"I guess this is the path I'll be taking to rid myself of the curse," Zach decided.
However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to locate both the demon that cursed him and the one who hypnotized him. After all, they were the ones who ruined his happy family.
Zach clenched his fist in anger as he began to feel several emotions course through him when he remembered how sad, lonely and scared Zach Darkmoor had been while he lived his life in solitude, not knowing that he would be the one to end the ones he cared about.
Zach loosened his grip and released a sigh before he suddenly recalled something important.
"How exactly can you help me to change my fate?" Zach directed his question to the system.
[I am equipped with your attributes, active skills, life skills, quests and so much more.]
[Would you like to take a look at your status?]
"Yes."
At his response, the system displayed his status.
=== STATUS ===
[BASIC STATUS]
Name: Zach Darkmoor
Age: 17
Level: 1 (1/1000)
Race: Human, ??? (Locked)
Title: World Walker.
==============
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 10
Charm: 20
FP: None
AP: None
============
[SKILLS AND TRAITS]
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
> Appraisal [Locked]
> God's Hand
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
===
[TRAITS]
> Ambitious
> Composed
===
[LIFE SKILLS]
> Cooking {Intermediate}
> Drawing {Advanced}
===
[Favourability]
[Quests]
[Please note that due to your current weakened state, most of the life skills and traits you acquired before you got here will remain locked.]
[To obtain your previous traits and life skills alongside a bunch of new skills and traits, it is advisable that you improve your current attributes and complete future quests so your body can adapt to the new changes.]
_______
Just from the look of his status, Zach could see how weak he was. However, he wasn't irritated or surprised by this. He knew that the previous Zach never bothered about improving his strength or any other attributes, but now, things were about to change.
Unlike the previous villain who was always bothered about the runes on his body and scared that he might hurt someone dear to him, Zach chose not to be bothered by this anymore.
Instead, he was relaxed about it, confident that it was only a matter of time before he grew stronger and freed himself from the curse.
A big part of his relaxed demeanour was due to his trait, [Composed].
This trait made him calm and collected, allowing his flow of thoughts to be smooth and clear even in challenging situations.
Although Zach and Aurora became lovers in the novel, it wasn't until a month to his death that he really understood the feelings he had for her.
Since he was cursed, Zach distanced himself from everyone else, isolating himself from others, while covertly yearning to one day vanish from existence, never to be seen again.
His feelings stemmed from his observation of those around him. He noticed that his Aunt and all the girls in the mansion never smiled because of the way he chose to live his life.
His Aunt also lost her appetite because of it and the girls became concerned about her well-being.
So the previous Zach thought that if he could just vanish from his Aunt's sight, maybe then, she would find happiness with the rest of the girls.
But deep down, the previous Zach just wanted to see his Aunt smile again.
"Alright, it's been decided," Zach clenched his fist as his mind was finally made up.
He wasn't going to just sit around and allow fate to decide how he would live the rest of his life.
He was going to enjoy every bit of his new life.
Zach vowed to grow stronger to protect those he cared about, and if the world deemed him a villain for having such passion—
"Then so be it," Zach stared into the distance with a weird smile on his face, unaware that someone had entered his room and was currently watching him act in the most bizarre way she had ever seen him behave.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Luna asked worriedly.
"Huh?" Zach was pulled out of his thoughts by Luna's sudden question. He turned to his right in shock and was surprised to see that someone was in his room.
After noticing who it was, a smile bloomed on his face. It was his favourite and only little sister, but his heart clenched when he recalled the cause of Luna's death in the novel.
It made him feel sad once again, but Zach slapped both of his cheeks lightly, not wanting to spoil his mood with bad memories of the novel.
'No, I won't let that happen again,' He vowed, turning to a window on his left and forcing a smile on his face.
However, Luna noticed his weird smile and asked. "Do you want to use the loo?"
"Um, no?" Zach raised an eyebrow in confusion as he faced Luna.
"Then why were you looking at the window and grinning at your reflection like a madman?"
"Arh," An invisible arrow pierced Zach from the back.
Luna simply smiled as she stared at her brother acting weirdly again.
"You were also making a really ugly face," she added, eager to see how he would react again.
"Ooh," Another arrow pierced Zach in the chest.
Luna giggled cutely with her hand covering her lips. "Yep, it's official. My big brother Zach is the weirdest big brother in the world."
"Argh," A new arrow pierced him on the head and Zach dropped dead on the bed.
"And I won't play with you ever again because a lady like me doesn't mingle with weirdos like you," Luna turned around, desperately trying to hide her smile from Zach.
After all, she had to show him she was serious.
"Uh?... What?..... No!!"
"Humph," Luna huffed and pretended to walk towards the door.
"Wait. No, don't go!!" Zach shouted, acting as though he wanted to stop her and causing Luna to giggle and stop walking. She then turned around and made her demands known to him. "Then you must promise to give me a piggyback ride."
"Yes, I promise to…. Wait what? Nice try you cunning little fox, but I'm not going to do that," Zach quickly refused after almost agreeing to Luna's usual demand for the past few weeks.