After leaving the hideout and walking through the gloomy streets once again, I contemplated on the choice to spare those children, assuring myself that it was the right thing to do. It brought a bit of peace in my mind.
However, I knew that it placed me at a great disadvantage, since I would have to start my search all over again. At least, that’s what I thought.
Oho? It seems like it’s your lucky day, fufufu!
Their presence was subtle, but I could tell that someone was watching me. I just wasn’t sure where.
“Show yourselves. I know you’re here.”
4 figures appeared from the shadows, all of them being significantly taller than me and had metal collars around their neck. More slaves. I was thinking they would be on my side, but I noticed that they all had daggers pointed towards me.
“Cat boy,” a slave spoke up. “Hand us your belongings and we won’t harm you. Especially that sword of yours.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “I’m a fellow slave, just like all of you. Why are you threatening me?”
“Survival of the fittest, boy. That’s just how it is.”
I was thinking that it was because I’m actually working for the Midas Hogs, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Tsk, no wonder why those children weren’t trusting of adults. Even the slaves themselves were acting like scum.
That just gives you an easier reason to bring them back, don’t you think?
Perhaps.
I threw my leather bag and sword on the floor close to them, leaving them all confused.
“Wait, you’re just handing it over that easily? What an idiot.” The slaves laughed. “Sorry, but we can’t have anyone holding a grudge against us.”
If that were the case, then maybe you shouldn't be robbing your fellow slaves.
One of them picked up the sword and raised it against me. “You’ve placed yourself at an even bigger disadvantage, dumbass.”
They closed in on me, carefully moving their feet forward before making any attacks. They’re more cautious than I thought.
Now’s a good time to try it out, don’t you think?
Yeah.
“You’ve just made it easier for me to find a reason to take you down,” I closed my eyes.“You guys have no shame.”
“Heh, all bark, no bite. Just accept defeat,” a slave scoffed.
I took a deep breath and focused on their footsteps, estimating their distance and waiting for just the right moment. My senses tingled, signaling me to open my eyes and meet an incoming attack.
“White!”
The blade manifests itself in a flash of blue light, just in time for me to block the attack and counter with a swing to the slave’s chin. The feeling felt more like a blunt thud rather than a sharp cut through flesh, so it just sent the slave falling down to the ground and holding his jaw in pain.
“T-That sword just appeared out of nowhere!” a slave said.
“Is that magic?” another slave said, with his hand trembling on his weapon.
“It doesn’t matter!” the fallen slave picked himself up and pointed at his chin. “Look, it didn’t even slice me off! The blade doesn’t have a cutting edge!”
“That sounds stupid, why would you use a sword that can’t cut?!” A slave tried to swing my iron sword from behind me, but his form was that of an amateur’s level, so I swung it away with ease. The blade stuck itself against the wall, leaving the slave in shock.
“S-So strong!” the slave pulls the sword out of the wall with considerable effort.
Of course, I’ve been training for years. There’s no way a first-timer could beat me that easily.
His three other companions all try to attack me at the same time, but I parry all of their attacks and reply with a strike of my own. Their movements were easily predictable, which made it easy for me to find ways to evade and knock them down.
However, as much as my strikes were able to make contact, they only felt as impactful as a wooden sword. The slaves all stood back up again, as if they didn’t experience that much damage.
“What was that? Your attacks are so weak,” the slaves gritted their teeth and smiled. “That’s nothing compared to all the pain we've been through!”
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The slaves charged towards me once again, but this time I could feel a huge shift in their actions. They were much faster and stronger than I had initially anticipated. Their attacks were fueled out of anger, brimming with intent to kill. My eyes tried to keep up and block each of their incoming attacks, but they became too much for me to handle all at once.
A sudden kick to the belly catches me off guard, making me lose my concentration for a second and end up with a stinging slash to the side of my abdomen. I couldn’t worry about the pain right now, as a dagger was slamming itself straight towards my head. My blade moves upward to block the attack, leaving my lower half open for the other slaves. I use my legs to kick them away and push myself backwards, rolling on the floor.
Space was created between me and the slaves, but I knew that it was only going to be for a split moment.
Tsk, this is harder than I thought.
You know, this would be easier if you decided to use Black and make them bleed.
I refuse.
Suit yourself. Show me that you can beat these simpletons only using White. Prove that you don’t need Black. If you can’t even do that, I’ll put more effort into forcing you to do so.
I bit into my lip and gripped my sword tightly.
Fine, I’ll show you, Gray!
I changed my stance and waited for my enemies to make a move.
Focus on hitting the important areas, you’ve got this. Breathe. 1…2…3.
“Die!” A slave runs ahead of his peers and takes a swing at me with the sword, so I evade the attack and slashed my blade directly towards the back of his wrist, slamming against tendons and bones to disarm him. I knock him out with a swing to the neck and immediately switch over to the person following him.
Before he could get a chance to strike with his dagger, I thrust my blade right in between his ribcage, where the solar plexus would be, knocking the wind out of his lungs. To keep him from recovering, I thrusted against his chest a few more times to push him down to the ground.
Immediately right after, the third slave tried to stab the side of my navel, but I sidestep and hit the back of his head. I unleash a flurry of attacks against his body, to the point where he could no longer keep himself standing.
“Y-You’ll pay for this!” the last remaining slave throws his dagger towards me, but misses right next to my cheek. He runs away, leaving his friends behind. If I could even call them his friends.
That was a close one, Lars. You almost died.
I know. I failed to anticipate that throw. If he didn’t miss, that would have been critical.
But he did. That’s good enough. There are no what ifs in life. Just do better next time. But, don’t worry. Black is always available anytime, fufufu!
I told you that I’m never going to use it.
We’ll see.
[Black Skill Unlocked: Impair]
H-Huh? Why did I get another skill from Black? I didn’t even do anything evil!
Think about it. Even if you didn’t kill, you still hurt those people. Just for the sake of capturing one of them, for your own selfish gain. There’s no way you could consider those as good actions. Especially when you could have simply ran away or settled it through non-violent means.
I had no choice! You know I couldn’t just convince them or run away.
That’s why you chose violence over peace. It’s the best way out. Do you understand now? The importance of Black?
I can’t accept it. If that’s the case, then why didn’t I get rewarded for sparing those children? Why didn’t I get a White Skill?
You don’t get rewarded that easily for doing good things. That’s why it’s within White’s nature to progress significantly slower.
That isn’t fair!
And so is life, fufufu!
Fine, if that’s how it’s going to be, I won’t let it discourage me from continuing to do good!
Now, what should I do next? There’s three people knocked down on the floor. I only need one slave for today, so I’ll just leave the two of them behind. One of which was actually awake, groaning on the floor. I lift him up and push him to the side of the wall.
“I-I surrender! Please! Don’t hurt me! I’ll do anything!”
What happened to all that bravado earlier?
“Anything?” I asked.
“Y-Yes! Anything!”
I thought about it for a while, then something clicked in my head. This man can be useful.
“I’ll give you two choices,” I told him. He nodded in response.
“You can work for me as an informant.”
“I-Informant?”
This was an investigative tactic in the GEP series, using insiders as sources of information throughout the Sector.
“Tell me what you know about the runaway slaves in your area. Meet-up places, hideouts, daily routines, everything.”
“Ha? Why should I do that?!” he rebels.
“If you don’t, then I’ll drag you back into the mines,” I gripped his shoulder tightly.
“W-Wait…you’re working for the Midas Hogs?”
“I guess you could say that. So what’s it going to be? Of course, you can reject my offer and sacrifice yourself for your fellow slaves. I don’t mind. Your choice, really.”
“I-I accept! I’ll be your informant! You can take those two, just please spare me and I’ll work for you!”
“Very well then,” I let go of him and he took a deep sigh. “But if you ever betray me, I won’t hesitate to hand you over to the Midas Hogs.”
“I get it, I get it! I won’t do it, I swear!”
Lars, I didn't think you could be so clever, fufufu!
I just tend to read a lot of books and study, that's all. I’m no genius. Besides, I’m not placing 100% of my faith in him.
“What’s your name?” I ask the man.
“R-Ron.”
“I look forward to working with you, Ron.”