Edmund's eyes fluttered open. Before he could see anything, a transparent screen appeared in front of him.
[First Mission: Ask the Patriarch to give back your name.]
[Reward: A Droplet of Desires.]
[Notice: Without your name, you're nothing, only something useless to me. There's no way I can achieve my goals. If you want to have me, have a name and a family behind you.]
[Penalty: I'll kill you and look for a suitable host.]
The mission was not confusing.
However, its nature. Did the Goddess of Beauty really say that? That she would kill him if he failed? As far as Edmund could remember, they were getting along just seconds ago, right? Did he imagine the admiration in her eyes?
Wait!
Come to think of it, she had said the system was pre-set. This also was too confusing. If it was pre-set, how did she know the host would be a disgrace to his family? That the host's father would be called the Patriarch?
'Don't stress yourself!'
If his life was at stake, all he needed was to act according to rules. About these confusing facts, he would have to ask her later.
'Let me get my name back first!'
On earth, Edmund's family didn't lack money to pamper him with games and anime. That's why, like he used to see in anime, he blinked twice and the screen was gone.
He didn't see a cliff. Instead, a huge chandelier was staring at him. Why would he see a cliff, anyway? The Goddess of Beauty said he was unconscious and...
Gillian's hug interrupted his thoughts.
"Brother Edmund, I thought you were dead!"
"Why would you think that I'm dead when I was lying right in front of you?"
Before Gillian could answer his question, Kyron harshly pulled her toward him, raising his hand to slap her.
"You bitch, I warned you not to call this son of a bitch by my name."
Edmund was about to get up when he saw Knox rushing to her rescue. Now that Gillian was safe, he focused on digesting the information from his memories.
Healing Hall. A hall for patients inside the Drumline Castle.
When he learnt about this, he looked at the guys around him and saw them acting as normal as if they were the ones who had brought him there—as if nothing strange had happened.
Kyron had released Gillian who directly turned toward Edmund, her teary blue eyes looking so mesmerizing.
'She really is a beauty.'
With that thought, Edmund pulled her for a hug, startling her and causing her to gasp.
The warmth of her boobies made his thoughts go wild, but that's not why he had pulled her. He wanted to ask her who brought him there.
"It's the Patriarch," she replied. "When you vanquished Klex, he had received a notification and came to check."
If it weren't for his memories, Edmund would have asked her more questions.
However, his memories had him covered. Klex was a Replica. A blood companion that the Patriarch received after killing the real Klex.
Sometimes, someone would kill a monster and receive its copy. Alright Interpreter referred to it as a Replica left behind by the real monster.
It is this time when Edmund realized that Gillian was still lying on him, as stiff as a spear.
Awkwardly, he let go of her. Instead of getting off him, she leaned even closer until her lips brushed against his ears.
'What's she doing?'
"Why did you kill Klex?" she asked. It was as if she had leaned in to whisper to him, not to do what he had been assuming.
'You pervert!' he said to himself.
Edmund tried to ignore the foreign feeling he felt when her lips brushed against his ears and thought about her question.
'Why did I kill Klex? Wasn't it obvious? I was trying to protect myself.'
That's what he intended to tell her, but something in his memories made him realize the true meaning behind her question.
Klex was the Patriarch's Replica. Without Klex as his blood companion, he would not have won the Betrothal Contest in Flaming Realms.
Simply, Klex was something sacred to both the Patriarch and the whole Drumline Castle, a hero that freed them from slavery. Everyone cherished the brown snake. She was their goddess.
Now, not only Edmund had disrespected her, but also killed her.
'Gods! How am I going to get my name back?'
Drumline Castle based their magic and martial arts on drums. Their beats manipulated the flow of their moves and techniques.
That's why Edmund had left the cave with much confidence thinking it would be easy to gain his name back. He would have only shown them what a god of drums he was on earth, right?
However, now that he had killed the Goddess of the Drumline Castle, he was not sure if it would be possible, let alone easy.
'Damn!'
Edmund's eyes accidentally wandered around the room, only to see someone staring at him with killing intent.
Knox was Edmund's greatest enemy because of his love for Gillian. This reminded Edmund that Gillian was still lying on him.
He offered Knox a mischievous smile and said to himself.
'Poor kid! Gillian is now officially the second member of my harem. You better look for another love.'
When Edmund experienced transmigration, magic and system, he became sure that a harem would follow. He only didn't know how he ended up counting the Goddess of Beauty as one his harem members, though.
'She's mine, too! Didn't she say she will deal with my virginity soon? What's the big deal in counting her as one of my girls then?'
At that moment, the clicking of the door assaulted their ears, prompting Gillian to jerk upward and stand beside the bed, her back bent ninety degrees.
Even Kyron and Knox were shaken, although for them, they only bowed their heads.
A gust of wind found its way inside the Healing Hall, coldness caressing against Edmund's skin. He didn't know why, but the wind made him feel uneasy, almost as if it wasn't just wind, but someone's aura.
Who could it be?
Edmund shifted his gaze in the door's direction to see for himself.
He would have consulted his memories to know how the Patriarch looked liked, but his eyes had already landed on the man.
However, before the information could reach his brain to create the man's image, Edmund felt something slapping hard on his cheek.
Following, he heard a thundering sound, followed by excruciating pain and stars in his eyes.
'Damn!'
The pain was nothing like he never felt, not even like when the bull in Mexico impaled his chest or when he fell with the three-eyed-wolf.
Before he could recover from the pain, Edmund heard a voice, so husky and frightening.
"How dare you kill Klex? Don't you feel ashamed of your useless burden?"
Though Edmund could not see the man's face, he could picture the expression there because he better knew the feelings in his voice—anger and disappointment.
But how?
The Patriarch was still far away from him. How did his hand reach him? Why did he even slap him? Because he had killed Klex?
Of course yes! What else could be the reason? The important question was, was one slap going to be enough? Was his punishment ending, or beginning?
Now, not only he had lost his chance to ask and get his name back. He also had to be punished.
'Dammit!'