1 Ch 1: Am I a Slave?

"Two Gold!"

"Three Gold."

"Five Gold."

"Going once, twice..."

"Sold!"

"There he goes"

"There he goes," said a skinny black-haired youth standing alongside other slaves wearing dirty rags, shackled with iron bars on their feet and arms.

The long line of slaves came from various places—some from the neighboring country, some from a broken kingdom, and others shipped from distant continents. The continent alone had a population of about 20 billion, and most buyers wouldn't care to know where the slaves exactly came from.

The slaves displayed a variety of physical features; having purple hair and red eyes was nothing out of the ordinary.

Below the wooden podium, a crowd of merchants, commoners, and nobles inspected the slaves, searching for the most suitable ones to meet their needs.

One experienced slave whispered that the best scenario for a slave was to be bought as a household helper, gardener, or farmer. Even being sent to the mines, while grueling, offered adequate food. However, the most unfortunate fate for a slave was to serve as a meat shield in a war or be subjected to unspeakable horrors, such as being used for experiments or as a sex slave.

Meanwhile, the most common is to be used as a meat shield in a war. However, worst-case scenario, they will be bought to be used for experiments in a lab or be used as sex slaves by their owners.

"Zane, good luck. If fate allows, we will meet again," a good-looking tall youth with red hair said in a gloomy tone. He had just been bought for 5 gold by a merchant, uncertain of what awaited him.

'sigh'

Zane sighed, feeling the weight of his circumstances. He tried to wave his hand, but his wrists were shackled, leaving him powerless. There was nothing he could do at this moment, and he turned his head to see the long line of slaves. Many had already resigned themselves to their fate, their faces filled with hopelessness.

A few hours ago, Zane was just a normal college student on Earth. Sadly, he didn't remember much about how he died, only the strong flashing white lights that enveloped him. Once he crossed over, he woke up in the body of a young kid.

The previous Zane belonged to a family of farmers. His parents had passed away from a strange disease when he was young, a disease called 'Heaven's Mercy,' which had claimed millions of lives. The disease was peculiar as it caused no pain or symptoms before death, like a peaceful sleep.

The disease that killed his parents was a little special. It caused no pain nor any symptoms before death.

Many say that those who died in their sleep were in their most peaceful state. He witnessed this phenomenon as well.

There were rumors that this disease marked the beginning of a chaotic age, and those who died were spared from the turmoil. When the previous owner of the body heard the prophecy, he was relieved, but most considered it fictitious.

Many thought of it as fictitious. Many tried such as doctors and healers to solve this mystery but no advances can be found. No one knew how it was transmitted or received. It was said that even the immortals who could move the heaven and earth tried to find ways to cure this disease but none succeeded.

When his parents died, the boy received a small farm where he grew from the kindness of his villagers.

However, everything changed when soldiers came and devastated the land. The whole village was ransacked and burned to the ground, many men were killed while the others were captured. Nobody knew who or where these soldiers came from. The attack came very sweepingly, everyone was rounded up and those who tried to resist died.

Shortly after, the villagers found out that they were being transported to another country to be branded as slaves.

The previous body knew that it was just a matter of time before his death arrived. He is not strong or wise but just a simple farmer. He decided to do one last act of mercy, he chose not to eat, and instead gave away his rationed food to his fellow captured villagers.

He knew that his spirit had already given up, but looking at the others, he prayed that they would get enough strength to move on forward in whatever come may. After a few days of captivity, he died in his sleep.

...

Arriving in the capital of another country.

Zane's body was already pronounced dead by those with him in the metal carriage. None wanted to touch his body, but out of respect, they covered him with a cloth.

However, at that very moment, the dead Zane opened his eyes once more. Sitting up, he tried to comprehend what was happening.

"Where am I?"

Confused, he looked around and discovered he was in a metal carriage with around ten other people. Startled, he noticed that the carriage was being pulled by a beast that seemed like a bizarre cross between a Rhinoceros and a Lizard.

The first to notice Zane's awakening were an old man and a red-haired youth, who were shocked by the sight of a supposedly dead man coming back to life. The others in the carriage recoiled in fear.

"Zane! You're awake! We thought you were dead!" said the red-haired youth, shaking him.

"Who are you?" Zane replied.

"It's me, Jack! What's wrong? You don't remember?"

"No."

"Here, eat and drink some food. You've been giving away your rations," said an old man standing beside the youth.

"Fool! Are you trying to kill yourself?" Jack shouted at Zane.

Zane weakly accepted the food and water, and suddenly, a flood of memories surged into his mind. The overwhelming pain caused him to clutch his head and writhe on the ground.

"Aahhhh!"

"Zane! What's wrong?"

A sudden transparent blue box pop-up appeared in front of him.

'SYSTEM LOADING'

"Memory fragments received" was the last thing he heard before succumbing to the pain and passing out.

...

After a few days of travel, they finally arrived at the slave market. Behind a huge podium lies a big courtyard full of all kinds of slaves. Guards with leather armor and bow behind their back were roaming the area.

"Wake up, Zane! We've arrived! You've been sleeping for more than three days," Jack nudged him several times.

Finally, Zane opened his eyes again and discovered new memories from the previous Zane that he now inhabited. These memories revealed that the old Zane knew little about the outside world, only that he was from the Icarus Continent and Luminous Country.

He found out that the Old Zane did not have much knowledge of the outside world. In his memory, it was his father who told him that they were from Icarus Continent and Luminous Country.

Looking outside the cage, Zane saw guards rushing around, while other slaves lined up or remained locked in their cages, much like him.

Beside him was the red-haired youth, whom Zane remembered as his neighbor from their old village.

"Jack! Where are we? What happened to our village? Where is Gramps Chen?" Zane asked.

"Finally! You remembered. You scared the shit out of me!" Jack replied.

"He was taken by the guards, I don't know. From what I heard around here, we are going to be branded as slaves."

"WHAT!?"

Zane couldn't believe his unfortunate fate. He thought that when someone got transported to another world, they'd arrive as a noble or a privileged individual.

Looking at his ragged clothes, 'What the heck! Why am I a slave?'

Before he could fully comprehend the situation, a shout from a guard jolted him from his thoughts.

"Get out of the cage and line up!" a robust guard shouted towards his group.

"Please, release us, I beg of you!" said by a youth while trying tried to grab the guard. However, before his hand could even reach him, he was beheaded.

When the head rolled on the ground, first came the shock then the screams filled the cage.

"NOW! GET OUT!" Pointed by a guard in a direction.

The scene was gruesome, however, as an ER nurse, he had seen the worst. Back on earth, he received patients that were hit by all kinds of stuff from cars, and buses, to trains. He received patients that were shot in the head but still alive. He received a patient hacked or stabbed by a machete, knives, and all random stuffs. And, others stuffs that would make one puke.

Now, looking at the head that rolled close to him, Zane was surprised that he was still calm. He was a bit disgusted not with the head that rolled next to him, but with himself because of his lack of remorse.

...

With haste, all of them exited the cage and lined up. A sign ahead read, "Welcome to Owl City!"

At the end of the line, a man sat in a chair, collecting the names and information of those in line. Beside him were two guards, one holding a metal rod with a glowing mark—a 'three-eyed-raven' symbol—being prepared in a furnace. The other guard kept the slaves from moving.

Once the rod was heated, it was pressed against the forehead of a slave, permanently branding them as a slave in the Icarus continent.

Zane knew that once you had this, you were now permanently branded as a slave in the whole Icarus continent.

While pondering his next move, Zane remembered the metallic voice in his head, the mysterious system he seemed to possess. He decided to give it a try.

'System!'

Shockingly, a transparent green screen showed in front of him. Trying to mentally click around, there were three tabs that were lighted up: Status, Skills, and Craft

"Jack, can you see what I see?" he suddenly whispered.

"YES! Man! My looks" Jack started touching his face. "If I have that symbol on my forehead, I will look really ugly."

"Shit! Not that! Do you see what's in front of me!"

Hearing Jack's comment on his look, Zane couldn't help but curse him at this moment. 'This person has a screw loose. Why in the world is he still worried about his looks?

"I am in front of you! I don't see anything"

"Good!" Confirming that he was the only one who can see it, he was pleased. While waiting, he tested a couple of commands.

"System, what is your name?"

He waited but no response

"What is my quest?"

No response

"Open shop?"

No response

"Open my welcome bag?"

....

'I guess I don't have those,' scratching his head and bit bummed out. Feeling disappointed, he whispered in his mind, 'Open storage?'

Suddenly, a 10x10 holographic cube opened up in front of him.

'YESS!!!' With joy, he shouted in his mind.

'Oh, thank the heavens! At least I have a storage cube.'

He was really scared that he won't have the ability to store items. A storage cube will be one of the most convenient ways to carry or hide items.

Thinking out loud, 'Open Status!'

A transparent blue windowed appeared in front of him.

Name: Zane Malfoy

Vital Sign: Weakened

Age: 14

Level: 1

Strength: 1.2 (0.6)

Agility: 1 (0.7)

Perception: 2

Constitution: 1.3 (0.6)

Mana Capacity: 0

Experience 0/10

The first thing he found interesting was the Mana Capacity being at zero.

'Is there magic in this world?' he thought.

'Open Skills'

Three subcategories were shown. Genetic Skills, Active Skills, and Passive Skills:

Clicking the Genetic Skill. He saw one box that was lit up, looking at it, he saw "Identification Level 1)"

Hovering his eyes, a short description was shown

Identification (Lv 1): Able to see the basic status and details of any object. Increasing the level, increases more information.

"Hmm, it's not that too bad, but in my current situation, I would have preferred a more aggressive skill."

Once he was done pondering, his eyes went directly to Active Skills, however, nothing was showing. Moving on to the final sub-category, Passive Skill, was also greyed out.

'For now, the only thing I can use is my Genetic Skill: Identification.'

'Open Craft'

Disappointingly, the whole box was greyed out. Although he can see the design, he cannot click on anything. Pondering for a moment, 'hmm, I will have to experiment a little bit more in the future.'

Before he was able to try his Genetic Skill, a loud shout was coming behind him.

"ZANE!!"

Surprised, he tilted his head, "Oh, what?"

"Man, been calling your name for a while. You have been spacing out."

"I said it is almost your turn!"

Looking ahead, just in front of him, a person was almost done being branded. Without any choice, he moved forward. A scrupulous man with a pen and thick paper asked about his name, age, his previous village, and other information.

Before he could say anything, the hot scorching rod was already on his forehead.

"Aaahhhh"

"Move to the podium! Next!" said the man holding the scorching rod.

A moment later, it was Zane's turn to be branded. He couldn't help but complain, "You could have let me choose which side I wanted!"

But the guard paid him no mind, and with a hot scorching rod, the symbol was permanently etched into his forehead.

An exciting and uncertain adventure lay ahead for Zane, who now possessed the power of the mysterious system and faced a world of challenges and opportunities.

.....