Silver didn’t immediately approach the young servant because of the group of boys that had gathered around him. He instead headed to a spot where he could observe them clearly.
The spot, was a small table and chair about twenty feet away from the group of boys that was hidden behind a column. After sitting down, Silver asked one of the servants to bring him a glass of water so as to blend in even more with the crowd, he then shifted his attention to the group and what they were discussing.
“This stupid servant actually thinks he can glare at me with no consequences, do you know who my father is?” said a young man who had a swirling mane of gold hair, a pleasing face, and was dressed in an elegant red changshan with a long gold earring hanging from his left ear.
“That’s right! Do you know who his father is.” Said another boy who although wasn’t handsomecouldn’t be called ugly either.
“Young Master, this servant needs to be taught some manners. I say we take him out back and give him a good beating.” Said a rather skinny boy who had a sinister smile on his face.
“Degri this is the last time I tell you, stop repeating what I say! As for Chage your idea isn’t bad but this servant doesn’t look normal to me.” Said the handsome young man.
Chage snickered while pointing at the young slave,
“Young Master Hion, there’s no need to worry. I highly doubt this measly servant would dare fight back against the son of the head of the Northern branch.”
After hearing Chage’s explanation Hion couldn’t help but smile as he spoke,
“I know the perfect place to deal with this scum without anyone noticing, follow me.”
Chage and Degri grabbed hold of the young servant, making sure he couldn’t run awayas they followed Hion.
However what surprised them was the fact that the servant didn’t struggle at all, but instead allowed himself to be led.
Silver watched the four of them leave the hall, but instead of immediately following after, he simply continued to sit, comfortably sipping his glass of water.
The reason Silver wasn’ttoo concerned was because he had discovered that even after the young slave had left the hall, he was still able to feel his presence for some reason.
The other reason Silver didn’t get up and follow them so quickly was because he didn’t want the four of them to know he was watching them, plus this was also one of those rare moments when he would find something amusing so he wanted to watch them for a little longer.
It had been ten minutes since the group of four had left the hall,
“It looks like they’ve finally stopped moving. I should head out.” Thought Silver.
Silver downed the remainder of the water in his glass in one go and stood in preparation to leave the hall when suddenly a young girl, about the same age as him and wearing a veil over her face, sauntered by and whispered into his ear the words,
“I’m looking forward to the ceremony, hope you don’t disappoint me.”
Silver was caught completely off-guard by the young girl and when he tried to look back to find her, she was gone.
“What the hell was that?” thought Silver.
“Ah! It doesn’t matter, if she’s going to be at the ceremony then I’ll see her again. I have other things to do!”
With that out of the way, Silver followed the young slave’s presence through various hallways and corridors until he reached a gigantic door that had the image of a burning tiger carved onto it.
He slowly opened the door and quickly entered, what he saw was an enormous corridor that stretched on for about three hundred meters with about a dozen rooms lined on either side. All of the room’s doors had names carved onto them except one and, unsurprisingly, that was the same room the young slave’s aura was coming from.
Silver opened the door and the first thing he noticed was the vast collection of weapons and sculptures that riddled the room. The more he looked around the more treasure he saw, he couldn’t believe his eyes but then suddenly, the presence of the young slave grew fierce and extremely strong as if reminding him why he was there.
Silver immediately ran towards the edge of the room where there was a balcony that overlooked a semi-large training platform.
The moment he looked at it though, or more accurately what was on it, his face instantly became pale, drained of allit’scolour.
The scene displayed in front of Silver was one stained with blood. On the platform the young slave stood, his clothes ripped revealing some scars, but the true spectacle were his ox yoke shoulders, and Spartan’s body and muscles which seemed as if they were wrought from iron.
His hands which were folded into a fist were covered in blood and, underneath him lay a dead Chage while, a few feet away, stood Degri whose right arm hung limply at his side and standing beside him, a completely worn out and tired Hion.
The more Silver saw the more cautious he grew. The reason for this was because the aura coming from the young slave was one of the [Darkness] attribute.
“Father told me that only people from NothernVargath had the [Darkness] attribute, how did this person get here?” thought Silver.
Hion with eyes now bloodshot and hair a complete mess, no longer gave off the aura of nobility but instead one of a person fighting for survival.
“You bastard, don’t think for one second father will let you live after what you’ve done today!”
The young slave almost as if not understanding what Hion was saying began to move towards him, killing intent in his eyes.
Seeing this Silver began to panic,
“This kid has a lot of promise but if he kills that Hion then nothing will be able to save him. I have to find a way to get his atten….”
Just as Silver was thinking that, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
He ran back to the other side of the room and began moving about until he came to a complete stop.
In front of him hanging on a wall, lay a pitch black mask that had the name Zara carved onto it. Silver reached out, grabbed the mask and quickly put in on.
He then closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, loosened up his arms and muscles and then as he opened his eyes again, a golden strand of light divine power flickered through.
Silver’s lips curved into a smile and then without warning released his terrifying aura, however this time was different from when he previously released his aura.
This was because this time, Silver was adding fuel to the fire in the form of light divine power.
This frightening aura was immediately felt by both the young slave and Hion, however Hion is only able to feel the remnants of it whereas the young slave, who is of the [Darkness] attribute, is able to tell that there is a [light] practitioner in the vicinity.
The now curious young slave loses interest with Hion and thus begins to pursue the [light] practitioner who is none other than the masked Silver.
Sensing that the young slave was approaching him, Silver decides to run away. He wants to find a place where he can speak freely with the young slave without anyone hearing or interfering.
However in order to not lose the young slave, Silver keeps his pace at one which the he is able to keep up with.
In a very short amount of time both Silver and the young slave have long gotten out of the room with the burning tiger carved onto the door and are currently passing through a long hallway which seems to have no end.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
That’s when Silver began to grow frustrated,
“Just how big is this place? Ah! I need to find an open place.”
He then randomly jumped into one of the rooms that was along the hallway, however the room he entered was actually a store and had very little space.
“Tch! This isn’t good, I need a wider area.”
As he looked around the room, Silver spotted a small window on the side of the room. Feeling the presence of the young slave get closer, Silver quickly climbed out the window and jumped down.
Silver had thought that the fall would be great but surprisingly, as he fell down he landed on a gigantic tree that effectively broke his fall.
However even if there was no tree to break his fall, any injuries he might have sustained would have been immediately healed by the sovereign power inside Silver. That’s why he had decided to take the leap of faith.
He got down from the tree and as he looked around, Silver couldn’t believe his eyes. Right in front of him, there was a bamboo-brown leafy paradise.
The aged trees had creaking branches, huge roots spread from the ground, twisting like the great backs of dragons. Shuffling noises came from deep in the interior, deadened by the cunningly woven web of leaves.
The forest’s beauty was soul nourishing.
After a while of being completely immersed in the splendor of the forest,
Silver released his terrifying aura once again, this time adding even his lightning divine power to it, and only a few moments later a figure came falling from the sky, landing on the same spot as Silver did. That figure was the young slave, however the fall didn’t go as well for him as it had for Silver.
A sharp branch had pierced his left leg and had completely gone through it but the shocking thing was that the young slave simply stood up, no sign of pain whatsoever on his face. Blood just kept on gushing out of the wound.
“Masked man, who are you?” said the young slave who had a surprisingly booming voice, full of vim.
Silver was slightly surprised by his words because they weren’t spoken in his language but instead a foreign tongue that sounded both primitive and noble at the same time.
The reason Silver was only slightly surprised was because he was able to understand the young slave, thanks to the knowledge of all languages spoken on Vargath which was given to him by Shiraz.
“Someone who can help.” Replied Silver.
“You speak Zarathan?” said the now shocked slave.
“We don’t have time for this right now, tell me your name!” replied Silver.
“I am Krias of Zarthar.”
Silver looked at the young slave carefully and with a sigh said,
“Krias, do you know what you’ve done?”
Krias still calm as ever replied,
“I was attacked and so I fought back, that is what father taught me.”
“That isn’t the problem, the problem is who you attacked! The person you killed is an aid to the son of the young Master of the Northern Branch of the Divine Tiger clan. Even if you were in the right, you are still a slave.”
Now slightly angry, Krias says,
“Hmph! A man of Zarthar values his honour, more than his life. I will stand by my actions.”
“Ho! Krias, would you mind telling me what happened for you to be here as a slave?” asked Silver.
Krias closed his eyes and clenched his fists, as if recalling a painful memory. When he opened them again he says,
“Zarthar is no more, we were ambushed by the Aristov. They killed everyone including my father, mother and two brothers only sparing those who would make good soldiers in the future.
Along the way, a man who was passing by in a luxurious carriage bought me and a few others as his slaves. The other slaves who understood what they were saying, said that he was the Master of the Eastern Branch of the Divine Tiger clan.”
Although Silver was naturally tough and had seen many things in his previous life, for some reason the young man in front of him had managed to make him feel sympathy.
“Krias, I have an offer for you. I hope you will consider it.”
Krias now looks at the mysterious masked person in front of him and asks himself,
“Why am I telling him all this, just who is this person?”
“Speak and I will listen.” Says Krias.
Silver takes a deep breath and says,
“If you promise to follow me till your death, I might be able to save your life and I can also promise a much better life compared to this.”
Krias was just about to answer when suddenly a thunderous voice sounded out throughout the entire castle,
“WHERE IS THAT BASTARD SLAVE?”