King dragged himself from his bed, trembling legs shaking under the weight of his deformed body. Every step to the bathroom was agony, his bandages clinging to sore skin, cursed limbs aching with every movement. He stared into the cracked mirror, touching his twisted features. Negative ten. Still ugly. Still cursed. Still… alive.
He swallowed the bile in his throat and forced himself into school uniform. Every motion was heavy. Every step screamed pain.
---
The moment he entered the classroom, the room fell silent for a heartbeat. Then, without warning, a boy's boot slammed into his stomach.
The world tilted, and he vomited violently. The smell of bile mixed with the classroom's air, and the girls recoiled in disgust. The boys sneered. No one intervened.
Before he could even regain balance, the teacher barked:
> "What are you doing here, King?! Stand there and finish cleaning this mess! You're punished for the whole period!"
His hands shook. Rage boiled in his chest.
> "Cursed fools," he whispered under his breath. "All of you… the devil… the teachers…"
As he glared, a window appeared before him, black as night, edges shimmering with dark energy.
---
⧉ BLACK PILL WINDOW — NEW QUEST ⧉
QUEST AVAILABLE: Propose to a Girl
Difficulty: Extreme
Reward: Remove 1 Curse
King froze. His lips parted. His cursed mind raced. The reward—removing one of his many afflictions—was too tempting to ignore.
> "I… I have to do it," he muttered, swallowing his fear.
---
The teacher's eyes narrowed as he moved forward, and she yelled:
> "Who gave you permission to enter?"
King's trembling fingers clutched the flower he had stolen from the garden on his way to school. He scanned the room and chose the prettiest girl in the class, her eyes wide with surprise.
He stepped toward her, heart hammering, legs barely holding him, and placed the flower in her hands.
> "I… I choose you," he whispered, voice shaking but resolute.
---
The reaction was instantaneous.
Gasps. Shrieks. Boys rushing toward him.
Fists connected with his body.
The pain was immediate, vicious, and unrelenting.
He screamed, tried to defend himself, but the blows came faster than he could react.
The world blackened.
---
When he woke, the first thing he noticed was the cold floor beneath him. Then the smell of polished wood and leather.
He opened his eyes and found himself in the principal's cabin. His parents were kneeling, heads bowed in apology. The girl was crying, clinging to her mother.
> "Please forgive my son," his father begged, voice breaking.
The principal's face was red with fury.
> "Get him out of my school! Immediately!"
King's head swam. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't form. He could only stare as his parents were forced to plead, the girl's tears staining the floor.
---
When he stumbled out into the cold sunlight, chest aching, bruises forming, he finally learned the truth:
The girl he had proposed to… she was the chairman's granddaughter.
---
King's lips curled into a grim smile. Rage and humiliation burned together in a cold fire.
> "The world… the devil… everyone… I'll make them all pay," he whispered, fingers brushing the Black Pill gem on his forehead.