Lucy Biatche,
She was well known for her act of generosity and kindness toward those in need. She even built a home for orphans, no matter what their race was.
Furthermore, the fact that she was a hybrid herself aided in the rise of her reputation among both races.
However, it was all just a façade.
In the novel, Lucy's name was mentioned only due to the tragedy she had caused, which resulted in many people losing their lives in the process.
As a result of her greed, the once beautiful town of Vita was turned into a desolate region filled with unidentified poisonous fog, which led to the deaths of many who came into any form of contact with it.
But that was only made public later; even after her death, no one was aware of the crimes she committed against the children she so dearly... cherished.
'I need to keep an eye on her.' Kal thought as he maintained a blank expression on his face. The moment he sensed their attention on him, he was immediately reminded of Lucy's fondness for the special orphans, and given that he was lost in thought and didn't pay much attention to the conversation that the two had, he asked Allyn to summarize what they had been discussing.
"So tell me, child, do you agree?" Lucy's words reached his ears, and her soft tone set his nerves on edge. Kal could see that it was tempered by a faint sense of madness.
'Disgusting.'
Noticing that the child was wary of her, she attempted to stroke his head in an act of affection, but he merely shrugged her hand off and instead gave her a sceptical glance followed by a somewhat courteous nod as a sign that he at least wouldn't ignore her question but only her presence.
Of course, in the eyes of the two adults in the room, Kal appeared as a shy and pitiful child who wasn't used to physical touch but yet made an effort to be polite and give his full attention to both them.
Allyn was livid! How dare she use those ugly, unshiny hands to touch Kal?
Kal sensed Allyn's rage. 'How lovely,' he thought as he watched her tiny figure hovering around Lucy. threatening to end her if she even dared to touch a strand of his hair once more.
Unaware of the little light ball that was cursing her very existence, Lucy continued her act towards the young boy.
The long-forgotten Cian watched as Kallous, despite his polite demeanour, began to lose his patience. Lucy's actions were simply bringing all the wrong emotions of the boy; Cian had to step in before they lose their gem.
"Why don't we fill out the registration format right now so that little Kallous here can go to his new room and rest? perhaps meeting a friend or two on the way."
It was then that Lucy paused her actions and turned to face Cian, her eyes widen.
"Can't believe I almost forgot about such an important matter. Cian, please hand me the form." Lucy spoke with a friendly tone.
He handed her the form, and in a quick, graceful motion, she filled out the basic information, then pressed her thumb into the bottom right-hand corner of the form before handing it back to him to check.
Cian took back the form, and noticed a missing section at the bottom of the form where the child's age and race would normally be set.
"Don't you think we should fill out this part as well?" Cian asked, pointing out the section to her.
While handing Cian the pen, Lucy cast a quick glance at Kallous, commenting, "He's obviously not human, so his demon characteristics should appear later on in the near future, or maybe he's a hybrid. Let's just leave it empty till everything else is sorted out first." She smiled, her tone soft as she questioned Kal.
"How old are you, sweetie?"
Lacking the desire to respond vocally, Kal innocently lifted his middle finger.
"Ah...what a unique way to express yourself, I would've mistaken you for a three year old but this answer will have to suffice for now." curious as she was, Lucy still had urgent matters to attend to.
As Lucy reached a silent agreement with Cian, she summoned the head butler to escort Kallous to his new room to retire and meet with the rest of the special orphans.
"If you need anything, Kallous, just notify this butler right here. He'll take care of everything." Cian advised, bidding Kallous good night.
Once Kal walked out of the door behind the servants. With a glass of wine in hand, Cian gave Lucy a toast.
"Looks like we've struck gold, don't you think so, my lady?" He spoke as he took a sip of the wine.
"Of course, and it is all thanks to you, dear."
She replied while pouring a glass for herself. Although she wasn't a drinker, Lucy wanted to celebrate. Who wouldn't be thrilled to own a brand new gem to add to their collection?
"However, who would throw such a beautiful gem? I'm constantly amazed by those fools."
Going through her desk, Lucy took out the guardianship file and gave it to Cian.
"Just make sure that this file is complete; fake a certificate or something if that can help deal with him legally. The knights are already suspicious of us, so let's make sure nothing they find can be used against us."
"leave it to me, my lady."
✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺
"We have arrived at your room; starting from today, you'll be sharing it with another. If you need anything, just ring the bell, and the attendants will come to assist you." The butler stated before walking away.
'I suppose I can put up with this for a while.' Kal scanned the place until he saw his own bed. Making his way toward it, he took a quick glance at the other side of the room and spotted a child sleeping soundly on the other bed. He assumed that this was his newly assigned roommate; however, due to the dim lighting, he was unable to see their appearance.
Not that he was interested in it anyway.
─'Allyn'
✿ 'On it!'
His signal was followed by a sequence of alerts flashing in front of him. A panel detailing the most recent mission assignment is displayed upon selecting the main mission icon.
≫ You have completed a mission.
[ SURVIVE FOR A YEAR ]
To live in this world, you must nurture your body and mind first.
Through basic training, your stamina and physique will be conditioned until you can stand on your own.
➢ Tasks ( 10/10 )
➢ Rewards ⇩
Kal let out a sigh of relief as soon as he saw the words written on the screen. Even though this mission was out for his blood, the benefits were worthwhile.
─'Display the mission rewards.' The screen changed as the rewards were displayed.
[ MISSION REWARDS ]
Level up
- ACCEPT ￤ - DECLINE
Ten stats points
- ACCEPT ￤ - DECLINE
Ring of ነቿጎል
- ACCEPT ￤ - DECLINE
─'Accept all.' He states, and as if on cue to his command, the system has given him the rewards, already inside his inventory.
CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING LEVEL FIVE.
After receiving the mission rewards and sorting out his newly acquired points, Kal took out a box of cookies made by the system from his inventory and then clicked on his profile.
[ STATUS ]
✧ ( Kallous ) [ Lv.5 ] [ Points: 0 ]
Race: -
[ SB: locked ]
[ Title: - ]
[ Rank ]
F+
[ STRENGTH: 9 (+3) ]
Common.
[ STAMINA: 10 (+2) ]
Common.
[ INTELLIGENCE: 27 (+2) ]
Uncommon.
[ ENDURANCE: 10 (+2) ]
Common.
[ LUCK: 42 ]
Rare.
'Although my luck is a bit questionable, based on my strength alone, I should be on par with an average ten year old of this world, which is fine considering I'm no different than a toddler.'
In the past, Kal once wondered about the reason for his unusual growth rate; being able to walk and speak at such a young age was not common in humans or even any other race he could think of.
However, he quickly came to learn that it was normal for children of his own race. He attempted to ask Allyn for more details, but she was unable to access them without taking risks.
Kal examined his stats; they were mainly common, with only one uncommon and rare as exceptions.
The power system in this world is rather simple; items and adventure ranks are determined based on how high their class is, with the F class being the lowest and the SSS class being the highest.
Granted, the system stats are quite different as well, they are mainly based on the numerical value of each stat; for instance, if a stat ranged from 0 to 10, it is therefore considered common, and if it ranged from 11 to 30, it is considered uncommon. Likewise, rare can only go up to 60, while unique stops at 90.
The last rank is known as mythical; it differs from the rank below it by only ten stats, but each stat it possesses is in a league of its own.
Before Kal could exit the main screen, a greyish system notification screen appeared in front of him, halting his tracks.
'This is...'