On my way back from the high school entrance ceremony, I got blown into a different world by a truck that ignored a red light which then crashed into a pedestrian crossing.
Before I knew it, I found myself standing alone in an unfamiliar city. The layout of the streets looked like something I'd seen in fantasy games and anime.
There were guys carrying swords on their backs, clearly violating weapon laws, and women with robes and staffs, confidently saying things like, "I can use magic, so what?" They were just casually walking around the town as if it were totally normal. I was surprised, and even more so when I realized I could understand the language they were speaking, which was something I've definitely not heard of before.
As I looked very lost and confused, a friendly-looking guy approached me and I ended up following him almost instinctively. It turned out his job was to find work for people in need.
Getting work required some paperwork, and after signing a few documents, I somehow ended up becoming a slave.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
In this world, monsters were a real thing. Many of these monsters can be used as materials for medicines and magical tools. Gwen, the man who bought me, made a living by hunting such monsters.
Shortly after being bought, Gwen took me to an area known as the "Tabal Forest," where monsters lived. I later learned that this forest wasn't officially designated as an area for adventurers according to the Adventurer's Guild. Aside from Gwen and the slaves he purchased, there was no one else here.
Our target was a monster called the "Black Tiger." It looked like a tiger that had been enlarged by about two times, but it lacked the charm that felines usually had. Its blood-red eyes were filled with nothing but a murderous intent. It had excellent stealth abilities, and apparently, its liver was a high-quality material for making potions.
Gwen had purchased several cheap slaves, ordering them to spread out around him as scouts and decoys to prevent ambushes. Neither I nor my fellow slaves had any experience with scouting. It was only when we were attacked that we fulfilled our roles as scouts.
Gwen's strength was undeniable. With a single strike, he can cleave the Black Tiger that us slaves couldn't even hurt, in two. But whether Gwen was stronger than the Black Tiger, and whether we would survive, were two different things.
Gwen didn't even do anything even if he heard the slaves' screams. He would just approach cautiously and then launch an attack in favorable situations, so in most cases, we would die even before the black tiger did.
Still, it seemed like we were providing enough benefit, so I was curious about how much we had been sold for.
Even though there were supposedly laws guaranteeing basic human rights for slaves, Gwen treated us like disposable items. He was definitely breaking the law.
I was probably the lowest of the low, an illegal slave.
One of the reasons that helped me survive until now was because of a strange power that seemed to have been given to me during the transfer. I focused my consciousness on a place deep inside, at the center of my body.
Status
Name: Tachibana Haruki
Job: Slave
Level: 15
Skill Points: 0
Acquired Skills
- Body Strengthening Lvl. 15
Skills that Can Be Acquired
- Swordsmanship
- Spear Mastery
- Shield Mastery
- Archery
- Body Strengthening
- Black Magic
- Holy Magic
- Summoning Magic
- Alchemy
- Blacksmith
etc…
I tried confirming it with my fellow slaves, but it seemed like I was the only one who knew what levels and skills are.
Just doing something like scouting was enough to increase my level. Unlike defeating monsters, it seemed leveling up occurred through practice. Being a literal life-risking scout must have given me quite some experience points. Damn it.
With each level-up, my basic attributes like physical abilities and recovery power increased, and my skill points increased by 1. By allocating points, I could acquire or strengthen any skill I wanted.
I contemplated which skills to acquire and settled on "Body Strengthening." Enhancing my senses linked to scouting and improving physical abilities to dodge the Black Tiger's attacks seemed the best choice for surviving this situation.
Through the combined effect of improved basic attributes due to leveling up and the Body Strengthening skill, I now possessed physical capabilities surpassing even top-class athletes.
I also noticed afterward that my recovery ability had increased. For minor injuries, I could fully recover in less than an hour.
Even so, it was impossible to defeat the Black Tiger, and escaping was equally implausible. At best, I could dodge its attacks only for a short while. Facing Gwen made the situation even more impossible.
Although there might have been a slight chance of winning if a bit more time had passed, it didn't seem likely to happen in time.
After a while, Gwen rallied our exhausted group, urging us to give it our all.
"Get your spirits up! Just 2 more days, then we withdraw! After that, I'll set you free!"
The group cheered at Gwen's words, but my face turned pale. Gwen was breaking the law. If we returned to town, Gwen would undoubtedly get caught. The idea of him setting us free was impossible. He'd probably silence us tomorrow night or just before we left the forest.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
The day came to an end. Somehow, we managed to survive one more day. But today, two people died.
Compared to the first day, it was much better. Some men who defied Gwen were defeated, and several slaves who tried to escape were killed as a warning. Over 10 people had died.
Now, only 8 of us remained, myself included. If we did nothing, we'd undoubtedly be wiped out in 2 days. Tired and drained, I pondered how we could survive.
We had two choices.
One was to escape while Gwen was sleeping. Most of the surrounding monsters were diurnal. If I could escape from Gwen, I might be able to do something after that.
The timing of Gwen discovering my escape would play a significant role, but with my current physical abilities, I had a good shot at success. At least, a better chance than the other option.
The other option was to kill Gwen. He was much stronger than me. There was no chance of winning unless I caught him off guard. Even when he's sleeping, let alone when he's taking a short break, he uses disposable magic tools to set up a simple barrier that senses the movements around him. I can kill him if I aim for the times when he lets down his guard, but it's a very risky bet.
I closed my eyes and thought of the faces of my remaining companions. If I chose to escape, they would undoubtedly die. We had survived together for the past 10 days.
With my current physical abilities, I wouldn't be able to evade the Black Tiger's attack. The only way to survive its assault was for all of us to rush to the person being attacked, swing our weapons, and shout to intimidate it. The flimsy weapons we were given for self-defense couldn't even scratch it, but if multiple people intimidated it, the Black Tiger would halt its movements and cautiously observe us.
Whether the enemy's attack or Gwen's surprise attack would come first was a toss-up. Some people might die, and rescue might not arrive in time. Nonetheless, we were going through with this plan. We chose to live as humans. Rather than abandoning our companions and surviving alone, we chose to live and die together for each other.
Abandoning them would feel like a part of me was dying. That's how I felt.
"Should I kill him?"
My decision was made. Despite discussing choices, I had no real doubts. Perhaps I just needed to organize my thoughts.
I went to sleep to regain my strength. Even though tomorrow might be my end, I found it oddly comforting that I could sleep more soundly than usual.
