Reincarnated as a Novel's Villain: Creator of Curses and Blessings-Chapter 50: Donkey
Hector slowly opened his eyes.
Strangely, he saw his body covered in bandages. All of them were soaked in blood, yet already dry. Before he could think what the fuck had happened, an old, gentle voice rang out.
"Boy, are you fine?"
Hector glanced at the old man, who had a wrinkled face and gave him a bright smile.
Hector scowled, his instincts rising. However, when he sensed the old man’s mana core, he relaxed.
The old man didn’t have one. He was just an ordinary human.
"No need to be alert, boy. I’m just a weakling, not a superhuman like you." The old man smiled gently as he urged the horse forward, setting the carriage rolling.
After a moment, the old man spoke again.
"I saw you passed out in the carriage, in pretty bad shape. So this old man wanted to save you."
Hector rubbed his forehead in weariness. Indeed, he hadn’t expected to pass out, but considering his previous condition, it made sense.
He had pushed himself to the limit when facing that psychotic butcher. It seemed his body had fallen into a deep sleep to recover, so he barely sensed anything.
What luck. At his weakest moment, he didn’t have to face another bastard. For the first time since coming to this world, he felt a bit lucky.
"Thank you, old man."
Thirty minutes later, Hector was dressed in the old, common clothes the old man had given him. He asked for some information about the Lion Legion.
He believed that if the old man belonged to this world, he must know it—or at least, he hoped so.
"Lion Legion? Of course. Everyone knows them. They’re the heroes of this land."
He added in an admiring voice.
"Currently, they have five mighty commanders, said to be the strongest people in this land. If only I were a superhuman like you, I would’ve joined the Lion Legion long ago. They’re in the final stage of their campaign. I also wanted to be one of them, to contribute something to protecting this land."
He sighed and shook his head slightly, his voice filled with regret and weariness.
"What on earth am I thinking? ...I’m too old for such ambitions."
Hector rubbed his chin, thinking.
(Five commanders? If I become one of them during the campaign, I can make sure my contribution points reach the highest.)
Hector asked,
"So, how can I join the Legion?"
The old man smirked in amusement.
"Good. I like boys with ambition. Don’t waste your life on common things like me."
He continued,
"You can go to the Ashen Stronghold. They’ve set it up to recruit soldiers. But you must be quick. There’s no time, because today is the last day of recruitment."
"Ashen Stronghold? How can I find it?"
The old man’s smirk deepened.
"Lucky for you, my route passes by that stronghold. You can take a rest for a few minutes before we reach that place."
"Thank you, old man... You just saved me one more life."
Just like that, an hour passed. Hector left the carriage and headed toward the Ashen Stronghold.
Standing before him now was a massive stronghold, just like something he’d seen in movies. To the left, he saw a troop doing push-ups with all their strength, while their commander screamed nonstop, barking orders at them.
"YOU IDIOTS! YOU CALL THAT A PUSH-UP!? WEAKLINGS!"
"YOU! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? IS THAT A SOLDIER’S STANCE? THAT’S THE STANCE OF A FUCKBASTARD MATING WITH AN ANIMAL!"
"DO IT LIKE THAT AGAIN AND I’M GONNA KICK YOU OUT OF MY UNIT!"
...
"GO HOME AND MATE WITH YOUR BELOVED ANIMAL!"
Hector glanced to the right and saw another troop running laps around the stronghold. Their commander was riding a horse, lashing out with a series of whips behind them.
"RUN! WEAKLINGS! RUN LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! HOW CAN YOU CHASE THOSE DEMONS IF YOU WALK SLOWLY LIKE THAT?"
Hector frowned as he assessed them. The commander had only six mana cores, while the troops had around three to four.
He could tell that this world arranged mana cores based on the gamer’s power. If this world was truly real, a troop commander should have had at least a purple mana core.
He continued toward the stronghold. After a few more minutes, he finally saw a crowd ahead.
"I guess it is."
Hector quickly ran to the back of the line and waited for his turn to sign up and enter the Lion Legion.
After ten minutes, it was finally his turn.
"What’s your name?" the old soldier asked in a cold voice while jotting something down on the paper on the table.
Hector hesitated for a moment before answering.
"My name is Roy Jacobs."
The old soldier nodded and continued asking for some basic profile information.
Indeed, since he couldn’t use his real name or reveal his true identity in this world, finding a partner would be difficult.
So if he used the name Roy... maybe Roy would end up finding him first, without him even needing to search.
They might recognize each other without ever revealing who they truly were.
A partner was badly needed in this campaign.
"Good. Now show your wrist."
"My wrist? For what?" Hector asked, yet he still held out his wrist to the old soldier.
There was nothing special about it—except for a donkey tattoo.
The old soldier’s face immediately darkened when he saw it.
"A slave?"
Hector grumbled in irritation. He had no idea what the fuck was going on.
"A slave?"
The old soldier sighed, wrote something down, then spoke again in a cold voice—this time filled more with disdain than before.
"You have no education and no useful skills, except carrying loads. If you still want to join the legion, I’ll assign you to carry supplies, weapons, and other junk for the unit."
Hector scowled, but he stayed calm and polite as he asked,
"Can you explain this tattoo to me?"
The old soldier’s wrinkles tightened deeply when he heard that, but he still answered.
"Tch. Just as I thought. A clueless slave—you don’t even know what you bear. Listen carefully."
"When we’re born into this world, a tattoo forms on our wrist. It decides our place and our potential in this world."
"See me?" He raised his arm. "I have a lion tattoo. That puts me pretty high."
"And you—donkey—just accept what donkeys do. Carry loads. Even die for us."
His next words were full of mockery and arrogance.
"Accept your fate, donkey. You can’t change it. The gods already decided it from the very beginning."
