Lament of the Slave

As I heard this cry, even if only in my mind, streams of white glowing liquid rose from the cube under my palm. About a dozen strands, warm to the touch, crawling across my skin, met at the back of my hand. I panicked a little as they soaked into my skin, like tiny worms burrowing into flesh, struggling with the urge to take my hand off the cube or shake off these glowing worms. I felt foreign mana invade my body. Mana, much more powerful, more concentrated than mine, was burning runes under my skin, into my bones. It was painless and limited to my right hand, though.

I squealed slightly as the spot in the center of my hand, where the strands of liquid soaked in, shone for a moment. When the light went out, the cube under my hand was dead again, and I had my first tattoo ever. Two centimeters long white teardrop on the back of my hand. At least it seemed like a tear to me, which I could associate with the labyrinth and hoped it wasn't a symbol of death or some soul reaper's mark.

"You're a seeker now, congratulations!" said the keeper in a flat voice without a hint of sincerity.

Well, I couldn't care less about his disinterest. My eyes were on the tattoo. The first thing I did was rub it, making sure it was real. And it was! I couldn't wipe it off or scrape it off, and it stretched with my skin. Though I felt nothing special about it, like pain, protruding or harder skin, even the foreign mana I felt a moment ago was gone. It was just normal skin with the labyrinth mark resembling a white teardrop on it.

"Shall we?" the man asked, pointing to the closed door which seemed to open at his command. When I looked back at the table, the cube was already gone, and the table was as empty as when I entered the vault. Not wanting to think about it too much, I got up. After all, I had what I came for. So I nodded at the keeper, letting him know we're leaving, and headed out through the open vault door.

As soon as the door closed behind us, the enchantments activated, sealing the vault. Power flowing through runes on the walls and door was so strong that despite my inexperience, I could feel it too, and it gave me goosebumps. It did not surprise me that with these enchantments in place, the keeper was the only one who guarded the key.

I would thank him, but I felt he wouldn't appreciate it. So I went back to the main hall without telling him anything, quietly stepping into the queue in front of the reception.

When it was my turn, I put my hand in front of Enola so she could see the mark.

She looked at it and smiled sadly, "I hope you find in there what you're looking for!"

"I hope so, too," I said, knowing what she meant. She hoped I wouldn't find death in the labyrinth. It was a morbid topic that I didn't want to talk about anymore.

"So, how does this thing actually work?" I asked her, indicating to my hand.

"You really are a newbie!" she grinned and shook her head. "As soon as you step on the platform, you will see your floor options above the labyrinth mark. In your case, there will be only one."

"Oh, so I'll do what? Click on it?" I asked to make sure.

"You can touch it or just think about it. It's up to you," Enola said with a shrug.

It dawned on me that this was why some parties I saw had disappeared as soon as they stepped onto the platform and others after moving more to the center, closer to the Traiana statue. There was no catch, no trick to it. It depended on the moment they chose the floor of the labyrinth.

Though something else bothered me, "When I enter the first floor, do I have to find the entrance to the second floor, or can I come back whenever I want?"

"It's a labyrinth, not a prison! As long as you find your way back to the platform you came from, you can return. If you find that conquering the floor is beyond your ability, do it!" Enola said and looked into my eyes. "Don't be ashamed of it, don't hesitate and come back!"

"Okay, I will," I promised her, surprised by her care. She was more worried about me than usual. I wondered why!

"I just want to peek, not to conquer the first floor right away," I added in defense.

"As I said, I hope you find in there what you're looking for! Oh ... I almost forgot. Razso left this for you here," she said, handing me a handwritten note and not commenting further on my attempt to look into the labyrinth.

Looking at it reminded me I should start learning Standard soon! I kept forgetting that my ability to communicate was limited to talking and reading, that the skill took up space among my general skills. A place I could fill with a more useful skill if only I learned Standard. Not now, though!

Well, it was a simple message.

[The twenty-first of Brave at six in the morning, be here. Razso.]

It was nice he hadn't forgotten, but what the hell was Brave?! Thinking logically, it must have been the name of the month, but I had no idea what day it was today, let alone what month. It pissed me off from the very beginning that the system did not have a calendar. The clock was a useful feature, but knowing what day it is, would be no less helpful.

"Um ... what day is it today?" I asked with red cheeks.

"It's the twentieth," Enola chuckled, making me feel even more embarrassed. "Your meeting is tomorrow. Razso has already booked a training hall for it."

"Oh, great ..." I said, glad I didn't miss the meeting, and I was even happier that the meeting was to take place before the arrival of Lord Delamere and the agent. It was uncertain what would happen to my freedom after their arrival, and since I could not prevent it, I tried not to think about it...too much.

"Thanks, Enola ... I ... I'll stop by when I get back from the labyrinth," I said hesitantly, not wanting these to be my last words.

"Make sure you do! Ria would be sad ..." she added, looking away.

I didn't say more, and while I was leaving City Hall, I wondered if Ria was the reason Enola was more worried about me today, if I got points for befriending the little kitsune.

However, I did not let myself be discouraged by the thought of a sad Ria and headed for the noisiest place in Castiana, Labyrinth Square.

Nothing has changed there since my last visit, and just like yesterday, I looked like I didn't belong here, torn clothes, no armor, no weapons, and so nervous that I was shaking.

I couldn't even remember how I found myself on the last step in front of the platform, looking at Traiana and crying. My heart was racing, my breathing was shallow, and my throat dry. I wondered if I had rushed my decision, doubting my readiness for this venture.

Maybe it would be wiser to postpone entering the labyrinth. Train more. But that's why I was here. Find out if the training made sense if I did not waste money and time on it, whether I was a warrior or a coward.

With a deep breath, I took a step forward on the platform. As soon as I had both feet on it, the mark on the back of my hand lit up, and the text appeared above it.

[Floor 1]

Slight loss of my mana I felt was nothing to worry about. I was much more interested in the magical holographic text hovering before my eyes. It was like in sci-fi movies, but there it was the technology that made it possible. So unless what the cube implemented in my hand wasn't a chip, what I was looking at was magic.

Well, magic triggered by runes, which when I thought about it, could be considered technology, a kind of programming. However, my knowledge of the runes was only an awareness of their existence, nothing more.

Pulling my eyes away from the text and looking around, I wanted to look at other seekers and their marks. Yesterday, when I was here with Ria, I didn't know about the marks and didn't pay attention to the seeker's hands. I wanted to see how others used them.

To my dismay, the eyes of the people around me were fixed on me, looking at me like I was a fool, a curiosity. Some just stared. Others joked amusedly at my expense.

They didn't care, I could hear them. It was humiliating, discouraging, and it made me angry! None of them approached me to give me courage or some advice as my seniors. No, they preferred to laugh at me for trying the labyrinth at all. Just a stupid slave girl who was going to kill herself, that's what I was to them.

It was impossible not to show that their remarks and behavior did not affect me, but I still tried to keep my head up high and stop shaking. Not wanting to look like a complete noob by clicking on the text above my hand, don't give them another reason to laugh at me, I just thought about the first floor of the labyrinth and hoped it would work.

It did!

Instead of the darkness that engulfed my world every night as I fell asleep, it was a bright white light that took me away this time. The teasing remarks of the seekers vanished in Traiana's grief, which echoed in my mind, and the heavy smell of the city was replaced by clean humid air.

As fast as the white flash of light blinded me, it disappeared, and instead of looking at the smirking faces, I looked at the first floor. Only the cry I heard lingered a little longer before fading away.

With my mouth open, my eyes wide, my ears down as well as my wings and tail, I stared at the meadows in front of me. I couldn't believe what I saw, and that it was all under the city. The green meadows of rolling hills stretched as far as I could see, illuminated by daylight, under the blue sky. Only the sun was missing. I could even feel a faint breeze on my skin but saw no clouds in the sky.

The ceiling was the biggest surprise for me. However, when my initial amazement passed, I noticed the black angular columns, interwoven with faint glowing white lines that grew from the ground like trees and disappeared into the sky, supporting the ceiling. Here and there, as in the meadows, square blocks with glowing lines peeked out in the sky.

These structures reminded me that I was still in the labyrinth and gave the floor an exotic look. The look I imagined a different realm would have, not the slavery-rotten world above me.

When I fully realized where I was, that I was not in a city crammed with people, where there were no beasts and monsters, I quickly searched my surroundings for bear-like rabbits. To my relief, there was none in my area.

But if it was, I was ready. The shield was still around me, and the poison sacs in my tail were so full that they were slowly releasing the poison on their own.

Checking where I was standing, I found myself on a small platform one meter in diameter, black and interwoven with now inactive runes like up in the square.

They were dead. The only thing that shone was the mark on the back of my hand.

[Floor 0]

Well, it was undoubtedly an interesting surface designation that raised more questions. Yet, it was quite reassuring to know that only a thought separated me from the surface and safety.

Despite the peaceful-looking landscape, I was extremely tense, and even though the transfer didn't deactivate the skills, I had no such confidence in the skills themselves.

With a deep breath, I took the first step and stepped onto the labyrinth floor for the first time. It was a historic moment for me worthy of record that no one had witnessed.

No phone, no photos, and sharing them on the internet. This would be one of the few events I could boast. Otherwise, my life was quite dull when I thought back. I didn't attend wild parties, nor did I venture into nightclubs every Friday. Maybe that's why I was still single, and my relationships didn't last more than half a year. I was too boring!

Anyway, now I was doing something outside of my comfort zone, which was also the reason my guts were clenched with anxiety and fear. My palms were sweaty, my breath was short, and my tail was stiff. When the tall grass grass halfway to my knees rustled to my right, I immediately turned, ready to fight...almost pissing myself.

It was just the wind, though!

No killer rabbit.

Focusing on [Indomitable Will], I calmed my mind, my racing heart, and after another deep breath, I used [Beast]. I knew I wasn't in the best mood, thus it was risky, but I needed every advantage, every skill I had. The only reason I didn't use [Beast] in the square was that I was surrounded by seekers armed to the teeth.

I could end up dead before I looked in the labyrinth.

With my fangs and claws ready, I took a few more steps just to see the first problem, and that was to find the platform again. I was only a few meters away, and it was already hard to see in the grass. There were no significant landmarks around either, and I couldn't think of a way to visibly mark the platform.

I had nothing with me that didn't fit in the ring, which, given its size, was just a pouch holding my humble and thinning hoard and an ID.

It was more than obvious that I would need more supplies and equipment to conquer the first floor of the labyrinth, which meant buying a larger spatial tool or having a backpack on my back during my venture.

I was pretty sure I didn't have the money for the magical storage. So...backpack it was!

Despite the common sense that told me to come back here more prepared, I dared to step away from the platform. It was silly, but I didn't want to please the seekers in the square, who were definitely waiting for me to chicken out. I didn't want to give them that joy, be the laughingstock.

Armed with skills, I crept slowly forward, turning behind each rustle of grass. According to the description on the leaflet, the horned rabbits should be unmissable in these meadows, where nothing else lived. Despite knowing that, I was frightened by every rustling of grass, anxious to think that I would not find my way back from this place. That's why I turned here and there to check where I came from, even though I couldn't see the platform anymore.

When I thought about the labyrinth and dungeons, I imagined the beasts would jump on me from behind every corner, not that I would have to look for them. It took me almost a quarter of an hour to find the first horned rabbit.

I admit, my speed was ridiculously slow!

The rabbit was massive and unmissable.

It was on a small hill quite far away. Even so, I didn't dare move, going through my plan in my head again. As soon as the rabbit gets to me, I intended to growl at him and find out its reaction to [Beast]. Blaine said this was the only way to find out. Right after that, no matter its response, I intended to use poison, hoping it could at least slow down the beast. Even kill it.

The question, however, was how to alert the rabbit to my presence, to force him to attack me, without drawing the attention of those I hadn't seen. Not that it was a good idea. On the contrary, it was a terrible idea, but I was sure I wouldn't get to it unnoticed. I was not a ranger, a thief, or an assassin, I was a fucking slave! Meatshield!

I sighed quietly, knowing that I was only delaying the encounter with the beast by lamenting over my class.

Not taking my eyes off the rabbit, I wondered if this was the moment Tenderfire was talking about. Whether this was the moment that decided what I was, whether I could be more than just a slave working in a brothel.

Or I was just stalling again!

With my throat dry, holding my breath, and the cold sweat running down my back, I waved my tail, rustling the grass, and froze. The rabbit twitched its ears, raised its head, and listened. After a while, he returned to chewing the grass, and I could breathe again. I was so tense that my muscles ached, and I could barely crouch, almost falling on my face.

I'm not a coward!!! I shouted at myself in my mind, trying to give myself the courage to do what I intended.

Even though all my senses were yelling at me to run, I waved my tail again and didn't stop. The rustling grass caught the horned rabbit's attention again, and this time it turned its head in my direction. The rabbit's red eyes fixed on me, and that was just the beginning. It made a strange sound, something between a squeak and a roar, his muscles stiffened, and then the beast jumped.

I watched in horror as the rabbit leaped at least four meters in height in my direction. I would swear I felt the ground tremble as it hit the ground and sprang forward. It bounced off with such force that turf of grass and dirt flew behind it. After a few meters of a mad rush, the rabbit jumped up again, crossing a distance of seven meters in an instant.

Eyes on him, I prepared for my roar, my battle cry. Yet, I did not know what distance was needed for it to work to arouse fear in the rabbit, which was the reaction I had hoped for. If I roared too soon, it wouldn't have affected the beast if I growled too late, and I could end up dead.

So I growled the moment this massive rabbit with horns fell to the ground ten meters in front of me, sure it will rush the distance to me. My roar, my beastly presence, was supposed to stop it! Except that the sound that left my throat was not a terrible growl I expected, but a puppy's whimper. I could almost see the amused confusion in the red eyes of the beast rushing at me.