Records of the Weakest Emperor

Chapter 181: Origin of the Curse

Ricardo and Heisenberg gulped a mouthful of saliva.

The things they had heard from this deformed man were just too outrageous that they didn't know if they should believe it or not.

Ricardo glanced at Calvin, noticing that there was not a single expression on his face. He was calm as a placid river.

Calvin noticed Ricardo's gaze and he smiled, "Don't worry, he seems trustworthy."

Seems?

Dude, come on! We're in a cursed village full of living dead!

Ricardo couldn't help but inwardly curse.

But since Calvin had already become some sort of a leader between the three of them and Ricardo didn't want to be that one person who couldn't get along with the group. He could only hang his head low and walk alongside the others. However, at this moment, a strange thought came up to his mind.

'Just why am I treating Calvin as if he was my superior even though I'm younger than him...'

Ricardo felt weird and he couldn't help but take a second glance at Calvin.

"What? Am I that handsome?" Calvin teased.

"Handsome your ass!" Ricardo rolled his eyes at the former and proceeded to ignore him.

Calvin shook his head and chuckled. Ricardo was indeed an amusing young man.

The deformed man led them to a shack a block away from the village center.

"What are we doing here?" Calvin asked.

The deformed man indifferently swept his gaze across the three and asked, "I thought the three of you would like to hear as to how I survived for so long alone in this village."

"Oh, so you're going to let us in the secret? As long as it doesn't involve getting cursed, then we're good to go." Heisenberg smiled.

Ricardo glanced at Heisenberg and asked, "Were you always that brave, old man?"

"What?" Heisenberg scowled.

Calvin shook his head and said, "Does your secret for living so long in this village include your clothes?"

The deformed man's hideous facial features underwent a change. He was evidently surprised by hearing Calvin's words.

"How did you know?"

"It was pretty obvious, the monsters we've encountered so far were wearing the same graveclothes. You must've worn the same clothes as them and pretended to be dead even though you're one of the living..." Calvin smiled.

The deformed man nodded.

A smile of amusement briefly flashed across his eyes.

"You're quite intelligent for someone your age."

"Hahaha..." Calvin didn't fail to take notice of that amusement flitting across the deformed man's eyes as he awkwardly laughed and said, "It is just the power of deduction."

The deformed man took another look at Calvin before he opened the doors of the shack and went inside.

There they saw the deformed man wrapping every nook and cranny of his body except his eyes with the graveclothes that he had in one of the cabinet's drawers.

He then handed over the clothing intended for Ricardo, Heisenberg, and Calvin, "Remember to make sure that there is no exposed part of your body apart from the soles of your feet, everything above your wrists, and your eyes!"

This sure was a stern warning that Ricardo and Heisenberg didn't dare to ignore.

Calvin was wrapping himself up with the graveclothes when he noticed that there was a separate room in the shack.

"Hey, can I use that room over there?" Calvin asked the deformed man.

The latter didn't seem to hear what Calvin had said while Ricardo took advantage of this opportunity to tease.

"Calvin, we're all men here... Why are you acting so shy for? Could it be that underneath that strong exterior of yours lies a woman?"

"Dude, stop reading those fantasy novels from the Dream Heart Publishing House..."

"Wait, how did you know that I'm an avid reader of their publications?"

"It's obviously because you quoted what you said from the book, 'The Prince of the Kingdom is a Girl.'." Calvin lightly chuckled, "Let's stop this farce for now. Both of you, follow me to that room. Hey, bro... You don't mind us using that room, right?" He once again turned to the deformed man, but the man was still so engrossed and being so meticulous with wrapping the graveclothes around his body.

Calvin took his silence as agreement as he turned around to walk into the adjacent room with Ricardo and Heisenberg.

"What is this..."

"How lavish... To think that a village that's in the middle of nowhere could afford to decorate their beds and utensils with gold."

The insides of the room were out of the three's expectations. Of course, the bed was still a stone bed, but the cup with some leftover juice and a few empty plates were clearly made out of clay mixed with gold.

It was strange enough that the shack had an adjacent room given that the abandoned houses they had visited so far only had a single room similar to that of a studio apartment in modern-day earth, yet the decorations were also this extravagant?

Just who was the owner of this room?

Calvin fell into deep contemplation and an idea came to his mind as he glanced in the direction of the deformed man.

"Calvin, you're thinking that the deformed man owns this house?"

Heisenberg wasn't so dull given his age and he immediately caught on to what Calvin was thinking.

Calvin shook his head, "I don't think that it's the case, I mean I found him a few blocks away from this house. If he really owns this place, then why wouldn't he stay in that house instead of in this place?"

"That makes sense..."

Ricardo nodded, "We should probably stop overthinking and get this over with. My god, these graveclothes smell disgusting."

Everyone echoed Ricardo's sentiment.

The three quickly wrapped their bodies as tightly as they could and realizing that they now looked like mummified human beings, the three couldn't help but let out bitter smiles on their faces. Even their noses were covered by the graveclothes.

Its putrid smell continuously inundated their senses.

Before the three walked out of the room, Calvin handed over a piece of paper to Ricardo and Heisenberg.

"What is this?" Heisenberg asked. He could see that there were some scribblings on the piece of paper, but they looked vague as if a chicken had scribbled these words with its beak.

"Do both of you know Elder Tongue?"

"A little bit." Ricardo was the one who answered.

"Then, remember what I am about to say nextwhen you are in absolute mortal danger. When you are in a dangerous situation that you could never hope to deal with even with your power. Hold this piece of paper with your hand and shout the word, 'Release' in Elder Tongue."

"Release? What's release in Elder Tongue again?" Ricardo furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's 'Gawas'," Heisenberg commented.

"You really do know a lot, old man. It seems that the adage, 'with age comes knowledge.' is true." Ricardo snickered.

"Sure, sure..." Heisenberg was so lazy to respond to Ricardo's obvious baits, "I heard you shout that word earlier when you sent those Witches flying away."

Calvin stared at Heisenberg and merely smiled.

Heisenberg noticed the mysterious smirk on Calvin's face and he couldn't help but sigh, "All right, whatever secrets you have I won't dare to delve any further. In fact, I'm already grateful enough that you gave us the manual for the art of Mana Manipulation. What's more, you're also giving us a life-saving talisman, or whatchamacallit what is this."

"I can't impose on you any further," Heisenberg said these words with a tinge of shame.

Calvin didn't fail to notice that brief flash of emotion as he teased, "It seems that you really do know how to feel embarrassed, eh? If you're really that grateful, then you can pay me in exchange for giving you that manual. Of course, I only accept gold, pesos, or cheques from the Joselian bank."

Heisenberg almost keeled over from what he had heard.

Ricardo also turned his gaze away and pretended to not hear anything.

But inside, he was dying...

If Calvin really did make them pay for the art of Mana Manipulation, then not even the wealth of their entire households would be enough to pay for it!

Ricardo's lips repeatedly twitched.

Heisenberg was also grim.

Calvin swept his gaze at the two and patted their shoulders before he laughed in a light-hearted manner.

"What's up with you two? Come on, man! I was just joking... We're friends, so why would I make you pay?"

"But of course, if you want to pay, then who am I to refuse money when it's offered to me?"

"Ahem..." Heisenberg let out a dry cough, "I suggest we go now. The more time we spend here the closer it gets to daybreak. Anyway, Ricardo. I've noticed that your Aspect is a bow, yet your Ultimate Skill is a sword attack? What's up with that?"

Calvin stared at Heisenberg in astonishment.

What a smooth way to change topics.

Ricardo caught the signal and he also cleared his throat before replying, "Well, to be completely honest with you two. My dream had always been to become a master Swordsman. You know the story of the, 'Rising of the Sword Hero', right?"

Calvin faintly nodded. The story, 'Rising of the Sword Hero' could be considered as a popular legend in the lands of Las Felipinas that parents used to inspire their children to work harder and never give up. It was because this story depicted the real struggle that the Sword Hero endured back when the world still hadn't experienced the First Cataclysm.

In a nutshell, it was a 'weak to strong' story that inspired a lot of people.

It turned out that even Ricardo was one of them too.

"Your dream had always been to become a master Swordsman? Then, why were you given the Scout class? What's more, your Aspect is also a bow?" Calvin asked.

But the moment he finished his words he felt the piercing glare of Heisenberg.

He could already predict that Heisenberg was about to say in response to what he had said.

"Never question the Goddess's plan!"

"Now, I'm convinced that you're indeed a true devotee of the Goddess. But are you not afraid of being expelled from the church with your perverted acts?" Calvin recalled what had happened in that passenger wagon between Heisenberg and that young woman.

Heisenberg slightly smiled, "Not discovered, no recourse."

"Shameless!" Calvin criticized.

The three laughed out loud before Ricardo went back to the topic.

"I really have no idea why the Goddess gave me a bow as my Aspect when other Scout-Type Predators have daggers or even slingshots for their weapons. Why is it a bow out of all the possible weapons out there?" Ricardo said, "No, I don't dare to question the goddess's judgment... I am just confused." He added when he felt the killing intent from Heisenberg.

"Are you also good at the bow?"

"Nope... I have no prior experience with the bow before I got it as my Aspect."

"Now that explains why you can't hit anything with your arrows."

"Shut the fuck up, shameless old man." Ricardo scowled.

"Hahaha..." Calvin light-heartedly chuckled, "All right, we've spent quite a long time here. It's about time that we go out."

"Agreed."

The three walked out of the room and saw that the deformed man had already wrapped himself to the point that he looked like a genuine mummy out of a pyramid from modern-day earth.

"Let's go..." The deformed man simply said.

Calvin and the others followed him outside the shack.

"Careful now... act as if you belong. Follow me closely or you might run into monsters that can take your life in a blink of an eye."

A crazed smile suffused on the deformed man's lips.

Heisenberg and Ricardo could only offer a nod in return, doubting if it was the right decision for them to trust this stranger.