Stevan had always considered himself lucky.
Not by superstition or self confidence, but by his ability.
He looked at his wrist that contained a tattoo of a star within a circle, and activated the runes that resided within the tattoo.
Name: Stevan Fate Age: 33 Realm: Core manipulation(5/9) Abilities: Lucky fool Type: low Triggered Event: "Your fortune will be your downfall." Effect: You had been blessed with fortune, showing great outcomes at almost every opportunity. However, beware that worlds rely on balance, and its inevitable for some days that the worst things imaginable will come.
Stevan smiled again. The system tattoo was such a good investment on his part, now he does not need to pay any alchemist just to check his status. Although it is merely simplified now, the more advanced versions apparently gives so much detail that writing it down would be a necessity to understand the contents. In the future, he would be able to check if he is poisoned, mind controlled, under effects of an ability, and many more!
He looked at the blue flames in front of him. Apparently, it’s a type of fire that only emits heat and light at a limited distance before completely vanishing . Perfect for cover at the dead of night like this one.
Stevan once asked at how it was made, It was apparently an ability of a companion that he allegedly got because he was robbed and almost died in the alleyway. He believes that it was created because he felt the cold stone scrape his skin and the bare sunlight that reached his eyes before he passed out.
Stevan got very nervous. His first ability pretty much prevented him from that scenario, and he doubts he could handle any situation similar to that anyways. He hopes that with his luck, he could get something decent in the future.
His main concern now however is what made him lucky in the first place. The ability, [Lucky Fool] has been his saving grace and greatest weakness. In his entire life, the negative luck had only been activated three times, which ended in him going through so much hardship that accepting a horrible job to hunt and sell had been his only option at the moment.
He doesn’t know when it will activate again, and he had been on the longest streak of lucky outcomes for ten years now, the longest time he’s ever had!
Not only that, but he had been at core manipulation for a while and he still had one ability. It’s long past due he gets his second one.
His heart sunk, there could be a possibility that the unfavourable outcome is him never receiving it.
“Why the frown eh Stevan? Come on! Celebrate! That fat noble would have been annoyed we will manage to pay a sizable chunk of debt this time!” A drunk woman sitting next to him rowdily declared.
The woman, Keren, is a fiery individual with wild unkempt red hair that touches her shoulders. Her brown eyes danced with glee at our current achivement, and her body drunkedly swayed from side to side that made him see rare glimpses of her chest, though its not like she cared if men looked anyway. Coincidentally, she is also the groups leader.
“Thanks, Keren.” Stevan sheepishly said as he scratched the back of his head. He then sideyed his long time companion, he knew she probably felt bad for what they had done and is only trying to mask it with alcohol. Slavery isn’t exactly an honorable job as an adventurer.
“Good” she said and drank her fifth bottle.
“Say, why don’t we take this to the tent eh?” She shamelessly teased.
Stevan immediately knew she was trying to fool him again. Even if he only met the other 6 people a few weeks ago. Everybody already knows that she would kill anyone that even try to touch her, drunk or sober.
“I’m afraid not boss.” he smiled “besides, I don’t think you have experience.”
“I have experience!” she pouted.
There had been many times she was drunk, and many truths were spilled all the time. One of them was her secret devotion for being pure.
As every man starts to joke about their drunk boss, Stevan noticed that she was starting to spit flames, literally, so he made an excuse to immediately leave. He had personally seen her incinerate a group of monsters with her [Fueled breath] , and he is not about to be one of them.
Stevan continued walking. He drifted away from the jolly voices of his friends, and towards the darker side of their camp, where the flames of [Concentrated Flame] that their campfire emits does not reach.
When he stepped outside of the heat, his surroundings immediately darkened and the chill air penetrated his nose.
He continued his stride and finally arrived at their merchandise.
It was a large metal cage about 20 meters wide on all sides, the floor was made of the same material that felt really cold to the touch. Allegedly, having wooden floors often get set on fire by someone’s ability.
Fortunately, it was covered by cloth. Unfortunately, it hardly covered the top half of the cage, let alone the bottom, letting everyone that they would pass by on the city see what’s inside.
Possibly one of the worst ways to live.
Slavery.
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Huddled up In groups are twelve individuals, four men and the rest are female. Their clothes, which definitely doesn’t provide insulation, looked like a rug. Their hair which was once vibrant when he saw it, was now dull. Their eyes spoke of how they knew what awaited when they arrive at the city.
Stevan felt a bit of sympathy for them. They were just regular folk. The only difference between them and him were their animal features. The tail of a wolf, a cats claw, a lions mane. Those things are somehow enough to justify being a ‘separate species’ as for humans like him to raid their settlement and sell them as slaves.
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He could free them, he has the power and the keys, but then what? They would either be hunted by animals or be killed by some of his companions, he had seen some of them actually relish the hunt for rebellious prey.
He would also be in very big trouble, he already owed a massive debt, and if he acts against that nobles wishes……then even death would have been a luxury.
At the end of the day, he is only human, just one guy trying to survive.
But maybe, just maybe.
As he looked through the cage, he noticed that one of them was a child.
She looked to be about ten years of age. Her short, yellow hair was really messy that made him think she was a lion beastfolk, but her horizontal pupils said otherwise. Eventually, he saw her two broken horns that was well hidden on her head. It convince him she was a goat type of beastfolk.
“No, not her! Take me instead” A woman with the same features as her yelled. She was being hugged by the girl, which was most likely her daughter. She obviously saw his gaze fell on her and assumed he was up to no good.
Stevan got a little ticked off at that assumption, but he can’t blame her for it.
“What do you think about us?” he asked curiously.
“huh?” She responded.
“What do you think about humans? We took you away, ruined your livelihood, and is about to make your life a living hell. I want to know what you think about us.”
In truth however, he just wanted a justification as to why he captured them. He could then convince himself that since humanity was at war with the other races anyways, enslaving beastfolk would then be a fine thing to do.
Stevan waited, expecting her to say “evil”, “monsters” or maybe even a “demon”, but instead he received a much different response.
“Humans”
“….what?” Stevan asked.
“You are a human.” She stared at him.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“No, I meant the phrase.” She explained, “Just like how you treat all demons as evil, or the beastfolk as an inferior counterpart, we consider you all humans, the embodiment of greed.”
‘So that’s how we are treated?’ He thought, ‘It is somewhat stereotypical.’
“But” She continued, “That is not how your race really are isn’t it. When you threw me on this forsaken cage, I thought you were one of the most corrupted species to exist. That is until I heard a female human cry the night after. I believe her name was Keren? Her tent was awfully close to the cage so I could hear her sob. Her guilt was eating her alive. I realized she was probably forced to commit these acts by circumstance. After knowing that, I don’t really know what to think about your people anymore. The best I could say is you are just as a beastfolk as I am human.”
Stevan never expected a such an answer, so he just continued standing outside the cage, seemingly staring onto nothingness, then his eyes focused, and he fished his pocket to produce a key tied to a string.
He took a long look at the metallic key and sighed deeply, then asked her another question, “I am very clumsy you see, and I happen to have the key. Just in case some accident happens and I have claimed to have lost it here. I might ask you tomorrow, “Where is the girl?” what will you say?”
He dangled the key in front of them, then pointed at the forest.
“What?” she asked, then quickly realized his intention, “Oh umm, I don’t know.”
The other slaves who had been quiet during the exchange also nodded their heads or made a gesture of zipping their mouth shut.
Stevan nodded, “good.”
He opened the cage, confident in not being assaulted by them. He knew their realms, and he knows he could handle them with both arms behind his back.
As he approached the girl, she dug deeper on the embraced of the woman.
She hugged her back, whispering words to her ear that made the girl cry.
Stevan wished they say their goodbyes faster. He is dead meat if he gets caught now.
As both of them slowly separate, the girl turned around to find Stevan waiting out of the cage. She was grateful she gets to at least give her final farewell.
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As both of them walk away from the camp, Stevan wanted to know a little more about her. He doesn’t want to risk his job for just a mere stranger after all.
“I don’t have a name.” She replied after Stevan asked for it.
“Beastfolk lose their names when they officially leave the care of their parents…….which is now.” She grimly admits.
He expected her to go nuts, but she sounds to be rather fine. Stevan guessed that the shock hadn’t settled properly yet
“Then how do I call you?” He asked.
She continued walking in front of him in silence for a few seconds, then decided to ask back.
“Can I…..Inherit your last name?” She said embarrassed. She wanted to remember what he did for her, both the good and the bad. Her mother specifically said that it’s okay to hate him, but make sure to give him a second chance.
“Huh? I guess so….” He sheepishly said. Stevan doesn’t really care for that, but it does feel awkward “Nice to meet you then, Fate, I am Stevan”
Upon hearing her new name, she stood still, turned around, and produced a weak smile, “Can you……make sure that mother is treated fairly?”
Stevan raised his eyebrows, “Do you even know your way home?”
“I will manage.” She responded.
He smiled, and also turned around to walk back to camp while waving a hand, “Then just promise to come back someday alive and well. I will then make sure that I die if she ever gets harmed.”
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“What the fuck is that?” Keren exclaimed.
She may be drunk, but she can clearly see a big silhouette approaching their camp, away from the vision of [Concentrated Flame].
Her companions, which has burnt marks from her flames, stood up and looked at where she pointed to.
“Hey Dylan, isn’t that where you heard the trees fall?” One of them asked.
“Yeah, but we agreed it was some orc or whatever. Its not like we cant knock down a tree by ourselves. I bet our weakest, at the higher stage of core formation, could beat that thing black and blue.” Dylan, a man with his dark hair roasted, smugly explained. “Besides, it did not reach my [Concentrated Flame], so It should be seeing in complete darkness. Though maybe the boss attracted it to our location.”
Keren sideyed her companion. She has a feeling that this is more than meets the eye.
As the silhouette finally entered Dylans [Concentrated Flame]. She saw a bulking behemoth of a skeleton.
His frame is much larger than their tents. It looked rather menacing with large spikes on some of his spots. The skull formed something similar to a crown, which complimented his flaring red eyes. The body is covered with carapace made of bones, and the knuckles formed a menacing spiked knuckleduster. Overall, the best description she could call it is a giant bone gorilla with spiky armor.
Keren immediately knew that it was a very dangerous opponent.
And she was proven correct shortly after.
Despite its massive size, the skeleton ran faster than lightning, much faster than what her eyes could see.
Before she could blink, one of her men was already flying.
She immediately breathed out and used her [Fueled Breath], covering the hulking figure in thousands of degrees heat.
She saw it swung at her at insane speeds, barely dodging the fatal blow.
‘Shit!’ She thought as she hopped back to recollect herself ‘I’m at Core Perfection damn it, why is it so fast?!’
Core perfection, the third realm, a place of the elite where destroying towns with a swing and moving faster than the speed of sound is an average feat. Yet even her abilities that could badly burn those of the same realm did not make it flinch.
She was expecting it to rush at them again, but it just stood there, until her flames finally revealed his perfectly unharmed form.
“Run!” She commanded them. Keren instantly knew that they were no match for it, and is simply taking its time, playing with their lives.
She activated her third ability [Cries of the Fallen].
Immediately, the surroundings burst into flames. Everything from the grass, trees, and herself was set ablaze.
The skeleton did not move nor react, but she doesn’t care, her only goal was to distract the monstrosity and hoped her subordinates ran and hid using the cover of smoke.
‘Those bastards better not die just from a little burn.’ She hoped. Her ability does not discriminate, and targets everything on a large radius. Fortunately, it is only on the level of normal flames, so she is pretty confident that they were able to escape.
She looked forward, her gaze ever so passionately staring into the undeads empty eyes, and solidified her resolve.
“Don’t think I’m dying today asshole.” She declared, even though Keren knew that this is most likely her last stand, “I don’t know where you came from, but I’m sure as he’ll making sure you stay six feet under!”