Kyros had lost track of time as he was forced to wait in the slave masters chamber. He had been brought here shortly after the incident with Dwenn, to wait while the slave master fetched guards to take him to the main headquarters. He was alone in the chamber; he could tell how uncomfortable the others felt around him since the incident; there were two slaves keeping watch outside however.

He had long since studied everything in the room that his eyes could land on, as he tried to pass time. It was interesting to him how hard the slaves worked, just to one day be the owner of this chamber. The chamber was larger than the normal slaves quarters, however it was the equivalent size of a 2 bedroom flat from his old world.

He currently sat in the guest quarter of the chamber. This was where the slave master would hold meetings with other slaves masters or figures of importance. To his left was the bedding chamber, he couldn’t see inside however, because of the old and splintered wooden door that sat in the mouth of the cave entrance.

On his right was the truly desirable aspect of being a slave master; the cleaning chamber. The wooden door was left open revealing the old rusted tub that sat there filled with dirty water. He heard rumours from the other slaves during meal times, that the water was replaced once a month. Such a trivial thing, yet how much it flamed the desires of these slaves. Finally, in front was the exit to outside the chamber.

Footsteps could be heard approaching from the other side of the exit. The footsteps stopped right outside, followed by murmurs outside the door. From the sounds he could make out the two slaves who spoke with the slave master before standing guard outside, and the slave masters voice.

So it begins… Can’t drop the act yet, my life is riding on this.

The door swung open, revealing the slave master and two large men by his side. These large men wore leather trousers and a leather breast plate; swords hanged at their hips. He differentiated the man by their hair colour, blonde on the left; brunette on the right. Kyros noticed how fierce their stare was, he had been so used to hanging around slaves who wore the expressions of defeated men.

Well, let’s see what level these guard are…

Title

Mavis Family Guard

Name

???

Description

A guard for one of the copper mines of the Mavis family.

Level

28

Health

825/825

Title

Mavis Family Guard

Name

???

Description

A guard for one of the copper mines of the Mavis family.

Level

29

Health

845/845

No way… I wouldn’t stand a chance against these two, and they’re only guards for a copper mine. I wonder what level the guards for the gold mine would be…

“Here he is, sirs.” The slave master addressed the two guards as his betters.

The two of them had been staring at him the whole time, never taking their eyes off of him.

“Hah, no wonder this happened. You should’ve seen this coming, that was a mistake on your behalf; slave.” The blonde hair guard reprimanded the slave master.

“Wha... What do you mean? How could I possibly have noticed…? Sir.” The slave master went red. It seemed that simple remark could play a big impact on his future.

“Just look at his eyes. Not the eyes of a slave, but of a man. I might even suggest the captain take him in.” This time it was the brunette guard who had answered the question.

“I… Uhhh.” The slave master looked for an excuse. Kyros found it funny how arrogant the slave master acted, yet in front of these guards was treated the same as the rest of the slaves.

A slave is a slave, no matter what fancy title you give them.

“Quiet slave.” It seemed the blonde hair guard was bored of that conversation, because he now turned back to Kyros and spoke.

“So why did you do it, elfling. I’ve seen the body, if I hadn’t known better I would’ve thought it was the handiwork of a beast.” Although the blonde hair guard spoke strong words, he didn’t seem phased.

“They were eventually going to kill me, better them than me.” Kyros shrugged.

“Well I can agree with that. However, you broke a law; you will be punished by death. The master isn’t merciful when it comes to useless things.” The blonde hair guard said.

“Well, who knows; maybe he’ll change his mind for me.” Kyros spoke with a strange tone.

“Don’t get your hopes up kid. Although, I’ll see if my captain can put a word in for you.” The blonde hair guard took no note of the strange tone Kyros used.

“Thanks…” Kyros replied.

Off to the side, the slave master was almost red from anger. Not only had he been reprimanded by the guards, he was now watching this guard treat the elf with sincerity.

“Well can’t keep the master waiting all day, it’s a two hour journey from here.” The brunette guard took the lead this time.

The group of three: Kyros, and the two guards; neared the exit of the cave. They had taken a series of unfamiliar turns to Kyros, since he had been unconscious when he had first arrived. Seeing the natural light permeating through the cave mouth, Kyros felt a lingering he had suppressed. The fresh air that he now breathed, filled his nostrils with the aroma of the wildlife outside.

“Haha. So you can make expressions huh.” The blonde hair guard had escorted many slaves out of the mines before, and they all wore the same expression that was currently plastered on Kyros’s face; happiness with a mix of longing.

Oh no, I can’t drop the act. Stay strong. Kyros encouraged himself.

“Never said I couldn’t.” Kyros had returned to his indifferent attitude.

They had now left the cave, and Kyros looked up at the sky for the first time in two months. What a serene feeling, looking into the endless blue sky with fresh air blowing his nose silver hair which reached his nose now. He turned to look back at what he called home for the past two months. The mine wasn’t in some massive mountain as his imagination had guessed, it was a rocky cliff; with the cave mouth being the only unordinary thing about it.

The three of them had been walking for two hours, the only thing of notice along the way had been the guard house. It had been an ordinary stone house, being two stories tall; large enough to host at maximum fifty guards. There was also a courtyard attached to the side filled with straw dummies and weights, must’ve been the training yard.

On the horizon, Kyros had noticed a building in the distance. It had only looked to be a small and insignificant building in the distance, the closer he got though the larger and more grand it grew. Now only being a short distance away, the dirt road under his feet had longed turned to stone. Along the pathway, he had passed multiple houses, some of them large and others small. He had seen a number of people now, the majority of being blonde haired. There were females among them as well, it was only natural.

This is the real world, I have to forget what is normal in the caves.

The girls had eyed him with curiosity, for it was unusual to see an elf. Most elf slaves were sent to be servants of the main household. Also this elf had silver hair, unusual even for an elf. They thought he might be quite attractive if only he were clean. Kyros however held them in no regard, they were just annoyances.

“Here we are. Try not to say anything stupid in front of the master. He's not one for a joke.” The blonde hair guard warned Kyros.

They were now standing at the gate of the grand mansion he saw from the distance. Up close he could now see truly how grand it was, the sheer size of it was enough to shock him.

“This is slave No. 5672, he’s the one responsible for the three murders in section 52 of the Westfield copper mine.” The blonde hair guard declared to the guard standing post at the gate.

“Very well, the masters personal servant will be here shortly.” The gate guard responded.

“Alright, this is where we split kid. As promised, I’ll speak with my captain but no guarantees.” The blonde hair guard spoke towards Kyros.

“Wait, I’m going to be left with a servant. What if I tried to escape?” Kyros knew there was no way they’d be this lax, especially with a member of the main family here.

“You can try if you want, however even I wouldn’t be able to escape from that old monster. Also careful, although his title is servant, don’t mistake him for a slave. He holds a position higher than my captain.” The blonde hair guard lectured.

I guess that makes sense, I thought it’d be strange otherwise.

After dutifully waiting for a while, Kyros saw through the steel bars of the gate, an old man approaching. The old man walked with a sense of purpose and grace which threw out any notion of this man being a slave like himself. He had a combed head of white hair and a thick white moustache over his lip, contrasting against his black suit. He looked as one might expect from a butler.

“Let him through.” The servant ordered.

The gate had opened and Kyros was ushered through the gate by one of the guards.

“You can leave. I’ll take care of him.” As soon as the words had been spoken, the gate guard had already started heading back.

The servant looked Kyros up and down before addressing him.

“You will be meeting master in a minute. You will be quiet unless spoken to and will not try anything stupid. Am I clear?” The servant gave Kyros a quick rundown on how to act.

“Yes.” Kyros answered.

“Sir. You will address me as sir and the master as master. Don’t make the mistake again.” And with that the old servant turned and started walking away, obviously indicating for Kyros to follow; which he did so.

Those guards seemed scared of this old guy, I wonder why. He’s so… old. I guess I’ll check his level out.

Title

Mavis Family Servant

Name

???

Description

Personal servant to a Mavis families member.

Level

68

Health

2120/2120

Monster!

Kyros was baffled, how could such an old man hold so much power. What he didn’t understand was that the rules of his old world didn’t apply to this world. For example, Kyros had yet to learn of magic; being old usually indicated a stronger magician. Power came in many forms, some of which he wouldn’t even be able to understand lest he see it.

“We’ve arrived. Remember, speak only when spoken to.” The old servant opened the door allowing Kyros through, shutting the door behind him. Kyros could see, what he assumed to be the master of this mansion sitting behind a study desk. He had noticed how gold his hair was and the way his green eyes were staring at him, as if staring at a bug; Kyros was no bug though.

“I see. I just heard from the captain that it may be smarter to recruit you. I can see from your stare that you truly have the makings to be a warrior.” The masters voice seemed to carry authority with it, as if his word were law.

“However, that same stare is dangerous. I can tell you’re not afraid of me nor do you feel veneration of any sort, you look at me as if we are equals. Am I right in saying this slave?” The master asked.

“Yes, master.” Kyros felt for some reason that this man would be able to through his lies.

“I see… You clearly have trouble accepting authority, that takes away any use you had of being a soldier. Taking into account with the gruesome murders you committed, it shows that you could grow to be quite a threat. I think it may be in the best interest of my family if I have you executed. What do you say of this, slave?” This was the part the master was waiting for. For what reason did this elf slave request to see him personally. Most slaves knew the outcome of breaking a law and would either run or accept punishment on the spot. Clearly this slave had something up his sleeve, now was the time to reveal it.

“I understand that you personally oversee all the mines under the Mavis family.” The master nodded his head signalling the statement was correct. “Well I can guarantee I can mine better than any slave under your working. In two months I have gone from mining 16 copper ores a day, to just about 200. Imagine the improvement if you were to allow me to live and grow. I’m sure I could even one day mine adamantine ore. So what does it matter if I killed three useless slaves, buy some more. Master.” This was Kyros’s trump card, was he worth more to him alive than dead; he was betting on the former.

The masters stare intensified when Kyros had mentioned the adamantine ore, it was only a small gesture but Kyros took note of it.

Seems they really do have an adamantine mine somewhere.

The master now sat there silently sorting out his thoughts.

This slave really shows no respect for authority, the way he spoke to me just now should result with an execution. However, if what he says is true, then maybe he really could reach that level. Out of thousands of people, we really only have one who can mine it. Also the pay just to get him to do it is ridiculous, but if I found a slave who could do it for free than my standing in the family will rise much higher.

“How do I know you’re not lying about your ability?” The master inquired.

“Please, let’s not play games. I know you keep reports on all slaves, if you just check the reports of the three I murdered; you’d see how over the last two months the ores they handed in daily had increased. I arrived two months ago, I think a wise man like you understands. Master.” Kyros had to stand his ground, if he showed weakness than who knew what could happen.

“I see. From today onwards you will be moved to Iron Field gold mine, where you will hone your skills. If I see no improvement within six months, then the sentence will be carried out. Now leave my presence, slave.” The master had already disregarded Kyros and got back to reading reports on his desk.

Kyros however didn’t leave.

“I said leave slave, you dare disobey after the mercy I just showed.” The master had already thought Kyros was arrogant, but this was stepping a line he couldn’t allow; no matter how great a loss for his family it would be.

“Sorry master, however the slave who was sold with me to the mines; his skill is under utilised on copper ore mining as well. I feel it would be best for the Mavis family to take advantage of his skill.”

The master gave him a hard stare, how could he not know what Kyros was doing. However, it was still possible that Kyros taught this other slave, so it would be a waste not look into it.

“Fine. I’ll have my servant look into it, now leave. Disobey me again, and I WILL have you killed.” The masters tone was icy at the end.

Kyros didn’t care though as he had achieved what he came for, and now was time to finally relax after all that had happened.