"What?" I asked, confused by the offer.

"You can't be serious, Remus!" Chris said. "She has no magical class."

"It's not a problem. All classes use magic in some way," magus opposed.

Lucy didn't like his offer either. "Isn't the disciple someone who also represents the magus? I don't want to offend you in any way Kirra… but why her? As Chris said, she has no classes related to magic, almost no levels, and experience."

Well, a lot of people could be offended by what she said. She just described me as a good-for-nothing who has shitty classes and still at a low level. But Lucy was right, and I knew I would not be able to change my classes soon. I had to admit the truth to myself, even though it was something I didn't want to hear.

"Well, I can teach her from the beginning. Reshape her at my discretion," Remus said, defending himself.

I didn't like his description of the disciple very much.

Chris sighed. "In the time I've known you, you've never had a disciple."

"Ha," Remus shouted. "Lies. What about that boy...what was his name?"

"Tony? He was in your tower for three days before he quit, and all you taught him was how to wipe the dust from your books," Chris said.

"Then there was Ginerva. I taught her a few things," Remus said, smiling to himself.

"All you did was have sex with her," Chris said. "What did you teach her besides how to please you?"

"Fine, but she had a really nice ass," magus muttered.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Then why do you want Kirra as a disciple? She had enough hardship already, and she doesn't need someone to give her false hope, just to end up on the street as a beggar in a few days."

Oh, Lucy. She was worried about me. I was really starting to like her. Maybe we could be friends?

"Why do you care? It's my business, and the decision is up to her," he said, pointing at me.

I smiled. "Actually, I'm curious too, Magus."

Obviously, he didn't want to tell us the real reason, and from what I've heard so far, he was a lousy teacher and wasn't exactly a social person.

Remus sighed. "You are a unique human, Kirra. The combination of your classes is fascinating, and I would like to study their interconnection. Of course, also find out how to get rid of that collar. Plus, you're a human from another world."

"So, I'd be like a lab mouse?" I asked.

All three looked at me, confused. They had no idea what I was talking about.

"In my world, these are the animals that are most often experimented on. Mice and rats. Wait, do you have mice here? If they're as big as the rats in the woods, I don't want to meet them. The mice I know are probably this big," I showed them the size with my hands.

Lucy shook her head. "No, the mice are here, but they're as big as you say. But why would humans experiment on these disgusting creatures?"

"Well, I'm not a geneticist, so I won't tell you. Anyway, do you want to experiment on me?" I asked.

"I can't rule it out," Remus admitted. "You are an otherworlder, the first I met. It's an incredible opportunity for me to find out if and how you're different from us."

"So you don't want her as a disciple," Chris said, then looked at me. "Kirra, as Vice-Guild Leader in Mitta and a person who knows Remus, I do not recommend it. I can't forbid you. As Remus said, this is a decision between you two, but I do not recommend it."

"I know it's very tempting to be a magus's disciple, but you shouldn't make hasty decisions. It's always better to think it over," Lucy warned me.

I was surprised at how much they were both against me becoming his disciple. What was so terrible about Remus that they didn't like it? Except for the fact that he wanted me to become his lab rat. He was eccentric, antisocial, with a great interest in science, that is, what was the equivalent of science here.

Maybe the magician wasn't the flashy profession I thought it was. The truth was, I had no idea about this world, and I definitely didn't want to sign up for something I might regret later.

"I do not want to disappoint you, Remus, but I must reject your offer. I'm not from this world. The only thing I have seen from this world so far is this forest. I need to learn more before I make any bigger decisions. Of course, I want to get rid of that collar, and I'll be thrilled if you help me with that," I said.

Remus nodded. "I see, if you change your mind - he'll tell you where to find me," he pointed at Chris. "But at the moment, I can't do more with your collar. It will have to stay where it is."

"Thank you for your effort," I thanked him.

The magus said nothing more. The barrier around us disappeared, he sat back by the fire, and I was still [Slave] with a collar around my neck and a huge hunger. Nothing has changed.

"What now?" I asked the two standing next to me.

"Well, we'll have to wait until we get back to Mitta. Remus isn't the only one who knows how to get rid of that collar," Chris said.

"When are we going to the city?" I asked.

"We leave tomorrow at dawn. This was the last slave camp."

"Were there more?"

Chris nodded. "Three, this one was the biggest. If you'll excuse me, ladies, I have another job to do."

When the knight in shining armor left us, I stayed there alone with Lucy.

"I thought they were friends. Remus and Chris," I said. "Why was Chris against me becoming his disciple? Why you?"

Lucy smiled. "They're friends, they've known each other for a long time, but understanding Remus is sometimes challenging. He is a brilliant mage. Otherwise, he would not have become a magus. But sometimes, he sees things differently than others, like now. You have a combination of classes and objects that fascinated him. Plus, you're otherworlder. He would love to analyze how it all relates, but he forgets that you are also human. When something interests him, everything else goes aside."

"Sounds like you know each other well, too?" I asked.

Lucy frowned. "Unfortunately."

"Should I be afraid he'll start telling who I am to everyone?" I wondered.

"No," the healer shook her head. "Certainly not. He wants to study you, not someone else. Definitely not his rivals."

I swallowed dry. "More mages?"

"Maguses," Lucy corrected me. "It's a title a mage earns after reaching the level of two hundred in his three classes, all of them magical in nature. They are very proud of it, and they don't like it when they're just called mages."

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"Oh, so something like a doctor," I nodded.

Lucy looked at me. "What is a doctor?"

"It's a title from my world. Forget it. Now I'm anxious that I'll end up in someone's lab or tower against my will," I said. The thought gave me the shivers.

"It could happen," Lucy nodded.

"What," I shouted. "Seriously? Isn't there someone like… I don't know… guards who should prevent something like this."

"Sure, there are guards in the cities. You shouldn't be worried about your safety there, but outside the cities, you must be careful," the healer told me.

I smiled. "So, all I have to do is stay in the city."

If the countryside or the wilderness was the same as this forest, I had no plans to return. I grew up in the city, I lived in it all my life, and even though I liked hiking in nature and especially in the mountains, I don't think living the rest of my life in the city should be a problem. Of course, if I can't find my way back home, Earth.

But I wasn't so certain I wanted to go back there. Sure, I had family and friends there that I missed so much that only thinking about them was breaking my heart. On the other hand, not much was waiting for me there. I didn't have a boyfriend, a job as a corporate slave, where I was definitely replaced by now and a rented apartment, from which I will be kicked out without paying rent. I didn't see much chance that my life on Earth could change, but here it was possible.

"If you want, you can stay in the city. But finding a job will be difficult with your classes," Lucy said.

"Why?" I asked, even though I knew why.

"Do you have to ask? You are [Slave], free but [Slave]. It will be confusing for quite a few people. Who would keep such a class voluntarily? I don't know exactly what your class [Bearer] is, and I don't want to ask you about it. But you can't change it, just like [Fighter]. That class in itself gives you a chance to work as a city guard, mercenary, or adventurer. But most of them have other classes that complement the first one." Lucy explained.

"I see," I sighed, looking at the ground. "I can't be a baker with this combination, and I won't be a good guard, a soldier, or a mercenary. What is an adventurer?"

"That's me," Lucy said, arms outstretched, pointing around us. "...and them."

I understood. "Ah, so Guild..."

"Grrrrr" before I could finish my question, I was interrupted by the growl of a wild beast.

Being alone in the middle of the forest, I would look for a source of danger in my surroundings. But now I was in the middle of a camp full of armed people. Apparently, adventurers who were used to fighting such monsters. And most of all, I knew that this monster, which was growling so loudly and trying to get attention, was my starving stomach.

I blushed, but Lucy just smiled. "Come on, the dining tent is this way. I promised you food an hour ago."

"Um-hmm," I nodded.

I followed her silently through the campsite to the massive tent among the trees. It wasn't so much a tent as a tarp stretched overhead between the trees, covering the tables and chairs beneath it from the rain and the falling mess of trees. Lucy showed me where and how to ask for food. It didn't take long for me to sit at a table with a pile of food in front of me.

"Eat slowly Kirra. I'll go see if anyone was looking for me. I'm not the only healer on the expedition, but…" she looked directly at me.

"I see. I'm not your only patient. Go," I told her. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. If you need anything, you know where to find me," Lucy said, leaving me alone with the food.

Lucy had her tent, and I knew where it was, but I wasn't so certain that she would be there. If she cared for all her patients like me, she could be anywhere in the camp. But that was a concern I could leave for later. Now I had a more important problem in front of me.

I knew the stories of people from concentration camps during World War II. Starving people who could be killed by the rapid consumption of large amounts of food. I wasn't precisely a concentration camp case, but my diet on berries wasn't very nutritious. My body had been on the verge of starvation for several days, and now I didn't want to risk causing myself unnecessary trouble. Therefore, despite all my instincts and my body's effort to eat like an animal, I ate a portion in front of me very slowly.

I don't know what kind of creature I was eating, but it tasted great. Even though the food was by no means exceptional, I enjoyed it immensely. The berry diet really muddled with my taste buds. After all, I also liked the almost moldy bread from the slavers.

Local cuisine standards were unknown to me, but the food I had just eaten was something I could prepare myself. That meant it was not too complicated. I wasn't a cook, but I managed to cook a good meal, even though it wasn't often. I lived alone, and cooking for one was not very economical. Mostly, I turned to a ready-to-cook meal rather than a proper meal.

That's why I really enjoyed the food I was given.

But now the question has arisen. What's next? What could I do here? I went through the whole camp for a start, of which I didn't feel very well. In my opinion, the people in the camp paid too much attention to me. It was probably because of how I was dressed and the collar around my neck. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it right now.

Eventually, I returned to the tent where I woke up. Why? I ate, I ate really well, and even though I was in another world, my body still worked the same way as on Earth. After a good lunch, tiredness appeared. My body shifted all my energy to digest food, which meant I could barely keep my eyes open.

This was a big problem that I fought on Earth with strong coffee, and sometimes it wasn't enough. That's why I was standing in front of the tent now, where I knew I could sleep.

"Why didn't they take off your slave collar?" The guard asked me when she saw me coming.

I smiled at her. "They tried, but there were some complications with it. I have to wait"

"Really? And what are you doing here?" She asked.

I yawned aloud, hardly keeping the fatigue under control. "I need to take a nap."

"I see that, but why here?" She wondered. "There is no futon or mattress. You will have to lie down on the ground."

"There are blankets to cover and because I didn't know where else to go," I said. "Can I?"

"Sure, there's another rescued inside, so…" she tilted her head toward the tent.

I nodded. "I see. I'll be quiet."

As I promised, I carefully climbed into the tent, took a free blanket, found the softest and straightest place on the ground, lay down, covered myself, and slept like wood in a minute.

My second awakening was no better than the first, except that I knew where I was and where I wasn't. Ok, it was better than the first, I felt rested and not hungry, which was a really nice change.

It took awhile for my brain to start working fully again, but I realized I was alone in the tent when it started functioning. My assumption that I had slept for more than twenty minutes was confirmed by the fact that it was already dark outside. My afternoon nap stretched a little, and it took me all afternoon. A sleepless night awaited me now.

I was exposed to such a risk every time I went to take a nap after lunch. I don't mean that I always slept all afternoon, but that I couldn't sleep at night after. Twenty minutes of afternoon sleep turned into hours of rolling in bed without falling asleep in the evening. That's why I tried to avoid such napes, but it didn't always work out.

My body needed this nap.

I had no idea exactly when it got dark or how long it was until dawn. But one thing was certain. Most of the people in the camp were asleep. There was not even a guard in front of the tent. Only here and there did I see some movement between the trees and tents lit by torchlight. Undoubtedly they were the night guards.

My options were quite limited. I could have tried to lie down and fall asleep again, but the chances of success were, in my opinion, zero. That's why I found a place in the camp, where there were not many tents, and the treetops offered a sufficient view of the night sky.

The only such place was the main area with a big campfire.

The fire was extinguished, no one was in the open, and there was peace and quiet all around. I lay down on the ground with my hands behind my head and stared at the night sky. It was the first time I could look at the stars of Elaaden without having to worry about my life. I didn't have to look over my shoulder to see if something was behind me or to watch every shadow in the forest, hoping a tiger wouldn't jump out of it.

The night sky of Elaaden was beautiful.

It had more stars, more nebulas, and more colors than I've ever seen. The strange blue moon was larger than the one that orbited the Earth. I knew that the sky on Earth was beautiful, too, but the light smog in the cities was too great for me to appreciate it more often.

I managed to completely get rid of any thoughts and just enjoy what was above me. Thanks to that, the morning came earlier than I expected. Probably because there was not that much left until dawn, and I slept longer in the afternoon than I expected.

As the light grew, so did the number of moving people in the camp, and thus I lost my Zen peace.

The whole camp came to life quickly, and the adventurers promptly packed it. However, I managed to have breakfast without any problems and go to the toilet in time before it was disassembled. The problem was, I had no idea what to do next.

Eventually, I found myself in the middle of a caravan of adventurers who packed up their camp and headed back to Mitta. What kind of city was it? I had no idea. I could have asked them, but I didn't want to. For some reason, everyone avoided me. Not that they explicitly evaded me, but they ignored me, avoiding my gaze.

It was weird.

We were on the road for an hour when I noticed that Lucy was coming to me.

"Hello, Kirra," said the incoming woman.

"Hi, Lucy. Nice to see you," I told her the truth.

"How do you feel? I was told that you fell asleep after lunch yesterday?" she asked.

I nodded. "A bit. Anyway, I feel great, except that my feet hurt, but I'm used to it."

Lucy looked at my bare feet, then at me and again at my feet. Her eyes went wide.

"Have you been barefoot all this time?" She asked in astonishment.