Chapter 8: Storage

Perseus POV

"Don't worry, just a thought." I said as I got up, but she stopped me

"P...Silver...being perceptive isn't always a good thing." she warned

"Don't worry, I know enough to keep it to myself. It's not like I don't understand, we're treated like animals, forced to toil away in the darkness while our masters grow fat off our labor. We're expendable to them, easily replaced if we dare to question their authority."

"I get that, but seriously, even if you know, please don't join in or let anyone know it exists, there's not a lot of people who knows."

"I won't, I value my life...but if you do start it, please let me know because even if I'm uninvolved, these guys will find a way to blame and beat me anyway."

"What will you do then?" she asked

"I don't know...swim away?"

"The sea is filled with dangerous creatures, that might not be a good thing, it's probably more deadly than fighting the escape attempt."

"Thanks for the warning, but I'll be sure to figure it out somehow."

*****

I found myself in this really weird dream. It was like slipping into a cozy cocoon, all warm and familiar. Even though my eyes were closed, I could sense that I was sleeping.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard this sweet voice calling my name.

"Perseus, wake up," it said, gentle yet insistent.

It felt like a woman's voice, soft and soothing, like a gentle breeze on a summer day. But I didn't want to wake up. I was in that blissful state where you're perfectly content just drifting along, with no desire to return to the waking world.

"No..." I replied against my own will

"Come on!" I felt her tugging me with more persistence, "Wake up!"

I could feel the girl's frustration, her impatience with my stubborn refusal to rouse from my slumber.

"Just 10 more hours..."

*****

I wandered all around the camp, sneaking into places I shouldn't be. The mines, the armory, you name it. Everywhere I looked, it was the same old story, slaves toiling away, trapped in this endless cycle of misery.

But I refused to believe that there was no way out. Even if this place had been the same for centuries, there had to be a way to escape. I couldn't accept that this was all there was to life, working until we dropped dead from exhaustion.

As I continued to walk around, I overheard something among the guards who were guarding the lab.

They were talking about some big news – the duchess, the king's youngest sister, was scheduled to pay us a visit in a few months' time. It seemed she was coming down to inspect the glimmerite by the whale team.

She plans to prepare a shipment of the precious mineral as a gift for a noble from a foreign land.

I mean, why would she want to come all the way down here just to check out some rocks? It didn't make sense. Unless...

Unless there was something more to it. Something she wasn't telling us. Maybe she had heard rumors about what was really going on down here, about the smuggling and the secret meetings and the whispers of rebellion that hung in the air like a storm cloud.

Or maybe she was just bored and looking for an excuse to get out of the palace for a while. Who knows? All I knew was that her visit could be the break we'd been waiting for...we could use her as a hostage...

It's definitely the best opportunity everyone has to escape...but it's too early. Either way...the duchess is coming here personally, they aren't sending an appraiser...it'll be interesting, but the strictness will probably be quadrupled at least.

We're going to be expected to look like we're working hard, and that will result in a lot of whipping and lashing...if they bring a bastard along as well, even if we're not wrong, they'll just whip us for some sadistic pleasure.

*****

It was a new day, and I found myself submerged in the cool depths of an underwater cavern, finally granted the opportunity to assist in gathering glimmerite.

With each stroke of my arms, I propelled myself deeper into the waters, the faint glow of the precious mineral illuminating the darkness around me. As I reached the location of the glimmerite, I took a deep breath and began to chip away at the stone with my hands.

I had to use mana to surround my hand and slowly break it off, slowly dislodging chunks of rock surrounding it. I then broke a piece of the ore itself, and I then used magic to try and use this storage spell.

Basically, it's a spell for infinite space storage, and it'll definitely slow our quota progress, but I plan on gathering a bit of glimmerite, I doubt that I can get my hands on such a valuable ore after I've escaped, whether it's true legal or illegal means.

Everyone here doesn't even know such a spell exists, I asked A-san, and they said it does, so I assumed that it was kept away from everyone here so that no one can learn to hide anything, the guards are probably taught to not rely on it as well, in order to not risk us knowing.

Mages in this world are divided into 5 ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Grandmage, and Archmage. And all 5 nations will have 1 person stand above the rest, with the title, Archmage Supreme.

Each rank is divided into a further, lower, middle, and higher/upper classification, an average citizen with no combat background would fall into the lower apprentice rank while the guards here are all at least higher apprentice rank.

Magic in this world is based on imagination, each spell's mana is based on how powerful or complex you think it to be, and even though a storage spell is for those in the novice rank, it is the most complex, but once you get used to it, it'll be a simple and essential spell.

After a couple of tries, I did it, but I also realized something good...I didn't need to shout the spell's name, I guess it's the perk of being the assistant hero.

[Abilities unlocked]

[Poison resistance]

[Chant-less cast]