A young wolf girl, perhaps seventeen, stood before Lucien. Her grey hair framed striking silver eyes. Sharp, threatening claws gleamed at her sides, yet her posture was careless, almost reckless. Dark circles shadowed her barely open eyes, and her shoulders slumped loosely. A black band encircled her neck.
When Lucien noticed the band, realization hit him instantly. She's a slave! Are they forcing her to steal? Who controls her? Questions flooded his mind, but no one was there to provide answers.
The girl raised her hand, her silver eyes fixed on Lucien. "G-give me all your valuable assets, and I will grant you a peaceful death," she stammered. Her voice lacked menace, sounding instead like words forced from her lips by another's command.
Lucien met her gaze steadily. "Let me make this clear. I have nothing left. All the money I had, I spent on bread for the people living here. I'm empty-handed now; you'll find nothing. Killing me won't help you, but if you aid me, I can free you from this slave trap."
His words seemed to pass unheard. She lunged at him, sharp claws gleaming. Lucien leaped back, narrowly dodging her slashing attack. As he landed, she charged again, aiming her left claw at him. He sidestepped, but her right claw sliced through the air from the opposite direction.
SLASH!
Her claw sank deep into his left arm, but she couldn't pull it out in time, giving Lucien the advantage. He punched her hard in the gut and threw her to the ground. "See, I can help you get free," Lucien said, but she didn't even try to understand him and started struggling again.
She lunged at him with her left claw, which he blocked. Taking advantage, she kicked him and jumped back. Lucien clutched his left arm tightly, wincing, and stared at her, his eyes sharp.
Then she attacked again, fiercer this time. Her claws were now longer and sharper, and she moved so fast he couldn't track her.
Out of nowhere, he felt a cut on his right arm. What? How did she do that? Where is she? If I attack, will the system mark it as bad karma? No, I didn't start this. What I'm going to do will be called self-defence because it's not wrong to save your life.
---
Lucien took a deep breath and drew his Atman Blade, its bright gleam cutting through the night. He felt the air shift around him, sliced by the wolf girl's swift movements. Multiple cuts marked his body, each one stinging.
He raised his sword to chest level, focusing his mind to sense her presence. Gradually, her spirit energy became visible, and her movements slowed in his eyes, thanks to his spirit vision.
He could now see her stats:
[Name: Runa]
[Race: Demi-Human]
[Age: 17]
[Path: Combatant]
[Position: Rank 9]
A small window appeared beside the stats:
[Non-players lack levels like players; they only have positions. Only certain non-players, like bosses, have levels.]
Lucien paid it little attention and charged at her.
---
In a dilapidated building, a heavyset man in fine clothes sat, deeply focused on something. The room around him held several cages, each containing a beastkin girl with a band around her neck. All of them appeared frail, their eyes dull with weakness.
A tall man strode in, a smile plastered across his face. "Where's my Runa? You always send her to me, but she hasn't shown up yet. I'm eager to play with her, like always." He licked his lips.
The heavyset man ignored him, eyes shut tight, his face etched with frustration and strain. "What's wrong with you?" the tall man asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Shut up and let me focus, you idiot!" the heavyset man bellowed, his body slick with sweat and trembling with fear.
"Why are you so angry? What happened? Where's my Runa?" the tall man demanded.
The heavyset man slammed his fist on the ground. "Damn it! Damn it! I lost the connection!" He clutched his head tightly, his face contorted in frustration.
"Connection? With who?" the tall man asked, his eyes narrowing.
The heavyset man sighed, his voice heavy with disappointment. "With Runa."
"What?! What the hell are you talking about? You sent her to steal? Did you forget our deal? You promised to send her to me every night, not use her as a thief!" the tall man roared, glaring at the heavyset man with fury.
"You greedy bastard, where is she? Tell me, I'll bring her back — my Runa!" the tall man pressed.
"You can't," the heavyset man said flatly.
"What do you mean? You think I'm that weak? Tell me, do you think I'm that weak?" The tall man surged toward the heavyset man, his anger boiling over.
"No, you aren't weak… but I'm too strong," a voice said from behind.