The man looked at it and studied it for several minutes, before finally asking the thing that had caught his eye first.
"Why are his Genius skills Locked ?" the man asked, his voice echoing in the darkness.
"Partially locked," the Woman corrected, Looking at him from the corner of her eyes, Without once taking her eyes off the display. "I did that."
"Why ?"
The woman turned her head and looked at the Screen where the boy was carried to a room in an inn and was still sleeping. Her Gaze Softened. The boy looked small and fragile, a far cry from the monster who had just Annihilated a Boss Ogre.
"I have seen too many arrogant pricks," she said, her voice dripping with ancient disdain. "People who realise their talents and decide they no longer need to strive. They do nothing but slacking off and wasting their talent and potential. Most people like those often look down on other people, saying that their talents are inferior while they waste their talents themselves. They live their Pathetic life while being proud of something they were simply born with, coasting on a gift they did nothing to earn. It is revolting. Pathetic."
"And you did not want him to turn out like them ?"
"Yes, although I was sure he wouldn't turn out like that, I still wanted to make sure. So, I only gave him access to the amount of talent that he needed," She said in a gentle tone "Suppressing someone's trait, even if just partially, is not easy, After all. especially if it's someone like him. You should know that."
The man nodded slowly. "I see. But this consequences part... Did you actually plan to extract his...." He didn't finish his sentence as the woman interrupted him.
"Watch your mouth, boy," she interrupted, her voice turning sharp as a blade "You know this as well. Extracting Trait is an extremely cruel process that inflicts intense pain on both the soul and the body. Do you think I would do that to him ? Just to stay true to my word that is written in a mere panel. And do you really think I would take away his traits ? Me ?" asked the woman in disbelief. She couldn't belief that The man would even entertain such thoughts about her.
She shook her head, an exhausted sigh escaping her lips. "you were never bright. But now you've become Dumber. Stop Sleeping so much."
"S-sorry," the man stammered, his crimson hair practically wilting. "Is there... anything else?"
"Hmm.. he has contracted with the water spirit queen."
"That tiny spirit is the Queen ?" The man had already seen The pixie water spirit following the Boy to the dungeon, while Watching over him "She is so weak, I mistook her for a high spirit. Why would the new queen contract with him ? His affinity should not be that strong. Not yet."
"It was because of the Mark. Her mark." The woman said in a calm melodic voice
"The mark ? The covenant mark ? But that shouldn't be. That mark is supposed to be erased after the death of the giver!" The man said, Surprized by the Revelation.
She again looked at him weirdly again.
"What ?" He asked, In a meek tone.
"Since you know this much, isn't it obvious? She did not die." she said calmly. She was already too tired of getting annoyed of the man. Getting too annoyed so often is not good for Skin after all.
"What?!" he exclaimed, a mixture of shock and a strange, desperate hope flitting across his face. "She's alive? But how? But If she is, then this spirit queen—"
"I know What you're About to ask," she interrupted, raising a hand to silence him. "But, I have no more energy to spare to answer you. You know very well where you can find your answers. It's about time for you to catch up with everything that had happened in the last millennium."
"But I don't have much of a connection with the Spirit world" He complained
"I don't care. Figure it out yourself." She said Coldly
"Yes, but-" Said the man, But before he could finish,
-Snap!
"Get out" She snapped her fingers and the Crimson Man was blinked out of existence, leaving the void in its natural, silent state.
The Woman leaned back, letting out a breath she felt she'd been holding for a century.
"Finally Some peace...."
She averted her attention from the void to the Screen, On the sleeping face of the Boy., watching the rhythmic rise and fall of the boy's chest as he slept. Her eyes, usually so cold and imperious, were now filled with a shimmering, ancient warmth.
"Grow up, Ty. Grow up"
"We are waiting for you."
Her eyes soften "Child of.. ?#^!$"
Her last words were so Low even the wind couldn't hear her voice.
****
--(In An Unknown Inn)--
Ugh... It hurts... My whole body hurts... Feels like a truck has run over me or something.
I slowly forced my eyelids open. The first thing I saw wasn't the ornate, gold-leaf ceiling of the palace, but a rough, unfamiliar wooden expanse. It smelled of old pine and cheap wax.
"You're awake, kid." I heard a rough, gravelly voice from the side.
I turned my head—a mistake that felt like my neck was being twisted by a wrench—to see the owner of the voice. He was sprawled leisurely on a wooden chair, looking entirely too comfortable for someone whose student had almost been turned into a pancake.
It was Boran.
"You woke up pretty quickly, considering everything that happened" He noted
"Ah.. It's just our dear Wild Boar Boran." I said in a Disappointed voice.
This was an unofficial title that the adventurers call him as.
Normally, the first face that I see after waking up is either my own handsome face or My Pretty loyal maid or the radiant, loving smile of my Mother beautiful loving Mother. So, Seeing this guy's face right after waking up feels like a bad Omen from universe. It definitely doesn't feel good.
Could it not have been Vivi...
"Who are you calling a Wild Boar, kid ? You've got guts now!" he replied. His voice was surprisingly calmer than I had expected, lacking the usual bark. "Seems like you have enough energy"
I tried to push my body up and sit "of course, it's yo-"
But...
Ouch.. ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
My body gave out and fell back on the bed. I couldn't get up. Every fiber of my torso and back felt like it had been shredded and haphazardly glued back together.
"Heh... Seeing that painful expression on your face, It brings me some peace" Boran admitted, a sadistic glint in his eye "After all the worry and mental breakdown we had to go through because of you, is quite satisfying. Not gonna lie."
Well, you should Lie! You bastard! You Sadistic Savage Wild boar of a teacher!