvette pondered for a moment and said, "I'll take some blood from you and study it."

"Okay, Lady Witch." Lant bowed his head respectfully.

Yvette nodded and immediately went upstairs to retrieve medical equipment to prepare for a blood draw. From Lant's description, it seemed the curse from the demon god had directly affected the genes. Coincidentally, the concept of curse magic existed in the Origin Civilization, but it was so rare that it was essentially an empty concept without any practical content.

By studying Lant's demon blood, she might be able to get a glimpse of the so-called demon curse.

(End of this chapter)