Rebirth of the Shadow Warrior

7 - The First Quest

The next time Thaddeus opened his eyes, he was welcomed with an excruciating pain from his left leg.

" Ahh.." He cried out from his sleep.

“Hey, Rael. Still alive?” A servant passing by the shed entrance paused when he noticed Rael was awake.

Thaddeus groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

The sunlight filtering through the holes in the ceiling hit his eyes, forcing them briefly as it illuminated the cramped space.

The servant laughed mockingly.

“You’re tougher than I thought,” he sneered. “Most servants drew their last breath after offending Young Master Lucien but you.... You surprised me.”

Thaddeus said nothing and coughed loudly.

The servant clicked his tongue in disappointment before walking away.

“ Anyway, try not to end up dead before tonight,” he called out lazily as he left.

Thaddeus coughed again and tried to get up.

He shrieked in agony from the effort as the pain sent tremors through his body.

He paused and stared down.

One of his legs was badly swollen, probably due to an untreated injury Rael had suffered years ago which limited his movement.

Thaddeus spat out blood in disappointment at his helplessness and lay back against the narrow straw bed, breathing heavily.

He had survived betrayal, survived death itself.

If he had endured all of that before…

then this would not break him.

He would survive this too.

The thought settled heavily on his mind as he forced himself to stand once more.

His knees buckled immediately, and he caught himself against the wall then slowly let his body down to the floor.

Even that small effort sent a wave of exhaustion through him.

He sat still, breathing.

It was the next day morning, he couldn't believe he slept for that long.

Outside, he could hear the sound of footsteps passing.

He looked outside and saw servants moved to and fro carrying water buckets and supplies. None of them looked at him twice or bothered to check on him.

It was enough for him to understand one thing.

Whatever this place was, it was worse than hell.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing Rael's memories to fully surface this time.

Fragments of Rael's life drifted through his mind endlessly but something else caught his attention.

Rael had been born with crippled meridians, unable to cultivate. His only purpose was labor which involved cleaning training weapons, washing the stables, carrying water and absorbing punishment meant for others.

Thaddeus frowned to learn that not even a tiny strand of qi was present in his body

He looked further and saw that the meridians inside Rael’s body were hollow and brittle, almost like dried riverbeds that had never carried energy before.

A normal cultivator would have sensed spiritual energy naturally by this age yet Rael possessed absolutely nothing.

Thaddeus’s expression darkened.

“No wonder they treated him like trash,” he murmured quietly.

In this world, a person born without qi was lower than a servant.

They were considered defective.

Just then, the system came to life inside his vision

[ System Status: Active]

[Host: Thaddeus Lynnwood ]

[Current Vessel: Rael]

[ Soul Compatibility: 37%]

Thaddeus let out a hot breath as the panel faded.

Compatibility...

So this body could barely contain him.

Interesting.

He smiled to himself.

Just then, another burly servant stormed in, his face twisted with irritation. “You’re awake? Good. Move your crippled ass before I drag you out myself. The outer courtyard needs scrubbing. ”

At that very moment, the system reacted, as though it had been waiting for this exact moment of awareness.

[ NEW QUEST AVAILABLE]

Thaddeus’s eyes shifted as the panel displayed before his eyes.

" Are you also seeing this?! " Thaddeus asked out of curiosity.

" Seeing what?" The bulky servant answered with irritation.

The system continued.

[ OBJECTIVE: ESTABLISH CONTROL OVER DESIGNATED INDIVIDUAL]

Thaddeus frowned faintly.

“…Control?" he repeated under his breath.

The servant stared at him strangely.

The system continued

[TARGET: HU KHAN ]

[METHOD: DOMINION TRIGGER ]

[NOTE: TARGET POSSESSES LONG-TERM STRATEGIC UTILITY TO HOST DEVELOPMENT ]

[ SUCCESS: TARGET MUST BECOME A HOST-ALIGNED ASSET ]

[ FAILURE : TWENTY FIVE HOUR OF NERVE-WRACKING PAIN ]

[ REWARD : PERMANENT ACCESS TO DOMINION TRIGGER ]

Thaddeus's eyes narrowed slightly as he read out the instructions.

He didn't know who Hu Khan was, but the method was what caught his attention first.

" Dominion trigger?" He said to himself.

The servant frowned.

“What nonsense are you mumbling about?”

Thaddeus ignored him completely.

The system read out.

[ DOMINION TRIGGER IS ACTIVATED THROUGH THE PAIN THRESHOLD ONLY]

[ IT ENABLES HOST TO TEMPORARILY EXERT WILL ON WEAK-MINDED TARGETS ]

[ HUGELY INEFFECTIVE AGAINST STRONG-WILLED INDIVIDUALS ]

[ WARNING: EXCESSIVE USE MAY LEAD TO MENTAL STRAIN ]

With that, the system went off.

Thaddeus exhaled slowly and lowered his gaze slightly, trying to piece everything together.

Being in this weak body was painful enough.

Now the system expected him to suffer even more for a task he barely understood.

He briefly considered defying the system to know what would happen but decided to leave the idea for another time.

Right then, the man slapped him hard across the cheek. The slap stung his eyes, causing tears to form as his vision blurred for a brief moment.

Thaddeus slowly turned his head, meeting the man’s gaze.

He felt the urge to fight but he stopped himself.

The man gave him a scornful look.

" That reminds me.... I was told you tried to attack Heather yesterday morning. Was that true?"

Thaddeus looked away.

The servant scoffed. "I should have known that bastard was lying. What can a stupid cripple like you do to him?"

Then he turned and left.

Thaddeus exhaled and pushed himself up.

Every movement still hurt as he limped towards the outer courtyard.

Morning activity had already begun throughout the estate. Servants hurried back and forth carrying buckets, bundles of firewood, and stacks of folded robes while disciples crossed the stone pathways proudly with swords hanging from their waists.

None of them spared him more than a glance and he was grateful for it.

He didn't want to be pitied or mocked.

He lowered his gaze slightly as he walked, quietly absorbing every detail around him.

The estate itself was enormous and he could already sense the hierarchy embedded into its structure alone.

The inner compounds were reserved for cultivators and bloodline descendants while servants like Rael were kept near the outer walls like livestock.

As he reached the courtyard, several servants immediately shoved wooden buckets toward him.

“Late again?”

“Move faster, Rael.”

“The floor near the western corridor still needs scrubbing.”

Thaddeus knew arguing would solve nothing and grabbed the mop.

It was the price to pay for this new life.

As he grabbed the mop, his eyes slowly drifted across the courtyard until they suddenly stopped on an unfolding incident.

A young girl had fallen near one of the stone steps after colliding with another servant carrying water. The wooden bucket she carried shattered instantly, causing water to splash across the ground.

Fear filled the girl's expression.

“No… no…no...”

She hurriedly dropped to her knees, trying desperately to hide the broken pieces before anyone noticed but unfortunately for her, someone already had.

Several older servants immediately surrounded her, loudly accusing her of carelessness as they dragged her across the courtyard.

To avoid punishment, they planned to take her themselves to the overseer or any higher servant for judgement. The girl cried and begged for mercy, but no one spoke in her mercy.

Thaddeus's heart burned at the injustice.

The servant responsible for the fall was ignored completely while the other servants crowded the young girl.

For a brief moment, he considered intervening but the thought vanished almost instantly.

He was a cripple with a weak body.

Who could he save if he couldn't even save himself.

Just then, a large servant strode toward them from the opposite side of the courtyard with fury written clearly across his face.

For some unknown reason, Thaddeus instantly knew it was Hu Khan.

Even the system reacted too.

[ DESIGNATED TARGET DETECTED ]

Thaddeus narrowed his eyes slightly, silently murmuring the name.

" Hu Khan..."

The man was massive compared to the other servants, broad-shouldered with thick arms and had the build of someone who regularly bullied weaker workers for amusement. Judging from the faint fluctuations surrounding him, he possessed traces of qi.

It was very little but enough to elevate him above ordinary servants.

Seeing this, Thaddeus realized the quest would be difficult to accomplish because approaching this man recklessly would definitely end up badly.

The older servants immediately straightened their backs upon seeing Hu Khan approach. Their earlier aggression toward the girl vanished almost instantly as he stopped before them.

“What happened here?” he asked in a stern voice as his harsh gaze swept across the crying girl and the gathered servants.

Out of fear, no one answered as they all lowered their heads. Finally, one of the older servants stepped forward and bowed cautiously before speaking.