Chapter 03 First Blood

 In any case, Raiden recalled that the piece of shit guard that usually wakes him up with a bucket of cold water didn't have a purse with him the other days… maybe they would get money at night. Raiden didn't see anything valuable being found in the mines, but he didn't have the chance to see much there either. If he wasted any time not carrying rocks or buckets filled with sand, the guards would have a reason to whip him.

 Raiden looked around at the other slaves and couldn't help but sigh. Each slave, their spirit long since crushed, was consumed by an overwhelming sense of isolation. Chained by fate and circumstance, they work side by side, yet a clear division separates them. The weight of their individual burdens, both physical and emotional, prevented any form of connection or communication. They existed as mere specters, their faces etched with exhaustion, mirroring the bleakness of their surroundings.

The slaves move with mechanical precision; their eyes cast downward in a futile attempt to find solace in the monotony of their tasks. Their movements lack coordination, lacking the unity that might arise from shared suffering. The cavernous expanse amplified their solitude, swallowing any trace of conversation or camaraderie that might have alleviated their suffering.

 It looked like they had seen people in their situation dying many times, so they didn't mind anymore… they didn't feel anything when someone else was suffering; they were just waiting for their turn to come to be completely free of that hell hole. Some people believe that death can be freedom, but Raiden isn't one of them.

Somehow, Raiden managed to survive the day even while helping the kid… he also had the chance to eat his half-hard bread in peace. Still, when he went to bed, he began to panic… he was starting to cough.

 When Raiden woke up the other day, he was still being bothered by the cough, and his health had dropped again… he didn't have any sustenance on his body to heal from his wounds, so it was clear that he had even less to heal from some kind of sickness.

"I was planning to postpone using this and get more money, but I don't think that I can…" Raiden thought when he felt his arms trembling when he tried to get up.

 Before the guard could come, he used some of his fortune to level up, and he was surprised to see his body being reinvigorated with energy when that happened. His HP was back to full!

(You leveled up. HP, MP, and STA were restored.)

(You obtained 05 status points.)

 While the hunger still bothered him, Raiden forgot about it for a while. He could use that to escape… when he goes to take the dirt out of the cave, he could increase his endurance and roll down the mountain and disappear into the forest. He had no idea what was there, but there must be food… he can worry about everything else once he escapes.

 Just when he thought about that, the guards approached and began to open the cages. That day, Raiden escaped from the bucket of cold water, but his coughing neighbor didn't. That wouldn't help him with his condition, even though the guards decided to use him for another day.

 Still, it seemed that he had run out of luck… he could barely move his arms even after the cold bucket of water. Raiden left his cell while seeing the guard sighing. He put his hand on his sword but then recalled that he had to open it first.

"No more heroics… you can escape now, just endure it," Raiden thought.

 The other guards moved away from the area, and then Raiden noticed the chance of him stealing the guard's sword increasing by ten percent. When the guard put the key in the hole, the percentage doubled. When he turned, the chance of Raiden succeeding without being noticed was one out of three… in the end, he made his choice.

 After opening the cage, the guard tried to grab his sword, but he found nothing. Instead of that, he felt a sharp pain in his back that paralyzed his whole body and prevented him from even screaming.

"I told you that you would die first, didn't I?" Raiden whispered.

 The guard fell to his knees and then on the ground. Raiden used all of his fortune to level up three more times, and then he used the points in strength. The sword was almost as big as him, but it was extremely light now.

 The other slaves had left the area with the guards so that they would be fine for a while. Still, Raiden saved the boy, but it didn't seem like he would last for more than a day… Raiden probably had to find some coins and try to make the boy level up. He didn't owe him anything, but letting the kid die now after going that far seemed like a waste.

 In any case, Raiden moved the body of the guard to the corner of the area and then hid on the side of the entrance of the chamber. That piece of shit didn't have any more money with him, and he probably didn't notice that he had lost his coins since he didn't have to check it. Either way, Raiden could wait for the other guards.

 It didn't take long for Raiden to hear the sound of footsteps, so he waited until the guard showed up. When that happened, he stepped forward and then made a sword pierce the side of the guard… it was good that none of those shitheads had any armor with them.

"You little…" The guard muttered while moving his hands to grab his sword.

 Raiden twisted his weapon and made the wound increase. The guard's face contorted in pain thanks to that, and he stopped thanks to it before falling to the ground. Raiden didn't stop there and made sure that the enemy was dead by piercing his throat.

"Shit, I should level up by killing them as well…" Raiden muttered while moving the body and then clicking his tongue since it was leaving a trail of blood.

 It was hard to imagine that Raiden would be able to surprise someone else… the smell of blood was starting to spread as well… Still, going down while killing as many of those pieces of shit as possible didn't seem a bad idea. Raiden didn't know how he ended up in that place, but it must be one hell of a shit world if kids no older than ten are treated like that.

 Still, much to Raiden's surprise, no one came even after a while… he tried to check if he could transform the weapons and other things into fortune, but that didn't work… All of a sudden, Raiden began to hear the sound of metal colliding and then some shouts… he was too far away to confirm that, and he didn't feel like leaving that chamber and risked himself in a corridor where he would easily be seen.

 Raiden felt that the guards were fighting. He wondered if it was against some kind of beast. He also wondered why that was his first thought. Usually, one would think that humans would be fighting humans.

 Eventually, things got eerily quiet, but nothing happened. After some time, Raiden heard the sound of footsteps and then readied himself to fight… it was two pairs of footsteps… so he couldn't waste time and had to finish the first one as soon as possible. Still, when Raiden saw someone in silhouette and dashed forward while thrusting his sword, the target easily repelled it with a sheathed sword.

"Woah… not bad for a malnourished kid of your age," A man wearing brown leather clothes said.

The man who blocked Raiden's attack was tall and muscular, with a rugged and weathered appearance. He had piercing yellow cat-like eyes, a pale complexion, and a strong, square jawline. He also had white hair, even though he didn't look older than thirty.

 His clothes consisted of a combination of leather and chainmail, providing him with both flexibility and defense. No wonder he reacted so fast. He also had a dark cloak on his back.

"Father, don't say such things… he is glaring at you and won't understand the situation if you joke around," A girl said.

 The girl seemed a few years older than Raiden. She had a slender and graceful figure. She was a bit similar to the white-haired guy, which contrasted with her vibrant red hair. Her hair was long and flowing, reaching past her shoulders.

 The girl was also wearing a dark red robe that covered most of her body, but the borders were green, the same tone as her eyes. She didn't look much like a warrior, but it looked like she was about to grab something under her robe.