Chapter 104

“The doom links?”

Ker-chunk!

“Damn it!”

Borough City, Clock Tower Lane District, Grace Street, No. 21.

A gaunt man with short golden hair sat at the broken dining table inside the house.

In front of him lay a half-collapsed table and spilled stew and hard black rye bread.

He reached out and grabbed his own hair, his right hand encased in a black arm guard pulling so hard that the roots of his hair were already red and swollen from the strain.

It seemed that only by doing this could he slightly alleviate his pressure.

He grabbed a bottle of cheap juniper gin from the tabletop, a popular drink among workers.

He gulped down a large mouthful, the taste of various impurities and additives filling his mouth, the faint turpentine flavor almost making him gag.

“Damn it… Damn it!!!”

The man suddenly threw the bottle of gin, which shattered near the fireplace, glass shards scattering everywhere, cheap alcohol seeping into the moldy floorboards.

Sitting in place, he held his head in pain, filled with immense regret and remorse.

Why did he have to live such a life worse than a beast…

He was Prince Sadrius’s youngest son, born with a silver spoon in his mouth!

Though he had no hope of inheriting the title of prince or achieving anything great enough to earn special authorization from the queen, his identity and wealth alone could have afforded him a life of admiration.

All of this because he chose to come to Borough City… Everything he had was gradually stripped away.

He had to endure this descent into the lower ranks without any effective resistance.

At first, he took on this mission simply because it led to Borough City.

Opoldusadious initially came to Borough City just to meet his cousin, Aivana Russell. But after arriving, he faced one misfortune after another.

The hardships he endured over the past month were several times more than what he had experienced since birth.

As a result, he hadn’t seen Aivana much, their relationship hadn’t improved, and he had to continue suffering in Borough City. As soon as he stepped out of Clock Tower Lane District, misfortune followed him like a shadow.

Not even the letters he sent received any response. Even if they were just handed to Aivana, there was no reply.

Even though he was in the city, he felt trapped like on an island, unable to move, struggling for survival.

Most crucially, he couldn’t let those guards or servants find him, or it would lead to even more severe consequences.

Up until now, Opoldusadious’s guards still believed their master was just playing around in Borough City, unaware of time. They never imagined that Opoldusadious had been hiding in Clock Tower Lane District for nearly half a month.

“Damn it…”

Opoldusadious’s third curse was already somewhat powerless.

He reached for the pouch at his waist, taking out an item and a piece of paper.

The item was a blue, crystal-like eye, his amulet, the key to avoiding disaster after disaster.

He spread the paper on the wobbly table, placing the eye in the center. Then, he took out a small knife, cutting open the skin on his left palm, squeezing his fist to let blood drip onto the blue eye.

“Will my actions be dangerous? ‘Evil Eye’,” Opoldusadious asked.

Blood flowed down the blue eye, none sticking to it. Seeing this, Opoldusadious slowly relaxed.

He stood up, walked to the living room, and picked up his spiritual note, starting to record something.

Looking closely, the last page of his spiritual note was filled with rules:

1. Daily expenses cannot exceed 9 pence.

2. Weekly rent for accommodation cannot exceed 2 shillings.

3. Must work every day, weekly salary cannot exceed 10 shillings.

…

31. Damaging furniture within the weekly salary range will not be punished.

After writing the thirty-first rule, Opoldusadious looked at the full page, cursing again.

He had never followed the law, and now he had to follow these damn, unknown rules?

Disobeying would bring mysterious misfortunes. Even with all these rules, some inexplicable disasters couldn’t be explained, like they happened randomly.

If he managed to get through this, he would definitely investigate who was behind this… humiliating him like this showed they didn’t care about the royal family!

Actually, Opoldusadious had long given up, trying every means to end this torment.

But there was one thing holding him back from confronting the “mastermind” behind it all.

When he lived according to these ridiculous, script-like rules, his inner monologue would lessen slightly…

Yes, obeying these absurd rules actually affected his potion.

The most obvious manifestation was the erosion of the third-tier “Crown Guard.”

Opoldusadious slowly raised his right hand. His right hand, from fingertips to shoulder, was completely covered in black armor, a side effect of drinking the third-tier “Crown Guard” potion.

Before coming to Borough City, his right-hand armor had extended to his chest and heart…

Now, using his left hand to feel his heart, he could hear a strong heartbeat. Although his inner monologue and buzzing continued, they were much better than before.

He thought he might have to stay in the “Crown Guard” tier forever, but now… he could go further.

If he could figure out this pattern and the mastermind behind it, he could use everything to reverse the erosion of the potion in his body.

This was unheard of… no extraordinary person had ever done this. He was sure what he felt and saw was real.

Whoever could do this…

Either someone higher up, whom he had only heard of but never seen, fully transformed into a life form called an “Extraterrestrial” by the name of Extraordinary.

Or, a powerful sealed object that hadn’t been discovered yet, with the ability to change rules…

Opoldusadious didn’t know if this information was known only to him, nor if anyone else was subject to the same doom rules.

But he had to find the truth before others.

“Gulp…”

A slight sound caught Opoldusadious’s attention. He looked up, toward the dining table.

What happened?

He quickly stood up and walked toward the table, watching the “Evil Eye” on the table slowly absorb his blood that had soaked into the paper.

The azure eye mixed with dark red blood, purple veins spreading inside, forming a core resembling a pupil.

The core slowly rotated within the crystal, scanning the paper, then lifted and locked onto the door.

No, his paper listed at least fifty to sixty types of misfortune, why did the “Evil Eye”…?

Ding-dong-dong—

A knock sounded at the door, causing Opoldusadious’s heart to skip a beat.

Was it his guards finally finding him?

“Open the door, Tribunal,” a cold voice echoed from outside, making Opoldusadious’s forehead pulse.

Sh*t, it wasn’t misfortune coming.

It was death itself.

Opoldusadious put away the “Evil Eye” and carefully approached the door, unlocking it and opening it slightly, saying:

“Hello, sir.”

…

The wooden door slowly opened in front of Xia’er, but only wide enough for an arm to poke out, and then stopped.

Inside, a tired man’s voice echoed.

“Hello, sir.”

“Is there anything you need?”

Clearly, the other party wanted no interaction.

Only out of respect for the name “Tribunal” did they open the door slightly.

“Opoldusadious, is that right?”

Xia’er slowly spoke, “I learned your address from Aivana. Can we talk?”

Xia’er directly mentioned Aivana’s name, knowing her address, they should be acquainted. Using her name might facilitate communication.

“Sh*t… she clearly received the letter…”

A muffled curse came from inside, and after a moment, the door slowly closed, the man’s voice echoing from within: “I have nothing to discuss. It’s my private time. If you have any questions, please consult my lawyer first.”

The wooden door hadn’t fully closed when a shadowy hand, burning with black flames, pressed against it, preventing Opoldusadious from closing it properly.

Bang!

Opoldusadious forcibly pulled open the door, slamming it against the wooden frame beside it. His eyes were bloodshot, glaring at Xia’er at the door, saying: “What the hell do you want?”

In that moment, a clear killing intent emerged from Opoldusadious.

Seeing Opoldusadious, Xia’er’s brows furrowed.

He wore a dirty, smelly white vest, his golden short hair oily, as if he hadn’t washed it for weeks. His face was covered in stubble, and the room reeked of cheap alcohol.

This person… was the prince’s son from An Su? A top-ranking aristocrat?

He looked like an ordinary drunk worker, if not for his iron-like right hand.

Perhaps the vibration caused the already unstable table to collapse, the white candle falling onto the wooden floor, igniting the alcohol that had seeped in.

Noticing this, Opoldusadious quickly turned around, pulling a nearby carpet to cover the spreading fire.

After a frantic effort, the kitchen and dining table were in disarray. Opoldusadious slowly stood up, clenching his fists.

“Sh*t! Damn it! Damn it!!!”

He kept cursing, anger burning in his chest.

He had never been so humiliated in front of others. The shame tortured his pride. This small misfortune felt like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Opoldusadious’s fists clenched tighter, the metal armor on his right hand grinding unpleasantly. He slowly stood up, turning to look at Xia’er at the door.

But he saw Xia’er reading something in his hand, and upon closer inspection, it was his spiritual note.

“You’re courting death!!!”

Opoldusadious’s right hand tightened, black claws emerging from his fingertips. His palm condensed a black dagger, which he threw toward Xia’er.

However, in his sight, the second-tier girl didn’t even use her extraordinary abilities, stepping back half a step, her head tilting backward. The dagger passed between her and the spiritual note, embedding itself into the door frame.

Her casual avoidance infuriated him. His right-hand armor melted halfway, forming a nearly human-sized tower shield with molten fire and black plates and spikes.

He held the shield in front of him, ready to crush the girl in front of him, regardless of the cost.

“Did you also encounter the ‘Doom Rules’?”

The girl’s cold voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly cooling him down from his rage.

Opoldusadious panted heavily, the tower shield melting back into his right arm.

How did she know?

Was she… like him?

“Lucy Hilufa, Opoldusadious…”

Xia’er closed the spiritual note and threw it toward the man, continuing, “Your rules are different, with no connection… but both of you have encountered random, inexplicable, serious calamities…

“Lucy almost died just now. Be careful in the future.”

Having read the spiritual note, Xia’er was convinced that Opoldusadious wasn’t the one causing these calamities.

Although Opoldusadious seemed irritable, he meticulously recorded all the misfortunes, big and small, and even set himself thirty-some rules, preferring to follow them rather than make mistakes.

Considering his own misfortunes included some unpredictable events, and recalling that Lucy encountered a misfortune shortly after he left Borough City…

Their misfortunes might be linked… one mistake, everyone suffers.

The next step was to observe whether Opoldusadious would die from misfortune, confirming this theory.

“Hey! Who the hell are you?! You’re definitely not from the Tribunal!”

“What do you mean by ‘be careful’?!”

Opoldusadious watched as the girl’s silhouette vanished into a shadow. When he ran outside, there was no sign of her on the street.