Esdeath squatted on the ground, watching ants fight and then carry food back to their nest.
To most people, this would be dull and boring, but Esdeath watched for half an hour.
Her father was unloading the Danger Beast he had hunted today.
Seeing Esdeath watching ants, he walked over and watched for a moment, saying, ‘Watching ants, Esdeath?
The battle is already over.
The ants here have already dragged out the opposing queen to ravage her.
This is the fate of the weak.’
Esdeath felt these words were grating.
No matter the time, her father’s mouth was always full of talk about the strong and the weak—only the strong could survive, while the weak could only die.
She admitted her father was right, but as a weak person herself, it was particularly grating.
So she lowered her head and remained silent.
Esdeath’s father was the chief of the tribe.
Despite being the chief’s daughter, her mother had been attacked by a Danger Beast and barely managed to give birth to her, resulting in her having a constitutionally weak body.
Even though she was a member of a hunting tribe, she found it difficult to hunt Danger Beasts, making her an anomaly within the tribe.
Although her father was the chief and she never lacked for food or drink, in a hunting tribe where strength was everything, no one looked highly upon Esdeath.
Esdeath couldn’t follow the tribesmen out to hunt.
Even slight physical exertion would leave her breathless, so she could only stay at home helping them harvest materials from the Danger Beasts they brought back.
Compared to the other tribesmen who were broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, and tempered by the elements, Esdeath’s body was slender and fair—excessively beautiful, yet utterly useless.
‘Cut off its crest; it’s a valuable material.’
Esdeath picked up the Hunting Knife and skillfully cut the crest of the large red lizard they had brought back, then sliced open its abdomen to remove the precious gallbladder.
Her father began to divide the prey.
The more effort one put in, the more food they received.
Esdeath could only get the smallest portion, though it was enough for her.
While eating, boys her age came to mock her again.
‘Hey, little Esdeath, is it comfortable staying in the tent all day?’
‘I wish I had a good dad too, so I wouldn’t have to go out hunting and could still get meat.’
‘Hahahaha!’
Esdeath couldn’t argue with them and didn’t want to cause trouble, but this time they wouldn’t let her off easily.
‘Hey, I’m talking to you.
Didn’t you hear me?’
‘Stop right there.’
The people of the Barutesu Tribe were hot-blooded.
When they had irreconcilable conflicts, they often fought; whoever won was right, and whoever won was listened to.
The youths were the same.
Therefore, adults wouldn’t interfere in such minor friction.
In fact, if someone was constantly bullied, they would be considered a useless person.
Esdeath took a deep breath, suppressing her anger.
Just then, a mysterious voice rang out in her mind.
‘Ding!
Suitable host found.
Villain Roleplay System bound!’
‘Task system activated.
Triggered random task: Faced with the provocation of others, how can a qualified villain swallow their pride?
Make the opponent suffer.
Reward: Eye of True Sight.’
Esdeath was stunned and began to study this sudden appearance.
The two provocateurs danced around in front of her for a while, but seeing no reaction from Esdeath, they felt bored and left on their own.
Should she take revenge?
Without a doubt, Esdeath was tempted.
No one could resist such a temptation.
Buck and Zafik, two people in the tribe whose strength was mediocre at best, loved to find a sense of existence by picking on others.
The weakest, Esdeath, naturally became the target for them to show off their presence.
Esdeath certainly had a way to take revenge on them.
Since she couldn’t go to the hunting grounds, she was always responsible for cutting Danger Beasts, cooking, and preserving many herbs, among which were some poisons.
Esdeath chose a medicinal herb that could cause vomiting and diarrhea and quietly added it to Buck and Zafik’s stew bowls.
Not long after, Buck and Zafik, who had eaten the stew, began to vomit.
This gave the other tribesmen a fright.
‘There’s something wrong with this meat!’ Buck slammed his bowl down, and just after speaking, he began to vomit again.
Zafik was the same.
‘It must have been Esdeath!’ Buck clutched his stomach and rushed over to Esdeath in a rage.’She was the one who served us food just now.’
‘And we just said a few things to her.
She must be holding a grudge and actually poisoned us.’
If it were a head-on duel with a rival tribesman, no one would stop it.
But using such underhanded methods was intolerable by the traditions of the Barutesu Tribe.
‘Esdeath, did you do it?’ Her father’s expression also turned grim.
Esdeath looked at the crowd surrounding and scrutinizing her.
She wanted to say something, but stopped herself.
As a weakling, no matter what reason she had, she had no way to take revenge, and no one would acknowledge her.
This was the way of this world.
‘Ding!
Task completed.
Reward: Eye of True Sight.
Eye of True Sight activated.
Can see through everything in this world.’
Esdeath was a bit confused by this explanation, but she did feel her brain and eyes become a bit different—swelling and heating up, then quickly cooling down.
The real-world interrogation was still ongoing.
Several tribal elders were also drawn over by the commotion.
‘Chief Alei, you cannot show favoritism.
We of the Barutesu Tribe are upright and honorable.
Now that someone has used such low-down tactics, they must be punished.’
The parents of Buck and Zafik shouted loudly.
‘Esdeath, did you do it?’ Her father still looked at Esdeath, his eyes filled with sorrow and helplessness.
‘Yes.’ Esdeath admitted it quite simply.
This was probably her bravest moment.
Buck and the others shouted even louder.
In the end, Alei forcibly ended the matter by docking Esdeath’s hunting food share for one month.
Buck and the others were obviously dissatisfied with this result, but there was nothing they could say.
After all, her father was the chief; favoritism was to be expected.
Having no food share meant she still had to work but wouldn’t receive the food brought back daily by the hunting teams.
However, Alei could still give his share to Esdeath, so the punishment wasn’t actually severe.
Esdeath ignored them and returned to her tent.
Early the next morning, Esdeath left the camp with her backpack, bow, and Hunting Knife.
She could still go pick wild fruits and mushrooms on the mountain; she knew exactly what was edible and what wasn’t.
If she could pick medicinal herbs, she could also exchange them for money.
This was Esdeath’s only source of income; unable to do heavy labor, she could only rely on gathering to make money.
Just as she left the camp and arrived at the mountain path in the wild, the system that had been silent since yesterday suddenly appeared again.
‘Ding!
As a qualified villain, how can you not act as you please?
Pick a passerby you dislike and kill them at random.
Reward: Skill: Time Reversal.
Restarts a period of time within a certain range around the host.’