Age 10 Birthday ~
The party music was thumping downstairs. I could hear the clinking of glasses and the fake laughter of nobles. Somewhere down there, a forty-year-old Countess was probably checking her pocket watch, wondering where her fresh produce—me—was hiding.
I stood in my room, bag packed, ready to execute Operation: Get The Hell Out.
But first, a final status check.
[Name: Curious Von Virgo]
[Age: 10]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Dark Mage (Forced)]
[Stats]
* STR: 6 (Swinging a sword for three years gave me the strength of a slightly athletic squirrel. Not bad, considering I started at zero.)
* STA: 30 (My cardio is elite. I can run away from problems very efficiently.)
* MANA: 0 (Still zero. The System is stubborn.)
* INT: 7 (I read books. I know things. But apparently, my brain is still average.)
* LUCK: 85 (It went up by 5 points. I don't know why. Maybe the universe felt bad for me.)
They say in this world, raising stats past 10 is a grueling task. I was already hitting walls. But that didn't matter. Physical fighting is so barbaric.
I had a better plan. To save the world, I didn't need to punch the Demon Lord. I would infiltrate his base, gather information, and dismantle his army from the inside using brain power. Yes. The pen is mightier than the sword, especially if you use the pen to sign a peace treaty or forge a fake eviction notice for the demons.
I scrolled down the status window.
[Titles]
* Reincarnator
* Heir of Bad Luck
* Breeding Horse
I froze.
I rubbed my eyes. I looked again.
[Title: Breeding Horse]
[Description: You are prime real estate. Your sole purpose is to produce genetic masterpieces. Widows love you.]
"NOOOOO!" I hissed, clutching my head. "I refuse! I am a human being, not a stud farm! System, delete this! DELETE IT!"
The System ignored me. My first title in Arcana... and it was this.
I sighed, defeated. This was just more motivation to leave. I checked my skills.
[Skills]
* Basic Swordsmanship (+F)
* Sprint (+E)
* Appraisal (Low Rank)
* Dark Magic (Custom)
And my inventory:
* Gold: 300 coins.
* Food: 1 year's worth of dried rations (tastes like cardboard, but keeps you alive).
* Gear: Clothing, Healing Potions, World Map, Silver Sword.
"Perfect," I whispered. "Time to vanish."
I stepped out onto the balcony. The guards were all busy at the front of the mansion, protecting the guests and the cake. The back garden was a blind spot.
I climbed down the trellis like a spider monkey with high Stamina. My feet hit the grass with a soft thud.
Freedom.
I sprinted toward the maze garden, the designated secret exit route. But as I rounded a corner near the center fountain, I stopped dead.
Someone was there.
A girl, about my age, stood by the roses. She had long, flowing golden hair and wore a dress of red and gold silk that shouted "Royalty."
I knew her.
Princess Raviel.
She was the only daughter of the current King—the King my father was planning to assassinate. In the game Arcana, she was one of the main heroines.
And she was useless.
I remembered her stats. She was a pure Support Class. All she could do was cast "Blessing" and "Enhance." In the game, she usually spent battles crying in the backline or getting captured so the protagonist had to save her.
"What a waste," I muttered. "She's going to die in the siege if I don't interfere."
I looked at her. She looked lost, staring at the moon.
Maybe... maybe I could change her fate. If she survived, she could be a valuable ally. Or at least, not a corpse.
I stepped out of the shadows. "Hello, Princess Raviel."
She jumped, clutching her chest. "Oh! You... Do you know me?"
"Yes, I do," I said, keeping my voice low. "And I have something important to tell you."
She blinked, her big blue eyes wide. "What is it? Why are you—"
"Listen closely," I interrupted, stepping closer. "If you survive the attack on the palace—and you must survive—do not go to the Temple. Do not go to the Knights."
"Attack?" she whispered. "What attack?"
"Go to the North," I commanded. "Find the Barbarian Tribe in the Desert of Fangs. Give them this."
I reached into my Dark Space and pulled out a ring. It was made of rusted iron and covered in what looked like dried mud. It was the Barbarian Oath Ring. I had bought it for five copper coins at a flea market because nobody knew what it was.
"This?" She looked at the dirty ring with disgust.
"It is an Oath Ring. If you show this to the Chief, they will fulfill one request. Tell them to make you a Proud Warrior."
"Warrior?" Raviel asked, confused. "But... I am a Mage. I have support magic."
"You don't fit the path of a Mage," I said, shaking my head. "Your buffs are weak when cast on others. But have you ever tried casting them on yourself?"
"On... myself?"
"Yes. Enhance Strength. Enhance Speed. Iron Skin. Stack them on yourself, grab a greatsword, and you will become the strongest swordsman... no, swordswoman in history. Forget the staff. Follow the path of the muscle, Princess Raviel."
I shoved the dirty ring into her hand.
"Wait!" she cried, looking at the ring and then back at me. "Who are you? What do you mean about an attack? Why are you helping me?"
I was already climbing the garden wall. I looked back, silhouetted by the moonlight.
"I'm Curious."
She tilted her head, genuinely confused. "What? Curious about what?"
"..."
I decided not to explain. Comedy relies on timing, and my exit timing was perfect. Plus, if I stayed to clarify my name, the guards would catch me.
I vaulted over the wall and vanished into the night.
One Hour Later.
I was out of the city. Finally. Freedom!
I took a deep breath of fresh air. It smelled like manure, but it was free manure.
"Goodbye, Breeding Horse title. Goodbye, Father. Goodbye, sixty-year-old fiancée."
Now, for the destination.
Most runaways would go to a neighboring town. I was going to the one place nobody in their right mind would go: The Maze Puzzle Dungeon.
It was a legendary dungeon known for having zero combat on the first fifty floors, but impossible logic puzzles, riddles, and traps. Adventurers avoided it because you couldn't brute-force it with high stats. You needed Estein (Einstein) levels of knowledge to solve the tricks.
But for me? A guy who played Arcana for thousands of hours? I knew every solution. I knew every trapdoor. I knew the password to every door.
It was the perfect hiding spot. My father's knights were muscle-heads; they'd fail the first riddle.
"The dungeon has 100 floors," I mused, checking my map. "I'll spend a few years there. Secure food, water, and shelter. Level up my stats safely. And at the bottom... the Legendary Item that I need."
My farming life was postponed, replaced by my Dungeon Hermit Arc.
Meanwhile, back at the Virgo Mansion.
The ballroom was silent. The Duke was fuming. The Countess was tapping her foot impatiently. The "Breeding Horse" had never appeared.
And in the garden, a young girl stood alone, clutching a dirty, rusted ring.
Princess Raviel looked at her hand. She recalled the boy's strange words.
Follow the path of the muscle.
"Enhance... on myself?" she whispered.
She cast a small [Strength Up] on her own arms. She felt a strange surge of power. She looked at a heavy stone bench nearby. With one hand, she lifted it.
Her eyes widened.
Curious Von Virgo didn't know it yet, but he had just altered the timeline.
The dainty, useless heroine was gone. In her place, a monster was being born.
Years later, when they would meet again, he wouldn't recognize her. She would have perfect gym definition, six-pack abs that you could grate cheese on, and the stoic face of a barbarian warlord.
But for now, the boy named Curious just ran into the dark, happy to be free.
To be continued.