Ch 16: Signs of life [pt1]

“My lord, some new intruders have entered your domain. What do you want us to do with them? Shall we lead them down the path of followers? Or do we offer them as a sacrifice to our god?”

The minister asked the monarch sitting on the throne in front of him. The whole court listened carefully to what their king would decide.

The place this conversation was taking place was the royal court on the first floor. The whole court was being ruled by one person and that was King Saar.

Currently, the crimson-haired and golden eyes youth sat on top of his golden throne. He had a woman on both sides, his hand circling the beauty’s waist and pulling them closer to his body. He was the indisputable ruler of this floor.

“Minister, why are you so tense? New people enter this floor all the time. After all, this is the first floor of the tower. We should welcome new guests here.”

The monster sighed when he heard his king’s words. With a single sentence from this man, the fate of the outsiders had been decided.

“Very well. I will inform the temple that we will be having new sacrifices for them soon. I will also inform the city guards to be on the outlook for the outsiders.”

The court cheered as they heard their king’s verdict. They had been looking forward to the sacrificial ceremony this month. And finally, it was time to gain more power and money for their city.

The one who governed their city was the god of riches, Plutus. He was the source of their power and influence. But there was a steep price to pay for such luxury.

And that was why, the sacrificial ceremony was held - to pay the price.

………………………

“Hey slave, how long do we have to walk around for? I feel like I will collapse any second now. Darn, this hot sun and the lack of water.”

Baron Luke complained as he walked behind the group. Unlike the group who seemed fine with walking in the hot sun, Baron Luke was tired and cranky.

Unlike others, he never had to walk in the bright sun like this. Nor did he have to work his ass off to get his powers.

For the first time, Baron Luke had to put in the effort to keep himself going and he found it hard. He wanted to collapse and rest.

“Hey you, slave 21, hurry up and carry me on your back. If you don’t listen to me, then I will make you suffer.”

Baron Luke threatened and the oldest of the group stopped. 21 was a big guy with bulging muscles and a decent physique. He would be able to carry Baron Luke well under normal circumstances.

But the slave had received heavy injuries during his fight with the boss and it was a miracle that he was still alive and standing.

The emergency treatment that had been administered would not last and the pain would come back soon. But the Baron did not care for these reasons.

For him, if he could be comfortable, it did not matter who else suffered. And even now he demanded to be helped by the other male in front of him.

“B-Baron, please calm down. 21 is in no condition to carry you. He will likely drop you if you order him to carry you”

Ashura interfered before the Baron could make any hasty move. It made the Baron flinch and stop but then he considered Ashura’s words and found them to be right.

“Tsk, you got lucky 21. In that case, Slave, you carry me on your back.”

Ashura was the one who was picked this time and that caused him to flinch. Ashura was drained by now as well as he had to walk and carry Mahiru. Mahiru’s lack of stats caused her to collapse a long time ago.

Ashura opened his mouth to complain, only to realize that it would not work. Baron Luke had no sympathy for them and he did not care for their circumstances as well.

Alex kept himself quiet and out of this conversation. He heard Kurina mutter an ‘idiot’ under her breath and curse the Baron as well. But even she knew she needed to keep quiet.

‘Fuck this curse. That goddess lied to me when she said that she would give me freedom. I can still feel that curse seething beneath my skin.’

Alex complained, only to hear the goddess reply to him.

‘It is your fault for absorbing my body. That was the source of my power and now it is lying dormant inside you. I don’t know how you did that, but you only have yourself to blame for this.’

Alex found it hard to believe the goddess and her intentions. But her presence was haunting him so he did not have a choice but to listen to her.

‘Anyway, if you want to be free of your curse, you need to listen to me from here on. I will teach you a way to break your curse before your time is out.’

The goddess promised and Alex turned his attention away from her and toward the Baron’s actions.

Mahiru looked uncomfortable as she was put down by Ashura and gestured for the Baron to get on his back. The Baron showed no consideration for Mahiru or Ashura as he pushed the youngest girl away and got on Ashura’s back.

Besides Alex, Kurina sighed before she walked ahead and helped Mahiru on her back.

‘That Kurina girl is a twisted person. She is jealous of all the attention Ashura lavishes on Mahiru and she wants her dead. But she is also willing to put up with her if it means winning Ashura’s favour.’

Alex had known since long ago that Kurina had a crush on Ashura. That had not been something Kurina was able to hide.

Alex was also sure that Ashura knew about this as well. But the elder pretended to be oblivious to make use of Kurina’s affection.

‘It’s not that Kurina is twisted, but human nature that compels her to do so. There is nothing special about her behaviour.’

Alex assured the goddess and he heard her hum inside his mind.

‘Ah, a pity that Kurina’s attribute and aura do not match mine. I would have loved to have her as a subordinate. She gives me the feeling that she is willing to do anything to gain an advantage.’

The goddess was not wrong when she said that Kurina would do anything to get an advantage in life. Just like the other slaves, Kurina had no self-esteem. She only seemed to care about what was happening when it came to Ashura.

“A city is nearby. If we go right, then we will be able to find something nice.”

Mahiru opened his mouth as he pointed toward the left direction. Everyone looked startled as Mahiru said one thing and pointed toward the other thing.

“A city? Where? Which direction? Right? Do we need to go right? Hurry up.”

Baron Luke ordered this but Alex noticed something. Mahiru was pointing toward the left and she was also looking toward the left side.

Alex was only able to notice that there was something there if he paid close attention in that direction. His eyes were enhanced when he received his blessing but looking past all the barren land was still difficult for him.

‘How did Mahiru look that far? She did not even relieve any blessing or anything as such, but she was still able to see that far?’

“Baron, we need to go left, not right. Mahiru got her left and right mixed up but I think she can see something in that direction.”

Alex pointed out to the Baron and he instantly turned toward the left

“What! In that case, we all need to turn left. Hurry up and head toward the city or whatever we can see in that direction. I don’t want to stay out here any longer.”

Baron Luke complained as he forced Ashura to turn fast and walk faster. No one could see anything at first. But slowly, a well-built desert city began to appear in front of their eyes.

Gold and jewels line up the city and water flowed inside. One could see its majestic appearance even through the tall walls that line up the city.

“Holy fuck, there was a city in this direction. But how did Mahiru know where to go?”

Kurina asked under her breath. It was only because Alex was so close to her that he was able to hear her words.

They all ran toward the city but something that had not happened until now happened. A monster appeared right behind them and it let out a shrilled cry.

“Hurry up and run. Don’t let that monster catch us or you all are dead.”

Baron Luke ordered with a slightly frightful voice. Everyone ran away but Alex. He turned his body around to face the monster head-on.

“Alex, what are you doing? You will be killed if that monster catches you….”

Kurina complained as she looked back, only to notice Alex throwing something at the monster. It was a small stone covered in Alex’s magic and it stopped the monster long enough for them to get away.