Chapter 5 - Arrival to the rural area

A couple of days have passed since the death of Lord Cornelius and my escape from the kingdom of Aldagor and despite that I have not yet decided what my destination is, nor how I will manage to prove my innocence, but first I have to find a place to get money and supplies for my trip, the good thing is that despite never having left the library I know the entire human continent like the back of my hand, Aldagor which is located to the east of the continent is one of the 4 great empires of the human continent, along with Vesteylla to the north, Orfidia to the south and Phalloria to the west, these have their lands in each of the cardinal ends of the continent leaving in the center a space known as "neutral lands" which are composed of abundant forests full of monsters, lakes, caves, dungeons and mysterious places.

Because I memorized every book and writing inside the library, I knew everything that the kingdom had discovered about various locations, the flora, fauna and also knew the location of the roads that could take me out of the kingdom, in these days I have managed to leave the territory of the great capital of the kingdom of Aldagor and managed to reach the rural area of the kingdom, I did not go through any difficulty to get there because within the territories of the kingdom the biggest problems are bandits with a lousy handling of magic, since the monsters are usually eliminated by the military mages of the kingdom, thanks to the repeated assaults I have received I managed to get some supplies, weapons and money that had the bandits that I defeated.

The villages in the rural areas are so despised by the nobles that for some time now they have been named with numbers so that they only represent an asset for the empire, the 23rd village is the closest to the capital of the kingdom and is 10 days away by carriage and 15 days on foot, but thanks to my mana reinforcement I could arrive in less than 3 days, when I arrived to the village I could notice that being the closest to the capital it has a very good infrastructure, with cobblestone roads, stone houses and large commercial sectors since it is the village with the largest trade with the capital, Although I would like to stay to contemplate the structures of the town a little longer, I had a mission that I could not put at risk so I went to the supply store that was just at the entrance of the commercial area, when I entered I was shocked, it was a huge place with products of all kinds, from spices to exotic furs, From spices to exotic skins and many varied products, while I was lost in surprise I felt how a huge hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me sharply, a man 2m tall and as big as a boar looked at me with stern eyes and told me in an annoyed tone as he dragged me out of the store.

— This is no place for the likes of you so get out of my sight and may I never see you in these parts again! —

I did not understand what was happening, I just blushed with shame and soon after I noticed that all the people around me saw me with disgusting eyes and I understood that my bandit outfit was not the most appropriate to come to the high sector of the trade area, knowing my mistake I went to the low sector of trade to get what I was looking for, I got to one of the street stalls and bought some supplies, then I looked for a store to buy some decent clothes but in the end nothing from the store convinced me, then I went to the blacksmith area to get some equipment for my journey and even though magic is everything in this world, weapons and equipment can be the difference between life and death.

The blacksmith sector was impressive despite being in the lower sector the quality and quantity of blacksmiths was incredible, wandering around the blacksmith area I saw a sign that caught my attention the name of the shop was "The dragon's sigh", I don't know why but something about it caught my attention, I think I read about it in some book? The store has a normal appearance compared to the rest, it has only one door and a window where they exhibit some of their products, I entered the store and a woman of the dwarf race received me at the counter had a muscular body, with tanned skin for being in front of the fire for so long and with eyes so black that seemed to have no pupil, and with a firm and somewhat annoying look she observed me from head to toe and while waving her hand she said to me with a slight sigh of disapproval.

— Go away, we don't sell to your kind here, go and look on the black market for whatever it is you're looking for —

Then I understood that it was not that he saw me as someone poor but that I looked like a bandit because of the type of clothes I wear, having understood the situation I tried to explain my situation as calmly as possible.

— Excuse me miss but I think you are making a mistake, I am not a bandit, what happens is that on my way to this town I was ambushed and my clothes were ruined so I had to take those of my attackers, that's why I have this appearance and I'm looking for new equipment to change it —

The woman frowned as a sign of disagreement with my explanation, a few seconds later she gave a huge sigh as she leaned her 2 hands against the counter and got up from her chair, then she walked to me and watched me carefully for several minutes and then gave a small smile as she said, "Kid, you should think seriously before taking the clothes of a criminal.

— Child you should think seriously before taking the clothes of a criminal it is very easy to confuse people around these parts —

After hearing his words I felt a great relief that he did not confuse me with a criminal, and with the misunderstanding fixed I went on to explain what I needed in a normal voice.

— Now that the misunderstanding is fixed, I would like to know if I can buy new equipment, so I can throw away these clothes once and for all —

Hearing my words the lady smiled from ear to ear and with a slight jump ran to the back of the store while shouting with joy and excitement.

— I know exactly what you are looking for! —

The woman disappeared into the back room and a few minutes later appeared with a complete set of black leather armor with white and red trim.

— This is one of the best leather armors I've ever made, it's just a bit fickle and it still doesn't choose its wearer —

I was admiring the finish of the armor when I suddenly analyzed what I had just heard and with eyes of surprise and a voice of exaltation I said to the woman.

— That's a cursed armor! But that's impossible, it takes an incredible mastery in magic and forging to be able to make one! It must cost a fortune! I can't pay that much! —

Hearing my words the woman laughed out loud and after a few seconds she rejoined me and said with a serious voice.

— You seem like a well informed young man, cursed weapons and armor are very expensive in the market because they are made with the blood of the wearer and that creates a bond between them which cannot be broken, but this armor is different this one became so by accumulating the sadness that surrounds this city and somehow it transformed itself without the intervention of a blacksmith and being honest with you I have not been able to sell it since that happened since every person who buys it returns it because the armor rejects it and generates counter magic that cancels the flow of mana in the body, so if you are willing to try to wear it and it accepts you I will give it for free with the condition that you recommend my store and buy your weapons here —

I could not help but be surprised by the words of that woman, cursed weapons unlike sacred, legendary or enchanted weapons is that these are formed from the power of the user who gave the blood and feeds on the negative emotions that this contains, try to use the cursed weapon of someone else would be like ingesting poison for your body and mind, although there is also the possibility that an object of high quality or highly related material to the magical flow that is exposed to many negative emotions or large magical flows can become a cursed weapon or even a sacred weapon, but given the color it has I can say that it is definitely a cursed weapon and if I still do not choose user and I am able to be use it I might be able to face very powerful enemies or I could even go to the continent of beasts since cursed weapons grow with the user and have very good abilities that can evolve or acquire with time, while I was thinking about all the possibilities a huge smile came on my face and with a look of determination and a cheerful tone I said.

— I'm going to try —

The woman smiled and pointed to the armor on the counter, as if to say "Go ahead",

I took the armor from the counter and went to the fitting rooms to put it on, when I finished adjusting it I walked a little, while the woman looked at me with a doubtful look she said to me in a low voice.

— Do you feel something different? Or something out of the ordinary? —

As I was about to answer the woman a deep dark voice echoed in my head.

— Do you want power? Do you want to destroy your enemies? Do you want to avenge your father? —

As I listened to the voice in my mind an immense dark magical pressure unfolded from the armor, this pressure subdued the dwarf woman who lost consciousness, if it wasn't for my mana control I would have already fainted as well and the voice asked again.

— Why do you seek my power and what are you willing to give for it? —

His voice was dark and every second that passed I lost more control over my mana, I can see why they had never been able to use it, its power is fearsome, but still it is not that I seek its power for any specific reason to use it, I wanted to avenge my father but I did not want revenge to guide my life, so I took a deep breath and answered the voice in my head with a serious and direct tone.

— I do not seek revenge on anyone, although I am sad for the death of my father, with his last words he did not tell me to avenge him, but he told me to seek the power that is missing in the world, so I invite you to my great journey in search of the power that I was not born with but that I will get, what do you think of my offer? —

A few seconds passed and the voice did not answer my question, little by little the magical pressure diminished in the atmosphere and when it disappeared completely the voice answered, in a serious way with a rough but calm voice.

— In your heart and in your mind your words are true and from today your mission will be my mission and I will accompany you until destiny separates us, my name is Angra and from today I will be at your service my master —

His words left me perplexed, cursed weapons are usually named by the user or by the blacksmith, but this one already had a name despite never having had a user before, that is strange in many ways, but leaving that aside, I have a cursed armor, I could not help but smile at the thought of that and with a triumphant tone I answered him.

— It's a pleasure Angra, from now on we'll live many adventures together —