The Salamanders - Chapter 245 - 13.4

I belong to a good sect that has never turned its back on me for my poor potential, has never forced me to study martial arts, and even helped arrange a betrothal for me when I was young.

In a world of shallow-minded, materialistic mortals, what would one from humble beginnings – whose face had been stomped on, spat on, oppressed for the longest while by the arrogant, pampered upper echelons of society – do, when a mysterious application pops up on a brand new phone that was meant to be the birthday gift of an ungrateful girlfriend? What if the application takes the form of a chatroom where its occupants, bearing the names of mythical, fictional beings, start giving out ‘Red Packets’, all the while spouting nonsense?

I thought being laid off from my job was the greatest of my worries but I just had to wake up in a ship's cockpit after my space game crashed. Now I have no map, no friends and no money.But that's ok, I've started from the bottom before! With my starter ship I will scour through space as a Mercenary and maybe even start up a Mercenary Company while I'm at it! This ain't my first rodeo in space after all!Except... Apparently my crew members are weird?The guy who bumped into me yesterday was found sliced up and floating outside the space station.The girl who tried to honeytrap me was reported missing with only a finger found in an alley.And then that merchant who scammed me had his entire ship blasted into bits by unknown vessels the very next day.Some people say my crewmates were behind it but they must be mistaken, right?I only know one thing for sure...In space, no one can hear you scream...

In this world, some say, the truth and the legends are the same. One such legend belonged to the protagonist, Valerian.

Valerian was an orphan, a boy blessed with a beautiful face, and everyone around him, could not help but want to play with him, till one day a prophet passing through their town pronounced him to be cursed.

Since that day, the destiny of the boy seemed to have changed completely, he was shunned by everyone around him, and the gazes that were earlier filled with love and affection, now brimmed with disgust and hatred.

The constant shunning and humiliation made the cheerful child grow up to be bitter and inexpectant. On his seventh birthday, things changed once again.

This time, it was not the people around him who went through a change, but himself. As he grew up, Valerian became a legend in his own sense.

The people sang of a boy, who could not speak, they shed tears for a boy, who could not grieve. He came from nowhere yet he was known everywhere.

Would you like to know this legend? A story where a curse can become a blessing? A story of sacrifice, betrayal, determination, and secrets.