Choose Your Profession Day

"Are you really content living like this?" I kept my tone even as I stared her down. "Don't you want to be more than just another one of the Emperor's slaves? Don't you want to see what this literal fantastical world has to offer? Just look at all the potential we have! We have some of the most broken magical abilities ever heard of; not to mention, actual fucking magic!"

I might have gotten a little passionate, but I continued regardless.

"We could be so much more than what we currently are. The people of this world think of us as trash. Worthless, useless, and good for nothing more than common labor jobs. They don't know what we're really capable of. The Emperor and his dipshit council simply took one look at our Name Classification and equated our Creeds with that of common Botanists and Cultivators."

"Even with their extensive research, they haven't the slightest clue as to how much of an impact the Modifier Prefix "Innate," such a simple tweak, could do to one's Creed. They threw us away without a second thought… But," a grin started to form on my face, "in doing so they gave us this great opportunity to be so much more."

"Those self-interested morons… They already showed us their true colors. So why don't we just… "placate" them outwardly. Give them what they want, and maybe a little more to keep their expectation for us "trash," while behind the scenes you and I, and maybe our group of slaves… We could all get stronger behind their backs. At least, strong enough to escape with our lives and be more than just Otherworldly Slaves."

I extended my hand for her to shake, "What do you say?"

"...How long do you think we need for your, uh, plan?" She asked.

"Maybe a few months, maybe a few years," I shrugged. "It would all depend on how things progress. The only thing I know for certain is that I don't plan on acting against the Emperor until I'm confident I can evade his reach."

And with those words said, Alex let go of her hesitation and shook my hand.

…

About an hour after I got Alex to accept allying herself to me over the Emperor I finished drafting up a working Oath Contract. It took a while to get it contractually binding, but I after I gave it to Alex, she signed it without seeming to read it completely. After signing it with my own blood to complete the contract, I sighed and vowed to get her to be more careful in the future.

A less scrupulous man would have doubtlessly taken advantage of her naivete. I, on the other hand, didn't… much. I mean, it's not like it's even possible for me to "not" incorporate some level of bias in my favor when writing my own contract.

The terms seemed fair enough to me. I promised to be a loyal ally to her, to help her — at my own discretion, obviously — and all she had to do was be loyal to me right back and help me to the extent that I asked for — within reason, of course. Willfully violating the terms of the contract would result in disastrous consequences, the least painful of which included instant death.

What can I say? I mean, for as much as I could read Alex like a book, nothing would really solidify my trust in her as much as a life-ending magical contract. It was the least I could do before letting her know a bit more about my plans and abilities. And, since the Oath Contract affecting her trickled down to her slaves, once everyone woke up and gathered around the kitchen, I started the first of our group's "secret meetings."

"So…" I may or may not have faulted in the face of all the sudden attention, "I hope you all got acquainted well with one another last night." When I was met with a chorus of nods and other varying degrees of affirmations, I continued, "Good, then I guess we can cut right to the heart of the matter I want to discuss."

"Yesterday, I gathered somewhere around 40 to 50 percent of all the widespread Skill Manuals available to the public up to Unique Class in rarity. I have memorized dozens of Skills for all the common methods of Branching Transcendence and I'm willing to pass several on to each of you."

"All I want in return in willing loyalty in return as well as for us to organize ourselves such that we have a full roster of craftsmen professionals. I've already decided to focus entirely on Alchemy and Spirit Cooking though, so I need people working on Formations, Inscriptions, Artifacing, Spirit Weaving, and the various Cultivating Professions. I don't really care what type of combat you want to learn, I'll freely hand out weapon arts and magic spells."

With my "speech" done, I waited for a response but didn't get one for seconds.

Eventually, Alex — of all people — said, "I… I'm not going to question how you got those Skills… Skill Manuals? Whatever. But, I'm happy to keep learning the art of Agricultural Cultivation and maybe also take up Beast Taming. That would make me like a magic farmer," she smiled.

"I'll answer your unasked question anyway," I said while staring at her intently. "As Otherworldly Heroes, our Creeds are unreasonably powerful. Yes, that includes yours as well as mine. I simply leveraged my power to create a "Plant Magic—"" I snorted while making air quotes, "that lets me instantly absorb all the knowledge in anything stored on plant-based materials. You know, like loose paper, parchment, scrolls, books… Where 99% of all things are stored as knowledge."

"That's hella fucking broken, mate," one of Alex's slaves, Jin, said.

"You're goddamn right it is!" I beamed at him, totally amused by the way his accent was translated for me.

"Sign me up for some of that Artifacing shit, then," he grinned right back, the cheeky lad.

"Excuse me," Aila, Alex's other slave, chimed in. "Shouldn't we be worried about meeting our monthly quotas for the Emperor? We only have two weeks left and, I don't know about you, but master Alex is not even a third of the way done with her list of crops to cultivate."

"I already have that covered," I deadpanned at Alex. "Didn't you tell them while I was making our Oath Contract?"

"No? I didn't think you would involve them," I said as she shrank away from me.

I palmed my forehead, "They're your absolute slaves, though… If you sign up to fight against our slavery to the Emperor, they automatically get implicated by proxy."

"...That makes sense," Alex quietly said as she tried to hide behind Jin.

"You want to do what against the Emperor?" Kombu, my own slave, asked. He looked more than a little miffed by the direction the discussion was heading.

"We," I emphasized, gesturing between myself and Alex, "have already decided to fight against his imposed slavery on us. Not openly, of course. We're not suicidal. But since the Emperor decided to treat us like garbage, we'll continue to act as he expects while building our strength from under his nose. Then, when he least expects it and we're capable of escaping, we'll pull the plug on this whole operation and live dignified lives elsewhere."

"Where else is there to go for the likes of us?" He snorted. "Yyveria is the only human powerhouse that still holds any sway in the world. Everywhere else is either hostile to all life or humans specifically."

"We'll cross that bridge when the time comes," I grinned. "As far as I know, I'd rather live a hard life freely than a comfortable one in captivity. If no other nation accepts us, well… I might even go as far as to make one of my own."