The angry stall owners carried Justin to the back alley and dealt with him severely.
They vented their anger on him and beat him up real badly till they were satisfied.
The stall owners left him in a pretty bad state. His clothes were torn to pieces, his face and body were extremely bruised and he had almost all his bones broken.
"I can't believe I got the chance to beat up the scum!" One said with a hearty laughter.
"It was a satisfactory beating. I have always dreamt of this day!" Another said.
"He got struck by lightning that came out of nowhere. It's his retribution, I tell ya!"
"It's what he deserves. The gods have definitely heard our prayers!"
No one felt sorry for leaving him in such a bad state and they weren't worried if he would make it or not. He had been a thorn on their side for far too long.
The well anticipated gods' chosen, laid on the ground, motionless and unconscious after being beaten by a group of angry stall owners.
He was left to himself and anyone who saw him would think he would die for sure but in a matter of seconds, he woke up with a loud gasp.
Justin checked his body, touching frantically. He truly thought he would die at that point but he was alive and all his bruises, as well as his broken bones were all healed.
(Ding! Reviving Elixir has been used. User is in full health. You almost died!)
He sat up and palmed his face.
"This shit is messing with me. Whose fault is it that I got so badly beaten up?"
(You were warned!)
"Yeah, I know!" He started thinking.
The people already hated him so much. What was the 'amazing' reason the gods had for choosing someone like him?
"Hey, can I ask you something? Why did the gods choose me?" He asked but the system fell silent.
(That information cannot be divulged to you at your current level.)
"Is that so?" He raised his head and looked up at the sky. The sun was already setting. "I don't know what the gods are thinking but you saw how the people see me, didn't you? I am definitely not the kind of guy for this job. I'm no saint, you know?"
(I'm aware!)
"And yet you want to make me one. You'll restrict all my 'actions' that don't go in line with good morals, won't you?"
(That is correct!)
He fell silent.
'I've gotten my shitty work cut out for me this time!' he thought and started heading for the slums. 'I honestly don't know what I'm getting myself into but for now, let's do what it says.'
Justin felt the impact of the humiliation he got from being beaten. He didn't want to admit it but life was definitely not in his favour.
The slums, the filthiest place in the entire capital. It was infested with rats and all types of bugs one could imagine.
It was even said that the pandemic that spread a few decades ago was from the slums since it was always so filthy.
Compared to Justin who looked alright and wore 'decent' (stolen) clothes, the people of the slums were dirty, malnourished and they looked ugly because of their dirty appearance.
They wore rags for clothes every single day. The children were a pitiful sight with their skinny bodies and sunk in cheeks. Their eyes were void of life as they were mostly hungry and searched around for crumps to fill their bellies.
Justin was like that once. He grew up in the slums but didn't know who his parents were.
He searched for scraps and crumbs from bread to fill his stomach too. He begged those who were fortunate but was always kicked away so he searched the dumpsters of people's houses and restaurants and if he was lucky, he'd find something to stuff in his mouth. If he wasn't, he'd sleep with hunger.
It was like that for a long time. He had to bear with an unwanted hunger. Many nights went by with him wishing he could stuff his belly with freshly baked bread.
People of the slums were human too but they were being treated like stray and dirty animals. They were just poor and unfortunate, that's all.
One day, Justin had had enough and decided to retaliate. So what if he couldn't change his birth, he could change his fate at least. He would become the most annoying thorn the aristocrats, no, the world and everyone who grew up in comfort, had ever seen.
The capital would know no peace and he would get away with anything he wanted. That was his wish!
People saw him as the scum of the slums and they feared him since he was strong and fast. The guards with all their fancy weapons and magic couldn't get him either and he loved it but today, he suffered a heavy humiliation. What would they think of him now?
Back to his dirty trunk where he kept a few of his loots, he searched carefully and managed to find a stale loaf of bread.
"Ah! It seems I have been reduced to this!" It was a pitiful sight indeed.
He sat on the ground but just as he was about to take a bite of the stale bread, he caught sight of two little children staring at him with greedy and hungry eyes.
'Don't look at me like that, I won't give it up!' he thought and decided to pretend he wasn't seeing them but he just couldn't.
He let out a heavy sigh, broke the bread into two and threw it at them.
They rushed the bread like greedy wolves and fled. His stomach grumbled and he immediately regretted it but there was nothing he could do about it.
He was going to sleep on an empty stomach, again! He hated it.
He laid down on the bare ground and stared at the night sky.
(You're actually a kind soul!) The system commented.
"Just shut it!" He said and lied on his side, closing his eyes in order not to see the annoying system window.
(You gave out your bread!)
"Yeah, so?"
(I thought you said you were a scum. You didn't care for any one other than yourself?)
"The bread was stale so it didn't really matter if I gave it to them or threw it away!" He said and the system fell silent for a while before pointing out.
(Now you'll sleep in hunger!)
"Thanks for the heads up! What, do you want to give me more points so I can do whatever I want?"
(Of course not!)