Cord was left ‘slightly’ taken aback. Perhaps that god of fate had given him a hand, after all.

Considering the screen moved with his eye sight and he could visibly watch it phase through the

nearby sleeping slaves without waking them up, he could, at the very least, confirm that he was the

only one that could see it. What’s more, he was able to discover how to make the screen disappear

and appear simply by focusing on the thought of it. Such a screen could prove useful, he thought. His

idea of the screen’s usefulness was confirmed by the information it provided. Even the very first thing

provided him with insight he didn’t have before, his own surname.

So he was Cordell Boras? He could only recall Cordell as his true name instead of ‘Gile’ but Boras

didn’t stir in him. It must have been wiped far better than the rest of his memory or perhaps his little

‘reincarnation’ only granted him access to his first true name. Regardless, he’d have to find out who

this ‘Boras’ family were, eventually, and why, as their child, he was in a slave camp. It didn’t matter

too much, however. It was true he had one or two good parents in his past lives but the vast majority

abandoned or isolated him from them. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were just a couple of beggars

or even dead. Moving on, he focused on something interesting. He had a level?

Looking around, he couldn’t see anyone else’s level but if he went off the old idea of a video game,

didn’t this mean that he could grow like a video game character would? He was just a kid but would it

be possible for him to grow stronger through the same logic? In other words, if he killed a monster,

would he grow in strength? Since elves, dwarves and whatever else existed, it was safe to assume

that there must be monsters too, right? He’d hate to resort to having to kill criminals or something to

raise his level since taking a sentient life was a massive difference from killing a mindless beast.

Along with his level, he could see something about power? His power was 22? Since he couldn’t see

anything more on stats, perhaps this was his overall power level? In other words, perhaps this was

either his general strength or his general attack power? Either way, he could guess that if he was 22

at this level, than surely everyone else must be far higher in number compared to a 13 year old kid.

Next came perks. There was nothing in this part of the screen but it showed a series of strange icons

with locks over them. The icons were faded beyond recognition and he could guess from the

message provided that he hadn’t unlocked any of these perks yet. He’d either have to raise his level

or meet certain requirements but if these perks could boost his strength, he’d have to put time into

figuring out how to obtain them. Next came skills. Oddly enough, there was no further information on

his skills, only the name of the skill and its level. Since he was a slave in a mining camp, his Mining Lv

3 skill made sense. Scavenger must be from how he scrounges for food around the camp, Awareness

must be from watching out for the enforcer’s sharp eyes and Pain Tolerance must be from all the

times he suffered punishment from the enforcer.

Since he had already been alive for 13 whole years, he assumed he would have more skills but

perhaps the standard was high for them. Mining for six years only brought him to Mining Lv 3, after all,

so he could only assume a skill is gained through practicing something a lot over a very long period of

time. What use was this then? If skills act as they always do, why even display them? He got the

answer to his question under the gifts that were also on the screen. Unlike the rest of the screen,

when he focused in on one of these ‘gifts’, more information about them popped up on a second

screen.

[Fate’s Memory]

‘The god of fate and fortune has blessed your mind. Recall all things lost, so you may gain anew’.

- Perks are unlocked through set circumstances

- The benefits of perks are permanent

- Skills do not degrade

- Skill growth is increased

- Skill growth has additional benefits

This first one appeared to be incredible but didn’t appear to reveal too much either. From this he could

tell that skills have a lot more to them. Perhaps the skills he gets in the future will be different from the

ones that his body had obtained up until that point? Also, raising skills awards ‘additional benefits’?

That could only mean another potential way to grow his strength, he’d have to look into it further later.

Still, the first gift created more questions about these ‘perks’. It says something about recalling what

has been lost. He wasn’t certain what that could be referring to exactly but it was also something that

would have to wait until later. He also made a small note about the most important aspect of this first

gift. ‘Skills do not degrade’, which meant that if he increased a certain skill, he’d never lose it? What a

broken system, he thought with a grin. He decided to check out the last thing on the screen, his

second gift.

[Fate’s Eye]

‘The god of fate and fortune has blessed your eyes. You have gone unseen by many above you.

Raise your dusty eyes up and see through the heavens themselves’.

- All language is understood

- The higher your level, the more you see

- The chains of the world are visible to you

- You may use the chains of the world

- You banish the chains of the world

Reading the second gift was both informative and perplexing because something wasn’t right about it.

Understanding all language would be helpful since learning the languages of this new world could be

troublesome. One of the issues he encountered with his previous haphazard reincarnations is that not

all information is sometimes transferred to him fully. From his own name to even an entire language

could sometimes be lost in the process, so learning about this was a relief. Beside the language, the

gift appeared to hint at him being able to perceive more with this gift if his level was increased. Odd.

Since he could probably see the screen in front of him with said gift, it was likely that he could see

others’ information with this gift later on.

If he could work out the power of others before fighting them, than he would know how much threat

they posed to him, which would help considering the fact that underestimating an enemy hiding their

strength is the easiest way to get yourself killed in worlds like the one he was in. The last part was

what confused him. What were the chains of the world? It said that they would be visible to him. Since

he couldn’t see anything around that resembled such a thing, he guessed that the power to see these

‘chains’ probably were circumstantial, like the perks were. What a complicated mess of abilities and

such, Cord thought. Overall, however, he was grateful to that oh so dear god of fate and fortune. He

would remember to sacrifice something to him or whatever offerings this world did to the gods later

on.

Since he learned everything he could, Cord decided it was about time to go to sleep. He lay his head

down and closed his eyes before almost immediately passing out. The reason for it was because of

fatigue. The reincarnation hadn’t drained him but it had woken up his body, which was still trying to

recover from a hard day of labour. Although he had studied everything thoroughly, he forgot to

acknowledge simply how bad of a shape he was in. Something he would be reminded of the very next

morning. Cord didn’t have any dreams as he slept that night and, when he woke up, he found himself

being woken up by the heavy and grumbled shuffling and climbing out of bed of the other slaves.

They were all muttering to themselves greetings and the like before making their way out of the tent.

He figured he should follow as he hurriedly got up and scrambled out between most of them. What he

noticed as he got up was how painful his body felt and how weak his movements were. He truly was

in a pitiful state.

Since it was early morning, it was cold but there was a lot more light, which meant Cord could better

see his surroundings. The first thing that came to mind was the cold. The bottom of their tent was

dried flattened dirt but the outside had squishier and wet dirt that your foot sunk slightly into, sending

a chill up your body. All the slaves were barefoot, so he knew he wasn’t the only one that must be

freezing from such a thing. Some of the larger men appeared to be fine but he could see a lot of the

women and smaller men shivering from the cold. Their tent was obviously not the only one as he

could see they were gathering in a very large dirty gathering spot in the middle of the camp and their

tent was among about half a dozen others behind where they gathered.

It wasn’t long before all the slaves were gathered in an informal crowd before a large wooden stage

that had clearly been assembled in front of the gathering spot for them. Looking around, Cord

assumed there must be just short of 100 slaves in the camp. The vast majority of them were humans

but he could see a collection of other races as well. Since they were all supposedly waiting for

something, he tried to get a better understanding of the camp’s layout from where he was. The slaves

appeared tired and didn’t seem to care about him moving around in the crowd to get a better look at

everything. At least he didn’t have to worry about unnecessary attention, for now.

From what he could tell, the camp wasn’t in as a good a shape as he suspected it would be. The

entire camp was surrounded by a poorly made wooden palisade, meaning it was surrounded by a wall

of large wooden spikes. The camp rested against a mountain, so the only entrance he could make out

was a large wooden gate erected at the front of the camp. Next to the gate appeared to be some sort

of watchtower assembled in the same crude fashion. Opposite the slave camps was what looked like

a better set of tents, which he imagined belonged to the camp enforcer and the guards. All of that

aside, he could see a very large door at the back of the camp, which must be the mine entrance. Why

they bothered to blockade it was something he was slowly beginning to recall.

His memory reminded him of why the mine was sealed off at night. The mine wasn’t carved out by the

slaves alone. It was actually part of a very old mine that had been abandoned. The reason the

entrance was blocked was because rarely a monster would appear in the mine. So his assumption

about the existence of monsters was true. Since he had a good idea of the camp, he focused back on

the people responsible for keeping him in chains. The camp enforcer and the guards. It was good

timing, as that same enforcer stepped onto the wooden platform, gazing over the crowd with a scowl

and a look like he was staring at insects on the ground. Just seeing him made Cord’s blood boil. He

maintained a neutral face but the memories of all the times this man had caused him suffering was

filling his head just by his appearance alone.

The man in question was abnormally tall. He stood at 7ft in height and had scales instead of skin. He

was a ‘lizardman’ as he could recall other slaves saying. His face was still humanoid but he had a

short thin snout similar to that of a lizard. His scales were a dark blue and he also had a large tail that

followed by him. In terms of physical strength, he didn’t look like someone to be underestimated. Out

of just the guards, his arm and leg muscles were a cut above the rest. He was someone Cord didn’t

want to get into a fight with. He noticed that he wasn’t entirely scales, however, as parts of his skin

was just regular blue-coloured skin. His palms, for example, lacked scales as well various other small

areas. The last thing Cord put to memory was his clothing. He wore a dirty red armour of some kind. It

wasn’t a complete set, however, but something that simply covered his chest and forearms. The rest

was a simple type of brown leather-like material bound tightly to his body. At his side was a large

longsword and his other side had the strange black slate that Cord knew he used to activate their

collars to punish them.

“I’ve got two things to say to you all, today. Anybody who doesn’t do exactly as I say will have their

nails plucked out of their fingers, got that?” the enforcer growled down at all of them. Cord nodded

submissively along with the others. How humiliating. “Good. Let’s get this over with. A trader is

coming tomorrow, so I want all of you back in your tents an hour before they show up. Guts, Rince

and Hops, you three are going to help unload the fresh supplies” said the enforcer, staring straight

down at Cord. He felt like his heart may stop from that stare alone before calming himself and

nodding obediently. From what he could see by looking at the others called, Rince was a large man

with a brown ponytail and scars on his arms. Rince looked to be about in his mid-40s. The person he

called Hops, however, appeared to be that four-armed woman from his tent. She nodded as well and

he noticed that she looked more fearful than anyone else there, surprising him since she looked so

capable with a body like hers.

At first, Cord assumed immediately that this might be a chance but something didn’t feel right about

the way Hops looked fearful and Rince looked as if he was forcing a stern and uncaring expression.

Was something wrong with the trader? He couldn’t recall anything about the trader, but he felt oddly

sick for some reason. Looking back at Hops, he noticed she was staring at him before she quickly

glanced away. They must be seeing how the others react as well to being asked to help with the

supplies. Hops had long black hair like his own, so he wondered if anyone ever thought they may be

alike somehow. The enforcer continued. “Next, you’ll be tasked with getting firebrand, today. Get as

much as possible and anyone caught slacking will be whipped to an inch of his life! We’ve got to have

that stuff ready for the trader otherwise I’ll cut all of your rations in half!” shouted the enforcer.

After the enforcer finished, he told the slaves to get to work and Cord went with the slaves and a

collection of guards to the mine. He wasn’t sure what to expect but the tightness in his gut told him

that what was coming would be gruelling. He wasn’t wrong either. Firebrand turned out to be a

peculiar glowing red stone found in the deepest parts of the mine. They worked in cramped dark

tunnels and spent most of their day hammering their pickaxes into the rough dirt to work their way

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

through it or, otherwise, erect strong wooden pillars to make sure the tunnels didn’t collapse. In most

cases, this wasn’t necessary as the mine was already very large in size. It became apparent that they

really were digging through an old mine since everything was practically laid out for them already.

How odd. The mine must have been abandoned for it to be like this and yet why would someone

abandon a mine that was clearly so well-maintained before?

As he worked, he wondered about the outside world. What state was Vine’s world in and who owned

the mine he was stuck in? It only took an hour before he grew tired from mining away at the stone. It

was hard work and the guards were evenly spaced out with whips and the like, ready to whip at

anyone they found to be slacking. It was while in the mine that he discovered that the collar he wore

also glowed brightly in the dark, meaning they didn’t have to carry lights with them. The glow

appeared to only activate in the mine itself, since he didn’t see such a thing last night. Cord wasn’t

sure what he should do from here on out but noticed something peculiar happen. The guard nearby

was ignoring him? He stopped mining to catch his breath and the guard didn’t appear to snap at him

like with the others.

Looking around, it didn’t seem like anyone was watching him. The guard nearby, like most of the

guards was also human. The guards consisted of the enforcer, the human guards and then one or

two of what appeared to be dwarf guards. Races must mingle a lot more in this world than some of

the other fantasy worlds he had been through, he imagined. None of this changed the fact that he was

being ignored and he noticed that some of the other slaves were also being ignored more so than the

others. The reason for it then clicked. The guards only cared about the slaves that could produce a

good amount of ores or, in this case, firebrands. He remembered that ores are traded for food, so the

weaker slaves aren’t as prioritized as they will simple starve off if they don’t earn enough ores.

So they want to make sure the strongest slaves produce a good amount of firebrands while the other

slaves will be motivated simply by their desire not to starve to death. What a cruel system. He didn’t

have a choice but to mine, however, so he did his best to. After another two hours were over, he

could feel his arms were aching and his body was sweating. How did someone as weak as him

survive six years in this mine?! Looking through his memories, it appeared he did as little as possible

to preserve his energy but surely there was a better way to do this? As he kept working…he started to

feel something. It was a familiar feeling as he raised his pickaxe and started striking a different spot

from before.

Something in him was telling him that he was mining in the wrong place and, so, he changed position

and location. He started mining in the new spot curiously to see what he’d uncover. What was this

sudden feeling? Suddenly, he wasn’t striking once every few seconds but to a beat. He slammed his

pickaxe to a beat that he felt was hammered into his very bones. What was happening? He felt his

body lift the pickaxe and slam it down over and over again, going as if he had infinite stamina. His

breathing was controlled and every move felt like it didn’t waste energy. As he kept going, his vision

felt fuzzy. Suddenly, he was both there and somewhere else. His mind felt as if an old memory was,

suddenly, flashing in the front of his thoughts as if he just saw it for the very first time.

The dark spaces, the clanking of metal, the putrid smell of the earth, the fear of being so far from the

sun and the horrors of the darkness below. He could remember his dirt-caked skin, his glazed over

eyes, the dust in his lungs and the hardness of his heart. Every day and night felt never-ending,

always being unable to tell them apart. He remembered nothing but mining, constantly. The only thing

he ever wanted was to reach up and get to the sky above the dark caverns he found himself in. One

day, he was sure he’d reach it. For what else can a miner wish for, than to see the sun one more time

before being pulled back down into the dark depths once again and be left with nothing but the smell

of the dirt-packed tunnels and the sound of clanking metal? Cord gasped as he flashed back to

reality.

He was still mining at his insane pace, having created a large hole where he once stood and he was

still going! What was going on? Why did he feel like he was about to uncover something? That didn’t

stop him, however, as he cried out, cracking the pickaxe down with all his strength every time. As he

was furiously mining, something appeared in front of him. It was one of the screens! Above the screen

appeared a new icon of what looked like a pickaxe striking the ground.

[New Perk Unlocked: Miner’s Dream]

[Miner’s Dream]

‘You worked a life in the dark, finding the things that may be enjoyed by those basking in the light.

Reach for the stars, Miner, so you may rest among things far more glorious than those you’ve

uncovered’.

- You feel no fatigue from mining

- You can sense the nearby locations of ores

- You can sense accidents before they occur

A perk? He unlocked his first perk! The reason for it became clear to him. A long time ago, he lived

the life of a miner in a poor town. He was forced to work in the mine endlessly as he became part of

the town’s main source of income. He worked with others but they were barely keeping it afloat. If he

didn’t work, than the townspeople would suffer greatly from it. Little did he know he was being used in

that lifetime. He was worked to the bone before he realized that he was just another tool of theirs.

They didn’t need him and tricked him into a shady contract through his naïve good intentions. He had

originally only started mining to help his family but they saw him as nothing more than a tool as well,

he later found out. He was all alone. Alone in the dark and depths of a mine. He died in that mine,

hoping he’d one day get to see the sun one last time before he passed away in the dark, his dream

unfulfilled…as if it would end like that for him! He felt new motivation coursing through him as he

struck the ground.

The perk was great as he mined harder and harder, glad to feel that his energy returned with every

slam down of his pickaxe. If he suffered no fatigue from mining, didn’t that mean that he could use it

endlessly to build up other things like speed and strength? He kept going and, finally, the second

aspect of his perk kicked in. He watched as a glowing red stone appeared in the dirt where he was

mining. It was firebrand! He had found firebrand. Slowly, he stopped mining as he felt himself panting,

sweat still dripping down his body as he dug out the firebrand he had uncovered. Unlike most ores,

firebrand is pure in nature, often forming into an orb from what he could remember. Something was

strange, however. Just how big was this firebrand?!

Later that day, the slaves lined up in front of a large grey tent. It was late in the afternoon and a large

pot was bubbling over a fire. It was a messy slop of some kind that the slaves were fed. If you did a

good job, you could often be paid by having extra meat added to your slop when it was given to you.

For a slave, this was the most he could get. All the slaves were equipped with large brown bags they

had strapped to their backs when mining and they had to empty this on the table in front of the

enforcer for inspection. Cord was near the back of this line. He watched the enforcer ticking off the

materials and giving out the appropriate amounts to slaves based on their performance.

Although Cord still felt he was sadistic piece of dirt that he would kill if given the chance, he had to

admit that his dispensing of the food according to the firebrand given was fair enough, from what Cord

could see. He wasn’t sure how they’d react to his firebrand, however. After he didn’t stop mining

before, the guard noticed him but after a brief stare didn’t appear to say anything more about it. He

must have assumed that Cord lost his mind. Eventually, it was his turn to present what he got. He

could feel the enforcer staring at him as he waited for Cord to empty his bag. The other slaves had

presented 1 to 4 firebrand orbs, most of which were small or medium in size. When Cord tipped his

bag over, the enforcer and the nearby talking guards appeared stunned.

On the table rested 18 small firebrands, 5 medium firebrands and even 2 large firebrands! Cord would

have remarked on it but waited for the enforcer to speak first. The enforcer stared at the pile of

firebrand and then back at Cord, as if to see if this was some kind trick. “How did you get this many?”

asked the enforcer in a cold tone. “I must have gotten lucky” said Cord quietly. The enforcer scowled

and looked over the firebrand again. Cord could tell his mind was turning, trying to figure out how he

had achieved so many but how could a kid like him cheat? It wasn’t as if he was popular with the

other slaves and he could just ask the guard later what he saw. The enforcer groaned.

“Uhuh…luck…give the runt a helping with meat and some water” said the enforcer, waving Cord off.

While walking away, he couldn’t help but smile. His plan went better than he was expecting. After a

meal of gross but chewy slop and downing the water he so desperately wanted the entire day, he

headed back to the tent with the other slaves. Some of the slaves spoke while heading to their tent

but most of it was them muttering about him. He knew they all called him Guts for being ‘gutless’ in

front of the guards but he realized he may have shown something was different about him to them. He

remained perfectly calm while speaking directly to the enforcer and didn’t even give a proper

explanation as to how he got so much firebrand. He had unknowingly risked a serious beating for his

minor insubordination but Cord knew that it was unlikely. The enforcer seemed desperate for a large

amount of firebrand, he wouldn’t bother beating someone he assumed might be able to provide the

same amount again.

Once back in the tent, most of the slaves went straight to sleep and Cord was going to pretend to do

the same until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Hops. “You did well, today, Guts” she murmured

with a gentle but pained smile before she moved past him, laying down on her own bed. Did she just

praise him? He didn’t know how to take this but perhaps she was staring earlier because she was

watching over him? Even so, it was far too early to trust her. Once all the slaves were asleep and the

tent door was closed, he tried not to chuckle to himself. His first day had been better than he was

expecting. He looked at the messages he had gotten in the mine.

[Mining Lv 3 -> Mining Lv 4]

[Power: 22 -> 26]

It appeared that his mining like crazy on one day had enhanced his mining skill, making him better at

mining and this somehow increased his power as well? Since he mined without fatigue, it was safe to

assume that his power was increased due to his increased strength and stamina. Not only that but

being able to level up a skill that effectively six years to reach Lv 3 was insane. How could anyone

hope to stand up to someone like him should he be allowed to grow? Still, none of this mattered as

long as he was still a slave in the camp he was stuck within. His only goal, for now, was to grow

discreetly and escape. The only reason he had put on such a display earlier was so that he could get

his hands on the thing he tucked away.

After he was sure all the other slaves really were asleep, Cord pulled out the small firebrand he had

hidden away in his ragged clothing. From what he knew, this could help him in his escape. It was only

the first day but he was already conjuring up a plan of escape. To do so, he had to look at all the

relevant facts. If his memory served correctly, the guards and enforcer have been going easier on the

slaves since the start of the year. The reason for this was because they were supposedly ordered not

to lose any more slaves to serious beatings, starvation or disease. Something was going on that

meant that the camp couldn’t replenish its slaves as easily as before.

The only other really relevant piece of information was that the guards had gotten far too cosy in their

positions. Meaning they were sloppy when handling the slaves. Taking those two situations into

account, it was unlikely they’d cripple or kill him should he try to escape since he suddenly produced

more firebrand than they could want for. He was an asset and with the lack of fresh slaves, his little

display meant more watching over him in the mines but more protection in general from the same

people that pushed him around. Knowing he was not likely to be killed, now, was relieving.

His plan for the time being, was a simple one. He believed that the collars ran off of magic, which was

sustained by the magical energy known as ‘mana’. If the shackles and collars aren’t charged with

mana, they become regular chains. He assumed this to be true as every six months, the chains and

collars are removed by the guards, taken out of sight and brought back again. He knew one of the

guards must be a magic user who recharges the shackles and such to keep them from depleting.

Since he knew they had sometimes done this earlier than six months, it should be around there when

the mana in the shackles and collars deplete, naturally.

Since he had to unload the trader’s things tomorrow, he’d use the brief time after that, when no one

was watching him, to find a gap out of the camp. Even if he had to dig a hole, it would be enough. His

theory was that if magic was used to sustain the things they were using, then the shackles could

probably not paralyze him the entire night. The collars were used in the mine every night but the

shackles were almost never used and still got charged at the same time. Magic that could fully

paralyze someone must be difficult to do, which must mean it is also hard to maintain without constant

charges of mana. He knew he was being hasty but he would try to escape within one week of finding

the right place to spend the entire night paralyzed halfway out of the camp. Maybe he should find a

way to repel bugs too. Getting a fly on his face would be unbearable if he had to stare at it for a

couple hours straight.

[Name: Cordell Boras]

{Level: 1}

{Power: 22 -> 26}

[Perks]

{Miner’s Dream}

[Skills]

- Mining Lv 3 -> Mining Lv 4

- Scavenger Lv 1

- Awareness Lv 1

- Pain Tolerance Lv 1

[Gifts]

{Fate’s Memory}

{Fate’s Eye}