Ch 1: The Chamber of the goddess

“You failures, now that you have your affinity and your enhancements, it’s time to go out and challenge your first trials. Behind these doors are what you must face before you can officially enter the trail. Once you finish your trail, the door to the first boss room will open.”

“And remember, if you want to live past the 15-day threshold, you need to kill the boss and bring the loot back to me. Only then will you be allowed to live more than the 15-day mark.”

Baron Luke stood behind the group with his whip in hand. He was not going to allow the group to step back and hide from the danger. The slaves only had two choices - go inside the door or die by the Baron’s hand. So in reality, there only ever had been one choice available to the slaves.

Despite his yelling at Alex not to walk into that trail room, his body moved and crossed the door in front of him.

He was the first person through the door and it disappeared behind him. The rest of the slaves looked shocked and scared to see the door disappear and reappear in front of them.

“Hey, what are you all sitting around for? Hurry up and go in as well.”

Baron Luke slapped his whip on the ground. It made a cracking sound that caused everyone else to look frightened and quickly walk into the door. But unlike Alex, the rest of the slaves decided to enter the door together. They did not know what they would face and there was safety in number.

…………………..

Alex looked behind him but no one had followed him inside the door. He knew that something was wrong with the space he was in but Alex could not pinpoint what was wrong with the space.

‘If I were a mage and knew the workings of the tower, would I have known what was wrong then? Would my instincts have warned me the same way they are doing now?’

Alex walked deeper into the cave he was in. The walls shined with the light from the naturally formed crystals by the water and minerals in the cave.

‘Are there no monsters in this place? But all the survivors said that this place was crawling with beasts and monsters. I cannot let my guard down if I don’t want to be taken in by surprise.’

Alex might be a slave but he was not a fool. He knew he had to be cautious when he was in the tower. Just because a place looked safe does not mean that it was safe. So, Alex kept an eye out for any danger as he looked around for a door.

He walked and walked but the corridor seemed to be repeating itself. It was of no use to walk anymore since there seemed to be no end to this corridor.

Dread threatened to choke Alex but he held firm and kept on walking. He was sure that he would be able to find an end to this corridor soon if he kept on walking.

“You are an amusing one. Usually, humans give up by now and accept their fate. From there, they either fall into despair or rage. But your reactions have amused me, my dear human. And so, I shall give you a chance. Come and find me.”

The voice echoed throughout the place. It was hollow, yet majestic. It was not a human’s voice but it attracted Alex like a moth to the flame.

Even if his instincts begged for him not to chase after that voice, Alex was only a mortal and a human. He could not stop his feet from moving after that voice.

The alluring voice kept on calling out to Alex and he was helpless against it. His feet seemed to be under someone’s spell as they took him toward a hidden corridor and then near a lake.

The face of a beautiful woman stared back at Alex from the depths of the water. If Alex said that this was the most beautiful female he had ever seen in his life, then it would not be exaggerated.

Her beautiful skin and dark hair made her look like a fairy. But if Alex stared carefully enough, he could see the bat-like wings as well as horns on top of this female’s head.

Her presence made Alex stiffen with fear but also morbid curiosity.

“You are one of the lucky ones who managed to open the door to my chamber. Your desire is great but it is all buried underneath. Tell me, human, do you wish to live? Or will you die by the end of your 15th day?”

The goddess or demoness, whatever she was, asked Alex with an amused expression. Her easygoing nature and her calm words made it seem like she did not care about what happened to Alex.

One look from this goddess made Alex’s breath catch in his throat and he forgot how to speak.

Now was the time to act, but the human was frozen stiff. Even if he wanted to move his body, it refused to listen to him. Only his mouth moved and spoke of his wishes in earnest.

“I want to survive. I desperately want to survive past the 15 days. Is there a way for me to do that?”

Alex asked with desperation. His voice was filled with hope. Alex begged the eternal being in front of him to show him a way past his curse. It did not matter if this was a goddess or a demoness who saved him. All that mattered was his will to live.

If Alex got to survive past the 15 days mark, he would do anything and he would promise anything to this goddess. Pride? Freedom? It did not matter to him at all.

“Hoh? You are a desperate one. But I don’t think you understand what I am asking you here for. I am not asking you to have a will to ‘survive,’ I am asking you to have a will to ‘live and thrive.’ But you don’t seem to see a difference between the two.”

Was there a difference between the two? Or a slave, being able to wake up another day was living. They did not have their own lives so there was no difference between the two.

“I see, so you indeed do not see a difference between the two. In that case, I don’t think I can help you much. Your desire is not enough to wield my powers.”

The demoness was casting him away. Alex felt his heart drop and his mind goes blank.

His body unconsciously grabbed the goddess and looked her right in the eyes. But it had all happened without Alex’s input and by the time he came back, it was too late to do anything to reverse what he had done.

“Hmm, you know what kid. I changed my mind about you not having enough desire. Maybe I can help you out after all.”