Chapter 1 - 2

Chapter 1 - A betrayed warrior3.

Sain, the leader of the Hero's group, walked up to me and said:

"I'm sorry, but from now on, you're out of the group"

"Why? I've been with you for a long time."

We've been friends since childhood, we've been together since we left our hometown, and we've been supporting each other all these years.

And it's not only with him, but also with the other three members.

Nei, the warrior, Soara, a priest, and Lisa, the witch.

The five of us together form this group of "White fangs".

It is true that lately I have felt like a burden. And that my abilities have not continued to increase compared to my companions.

But still, this is all very sudden.

"You know why, Toru".

"I still have time to improve. You are about to be chosen as the Hero, you will go on many adventures, take me with you as a warrior too".

"That's exactly why, my debut as a Hero is crucial, getting good results is necessary. It would not be right if my best friend dies in our first battle, please understand me.

Why do I notice little empathy in his words?

I want to know

These words that are coming from my best friend… Someone I have loved so much, they sound so empty.

I turn my attention to my girlfriend Lisa, I am sure she will support me in this.

"I think Sain is right, Toru can't be in this group anymore. I'm sure he'll die soon, he's not someone who's on our level anymore.

"Lisa…?"

I never imagined that she would say something like that.

And what was most worrying, is that for some reason, she couldn't look at me.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on her right hand.

There was a ring on his ring finger that I didn't recognize.

It's funny, that's supposed to be the ring I gave her.

Lisa notices my glance and quickly hides her right hand.

I look at the other three.

And all four were wearing the same ring.

My eyes turned glassy, and deep inside I thought.

Is that the reason? Was I getting in their way?

My girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend

But when did it happen?

How could I not have realized that all this time?

I don't know… Maybe this is my paranoia talking and I'm just imagining things.

Anyway, there was no place for me here anymore.

"Now that everything is clear, return to the village in silence, and support our future triumphs from a distance"

"Son of a bitch!"

In a fit of anger, I punched Sain in the face.

I knew that nothing would be solved if I hit him, but I couldn't stand it.

This guy knew that Lisa and I were engaged, and he still did it.

More than anything, I was disgusted with myself for being so soft.

I couldn't see the true nature of the man I thought was my best friend.

As Sain stood up, he made a notch in his face.

He was making fun of me for being so gullible.

He was good no matter what I did, he was handsome, he was strong, and he was chosen as the Hero.

should have hit him more, but I am devastated by all that happened.

"Stop! You're disgusting!"

"You're not worth it, Toru"

"You're scum!"

Our three childhood friends are all defending him at the same time.

While Lisa stared at me.

It was enough to make my wounded heart bleed.

"Here, I'll give it back to you! Now get out of here!"

"!?"

Lisa had thrown me the ring I gave her. It hit my chest and rolled on the table.

All the customers in the tavern turned their eyes towards us.

"Forgive him, Lisa. It's normal for Toru to be confused by all this."

"It's true, I acted inappropriately, I'm sorry, Toru."

I was speechless. In front of everyone, I was the one who was acting wrong.

And Lisa didn't feel any guilt about betraying me.

The days we had spent together began to fade quickly.

I'm tired of this.

I don't want to have anything to do with the lot of you anymore.

I'm getting out of this place, and out of this disgusting group.

"The four of you have been good to me. Take care of yourselves, goodbye."

"It's good that you accept it."

"Yeah, good luck out there, see you."

I grabbed the ring and left the tavern.

Goodbye, ex-comrades, and lover.

"Stop! You're disgusting!"

I left the city, and continued on my way through the meadow.

I didn't decide where I would go, I just wanted to get away from all of them as soon as possible.

I'm a complete loser…

I opened my right hand and stared at the ring.

When I gave her this, she was really happy.

She even accepted my proposal.

I gritted my teeth and started to cry.

"From now on, I will take a new path. There is no need for this."

I stopped, took a deep breath, and threw the ring far out into the meadow.

I am so frustrated that I feel like I'm going to die. I really want to kill Sain right now.

But I'm not going to do that. He is my ex-best friend, even if he is a piece of shit.

And killing him won't bring Lisa back to me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

I sat down and punched my fist in the dream.

Unprocessed emotions swirled around me, interrupting my thoughts.

Normally I wouldn't do something like that, but even for a man of manners like me, this pain was unbearable.

My heart screams in pain as it tears my body apart from within.

What was wrong with me? And what was good about him?

What was I to her?

What did she think when she slept with him?

How can she betray me and not care?

There is no one to answer the questions that arise in me.

I didn't stop punching until my knuckles bled and I could finally calm down.

I hope this helps clear my mind at least a little.

Although, I still feel sad.

Let's think about the future.

For now, let's go to a neighboring country and start over.

I'm not sure what to do yet.

And I don't know if I can do things right either.

LVL: 20

Name: Toru Eiban

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Job: Warrior

Skills

Damage Reduction: LVL 2

Body Enhancement: LVL 3

Experience Savings: LVL 9

Magic Savings: LVL 9

Skills Experience: LVL 9

Job Savings: LVL 8

Skill Savings: LVL 8

UP skill effect: LVL 10

I am aware that I do not have the best Stats.

I have many skills, but they are all useless.

At best, they can be used to reduce damage, strengthen the body, and increase the effectiveness of the skills.

This mysterious "saving" skill, which I have named after myself, is useless as a whole.

The use of the skill is unknown, even if I ask an expert to examine the stats, they cannot give me an answer, it is an unknown skill, and it is also unknown whether or not it is an automatic activation skill. Unknown, unknown, all unknown skills.

If only I had an ability as strong as Sain's, I wouldn't be in this situation.

Not that I'm a hero, but compared to him, my stats are crap.

It's a shame, but it's an undeniable truth that I'm a burden.

I'm not sure what I can do with this. I don't even know how to use it to my advantage.

It's very common for people to treat me as a burden when I'm twenty years old, and I have these skills.

"Arf! Arf!"

A black demon dog just appeared in front of me.

I drew the sword I had on my back, and I held it tightly.

"Here I go!"

*Pained whimper*

In the blink of an eye, the demon was lying on the ground.

It's the kind of monsters I had a hard time with when I left town, and now it's not a problem for me.

Crack, crack, crack.

There was a sound like glass breaking inside me.

"Notice: Since the experience value savings LvL has reached the upper limit, it will pay 100 times more >>

"Notice: the payment has been multiplied by ten due to the effect of the skill effect UP"

"Notice: LvL became 300"

"Notice: The current race cannot maintain its body. Beginning physical reconstruction"

"Notice: Completion of physical reconstruction. The race has become a Dragonoid"

The messages appear in front of me.

I… Am I no longer human?

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Chapter 2 - Warrior Who Bought a Slave

I remain stunned as I hold my sword.

The suddenness of this situation makes it difficult for me to understand what is happening.

"Level 300… You've got to be kidding me."

From what I know, being level 100 is practically being a hero.

I can't even imagine what would qualify as level 300.

"Notice: The savings of experience has been corrupted. It will take some time to repair. "

The texts that appear in front of me are starting to bother me a little.

Better check my stats now.

LVL: 300

Name: Toru Eiban

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Job: Warrior

Skills

Damage Reduction: LVL 2

Body Enhancement: LVL 3

Experience Savings: Under repair

Magic Savings: LVL 9

Skills experience: LVL 9

Job Savings: LVL 8

Skill Savings: LVL 8

UP skill effect: LVL 10

I'm really moving up a level.

My head is starting to hurt, it's the first time I've seen these numbers.

I have to calm down a bit.

Even a fool like me should be able to understand all this.

[Saving], this word is used to store something.

Does it mean that this ability has been limiting my experience all this time?

All the experience that I had accumulated all this time has been released.

Plus a bonus for everything you've accumulated.

"So, this means that most of my level and experience had been retained by this skill. I had always been a level 40, like my ex-friends.

Damn, this skill is a parasite.

When you understand it, every point makes sense.

I, in particular, had tried harder than anyone else in the group, fighting to the bitter end.

However, I found it strange that my level had stagnated.

I have done nothing but break my back more than anyone else in the group to try to catch up to them. And now, was it because of this that my rise in level and experience had been hindered?

"AH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Now, I don't mind having broken off my friendship with them.

In fact, I'm glad I found out about it now.

Well, I have decided. I am going to travel the world.

Having a level of 300, I have nothing to fear. I can go wherever I want.

From now on, I'm going to do whatever I want and live however I want.

Maybe I'll find something that can fill the huge hole in my chest.

"But first, I must visit the neighboring countries to prepare, if I am going to make such a long trip, I will need supplies."

I put my sword on my back, and started walking quietly along the road.

I left the country of Balseille, and arrived in the neighbouring country of Armand.

To be more specific, to the border town of Livio.

"As expected, Armand is a very busy place even when you are in such a remote area."

I was taken aback by the number of people who passed through here.

There were also food stands, and delicious aromas that stimulated my stomach.

Suddenly, there was a sign in a store that caught my attention.

"Livio's slave store."

Slave stores are not very common

In fact, I even hate them.

It's the kind of place I would normally ignore.

But, I had just been betrayed, and I was drawn to it.

A slave would never betray their master because of the contract.

They are not even capable of telling a lie, even if ordered to do so.

They will always be there for me.

The faces of my former companions came to mind.

Just thinking about them, I could feel my blood start to boil.

I clenched my fists and held back my anger.

"I need a partner I can trust. It would be a good idea to have a right-hand man who could keep this unusual status a secret and never betray me. If I don't, my distrust of people is likely to increase.

After being betrayed by my best friend, my lover and my childhood friends, I have nothing left to lose.

To maintain my peace of mind, I need a trustworthy friend who will always support me.

I don't care how strong they are. I just want to feel safe.

I just want to know deep down that there is still something in this world that I can trust.

I walked to the door, and without hesitation, I opened it.

The doorbell rang, and I walked to the counter.

Behind the counter, there was an old man with a very distinguished look, he seemed to be the owner of the store, he kept smiling at me.

"Welcome. What can I do for you today?"

"I need a slave I can take with me to battle."

"Any specific race? Do you have other uses in mind?"

"Nothing specific."

The old man nodded, and guided me to the back of the tent.

In a dimly lit place, we were surrounded by countless cages.

There are probably strong men and women in there, and even elves or lizardmen, even races you can't see around here.

"I recommend this lizard man for combat. His hard skin is capable of repelling blades, and his character is that of someone loyal. He is the perfect slave if you want to have someone watching your back on the battlefield."

"How much?"

"Thirty million, sir."

"I want to see the others."

I only have a budget of 1.5 million.

It's not a huge amount, and I can't afford it.

He placed his hand in the cage, and raised the face of an elf by placing his finger on her chin.

"This elf has no combat experience yet, but I'm sure she'll be good company at night. She has an enormous amount of magic, so if you raise her as a magician, she should be able to serve you very well in the long run.

"And what's the price?"

"Twenty-five million."

It's still very expensive, I think I came to this place at a bad time.

I should have asked about the slave's cost at the market before I came here.

The old man turns to see me squinting.

"May I ask what your budget is?"

"One and a half million."

"Hmm, that would make the quality of the slave much lower, but I can introduce you to someone in that price range."

"Thank you."

We walk a little further back until we reach a curtain.

"Ugh."

A very strong stench invades my nose.

It is an odor produced by feces, urine and sweat.

In that place there were countless small cages.

Inside were beasts of all sizes, and even human children.

"Most of the slaves here are worth less than a million.

"Why are they so cheap?

"They are weak, ugly, sick, have no training whatsoever, and are unreliable. They are useless at the moment, but, there is a great possibility that they are good for something else."

I am disgusted by slaveholders who talk about people as if they were property.

However, that also includes me, since I'm trying to buy one.

I kept looking around for a slave to capture my interest.

"Hmm?"

And there, In a small cage located in a corner of this space.

There was a very dirty little girl with white hair.

I approached her for a closer look.

The girl was very thin, and out of breath.

Her long bangs covered her eyes, so I couldn't see her face very well.

Her clothes were so worn out that I hesitated to look at her directly.

I could feel that girl looking at me, with dead eyes through her hair hiding her face.

"Huh, 300?!"

The girl fled to the corner of the cage.

I have no doubt that this girl was able to see my stats.

Could this girl have the [appraisal] ability? She is very rare.

It's just something I'm guessing.

And it's not like people can tell my level just by looking at me.

"How much for that girl?"

"110,000, sir."

"Isn't that too low a price?"

"No sir, it's a fair price. After all, she is very ill, and weak, and is a poor slave who cannot be used, unless she is boiled or roasted."

The girl coughed violently.

He was right, her physical condition was quite bad.

No matter how rare the skills, if they are too weak, it may be inevitable that they will come at too low a price.

Or do they not realize that slavers are appraisers?

I'm not sure that's true. But if I think about it properly, I could get a doctor to examine you.

"What is your name?"

"....."

"Hey! Answer the customer"

The slaveholder hit the cage with his cane.

"Kaede…"

Kaede. I like her name.

And there was something about this girl that caught my attention.

I guess you could call it intuition. I can't explain what attracted me to her, but in a way, I thought she was good.

"I'll buy this girl."

"Thank you for your purchase!"

The slaveholder bowed, while having a big smile on his face.

"After the transaction, the customer must make a master-slave contract."

"One question, do I have to reveal my status?"

"No, no, no, no. All you have to do is shed a little blood."

"Alright then."

I was reassured when he told me I didn't have to reveal my status.

He seems to be a very discreet man, but anyway, I didn't want anyone to know.

Kaede was looking at me with anxious eyes.