First trip to town...

* * *

As I walk down the road, I am greeted by many new sites: a forest side path, a fallen tree, an old well. There's a fence running along the small road, likely keeping away any stray livestock. The road isn't paved, nor is it gravel, but rather a simple path made by countless repeated steps. A testament to repetition carved out over many years.

It's beautiful when I take the time to look at it, a simple view being so serene. It takes my mind off all my future problems and past woes for a time. I've always thought nature was beautiful... I wish there were more open fields and forests in my past life.

Nevertheless, what's done is done. The past is in the past, now is the time for the present. In this life, I've got opportunity. I've got family. I've got the ability to get a better place in life than some wage-slave turned cripple! I've got-

"Oomph..." I trip on a root sticking out of the ground, promptly faceplanting and dirtying my white shirt. "... Stupid tree root..."

I rub my face and stand up, acting like it was just a minor inconvenience. A few days ago, I probably would've broke my nose if I had faceplanted, but now it's just kinda embarrassing. I attempt to dust off my white shirt, but the dirt's already made sure that I look dirty. It's not too terrible, but I feel a little ashamed about not looking presentable.

Of course, it's no big deal. I rub my nose slightly, even though the pain has already stopped by now, and continue walking. It's probably my fault for looking at the sky so much... lets keep our vision a bit lower from now on. 

Since it's not a far walk at all, I'm already at the edge of the village. It's pretty small, maybe big enough to house... hmm... let's say 13 families worth of people. I can see what looks to be a manor in the distance, probably belonging to the lord of this village.

"Let's see... steeple, steeple, steeple..." I mutter, looking across the town for the church. I'm here today for 2 reasons, to see Ms. Marsha again and to explore the town. "Ah, there it is."

I continue walking, looking about occasionally. I'm not seeing many people, maybe the odd person here and there. A kid playing in the street, a man hauling a cart and an old lady that throws a tomato at me. Wait, throws a tomato-

The tomato hits my shirt and breaks, likely having been rotten. My shirt now has the red of a tomato on it, if the dirt wasn't enough... it smells disgusting.

"You get out of here, demon spawn!" She cries, preparing to toss another tomato. "We told you to never come back!"

I'm not really sure how to react, so the second tomato hits me in the face. If I thought it smelled bad the first time, it sure as shit does now. I immediately wipe it off my face, my brow creasing.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, LADY?!?" I yell, surprising even myself with the sound. I hear some crows scurry in the background, being startled from the noise.

The old woman recoils, likely not having expected me to yell. In the journal, it says that the original Arthur never fought back when people threw things at him... the poor boy. I feel a little bad now, seeing the woman recoil in fear from me.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that, really," I say, putting my hands up as if to promote a safe and friendly image. I can see a few people peering out their windows and coming to investigate the sound.

Just like in my past life, I decide to run away by ignoring my actions and problems. I look forward again, starting to jog away. I feel so guilty, yelling at a grandma. She's just scared that I might infect those around her... probably thinks I'm still sick.

I can see a few people now walking out of their houses and making a small crowd around the grandmother, all of them looking at me as if I have teeth that gnaw. I get a few yards away before being tackled and slugged by a fully grown adult man.

He doesn't say anything, but his swings carry enough meaning. The majority of people probably don't want me here, just in case I haven't picked up on that yet. I raise my hand up towards him, but it gets knocked down shortly after as he punches me again.

"Do you not get it yet?! We don't want you here!!" The man screams, swinging yet again.

Based off a description in the journal, this man is likely responsible for a few visits to the healer. A man named August with a scraggly and unkempt black beard, green eyes and a scar on the left side of his lip. The other villagers watch as I get beaten, but do nothing to help. To them, a Blight patient is worth than a rat.

The man doesn't even have mana, unlike me, but that doesn't mean he's not stronger. He's an adult man and I'm a kid who only just unlocked mana. Even if I'm outmatched, I still struggle and try to fight back. I think about pulling out my sword for a moment, but it wouldn't make a difference. It's already too late for that, having turned into a brawl the moment I got tackled.

I reach for his windpipe and wrap a hand around his neck, attempting to choke him single-handedly. He punches me again and my grip loosens, but I reach my other hand up and tighten my grip again. My nose is now bleeding heavily, but he punches me once again. 

My grip loosens and I fall slack, my vision dimming. The last thing I see is a boot slam into the side of August's head from my left as I pass out.

* * *

I awake in the sacristy of a church, laid on a cot with bandages on my nose. My sword is sat on the ground next to the cot alongside my belt. I look around the candle-lit room, examining all the neat trinkets until my eyes fall on who I'm looking for. I thought that boot looked familiar.

"Good morning, sunshine, have a nice dirt nap?" She asks, her words about as mean as I've come to expect. "I'd like to stop having to heal you by now, Arthur."

I rub my nose slightly and sit up, looking at her. She doesn't look exactly thrilled to be caring for me, yet she is.

"Splendid, actually," I respond, keeping my tone neutral. She narrows her eyes when hearing me talk like that.

She sighs and looks down, clearly debating something. She looks back up again, the silence hanging for a long while.

"So..." She says, letting the silence hang once again. The hesitation is clear. "... I heard from your old man that you got better?"

For a moment, I'm shocked. From the few times I've seen her, she seemed like she didn't care about anyone but herself. I stutter a tad, but eventually spit out an answer.

"I, umm... yeah... I did," I confirm with a nod, looking off to the side. I'm not sure why I've been so hesitant to talk with people. "Dad says that my body can finally fight the Blight since I have mana in my body."

She nods and lets out a relieved sigh. A second later, she realizes that she's shown just a bit too much of herself and coughs a very clearly fake cough.

"That's good. I can finally stop having to deal with you so often," She says, attempting to hide that care with a mean attitude.

"Of course, because I'm such a hassle for you, aren't I?" I remark. I smile a little, but put my hand in front of my mouth to hide it. If she sees me smiling, she'll know that she's a terrible liar. 

She pauses, a little startled that I seem to be buying it (I'm not). Marsha crosses her arms and closes her eyes, doing her best to fill that cool older sister role.

"Duh! I had to walk out to your house what felt like every day last month!" She complains, putting on a stern face like it was some herculean effort. Marsha stops and her face turns serious, looking at me with a face of clear honesty.

"Arthur. I need you to know that it's not safe for you in this village," She states, standing straight up and walking towards me. She's leveling with me, slightly butch woman-to-man. "These people, they don't care if you don't have blight anymore. Lord Tarrin convinced them that you're an omen, the reason anything bad in the village happens."

My eyes widen, but then I recover from my shock. Lord Tarrin is a new name for me, but it's easy to guess that he's the local lord... and I'm the scapegoat he's using.

"Me? But how would I even be responsible for stuff if-"

She leans down and puts her hands on my shoulders, interrupting me and closing off what was, admittedly, a stupid question. "It doesn't matter to them if there's no way you could be responsible for it, people just want something to blame. You were the perfect target for him, being sick and kind... people join in just for the sake of hating something, no matter how innocent it may be."

That... makes a lot of sense, I guess. I nod, looking down and then back up at Marsha. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say at this point.

"So what do I do about it?" I ask, an expression of confusion emerging on my face.

Marsha steps back, placing her hands on her hips. She sighs again, this time a sigh of defeat.

"My best advice... go to that academy you always used to talk about," She says, suggesting running away from my problems... a solution that I seem to be a sucker for. "If you try really hard, you might be able to get past the entrance exam... maybe."

"Maybe?" I ask, a bit concerned on why its a maybe. I raise an eyebrow, tilting my head just barely.

"Well, there's obviously not a guarantee," Marsha says with a nod. The ever-brutally honest woman decides to follow up with a extra statement. "Plus, you're 3 years behind, so most kids your age are probably way stronger or more experienced."

* * *