I took a bite out of the rubbery steak that was served. With the horrible taste it had left in my mouth, I grabbed the glass of wine. As I was about to drink it, I heard a whip.

I looked at the source of the sound and saw a noble whipping his slave. The slave had seemingly dropped a pile of wood while lifting it....not that it mattered. I continued drinking my wine without a care in the world. Getting stuck in human matters was the last thing I wanted.

I heard a voice from the same location. Presumably the slaves, "Stop! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please!"

Wait a minute. I had heard this voice somewhere... 

As I heard the sound of the whip again, it struck my mind. My eyes enlarged. I crushed the glass and released the remainder of my mana in the surroundings. With that, an aura of darkness surrounded me. Everyone stopped in fear. I got up from my chair and slowly walked up to the noble.

The only sound that could be heard was that of my footsteps.

click

clack

click 

clack

click

The noble was shivering in fear. 

He stuttered, "S...S..Somebody h..h..he..lp.."

Somehow he mustered enough courage to raise a whip to my face. I caught the whip before it landed. Anger was no longer enough to cover what this noble had done. 

I choked him with his own whip and dragged him across the floor. With the handle of the whip in my hand, I crushed his ribs as he was squirming for breath. I tied the handle over a horizontal pole that was used as a signboard. The noble was trying to untie the whip on his neck as he was about to faint. 

After countless efforts, the noble managed to free himself. He gasped as he was free. Meanwhile, during this entire time I was observing him. After this incident he tried to heal himself with healing magic. But before he could, I grabbed him by his head and lifted him up in the air. I slowly began crushing his skull as he screamed with the last of his breath. 

No one stepped forward to defend him. With the eyes of the public I could tell he was a good-for-nothing noble. A noble, only in name. I looked into the noble's eyes and smiled. Tears were rolling down his face. Before he stopped moving due to the pain, I crushed his skull. Blood splattered across my face.

I laughed, "Ha...ha.....ha... ha.. haa..........."

Killing this noble revived my thrist for blood. The vigour I had lost sitting behind a table returned. Killing this human reminded me what it was like to be a demon.  

I grabbed the man's body and put it on a table. With the strength of my hands, I tore his body into two halves. While holding the upper half of the man high in the air, I said to the chef, "I'll have this man's ribs grilled with a hint of lemon."

In fear, the chef did exactly as I had said and started cooking. I looked at the slave on the floor, the father of the child I had taught. 

I spoke with my heavy demeanour, "Stand."

The man stood. 

I continued, "Why are you here? Why as a slave?"

The man responded, "Deus somehow became great at magic. I wanted to put him in a magic academy, but I didn't have enough money. So, I decided to sell myself...as a slave."

I could understand his pain as a father. I put my hand on his shoulder and spoke, "Don't worry. From today onwards, I'll pay for your child's education. And as for you, I'll hire you as my servant."

Stolen story; please report.

The man was delighted to hear this. Not only had I given his son a scholarship, but I also gave him a job. With teary eyes the man said, 

"Thank you for all you have done...thank you."

I replied, "There's no need for formalities. You helped me once, and now, in return, I helped you."

After eating the dead man's ribs, I ordered my servant to stay at his home. Soon after, I left the restaurant and walked back to the cheap motel. I cleaned my face with a bucket of water, and rested for a while. 

----------------------------------------

When I woke up, I found myself chained to the corners of a room. My hands were wide apart and I was apparently kneeling on the floor. The room was made out of stone with a dull lighting. I was inside a prison cell. My upper clothing was removed. Scars ranged across the upper half of my body. 

A man was standing in front of me, presumably waiting for me to wake up. Looking at his clothing, he looked like a noble. 

As I looked at him, he spoke, "You nuisance! Do you know how much time I had spent raising that bastard! Who's going to give all that time back, huh? You?"

I could tell by a glance, that he was the father of the noble I had killed. Hearing his words made me realise that human tyranny oppressed public opinion. With such lousy rulers, no wonder humans were weak. They were divided from within.

He continued, "I've captured you in metal bracers. However, these bracelets aren't normal, they're made of antimatter, which corrodes mana. Watch, as your incapability becomes your doom."

The noble picked up the spear.

Tired of listening to a long narrative, I spoke, "Did you honestly think, that a man who killed your son with sheer strength, would be limited to mana?"

 In a moments time, I broke through the chains, grabbed the noble's spear and pierced his skull from his chin. I then broke through the prison bars and entered a hall of sorts. 

While walking through the hall I noticed that multiple people were present in cells just like mine. However, I couldn't sense any life force in them. I advanced across the hall in the hope of finding an exit, but instead I found the presence of another being. 

Within one of the cells, a girl, that looked as young as my son, was chained down. Her eyes had lost hope, and her clothes were torn. I could tell, she was broken from within.

I broke through the prison bars and freed her from the chains. Yet, she didn't move. Looking at her condition, i decided to leave her be. If she wished to live on, it would solely be her choice. I could show her the way no further. 

I exited the prison cell, and continued searching for an exit. 

----------------------------------------

Minutes later, I found another prison bar guarding the hall. As I was beginning to break through, two humans covered in a full body armour saw me. They were standing on the other side of the bars with spears in their hands. Somehow, I couldn't detect their life force. 

For some reason, they didn't attack me as I was breaking the bars. 

However, as soon as I passed through, both of them simultaneously started attacking me with their swords. While they were cutting through my flesh, I bashed their heads together and nearly flattened them. They fell down like puppets, imitating each other. 

The crushed helmet fell of their faces. It was then, that I had realised that they were skeletons, a part of an undead tribe. However, none of this made sense. The undead never served humans. In fact, even the undead's with lesser intelligence attacked humans. 

The presence of these undead made it clear that a necromancer was nearby. 

After going through all these thoughts, I analysed the room. I was no longer in a prison. The room was rather royal...

As I walked through the endless amount of rooms and corridors, I realised that I was in the royal palace. 

An hour later, I found an exit. As I opened the door, darkness spread across. It was late in the night. I walked out, and continued walking until I reached the motel. While walking, I constantly used my mana to heal my wounds.

After reaching the motel, I hesitated and decided to stay elsewhere. I walked for a few more minutes and reached the first hotel I had visited. Adam was standing at a counter with a neutral expression on his face. I walked up to Adam and spoke, 

"Adam. I wish to buy a single bedroom for a term of 3 months. What would be the cost?"

Adam replied, "Sir, those many days would ideally take 135,000 numers, however, since you are willing to make a large purchase, under the rules of the Magna hotel, we will lower the price to a 100,000."

"Good. I'll pay you the amount later."

"Alright sir. I don't like saying this to an aged man such as yourself, but if you fail to pay the amount at the end of this term, you will be evicted and sent to prison."

The aura around Adam changed. I could feel a dark shadow lingering around me. The aura was dark enough to be equivalent to demons, yet at the same time, I could tell he was a human.

I complied, "I understand."

"Then allow me to show you your new room."

Adam brought me to my new chambers and explained the significance of each and every detail of the room. The walls were painted in gold with the tiles made of polished marble. A lamp was present at each corner of the lavish bed made from cotton. There were two windows at the side of the bed with curtains covering them. At the centre of the ceiling, there was a magic stone that facilitated the functioning of all of the instruments present. This was unlike the cheap motel, where mana had to be diffused into the instruments to make them function. *

Once Adam left, I locked the door with a chant to prevent any further incidents as before, from happening. I took a bath in a bathtub and slept in the comfortable bed. 

Another day had ended. However, tomorrow, was going to be the day I claimed another throne; as that of a baron.