Current 【Imperfect Branch】—
At 1 year old, you received the forbidden relics “Mirror of Misfortune” from Kent.
After your reflection appeared in the mirror, misfortune became intertwined with you, inseparable as shadow and form.
At 2 years old, you fell gravely ill, developing a lifelong chronic condition and significantly reducing your lifespan.
At 5 years old, misfortune gradually began to affect your closest relatives; your father Leon's business repeatedly suffered setbacks, and your mother Franka contracted a strange illness, becoming increasingly frail.
At 10 years old, you embarked on the Secret Path with great difficulty, only to suffer a backlash from the Secret Sea during the advancement ritual.
Your soul was damaged, and your extraordinary path was severed.
At 60 years old, you, full of unfulfilled ambition, closed your eyes in regret…
Upon seeing the page that suddenly appeared before him, Renn's expression instantly changed.
The 【Imperfect Branch】 had appeared again!
Moreover, compared to the 'natural disaster' of the previous sea storm, the cause of this 【Imperfect Branch】 was clearly 'man-made catastrophe'!
Renn's eyes widened as he looked at Kent before him.
The boy's nose was dotted with tiny beads of sweat, and his eyes darted around, seemingly very nervous.
At the same time, he walked over to Renn, took a wooden box from his in my arms, and prepared to open it.
Not good!
A warning bell rang loudly in Renn's heart.
According to the notes, this box contained not a small gift to amuse a child, but the malevolent 【Mirror of Misfortune】!
But why?
Renn glanced at 'Black Snake' Havier, who was chatting happily with Leon, and noticed Havier's cold gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on him.
It was clear that he was the mastermind behind this incident!
If Havier had personally given the gift, both Leon and Franka would have been on high alert.
But with Kent doing it, even if his behavior was unnatural, it would only be seen as a child being shy.
'Damn it, and I still can't speak!'
Renn was filled with resentment.
At this moment, Kent was too close to him; even if he could attract his parents' attention with crying.
But if they hesitated for even a second, allowing Kent to open the box, then everything would be over!
At the critical moment, he had to rely on himself!
The next moment.
A black cross-shaped rune flashed in Renn's eyes.
As the rune rotated, surging power, like a tidal wave, poured into his small body.
【Strength Imprint】!
Just as Kent opened the wooden box a crack, Renn's small fleshy hand directly swung up.
Kent didn't mind, thinking it was just Renn's curiosity, and besides, how much strength could a child who had just turned one year old have?
With a 'smack'.
The wooden box in Kent's hand flew out and fell, revealing a small, palm-sized mirror inside.
“This… I…”
Kent was stunned, instinctively wanting to pick up the mirror, but he forgot his father's earlier instructions.
He bent down and looked down; his own reflection naturally appeared in the mirror.
An invisible, intangible, bizarre power entangled itself around Kent, unable to be separated.
Seeing this scene, 'Black Snake' Havier's expression immediately became very ugly.
At the same time, Franka and Leon's gazes also fell on that mirror, and they quickly realized that something was amiss.
“A one-time forbidden relics? What a grand gesture!”
The smile in Leon's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an icy, scrutinizing gaze.
“Havier, do you have anything else to say?”
Havier didn't hesitate, immediately kneeling before Leon: “It was all my idea, Kent is innocent.”
Havier was a smart man; he knew that resistance was meaningless in the face of an absolute power disparity, and it was better to retain a final shred of dignity.
“Boss, you can do whatever you want with me, but for the sake of our past relationship, at least… spare Kent's life, please?”
Leon didn't say another word to Havier, only waved his hand and spoke to the pirate beside him.
“Take them away, you know what to do.”
“Boss… Boss! Please…”
Havier's pleas gradually faded away, and the atmosphere in the dining room had long since transformed from harmonious to cold and murderous.
Leon's sharp gaze, like a curved blade, fiercely scoured every subordinate around the dining table, his terrifying pressure seemingly solidifying.
“I know some brothers have grievances with me.”
“But I hope you don't forget the first commandment of the Black Flag Pirate Group—
“Traitors must die!”
Leon's words paused, and he began to announce the agenda he had already prepared: “Next year, I plan to establish a company in the eastern part of the Rhine Kingdom, named the East Rhein Company…”
“…Who agrees? Who objects?”
Many people might not believe it when told.
Pirates practiced democracy!
Some important major decisions required voting.
Of course, just as all men are born equal, yet some are always more equal than others, those who wield extraordinary power also possess more say than ordinary people.
However, at this moment, Renn's attention was drawn by the prompt on the notes.
【imperfect branch eliminated!】
【Reward: Secret Energy +1!】
Secret Energy? What is that?
As this question arose in Renn's mind, he felt an indescribable power flow through his entire body, washing over his soul like gentle ocean waves.
An unspeakable comfort and ease.
At the same time, several lines of ink appeared on the page of the notes containing Renn's personal information.
【Secret Energy: 1.1】
【Note: Secret Energy is the energy level unit of Secret Power. The higher the Secret Energy, the more Secret Power you can control, allowing you to cast higher-tier Secret Arts.】
Over the past year, Renn had learned from snippets of conversation from his parents and maids.
The so-called 【Secret Power】, in full, is Hidden Power, Mysterious Power, a collective term for all extraordinary powers; magic, bloodline power, curse power… all fall under the category of 【Secret Power】.
However, generally speaking, 【Secret Power】 awakening only occurs after one embarks on a Hidden Path and becomes an extraordinary being.
How did he, at only one year old, already have 1.1 Secret Energy?
And where did that 0.1 come from?
Looking at the text on the notes, Renn understood.
The reward given after eliminating the 【Imperfect Branch】 was most likely related to the experiences in that life.
For example, in the first 【Imperfect Branch】, Renn died miserably in the wine barrel because he was too weak, and the notes rewarded him with 【Strength Imprint】.
In this 【Imperfect Branch】, Renn, whose extraordinary path was severed, clearly had a great obsession and craving for 【Secret Power】, which is why his Secret Energy increased.
Regardless, having Secret Power in advance was always a good thing.
Collecting his thoughts, Renn then belatedly felt a wave of lingering fear.
“That was really close this time; if I hadn't had 【Strength Imprint】, I probably would have…”
He had thought that with his parents' protection, he could grow up safely, but now it seemed that Leon's identity as a pirate leader itself represented danger!
Enemies unable to defeat the powerful Leon head-on would inevitably seek weak points through him and his mother.
The world of pirates had always been this bloody and cruel.
“I still need to master more means of self-preservation.”
Thinking of this, Renn's gaze swept across the page.
Below the personal information on that page, a cross-shaped black rune was drawn.
Next to it, in dark black script, was the annotation:
【Strength Imprint】
【Rank: One】
【Description: Slightly enhances the strength of the imprint holder. Activating the imprint can unleash stronger power for a short period.】
【Strength, engraved within the imprint.】
The effect of this talent was simple and brutal: it could actively and passively increase strength.
Although Renn's development was relatively slow, in terms of strength, he was definitely not inferior to a 3-year-old child, and the slap that sent the wooden box flying earlier had at least the 'strength of a 10-year-old child'!
Moreover, this power would increase as he grew older.
And this was only a Rank One imprint!
Since there was a rank annotation, it indicated that its rank could be upgraded!
It was just that the method of upgrading was temporarily unknown.
Renn couldn't help but feel a little anticipation; what kind of effect would 【Strength Imprint】 have after being upgraded to a higher rank?