Chapter 1- Freedom

*thud*

On the ground laid a gray curly haired man who was covered in sweat from the hot sun. He held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun when his gaze fell upon the shackled on his wrist.

'Huff…huff…huff. UUGGGHHH! This sucks. I can't lay around for too long lest I want another example made out of me.'

The man sat up and looked around when he saw his pickaxe a few feet away from him. He leaned over and picked up before using it as a crutch to stand. He began slowly walking towards the spot he was mining at.

*guuuuurrrggglllee*

The man stumbled and fell onto the side of the mountain and gripped his stomach in pain. He tried getting to his feet when a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him up. He turned around in fear that it was a guard waiting to hand out his punishment for not working.

"You know Tru you outta take better care of yourself you're working way too hard for these scraps of Zil."

Tru looked up and saw a tall muscular woman with short brown hair, amber eyes and a bright smile. She was dressed in a dark orange form fitting fighting suit. Which honestly perplexed Tru often because they were here to mine not fight.

"Thanks Gaia, I thought for sure you were a guard." Tru sighed in relief before turning back around to mine. He raised his pickax's and swung when suddenly Gaia grabbed it from him.

Gaia suddenly reach into her pocket and threw Tru a small glass bottle filled with a yellow liquid. Tru caught the bottle before look at Geo with great surprise.

'This is a mid grade mana potion, these aren't cheap. This must've cost Gaia a lot of her savings, besides were mining slaves we don't make much as is. I have to get her to take it back.'

Tru turned to the large woamn with a nervous look "Gaia I can't take this, I wouldn't be able to pay you back for this for at least several months. That's even after I buy my freedom.

Gaia smiled and turned to Tru before patting him on the shoulder and almost knocking him over. "Hey dont worry about it your freedom is much more important than you paying me back for that besides I believe you're forgetting something."

Gaia turned her neck and pointed to a black glowing symbol in the shape of a mountain. "This means I'm a forever prisoner besides I mine a lot more with my Geo magic than you ever could with your weak body. Drink that and go rest."

He laughed at Gaia's words before his face turned to worry "But what about the guards? They'll know I went missing and then I'll be made an example of." Tru shuddered at the thought of the imaginative deeds the guards could come up with.

"Ahahahahah don't worry about it I got it covered besides not like you do a lot around here any way to be significant." Gaia stuck out her tongue as she teased Tru before turning around to contribute to mine.

Tru shook his head in disblief before leaving the mountain side and heading back to his hut in the camp. Once he was inside he sat on his bed and looked at the potion before chugging it down.

'Ugh this flavor is horrible. They could at least make it taste better no matter how good it is.' Tru groaned at the taste the potion had left k n his mouth when he suddenly felt his magic power restoring rapidly. He closed his eyes and felt it filling to the brim and stopped.

He slowly opened his eyes and softly spoke "Status". Suddenly a blue screen popped up in front of him.

*STATUS*

Name- Tru Lee

Age- 23

Rank- N/A

Affinity- N/A

Magic Level- 90/100

'Damn still didn't get enough to rank up and get my affinity. But once I buy the key to these shackles I'll be able to register at the Magus Guild and take on requests.

Tru looked over his status and was a bit disappointed but was excited at the thought of awakening. He laid down and pondered about the rank he would get considering most people that awaken get F-D rank and in some special cases a C or even B rank.

Not long after taking the potion Tru fell fast asleep in his bed dreaming about his awakening. Tru slept soundly thoruvh the whole night until he was awoken by a loud noise.

*BOOM*

"What the heck is that?" Tru grumbled while rubbing his eyes and walked outside his hut to see a crater about 10 feet deep in the middle of the courtyard. In the crater was a slightly disheveled Gaia. She stood up and wiped off her clothes when she spotted Tru.

"Hey Tru you're awake, I didn't expect you to sleep all day. Though you look a lot better than you have since you've been here." Gaia walked up with a beaming smile at her friend while Tru looked down at himself.

He could see that his physique had improved. His body was no longer skinny but bulked slightly with muscle. Tru was shocked but joyous at his body's condition more so at the fact that he didn't notice before.

"Yeah you're right I guess that mana potion you give did me wonders. You sure it was just a mana potion?" Tru flashed Gaia a friendly yet suspicious look.

"Haha who knows" Gaia shrugged lightly before walking towards Tru's hut. "Man I am starving, you do have food in here don't you Tru?"

Tru shook his head before following behind her, "Yes I have food but not for a glutton like yourself, besides I'm starving myself. Let's go hunt for some food."

Tru walked away to get dressed and came back a few moments later clothed. Though he was dressed his clothes didn't quite fit him.

The sight caused Gaia to laugh so hard it brought her to tears.

"Well guess I'll head down to the shop first, though I already had plans for that I. The first place. Mind if we make a quick stop?" Tru awkwardly spoke as he looked at his clothes.

Gaia said nothing besides opening the door and usher him through to the outside. After a short walk the duo came to the shop and entered in.

"Welcome! Everything you see is everything we have in stock. Is there anything you're looking for specifically today?" the shop keep bid them a warm welcome upon seeing Tru large sack of money.

"Yes came to buy new clothes, a Key to Freedom, and do you happen to have any gauntlets in stock? Tru quick directed his needs to the shop keep while Gaia strolled and looked around.

The shop keep nodded and directed him to a section of the shop, "Why yes sir these here are all the gauntlets we have on hand, and as for the Key of Freedom I'll have it ready for you at the register once you finish here."

Tru nodded and look at the gauntlets, all ranging from Rank F up to Rank D. Tru examined each carefully until he came across one that caught his eye.

The gauntlet in question was black and slightly rusted with clawed finger tips. It also had six small holes embedded at the knuckle of each finger and one at the center. Tru walked over to it and picked it up.

'…grant…power…'

Tru heard a soft whispering voice enter his head soon as he picked up the gauntlet. He flipped it around a few times but saw nothing but once he put it on it's stats popped up

*STATUS*

Name: Black Gauntlet

Rank: E

Affinity: N/A

Type: Gauntlet

Item Description: "Worn out old rusted gauntlet with such low magic output there is none at all."

'Hmm weird thought it would say something about what I heard from the voice but nothing' Tru was curious as to where the voice came from when he looked up and saw Gaia standing in front of him.

"So that's what you're going to go with? You know there's plenty of other and might I saw better ones to choose from than this rusted piece of work. Don't you think?"

Gaia was baffled by her friends choice of armory and felt it was her responsibility to talk him out of a horrible choice. Though her words fell on deaf ears when she saw he had ignored her and walked to the register.

"Yes I'd like to purchase this gauntlet and the Key of Freedom." Tru placed the gauntlet and the bag of Zil on the counter.

The merchant looked at the gauntlet and then back at Tru. "Nothing else caught your eye, sir? We do have much better ones than this one surely."

Tru just shook his head in response and waited as the shop keep tallied his total."Thatll be 15000 Zil. 509 for the gauntlet and 14500 for the Key of Freedom.

Tru pushed the bag over to the shop keep and took the key and the gauntlet and left with Gaia in tow.

"Please do come again sir." The shop keep smiled and watched as Tru and his company left.

Tru and Gaia were walking down the road as he examined the small blue crystal like key in his hand.

*STATUS*

Name- Key of Freedom

Rank- S

Item Description: "A key used to buy one's freedom from a slavery contract. The key has a single use and disappears afterwards."

Tru wasted no time and tapped his shackles with them and watched as both the key and the shackles disappeared.

"Now that I've got my freedom it's time to go hunt for some food? What do you say?"

Tru looked around and heard no response only to see he was alone talking to himself in the street.

"Uh Gaia, where'd you go?!"