Damon was unbothered by the curse bestowed on him. As long as there was power, nothing else mattered. The intent to escape from the slums and take revenge on the people who caused his parents' death fueled his determination. Everything taken away from his parents would be returned by blood tenfold. There would be no mercy or empathy shown.
The void creatures also played a crucial role in his revenge plan. To him, they needed to be eradicated from the face of the earth.
'I don't care anymore, whether I become a void creature or not. I will take my revenge on them all, no matter what I become,' Damon thought. 'Besides, the curse might just be the tattoo. The tattoo empowers me, so it sounds more like a blessing than a curse.'
As always, humanity's hunger for power had been nothing but a flowing stream, endless. No matter the situation, power seemed to be superior above all. Damon moved to the attributes, which interested him. From the games he had played, attributes were like his strengths and levels in the game, and the ones in the status were more detailed.
The features were pretty much self-explanatory, but only one stood out that confused Damon.
"What's VE, System?" Damon asked. Referring to it as 'system' was the first thing that came to mind.
**❰VE: Abbreviation for Void Energy. Enables the user to harness the most corrosive form of dark energy at their will.❱**
**〘Warning: energy could have side effects〙**
"Pfft! Who needs emotions?" Damon cared less. Emotions served no purpose for him; they were a hindrance to his path. Pain and regret always hurt.
"Let's see what happens when I use the energy," Damon said, activating his void energy. He didn't even have to say it; just a thought activated it.
**VE: [100/100%]**
A burst of dark purple aura suddenly erupted from Damon's hands. It burned like campfire flames, dancing to the rhythm of the atmosphere. It was bright, and staring at it felt like Damon's soul was about to be sucked in, but he held on.
In response to the flames, the tattoo on Damon's left hand quivered and glowed with a black hue. Although the void energy proved intense to wield, or even stare at, Damon could control it like a third arm. It was as if he was one with the energy, flowing through him like a stream, with knowledge of aura control seeking to imprint in his head.
Damon clenched his hands into fists, covered in violently burning purple energy. Then Damon slightly punched the ground.
**Boom!!**
Instantly, the ground caved in, cracked in a web pattern, creating a 30m crater with one move and an explosive effect.
"Whoa. That's some intense attack. My physical attributes have improved tenfold from a normal human; I am as strong as Kenny," Damon was shocked.
It is to be known that the earth had undergone a kind of mutation due to the rays of the void clouds. Since it no longer rained, the planet was polluted with corrosive void energy. However, the planet somehow adapted to the pollution and mutated. Now it was five times stronger, the ground proving really hard to dig. Only with the help of powerful people could one manage it. Plants either became toxic or turned into monsters due to the infection in the earth's soil.
**-5 VE**
**VE: [95/100%]**
**❰Energy decreases each time it's used in an attack❱**
"I see. It's incredible how powerful void energy is; that explains why just an infected rat could be so strong. How strong could a void creature be?" Damon shivered at the thought. In his memories, he had a clear view of a void creature's power when his parents were killed. However, it was a rank one and wild, so he couldn't determine its power. But if he saw one now, he was sure to be able to measure its strength.
Deactivating the VE, Damon stood up feeling light as a feather and clenched his fists in anger. "I am coming for you, bastard rats. I'll not only kill you, I'll eat you for dinner. My sweet revenge."
**Ding**
**❰Daily quest❱**
**〘Perform 1000 push-ups in one sitting〙**
**〘Reward: 50 exp〙**
**〘Run above 600 km without any breaks〙**
**〘Reward: 50 exp〙**
Meanwhile, Kenny was seen ravaging through trash to find food. He was located in a district one would never venture into, a place to lose their life: the Red Zone. Although technically Kenny wasn't in the darkest part where Damon had ventured, he was no fool and knew what creatures lurked there. He knew this area was the best place to get fresher dumped food, and because no one patronized it, the leftovers were surplus.
About to pick up an item from the floor, Kenny heard rustling and squeaking sounds coming from the deepest part of the Red Zone. "It looks like we're having another rat stew," Kenny said as five large rats covered with spikes started to come out from the dark part, surprising Kenny a little.
"Hmm? Why are there this many? Something must have disturbed them. At least they are not too many for me to handle." Kenny, with a fierce look, clapped his hands together ever so slightly, creating a large ripple in the air that shot out like a blade slash, severing a rat in two.
"These infected are far weaker than void creatures themselves. Those are real monsters," Kenny said, before unleashing his aura to finish the remaining rats that were no match for him.
Kenny's speed drastically increased, using the air like a blade to slice the rats' flesh like a hot knife through butter. His movements were carefully precise and 89% accurate. He was practically a killing machine, and in five minutes, the rats were all vanquished.
Kenny then started to gather huge chunks of the rats for dinner. Luckily, after an infected rat was killed, its body became rid of the void energy in it, unlike void creatures whose flesh was twenty times more toxic than eating a loaf of bread infected with the coronavirus.
After gathering up the flesh, Kenny sensed something weird about the atmosphere but quickly ignored it, thinking it might be more creatures from the darkest part.
However, when he left the area, a tall and skinny silhouette watched him from a distance on a mountain of steaming hot garbage.
"Another Curseweaver in the slums? How interesting," a sinister smile curved on his face.
***