Marvel: Emotion Farming System

Chapter 68: Bonus Chapter: Eyes Unclouded

This is the bonus for 5k stones.

Next one will be at 7.5k.

Get cracking.

...

After reading the second Chapter, Thor had spent most of the time waiting for the third one. But before he could poke Jane and Darcy every few moments, Erik had given him an old book they called a laptop.

Now he was allowed to sit in the corner and press that one button numbered F5 every few minutes. Well, he didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

And in that moment, when everyone had gone out for something, Thor decided to reread the tale from the start.

He had done that a few times already; even then, his eyes always lingered on one thing. It wasn’t the detailed drawings, the vast forests and landscapes that reminded him of old Asgardian tales; it was the words of the one named Hii.

This old, wise woman always made him think about her words.

"See with eyes unclouded."

Thor wondered how one could do that. Everyone had their thoughts and code. All saw the world through the veil woven by the life they had led and judged others through it.

One had to be robust in their beliefs and what they thought was right.

At least that’s what All Father had taught him. But the second Chapter gave him a little more insight into how Ashitaka took those words.

He acted to save the defenceless when the soldiers were blinded by violence. Even if they attacked him, his first thought was restraint. With the great power in his hand, he only tried to help the weak.

Truthfully, these were qualities he had already shown from the start.

But the world he had been exiled to die in was the opposite. Mortals had left behind any sort of mercy for the weak and became blinded with power.

"A curse you say? This world is cursed."

The old priest’s words seemed to ring true. What good would it do to look at such a world with unclouded eyes?

’I was sure this old man had bad intentions as well.’ Thor poked at the arrowed keys to change the page.

Past the beautiful scenery of fog-covered mountains and forest paths, Thor followed Ashitaka’s journey as he started towards the Deer God’s forest.

But then rain and raging currents came sharply. Thor was quite surprised at the shift at first, watching humans with iron spears as they guarded a trail of humans and oxen up a hill.

The woman in command had left a strong impression on him. But it was the following thing that had kept him stuck to his chair since the last Chapter.

It was the announcement about the ambush made by the wolves. And there was a person on the back of the wolf.

The guards had guns, a bit more primitive compared to what he had seen the other day. It didn’t matter much in front of him, though. But they had fired these guns at the wolves.

Jane had said that these people were most likely behind the metal ball found in the Boar god.

However, Thor was more into the idea of trying to make a great wolf into a mount. Loki might be able to help him with that, but he’d need to go to Asgard first.

’Not again...’ He shook his head.

After that, Ashitaka helped two men from the river, even though he didn’t know them. Then he came face to face with the girl riding the wolf. She was sucking the blood out of Moro like it was poison.

And she too noticed him, blood all over her mouth.

’Is this the princess? Or was it that lady commanding the gunmen?’ Thor had still not seen the mentioned Princess Mononoke yet.

Going by what he understood from the title, this new girl with red marks on her face seemed like the one.

But before he could confirm it, this thing they called a Chapter ended.

’Why would the Skald stop at such an interesting point?’ Thor hadn’t seen such storytelling techniques before.

Most storytellers in Asgard usually only took breaks when they needed to refill their alcohol. But it seemed the storytellers of Earth had employed a cruel method known as the cliffhanger.

Jane had explained the concept to him, and he abhorred it, to say the least.

Still, he waited for the Chapter that was supposed to come today, according to Darcy. He kept poking at the F5 key with his index finger every once in a while, and just as Jane had returned with Eric and Darcy, he saw the addition of Chapter 3 to the list.

"It’s here!" His voice echoed in the room.

"What is here? Is Taylor doing a concert in New York?" Darcy was the first to rush over.

"I am talking about the new part of the tale. Who’s this Taylor person you are talking about?" Thor’s brow rose.

"You didn’t just call her ’Taylor person’!" Darcy gasped as a spear had gone right through her chest. "Jane, do not let him near the MySpace, or people are gonna swarm us with pitchforks!"

"Who’s attacking this place?" Thor looked ready to fight.

"Stop it, you two; we are focusing on the wrong thing." Jane looked at the new Chapter with a sharp glint in her eyes.

She was already heavily invested in the Pluto plot and was forced to face the cliffhanger there, in the form of Atom, as well. Now, Princess Mononoke was also testing her patience level.

"Jane?" Eric had an incredulous look in his eyes. It was like he had seen a different person.

"You can thank me for that change with a raise," Darcy smirked.

"I am tempted to cut whatever you are getting." Eric sighed.

"Shucks..." Darcy fell to the floor; that one had hurt her for real.

"Go away and look at your own books; this one is mine." Thor wanted to focus on the tale.

"God help me." Eric walked away with a new headache.

As everyone went to their own laptops, Thor smirked a little since he had blown them away as they did to him.

He clicked on the new Chapter, operating the trackpad like a 90-year-old grandma that hadn’t used anything beyond a landline phone.

It took a moment for the first page to appear since this thing was quite old. Ashitaka announced himself, but the monster princess rode away on her wolf.

’Quite rude...’ He moved to the next page, where the things called forest spirits arrived.

Thor was reminded of the Land spirits from Asgard. But these looked much cuter compared to those things that would make the crops wither if one gave them the wrong type of ale as offerings.

Thor was curious about the giant monster this normal person talked about. He was a bit too cowardly, but he had to admit, the forest of the Deer God had a more magical feel to it.

It was like he had gone back to Hogun’s home when he looked at the wide, towering trees with fluttering butterflies and clear streams.

Had this Skald called John Doe been to Vanaheim? Because he seemed to know the beauty of them well.

’It is a good thing All Father didn’t punish them.’ He wondered how his friends, the ones that followed him into Jotunheim, were doing right now.

More than that, Thor focused as the drawing zeroed in on Ashitaka, noticing some walking deer in the distant trees. But then it zoomed in on one deer, a deer that had a crown full of antlers.

Just looking at that deer had activated the curse on his arm. As Ashitaka placed his hand in the clear water, Thor wondered if that Deer was the one they called the Deer god.

’But would the curse react like that?’

Unable to find an answer, Thor followed the drawings as Ashitaka arrived at a fortress the men he rescued were from. It looked very out of place, destroying the natural harmony of the landscape with its long plumes of smoke and jagged logs.

But it seemed to be the ironworks of someone called Lady Eboshi.

’They are cautious of him even after he saved two of their people.’ Thor frowned at the bald guard since his kind words seemed more like a front.

Still, the tension was taken away by Toki, the wife of one of the men Ashitaka had saved. Even the bald guard was rendered speechless.

’I like this one.’ The scene of her chewing out the man reminded him of Asgard again.

"But I am more handsome." He gruffed as the women in the drawing were fawning over this guy.

But he shook his head as the one he assumed was Lady Eboshi. She was the ruler, but had the heart to apologize to one of her subjects. And the people seemed to respect her just as much.

Thor read on, watching the bustling place full of laughter and life. At least she seemed like a decent ruler to her own people.

"A good town has happy women. Write that one down, folks. Or Ashitaka’s gonna steal your girl." Darcy chuckled; she had already finished reading.

But Thor kept his focus on the screen. The praises for Lady Eboshi were laid out in full.

It was confirmed that she was the one who had shot Nago, the boar god who had cursed Ashitaka.

All that for a mountain? A pile of Iron?

They had killed a god over their own interests. And these mortals were laughing and dancing while retelling the story. That’s how things were when forces fought. The ones who lived got to laugh.

Ashitaka seemed focused on something else; it seemed like the curse acted up again. Even then, even knowing that this curse would kill him. The curse given to him by the boar god, he still pitied in his heart, thinking how it died full of hate.

And now he was facing Lady Eboshi, the one who shot that boar and sent it his way. If it wasn’t for her, Ashitaka would still be in his village; he would still be surrounded by his people.

Someone else would’ve held her by the collar; they would’ve fought, argued, or cursed at her. But he didn’t do any of that; he only showed her the curse on him and wanted to confirm something.

"I want to see with eyes unclouded."

And the third Chapter ended right there.

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