Gravedigger Pt.1

(A/N: Mature Warning. It only took 5 chapters, but we're finally here. This chapter is way too big, so I'm splitting it into two parts so that it doesn't feel two overwhelming. And yeah…the title says it all.)

"This boy was seen not only fighting but killing a mana beast at the age of five," Derim said, assuming my age, which was wrong. He cleared his throat and displayed a bright smile for the audience.

"Let's start the bidding for this beast of a child at 15 gold." Hand and signs raised as soon as Derim brought up the starting bid.

"20 gold!" A woman in the back row shouted.

"35 gold! A man in the same row jumped out of his seat, his hand raising at an abnormal speed, almost dropping his top hat off his head.

"35 gold, 35 gold, can I get 40 gold?" Derim asked, the energy in the room rising by the second.

Another sign raised, a light angelic voice paired with the voice. "5O gold."

I looked to my right, past Derim, I could see the two elven siblings being watched in the back right corner of the stage by one of Derim's men. His hands, one each on the siblings shoulders. Even though I was in the midst of being sold, I couldn't help but internally sigh.

***

"130 gold, can I get 130 gold?!" Derim asked the audience, to which they responded.

Two signs raised at the same time, but the man on the right spoke first. "150 gold," he said with an energetic smile.

"135 go-" another bidder's voice rose to bid, but they were cut off by the voice of an overwhelming authority. "200 GOLD!" Two voices said at the same time, I looked over towards the voices, they belonged to a man and a woman standing side by side, their faces looking rather smug. 'They must be a couple.' I thought to myself.

200 gold goince once! 200 gold going twice! 200 gold going thrice!

"..."

No one raised their signs or voices against the couple with the 200 gold bid. The smile on Derim's face grew even wider.

"And SOLD for 200 GOLD! To the lively couple over there," he said pointing at the couple. "Please follow us to the back after the end of the auction to collect and finalize your purchase." Derim said as he clapped his hands with a joyous smile.

"And though I wish we could continue this marvelous event, we have reached the end of this auction." The audience expressed their displeasure after hearing about the end of the auction.

"If you all would kindly make your way back out the way you came in, I will be with you all shortly to see you off. As for the ones who bid and are waiting to finalize their purchases, we will get to that once I see the ones that did not buy off. Numerous claps could be heard from the audience and buyers as they rose from their seats and started exiting the room in a single file line.

Derim put his hand on my shoulder and brought me over to the corner where Ezra and Evelyn had been waiting, supervised by one of the men. As we reached the corner two other men came from behind the curtains.

"Ryder," Derim pointed at the man that had his hands on the two elves, "get the items we sold and follow me, we'll bring those to the buyers. Elias, Axel, take these three to the back and prepare them for the other buyers. I'll see off the first half of our guests, then I'll come back and we'll sell these three brats off," Derim ordered, pointing at Ezra, Evelyn, and I.

"Yes sir!" The three men said in unison. The four men separated into two groups, the two who were now looking after us didn't seem to be mages, as I couldn't sense any mana at all from them. This seemed to be good fortune for us.

The two men in our group pushed us along, as we made our way to the back room. One of the two men who were taking us to the back room was the one that was taking us out of our cages earlier. Derim called him Axel, or that was the other guy, I wasn't really sure.

The noises of the guests were getting quieter and quieter by the second, I could tell they were almost all out, and that meant Derim would be out as well. And if Derim took one of his men with him, and there are two here, that means there are five of his men left, unless there are more I haven't seen.

We were now in the back room, and the noises of the guests were nonexistent. I could see the cages we had been kept in, the doors still open, just as they had been left. The two men started pushing us towards said cages.

Because we didn't have any bindings on us, for whatever reason, I could move my body and limbs freely.

It was not or never, all or nothing. For me to succeed, fear was not an option.

"Get in," one of the men said to us, pointing at the cages. Ezra and Evelyn acted immediately according to the man's order, the two stepping in their cages.

'Sharingan.'

"Hey, I'm talking to you too shit head," the man said, slightly pushing my back. But I stood firm.

"What the hell does this kid think he's doing," the other man said, "Hey kid, can you hear me? I said, "Get it the ca-"

*"Slice"*

His words stopped as his body slightly toppled off balance. "What the!" The other man shouted.

"MY-MY LEG!!"

"Where the hell did that dagger come from, and those eyes!?" the second man said, as he started pulling a knife from the strap of his belt.

*"Swoosh"*

The man swung his knife at me, I dodged left, right, dropping my upper body below his swing. I swung my dagger upwards.

*"Slice"*

My blade had caught his arm, slicing through. His blood spewed over my face. His arm and knife dropped on the floor.

*"Clank"*

The shock of the situation pushed the man off balance, landing on his ass. I walked over to his lying body. He raised head, his eyes widened with horror. 'Is this the end?' Is what he probably thought. And he was right, it was.

*"Thump"*

My blade connected with his head, piercing through his skull, and ending his life.

"One down."

I pulled my dagger from his head. Blood enveloping the blade. I spotted the deadman's knife next to his severed arm. I picked up the knife with my left hand. I twisted my head around, now looking at a different man. A man that laid forcibly on the ground. He was missing a leg, as it had just been sliced off.

"G-ge-get away from me!" The soon to be dead man yelled at me, stuttering with fear. I paid no mind to his yell and made my way to his body.

"NO NO!!!" He yelled once more.

I squatted down next to him, he tried to strike me with his right hand.

*"Thump"*

My newly acquired knife caught his right hand, pinning it to the floor. I slightly leaned my body in. "Any last words?" I asked sarcastically. I looked into his eyes, the red of my eyes reflecting off his. His expression mixed with fear and anger, like he couldn't decide on which.

"Go to hell," he said. I looked at him with a deadpan expression, but a slight smirk showed on my face.

"If by some miracle I do go to hell, make sure you save a seat for me," I shot back.

"Fuck y-," his voice died off as my knife slit his throat, "you," I said, finished his words for him.

"Two down."

'Sharingan.' I said in my head, deactivating the eyes.

'Tti-ring.'

[Level up!]

I turned around to look at the cages.

"…"

The two elves looked at me with a fear I hadn't ever seen in their eyes. 'That's to be expected.' I thought. The doors of their cages weren't closed, so they simply slowly walked out of their cages. Their gazes glued to me the whole time, but who could blame them. I could tell Ezra wanted to say something, but he just stayed quiet, bringing his sister in his arms.'This was most likely their first experience of death, and it was first hand.'

I took the knife out of the pinned hand.

'Oh yeah, I leveled up. 'Stat Window.'' I said in my head.

Name: Zefrow

Level: 4

Class: None

Title: None

HP: 415

MP: 44/46

Fatigue: 0

[Stat]

Strength: 25

Stamina: 19

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 19

Perception: 16

(Available points to distribute: 0)

[Skills]

Passive skills:

- Tenacity Lv. 1

Active skills:

- Dash Lv. 1

My stats were slightly improving. I activated my Sharingans even though I could've killed the two men without them, this was because I needed to get better with them, I had a bigger fish to fight in a little bit. The mana they consume isn't much, but since my mana pool is really small, they definitely impact my reserves. Though since the fight was only about two minutes, I only lost 2 mana from the cost of the Sharingans. My mana or 'MP' now 44/46 instead of 30/32 because of the level up. (A/N: Forgot to add in the chapters before that the sharingans take 1 mana per minute, when activated.)

If the mages sensed me using mana to power the sharingans, then they could be on their way. I moved closer to the slightly shaking elves.

"Ezra, Evelyn, please listen to me very carefully, we don't have much time.

***

(POV: Derim)

"Yes, and thank you for your purchase, please have a safe trip back," I said, shaking the buyer's hand. 'Man, these beast cores sure do bring in coins.' I thought to myself. But then it happened, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. 'What the hell was that, Mana? No one should be using mana, what's going on?' I asked myself. 'I think it came from the back room.' I made my way through the exiting buyers, trying to reach the cause of the disturbance. As I entered the auction room I felt someone coming behind me, it was Ryder.

"Sir, did you feel that mana too?" He asked.

"So it wasn't just me. Tell the others to make their way to the back room, I think something happened," I ordered.

"I already told them to follow me in case something did happen, they should be coming right behind us." Ryder replied.

"Ok good,"

"Is something wrong sir Derim," one of the buyers asked me.

"Oh no, it's nothing at all," I quickly walked back to the guests, "Everyone please wait a few minutes, I will be right with you," I said, now making my way back down to the auction room once again. As I entered the auction room, I could see Ryder and the rest of the guys waiting for me.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked them.

"We thought we should wait for you sir," Norden answered.

"Alright let's go."

"Sir, what do you think that was?" Norden asked, him being one of the three mages in the group along with Ryder and me.

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about whatever that was," I answered back, as we were reaching the curtains.

Ryder was about to go through the curtains, "Ryder, no. Jonah, go in front and check it out I said, stopping Ryder.

"Whatever you say boss."

Ryder and I let Jonah pass through, he took a small dagger from the right side of his belt, and held the dagger up with his right hand. He pushed the curtain slightly opened with his left hand, slowly peeking his body through.

*"Thump"*

His body stopped moving forward. "Hey Jonah, the fuck are you doing? Move up," Norden said.

Something started moving by his leg, it was rolling towards us. 'Is that his-'

"Is that his head!" Norden shouted, as the spheric object rolled past Jonah's body. Right after, Jonah's body slowly toppled forward further past the curtain.

"I-I think i'm gonna vomit," one of the guys said.

"Ryder, wind spell on the curtains!" I ordered, moving out of the way.

Ryder was a Light red core conjurer, so he immediately took out his wand and conjured up a wind spell directed at the curtains. The spell had enough power that it pushed both sides of the curtains to their starting points. The back room, now curtainless, had no more cover. The light from the auction room brightened the back, revealing a boy with a dagger in his hand, perched up on a stack of boxes to the left side of the room, the same boy I had just auctioned off, the one that killed that mana beast.

'I should've known.' I walked a couple steps into the room, all the guys now pulling out their knives. After making my way in the room, I spotted the motionless bodies of two men on the ground, their bodies covered in what I presumed to be blood, 'Elias and Axel huh, those two lost to this kid? Pitiful.' I thought.

(POV: Zefow)

'Another one down.' I thought to myself, 'six left.'

'Sharingan.' I said in my head, deactivating the Sharingan.

'Tti-ring.'

['Item: Eyes of Obito Uchiha' have upgraded]

['Item: Eyes of Obito Uchiha' Stage 2: 2 tomoe Sharingan has been unlocked]

['Item: Eyes of Obito Uchiha' Perception and Agility have raised to 5%]

'Eyes of Obito Uchiha.' I said in my head.

[Item: Eyes of Obito Uchiha]

Rarity: N/A

Type: Eyes

Stage: 2 tomoe Sharingan

Ability: None

Perception: +5%

Agility: +5%

During its activation, 2 Mana will be spent every minute. Amount of mana spent every minute will increase upon the stage.

The eyes of Obito Uchiha. These eyes hold the possible powers of the Sharingan and Mangekyou SHaringan. The 'Eyes of Obito Uchiha' will evolve in response to the 'Player's growth and mental state. If evolved, hidden skills belonging to the 'Eyes of Obito Uchiha' can be unlocked. The stats of the 'Eyes of Obito Uchiha' will also enhance in response to the 'Player's growth. To Activate the 'Eyes of Obito Uchiha,' say/think the word of the 'Stage,' such as 'Sharingan' or say/think of the ability you would like to use.

'Now it takes 2 Mana every minute instead of 1,' I thought to myself. The voice of Derim brought my attention back to him.

"Are you the cause of all this?" He asked, pointing at the three dead bodies.

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. But where are the other two?" He asked with a calm curious expression, as if three of his men didn't just die.

"Not here," I answered, which seemed to surprise him. A bit of malice laced in my voice.

"Is that so?" Derim held up two fingers and pointed them at the door of the back room, "Zion, Ivan, go snatch our merchandise back, they couldn't have made it far. And please use force, they must learn a lesson, just like this one," He ordered, pulling a sword out of what seemed to be his dimension ring.

The two men Derim ordered ran towards the door, starting their chase after the elves.

"Even though I wanted a hefty sum of coins for you, you're too "troublesome" to let out, let alone sell. That could bring bad business," He said, pointing his sword at me.

"Sometimes, in this line of work, you have to get rid of the merchandise." He smirked.

I jumped down from the boxes, pulling the second dagger from my inventory. Derim's crew all gasped, as well as him. I was about 50 feet away from Derim and his crew. They all had a weapon out except for one.

"Norden, Ryder," Derim called to his men.

The two who were called stepped up next to Derim. Norden, who was a mystery to me, pulled and showed his wand. 'Oh, he's the third and last mage of the group.'

Ryder was the one with no weapon out. I knew he was a mage but he didn't have a wand out like Norden. 'He must be an augmenter.' I Guessed.

And just as I thought, Ryder, soon after Norden showed his wand, augmented his body with a layer of mana. 'Earth Magic.' I thought.

Derim then augmented his body. 'Fire Magic. Shit.'

Out of nowhere, a wind spell came my way, I jumped to the left of it, swiftly dodging the spell. I looked at the man called Norden. 'Wind Magic.'

The realization of what I was up against just now hit me. 'One Earth augmenter, one Fire augmenter, one Wind conjurer, and one non-mage. Plus the two non-mages that went after the elves.' I had no room for doubt anymore, not now. Either make it out of here, or die.

For Jin-Woo it was the system that first forced him to kill, but since this isn't solo leveling, the architect does not exist. But I don't need a system to threaten me, I'll kill the vermin with my own free will, as every fiber in my body desires so.

'Tti-ring.' A message from the system forcibly popped up. As I read the text my eyes widened. 'Was I wrong, but how? There isn't an architect in this world right? So what the hell is going on?' I asked myself. I read the text once more to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

[An Emergency Quest has been generated.]

[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]

There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the 'Player.' Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, a corresponding penalty will be given.

The number of enemies left to kill: 4

The number of killed enemies: 0

'I'm not seeing things, this is really the 'emergency quest', I really thought this wouldn't happen.'

I looked up, as if to the sky. "Just what type of game are you playing, 'The Light?'" I asked, out loud. My enemies looked at me with confused expressions.

I heard random words being chanted, and right after those words came another wind spell from Norden, which I dodged, once again.

"You're quick, kid," Norden commented.

"Norden, stop wasting your mana." Derim said.

[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]

There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the 'Player.' Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, your heart will stop.

The number of enemies left to kill: 4

The number of killed enemies: 0

'Kill or be killed huh, not that it changes anything, this was already the case even before the emergency quest.'

"But this just gives me one more reason to kill you all," I said out loud, continuing my train of thought. They looked at me in confusion once more, but their faces were now getting annoyed, and serious.

'I have 44 Mana to work with.' I don't know why, but at that moment, knowing that this could very well be the end of my 'TBATE Experience,' I smirked, I smirked proudly. I smirked at the obstacles I had overcome and the accomplishments I had reached since coming to this world.

'Sharingan.'

I pointed both my daggers at the four men.

"Come at me...SCUM."

***

(A/N: 3.2k+ words. I hope I haven't disappointed so far with this chapter, the second part will drop soon. Also imma need y'all to be honest with me, rate this chapter 1-10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Just wanna know.

Till next time.)