Von dropped on his knees and spit a mouthful of blood.
His expression is pale, and he screams in pain. He had no idea what was happening to him.
The hot feeling is still increasing by seconds, and after a period of time, it stops. It feels like eternity to him, but that scenario only happens for a second.
When his thoughts cleared, he heard Elder Liam's concerned tone, who was now at his side, tapping his face in an attempt to wake him up from his daze.
"Hey brat, what happened to you?" You just spit blood. Do you feel anything? "
'Did it fail? No! There must be some other reasons, 'the old man thought.
From the old man's knowledge, the scroll of wishes is a worldly artifact that grants the receiver its desire. According to the autobiographies of the past leaders of his clan, not even he, the successor of his clan, didn't know much about the said treasure. Only the person who is shrouded in great misfortune can use the artifacts.
He believed that Von, who is cursed by God, would be the right choice. He believed that he was the right person who could help him on his mission. But it seemed like God had betrayed him.
"I feel a hot energy soaring in my heart. I felt like I was in hell... did the scroll work? " Von tells the old man while he's trying to recover from the pain he got. He knew that there must be some problem, but still chose to inquire.
The old man first gathers his thoughts before he responds. He stood from his position and helped Von sit in the long chair.
"I don't know, but it seemed like it did not work," the old man said while walking back and forth in front of Von. He was thinking of something while doing so.
"One of the possible answers to this is that your wish is too grand for the scroll of wishes to work; the other reason is that it is not what your heart truly desires." Elder Liam concluded.
After Von heard this, he thought that it was possible that his wish to achieve power above all was too much for the scroll of wishes. There must be some boundaries or conditions that must be fulfilled before it can activate.
'I'm too impatient. Yeah, that's right, there is no short cut when you want to achieve something. It must be accomplished with hard work and perseverance, "Von lectured to himself.
Being a person who lives in Penia City, which is full of evil people. The only way to survive is to rely on your own resources. Hard work and wit are the foundation you need here.
"Then, what should I do, Elder Liam? Can I still use it? "
"The Scroll of Wishes is a one-time artifact, so that means you can only utilize it once." For your circumstances, I think you can still use it until your wish is granted. The power of the scroll is still inside you. " The old man said, he was not sure about his statement.
Elder Liam looks at the Scroll of Wishes. Its celestial aura is now deemed to be indicating that it has lost its power. For a brief moment, the old man's eyes became cold, his expression stiffened, and his thoughts were unknown.
Von did think that the old man was right. He thought the hot energy in his heart was the power of the scroll.
"I can't wish for great power, but giving me an energy core should do right?" Von reply
The elderly man looked at Von with uncertainty, "Who knows... only you can answer that," he said quietly.
Von wanted to try it again, but his body couldn't endure more of the pain. He refrains himself from doing so. First, he wants to think about what his desire is. Then he can try it again.
Von and Elder Liam talks more about the possibilities within the Scroll of Wishes. The old man advised him that if his wish to become strong was not granted, then Von only needed to have the qualifications to become one.
Von considers it. All his life, he envied those Supreme Humans who lived a better life here in Penia City. His wanting to have an energy core is a must for him to become one, but there seems to be a force that is stopping him from doing so.
They also talked about Penia City. According to the old man, Penia City is built on an island that is 20 kilometers away from the main land, and the Supreme Humans who get outside of the wall can't run away because they know if they go, they can't escape from the swarm of aquatic monsters living in the ocean. The only way to get out of this place is to have an advanced being realm power, which has the ability to fly and the other method is having a ship artifact.
Von was taken aback by this information. He always wondered why the inferior and intermediate realm beings didn't seem to try to run from this place. Now he has an answer.
Also, Von inquired about the old man's origin, but he seemed to not want to disclose his true identity to him, which he partly understood. Having a treasure that can grant him wishes and an artifact that is of the Supreme Grade Von concluded that the old man was a powerful person that, for some kind of reason, chose to stay in Penia City.
After Von cleared up all of his doubts, he bid good bye to the old man.
The sun was already up in the sky when he walked outside of the antique store.
*****
What Von did not know was that when he was gone, there seemed to be a person who abruptly appeared beside the old man.
The old man is standing in front of the store and has a cold aura surrounding him. His expression makes one feel suffocated.
The person who suddenly appeared was a woman in a formal suit. She has a nice body shape and a gorgeous face that can make the majority of men in Penia City lust for her. She has an alluring temperament. and the most distinct feature she had was her eyes.
It was a crimson-colored eye.
If Von was here, he would be shocked. The old man told him that there was only one person in a hundred years born to have red eyes, but this lady seemed to also have the Eye of Misfortune. The only difference is the shade of the color of their eyes. Von has pure red eyes while the lady has crimson eyes.
"Clan leader." The lady uttered while she slightly bowed her head, showing respect to the old man.
"Vanessa, it appears like we need to wait for another century." It seemed like God didn't want us to achieve our goal. " The old man said
"It's time for us to leave this place. The curse of the 'God' will descend on this city soon."
"Clan leader, what about the young man?" The lady asked gracefully, making her voice sound seductive.
"The Scroll of Wishes has failed, and we can't do anything about it," the old man said, looking off into the distance where Von was heading.
"His lifespan was already leaving him. He only had a little bit of time. The only thing I can give him is a little hope, even if it is not existent. " The old man uttered it in a cold tone.
"You're such a mean clan leader," the lady said, and then their existence vanished, as did the store, as if it were an illusion.
*****
In the distance, there was a strange-looking animal with four legs, which appeared to be pulling a carriage. This animal has a bull's head and a horse's lower body and legs. It's known as Norse.
A Norse is a normal animal who did not evolve into a monster. They are gentle and easy to train. They use it to make a ride because of their top speed of approximately 150 kilometers per hour, which can rival the top speed of an intermediate realm being.
Von can run at approximately 50 kilometers per hour, which is faster than the average human without an energy core, who can only run at approximately 30 kilometers per hour.
This is due to the fact that he pushed his body to its limits.
The carriage arrives in front of a seemingly run-down home made mostly of wood. This is where Von lives, along with Noah, whom he considers to be his younger brother despite the fact that they are not blood relatives.
This living space was rented on a monthly basis for the price of a 2,000 energy stone. Von's monthly income is nearly cut in half, but he is content with the house, despite the fact that it appears old and run down.
Their home is spacious enough for two people to live in. The house is 100 square meters in size, with two small rooms for their personal space, a rest room, a bathroom, and a small kitchen that he rarely uses. It's because he's always going outside to complete organizational missions.
Von opened the small wooden door, which appeared to him to be a miniature door due to his height. He must lower his head in order to enter.
He begins to walk inside, and as he does so, a creaking sound can be heard when he steps onto the wooden floor.
"Noah, are you in there?" Von asked loudly.