“Lord Ryze, I have my own family to take care of. My brother’s debts start and end with himself. My wife and I have nothing to do with his actions. Please be magnanimous, my lord.” John politely requested.  

 The strapping farmer’s head was bowed with his forehead touching the dirt. In front of him stood the mighty Lord Ryze and his family’s knights. Lord Ryze looked down on the pathetic worm before quickly focusing his gaze on the true reason for visiting this peasant. His eyes gazed upon the beautiful, homely woman peering from the door of the shack they call a house out here. Her body was filled out in all the right places with a youthful face that could satisfy him for years to come. 

“Magnanimous, huh? I wonder where a brutish oaf like you heard of such a word. It's insulting to me that you would think that I'm being anything but magnanimous!” Lord Ryze spat. 

“Please be magnanimous, my lord!” John raised his voice. 

Not too far away, various villagers began to crowd together and come toward John’s home. A twisted look of disgust appeared on Lord Ryze’s face as he realized the peasant’s purpose in raising his voice. In a moment of uncontrollable rage, Lord Ryze kicked John in the head and sent him on his back.  

“Teach this fool a lesson for daring to scheme against this Lord,” Ryze ordered his guards. 

Without any words or remarks, the two knights began to violently stomp and kick the downed farmer. The nearby villagers watched in horror and confusion. What could John have done to upset the Lord? Lord Ryze turned to the watching crowd and gained their attention. 

“This is the punishment for failing to uphold the values one should have as a human being!” Lord Ryze said nothing more than that. 

His words only sowed deep bewilderment through the village of farmers. While John was not close to the other villagers on account of his cursed wife, it wasn’t as if they believed he or his wife were evil people. Just bad luck to be around. Perhaps even this reason was enough to be beaten for... 

In the middle of John’s punishment, his wife came running out of the house. She tried to use her body to protect him from getting hurt further, but how could a young woman stand against two trained soldiers in their prime? With little effort, she was kicked away as they continued to stomp and beat John into a crumpled mess on the ground. Her mouth seemed to be screaming something with all her heart, but the only thing that came out of it was saliva. 

John’s wife was mute! Lord Ryze’s interest in the woman peaked upon this realization. A woman as attractive as this that wouldn’t be able to nag or scream at him? Ryze must absolutely take this woman! 

“Stop,” Ryze commanded his guards. “On account of your wife’s selflessness and good character, I'm willing to compromise with you, farmer. I’ll borrow your wife as a temporary... servant. When I'm finished with her, you’ll have her returned, and your brother’s debts will be no problem of yours going forward. Guards, grab her.” Lord Ryze ordered. 

John didn’t get the opportunity to reply, speak, or argue. Lydia was captured kicking and struggling. As she was being taken away, John’s eyes narrowed into a furious glare despite his body’s heavily injured state. A glare that wished it could kill just through contact. Seeing his wife being taken by the lord with a perverted look on his face as he looked at his wife, John didn’t care about the social hierarchy anymore. He let his emotions reign free as he contemplated murdering Lord Ryze. 

None of the villagers moved to help but continued watching as uninvolved bystanders. John took notice of this as he forced his broken and bruised body off the ground. It took several seconds and attempts to rise back to his feet, but eventually, he did it. He limped his way back into his home and left the door open behind him.  

On the kitchen table, there was a purple fruit. A type of fruit that John has never seen or heard of before. John received this fruit through means he couldn’t explain, even if he were asked with a sword at his throat. This fruit was given to him as a reward from the x100 Feedback System. John didn’t name it that, but that was what the strange voice in his head named itself. 

Without hesitation, John bit into the fruit like a ravenous animal. This fruit was the result of a 100x reward from the system! He intended to grow the miraculous fruit in his field to sell for money, but his wife needed him right now. John didn’t have the time to wait.  

In an instant, John dropped to the floor, clutching his heart. He tried to scream as the pain attacked him from inside and out, but no sound came as his limbs flailed around without control. In mere seconds, John’s body was being remade in a horrifying manner. Protruding veins, the sounds of bones breaking and mending, blackish blood leaking from multiple orifices, and nothing but the sound of John’s rapidly beating heart could be heard by him. 

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Just as soon as the torture came, it was over. John mindlessly stared at his ceiling as his newly reformed brain was trying to process the experience he just gone through. Until he remembered his wife. With a jump, John got back to his feet as he went to grab one of his tools. He certainly couldn’t face Lord Ryze’s soldiers without a weapon to defend himself. 

John exited his residence covered in blood and black splotches, holding a wooden flail in his hand. Two large sticks connected together with a chain. One stick was for holding, while the other stick was for striking. The villagers looked at John in shock and disbelief. They hurriedly ran over to stop him from whatever crazy thing he was about to do. 

“John! You must not act rashly!” 

“You will lose your life trying to go against the Lord!” 

“You should be happy Lord Ryze took that cursed woman off your hands! You’re still young. You can remarry!” 

With a single swing, John forced the villagers back. Some fell on their behinds from the surprise gust of wind produced by the warning. John glared at them before continuing to walk away. That was their only warning, and they wouldn’t get a second if they continued to stand in his way, talking nonsense. 

The villagers could only look on in bewilderment as John followed Lord Ryze’s tracks. At this point, they could do nothing but pray for the man that his death would be painless and quick. They soon dispersed and went about their lives as they waited to hear the news of John’s death in a few days. There was a reason why they were farmers at their age and not soldiers. 

______________________________________________ 

“Tell the servants to clean her up, teach her about her future duties, and feed her before sending her to my room tonight. I’ll be resting. I'm quite tired.” Lord Ryze ordered his guards. 

Lydia has long since exhausted herself and was unconscious when they arrived in town. The guards didn’t delay in their orders, and soon, the woman was dropped off to the female servants. They relayed the Lord’s orders to the women, and if she began to act unruly, call one of them to pacify her. 

“Yes, my Lord.” The female servants nodded their heads and gazed at Lydia. 

It clicked in an instant what this woman was brought here for. Most likely another concubine for the Lord. However, it was the first time they’d been sent to care for one that arrived asleep. Nor did she have any servants of her own to accompany her. How strange was the only thing they thought. 

… 

“Ah, are you awake, madam?” An unfamiliar voice flowed into Lydia’s ears. 

Lydia shot up from the bed she was placed on and stared into the eyes of the female servant. She flinched back in fright, wondering where she was. Her eyes frantically looked around as she grabbed the nearest object to use for self-defense. Her panic was only met with a sweet giggle. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Madam. You wouldn’t be the first of Lord Ryze’s concubines to try and escape the estate.” The servant smiled. “The Lord’s loyal soldiers surround this courtyard. It’s impossible for anyone but a small army to break into here. My best advice for you is to prepare your heart and don’t do anything stupid. Lord Ryze isn’t above punishing women that can’t learn their place.” She advised. 

“...” Lydia’s heart sank into the deepest crevice of her soul. 

Her eyes lost their liveliness as she looked hollow and unresponsive. All she wanted to do was to protect her husband. The only man in her village who was willing to marry her despite being born cursed with the inability to speak. He was the only boy who didn’t mind her presence and wanted to be friends with her. Everyone else ignored her, bullied her, or treated her like she wasn’t human, just like them. Why did this have to happen just when she was finally given the chance to live a normal life like everyone else? 

______________________________________________ 

“Sir? Do you need a doctor?” A local soldier asked the blood-covered man. 

“...” John gave a slight shake of his head as he pointed at the Valen’s Estate. 

“Do you have business inside Lord Ryze’s estate?”  

“The farmer is here to pay his brother’s debts.” John relayed to the man. 

“I’ll go send for someone to relay the message to the Lord.” The soldier replied as he went inside the gate. 

John stood there idly as the other guard just silently stared at him. 

“Are you sure you don’t need a doctor?” The other guard took a good look at John. 

The farmer’s clothes were constrained to the point where it looked like he accidentally put on children’s clothes instead of a man's outfit. His muscles were quite defined, though. Pretty impressive for a farmer. This guy should've joined the army instead of wasting his time being a farmer. It pays more, and the treatment is better. 

“Hey, do you want to join the army? A man with muscles like yours should use them to serve our country!” He asked. 

John only smiled in response, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward. “Trust me, the army is great. You might think it's dangerous and scary to put your life on the line as a soldier, but that’s only if you don’t know the right people. With my help, I can guarantee that you’ll live a safe, comfy job as a soldier just like I am! I’m working for Lord Ryze right now, and since he’s a playboy, we soldiers don’t have much to do but sit on our ass and earn money for it. Sounds great, right?”  

“...” John’s smile turned cold as he thought about the man who kidnapped his wife. 

From the gate, the friendly soldier from before appeared with a large man in armor appeared who looked down on John. 

“You, again?” It was one of the guards that helped the lord kidnap Lydia and nearly crippled John. 

John spoke no words as he swung the swipple of his flail directly at the man’s head!