I walked around the beaches, finding things I could kill and doing the deed. Nothing. I was beginning to think there was some weird shit going on. Why wouldn't the System activate already? My paranoia only grew and clouded my mind. Was it some sort of scheme by the Gods? No way.

Killing things kept me fed. I could drink seawater without any ill effects since my metabolic Perks worked at reduced efficiency. However, that was not the lifestyle I wanted for myself.

Some centaurs kept searching for me. I was too smart and fast for them and unless the rancher chieftain sent something high-level, they wouldn't catch me. It was a game of cat and mouse, but I didn't want to wait for a few years here.

With that in mind, at the end of the second week of exile, I decided to go back and see if the elders reached a decision regarding my case. I had a pretty good sense of direction and found my way back without a problem.

But when it rains it pours.

I was traveling south when I saw the dust cloud on the horizon. Some huge shit was going on. What could raise a cloud that large? A Sandcrawler? Some monster? A storm? It made no sense, the sky was clear as far as I could see the stars above.

Worried, I galloped back. Hours later, the sun rose and I saw the centaur tribes running away. Like, all of them.

Centaurs were proud, but they weren't stupid. They would flee if the odds were too big. That meant something huge attacked the mating grounds. Something the chieftains knew they couldn't fight back.

Going after the stampede was foolish. I could only hope my tribe was among the ones running away. Knowing our chieftain, he would at least give it a go. I knew they weren't at the head of the stampede, maybe at the back or the middle.

I entered the dust cloud and found little impairment by the sand. Was it my sensory Perks? I did pick some that allowed me to see through the sand. I covered my face and moved south.

After a few hours, I'd reached a tall rock formation. The sun was past noon. I could see most of the area around me. At the southern edge of my view, almost at the horizon, I saw huge ships. Large vessels, probably made to transport a large amount of cargo.

Or troops.

An invasion?

I had to investigate. Climbing down the rock, I skulked toward my target, kilometers away. The sun descended in the west and I wasn't halfway near the ships. But I found what happened.

Humanity happened.

Humans everywhere. A lot of mages. They had the centaurs entranced and were leading them toward the ships. This close, I could see some of them were already sailing away and the rest of the fleet was almost finishing loading their cargo.

My blood boiled. It was slavery all again. It was obvious these centaurs were under some sort of mental control. The stupid barbarians invested very little in mental Attributes. It would be a piece of cake for a mindbender to come and control several of them.

I slinked away. I couldn't risk some detection spell finding me.

Instead, I investigated the area. I found no signs of combat. Not a single drop of blood, not a single corpse. While the humans could've been thorough in their cleanup, I doubted it. I checked the heraldry of the few soldiers and knights and found they were somewhat related to the Pekothas empire. Fulgen's noisy and bratty neighbor to the west.

I saw some mages with symbols that denoted them as diviners. I got the fuck away from them. Sulking in my powerlessness, I had to wait for them to go away.

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Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Three days later, they did. The humans left little traces of their passing, mostly ashes from their campsites. How many centaurs did they take away? Was my mother, my tribe safe? I had a heavy feeling as if a claw tried to crush my heart. I roamed the rocks and sand dunes, trying to find some life. The next day, I did. I found several elders and shamans, bound and penned like livestock.

"Elder!" I shouted. "Elder, here!"

I trotted and jumped over the fence. With the daggers I'd looted, I cut their bindings. They were there for days, without food or water. I shared what I had and handed over the daggers to them so we could release everyone faster.

"What happened?" I asked as we cut the ropes.

"The wicked humans, they came seeking tribute," one shaman told me. "The greedy bastards wanted able warriors for their cruel gladiatorial arenas, and centaurs to work for them as serfs or slaves. They defeated the chieftains and started to entrance everyone with their evil magic. They let some herds flee so the centaur didn't die down. They also let us live. I don't know the reason."

"The children and women?" I asked. The elders were here, hundreds of them. But I knew the children and pregnant women would be too slow. The herds must've left them behind.

"They took the children and pregnant women, all of them, Snowdrop," the kind elder that offered me food before I was exiled answered. "They said they would be easier to train."

I cursed, a long string of expletives leaving my mouth. I could swear I made one elder or another blush.

But treating the ailing elders was more important. At least, the shamans knew healing magic. Too bad they didn't leave the peninsula.

After giving it some thought, I understood why they let the elders live. They didn't kill any centaurs too, it seems. Just mind mages and the fight with the chieftains was more than enough to obtain their goals. Killing the elders would cause the centaurs to cross the plains and invade Pekothas. It would be a war and only the elves' reluctance to let outsiders cross their land would delay the invasion.

This way, they did things according to some twisted version of our traditions. They defeated the chieftains, so they could annex anyone they wanted to their "herd". They killed nobody so there was no grudge from the tribes. The stampede must've been caused by some threat or another. I didn't care to find out why those centaurs decided to exercise the better part of valor [1].

My mother was on one of those ships. My sibling-to-be too. Of the adult females, they took only the pregnant ones.

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After getting them some food and water, we sat to talk. My first question was obvious. The answer, devastating.

"The trial winners don't have [Emergency Activation]," the elders explained to me. "You had some messages from the System, didn't you?" I nodded. "Then some of your Status was already prepared beforehand. You just can't alter it."

I shook my head. I would discard everything I gained at the trial, the titles, the Perks, and boons, to have the System right now. I would be raining boulders on those ships and blowing the mages by burning their own MP.

"What about Exp? Do I get deferred Exp for things I killed after winning the trial?" I asked.

"No."

I slumped down.

I tried to activate [Administrator Hotline]. It didn't work. Nenandil was sleeping until then, too. Marlowe was stuck in my item box and even if he was out, he'd have only a meager amount of MP to work with. I had few choices. Walking to Pekothas would take literally years. Worse, I would be easy prey for the roving bands of savage people out there. Waiting here would take even MORE time, and I was still technically exiled. Without a herd to back me up, any centaur warrior could attempt to claim me.

I should've let the humans catch me.

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The elders didn't let me go. I wasn't in the mood to fight them. instead, they insisted I should stay and learn. Learn more about the centaur culture, learn more about our ways and customs. The most vocal supporter of the "stay, Snowdrop" camp was a priest of Zacheia, Goddess of Love and Arts. I approached him after another lecture.

"Does your Goddess have any word for me?" I respectfully asked. "Any advice?"

My relationship with Zacheia was a neutral one, if not positive. I knew she liked I'd saved works of art that otherwise would've vanished to the sands of time, but she also resented my reluctance to embrace my female side and breed.

"What is your wish, reincarnator?" The centaur priest asked. "My lady is inclined to help you, but you must state what you truly want."

Flustered, I replied with a shout, "I need System access. My Status."

"is that what you really want?" He went with the trap question.

"No. I want my clan back. And the other centaurs the humans took. If I get my Status sheet, I can do it."

He sucked in a deep breath and snorted, just like a horse. "That path will lead to the destruction of an empire. You'll go and trample over them. The Lady of Love doesn't believe it is time for Pekothas to disappear."

I stretched my arms, "I'm open to suggestions."

"The tale of love between you and the cat-kin Queen is very well-liked by my Lady. She grants you one boon. She'll teach me how to put you inside one of these ships so you may share the fate of your herd. Or you can stay here and learn the secrets of the Centaur. Both paths are filled with danger but the Lady, as a gesture of goodwill, suggests you stay."

"What will you choose?"

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[1] Discretion is the better part of valor - From Oxford languages - proverb: "it is better to avoid a dangerous situation than to confront it".