Vincent retreated back. After placing a couple of distance between them, he stopped. He stood in front of a tree, gulped while thinking if he was about to do it, and closed his eyes.
*Bam
"Ugh... not enough. " Vincent banged his head against a tree.
*Bam
"Argh... a little more. " Vincent banged his head once again, but this time with more strength.
*Bam
"... finally, some blood." Vincent managed to achieve the result he wished for as blood trickled from his forehead.
'Damn, this hurts!'
'Ok. Now I'm a person that hit his head and lost his memories. I don't know who I am or where I came from. Main characters with memory loss have a better start. I hope the stories I read till now will help me.'
'RNG, please bless me with a good start.'
Vincent concocted a plan based on all the stories he ever read. He wanted to have a safe start, one where he doesn't die.
Vincent broke a small branch. With it, he made a few cuts on his arms. He wiped the blood from his forehead and cuts from his arms with the sleeveless shirt to stain it with blood.
Vincent wrapped the stained shirt around his forehead. The blood started to dry and appeared as if blood gushed out from his forehead a long time ago.
Half of his plan was prepared. Next on his list was to appear dirty. As if he was lost in the forest for a long time.
Vincent rolled on the ground a few times to make his story more believable. He felt silly, and a bit embarrassed, but his story without dirty clothes would be hard to believe. So he wanted to dirty the clothes more naturally.
"Done. The injured lost soul is complete. Now let's go... wait! I need to cover my mark! " Vincent was shirtless, and he forgot the most important thing.
The mark was out in the open for all to see.
Vincent wore his turtle neck shirt. On it wasn't any designs. It looked plain and simple, attracting little to none attention, or so he hoped.
"The mark is barely hurting anymore. Well, let's go. You can do it. " Vincent talked to himself, hyping himself up for this eventful encounter. He was shy to talk to a young woman yet afraid to be discovered.
Vincent was panicking while his heart raced fast. He gulped and moved his legs one at a time. He mustered his courage, yet it would shortly fade and grow every few steps.
'Please work. I need this to work, or I'm screwed.'
This cycle of thoughts kept repeating itself while the shy and scared Vincent approached the wooden cabin.
"HELP!... I need help. " Vincent approached the cabin's fence and shouted for help near the small wooden gate.
The young girl heard a person calling for help and turned her head in surprise. It appeared she wasn't used to visitors. Her eyes soon saw an injured person. He was standing next to the small wooden gate while holding his head.
The young girl acrobatically vaulted down from on top of the horizontally cut log. With a frown, she rushed to the gate.
"Are you injured? Ohh, you're bleeding! " The young girl asked. However, she didn't open the gate. Instead, she gave the injured man a cautious gaze.
'She looks pretty. Her voice is cute as well.' Vincent raised his lowered head while his face started to blush from just her voice. His eyes soon laid upon a petite young beauty donning peculiar dancing clothes.
She was shorter than him by a few inches. On her head was mesmerizing hair. A layered wavy bob hairstyle was almost touching her delicate shoulders. It started from black and ended in fiery red.
It was an enchanting sight. The same as how people back on Earth would dye their hair in crimson ombre style.
Below her enchanting hair was a cute face with a beauty spot under her left eye. Her eyes were crimson red, giving the impression as if they were on fire. She seemed unique, while her appearance felt full of vitality.
Vincent couldn't believe he would meet such a stunning girl as the first person in this new world.
"Argh... I don't know where I am. I remember waking up in the forest, but I don't know who I am. All I know is that my head hurts a lot. " Vincent started acting as if he was hurt.
Luck was on his side as his face flushed bright red. He felt too embarrassed to talk to a girl. His red cheeks gave the young beauty the impression he was suffering from fever.
Apart from Aunt Trisha and old Tessy, Vincent barely spoke to any girl in his life. The fever of love was more accurate in this case.
The young beauty stared daggers at Vincent with a pair of assertive crimson eyes. It looked like she wanted to help, but she was cautious as well.
Her curious eyes looked up and down. She got a good glimpse of Vincent. The person who appeared out of nowhere was injured and dirty.
"So you don't know who you are? You don't have a weapon, are injured, and look sick. " The young beauty summarised the important parts in a concerned tone, then she continued, "I heard there are a few gray wolves around. But you don't look injured from them."
The beauty frowned as she crossed her arms, hiding her flat petite chest. She didn't know what to do. Should she believe this unknown person and risk being a bandit?
Vincent kept his act while rubbing his head. He didn't know what to say, and his mouth didn't want to open by his nervousness.
The beauty seemed to have concluded on what to do. She relaxed her tense, delicate shoulders and let out a faint cautious smile.
"I will treat you for now, but don't think any funny thoughts. My guardian will be back soon." The young beauty said in her cute voice. She seemed to have accepted Vincent and to treat his wounds, yet Vincent could see she was still cautious of his actions.
'I wish to know her name... but I'm too embarrassed to ask her. This is a new world and a new chance to change..."
"But I wish if she could tell me. Maybe her name is as pretty as her... huh? Why is my heart beating so fast?'
Vincent wished with all his heart to know her name for the silly reason that she looked cute, like a gorgeous delicate woman straight out of a game. She felt more beautiful than any girl on Earth. As if he was a silly boy who met his first love.
.
[Ability creation Accepted.]
[-20sp used to learn Insp??? ]
[More Soul Power needed to learn the ability.]
[Missing Soul Power will be taken in the form of energy from the host body.]
.
Suddenly he saw a game like a rectangular window appear. When he blinked, it quickly disappeared.
"Urgh... Arg... my head feels like it's about to split. " Vincent held his head with both hands. This time it wasn't an act.
Vincent suddenly felt an intense sharp headache. As if his head was about to split in half. From where it came, he didn't know. But one thing changed. A small rectangular window appeared hovering in front of him.
.
[Name] Ester
[Condition] Healthy.
Vincent could barely see what was written on it because of the intense pain while his sight gradually became hazy.
"Ester... lovely name... " Vincent took a glimpse at the words on the hovering display and said before he fainted, falling with a loud thud.
Ester kept staring at the fallen Vincent with her brows raised in surprise.
"H-how does he know my name? " Ester raised her head and looked around. She thought it might be a trap.
"HEY! ANYONE THERE? " Ester shouted out loud, but she didn't receive a reply.
'Does this mean he said the truth? But... Is he a noble or a wealthy person? His clothes look high class and unique.'
Ester pondered for a while with a puzzled frown. She decided to open the gate and carefully check his condition.
Ester raised his sleeves and frowned at his wounded arms. They were full of cuts. Then she checked his forehead. Gently removed the sleeveless shirt with dried blood from his forehead and frowned at the injury.
He appeared like a person that hit his head and might have lost his memory to Ester. But why did he know her name was something she was curious to find out.
Ester noticed it was about to get dark. She pulled him inside and placed him on her bed. If the rumors were true, then she didn't want to attract the attention of wolves.
Ester started treating his wounds with a small basin of clean water and a few herbs on her small nightstand.
Ester had the aura of an independent girl, the kind that did everything on her own. After a while, she cleaned his wounds. Applied some herbs on his forehead and wrapped a bandage.
'I need to remove his shirt to dress his wounds, but... I never touched the chest of a man before. He won't wake up, will he?'
Ester gulped, mustering her courage to remove his turtle neck shirt. Her hands trembled as she felt the chest of a man for the first time. She felt quite nervous as her face flushed red.
'He is thin and might have been lost in the forest for some time.'
Ester grabbed the end of his shirt and pulled it off. Soon her crimson eyes remained stuck in a specific place as she gasped at what they saw. On his abdomen was the Hero's mark.
Ester retreated a few steps in shock, not knowing what to do.
"T-t-the curse... the cursed mark! " Ester stuttered in fright as she fell on her bottom.
Ester rushed to the kitchen and picked up a long sharp knife. She approached Vincent and stared at him with a cautious frown.
'Is he the retainer of a hero? Or possibly a branded criminal? Is he an otherworldly hero? The one they say is an invader of this world?'
'No, that shouldn't be possible. It's too soon for one to arrive. Whatever he is, this man is branded with what we call the cursed mark. It means danger and to stay away from them.'
Ester pondered as it's illegal to have a tattoo or a brand of words or markings on the body. It would mean to be one of the things Ester worryingly thought about.
Ester never hurt anyone, moreover killed. Her hands trembled while sweating in fear. She was panicked about what to do.
After staring for a few minutes, Ester's curiosity found her answer. She wanted to ask.
Ester grabbed the small basin, lifted it high above his head, and quickly turned it upsidedown.
*Splash
Water splashed on his face waking Vincent up in a sudden fright. He was about to drown and had to wake up.
"W-Who are you! Don't lie to me! Are you one of those? " Ester held the knife in one hand, while the other held a small basin. She pointed at his mark with a trembling knife to show what she meant.
"Huh... did I faint again?" Vincent slowly pulled himself up while he wiped his eyes. However, the next thing he saw surprised him. Vincent quickly raised his arms and waved for her to stop.
"W-wait! Please don't shank me! " Vincent urgently said to the girl he thought was lovely. The same girl currently holding a kitchen knife pointed at him.