I sucked a deep breath. And my heart skipped a beat. Turning to my right to face the voice, a man sat at the edge of the bed near the wall. I could only see his hulking back and his coat. I took another breath to compose myself. I was a slave now…

“You must be… The Collector…” I said with slight uncertainty.

“Hmhm.” His hum came deep along with a nod. “Then you must know what I intend to do next?” He stood up and turned around to face me.

I met his gaze, his face was worn by time wrinkles plaguing it, he had a beard that accentuated his jaw, and his eyes were cold, reminding me of the same indifferent gaze from Computing unit. Right memories…

I flinched for a second trying to recall whatever Computing unit had talked about, it wasn’t an automatic process. I winced feeling some phantom pain from the situation and as well as their conversation, and soon I sort of knew what was actually going on. Computing unit mentioned a lot but she failed to mention… He could just forcefully make me talk without even lifting a finger!

“Questioning? Regarding me as a…” I paused. “Human?”

He shook his head. “Not exactly right.” He met my gaze. “First there are two things I want to make clear for you.”

I waited patiently as he raised his two fingers.

“Number one, you work for me now.” I nodded. “Number two, should you prove to me that you’re truly human, then you may buy your way to liberty after paying treatment fees, rescue fees, and utility fees. Do I make myself clear?”

Huh? Was he serious? I sort of expected him to be much less… flexible? I didn’t have the right word for it. It took me about half a second to reply to him.

“You make yourself clear.” Even though he was being straightforward I had to treat him with respect. After all…

[The Collector ???. Lvl. ???]

It was red as well. Though he didn’t… Well I didn’t feel as if my throat was closing nor as if needles were pricking my skin in his presence.

“Now before questioning.” He pointed towards the desk, a box rested atop of it. “There is a new uniform for you, as well as a low grade health potion given the condition of your arm. Once you’ve consumed your potion and are dressed, meet me outside.”

He walked towards the wooden door that was considerably more polished than the other one, and left. The door did not make a single sound throughout the process until it clicked closed.

A sigh escaped me.

“Fuck.” Those were the words in my mind. I was literally stuck here. For better or for worse I wasn’t going to be able to leave town anytime soon. I was technically protected according to the memories.

At the same time, Computing unit never really shared any crucial information aside from surface level, nothing about another world, nothing about me being a Champion of the Beyond, though in retrospect it called itself the system in the title I got.

I thought about learning a skill, but⁠— would it even matter? Perhaps waiting was better, I didn’t know enough about the system, and well, needless to say, Computing unit didn’t know much either. Perhaps waiting led to better options opening up in the future. I had no real way of knowing.

Potion… And getting dressed. I looked down and⁠— I was naked. I could see everything! Though I wasn’t bathed in blood strangely enough… Wait⁠— Did The Collector really clean me, and at the same time held a conversation with me while I was naked without even a change in expression? I didn’t want to believe it. Though…

My arm was bandaged tightly, and there were some sort of cold objects sandwiching it, preventing it from flexing or moving it much. It was certainly uncomfortable… Right, he did mention a potion, perhaps that could fix it? It sounded a bit hopeful, but a middle grade potion did repair me, and I didn’t even know what repairing even meant in technical terms.

I got up from my bed, feeling the cold ground beneath my feet. I was surprised, it was polished wood, though it made it extra cold for me. I turned to the desk, it was made out of some sort of wood⁠— black wood, at the same time the room was relatively lonely with only a plant on the faraway corner.

Bed, desk, plant. No other decoration, though the sunlight made it much more pleasant. And then I spotted some boots along with black socks? They were rather crude, but socks nonetheless. I was quick to put the socks on, and reveled on the small bliss that came from having warm feet.

In retrospect I had always been barefooted, but it felt like night and day⁠— actually. Why did I notice the coldness now? I looked around looking for answers only to see the bed, it seemed much less crude than any other bed, and it even had a fur blanket. Was it the warmth of the bed? I didn’t know.

I approached the box atop the desk and grabbed it to peer within it. I couldn’t actually see over the box considering how big it was. Wrapping my arm underneath it, I set it on the ground after a slight struggle, and looked at its contents.

There were clothes bunched together in a pile, mostly blacks with the occasional gray, and there was also a small vial, its liquid a muddled red. And there was also something wrapped, it was comparatively small; rounded and rectangular. Well, first things were…

The potion?

I picked up the vial, it had a cork that was promptly removed with my teeth. If he was going to kill me he would’ve done so already. I had a bit of apprehension about drinking the potion, but… I had never seen a potion. Was it really a potion?

⁠—Ding!

[Low Grade Health Potion]

Huh? I could just do that? It was just… It was all murky and swirly… I kind of thought potions would be much clearer, much… Well, prettier? This one kind of looked like red liquid with chunks of random things in it. I gave my arm a quick glance before making my decision. I brought the vial to my mouth and drank it in one fell swoop.

The chunks went down through my throat and I winced, it was bitter yet spicy. If I had to choose between drinking my blood or this… I would certainly choose my blood. And that one didn’t even taste close to nice.

⁠D⁠— [You’ve consumed: Low Grade Health Potion ⁠— Your injuries are being restored]

A sense of calm flowed throughout my whole body, but it was interrupted by the horrid taste in my mouth. I spent a few seconds trying to remove the taste from my mouth before returning to my clothes. Even if I was feeling relaxed, I had to get things done. I wanted to wear the cloak thing I had, but unfortunately I had lost all my previous clothes⁠— well The Collector had probably taken them. Which bothered me more than it should have, but all I could do was sigh.

It was time to get dressed, though looking at my arm ⁠— that was all bandaged and basically hard to maneuver ⁠— it was going to be hard. My legs and body felt relaxed, but there were occasional pains.

◇ ◇ ◇

I took a deep breath looking down on my body, I was still bandaged, and my legs had been bandaged too, though those were covered by tight fitting jeans of unknown fabric. The clothes included some type of utility belt that loosely hung around my waist, a long draping cloak that reached down my thighs, and a tightly fitting shirt that had a belt around my torso. The last one was quite weird to me, but it at least made me feel like the shirt wouldn’t go anywhere.

I made sure to check if I hadn’t forgotten anything. And sure enough, I had missed the mysterious package. Not wasting any more time I opened it and found what I immediately recognized as bread. It was hard and stale, but I hadn’t eaten anything in⁠— well if I didn’t count trying to eat the ‘candy’, then I truly hadn’t even attempted to eat.

Shaking my head, I got rid of my rapidly declining train of thought. The substance attribute existed, which made food last longer⁠— whatever that meant. Even though I was unsure about whether I required food or not ⁠— I probably did ⁠— I still chose to eat the hard bread.

The unsavory sandy texture gripped at my tongue, and the bitterness of it was not any better, however the potion I drank earlier still tasted much worse. With that in mind I continued until I had finished the hard piece of bread that I was provided for food.

A heavy sigh exited me upon approaching the door. I took a look at my hand, and there it was. The bracelet. Even though I was unsure on how it worked, one thing was clear upon browsing my memories. I was a slave. If he commanded it, I had to listen. Otherwise there would be… repercussions. One thing was clear.

I took a deep breath and held onto the door handle; its cold unpolished metal gave me slight pause; it reminded me that I was in a different world, that I had to be careful, that one wrong step would get me killed.

In this world, only those who are dead have the luxury to wait before acting. If I had learnt anything from my battles and capture was that; I had to act more and think less. Clenching my fist I made my decision. I had to survive. Even if the only reason to do so was the memories of my sister and my other life. I didn’t want to die in this world, I had to try to survive.

I opened the door and headed outside. A large orange corridor and sunlight filtering through an open air arched window greeted me; it led into a large yard with grass in the distance and a large squared block shaped fountain, akin to a single monolith of rock, a stone path emerging from it leading to elsewhere. Unable to see beyond the arch, I focused on my surroundings. The entire corridor was like a passageway running along the yard, with strategically placed arches running through its length. Near the end of the corridor he leaned onto the wall.

The Collector.

His face was tilted down, and his eyes were closed. Silently waiting for me. I took a breath and walked towards him ⁠— I couldn’t keep fearing it anymore ⁠— it wasn’t time to hesitate but to act. At the midway point his eyes opened and fixated on me. Nonetheless I simply continued walking until finally arriving in front of him. However, he said nothing, seemingly waiting for me to speak.

I hesitated.

“Thank you for… the food and clothes…” I looked at the ground somewhat awkwardly, I had no choice but to await his judgment.

“Hmhm,” he deeply agreed. “Didn’t take as long as I initially thought, good.” He stood up and began walking. “Follow me.”

I nodded and chased after him. We simply walked along the corridor until we arrived at the big entrance arch for the yard. The yard was the central part of the structure, the walls surrounding it clearly had a second floor. Just what was this place. He arrived in front of the fountain and turned to me.

“Leah,” he called his face devoid of emotion. Hearing my name I stiffened. “What is it that you desire?”

“What, I desire?” I frowned hearing the unexpected question.

He nodded and closed his eyes. “What is your goal as a person?”

My frown simply deepened. Part of me wanted to say something related to my memories. Perhaps it was possible to recover them, but I felt it was a terrible idea to even mention it.

“What is your goal?” The Collector said much more seriously this time, his eyes looking deeply into mine.

“My goal?” I asked back. I didn’t know what I wanted⁠— no that wasn’t true⁠—

A shadow flickered, dull pain ran through my neck. In an instant I was in the air, The Collector holding me by the neck, face hardening from anger by the second.

“Last time I will repeat myself. What is it that you desire?” He asked me, loosening his grip, but I could just feel it. My shivering body told me so. He would kill me in an instant. It was no different from all the other times.

I tried to pry away his grip but it was cold and unforgiving. What I desired? I struggled under his strength. I wanted to be able to make my own choices. Recalling what had happened so far made me angry. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions without worry.

“I want to be free…” I whispered, struggling to say anything.

“And how do you achieve freedom?” His cold voice entered my ears, but he hadn’t killed me yet. Even if he let me go, even if I achieved the so-called liberty from working for him. Nothing stopped him from killing me.

If the world desired it, I would die in an instant.

I wanted to laugh, it was a bitter truth. Perhaps I had to submit now and tell him how I would loyally work for him. But a part of me refused. I didn’t want to be stomped on anymore. I wanted to survive, but I also wanted to survive without being nothing more than a dog. I didn’t want to die, but perhaps… I looked at his cold eyes. A life under him was a fate worse than death. My memories told me how crazy he was.

He was the person that locked me into the room with Gartz. The one that told me to survive with nothing but bloodlust. Remembering it simply made me angry.

“I desire strength to fight this rotten world…” I gnashed and flailed, trying to get away from his grip.

“I see…” He calmly nodded, closing his eyes. His hand let go of me and I dropped on the ground. “So you desire strength?”

I panted slowly processing his question. Was it a trick? His face was expressionless once again. No, he had no reason to play tricks. I looked at the ground taking a deep breath.

“I want to be stronger… I don’t want to fight to survive for the rest of my life…” I answered truthfully, taking air in between answers.

There was a brief silence and mutter.

“Then.” A shadow loomed over me. I raised my head to see him grinning, his hand was extended towards me. “I’ll make you stronger, I’ll give you the strength to survive this wicked world, this is my promise. And your promise will be to never become a monster.” His grin faded into nothingness as his face lost all emotion. “Should either of us break the promise, death will come.”

I swallowed and felt as if he was playing a trick. Promise? His gloved hand waited for me to make my decision. If I didn’t take it… What would become of me? Did I even have a choice? I took his hand.

Ding!

[A promise has been made ⁠with Bracelet of Compromise — Just like in times of old, compromises and promises go hand in hand.

“I cannot do this, I will not kill you, that is a promise. In exchange, promise me that when the time comes, you’ll give your life for me, not for the empire, but for me.” ⁠— Sansan, heir of the Death Empire to Nameless.]