Traveler: Derek Walker 32 - Why Must I Endure Such Pain?
Why must I suffer like this? Why is the world so profoundly unjust? Lilac couldn't understand it. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't figure out what she had done wrong. She hated pain. She hated seeing others in pain. Her wishes were simple: just to live humbly and peacefully with her little sister and older sisters.
But fate wouldn't leave her be. It tore her heart apart and shattered her dreams. Her precious little sister, more important to her than her own life, had become a helpless cripple, barely able to move. If a god truly existed, shining light on all things and sharing mercy, then why did tragedies like this persist?
For the first time, Lilac felt true rage. What she'd felt before wasn't rage at all—just sorrow and pity masquerading as anger. Her fate, riddled with tragedy, had been too heartbreaking, and her suffering sisters too pitiable. Lilac was a girl who had never known rage.
So she had no idea how to handle the emotion boiling up from the depths of her chest. How could she vent this fury? If she let it sit, it would consume her alive. She was certain she'd be devoured by it.
All of this... it's because of that Bastrey Count! That man's fault!
It wasn't hard to redirect her rage to a target. Tracing the threads of tragedy back to their source was simple enough. Lilac pictured the man who had trampled her, her sister's, and her family's fates on a whim. Count Bastrey of the Bastrey Barony.
Thinking of his face made her fury blaze even hotter. She had to cling to her sanity with everything she had, or she'd lose her mind. Every time his mug flickered in her thoughts, controlling her emotions became impossible.
Yet strangely, Lilac didn't hate this feeling. This massive rage that threatened to swallow her whole felt oddly welcome, even good. Because it seemed to give her strength.
I will...! I will have my revenge! No matter what!
Kill him. No—death was too merciful. All the sorrow she'd felt, all the terror, all the despair—she wanted to shove it right back into Count Bastrey. For that, she could abandon everything she had. Even the things she cherished most.
"Please...! Avenge us!"
She slammed her forehead into the ground like a madwoman. Maisie tried to stop her, but for the first time, Lilac overpowered her sister with sheer force. She marveled at where this strength had come from. She felt her forehead split open, but it didn't hurt at all.
Lilac spewed out the long-suppressed rage like vomit. Venom seeped from every breath, and her eyes no longer held the innocence of a pure girl. Lilac had changed. Whether for better or worse, only the gods could say.
The eyes of a vengeful ghost.
Walker gave a faint smile as he watched her. Handling someone consumed by rage was child's play. Emotionally fixated people saw only one path. And he had the power to aid her revenge.
"Offer everything you have to me, and I'll help you get your revenge."
"I will! My body, anything...! I'll give it all to you!"
"Lilac!"
Maisie cried out in horror, but it fell on deaf ears. The contract was sealed.
Walker grinned lewdly as he pulled an item from his inventory.
←Item→
●Price of Constraint (SSS-grade)
↳A small amethyst that fits in one hand. It imposes a constraint and demands a corresponding price. Accept the deal to proceed to the next transaction. Rejecting even once permanently bars you from its effects.
※The more you give up, the stronger you become—but excessive greed will make you abandon yourself.
What he produced was a small amethyst. An SSS-grade item he himself hadn't used. It imposed horrific constraints but granted equally immense power—a double-edged sword. Walker had skipped it due to the insane restrictions, but someone with nothing to lose might take the gamble. The rewards were staggering, befitting its SSS rank. This thing could surely turn a fragile girl into an ironclad knight order.
I wonder if this freshly awakened vengeful girl can handle it?
Walker eyed Lilac with keen interest. His gaze held complex emotions, but the dominant one was simple curiosity.
Maisie gulped as she stared at the amethyst in Walker's hand. It reeked of otherworldly power. Overwhelmed by its aura, she asked as if entranced.
"What... is that?"
"A very special item. It'll impose a powerful constraint on you two. Accept it, and you'll gain tremendous strength. But words are cheap—better to experience it yourself."
Walker handed the item to Lilac. Her trembling hands accepted it. Even blinded by revenge, she sensed its unnatural potency.
"H-how do I use this?"
"Yearn for power in your heart—strongly."
A simple incantation. Lilac yearned for power. No one in the world craved it more desperately than she did.
Power... power for revenge...
The amethyst in her hand reacted to her will. A faint light flowed from it, and a mystical screen appeared before her eyes.
=====
Will you strengthen your power in exchange for a constraint?
※Warning: Rejecting the constraint means you can never benefit from this item again.
=====
Unlike her sister, Lilac was illiterate. Yet she perfectly understood the screen's message. It was conveyed in a form she could grasp. Was this magic? She didn't know.
"Power... I want power..."
Lilac squeezed her eyes shut. The image persisted regardless, as if injecting info straight into her brain. New text appeared.
=====
Please select a constraint.
1. Nudity Constraint
Never wear clothes for life.
●Reward: Strength and Agility +300 each. Strength and Agility growth rates +300%.
2. Slaughter Constraint
Kill one human per day.
●Reward: Intelligence and Luck +300 each. Intelligence and Agility growth rates +300%.
3. Pain Constraint
Constantly feel pain equivalent to a second-degree burn. Cannot be dispelled by SS-grade or lower debuff removal skills. Debuff refreshes every hour.
●Reward: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck +200 each. All stat growth rates +200%.
=====
Lilac swallowed hard. Words like strength, agility, intelligence, luck—she instinctively knew what they meant.
Power gained in exchange for conditions... but these conditions...
She fixated not on the rewards, but the constraints. How could she not? Each one was monstrous.
Kill someone every day for life, or suffer endless agony. Could I do that?
Even consumed by rage, her fury targeted only Count Bastrey and his cronies. Choosing Slaughter would turn her into a murder demon; Pain would shatter her mind, reducing her to something inhuman.
She didn't deliberate long. Rejection wasn't an option. She craved revenge. If she could achieve it with these hands, she'd sell her soul.
Nudity Constraint.
She picked the least insane one. Shame? She could ditch that easily. Compared to the others, it felt like a mercy that brought tears to her eyes.
[Clothing is removed.]
[All clothing items except accessories are automatically unequipped.]
[Skills that could replace clothing are automatically disabled.]
[Cannot equip SS-grade or lower equipment items.]
Her ragged clothes vanished. Maisie gasped and covered Lilac's body in shock, but Lilac remained serene.
"It's fine, sis."
"L-Lilac! What did you do!?"
"I can't wear clothes anymore. But it's okay."
Lilac instinctively realized she'd never drape "clothing" over her body again. Her nakedness lay bare before a strange man, yet shame evaded her.
I was fated to be a man's plaything anyway.
Besides, this man would aid her revenge. His face wasn't to her taste, but that didn't matter. She was prepared to yield her treasures to him. Baring her body was nothing. If anything, she was grateful for this new chain of fate.
"Heh heh! Picked an entertaining constraint, I see."
"In exchange for no clothes, my strength and agility went up by 300. Urk! I... suddenly feel a bit..."
Lilac collapsed to her knees. Maisie supported her, glaring daggers at Walker with a growl.
"What did you do to my sister!?"
"She chose it herself. As I said, this item grants massive power alongside harsh constraints. It's all her decision."
"Sis, I'm fine. Just a little muscle ache."
Lilac pushed Maisie away with calm composure. She seemed truly recovered, hopping in place.
"Huh!? Lilac!"
She leaped about five meters effortlessly. Maisie's eyes bulged as she stared. Lilac smiled at her sister.
"See? It's like he said—my choice."
Lilac gripped the amethyst again. Stronger, yes—but not enough. For revenge, she'd pay any price. It glowed once more.
=====
Please select a constraint.
1. Slaughter Constraint
Kill one human per day.
●Reward: Intelligence and Luck +300 each. Intelligence and Agility growth rates +300%.
2. Pain Constraint
Constantly feel pain equivalent to a second-degree burn. Cannot be dispelled by SS-grade or lower debuff removal skills. Debuff refreshes every hour.
●Reward: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck +200 each. All stat growth rates +200%.
3. Fasting Constraint
Never eat food for life.
●Reward: Acquire 3 random SSS-grade skills.
=====
"Hm..."
The new options gave her pause. The first two were carryovers. She didn't grasp what SSS-grade skills meant, but they screamed immense power.
No food for life? I'd starve... No, I've heard of it. Nobles with ruined teeth or rotting guts survive on potions. They taste awful, though...
As Lilac pondered, Walker asked.
"What options showed up to make you hesitate like that?"
She relayed what she'd seen. Walker was floored.
Three SSS-grade skills!? Insane! Sure, the price is steep... but even I only have two SSS skills.
"Um... I think 'food' here means regular stuff people eat. Potions should be fine. That's the vibe."
"Got it. Pick that, and I'll handle your back."
"Thank you..."
Lilac chose the third. The others were impossible anyway. Alerts flooded her vision with cryptic text she somehow understood.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the SSS-grade root skill Soul Mastery.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the SSS-grade branch skill Ectoplasm.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the SSS-grade root skill Ultimate Sword Mastery.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the S-grade branch skill Slash of the River.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the SSS-grade root skill Ultimate Mentality.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the SS-grade branch skill Immune Mind.]