SWNOVELXO Chapter 9: Bab 9
Everything happened too fast.
Inside Gara's head, fragments of his last memories before death began to surface. How he used to laugh at players struggling in that one chaotic game. He laughed when the pregnant pawn waddled awkwardly. Laughed harder when she randomly threw up at the worst times.
But then the memory twisted.
The pawn in his mind… changed. It became him.
It was like the system had chosen the 100 Baby Challenge for him as punishment for all the times he laughed too hard at virtual pregnancies.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the term male pregnancy. But in this fantasy world, maybe he wasn't the one doing the impregnating... but the one being impregnated!?
"The village folks are funny," the man beside him said with a chuckle, his fingers gently brushing Gara's cheek. "They don't tell their youngster that there's no real difference between males and females here. Especially sweet-smelling ones like you."
The man stood and casually pulled his clothes back on.
Gara's vision blurred with tears. The pain wasn't as brutal as he'd imagined. It was the humiliation that hit hardest. He'd been violated.
His chest burned with anger as his eyes locked onto the heart icon floating above the man's head.
"Fifty percent, huh?" Gara sneered.
This man had the second-highest affinity level Gara had ever seen, right after Madha.
"Fifty percent what?" the man asked curiously. He turned his gaze to the teacup on the table. The cup floated up, moved through the air, and stopped gently in front of Gara. "Drink. It'll help."
Gara smacked the cup away. A translucent blue panel appeared before him.
[LANGGA PROFILE STATUS]
Bloodline: Psionic Bloodline
Talent: Telekinesis
Age: 24
Affinity: 50%
Trait: Cunning
[SYSTEM EVALUATION]
Bloodline and Talent: High. Affinity: mid-high. Trait: low-mid.
The Chosen One is advised to avoid direct involvement. However, recomended as the father of a child.
Gara clenched his jaw so tight it hurt.
"Too late for that," he muttered in his mind. Not only was he involved, but he was deeply involved.
"You're done, right? I'm leaving." Gara got up, grabbed his clothes from the floor.
With just eye movement, Gara's clothes floated toward him, neat and folded, guided by Langga's telekinesis.
Once dressed, Gara headed straight for the door. Never once looking back. He didn't want to see that face again. Not now. Maybe not ever.
"What's your name?" Langga called out just as Gara was about to step out.
Gara didn't answer.
He crossed the hallway to the room across. The layout was nearly identical to Langga's, down to the plain walls and single bed.
He collapsed onto the mattress.
All he wanted was to sleep, forget this ever happened.
But then he heard a voice outside the door.
"I don't know why my friend's not answering. I'm worried something might've happened to him."
It was Madha.
Gara's eyes widened. He'd completely forgotten about Madha!
He scrambled to the door and flung it open.
"You okay, Gara?" Madha asked, surprised the door finally opened.
"Sorry... I fell asleep," Gara replied sheepishly, scratching his head.
Next to Madha stood the old man from the small hut in front of the lodging. The elder squinted suspiciously at Gara but said nothing. A second later, he politely excused himself and left.
Madha and Gara entered their shared room.
"I was worried something happened to you… but I'm glad you're okay," Madha said softly.
Gara shifted the conversation quickly. "How's your stomach?"
He sat near the head of the bed, while Madha settled awkwardly at the foot.
"Better now. The herbal drink helped," Madha replied, his gaze drifting to the only bed in the room.
"I'll sleep on the floor," he added quickly.
"Don't be like that," Gara said, brushing it off. "The bed's not huge, but it can fit two people. I'll go to sleep first."
Without waiting for a response, Gara climbed onto the bed and scooted closer to the wall to make space for Madha. Thanks to his petite frame, there was still plenty of room.
Unlike Gara, who was calm and casual, Madha looked like a bundle of nerves. Gara even noticed the number above Madha's head increase by one percent.
But Gara didn't have time to dwell on that right now. His mind was a storm of questions. Questions he should've asked from the start, back when he still thought this world would be easy.
Now, everything felt ten times harder. Like he'd just unlocked a deeper layer of the world.
Maybe this was why the system sent him here as a male.
He couldn't afford to be clueless anymore. He had to learn more about this world and about how it worked.
More than anything, what happened with Langga haunted him. His body had reacted in ways his mind hadn't approved. No matter how much he resisted mentally, his body had relaxed, adapted, and accepted. It was terrifying.
Was it something to do with this body? Was it made for that purpose?
Or… did it have to do with his talent: Divine Infertility?
...
Gara woke up to the quiet rustling sounds of Madha moving around.
Apparently, Madha couldn't sleep and had decided to busy himself organizing their small pile of belongings.
Gara blinked his eyes open, about to ask if they were heading to the town square for the ceremony.
But then… something stopped him.
A blue, translucent panel hovered in front of him.
[Pregnant with 1st child. Charm +5, Lottery Ticket 1x]
His whole body froze.
Reflexively, he touched his stomach. "Pregnant? Who's pregnant?"
He wanted to scream. Right now. Right here.
But he couldn't. Not with Madha still in the room.
Madha, the soft-spoken boy who had always been kind to him and who would do anything for him.
Madha noticed Gara was awake and offered a gentle smile.
That smile made Gara feel even worse. It felt like he betrayed Madha.
He looked away, his insides twisting with guilt. "I don't even have a relationship with Madha…" he shaked his head.
He climbed out of bed and walked over to the clean water container. Madha had prepared it the night before.
Gara washed his face, gargled, trying to calm himself.
They left the inn together not long after, heading toward the town square.
Gara was surprised to see a crowd of teenagers about his age also emerging from their rooms.
"So there were a lot of guests here… I didn't hear a thing last night," Gara commented.
"That's because the rooms are soundproofed with magic," Madha explained. "Nothing from inside can be heard outside. But sounds from outside can still be heard inside."
Ah. That explained why Madha hadn't heard him in the room across from theirs last night.
...