Delta

The next day, three men in proper white shirt and black pants, came to the stable as soon as I woke up. Unlike the other slaves, I was very groggy when I woke up. After all, I've died by some strange phenomenon and got transmigrated not as some protagonist but as a puny slave!

The three men were here to take the slaves to the mine. While following them I noticed that each of them had a whip attached to their belts. All the other slaves were calling them 'masters'.

As I went through the muddy road, I noticed many things which refreshed the memories of Alex in my head. Most of the time there was only night in this place and only five times a year would this place get to bath in the sunlight! The Sun here also looked larger as compared to that on Earth but it wasn't as strong as ours. It gave off a very dim heat and light, the same amount as during a foggy day.

There also was no moon on this planet; the night sky was lightened up only by the colorful stars and nebulas which were mesmerizing to look at. Whenever I looked at the dark sky, it looked as if someone has created a beautiful painting by sprinkling multiple glowing colors on a black canvas. Such a sight was very rare on Earth and I've only seen it in anime or movies!

***

As we entered the cave of the mine, I noticed glowing stones of various colors. Nobody knew what they were; the only thing we all knew was that the more we mined these stones, the more benefits we would get. And, if you finish your daily quota, you were pretty much free for the day. That's how Alex got to work both in the mines and in the Starlight fruit farm of the old man.

I didn't know about anyone else but I had a System I needed to check. On the way I tried calling Delta many times in my head but there was no reply. I was afraid that maybe it was just my imagination and I never actually had a chance to escape this hell! Delta was my only hope to go back home right now!

Finally, I decided to call Delta out loud with my words and not just my thoughts. Not wanting anyone else to hear my voice, I found a secluded place in the mine, far from the others. I noticed the masters had their attention on me but I avoided it and started to mine the hard stones with my pickaxe. I thought it would hurt but unexpectedly mining the stones was rather easy. Maybe it was because of this body being used to it by mining since a very young age.

I kept on mining and then I whispered softly, "Activate". Just as I said that, the robotic voice replied clearly into my ears.

Ding!

- "The system has already been activated; the host should use the name 'Delta' to call upon the system."

I jumped up on my feet, the hairs at my back instinctively stood up as I looked around afraid that everyone must have heard Delta by how loud he has just been. But I was relieved as well as confused after seeing that everything was perfectly normal. Apparently, nobody heard me or the system.

Just to be certain, I decided to call him again and said, "Delta."

- "Delta is at host's service."

As soon as I heard the voice, I looked around and thought, 'Am I the only one who can hear him? Why is that?"

After focusing back into hitting the stones with my pickaxe, I whispered again, "Hey Delta, why didn't anyone hear you just now? Why didn't you reply to me when I was calling you in my thoughts? Also, tell me what you actually are, can I even trust you?" I had many more questions but I remained calm and planned to ask them later, only after I see Delta's response.

- "Only the host can hear, see and feel Delta as Delta is only connected to host's soul. Delta cannot read or alter host's thoughts or memories; it is not in the programming.

- "Delta is a semi-autonomous entity created by Psais, the Goddess of Destiny to help and guide the host into freeing Psais from 'The Slayer'. As to the fact about trusting Delta; it is clearly up to the host. Although, Delta can guarantee the host that it will do anything and everything within its capabilities to help the host."

After saying his fair deal of answers, Delta became silent. There was silence around me for a few seconds while I waited for Delta to clarify more about the information he just passed on to me but to my dismay, there were no more words.

'Well great, now I have more questions I want answers to.'

As I was going to ask more questions, one of the masters started to move towards me. I felt cold sweat building at the back of my head and I increased the intensity of my mining. The master just stood by my side without saying anything and just kept on smiling.

'If only Delta could read my thoughts and we were able to converse in my head, things would have been so much easier!'

Cursing at my luck, I started mining with more effort so that I can atleast finish my quota early and go back to the stable to have some privacy and free time. Meanwhile the master wasn't looking at me directly anymore but he was still standing nearby. From the stunt I pulled the previous day, I was pretty sure that the masters were now keeping a close watch on me!

'Sigh!…I need to escape this place as soon as possible. I will have to see what Delta can do and if he actually is a cheat system! Only then can I plan something.'

***