A tail the width of a small car slammed into Li Mei's body, sending her flying into the nearby cliff wall. They led the verasus into a narrow ravine to minimize the effect of its size advantage, but the damn thing dug its claws into the rock face to manuever its gargantuan form! Sharp teeth the length of swords were about to bite the girl in half when Bao flung himself bodily into the creature's face, clawing at its sensitive eyes and nostrils and hissing like the world's most enraged housecat.

The verasus roared in pain and fury, shaking its head but failing to loosen the fera's tenacious grip. Finally it slammed its head against the rock walls and Bao collapsed with a pitiful whimper amongst a pile of fresh rubble. Blood pooled from beneath the stones, bright scarlet that seemed to drain the color from everything else in contrast, Bao's gold eyes growing dim and gray-

Li Mei awoke with a pained gasp, her body drenched in cold sweat. She hurriedly checked the fera curled up next to her, exhaling a relieved sigh when she saw his flanks rise and fall in a shallow but steady rhythm.

It took longer than expected for the paralytic venom to show any effect on the huge verasus, and the results of her miscalculations were obvious. Li Mei got away with broken ribs, a concussion and countless different gashes on her body, but poor Bao...

His slender forelegs were shattered along with every one of his ribs - only the grace of the heavens saved his lungs from being punctured. An enormous gash along his left side exposed bone, tendon, and even some organs to the air. It was starting to heal with the help of an herbal paste, but it required careful tending to make sure it didn't fester. Several smaller wounds covered his body, scratches and bite marks alike, but none were as serious as the gash or the broken bones.

The emotions flickering in the depths of the girl's mauve eyes were complicated, conflicted. No one had ever gotten themselves hurt for her sake before. Seeing him so badly injured, possibly dead, and all the blood...

She didn't like that feeling. Li Mei had been so proud of their progress, but that pride was swept away in a single breath. She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth so hard her jaw ached. 'I'm still too damned weak!'

They spent several days hiding in a root network recovering enough strength to return home, and they were the longest days of her life. Once Bao no longer seemed ready to keel over at the flutter of an eyelash, she carefully tied him to her back with vines and carried him up the mountain, one painful inch at a time. It took another week before he showed any signs of improvement. He still spent more time asleep than awake, but he was able to eat solid food again at least.

After changing the fera's makeshift bandages and making sure he was covered with a blanket, Li Mei limped her way out of their cave.

In the past four months they'd worked on making their cave more comfortable. The path from the cave to the peak was widened, and Li Mei started transplanting several herbs and edible plants to the mountain top. Since the mountain was rocky and didn't have fertile soil, she'd had to work hard collecting dirt and loam from the forest and layering it atop the peak. The result was a grassy garden, with leafy berry bushes and fragrant herbs, creating a relaxing atmosphere for peaceful contemplation or training sessions.

Moonlight bathed the peak with silver light in no way diminished by the chromatic pillars of glowing crystals and their halos of rainbow light. Li Mei inched her way toward her way up the path and through the garden, taking slow deep breaths to offset the pain in her ribs. She focused on her feet, one careful step at a time, and so she didn't notice the figure sitting on her favorite rock until she nearly tripped over his outstretched leg.

Li Mei froze.

Long slender legs wearing black slacks, incredibly shiny shoes on his feet, and the faint scent of cigarette smoke lingering in the cool night air.

Her stomach dropped and tried to bury itself in the soil beneath her feet. She couldn't even bring herself to look up, her pupils constricting the size of needle points as panic made her heart slam an awkward rhythm in her aching chest.

"I was going to wait here and enjoy this lovely garden until you woke up, but I must confess you're a bit earlier than I expected." The man's heavily accented drawl sounded amused. He tossed a small burlap bag to the ground near her feet, then placed a cigarette between his thin lips. "I brought you a peace offering. Is it to your liking?"

They stood in silence, until the thick scent of blood reached Li Mei's nose. Her eyes flicked over to the bag, but Scan only described the material of the container and not the contents. When the man continued to wait in silence, she awkwardly grabbed the surprisingly heavy bag and peeked inside.

She stared at the contents for a long moment before she placed the bag back on the ground and pushed it away with her foot. An indescribable mixture of disgust and disappointment colored her face. The man chuckled and lit his cigarette with a flame dancing on the end of his finger. "I wanted to show my sincerity. May we talk?"

Li Mei hesitated before nodding, taking a seat on a low boulder opposite her currently occupied favorite spot. Delivering Vigen's decapitated head in a bag certainly earned him a conversation.

He was handsome, and looked younger than 30. She wasn't expecting that. Heavy winged eyebrows above a piercing gaze as deep and dark as the night sky, short black hair with a tendency to fall in his face, and a tall, slender figure in simple yet flattering clothes.

Yet despite how delicate and pretty he looked...

Li Mei had learned to modify what information popped up in Scan's tooltip, depending on any specifics she wanted to know and what was relevant to her at the time, and a quick check of the man's base stats made her skin crawl.

-----

[Faust]

Xian (Disguised as Human)

Male

Rank 7 (23%)

-----

Rank 7.

Rank 7!

Li Mei was only 53% of the way through Rank 0! Bao was 58%! Between the two of them they could hunt simple Rank 1 beasts, but a Rank 2 almost demolished them if not for some fortuitous circumstances and clever resourcefulness. Just how strong would a Rank 7 be?! If he blinked the wrong way she'd fall over dead!

Somehow that helped her to calm down. If he wanted her dead or recaptured, it wouldn't require any effort on his part. Clearly finding her wasn't an issue. And he even delivered the head of the man 44 hated most. 'So what does someone with a Rank 7 rating want with a Rank 0 runaway slave kid like me?'

Loosening the collar of his shirt, Faust blew a ring of smoke into the air before leaning back in a relaxed pose. "We've never met officially, but you recognize me. Have you heard my voice before?" Li Mei found herself nodding - she also recognized his legs, but that was awkward to point out. "You're intelligent so I'll do you the courtesy of being candid. I am responsible for bringing you to the estate, though Vigen's treatment of you afterward was contrary to my original intentions. I've been very busy the past 10 years which stopped me from following up on your care, trusting Vigen was doing his job. He was not. He has been punished. For the record, I do not count decapitation as part of his punishment - that was merely an incidental result."

Li Mei shivered, but managed to find her voice at last. "I wanted to do it myself."

The man nodded. "Vengeance isn't satisfying when enacted through someone else's hands, but it would have taken you a very long time to reach an appropriate level of strength to take down Vigen."

"I had time."

"Less than you think, which is why I'm here." Faust blew out a mouthful of smoke, crossing one leg over the other. "I am known as Adalrich Agilo to the people of the estate, but that is not my name any more than 44 is yours. Have you picked a proper name for yourself yet?"

"Li Mei."

"Very well, and you may call me Faust. Li Mei, do you want to get stronger?"

Wariness and suspicion flickered across Li Mei's eyes, tilting away from him like she was about to run far, far away the instant he made a move. Faust exhaled a cloud of smoke that served to hide the slight amused twitch of his lips.

She blinked, and he was gone. No signs of movement, no trace or afterimage. Just gone.

"Don't move." Faust's voice sounded low and almost hoarse directly behind her, so close his cigarette-scented breath stirred the crimson hair on her head. Li Mei immediately tried to turn, but it was as though his words created the strongest chains that bound her in place - she couldn't so much as twitch a muscle, much less try to escape.

The next moment Li Mei heard a metallic click as a black band clasped itself shut around her neck, its surface molding itself seamlessly against the contours of her flesh until there wasn't room for so much as a hair to slip inbetween her skin and the strangely smooth metal. Warmth bordering on a level just below discomfort flooded her entire body. Heat gathered at her fingertips, rushing up her arms to congregate on the 44 tattoo.

Around the number 44 on her left arm was a circle of strange foreign lettering that neither Li Mei nor 44 herself could understand. As the heat built up and threatened to burn her flesh from the inside, Li Mei saw the lettering peel off her skin like it had only been ironed on in the first place. The letters rose into the air, hovering in a disorderly cloud.

Some of the lettering vanished into sparkles of white light, replaced by new letters of different shapes. They marched toward her neck, settling onto the metal band that suddenly felt scorching hot. By the time her body and the band both cooled off the lettering was no longer discernible to the naked eye.

-----

[Notice]

The terms of your [Enslavement Bind] have been altered.

-----

-----

[Enslavement Bind]

A magic spell binds you. You are compelled to follow direct orders from your Owner. You will accompany your Owner and assist with his tasks unless ordered otherwise.

Owner: Faust

Standing Orders: You will do everything in your power to survive. You are encouraged to speak freely and share your opinions and requests with your Owner.

Standing Restrictions: You may not reveal any secrets your Owner shares with you in confidence. You may not conspire to kill your Owner. You may not through inaction allow your Owner to die at the hands of his enemies. You may not attempt to end your own life. You may not inform anyone that you are a slave if they are previously unaware of the fact.

-----

Faust recited the orders and restrictions one by one, each word hammering a nail into Li Mei's coffin. Cold sweat dripped down her temples. When the man finished speaking, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Encouraged to speak freely?

Li Mei let out a string of profanity so foul it might have burnt the ears of a lesser man. Faust chuckled and once more sat on Li Mei's favorite rock, leisurely stretching out his long legs. His cigarette burnt away to ashes, but the smell of acrid smoke lingered in the cool night air. "That's not very polite language for a young lady."

"You want me to speak my mind? I'll speak my mind! Fuck your mother!"

Faust paused for a moment in the middle of pulling out another cigarette, heavy eyebrows raised in surprise. "Where in the world did you learn to talk like that?"

"There's no charity etiquette classes for orphaned slave kids you walking composite of ashes and cancer!" Li Mei breathed heavily, glaring at the handsome young man as he ever so slowly put the cigarette back in his pocket with an awkward expression on his face. "I'm a person, not a piece of property! Am I supposed to be touched and grateful that I've been so magnanimously allowed to have opinions?! Oh good, I can make requests of my master, what a glorious and kind man that he allows me to have wants and needs! Go soak your head you pompous-"

Li Mei went on an agitated tirade until her ribs ached too much to speak, doubling over in pain. Faust leaned forward, resting his palms on his knees. "You will suffer. You will be broken, heal, and broken again. You will hate me more than you already do, which I'm sure is difficult to imagine at this moment. But I will make you strong. I promise that. Now open your mouth."

Faust flicked his thumb, launching a small purple bead that landed squarely on Li Mei's tongue. It dissolved into a mist that flowed easily down her throat like a breath of fresh air. The pain in her ribs alleviated, some of the lingering yellow bruises on her flesh fading away to nothing.

"You can move now," Faust said as he strode leisurely toward the cave, hands in his pockets.

By the time Li Mei caught up, the enormous gash on Bao's side was slathered by a greenish foam that bubbled and hissed, the aroma of medical herbs making the air thick and heady. "I am a man of many talents," Faust said, his tone and expression proclaiming the statement to be humble and trivialized. "But medicine has always been my specialty."

Li Mei ignored him, taking her place at Bao's side when she saw the fera's gold eyes flutter open. He chirped weakly and laid his head on her lap, flicking his ears back and forth.

"The fera is yours, we'll bring him with us. Your murder of the slaves will be our little secret, judging by the intel I've gathered they had it coming. I'll even let you keep that storage artifact you stole - that's how you moved the plinths, I assume."

Li Mei glanced up, but Faust had his back to her so he missed the odd expression on her face. 'Storage artifact... Judging by the name, they have something like my Interface's storage in this world? That's awful convenient.'

"Adalrich Agilo, my false identity, is a leading researcher working under an organization called Oriole. It is divided into several sectors developing many different kinds of technologies. The estate you've lived on for the past ten years of your life is a cover for Sector 9, in charge of researching and producing serums intended to... Well. Super soldiers is the simplest explanation I can give. You're clever enough, but your education is lacking in too many areas for me to divulge any details within your scope of understanding. We'll fix that soon enough.

"There's a lot of competition for resources and prestige between the sectors. Within the next few months the estate will be attacked by a coalition of sectors who envy our recent progress. It won't be pretty, but it's a good opportunity for me to make Adalrich Agilo disappear. I've learned all I can from Oriole, it's time to escape before they realize what I've been up to."

Li Mei narrowed her eyes, countless questions swirling in her mind. In the end she sorted through them all and chose the most pertinent query to voice: "Why me?"

"You're young. Intelligent. Resourceful. Cunning. Ruthless. And most importantly unable to betray me. I've been looking for a disciple for awhile, and you have enough potential to pique my interest. You're barely halfway to Rank 1 and you took down a Rank 2 verasus with that little fera."

"His name is Bao," Li Mei snapped, petting the fera's face with a gentle touch that didn't match the venom dripping from her voice. A chill settled in the pit of her belly - he knew about the verasus, he knew where they were. Had he been watching them all along? The thought of being under surveillance by strangers made her skin crawl. People watching, waiting, judging, and she had no idea! Being on the losing end of an information war was unpleasant.

"Bao, then. Both of you have talent, I want to see how it plays out. And potentially make use of you. The stronger you are, the more helpful it will be." Faust stuck an unlit cigarette between his lips, turning just enough to glance at Li Mei over his shoulder. "I'm skilled with medicine, magic both offensive and defensive, seven different fighting styles, ancient history, geography, zoology both natural and magical, item identification, arrays, enchanting, and alchemy. I speak more than a dozen languages fluently enough to pass as a native. I'm willing to teach if you're willing to learn. What interests you?"

Scan revealed he wasn't just bragging. His Rank 7 rating alone made him a valuable teacher, even if he was a scumbag who owned slaves. If he was going to teach her, she was going to wring him like a wet sponge for every drop of useful information she could obtain!

Li Mei's eyes sparkled with greed and anticipation. "What interests me? Everything!"