Wildness and Masks

Chapter 1 – Ogre Lunchbox

"Ogre, I foresaw this day long ago... I wish I could spend more time with you..."

"Father!!"

***

The summer morning light streamed through the window, illuminating the dust particles in the air.

It also shone on the young man who had just awakened from a dream.

"Huff..."

After taking a few deep breaths, the young man habitually wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye.

This young man was none other than the child raised by ogres—Ogre Kessing.

He had been away for two years now and was currently sixteen years old.

"I can't believe it's been so long, and I dreamt of it again..."

This unique first-person perspective dream wasn't entirely a figment of Ogre's imagination; it was related to his ability.

In this world, a small number of people are born with extraordinary abilities beyond those of ordinary humans.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

Ogre was fortunate to be one of them.

He named his ability—'Ogre Lunchbox.'

Once activated, Ogre could acquire a portion of the memories and extraordinary abilities of a creature by consuming its body within an hour of its death.

He didn't need to consume it entirely, but the portion eaten couldn't be less than one-thousandth of the creature's size.

After activating the ability, the acquired memories would manifest in a first-person perspective dream.

Ogre accidentally discovered this ability when he was nine, and that time, he became a bird in his dream.

The feeling of flying was something he couldn't forget for a long time.

He then told his father about the ability, and his father advised him to use it cautiously—because too many foreign memories might cause him to lose his sense of self.

Ogre had always respected this advice.

During that period, he indeed had trouble distinguishing whether he was a bird or a human.

So, Ogre always maintained a sense of awe towards this ability, until his father's death...

Ogre wanted revenge; he wanted to see the target of his vengeance!

So, Ogre painfully consumed a piece of his father's flesh.

Unfortunately, after activating the ability, Ogre couldn't discover who had turned his father into that state.

In his dream, Ogre only saw that the assailant who injured and killed his father used fire.

And as a price—the long and repetitive dream almost caused him to lose himself.

"Fire Mage..." Ogre pulled out a notebook from his bag, where he recorded his targets for revenge— Goblin King. Ogre Chief. Fire Mage/Unknown Professional (?)

These three were the targets of Ogre's vengeance. The Goblin King caused the village tragedy, the Ogre Chief caused his father's tragedy, and the unknown Fire Mage was the direct culprit of his father's death.

Turning to the second page of the notebook, it was densely filled with legends and possibilities of the Resurrection Spell.

However, many of the records were crossed out, leaving only the section on Divine Prayer blank.

Ogre had never believed in gods, but after his father's death, he hoped that the legendary gods truly existed, though it seemed too distant...

Because now, Ogre wasn't even a formal Extraordinary Professional.

Moreover, he hadn't even completed his so-called revenge quest.

Reflecting on this, Ogre turned the page to the third one—where he had documented the paths to gaining power for his revenge over the past two years.

Knight (×).

To become a knight, aside from the Breathing Technique and training resources, the most important thing was the Knight Bloodline. Ogre had tested for it—he didn't have the aptitude, as it depended entirely on one's birth.

Martial Artist (empty).

Ogre looked at the Martial Artist section, pondered for a moment, and finally picked up a quill to mark it with a cross.

Martial Artist was the path prepared by the Church of Truth for those who couldn't become knights, involving the same Breathing Technique and strengthening of the body.

However, becoming a Professional as a Martial Artist was much harder than as a knight of the same level.

This was because a Martial Artist needed to balance and integrate their Essence, Qi, and Spirit, a process that usually required meditation for balance.@@@@

Without achieving the Three Qi Unity, one couldn't be called a Martial Artist, merely a stronger person.

Achieving the Three Qi Unity and cultivating Qi and blood was the only way to become a true Extraordinary Professional.

Ogre had always aimed to become a Martial Artist, attempting to cross the threshold into professionalism.

That would leave Ogre with only the path of a Wizard.

No, there was actually one more path.

That was his innate ability—the Ogre Lunchbox.

Without this ability, Ogre would have long given up on the unrealistic notion of revenge, but it was this ability that gave him some confidence.

Ogre Lunchbox.

However, this ability couldn't be activated at will.

Ogre had a feeling—if he hadn't 'digested' completely, activating this ability again would lead to dangerous consequences.

Before completing his revenge, Ogre didn't dare to take the risk.

To rely on this ability to plunder and replicate extraordinary powers, Ogre couldn't be much weaker than the 'food'; or the other party had to willingly be 'consumed'...

This greatly limited Ogre.

So after acquiring the ogre's power, Ogre only 'consumed' once more.

Because it took Ogre a full year and a half to 'digest' the extraordinary abilities left by the ogre.

Ogre thought it was probably because he had 'consumed' a life stronger than himself.

For the second 'consumption,' Ogre chose a less powerful demonic beast—a Demon Claw Falcon.

This was a very common demonic bird in the Demonic Beast Forest, preying on Magic Rabbits.

The reason for choosing the Demon Claw Falcon.

Was because the first time Ogre activated his ability, he became a bird, and he felt that 'consuming' the same type of creature would be much easier to 'digest.'

Of course, catching one was still too troublesome, so Ogre simply bought one at the demonic beast trading market.

The second 'consumption' and digestion were indeed much easier.

Perhaps it was due to the experience of transforming into a bird, or perhaps the demonic beast consumed this time had a short lifespan, so the impact on Ogre wasn't as significant as the first two times.

But even so.

It took him a full six months to 'digest.'

But fortunately, perhaps due to the high degree of 'digestion,' the abilities Ogre acquired became much more complete.

Although he didn't gain the desired claw abilities.

He obtained a more remarkable and practical ability—Hyperdynamic Vision!

The dynamic vision of hawks and falcons was incredibly powerful, and for the Demon Claw Falcon, a demonic beast, it was even more so.

This ability played a significant role in Ogre's wealth accumulation over the past six months.

"I should prepare for new 'food'..."

Ogre had long closed the notebook and stood in front of the metal mirror, tying up his shoulder-length hair.

His hair grew relatively fast, so it needed frequent trimming.

And the reason he didn't shave it all off was simply because it would be too conspicuous.

Ogre didn't want to stand out; his current hair length was just right, not too noticeable—if you ignored the face that was prettier than a girl's.

After tying his hair and wiping his face, Ogre selected a Human Skin Mask from his bag—something he crafted after learning his father's disguise techniques in a dream.

It was made by mixing Silver Needle Bee wax with fat scraped from a Magic Rabbit and treated with herbs, then applied to the face.

After drying for three days, it could be used for a few months.

Although wearing it made his face appear somewhat stiff and expressionless, it was sufficient for Ogre, as long as his real appearance wasn't exposed.

Ogre was well aware of the trouble his face, prettier than a noble maiden's, could bring him.

Although there were laws for protection, it was still easy for Professionals to target non-Professionals.

Preventing trouble before it happened was better than trying to fix it afterward; not exerting a little effort could lead to bigger problems.

This was something his father often taught him.

Seeing his beautiful face concealed to look plain and unremarkable, Ogre was satisfied and took out a mask from his pack.

"I should earn today's money first."

***

Leaving the house, he walked down an empty street, put the mask on his face, and transformed.

He became a regular at the arena, and not just any regular.

Because Ogre's Patterned Mask was surprisingly famous in the apprentice-level arena.

He had a very loud title there— The Strongest Mortal! The Strongest Mortal 'Gourmet'!

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan