Chapter 224: Xiao Tao’s Dark Magic

"With looks like that, I’d say it’s totally fine... I need to work harder on myself for my boyfriend too♡ I’ll make sure to do extra skincare today♡"

With that, Shangguan Wan’er cheerfully headed back to her room.

With looks like that, huh...

Shangguan Wan’er’s casual remark left a small scratch on Xiao Tao’s heart. In other words, she was essentially saying that if someone had an ordinary appearance like him, a relationship like that would be "out of the question."

"You’re disgusting. You’re such a girly guy."

Xiao Tao had been treated like a germ and told things like that countless times. Even people he had fallen in love with had hurled insults at him.

Perhaps that was simply how same sex relationships looked from the outside.

Xiao Tao was gay. Ever since he was little, he had only ever fallen for men. He could still clearly remember the time when he had been asked what he wanted to be when he grew up and answered, "A bride," only for his kindergarten teacher to give him an awkward smile.

"Xiao Tao, boys don’t become brides. You mean a groom."

The teacher pointed toward the man standing beside the smiling bride.

Xiao Tao had thought the bride’s dress was cute, but the teacher had explained that it was something girls wore and pointed him toward the man in the tuxedo instead.

Xiao Tao had felt absolutely no attraction to it.

He had loved playing house far more than playing monsters or superheroes. But whenever they played, he was almost always assigned the role of the father, and the girls never let him play the mother.

Even so, Xiao Tao happily cooked and cleaned however he wanted during their pretend games.

"Fathers go outside to work. Fathers don’t cook!"

The outspoken girls would always scold him for it.

Since both of Xiao Tao’s parents worked, household chores had always been shared between them. He simply could not understand the girls’ idea of what a father was supposed to do, and they often ended up arguing.

However, Xiao Tao had always been timid by nature, and in most cases, he would eventually be argued into submission and forced to play the ideal father the girls had in mind.

Xiao Tao also preferred magical girls to superhero shows. It was not that he wanted to become a magical girl or wished he were a girl. He simply liked cute, sparkling things.

Fortunately, his parents were understanding about that side of him and never criticized his interests. Outside the home, however, things were different.

"Xiao Tao, you’re just like a girl."

Being told things like that had still been bearable. Eventually, however, the words turned into outright insults.

Children had no restraint when it came to attacking someone. Before long, it was not just the boys calling him disgusting and treating him like some kind of freak. Even the girls began looking at him with contempt, and Xiao Tao gradually lost any sense of belonging at school.

Throughout all of that, his childhood friend Wanwan continued talking to him as she always had. But her words were hardly gentle.

"It’s because you act like that that they get cocky! If you’re a man, fight back properly!"

Shangguan Wan’er was strong. Her home life was troubled, and she was not exactly well-behaved, but she never allowed her circumstances to bring her down. She always stood tall and proud.

Xiao Tao both admired and envied her strength. After they entered middle school, he had gradually distanced himself from her. Then, by sheer coincidence, they ended up together in remedial classes, and somehow things had led to this.

Why were she and I the ones chosen? I really don’t understand.

If they wanted to turn someone into a Hero, Shangguan Wan’er would have been a much better fit. The fact that the God of this world had chosen someone like Xiao Tao to become a Hero had to be some kind of mistake.

Just two days ago, Shangguan Wan’er had confessed her feelings to the dragon she had fallen in love with at first sight and had become his girlfriend.

Xiao Tao envied her.

She had no idea how happy it was to be able to tell the person you loved that you loved them without a moment’s hesitation. Xiao Tao could not help both envying and resenting her for being able to do something he could never bring himself to do.

If Xiao Tao had to come to another world, he had wanted to become a bride.

He had wanted to meet someone in a world where nobody knew him, someone who would love only him. There were countless clichéd stories about falling in love in another world like that.

But Xiao Tao’s story would never go the way he wanted.

In fact, not once in his entire life had anything gone the way he wanted it to.

Why am I the Hero? Why are Wanwan and Qiu Nuoya loved, protected, and cherished in this world while I’m the only one left all alone...?

The protagonist of this story was not Xiao Tao.

No matter where he went, all Xiao Tao had ever been given was the life of a supporting character. And yet the title he had received was "Summoned Hero."

It was so absurd that he almost wanted to laugh.

The Hero is supposed to be a hero loved by everyone, isn’t he?

According to Qiu Nuoya, he had apparently been given some kind of cheat ability too. But even if he used that power to become overwhelmingly strong, he would still be alone in the end.

Apparently, Xiao Tao’s ability was a form of Dark Magic specialized in offense. He had never directly attacked anyone before, but for someone as introverted as him, who had always cursed people in his heart, it was almost too fitting. He could not help but laugh.

Apparently, continuing to use Dark Magic would cause darkness to gradually consume both the body and mind.

But my heart has been in darkness from the very beginning.

Apparently, as long as he did not use Dark Magic, he would not be consumed by the darkness any further. But if that darkness was simply part of his innate nature, Xiao Tao could not help thinking,

Isn’t it a little late to say that now?