Prologue

Where am I? What is this place? All I can tell is this is a dungeon of some kind. From my peripheral vision there aren't any doors or windows.

The last thing I remember is... that's right, my parents! Where are they? I try to look around, but my body isn't reacting to me.

I feel strange metal like chains surrounding my body, not allowing me to move my arms or legs, hands or feet, and even my head.

I can't sense anything at all, no people or even inanis. I attempt to break free from the chains binding with my full strength, but to no avail.

I attempt to use molecular magic but the chains embraced me harder and absorbed it. I'm powerless. I can't do anything.

My other senses come back to me and my eyes instantly widened and my stomach turned. A putrid stench filled my nose. It had a familiar feeling to it, as though I've smelt it before.

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I recognise that voice. I gritted my teeth together and felt my face heat up.

""APEP! Where are my parents!? What did you do to them!?"

"There is no need to worry, you puny mortal. They are right here."

I was about to open my mouth when suddenly the chair I sat on spun around 180 degrees and I was facing my parents and tears came to my eyes.

"Mom! Dad! It's me, Tenko, your son!"

They don't respond, but I can hear them breathing. Are they unconscious? I look at Apep and ask,

"Bastard, what did you do to them?"

"Nothing. They are under a spell, forcing them to sleep. Awaken"

I take my eyes off of him and look forwards at my parents, and notice their heads have gone up a little.

A groaning noise emits from my father however, no real words come out. It seems there is a rag of some sort in his mouth, and in mother's too.

They look at me with glistening eyes, most likely from seeing their son after 18 years.

I face the cruel goddess and see a disgusting smile emerging when suddenly, out of nowhere, she pulls out a blade, but it's not sharp, in fact it's rather blunt.

She puts her hands on their heads and smiles.

"I've just accelerated their perception ten thousandfold. They now experience everything ten thousand times faster than usual.

Using my skill, somnificus, I've put them under a state similar to being on amphetamine."

My heart skipped a beat. My chest hurt. I knew what this horrible monster was about to do.

"Now, I believe it's time for me to begin."

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"I can't? Well watch."

She sat on a stool in front of my father and slowly began cutting his fingers off, moving onto his elbows and then cutting his arm off completely.

She moved onto his toes, his knees, and then his entire legs. Once she finished with my father, she began on my mother, slowly cutting all limbs, showing no mercy, like a cold-blooded killer.

Tears streaked my face, and I writhed in rage, not being able to control myself.

"You... you'll pay. You mark my words, I'll make you PAY!"

Chapter 001- Tenko Osiris!

"WAAAAAAH!"

My bed is drenched in sweat and I'm breathing rapidly. It was just a nightmare. I'm fine. I sit up look at where I was sleeping.

It's completely wet, as if someone threw a water bucket at me. I slap my cheeks and stand up. It's my first day of school and I need to get ready.

I use a water spell, called servetur, to clean my body. I then thoroughly brush my teeth and get ready to cook breakfast. I still have food leftover from yesterday's hunting. Boar meat and eggs.

I also have broccoli that I bought last week when I went inside the city. The pit I use for cooking is ready. It's simply a small hole filled with leaves and dry wood, covered by stones.

You place the meat on the stones, which are heated by the fire underneath, which cooks the meat. A simple contraption, yet very effective.

Eggs can be easily made using a pot, water and fire, broccoli can be eaten raw or cooked, but this time I'll choose raw, since I can't waste any time.

After only 5 minutes, everything was prepared with the help of magic.

"Thank you for the food!"

I quickly finish up, and go back inside, put my plate down, and ran straight back outside. It was time to leave for my first day of school, and I can't be late.

I ran at a nice pace, so I wouldn't get tired, and finally arrived. An hour early, so now I need to do something to pass the time.

Maybe I should look around the city, look for a place with a bunch of tasty food. That sounds nice, but I don't know where I can find anything.

Every time I came here, it was just on the outskirt market, I never ventured any deeper than that.

The only reason I'm coming here to school is because a random man came to my house, and told me that by law I have to go to school.

There's a bunch of different types, like for merchants, knights, mages, and other stuff. He then gave me a list of all the schools with empty boxes next to each one.

He told me to tick whichever school I want, and so I chose Soldier School.

Instead of being taught things for a certain subject, like magic, you get taught magic, sword fighting, martial arts, anything to do with fighting really.

Of course, choosing a school which teaches you purely magic, will teach you more about it than at Soldier School, but instead you get a more balanced education.

This is quite clearly better, because you won't always be in a situation where you can use magic.

An anti-magic barrier will literally take away your ability to use magic, and if you are facing an opponent who uses only swords, you'll have to fight someone that's right up in your face.

You won't stand a chance. Of course, you probably won't be fighting alone, as sages usually fight with knights, usually assisting them with healing or strength boosting spells.

Even though I won't be specialised in one certain thing, that doesn't mean I can't be as good as the people who only train in that aspect.

I'm sure I can be just as good, if not better, as long as I don't slack off. The mysterious stranger then told me he will tell me if I am accepted or not.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

No tests, no nothing, so this allows you to enter without you knowing anything, which is pretty weird.

Anyways, a week later he comes back, tells me I've been accepted, throws over a map at me, and just disappears.

It was very creepy and yet, I felt completely at ease. He calmed my soul, something you would expect from only your own mother.

I decided to ask a stranger where I could find a place with delicious food, since they'll most likely know.

Weirdly enough, there are only 3 people in this area, 2 men and a girl. The men are on each side, left and right, eyeing her up.

This is already suspicious, but I sense danger from the two of them.

"She's gonna be a worth a pretty penny, won't she 46?"

"Heh, you're right 45, I know of a man who doesn't want adults as slaves, but little girls. He will buy her instantly."

What? Slaves? They find people and then kidnap them, to sell them off into slavery. And that man they spoke of. Sick freak. These 2 refer to themselves as 45 & 46.

They must be codenames for something, and I doubt these are the only two doing this. If I had to guess, there's an entire organisation behind this.

They rushed at her out of nowhere, but her face remained blank, unmoved by what's happening. Poor girl, she must be so terrified that she's frozen.

"OI!"

I rush towards them but then they stopped out of nowhere.

"Oh? I'll be worth a pretty penny? Me? A slave? Who decided that? I know who you are, and I know there's a bounty on your heads. You'll be a slave for the nation, in prison."

I was in utter shock, for obvious reasons. These two adult men were completely still, from running to an instant pause, so it wasn't out of their own volition, so it was this girl's doing.

Her blank expression wasn't because she was frozen stiff, it was because she was as calm as the eye of a storm.

She roundhouse kicked 46 and then wrapped the bottom of her legs around his neck, bringing him down and smashing his face on the ground. He was knocked out instantly.

She then turned around and jumped towards 45, landed on her hands and done a spinning kick, hitting his jaw, and sending him flying at least 5 meters.

He began to stand up and staggered towards the girl, who looked at him in disgust and, to be honest, I felt the same way.

"You should've stayed down."

She rushed at him at a breakneck speed and kicked him right in-between the legs. I felt his pain, yet couldn't sympathise for him.

A small squeak escaped his mouth before he passed out too. She then looked at me and started walking this way. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared. I mean, those two literally stood no chance.

"I like you, stepping in straight away to try and save me. You're cute"

"Oh, haha, I thought you were defenceless. Anyway, you said they have a bounty? Who are these people?"

"Are you new to this city? There's an organisation which kidnaps people, then sells them off as slaves. The police or the army aren't able to crack down on them though...

These two are well-known members, because they make the most appearances, but nobody could ever catch them. But now I've caught them."

We both look back and something's wrong. They've disappeared. They're gone.

"Damnit! I should've known they'd escape. Slithery creeps!"

"I don't get it. How come you beat them? Yet even the police or army can't crack down on them. Wait, are you the strongest in the world?"

"Strongest? Of course not, don't be silly."

She said, while giggling.

"Their leader is simply a genius, so it's impossible to catch him and what he's doing."

"I see. Well umm, like you said, I'm new here, and I've come here because I'm starting school. But I've come an hour too early. Could you take me to a restaurant that has delicious food?"

"Already dropped that? You sure are easy going. I can show you around a little."

"Really? Thank you!"

I smiled, and she smiled back at me. She began walking, and I followed her, and we eventually arrived in front of a fancy looking place. She goes inside and I slowly follow. I was getting pretty nervous. I wouldn't be able to afford this type of thing. Who does she think I am?

"Come on, stop spacing out."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a table, we sat down across from each other and she stared into my eyes, but then I looked down at the menu.

"I-I can't afford this."

"I know, I mean, look at your clothes. They're all torn over."

She giggled, but it was true. I was dirt poor. The only money I got was when I would do quests, like killing weaker monsters, but I wasn't an adventurer, so not a lot of money was made.

"Pick anything you like. I'll pay for you, then we'll go get you new clothes."

"Are you sure? This food costs a lot, and then you'll pay for even new clothes!"

"I'm sure, I'm sure."

"Well, if you say so. Thank you."

I look back at the menu and see black ribbon steak. I've heard all about it, supposedly it can heal most wounds, and will make you full for an entire week.

You won't have to eat for the next week. It's amazing. And the image next to the description looked amazing.

"Have you chosen yet?"

She was still smiling while looking at me, and I felt my palms get sweaty.

"Oh, um, yeah, can I have this?"

"Black ribbon steak? Of course you can. Waiter! We're ready to order!"

"Hello madame, what will you be having?"

"We'll both take a black ribbon steak, and water, please."

"Of course, your food will be brought to you soon."

And then he left, taking a few more orders before going into the chef's kitchen.

I look at the girl said in front of me and realise that I don't even know her name, or anything else about her. Well, at least I know that she's rich, since she's paying for this, and then clothes too.

"Wha-"

"Whats your name?"

"I was about to ask that.. anyways my name's Tenko. What about you?"

"Tenko.. what a pretty name. I'm Kamima. Heir to the Paane family."

"The what family?"

"You don't know us? Well that's a first. The Paane family. My father is a Duke, younger brother of the Queen."

"What!? A Duke? That means you're also part of the Royal Family! No wonder you can pay for all of this. Also, how did them two guys you beat up not recognise you?"

"I dunno. Guess they're just dumb."

I chuckled at that, but I thought royals spoke more posh, funny how not everything people tell you is the truth. The same waiter then came with our food and told us to enjoy our meal.

"Thank you for the food."

We both say and start eating.

"So, Kamima, the Queen is your auntie? So you're like, super famous and rich, right?"

"Well yeah, sometimes it's a little stressing, because I've got a lot of duties, but I can manage. I'm strong after all. What about you, Tenko? Where do you come from?"

"Huh, well, a few miles away from here, I live in a little wooden cabin. It's alright, but if it rains, it will get extremely cold, even if I put loads of wood in the fire."

"Miles away; must take a long time to get here. It doesn't rain often though, does it? So this doesn't happen often, right?"

"It took me like an hour and a half to get here. And yeah, it rarely happens, but if it does, I just use magic to warm myself up."

"Magic? You must be gifted, since you can use fire and not burn yourself with it."

"Can't everyone do that?"

"Nope, you need a certain level of skill to manipulate your magic so you don't affect yourself."

While I'm more than 3 quarters finished, Kamima was struggling to eat it at all.

"You sure have a big appetite. I can barely eat this. Do you want mine?"

"uh, yes please."

She mumbled something under her breath and smiled.

"Here you go. I'm not sure where you're fitting it though."

"Haha, I just like eating. Thank you."

I start on Kamimas steak, since I just finished mine.

"So, what did you come here for, Tenko? Just some food?"

"Of course not! I came here because I'm starting school."

"School? Me too! You're probably going to a different one than me, since I'm like a year older than you, or at least it looks that way."

I was already halfway through the steak when my hunger ceased to exist.

"I-Im not hungry anymore, it just stopped."

"The steak's effect has took place then. Mine was a long time ago. So what will we do with the rest of this?"

"Let's give it to a homeless man! Then he will be fine for an entire week!"

"What a lovely idea, let's do it! Excuse me, waiter!"

"Yes, madam?"

"We would like to pay now, thank you."

"That will be 8 gold coins."

I watch as Kamima pulls out a pouch filled with gold coins. I've never seen so much money in my life, it was shocking.

"Here's 8, and one for you, a tip. Also, please pay condolences to the chef."

"Thank you, Lady Kamima. I will be sure to pass on your message."

She turned to me and must've seen how shocked I was.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I've just never seen so much money before."

"Well that would make sense. Let's go get you some clothes."

She grabbed my hand and started to run, so I followed her. After not even two minutes, we arrived at a big store, and we walked inside.

"Ok, go in the changing room, and I will pass you clothes to try on. Then come out and show me.

"Bu-"

"go."

I wanted to say something but decided against it.

I walked into one of the rooms and just waited for a moment before I heard footsteps outside. An arm holding something came through the curtains and then Kamima spoke.

"Here, try it on."

"But isn't this a dress?"

"It looks like one, but it's for boys too."

"Well, if you say so."

I hesitantly take off my clothes and put on the dress that is apparently also for boys. I then step out and get greeted with a red Kamima.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?"

"Everything's okay. I'm fine."

She turned around and mumbled something to herself quietly before turning around and saying,

"Ok, let's try on something serious. I just wanted to see what you'd look like in a dress. And you look adorable. Ill go grab you something now."

So she tricked me, I should've known. I sigh and just take off the dress and sit down. Five minutes later Kamima comes back.

"This won't be another dress right?"

"Of course not, here, look."

She passed me a white turtle neck shirt, a black overcoat with fur at the collar, navy blue sweatpants and black boots.

I try them all on and look in the mirror. I look great, at least that's what I think. I go out to get Kamima's opinion.

"So, what do you think?"

"Wow. You look amazing!"

"Right? Are you sure I can have this?"

"Of course you can. Here, 15 gold coins. That should leave you with some change too. Keep it. I have to run now, because my school opens very soon. Nice meeting you Tenko. Maybe we will meet again, bye!"

"Thank you so much, bye!"

And then she was gone. I walked over to the counter in order to pay for the clothes, where I was told it will cost 12 gold. That means I will have 3 gold coins left, which is pretty amazing.

Before leaving, however, I ask someone for the time.

8:20- 10 minutes before school starts. I make a beeline for school, knowing the opening ceremony hall doors will be closed the moment 8:30 arrives.

I run as fast as possible, and thanks to how fast I am, I was there in only 2 minutes. I was wheezing outside the doors, regaining my breath, and then I went in and sat down on the closest seat to the doors.

I look to my left and recognise the person sat next to me.

"Tenko?"

"Kamima? What are you doing here?"