2 Old Man, You Stink!

"Hello, Lu." Lu was stunned before he frowned. He couldn't say anything because of his mask.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you." The woman smiled warmly and tilted her head before continuing. "We don't have much time left. Unlike before, your soul was able to access the mask now allowing me to meet you. I don't know what happened for your soul to grow stronger, but it's a fortune that it did. Now listen and remember my words. If you don't want to die, then you need to remove that mask. It would devour you alive if you don't remove it. The stronger you become, the more time it'll take. If you remain the way you are, it'll devour you when you turn 18."

The surrounding walls twisted and humanoid monsters started appearing and surrounding the two. Lu was scared and took a step away from the monsters.

"For growing stronger… I'll leave you a little gift. Find the bodiless head Lu. He'll help you. Go to the north. That's where your journey will begin. Take care of yourself Lu. I'll always be by your side. Now you need to leave!" The humanoids monsters were about to reach them when the woman shouted and Lu felt his consciousness leave the cave and dive into darkness.

…

Lu woke up screaming but no sound escaped his mouth. He was sweating all over and his body was icy cold. He was still trembling remembering the nightmare he just saw.

'It's okay. It's okay. It's just a nightmare.' Lu tried to calm down as he squeezed his hands together. However, something in his heart told him it wasn't. It looked like… a message. The woman knew him. If what she said was true… Lu's heart grew cold. With panicked steps, Lu grabbed a pen and a pencil before writing things down.

"The mask will devour me in a month… The bodiless head… North… a gift?"

After several minutes, Lu calmed down finally. After looking around, he saw the room was empty. It seemed Jasmine has already left to hunt. He clutched the paper closer to his heart before he started memorizing it and deciphering it.

It seemed the mask wasn't normal at all. It was an artifact… no. It was nothing but a curse. And he didn't know if there was a head without a body in this world, but he wondered if it meant a dead person? North… Lu tried to search his memories of the northern side of Garo Town. It was the Broken Woods. So he needed to go there?

For now, he had a direction to go. However, he felt lost because of being suddenly thrown into such pressuring circumstances. But at least in this life… he could fight for his destiny.

Lu remembered the most important thing the woman said. She gave him a method to grow stronger. Lu couldn't evolve using Numen energy. It was if he was isolated from the world. Although he can feel it, he couldn't absorb it. So he was forever deemed as a mortal with no chance to evolve.

That was the previous Lu conclusion. However, the present Lu had different thoughts. The mask was far than ordinary. He felt as if it had something with him being unable to evolve. So if he could remove the mask or find another way to evolve, it would be idle. And now, the woman gave him a method. However, he didn't know what it is.

Lu stood up and went to the mirror. As he inspected the mask and his body, he found something different in his body. For his memories, he knew he didn't have such a thing before. It was a tattoo extending from his belly-button and into his stomach. It was dark red and had a metallic sheen to it. As he touched the tattoo, a piece of information appeared in his mind. He could grow stronger by feeding the tattoo Life-Essence. It seems his short-term goal was to hunt.

Lu still couldn't get used to his mask. It was like a horror movie's prop. 'Right, how can I eat with this mask?'

Lu tried to recall his memories and found the answer. If he tried to eat, the mask would open a small hole to where his mouth was located. From this, it seems this wasn't a normal mask but an artifact of some sort further proving his theory.

As he searched his memories again, he remembered Jasmine telling him it was quite common seeing such items being produced using Numen. The only worrying thing is that these sort of artifacts were used on prisoners. Lu threw the questions he had about his past and tried to think over what he needed to do. First, he needed to take this mask off. For that, he needed money and status to look for the possible clues about the mask or the bodiless head in the Grand Arcana's Library. This was an establishment of scholars in all countries and kingdoms.

If Lu wanted to find answers about this mask, he needs to visit this library of a master blacksmith. Either way, he needed money and status to do these things.

The next thing was his strength. In this world, unlike modern Earth, wars were a common thing. They were everlasting. The reason is quite simple. Here, resources meant getting stronger as individuals and as a community. Numen was a blessing and a curse as its mine was something people would fight for with their lives. If a person can get his hands on a Supreme-Grade Numen stone, he would leap over the dragon gate overnight. So Lu needed strength if he wanted to survive the mask and the wars.

All of his problems were interconnected. And all of them had one starting point. Lu needed to get stronger using the tattoo. As he gets stronger, he'll get more money and more status. This will aid in his quest to remove this cursed mask.

'I need to find a job to get some hunting equipment…' The previous owner didn't have one and Jasmine was the only one supplying them with enough income. However, Lu was now a different Lu. He would try to take control of his own life. Especially after the way he lived his last one.

With these thoughts, Lu ate his premade breakfast and headed out of the house for the first time in a long time. He looked around and watched everything was fascination. It looked like a mix between a medieval era and samurais. Warriors carried their weapons around and they were extremely diverse in attire. Furthermore, there some riding beasts unknown to Lu. Some were riding mall machines of a floating chair and a steering stick. In summary, it was a whole new world. Literally.

Although their house was small, it was in a relatively good district. Furthermore, it was close to the Merchants District. And this was exactly Lu's destination. He needed a good way to get his income. However, two problems arose.

First, no one would employ him with that mask. Thus, he had to try a solo profession. Hunting. The second problem was that he lacked hunting equipment. That's why he needs to either get a weapon or a job to get money for a weapon.

As a solution… he can ask Jasmine for some money. But he quickly turned that down as he knew she would never allow him to do such a risky job since he was a normal human, unlike her.

The next solution would be to find someone to invest in him. Simpler words, a debtor. But who would lend a masked person a debt? Lu needed a bit of luck and the god's interference to find someone like that.

As Lu made his way to the district, he was stared and pointed at by the bystanders. However, unlike the previous Lu, he didn't care as he was used to it from his previous life. Lu then arrived at his first merchant shop. Taking a deep breath, Lu felt like he was a scammer looking for his prey to take their money. Cutting that line of thoughts, he entered the shop.

A few moments later, Lu came out hastily. The shop owner threatened to call the guards before he was even allowed to say anything.

Wait…

Say?

With this thought, Lu went slapped his forehead. His stupid brain forgot that he can't talk! Lu was about to curse but held himself back. His deceased previous mother taught him that cursing is something immoral and he needs to keep an image of a… who can he fool?! He couldn't curse even if he wanted to!

With growing frustration at his new disability, Lu walked through the streets as he began to contemplate a way to scam… Oops, convince a person of investing into him without talking.

"Out! Out of the way!" As he was thinking, Lu heard some shouting from behind him. Turning around, he saw a carriage making its way through the street that was not fit for such an action. The street was barely wide enough for a carriage to pass through, so what about the walking people? However, Lu saw a noble crest on the carriage and sighed. He then entered the first alley on his left so he wouldn't be crashed into by the carriage.

As he stepped into the alley, Lu waited for the carriage to pass by. After it was gone, he was about to resume his searching when he heard some shouting from deep into the alley.

"Old man, you stink!" It was a childish voice and it was repulsed.

"Shut up and look for any money!" Another older voice rebuked him.