How could Kale feel any threat when he himself had killed a freakin Dragon, not once, but literally twice? The man scoffed at him, seeing that he was nothing but a kid, although he was quite tall and muscular for a mere 12-year-old, "A kid like you carrying those heavy loads, stop spouting nonsense, and don't bother me, punk, before I beat you up and break a few of your nimble soft bones. Get lost."
Kale didn't mind and added, "Then if I can carry them. Will you take me with you? I have no money and really need to go to the capital."
The mercenary leader frowned, then he sneered, "Go on, lift three bags and stand for ten minutes, without showing any difficulty, then I will not only take you with us, but you'll also get to eat free roasted lobster with us on the way."
10 minutes later…
Kale stood straight like a stone pillar with three nearly 20-kilo weights on his shoulders and arms, holding almost 60 kilos for nearly 10 minutes straight without breaking a sweat.
All the mercenary team's people, including the leader, were staring at him in disbelief, like he was a monster or something. The leader asked him, his voice almost cracking, "Kid, how old did you say you were?"
Kale coughed and said after a moment of hesitation, "Well, I'm 12…"
The leader almost coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even he couldn't handle this much weight for ten long minutes without having his legs shake, at least somewhat. Where did this little shit even come from? He just asked the kid to do that to get rid of him.
But to think the boy actually did that, now he would have to share his fucking share of the roasted lobster, goddamn it, he felt like cursing his damn shitty luck. Why did this punk even have to come to his group? Couldn't he go to some other fucking place?
In the end, despite his grumblings, he could only accept his fate. Just like that, Kale found the way to travel to the capital without needing to earn money. After visiting the capital and gaining enough knowledge, Kale would decide on his next path.
Something that could potentially help him break the curse.
While sitting within the wagon, everyone brought out the roasted lobster meat from a metal container, which perhaps contained some magical enchantments to keep the food warm and fresh. With a visible grimace, the leader handed over a large plate of that to Kale.
Which was for him losing the bet he made with Kale, and the latter was a bit surprised; it seems the mercenary leader was a man of honor.
Kale shook his head, "Please forget about that bet, I don't care about that. I merely wanted to go to the capital in exchange for some work I could do. Nothing else is necessary."
This time, it was the mercenary leader who was surprised, "Brat, do you even know what this thing is? It's the meat of Red Solvang Lobster, it's one of the rarest sea delicacies, even if you slave away your entire life, you might not get the chance to eat it."
Then another female mercenary chimed in, her voice serious, "That's right. Our previous boss was a man with very big pockets. Because we did a very good job, he gave us this precious stuff. Just eat it."
Hearing all of that, Kale only disagreed with more resolution, "That's even more reason why I should not eat this. Please enjoy it yourselves and don't force me. I do not like to be indebted. This is too much for me."
The moment he said those words, a pin-drop silence descended within the swaying wagon being pulled by a carrier beast.
Eventually, the leader sighed and cut the large Lobster meat that he was about to give to Kale into three parts. Handing one part of it over to Kale, his voice became stern, "Eat this much punk, or I'll kick you out, if you say a single word more."
Looking at the leader's serious face, he could only reluctantly take the piece of food filled with who knows how many spices; just the smell of it drifting into his nostrils was enough to make him drool. He could already tell just by carefully smelling it that the thing must be damn delicious, so he took a small bite, just to get the first taste.
Rich flavors exploded in his mouth; he could not help but think, how long it must have been since he ate something so flavorful. Unfortunately, his little village did not have a great selection of spices, nor was there much opportunity to obtain them from outside.
So, he had become used to the mundane foods of his village, so this thing really felt heavenly. He forgot everyone else in the wagon because of the great taste of the food. And when he opened his eyes, everyone was looking at him with a suggestive smile.
Especially, that rough-looking woman, her eyes said it all, 'Told you, boy, this was really good.'
Kale became somewhat embarrassed and took another small bite, savoring every bit of it. To which the rest of them let out a laugh at his reaction. Time passed, and after almost 24 hours had passed, of course, with some small breaks in between their journey. They finally landed in the grand hub of the Ignis Empire.
The capital city, Emberheart.
Kale stepped out of the Wagon, his eyes wandered around like a country bumpkin who had come to cities for the first time in his life. Which technically wasn't wrong, as he witnessed the tall building that curved and spiraled in shape, but was not built of glass or concrete.
But built through magic with exotic, unknown materials, they gave off an ancient vibe rather than a modern, technologically advanced one. Every street was bustling with people of all kinds, from the mundane to the powerful, who could easily be discerned by their walking posture or the layer of energy surrounding them.
There were tamed beasts following alongside their master, right in the open here and there.
Many more types of awakened, the intricacies of which Kale did not yet understand completely.
But there was one thing in common among everyone who was awakened: they had a soul sigil mark on their foreheads, the color and pattern of which conveyed their talent and path.
The system was hiding his soul sigil mark for now, but he was sure he would have to make it visible; perhaps hiding it under a bandage on his head would be considered more normal, otherwise it would be too suspicious, since no one was supposed to be able to do that. To completely hide one's soul sigil mark in such a manner.
Unless an awakened was powerful enough, maybe, so, he had to do this to make sure no unwanted suspicion would fall on him. Though showing his soul sigil mark would reveal his cursed status, at least everyone in the Ebon viscounty who knew anything about him was all dead.
There should not be any problem, as no one should be able to link him to that incident, that a worthless, cursed tamer had actually killed a tyrant rank Red Dragon.