Verc's face immediately contorted into a deep, frustrated frown the moment he realized he could not muster or utilize his full strength while standing out in the open. He had initially thought he was completely fine and entirely unaffected by the sun's presence.
But now, standing there under the clear sky, he was faced with an absolutely absurd debuff that he hadn't anticipated.
Verc concentrated deeply, focusing his mind on his physical sensations. And after testing his range of motion with a few deliberate movements—
"It's like I can only use twenty percent of my strength."
He mumbled that under his breath, his brows furrowing even more as the reality of his situation set in. Verc looked up at the sun, his eyes squinting tightly against the sheer brightness of the midday light.
"Fuck, this sucks."
Then he grumbled, internally cursing at the sun for being such a massive pain in the ass.
*****
(Verc's POV)
'Is it because I'm an introvert in my past life that rarely comes out during the day that I'm being cursed like this?'
I thought to myself jokingly.
I was honestly pretty pissed about the massive debuff I suddenly got hit with, but in the end, I forced myself to think that this was still much better than the alternative of burning to ash under the sun. After thinking about it from that perspective, I figured that at least this wasn't the absolute worst-case scenario.
I could still technically go out during the day; I just had to deal with the condition of being significantly weaker while I was exposed to direct light.
It was a relief to discover that my skills weren't really that affected by the light, though. I just found that I would get tired more easily and start feeling hungry much faster if I tried to use them while I was under this debuff. I tested this by briefly activating [Echolocation] and [Vibration Awareness]. I also used them to scout the surrounding area just to be safe.
After confirming that there weren't any immediate dangers lurking nearby, I went over to join the others under the shade of the large tree. They were already busy eating some of the bread and meat we had scavenged from the goblin storage room before leaving.
... ... ...
"Do you have the blood of a nobility, Sir Verc?"
Barbara asked me that while we were all sitting there eating together. I was happy to find out that normal, human food still tasted exactly the same for me as it always had.
"Hmm?"
As I was in the middle of chewing on a simple meat sandwich, I turned my gaze toward her after hearing the unexpected question.
"I mean, you look like one, at least the kind of noble we have in our minds."
Barbara added, her tone curious. Then the others all nodded their heads in quiet agreement with her observation.
"Red eyes aren't common at all, and your skin looks very pale and smooth."
Hans followed up with that. He was actually looking much better already, despite the fact that he was literally on the verge of death just last night.
'Another question about my past... How should I answer this one?'
I asked myself in my head, weighing my options carefully. Then, after a short, deliberate pause—
"I'm actually an illegitimate son of the patriarch of the family that I was serving as a knight order captain. My mother was a maid who worked there."
I said that with a perfectly straight face, lying shamelessly to their faces. Barbara and Hans already believed the story that I was a wandering knight who served a fallen family, so this just added more detail. Kyla and Clarissa had already shared that information with them.
Anyway, after hearing my answer, everyone stopped eating and the whole area went dead silent. They were all staring at me with wide eyes.
I mean... I basically just told them that my parents are now dead and that I came from a complicated situation. I can definitely understand why they reacted that way.
The air around us became incredibly awkward, and I really didn't like the heavy atmosphere. So, with my lips parting, I spoke up again—
"I might have noble blood in my veins, but I was raised as a commoner and I worked hard to earn my position in the order. Please just treat me comfortably. And about my past— I've already moved on from it, so don't worry about me."
I told them that, trying to lighten the mood.
Even after hearing that, the others still remained silent for a few more moments. Though after a while, the awkwardness eventually faded away and we started having normal conversations again as we finished our meal.
...
I rarely said anything during the talk; I was focused more on observing them, paying attention to the way they spoke and how they acted around each other.
Also, I just now realized the fact that I can actually understand their language so well. It is a heaven-sent gift that I can, because I really didn't want to have to learn a new language from scratch in this world.
Anyway, I carefully studied how everyone carried themselves, taking mental notes on how I could fit in better once we reached civilization.
Then after we finished eating and resting for a bit longer, we all climbed back into the carriage and continued on our journey toward the village.
We didn't forget to give the donkey some food and water before we started, of course.
This donkey is honestly hella strong to be able to pull a full carriage with four adults and two kids inside. Well, it is definitely a lot bigger than the donkeys I remember seeing in my past world.
'Also, the others were starved almost to death, so they're probably much lighter than they should be.'
Moving on from that— Noah and Molly eventually fell asleep again as the carriage swayed. The two girls took care of them, making sure they were comfortable.
Barbara and Hans took their spots to drive the carriage again. Then they informed us that at the pace we were currently going, we were probably going to reach the village late at night today.
It was much faster than I had originally thought, but maybe that was because we really only stopped traveling when we absolutely needed to rest and eat. Barbara and Hans were doing a great job driving and navigating the dirt paths as well.
Anyway, I really feel a sense of excitement bubbling up inside me. I want to explore this world, and finally, after arriving here, I'm actually heading into my very first civilization.
'I just managed to get out of that cave last night. I'm glad everything seems to be working out so well.'
I thought to myself as I sat down on a pile of blankets and tried to relax my body.
... ... ...
Our journey continued safely without much of anything happening to us. We took one more short rest when the sun was at its highest point in the sky.
But after that was over, we decided to push through and go all the way until we finally reached the village.
I stayed on high alert the entire time, constantly scanning the surroundings and guarding the carriage from any potential threats.
Later on then, the sun finally set and it started to get dark outside— I immediately felt my full strength rushing back into my limbs.
Looks like I need to be completely covered or under some kind of shelter during the day for the debuff to not work on me. So as long as I have a roof over my head, the restrictions wouldn't be able to affect my strength.
Anyway, with my original power back and the sun finally gone... I became even more vigilant. Now that I was at full strength again, I felt confident that I could deal with whatever might try to come our way in the dark.
Fortunately, though, nothing bad ended up happening. There were no monsters, no bandits, and no trouble at all on the road.
And so, silently and peacefully... when the moon was at its highest— we finally reached our destination.
We had officially arrived in the human village.