8. If I have to work until I die, I'm still a slave, boss.

Luz only felt gloomy and horrified as Master Brian dragged him out of the place as thousands of thoughts shot through his mind.

'Why and what am I supposed to do in such a situation…? Am I supposed to give up my sibling and forget about them!? If their blood will be shed even if I don't do, then I might as well intervene.' shot through Luz's head as he stood there, entrenched in the blood of an alien with pieces of brain matter and flesh in his hair, as he ground his teeth together.

The thoughts haunting him turned worse with every second, and it was clearly visible on his visage that he was feeling a mixture of despair, frustration, and worry.

His master, Master Brian, only felt pity for the young man, and after walking with Luz for a few minutes, he sighed before taking out a cigarette from his jacket with a loud sigh. The tip of his cigarette lit up with a mere glance, and after taking a drag from the cigarette, he started admitting something. "Well, that went as bad as it could get. But at least you can tell others that you killed a master Mage while being a mage apprentice."

Luz shook his head before asking while suppressing his fury, a question in a shaky voice. "A-Am I SUPPOSED TO FIND THAT FUNNY!? THE SEAR JUST TOLD ME…" before Luz could finish his sentence while letting his rage run rampant, his master cut him short as he had no interest in arguing with a child. "Don't believe everything these seers show you. Your fate isn't set in stone."

After taking another puff, he began to curse quietly: "It was a stupid idea to bring you here."

Meanwhile, in the background, the loud squeezing sound of rats could be heard, sending shivers down Luz's back.

Luz's eyes immediately narrowed as the two strolled through the dark streets. 'So many rats are hiding in the dark,' he thought before asking his master: "How am I supposed not to bother with these revelations? After all, they literally told me, [When my brothers meet each other, blood will be shed.]"

A sad smile formed on Master Brian's face as he took another deep breath with his eyes closed before telling him a lie, or rather half-truth. "These pesky seers only show you one of the many possibilities of how you could end up in the future. But it gets worse. They try to influence the future slightly, tampering with the vision you see, hoping to create the outcome they most desire."

Master Brian's words lifted Luz's mood slightly. But one question remained on Luz's mind. "Why did the seer die?"

His master, however, remained silent and gazed towards the stary night sky before bothering to answer his question. "If you want precise answers for the questions plaguing you, go ask a seer. But to keep it short, your future self should be quite strong." After stating that, he immediately shook his head before adding: "Well, strong is an understatement. But your future self is ready to take action if someone is daring to play with your fate in a way he doesn't want it."

Brian's answers only caused further confusion and headaches for Luz and the two kept walking in silence.

As they walked, Luz carefully observed the passerby. To be precise, he noted down their mood and what they wore and got quickly disappointed. Their cheap linen clothing bore no resemblance to the clothes the village elder had ascribed them to wear. Author note: right, Luz. They got no drip.

'That old man lied to me. Weren't they supposed to fly and wear gold while also living like kings compared to us villagers? Why do I only see people suffering here?' thought Luz in disappointment. Unfortunately for him, Luz didn't find anything that agreed with his by now destroyed world view of how citizens were supposed to look and live.

Minutes passed, and he asked his all-knowing master another question that was bothering him. "Boss, what do I have to do from now on, and what is my wage?"

A big grin formed on his master's face, and Luz immediately anticipated the worst. "You are arrogant to ask for your wage already while never having worked yet under me. Well, it's a few pennies at least."

Luz thought for a few seconds before asking: "And how much is my debt that I have to pay off?"

Brian pointed a number with his fingers, and Luz guessed: "ten bronze coins? Well, that should be doable, I guess."

Upon hearing that answer, his master chuckled before answering while shaking his head: "Ten gold coins. Mages aren't cheap."

The average citizen earns between 5 to 50 bronze coins a day (also known as pennies). (This is an annual salary ranging from 1825 to 18250 bronze coins (=1,825 to 18,25 silver coins). One gold coin equals one thousand silver coins, and one silver coin is worth one thousand gold bronze.

Author note: the metric system rules supreme. Even in my fiction world, there is no escape from it. 1-gold coin=10^3-silver coins=10^9-bronze coins

Dumbfounded by his answer, Luz cursed loudly: "Are you fucking kidding me!? If I have to work until I die, I'm still a slave. Boss!!"

Amused by Luz's behavior, Brian replied: "Well, If I'm ever in a good mood about your work, I'll let you leave sooner."

It didn't take long for the two to reach their destination. By now, it was already deep the night. In front of them, or rather a hundred meters away from them, stood a giant mansion glowing slightly under the moonlight.

The sight only confused the tired Luz, having never seen a building as gigantic as the one standing in front of him before.

His master proudly opened the gate while waving at a butler standing who was reading his newspaper in the moonlight.

An elderly man with gray hair who wore glasses was awaiting them. He wore a clean black smocking, and Brian casually told him: "Yo Alfred. Take Luz to the other children, please."

Alfred quickly bowed before stating: "By your command," before turning his attention towards the reeking Luz. Raising an eyebrow, Alfred scrutinized the young lad from head to toe in disgust. (After all, Luz came in a state where he had blood all over himself.)

Filled with regret, Alfred sighed loudly: "Young man, follow me inside, please."

Luz followed Alfred to a backdoor, leading them downwards into the basement. Everything looked clean, and each of his steps echoed loudly through the hallways, and Luz almost felt uncomfortable.

After walking a few minutes, Luz gave up remembering the way and silently continued. 'Such a large building belongs to Master Brian, but I don't see any other human souls.'

Upon reaching a door, Alfred halted his steps before stating: "I hope you won't forget to be happy for my master to take you in," before opening a squeaking door made of white wood.

Luz immediately recognized a few kids sitting on bunk beds alien to him. But before Luz was willing to enter, he asked: "Why?"

"Because Brian has a good heart. He often buys unfortunate or rather mages who got unjustly enslaved in hopes of giving them a life worth living," Alfred stated with a sigh.

Luz nodded, and before the talk could continue, Alfred opened the door wide, and the kids inside immediately scrambled under their blankets.

"I may be old, but I'm not a blind man," the butler swore before adding: "Anyway, you all got a new friend. I hope that one of you could lend him some new clothes and bring him to the showers."

After seeing how nobody reacted to his announcement, Alfred shouted: "Lewis, I give you the responsibility to deal with him," before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Luz immediately felt the uncomfortable gaze of all the children in the room, sitting in each bunk bed. Only two were empty.

Ten boys of different ages sat on their beds and stared holes at Luz. The atmosphere remained tense for a few seconds before a young boy who seemed to have no masculine traits interrupted the building atmosphere with, "I'm Lewis. Please introduce yourself before I bring you to showers."

"My name is Luz, and I am 18 years old. I'm from the Northern part of the kingdom," Luz stated as he moved his gaze from child to child, looking each of them into their eyes. 'In this room alone are enough eye colors to fill a color palette,' thought Luz.

Some of them had green eyes, others brown, and there were even some with golden eyes.

"Wow, if this continues, Master Brian will have saved at least one child from every province in the kingdom," a boy commented.

Another child whispered loudly: "Gotta catch them all," and a few children giggled at his comment.

Before the room could grow louder, Lewis silenced it immediately while taking out two towels and two sets of clothes. "Luz, follow me."

The two left the room in silence. Lewis led Luz while carrying a small lamp to illuminate the dark and narrow corridors. It took them quite a while till the two reached their destination.

Narrator: Don't expect an ecchi shower scene between two teenage boys. It's way too early for that. I'm too lazy to narrate such a scene, but I might include that in a later chapter. Who knows.