NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Withering Frost
I issued a mental command.
'Come on, show me something new.'
A subtle hum resonated in the back of my skull, and the runes materialised. They floated just in frontofmy eyes like a divine script hung in judgment.
[===========ᚱᛟᚾᚨᚾ===========]
Name: Ronan Fitzroy / (??)
Affliction: Withering Frost
Power Rank: Second Star
Curse Effect: Drains heat from the user and target, freezing them
Potential: Celestial
[===========ᚱᛟᚾᚨᚾ===========]
The back of my hand seared with sudden heat. I winced, lifting it quickly and barely paying attention to the floating runes.
The cursed mark there glowed with a dull silver radiance.
Which was not uncommon at all. It always flared whenever I summoned the runes.
But this time was… it was different.
My brows furrowed as I brought my hand closer. I noticed it. My cursed mark had changed.
Where there had always been a single line running horizontally through the upside-down triangle, now there were two.
"…That's… not weird at all."
I knew that mark better than the lines of my own palm. Ronan had stared at it night after night, trying to make sense of what it meant, of what I give him, before the disappointment.
My eyes flicked back to the runes, hovering before me.
My gaze settled on the Affliction section.
"Withering Frost."
It was still the same.
I felt disappointed. I expected more.
"So... no new curse?"
I kept scrolling my gaze, scanning for something, anything, that might explain this shift. And then I saw it.
[Potential: Celestial Rank.]
I froze. Literally. A thin sheen of frost danced across my fingertips unbidden.
"…Wait."
I blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Just to be sure.
But it hadn't just changed. It had improved.
"Celestial?" I whispered.
"Ghah-hah-hah!"
A laugh clawed its way up from my chest, bitter and breathless.
'It finally happened.'
My life, Ronan's ruined life, had been shaped, shattered, and discarded because of one damning statistic, his star Rank Potential.
The power ranks coincided with potential and were Star, Moon, Sun, Celestial, and finally Void. Those were the known ranks, of course, there were three more ranks above the Void Rank, but that was beside the point.
Star Rank Potential was the lowest there ever was.
It meant I was capped. I could never grow beyond Star Rank, never master fully my curse, never surpass the limitations the world chained to me before I could even speak.
I was basically useless. Even some commoners had better potential.
That's why they turned on me. Why the Fitzroy family chose Isla instead. She was everything they wanted. Powerful, elegant, graceful and hada Celestial-ranked potential from the moment her mark awakened.
The two of us had been the only candidates for the next head of the family. But after we awakened, the competition ended before it ever truly began. They didn't even hide their disappointment or soften the way they pushed me aside.
But now…
Celestial.
"I can still catch up," I smiled bitterly.
"Maybe even surpass her."
My fists clenched at the thought. Not out of hate or jealousy. But with resolve. Isla's potential would also improve like mine one day. I remembered reading it. Her closeness with Dorian would eventually bear fruit and her Potential would increase to Nova Rank.
But me? I had no such guarantee. No safety net. No golden boy to push me forward.
I'd have to claw my way through the dirt alone.
And I had to reach Void Rank at least. Anything less, and I wouldn't survive what was coming. Not the Demon or the Maltheran's, the alien race, Invasions. Not the collapse of the SilverSpires or the breaking of the Five Seals.
My shoulders sank slightly as I stared at the rune slab again.
"Still doesn't explain the reawakening. I should've gotten a new curse if this was a true awakening."
The Affliction line remained unchanged. No secondary effect.
Unless...
"…Maybe I wasn't meant to gain a new curse," I murmured.
"Maybe I was meant to inherit Ronan's Withering Frost and the awakening just boosted my potential."
It was the only theory that made sense.
Maybe I was just meant to be an Extra and not a Protagonist. There were two of them anyway. Wasn't two already enough?
I took a breath and closed my eyes again. The runes were willed away, and vanished in silence, melting into nothingness.
But I didn't open my eyes.
Instead, I sifted through the memories in my mind. The two lives worth of memory. Ronan Fitzroy of Oblivra and Kairos Lim of Earth.
A noble and a fantasy-obsessed realist who spent his nights reading web novels instead of focusing on his corporate job.
Awakening always came at a cost.
'What did I lose this time?'
The question lingered like a bitter note. My thoughts dug deeper and faster. Then the answer hit me.
"…No."
My eyes snapped open.
I staggered back, one hand gripping the wall beside me.
I had forgotten the final volume. The last volume of I Reincarnated into a Cursed World as an Extra. The one that tied everything together. The same one I was reading on the plane.
"I only remember up to Volume Three…" I muttered, heart sinking.
"That's barely fifty per cent of the damn plot!"
"Of all the memories to lose…"
I was seething.
'So now what? Improvise? Survive on half the plot I can remember and just pray that the rest falls into place?'
No. I couldn't afford that.
"Fine," I growled.
"If I can't rely on memory, I'll have to rely on strength."
I needed to prepare.
My thoughts turned quickly to relics. Tools that could ease my growth. There were a variety of them in existence. Some enhance curse abilities, while others could give me an edge before the coming chaos.
'Which ones do I remember?'
Some were out of reach. Dorian would claim the Sealed Ember. Varek would get the Spirit Chain. Others wouldn't appear until later arcs.
But…
A relic drifted into my thoughts. It was subtle, almost forgotten, but powerful. Not the flashiest or the deadliest. But it was hidden nearby. Easy to reach. And it was perfect for someone with my curse.
A slow smirk spread across my face.
"…Yeah. That one."
It was time to start moving.
The world wouldn't wait for me. And neither would fate.