Gaz was lying on the floor, unconscious after a failed escape attempt that ended in fainting. None of those present in the room had any idea what might have caused his strange behavior.

Elrianthe looked at the lying man, and after a moment turned to Alison.

“Did we use a good poison?” She asked with uncertainty.

“Yes, ma'am,” replied Alison.

“Hmm,” mused Elrianthe, crouching beside Gaz to look more closely at his finger, where the sting was located.

The finger was still moist, and there were no traces of blood around the cut.

'Hmm. He must have wiped his finger or... licked it? That would explain why it's moist. There are traces of poison on the hand, but the finger itself remains clean...' thought Elrianthe.

< Research >

[ Gaz Prum Level 9 ]

[ Class: Warrior ]

[ Health Points: 478/490 ]

[ Magic Points: 50/50 ]

[ Status: unconscious, under the influence of a drug ]

After analyzing Gaz's stats, she appreciated the advantage her strategy with poison brought her. Although she couldn't see his abilities, the sheer amount of HP gave her goosebumps.

'He has more health than Taygeer and Matt combined... No wonder no one has been able to take away his leadership,' she thought.

His status suggested that he was allegedly under the influence of a drug. This seemed odd since she didn't recall the poison she and Alison had created having such properties.

'Maybe when he licked his finger...'

< Research >

[ Vial of poison ]

[ The vial contains a concentrated poison created from the green dwarf dugong. Once it enters the bloodstream, it causes dizziness, sluggishness, and balance problems. ]

When she used the skill on the poison vial again, she saw nothing unusual.

[ The < Scholar > skill has reached level 2. The experience points you gain has been increased by an additional 10%. The sub-skills now show additional information. ]

'Just in time. Maybe I'll see more now?” she thought, reviewing the message. Ever since she returned from the cave, she had been using the skill on everything she encountered, so the increase in level was no surprise to her.

< Research >

[ Poison Vial ]

[ Rank: C ]

[ Additional effect: When ingested orally, it can cause severe hallucinations and lead to unconsciousness. ]

[ Creator: Alison Roseberg ]

“So Gaz was high? Hahahaha,” she began, laughing like a hysterical lunatic.

The next day...

Gaz woke up on the floor of the main hall, in just his pants. He was lying tied up and had not yet fully recovered. His attention was drawn to a lively conversation.

Elrinathe, along with Alison and Taygeer, were sitting at a table. They were in a good mood and ate their meal in a friendly atmosphere, while the others stood by and served them.

“Oi, what are you guys doing?” shouted Gaz in their direction.

Everyone turned toward him.

“I should be the one to ask you this. You're lying high in my room as if you were at home. You broke a bottle of good alcohol with which I was supposed to celebrate recent successes, and now you're interrupting our meal. Have you lost your mind?” asked Elrianthe provocatively.

“What the fuck are you... What actually happened here? Why are you sitting at the table with the rest of the slaves... Hey, you guys! What the fuck are you guys doing?” he called out in the direction of his associates, but no one answered him.

“Isn't it obvious? I have taken charge. You've been reduced to the role of a mere servant, Gaz,” replied Elrianthe.

“You overestimate your abilities, elf. When I get out of here...”

Elrianthe started laughing and got up from the table.

“I'm overestimating? Hahaha. I beg you. Who overdid the drugs yesterday and flew drippy down the hallway? You had quite a trip, huh?” she mocked, approaching slowly.

“What did you do to me? What was that?” asked Gaz nervously.

“Oh. Do you want some more? Sure! Jim...”

Carl and Jim approached the former leader. Carl grabbed him by the jaw and opened his mouth so Jim could pour in the liquid from the vial.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Ugh... Wait... Aaa... No...” Gaz tried to defend himself but to no avail.

“Have a wonderful time boss. We'll see how long you last,” Elrianthe said goodbye, winking at him.

In Gaz's vision, Elrianthe took the form of a terrifying black demon, causing him to faint. He was carried into the dungeons and locked in a cell.

“Your prettiness!” Exclaimed Duncan, running out of the corridor.

“Will you ever stop calling me that?” Shouted an enraged Elrianthe.

“Please forgive me, but I found something important,” he said, holding a document in his hand.

“What is it?”

“A bill of sale.”

“Whose?” asked Elrianthe, but Duncan merely handed her the document.

Preliminary deed of sale of a slave

The parties signed in this deed agree to sell the slave listed below within a week. The final decision will be made by the buyer, and the slave cannot be sold to another buyer during this time.

Purchaser: Marquis Sigismund Beg

Slave: Elrianthe

Price: 500 gold coins

Signatures:

Gaz Prum, the Beg family's butler Garret Beg

A disgusted expression appeared on Elrianthe's face when she noticed her name, but she couldn't understand the rest of the text.

'Didn't this elf learn to read in this language? Since I can talk, I should be able to read too...' she thought, feeling her irritation growing.

“Who is it about?” asked Mitta.

Elrianthe handed him the paper and sat down at the table. Mitta read the document and froze.

“Does it concern...” Alison began.

“It is about me” interjected Elrianthe immediately.

“Then we have a problem,” stated Mitta.

“Continue,” said Elrianthe.

“Such agreements are usually made when you want to reserve an acquisition, but you can't finalize the purchase right away. The contract bears the signatures of Gaz and the butler, which means that the buyer himself was not present when the contract was drawn up. And this man...” explained Mitta.

Elrianthe nodded, signaling him to go on.

“The Marquis of Beg is quite famous in our circles... He is disgustingly rich and influential. And extremely despicable... He treats everyone like vermin and has a weakness for women of rare races. Few of them... survive with him for more than a few weeks. If they signed such a contract, it means that he is determined to buy, but could not appear in person. We have no room to maneuver...” he added.

There was a grave silence in the room as those present realized what this meant.

'Can't I just run away? That's what I wanted to do anyway,' Elrianthe thought.

“We should kill Gaz and throw him to the monsters to eat!” Said Alison furiously.

“Haha. Relax, I don't think...” laughed Elrianthe.

“We need to hide Ms. Elrianthe in the forest,” added Duncan, interjecting her words. “In these mountains, we will be able to survive long enough until they withdraw the search letters.”

“Search letters?”

“A slave has no right to make any decisions. Slave traders and owners have full power over slaves and can even kill them with impunity. If one escapes, he is treated as a criminal. Running away is certain death if you get caught,” Taygeer said.

“There's sure to be some...” began Elrianthe, when suddenly Matt interjected with his idea.

“Why don't we just kill the Marquis? He's a jerk anyway, so we'll do people a favor,” suggested Matt. “We'll poison him the next time he shows up.”

“Are you crazy, Matt? Do you think he won't have bodyguards with him? He put up 500 gold coins with a light hand! His protection is probably tighter than in the emperor's court!” appalled Duncan.

'I wonder how much these gold coins are worth in terms of Polish zlotys,' wondered Elrianthe.

“And what, should we just hand Ms. Elrianthe over to him?” reflected Matt.

“500 gold coins...” mumbled Mitta on the side. “You can live on such a sum for at least 15 years...”

“Enough!” shouted Elrianthe at last. “I will decide for myself what we will do about it. Whatever we want to achieve, we must become stronger. Starting today, we will start a long hunt. Prepare yourselves accordingly. Alison...”

“Yes, madam?”

“We need to test a few things together,” said Elrianthe, making Alison turn momentarily all red.

'Does she always blush when I speak to her?” wondered Elrianthe, noticing the redness on Alison's face.

Then she remembered what had happened the previous evening in her room and turned red as a tomato herself.

Around noon, they went hunting. Elrianthe, using her new skill, helped Alison create some concoctions that would give them an advantage in battle.

“Here!” cried Duncan, pointing to a group of bears nearby.

“Okay, let's go,” said Elrianthe.

They were again hunting in an area inhabited by bears. The experience gained from them allowed her to gain rank after killing just ten.

[ Promoted to level 7 ] [ 7/6400 xp ]

[ Received +10 HP and +20 PM ]

'Just that much?' she thought, dismissing the message with disappointment that she received nothing more. 'It may soon become increasingly difficult to raise levels... Although it's good that < Scholar > is granting me additional experience. I'm also not getting any new tasks...'

[ Task list ]

[ Reach level 10: 7/10 ]

[ Free yourself from slave status ]

'This one will not be a quick task.'

“Silence. Hide,” Duncan said in a muffled voice, noticing three figures nearby.

The group hid in the tall bushes and looked out for the mysterious figures. They were about two meters tall and physically resembled humans. Their green skin and muscular physiques caused concern. Their faces were reminiscent of Elrianthe, a race often seen in fantasy games and movies. Their protruding fangs and elongated ears gave them a menacing appearance that inspired fear and uncertainty in the minds of weaker people. However, neglected weapons and shabby clothing gave Elrianthe hope.

“Are they orcs?” She asked.

“Yes,” Duncan replied.

“Can we come closer?” She asked.

The distance prevented her from studying their stats and deciding whether to attack or whether it was better to retreat.

“Shh! They're coming toward us,” whispered Mitta.

< Research >

[ Oglub Level 9 ]

[ Race: Orc ]

[ Olaugh Level 8 ]

[ Race: Orc ]

[ Status: Looking for clues as to who killed the Bear King ]

[ Slog Level 9 ]

[ Race: Orc ]

'The King of Bears? What the hell is that? Hmm. They don't have a great advantage in terms of levels. We should be able to handle it,' thought Elrianthe and reached into her bag.

She pulled out a green vial of poison - an improved version of the specific she used to neutralize Gaz. Once the liquid enters the blood, it should cause chaos in the victim's nervous system, effectively depriving her of the ability to defend herself for at least a dozen seconds. At least in theory, since she hasn't yet had a chance to test the effects on a live target.

The orcs heard something suspicious and began to approach the extremely loud rustling bushes, which were moving even though there was no wind.