Ouch, what is this pain, it feels like an arrow, why can't I see it, why do my eyes feel heavy. For someone with a stat named lucky prayer, I have been so unlucky, I hear two voices and I feel a sack covering my head and I lose consciousness.
This place looks familiar, why does it, oh, I know why.
I wake up in a cell and I've been stripped naked as I see a familiar face. A fat man with a monocle and a mustache, your stereotypical greedy rich merchant.
Yes, it was the slave merchant Freddie and Elmer brought me to earlier. I should have known. Looks like the deal they made was selling me, I feel betrayed.
Was Elmer in on this too.
"I am your new master and you are my product, my name is Rok and you are?". I am still in shock that these so-called "hosts" will do this to me so I didn't hear him speak or maybe I did but chose to ignore him. Either way, I felt a huge shock from my right leg. "I won't repeat myself, what is your name" this man said and I heard him loud and clear this time "Lora" I said. "Well Lora, I'm sure you must be confused about the situation you are in, but I want you to know. I am not your enemy, I am just a merchant trying to make sales"
"Pretty convenient thing to say from outside the cage" I replied with spite in my voice.
"To show you my peace claims or just me being nice, I'll answer any three questions you ask honestly" Rok said looking at me smirking, I am not sure if I could even trust his answers but half bread is better than none I guess. Now what can I ask him, I have to be strategic. I know Freddie put me here and I can ask if Elmer was in on it too but it will be a waste of my questions so I'll ask "Mr Roks, how can I leave this place", he smiled at me and replied "I'm a slave merchant, you are a slave the answer is simple, if someone buys you. I am disappointed, you looked like a sharp boy, I thought you would ask a trickier question he added". "How does this thing on my leg work" I asked again. "Ahh, what you have on is called a slave collar, it's what slaves have so their masters can control them. It is controlled neurally when the master buys the slave but as a merchant I have a remote control, but after a master buys the slave, there are two ways to break out of the slave's collar, you either kill the master or overwhelm the collar with magic stronger than the master's own". So what that means is that I have to get stronger and hope that whoever buys me is not overpowered. "Oh I almost forgot, if a slave tries too hard to break the collar, they get full on electrocuted to death and if they cut off for example the leg where the collar is, the collar grows somewhere else, so it's a pretty powerful contract especially when I do it, now your last question?"
"How did the royals know I am half elf" I asked unapologetically.
"Ohhh Lora, that's simple it's from your aura and your hair helps". "My aura, what's that"
He laughs, "You don't know what an aura is, if I knew any better I would say you are new to this world". But of course I am I haven't spent 72 hours in this world but I've almost died like four times."Aura is the basic level of magic"he said "Every living thing emits aura, the more powerful the individual is, the better he is at manipulating aura and precisely reading them. Aura can tell an individual's power level, race, sometimes attributes or how dangerous or approachable they are. Basically, the more you train the more you discover new things about aura yourself." I am so confused, probably because I was processing different information at the same time but basically all I have to do is become stronger, because it's obvious the weak do not get to survive or choose what they want in this world.
"I guess that's your three questions. I really hope that will help you" Rok said, "Thank you very much for answering my questions" I said, he smiled and walked away.
Now I'm left alone at my cell naked and stranded but at least I'm not hungry. I then remembered and I whispered
"SYSTEM"
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
"How many I help you Lona"
"I'm sure you heard what the merchant said, please how can you actually help me in this situation, I want to get stronger"
The next thing I saw gave me hope.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS
{AURA SIGHT: ON}
{SIDE QUEST: GET STRONGER}
{DAILY OBJECTIVE: 100 PUSH UPS, 100 SIT UPS, 100 PULL UPS, 100 MINUTES OF MEDITATION}
{PUNISHMENT: LOSE A LIMB}
{REWARD: STAMINA 10, MANNA 10, AURA CONTROL 5}
{TIMER: 24 HOURS}
{DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED: YES. NO.}
I immediately clicked "Yes".
Then I saw the whole world differently. I could see colours glowing from outside the body of an object, I look at myself I do not see any colour, I wonder what the heck, has the merchant lied to me. But that doesn't matter now, I have to achieve my today's objective to become stronger and prevent losing my penn!s, I really hope that isn't a limb because I plan to very much use it. I got on my back and started my objective.
"85, 86, 87", I hear footsteps approaching. And familiar voices. I stop my pull ups. That's when I saw them, Freddie and James coming over with Rok to examine me. "How's the half ling doing?, you look like sh!t and I'm not sorry about that" James, the one with the annoying voice said. I smiled "The entitled d!ck with daddy issues, it's quite a disappointment you will lead this kingdom one day because you will lead it to doom" I replied intending to rage baiting him. I could see his aura, it's smaller compared to Freddie's so I know he should be relatively weaker. I have to make sure he is the one who does that master slave bonding thing. But that will mean I will be a wanted man but I do not care.
QUIET!
Freddie's voice echoed.
Even now, I can feel he can slash my head from the cell, so I shut my trap immediately.