I’m screwed.

Seriously, no matter how I tried to find an opening for an escape, I found none. They completely surrounded me with their hungry gaze.

Remind me again why I’m here?

Oh yeah, it’s ‘To LivE a HapPy sEConD LiFe’_-

Guess the gods and goddess has a different way of interpreting the word ‘Happy’ :)

I silently cursed my own mouth from blabbering something that shouldn’t be said. Why did I shout out my family name all of the sudden?! Did my brain also get disoriented into a three year old brain too?!

If it was, then, I’m really screwed.

Still hanging in the big guy’s hand, I can see Deyan’s, the scary looking man, face lit up. “Hell yeah. Those azure eyes and unique silver-blue hair, he is a Fontessle, alright. Now that I think about it, there is a quest on finding a missing son of the Fontessle family being hung in every adventurer guild for a while now, right? Gernad, you saw it. How much is the reward for sending him back?”

Huh? So I was right! My family- I mean, the original owner of this body’s family is really searching for him. For me. A little too excited, I turned my attention to the beastmen with cat-like ears and white fluffy tail who was called Gernad.

He pondered a bit before answering. “It’s around five hundred gold coins, if I remember it correctly.”

Wait, what? 500 gold coins?!

“Holy sh*t. That’s a hell lots of money just for a little brat.” The other beastmen – this time with brown bear ears– seem just as surprised as I am.

Even if I came from another world, I know the currency used in this world. Just a single gold coin is enough to make you live leisurely for a whole year. That’s an easy money of 500 years worth of living!

Just who the hell is my family?! How could they easily give away that much money?!

No, wait. Isn’t this good for me?

With that much money as a reward, even if they are criminals, they would definitely send me back home for the rewards, right?

Right??

Deyans looked very pleased to hear that. He didn’t seem to be surprised though. “It’s the forntessle family we are talking about, after all.” He mumbled with a grin.

See? He must be tempted by the rewards too.

My heart was thumping loudly in my chest. I might finally be free from this damn forest.

But before my hope can build up a bit more, it crashes in an instant when I hear the big guy who grabbed me asked, “So, what are we gonna do to him? send him back to his family?”

Wait, why are you still asking the obvious question?? Isn’t it clear already? Send me back!

The beastmen named Gernad and the bear-like beastmen exchange stares while Deyans stayed silent as he, once again, sticked his scary looking face close to mine. Ugh, what are you even taking your time to make the decision for? It's 500 gold coins! It’s enough to make you filthy rich for the rest of your life without even having to lift a finger!

I’m starting to lose confidence here...

But I guess I’m asking for too much. Either that, or I’m just really unlucky even in my second life. Because the next thing I knew is that the man who’s staring at me gave me a really big and creepy smile, like the one that the clown from a movie called 1T has back in my previous life. Whenever that smile appears, prepare yourself because the worst case scenario will definitely happen.

“If they are willing to give that much money for this brat, wouldn’t they give us more if we keep this little brat as a hostage? After all, they wouldn’t want their beloved son to be injured, am I right?”

This is exactly what I’m talking about...

Guess I’m still screwed then :)

Hooray, what a great way to start your life in another world: Being a hostage for blackmailing.

I’m not even surprised anymore. It has only been three days and I have only been faced by problems so far. Don’t forget the fact that I’m still three.

“Well, I’m fine with that but can we handle the Fontessle family? They are not one to mess around with. Any wrong move and we’re dead before we know it.”

For once, I really wanna thank the bear-like beastmen. Even though he is still one of the criminals, I respect him for saying that. I don’t really know who my family is and how powerful they are but don’t you dare mess with my family! Just send me back already!

But Deyans seem to have another idea which obviously dropped my confidence once again. “Heh, they are no match for the boss. Did you forget how many times we manage to escape right in front of their nose? Just trust me, Tugher. Grab the rope from the bag. We’re already running way behind schedule. We must move immediately or the boss will be mad.”

This man sure has the talent to destroy a kid’s hope...

The beastmen called Tugher started to walk towards a nearby bag and pulled out a rope from it. He still looked pretty hesitant though. “Are you sure about this? The Fontessle family is famous for their strong bloodline and ability in magic, right? What if this kid already has strong magic? It will be a bigger problem if he ended up escaping and reported us.”

Almost everyone axcept him laugh from his words, clearly looking at him as if he is stupid or something.

“Bah! What can a three year old boy do, anyway? No matter how strong the fontessle family is, he is still just an undeveloped, spoiled, and weak little brat who knows nothing about the world. He can’t even do anything while Fotan grabbed him on his back like that.”

“You’re worrying way too much, Tugher. Are you actually scared of being beaten by a kid?” said Gernad with an annoying smile.

Tugher face instantly turned bright red. “Of course not! I just think it will be way easier if we just hand him over. The rewards are already plenty enough for all of us and we can avoid more conflict with the Fontessle family.”

Sir Tugher, are you really a criminal? I really wanna thank him so much right now just for taking my side. Such a kind criminal...

You heard that? Just listen to him already!

“Yeah whatever. You’re just scared of the fontessle. Don’t forget that we are from the mighty shadow organization. They can’t do anything as long as we have the boss.” Said Deyans with a smug face that I really wanna punch so bad. Too bad I can’t reach him right now.

“By the way, He’s too tiny for a three year old, isn’t it? So short and small, makes me really wanted to take a bite.” Gernad exclaimed as his sharp teeth showed up, like a wolf who just found a perfect meal. No. Not ‘like’ a wolf. He IS a wolf.

Deyans gave him a warning gaze, stating that they shouldn’t harm their hostage and that they have to start moving right away. But I knew he wasn’t serious about it when he threw a smirk at Gernad the werewolf.

“Aw, I was ready to enjoy myself just now. Besides, a spoiled brat like him needs to learn the harsh way of life as soon as possible or else he would just end up as a spoiled trash. No harm in giving him some lessons. ” He continued, slightly disappointed as he looked down on me with his starving gaze, clearly viewing me as nothing more than a food and money.

I, on the other hand, was facing down to the ground. All this time, I’m used to people looking down at me. For 16 years, even my own parents abandoned me. I’m used to people stepping all over me, being at the bottom of society, beaten up again and again because I’m too weak to fight for myself, valued as nothing but a trash, a good for nothing, a toy to play with. It happened so often to the point where I don’t even feel anything about it anymore.

And yet, I wonder why I’m so angry by their words now.....

It’s disgusting hearing those words from someone who used others as their personal thing as they pleased, kidnaping people and selling them as slaves, blackmailing others just because they thought they are invincible. Aren’t they the one who’s worse than trash?

I’m done being looked down on. I’m done being viewed as nothing but trash. I won’t let that happen. Not anymore!

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Before I realized it, a huge amount of wind suddenly covered my whole body. It started to swirl around me, forming a giant barrier. “What the fu-“ was the last thing the big guy said before my wind magic exploded and blasted everyone around me to the side.

[Wind Blast]

A certain amount of mana was forcefully drained from inside my body. It cost me more mana than it normally would because it's a chantless magic. But it’s better than using my undeveloped vocal skill as a kid and ended up failing to chant it.

The wind magic also made me float for a split of seconds and made me able to land perfectly on my feet. I can see the bewildered expression in their faces. Especially Deyans who got flung the furthest and hit a tree right on his back. He has this pained look in his face on top of being surprised.

How was that, huh? Still think of me as just a spoiled kid who knows nothing about the way of the world?

But I might be celebrating too early because the wolf beastmen, Gernad, suddenly charged at me at full speed with his sharp claws coming out of his hands. “You little punk!” Shout him angrily.

I quickly stopped my little celebration, just realized that I let my guard down and haven’t planned for my next attack yet.

Ugh, I should’ve thought about it more before deciding to attack them.

And he’s way too fast! I’m done for.

I unconsciously put my two hands in front of my chest as a form of defense. I did this a lot in my previous life whenever someone picked on me. But I knew it’s useless at this point.

While I was really sure I f*cked up this time, the ground suddenly shook and just a few inches away before reaching me, a big and tall wall submerged from the ground and hit him right in his stomach, flung him to the back with a few broken ribs.

I stood there, really confused by what just happened.

“What the f*ck was that?! A Chantless Magic?! I knew we should be cautious of him! I knew it!” Tugher was looking at me full of disbelief.

Trust me, I wanted to ask the same question too. This time, even I was surprised by it. I definitely didn’t chant any spell back then. I simply just want to defend myself from the attack. So what was that?!

“Don’t just stand there doing nothing, you moron! Catch him!” I saw Deyans shout at him while getting back up, pulling out a big sword from the nearby bag that got flung together with him.

At first, Tugher looked a bit hesitant. But he quickly dismissed it and turned his hands into big bear hands. His figure got bigger and half of his body was covered by thick brown furs. He really looked like a bear now and it’s twice as big as his original form. His beady eyes locked at me before starting to charge at me. Every step he took made the ground shake, making it really hard for me to stand still.

I took back my words on thanking him and saying he is a kind criminal. He definitely looked more dangerous than any other things I have faced so far.

But thankfully, I’m more prepared than before. I can feel the familiar feelings of mana being sucked out of my body as I spread it across the ground. In a split of second, sharp poles started to stick out of the path where the bear beastmen took, blocking his way towards me as well as trying to attack him.

[Earth Poles]

It was an intermediate magic spell according to the guide book. But Surprisingly, he managed to dodge it all and even destroyed some of it as he continued to cut the distance between us.

That’s a beastmen for you.

Their strengths are even greater than that mentioned in the book.

That is bad news for me.

I used the wind magic as soon as possible to push me off the ground and landed, a bit unstable, on a branch of a tree a distance away from him.

But before I could even find a firm footing to stand on, an arrow that was imbued with wind magic missed just a milimeter away from my left ears, almost giving me a heart attack. I didn’t even see it coming.

“Ugh, I missed.”

Not far from below me, Fotan, the big guy, placed another arrow on his bow and shot it toward me again in a spur of second after his last attack. My movement was already limited because I was standing on a branch of a tree and now I have to deal with arrows aiming right at me.

Just how am I supposed to dodge that?!

At my effort to avoid the arrow flying towards me at tremendous speed, just like how I feared, I slipped in the end.

I tried to form another wind magic to save me from the fall but no spell came to mind. Yet, once again, without realizing it, the ground suddenly moved up, shortening the height and lessening the damage of my fall.

I was sure I didn’t manage to chant anything that time. Am I actually capable of forming magic without chanting it? But the guide book clearly stated that a chant is needed to form magic. So, what was that?

I snapped out of my thoughts when another arrow was shot towards me again. This time, it managed to graze my left cheek. I can feel a burning sensation from it and instantly know that it’s bleeding.

Ugh, there is no time to worry about that.

The bear beastmen already charged towards me yet again along with Deyans who swung his big swords as he ran towards me. The big guy, Fotan, has readied his forth arrow on his bow. Even the werewolf somehow has recovered, pulling out his claws and cutting off our distance in full speed.

“Don’t let him get away! Crippled him as much as you can but don’t kill him!”

No matter how good I am with magic, a three year old boy against two grown-up mens and two beastmens is still too much.

The only option I have is to try to escape and survive.

I don’t really know that much magic that can be useful to save me at this moment. I could try to run away with wind magic but they would catch up to me in no time given the speed of their movement and I would be out of mana before I could make them lose track of me.

I’m gonna have to stop them first.

But with what?

My thoughts arrived at the weird magic I used unconsciously without incantation before. I may not chant them. But I definitely think- or hope - for something to happen.

I’m not sure if this will work but it’s worth a shot, right?

I gather up mana from inside me and focus on thinking, or wishing, to stop my opponent.

As if responding to my thoughts, the ground suddenly shook, almost like an earthquake, and without a single warning, the ground where they were standing collapsed, making them fall into a big deep pit before they could reach me.

This is a bit unexpected.

While I did think of stopping them as I let out my mana, I didn’t know what kind of magic would be formed. To think that it will make a pitfall right below where they stand....

“YOU LITTLE BRAT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YER DOING?!”

I can hear Deyans shouting from the bottom of the pit along with a banging noise. Bet he’s mad right now.

Slowly, I tried to find my way down the earth cliff? Or whatever that was formed by my magic to save me from the fall, and carefully approached the side of the pit to take a better look at them.

It was deeper than I thought. The wall of the pit was really smooth, making it hard to try to climb out of it. At the bottom of the pit, the 4 people who tried to attack me just now were still bewildered, clearly didn’t expect that they would be trapped inside a pit or even be overpowered by a kid.

“I knew we should be cautious about him! I knew it!”Once again, Tugher the bear beastmen cursed out.

Well, It’s too late for that isn’t it?

“Ugh, the hell is wrong with this kid’s magic? Is a three year old these days normally has this much power?!”

Fotan shook his head as he answered. “I’m a mage too but I can’t predict what kind of magic he used. That kid, he’s not normal.”

While the three were still in shock, Deyans finally noticed my appearance at the top side of the pit. “Fck that! I’m gonna kill that brat! You just wait there and see what I would do to you when I got out of here, you heard that punk?! I’m gonna kill you!!” Deyans started to swing his big swords against the wall of the pit, which turned out to be sturdier than it looked because the sword didn’t even leave a scratch on it.

He completely lost his cool_-

Well, it’s not like he is cool to begin with.

“OY! YOU DARE TO IGNORED ME, YOU PUNK?! I’M GONNA FRIGGING TEAR YOU APART, YA HEAR ME?! NO MERCY FOR YOU!!”

Uh, sure, try it. Even if you make that already scary face even scarier now and let out a huge amount of bloodlust like that, your action didn’t seem very convincing, you know?

While you tried to make your way out of that deep pit, which I doubt will happen in the foreseeable future, I’m gonna be here raiding your stuff for the time being if you don’t mind. I feel bad for stealing. But stealing for a stealer is fine, right? I’m gonna give it back to the owner if I found them later on.

As I expected, they have tons of valuable items in their bags. There are weapons that look really well made and have a faint trace of magic inside it. It must be an enchanted weapon. One of these can sell up to 50 silver coins which is half the value of one gold coin. A single silver coin is the same as 500 copper coins. If you’re wondering how much that really worth, 100 copper coins can be used to rent a room in the inn for a night plus three meals a day.

Other than weapons, I also found a lot of jewelry with magic stone as the core. Magic stone is really useful to improve one’s magic. If someone can only use 2 basic elements, with the help of magic stone, they could use different elements depending on what kind of magic stone they use. There are also magic stones that can make the movement of its user faster or magic stone that can repel a certain amount of spell. It’s a really useful item that can only be found around the Dwarves kingdom’s territory. That’s also why the price of it is really high.

I tried to rummage through the other bags, putting almost everything that seemed useful to my inventory while ignoring the angry scream of Deyans in the background. I must admit, it’s not very pleasing. His voice is horrible.

Just when I thought there were no more things I could take anymore, a piece of old paper in the last bag caught my attention. A map of the forest!

By the look of it, I’m sure this is the map of the forest I’m currently in. I could find the river where I arrived for the first time in this world and the map even pointed out several routes that lead to a nearby town. But I still need to walk for another 500 miles before I could reach it. That would be a pain in the ass, literally...

But at least I have a clear direction of where I’m heading rather instead of walking around aimlessly like before.

I just realized that Deyans suddenly became quiet. I walked near the pit and bent down to look at them. Deyans’ laying down at the bottom, looking completely out of breath.

Aw, you’re done already? Didn’t you say you will get out of there and kill me? Must be tough being defeated by a three year old, huh? That’s what you get for looking down at me.

Well, not that I care.

“Hey! I’m dwone hew. Be a gwod bwoy and wait there untwil someone finds you, ok? I’m off, Bye bye!” I said, putting the most innocent face I can make before waving at them. I can see the werewolf’s face turned pale, Fotan the big guy looked at me in shock, while Tugher was sitting down on the side, seriously regretting his action.

Poor thing, if you didn’t attack me just now, I might actually let you go

Or not.

And, of course, Deyans anger rises up again. He started to curse out the most inappropriate words he can find in his head as he swung his big sword against the wall of the pit again even after knowing it’s useless. His pride must’ve been hurt so much right?

Ah, what a satisfying revenge. It’s obviously not a good thing to do but taking revenge once in a while is not that bad.

Well, time to go to my next destination. To the Houtad Town!