Quest

"That will be a silver coin, please..."

The old priest held out his hand, waiting for payment. His face was weathered and wrinkled, a testament to the years of wisdom and experience he had accumulated.

I placed a silver coin in his outstretched palm. It was a bit expensive, but I knew the value of getting patched up by someone with a healing curse.

My body had been severely wounded by a Nightcrawler and beaten up by a group of bandits just a day ago. But the old man's healing magic had worked wonders. I didn't even feel a twinge of pain as my wounds closed up and disappeared before my eyes.

"Have a good day!"

I said as I left the priest's healing booth. His voice faded into the distance as I walked away.

I had made the right choice in seeking his help. Now I was up to full strength and ready to accept another dangerous quest.

As far as I could recall, my life had always been like this. I would accept quests from curse users and guide them through the darkness, helping them to explore the unknown. But because I was so weak, I was usually abandoned as soon as some dangerous creature threatened the party. I was basically a meat bag, risking my life for a few silver or bronze coins, simply because it was the only way for me to survive.

My chances of survival were low, but that was because I had no curse. Without a curse, I was considered expendable in the cursed world.

Everyone in this world had unique abilities that allowed them to either fight or support in battles against the various threats that lurked in the Darkness. Everyone except me.

Usually, people awakened their curses as soon as they reached a certain age, but I was past that age and remained curseless. At first, I thought I was a late bloomer, but as the days went by, I realized that I was an anomaly in this cursed world.

I'm powerless.

One day, a painful truth hit me: I was nothing more than prey for those with power.

I had lost my family when I was just 7 years old. I had scavenged the streets and clung to survival by any means necessary. I've even had to resort to staying in the Darkness for days on end, hiding from those who would harm me.

I always pushed through, thinking that as soon as I awakened my curse, my life would change. But that change never came.

Was it two years ago?

I scratched my cheek as I walked through the city.

That was when I finally understood my place in the world's food chain.

It was a harsh revelation, but it became clear to me that in this cursed world, I was nothing more than prey for those with power.

I didn't give up though. I kept accepting missions, barely surviving, still clinging to hope that one day my luck would change.

But yesterday, I lost it.

What's the point of continuing like this?

I sighed as I approached the massive building in the center of the city. It was bustling with activity, as cursed ones from all over the city came here to accept and create missions. Today, I was here to find a way to scrape together enough money to survive.

"Note!"

I turned to see a familiar face. It was a middle-aged man with greying hair and tired eyes.

"How come you are alive?

Your party members said that you died and took all the mission rewards for themselves."

I stood frozen in disbelief for a moment, before the reality set in.

They had left me to die and taken my money. But they were not the first ones to do that.

Strong ones are the correct ones.

"Simple miscommunication..."

I said my voice barely above a whisper.

"I'll talk to them later."

I brushed off the man and went to find a good-paying quest.

There was no way I was getting my money back now and appealing to the justice system would also grant me no good as it prioritizes the wellness of the strong ones.

What a Citadel this is…

I walked through the bustling hall, scanning the mission board. There were quests of all kinds, from simple delivery missions to dangerous monster hunts. I needed to find a quest that was challenging but not impossible. Something that would pay well and not get me killed.

"Let's see..."

I spotted a quest that caught my eye. It was a mission to guide a merchant caravan through a dangerous part of the Darkness. The area was known to be infested with various creatures and monsters, but the reward was high.

It was the perfect quest for me.

I approached the mission board and took down the quest details. I then made my way to the quest registration counter.

"I'd like to register for the merchant caravan guide mission..."

I said to the receptionist.

The receptionist glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that? That mission is very dangerous."

She raised her eyebrow, however, I merely shrugged my shoulders.

"It's fine."