Again, nothing showed on his eyes, but there was an imperceptible flicker of mechanical noise that reached his ears, a response, albeit a vague one. Using that chance, Kale pressed on, "Are you some kind of chip on my head?"
Silence!!
"Are you responsible for my reincarnation?"
Silence!!
"Are you something from Earth…."
Silence!!
"What are you after?"
Silence!!
"Why did you appear only after I was cursed?"
Silence!!
At this point, Kale was truly furious, "What the fuck can you even do???"
It was only then that the glitching mechanical sound reached his ears again, like the flickering of an old black-and-white television. Slowly, the noise cleared, and a familiar voice resounded in his mind.
[Host's complete genetic sequence, soul fragment, and memory have been collected. Re-calibrating all necessary information….]
[Processing….processing….processing….]
[Ding!! System is ready….path forward for Host has been optimized]
[You have gained the specialized class 'Genetic Engineer', Class rank is beyond Supreme…. ]
[Information finalized….]
[Showing Host data….]
Beast Mutation System (Status Window)
…..
Host: Kale Ardentis
Status: Cursed (World Dragons Seal)
Species: Human (Reincarnated)
Class: Genetic Engineer (Ultimate)
Awakened Pathway: Tamer
Tamer Rank: None
Mana: 100
Beast Force: Null
…..
Tamed Beasts: None
Ability Slot: Null
Gene Lab (Locked) ▽
…..
Quest: Find a method to circumvent the curse and become an Apprentice Tamer.
Reward: Gene Lab will be unlocked based on the progress of this quest. The system will be updated, and further functionalities shall be unlocked, depending on the potential of the first Tamed Beast.
~~
Kale was overwhelmed by the barrage of notifications flashing at the corners of his eyes at once; he could only curse if the damn thing were on some silent mode till now.
As he read through the status window, the first thing that he noticed was his status of being cursed; a trace of hatred flashed in his eyes, 'So, it was the fucking World Dragon that did this to me….'
But he had to forcefully calm himself down, for there was nothing he could do against such an invincible being, not in his current state. Not if he could not grow strong enough.
As his eyes went to his given class, that was the thing he was perhaps most surprised by, because back on Earth, he was the single greatest Genetic Researcher of the century, in terms of achievement or knowledge.
No one could even come close, but that perhaps became his very damnation, eventually causing his death.
Yet, now in another world, for him to get the same class as his actual area of expertise was indeed shocking, but then again, what if it was just the system doing so based on his memories?
He sighed and shook his head before he could focus further on the rest or continue deliberating on the system's existence. With the bare minimum amount of information he had on him.
The sound of a toddler reached his ears, shouting from outside, "Big brother, is baaackkkk..."
A small smile tugged at his lips, and his little sister smashed the door open, rushing inside, right into his room. Without caring to slow down, she jumped directly onto his lap, hugging him tightly, as she asked,
"Brotheeer… brotheeer! Did you learnn magic? You did? Show me! Show me!"
Kale showed a bitter smile. How could he tell this kid that he might never actually be able to learn anything supernatural, to become a being more than human?
Soon, his parents came and stood at the door, wearing a complicated expression; it seemed they had already heard from the villagers about what had happened. Their gazes were transfixed on Kale's black colored soul sigil, which looked utterly unholy. An open sign for anyone to spot that the most vile of the curse damned him.
The innocent Iria's gaze also went to the black mark on his forehead. She was strangely fascinated by it, just as she was about to touch it, Kale stopped her hand. Iria was disappointed, "But that looks so cool, lemme touch itttt, let meee….."
Kale did not let her, because something bad might happen if she touched the cursed mark; he had to be cautious of it. Slowly, his mother came close, taking Iria off his lap. She said to the little girl,
"Iria, my dear sweetheart, do you want to play a game….?"
She nodded fervently, "Iria loves gaaamee.e…."
Selene chuckled, "You have lots of small dragon toys that your father made, right? Go and bring them all…."
Iria's eyes sparked like the brightest of stars, and she immediately ran towards another room to get all of her toys. Kale could only look at his mother questioningly, but the woman still said nothing. She directly took out the precious Dragon statue from the wooden shelf, the one she valued most.
With no warning, she directly smashed it onto the floor, splintering the mighty draconic symbol into hundreds of fragments. Kale was shocked as he looked at the woman in disbelief. This woman was more stubborn than anyone else.
From the very first day of his reincarnation, not a single day passed that Selene did not wholeheartedly pray to the Dragons multiple times; her devotion was real, and for her to do this with her own hands spoke volumes about how much she truly loved him.
Her hands trembled, tears fell down her cheeks, and she stomped on the Dragon's statue in hatred. She stated with a mix of grief and rage, "If the Dragons dared to curse my son, then this mother curses the Dragons in return…."
Then she came and hugged him tightly, she whispered in a broken voice, "I'm sorry….my son…."
Kale gave a bitter smile at this woman's antics. He could only reluctantly pat Selene's back; his father, Darius, stood in silence. It was only when Selene had somewhat calmed down that the man spoke, "Come with me….Kale."
Selene stepped away from him and smiled, nodding. "That's right, there is something you need to see…."
As Kale stepped out of the house just a bit in the distance, there was a large fire, filled with wooden figures of dragons that the people of Dagan used to worship… now burning in the bright flames. For a moment, Kale shuddered. If the church found out about this, it would not end well.
But his father placed a warm hand over his shoulder, filled with reassurance: "Don't worry, son, everything will be fine…."
The gaze of all the villagers turned to him as they let out a hearty laugh; his eyes turned teary once more as he thought, "They did this all for me…"
Even Iria was there, throwing her toys into the pit of flames, standing right by him…
Kale asked, his voice almost cracking, "Why?...."
His question was not directed at a single person but to all of them.
He, who lived his first life all alone, born as an orphan, having no one to lean on, no family, no relative, even the one closest friend he trusted with all his life, betrayed him in the end, he knew more than anyone the weight of loneliness.
His ambition was his only true companion, which kept him alive. But now??
These people, why did they care for him so much to the point of forgoing their lifelong religion and belief, to console him? why?
His question hung heavy amid the burning flames of the draconic figures, and no one answered until the oldest of the villagers came forward. Barely having any strength in her skinny body, she used a wooden club in one hand to remain steady.
She smiled, placing a hand on his cheeks, and stated, "Even if you're not blessed by the Dragons anymore, you are the one blessed by Dagan. Remember that son…"
"No matter what happens, remember that…."
Kale could only watch everyone with grateful eyes, a strong feeling overwhelming his heart. All the bitterness from his failure vanished as he clenched his fists and thought, so what if he could not tame any beasts? There must be a way to circumvent it, just like the system had said.
It would not give him that quest if that truly was impossible.
He needed information; he needed to study everything unique about this world, the awakened pathways, how the awakened ones evolved from lower to higher lifeforms.
To be more precise: if he could get his hands on that knowledge, he could use it, coupled with his expertise from his past life and the beast mutation system, so that he could...
Swosh!!!
Whosh!!!
His thoughts stopped.
Suddenly, a cold wind began to blow, dimming the pit of fire ever so slightly; the wind was cold enough to make everyone shiver, despite the flame burning on the side. An ominous hush fell over the surroundings. Kale frowned as a bad feeling gripped his heart.
As if to confirm his very suspicions, the robotic voice of the system buzzed in his head at the highest alarm…
[WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!!]
[ENERGY SIGNATURE OF A POWERFUL LIFE FORM HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE VICINITY]
[WARNING!!! WARNING!!!]
[HOST LIFE IN IMMINENT DANGER…]