In front of the caravan, two men sat atop horses looked to be having an argument.

"S-Sir Lorence, your father instructed me to watch over you! He told me to directly guide you home after our visit from the trading hub. Going to the Evening Forest is dangerous, even if you take our mage with you, he can't guarantee your safety! You can't just.." the personal aide choked, as if he was too scared to continue his sentence.

Lorence glared at the man as if he was ready to drive his sword to his throat, he said icily, "I can't just.. what? Know your fucking place! I'm the one in charge here, you're not the one that can tell what I can and can't do. If I say that the rest of caravan will go home while I go into the Evening Forest, then that's exactly what will happen, do you understand you bird-brain. Men! Continue marching forwards!" he shouted, turning away from the grim-faced aide.

He felt insulted. What does he think he is? A child? Lorence was a warrior! If he ever joined the Adverturer's Guild, he could easily be classified as a Silver ranked warrior that is approaching Gold rank. Together with his good armour and his sword with the magical enchantment [Sharp-Edge], he could easily slash monsters like butter! There was nothing to be afraid of except the anger of his father when he goes home. But even that can be easily solved if he brought back enough profits.

As the personal aide relayed the command to the caravan, Arterion and the rest of the slaves were all gathered in one side of the road. They watched as the whole caravan passed by, while they wondered why they were being left out.

'Fuck.' Arterion thought. When he saw the young master of the caravan and his personal aide arguing in the distance, he knew this was anything but good. In two years of being a slave, he was quite sensitive with situations regarding his owners. He would know if they were up to no good just by watching them. He's been through a lot, and the worse he ever gotten was that he was accidentally slashed with a sword because one of his past owners was a terrible drunkard, leaving him with a scar on his back that's still visible today.

While deep in thought, he unconsciously reached the said scar on his back. Even though it happened quite long ago, he was still surprised as how sturdy his body was. The slash would've killed Goose if he was the one who recieved it. But all it left him was just shallow scar. Maybe his last owner was just weak? He shook his head and retracted his hand.

Fifty soldiers also detached from the caravan, as well the mage that was part of the guard retinue. He wore a long white robe, adorned with intricate patterns. Though the patterns looked to be magical enchantments, they were simply just there for show and had no effects at all. In his right hand, he was holding a short wooden staff the length of an arm, while a leather covered book was slung on his left waist.

Arterion was amazed at the sight of the mage. He was always interested in magic and all of it's properties. When he was young, he read all about them in his father's private library. For someone who isn't a scholar of magic, he can be considered well-informed. It was a shame that he didn't get the chance to know about magic on a deeper level. When he was a child, his father said that he had an extremely high affinity to magic. Unfortunately, his father and mother they..

Arterion recovered from his daze as one of the soldiers instructed them to make camp. He quickly got up with the other slaves and proceeded to unfurl the tents and setting them up. The others made the campfire by gathering rocks and sticks from the nearby shrubbery. Others assisted the soldiers by tying up their horses in one corner, while others helped with removing their armour.

Arterion was proficient at everything he does. He found himself to be a perfectionist. Even though he was a meager slave, the quality of his work ethic was top-notch. Maybe it was because of his own misfortune that haunted him at the back of his mind, that he strived to better his skills at whatever it may be. After all, who would want to kill an efficient slave? As long as he was breathing, that was plenty enough. Even the guards just give him a beating and not directly incapacitate him.

After they were done, the slaves were commanded to assemble in the center of the camp together with the soldiers that were with them. Although they were at the back of the assembly, it was still rare for them to be included in a meeting. There was just no use. Most of them can only understand basic commands such as 'fetch water, cook food, remove the armour, tend to the horses' and the like. They had no combat training as well. Even if some of them are burly and strong, asking them to wield a sword can be compared to asking a bull to shoot an arrow.

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But Arterion was different. He knew this type of assembly was a briefing before an expedition. Slaves are also involved as they might be tasked with carrying equipment or harvesting materials while the guards keep watch. They didn't need combat experience because the guards are double their number. They can be assigned two to three guards each, so there was no need to worry at all.

It was a sound observation, but he was wrong about one thing as Sir Lorence shouted, "All of you! We shall be setting off today into the Evening Forest. Shush! I know it is a danger zone, but when does good fortune come without taking any risks? As you can see, we have decent numbers and all the slaves are able-bodied, there is no useless meat here!"

Seeing the commotion not dying down, Lorence was quite annoyed and he grunted, "Alright, alright. Enough! For all of you to be inspired into going through with this mission, any materials you bring back to camp shall be rewarded! It all depends on the quality of the product you find! Every man for himself, those who bring back the most shall be rewarded the most. And if you are a slave, I can assure you that you can gain freedom if you bring back enough!"

The soldiers and slaves were shocked. 'It's just gathering, right' some of them thought. The discussions died down, and a lot of them grew serious. If they were a soldier and brought back enough, they might get promoted! This was an advance in their career without going to the front lines, if they didn't take this opportunity then they were fools among fools.

The same can be said to the slaves. The thing on the line was freedom! Which slave doesn't crave freedom? They just have to get anything that looks precious and go back, slaves are quite cheap anyway so it's not like they were tasked to find amber or the like.

In contrast to the hopeful eyes around him, Arterion's face was sour. He knew that things weren't so easy as it seems. Besides worrying about the monsters in the forest, he had to worry about the soldiers the most. If they ever saw him or a slave with a good harvest, they'll probably just kill them on the spot then blame the monsters in the forest for their deaths. It wouldn't be a big deal if one of them dies, and even though he was an efficient slave, it didn't matter. He might just get slaugthered there.

He knew a lot about swordmanship when he was young. He was taught how to handle a sword properly, and despite not having real combat experience, at least he can protect himself a bit. Even though he didn't have a weapon that can kill, he can at best make his escape safely. Thinking of that, he calmed down a little. But that still didn't stop him from having cold-sweat all over his body.

The whole ordeal lasted a while and it was almost dusk. Though going into the forest at this time was no better than suicide, a lot of the monsters here are actually not that active during night-time. It was about their hunting patterns where they would usually hunt prey that are active during day-time and as such they were resting when night came. Hearing this explanation, no one argued about setting off immediately. It would also help them catch up much faster with the caravan if they finished early.

Arterion calmed himself as he prepared to go in with the others. 'I'll bring back at least one or two items then I'll head back immediately.' he thought. Although the prospect of being free was tempting, it didn't matter if you weren't breathing. He also made a promise to himself to not get close with the soldiers no matter what, and if he ever does encounter some monsters, he would just flee immediately.

He heard that this forest was famous for its Green-skin goblins that are somewhat intelligent and hunt in groups. They showed no mercy to any living being, as they skin them alive and eat their entrails first. The forest also had White-spotted wolves that are a pain to deal with. These monsters are classified as Silver ranked threats by the Adventurer's Guild, and he knew quite a bit about them because he had an owner once that was an adverturer.

Arterion looked to the eerie forest up ahead while contemplating his life. 'What a pathetic life.' he thought. He might just die here and no one would give a shit. In the last two years, or any other year since his parents died, there wasn't a single time where he was happy. Maybe he already died when his carriage was raided and he was just living in hell right now. He saw no point in living as a slave, yet at the same time he still treasured his life. A disgusting contradiction. Maybe one day this, or maybe one day that. The thing he wanted the most wasn't freedom, but change. Why was he so unfortunate? Why did his parents have to die?

'I really loved my parents' he thought. Only if they didn't die. Only if they didn't..