Next Day.
Morning arrived with all the gentleness of a slap to the face.
I was in the middle of a lovely dream — no dungeons, no beatings disguised as "training," no nobles glaring at me like I'd stepped on their ancestral dignity — when someone shook my shoulder.
"Young Master. Wake up."
I burrowed deeper into the pillow. "Victoria… give me five minutes. Maybe five years."
"No."
Of course not.
Victoria wouldn't allow me the luxury of sleeping n peace.
I forced my eyes open… and froze.
Victoria wasn't alone.
Beside her stood a girl I had never seen before.
A girl who looked so absurdly beautiful my half-asleep brain rebooted three times before accepting reality.
Wavy red hair that flowed like liquid flame.
Deep green eyes that shimmered like magic-infused jade.
Porcelain skin.
A combat maid uniform that managed to be respectful, practical, and somehow illegal-looking all at once.
Beautiful?
No.
This girl looked like the sort of existence kings declared wars over.
I sat up so fast I dislocated a vertebra in spirit form.
"Wh—WHO is she!?"
Victoria moved aside like she was unveiling a divine treasure.
"Young Master, this is Arial. A gift from your mother."
"My WHAT?!"
Gift??
From Mother??
Mother, who once said 'If you die, I'll just revive you, don't be dramatic.'
Mother, who brewed medicinal baths that nearly cooked me alive??
Victoria continued in the same calm tone she'd use to announce breakfast.
"She was purchased yesterday in the Northern Black Auction. One of the most expensive items in the entire event — expensive enough that your mother had to dip into her personal savings."
I blinked.
Mother dipping into her savings.
The same savings she guarded like a dragon guarding its hoard?
This girl must have cost more than my entire future.
"She instructed us," Victoria added, "to deliver her to you before your training with Lady Lenna."
Arial bowed. Graceful. Precise. Almost unreal.
"Master Augustus," she said softly. "I humbly greet you."
I blinked again.
Then a third time.
"Victoria," I whispered, "my mother bought me a slave?"
"No," Victoria corrected.
Oh thank the gods—
"She won her. At an auction."
That did not make it better.
I rubbed my temples. "Okay, why is there suddenly… a person… in my room?"
"You must register ownership," Victoria said simply.
"Register—WHAT!?"
She handed me a sheet of thin black paper — blacker than void, drinking in light like it owed money.
The edges glimmered faintly.
"This is an Ominus Contract Page," Victoria said. "Place a drop of your blood in the center. It will bind her to you."
I stared at it.
Sixteen years in this world had reshaped a lot of my morals.
Nobles had slaves.
Slaves were… property.
This was normal.
Normal didn't mean comfortable.
I hesitated. "Isn't this… a bit too fast?"
Victoria blinked. "Too fast for what?"
I opened my mouth, stopped, sighed. "…Nothing."
She handed me a needle.
Arial stood perfectly still. Calm. Composed. Bracing.
Her eyes lifted to mine — no fear, no resentment, just quiet acceptance.
"Young Master," she murmured, "please proceed. My loyalty is yours."
Dammit.
Why did she sound like she was comforting me?
"Victoria," I muttered, "why would Mother even want me to have—"
Victoria cut me off. "She said, and I quote: 'My son is entering dungeons. He needs tools.'"
Tools.
I'm a shield.
Lenna is a sword.
And now I have… a tool.
Gods, my family is terrifying.
Victoria pressed the needle into my hand before I could keep stalling.
I pricked my thumb and dropped a bead of blood onto the page.
The moment it touched—
FWUMP.
Dark runes crawled across the page like hungry shadows.
A ringing filled my skull.
---
> CONTRACT RECOGNIZED
SLAVE BOND ESTABLISHED
> NEW SLAVE REGISTERED
VIEW SLAVE'S STATUS?
YES / NO
---
I mentally selected yes.
A detailed window unfolded.
---
NAME: Arial Seabreath
RACE: Mermaid
LEVEL – 67
CLASS: Aqua Priest, AAA
SYSTEM STATUS(1):
1. Slave (SSS): Augustus Ironcreed
STATS:
Authority – 8
STR – 80
AGI – 107
INT – 162
Charm – 40
Luck – 39
World Credit – 0
CLASS SKILLS:
Aqua Blessing, S
Healing Bubble, A
Waterball, A
Aqua Guard, B
Holy Magic, C
SYSTEM SKILLS:
Life Sense, SS
Perfect Memory, A
Wind Walk, A
ACQUIRED SKILLS:
Water Magic, A
Cold Resistance, A
Poison Resistance, A
Trident Mastery, B
Fire Resistance, C
Life Magic, D
Wind Magic, D
Shock Resistance, D
BLOODLINE : –
Mermaid (100%)
Innate Skills:
Deep Dive (S)
Hydrated Form (S)
Siren's Call (A)
Healing Tear (A)
Charm (A)
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY – Life, Light, Water, Wind
EQUIPMENT(1/5):
1. Combat Maid Uniform, B
---
My eye twitched.
"…Victoria."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"She's stronger than me."
"Yes."
"She's stronger than most solders." Usually most soldiers are around Level 40-50 with generic classes like warrior, archer, Lancer, swordsman, etc.
"Yes."
"She's level sixty-freaking-seven, with an rare class: Aqua Priest (AAA-rank), and my age."
"Yes."
"And she's my slave?"
"Yes."
I stared at Arial, who stood calmly with her hands folded, as if this entire situation was perfectly reasonable.
My internal monologue screamed into the void:
WHY IS MY LIFE LIKE THIS.
But outwardly?
I cleared my throat.
"Welcome… to the team, Arial."
She smiled — a small, gentle smile that could disarm armies.
"It is an honor to serve you, Master Augustus."
Great.
Just great.
Lenna, the deadly sword.
Arial, the overqualified magical healer.
And me?
Augustus Ironcreed, the danger detector.
Dungeons, beware.
Because apparently, I'm going in with a squad so overqualified it might actually keep me alive.
…maybe.
Well whatever! I have to report to the training grounds early, let's think about these later.
...
After some daily human necessities, me and Arial finally reached the training grounds.
And, of course, Lenna was already there.
Waiting.
Not alone.
At her side stood a guy so annoyingly handsome it felt like an attack on my self-esteem before breakfast. Tall, sharp-jawed, golden-haired—one of those naturally gifted bastards who look like the gods personally photoshopped them.
After which, Lenna's eyes locked onto me the moment I stepped onto the training grounds — cold, sharp, and judgmental enough to file metal.
"You're late."
Not even a greeting.
Just You're late.
I lifted a hand weakly. "Look, in my defense—"
"No defense," she said flatly. "Dawn means dawn. Not 'when your pillow releases you from captivity.'"
I opened my mouth, but Arial out of character tugged my sleeve in the universal signal for please don't embarrass yourself.
Fair.
I sighed. "Fine. My apologies. Won't happen again."
"It better not," Lenna said, folding her arms. "In dungeons, one minute late equals one corpse."
I resisted the urge to point out that the corpse would most likely be me.
Instead, she gestured with her chin at Arial. "Introduce her."
Right.
The new… team member.
I cleared my throat. "This is Arial Seabreath. Mermaid. Level 67. Aqua Priest — AAA rank. Purchased by my mother at—"
Arial stepped forward gracefully and bowed, saving me from sounding like an auctioneer.
"Arial Seabreath greets Lady Lenna," she said softly. "I am assigned to serve and support Master Augustus in all tasks."
Lenna inspected her like a jeweler grading a priceless gem. Her eyes flickered — surprise, calculation, approval.
"She'll do," Lenna said simply.
"She'll WHAT?!" I chocked.
Arial smiled politely.
I swear Lenna said it like she was inspecting a new weapon.
Before I could protest about the way she talked, unnaturally my attention shifted on the golden-haired guy standing next to her.
Tall. Muscular. Calm expression. Handsome enough to ruin the self-worth of any man.
I pointed at him. "Okay, who is… that? And why does he look like the protagonist of a better story?"
Lenna didn't even spare me a glance, just tapped on some token.
"Appraise him."
"Huh?"
"You heard me," she said. "Appraise him. I got special permission to use skills in the training grounds today."
I blinked. "Wait, how? Skills are banned inside the family grounds."
"Patriarch authorization."
She said it with all the casual arrogance of someone saying I'm allowed to breathe; you're welcome.
She clicked her tongue. "Quickly. I want you to know your teammates."
Teammates.
Plural.
Great.
I sighed, activated Higher Appraisal.
Runes shimmered across my vision.
A soft ping echoed in my mind as the system locked onto the guy.
The screen unfolded—
---
NAME: Alfred Eswald
LEVEL - 80
CLASS: Magic Knight, A
SYSTEM STATUS(1):
1. Oath of Loyalty (S): Ironcreed Family
STATS:
Authority - 9
STR - 192
AGI - 184
INT - 232
Charm - 40
Luck - 27
World Credit - 909
CLASS SKILLS:
Sword Mastery, A
Heal, A
Fireball, A
Wind Blade, A
Elemental Magic, D
SYSTEM SKILLS:
Tri-Colours Sword Array, S
Quick Steps, S
Charm, A
Survival Instinct, A
ACQUIRED SKILLS:
Martial Arts, B
Formation Arts, C
Shock Resistance, C
Pain Tolerance, D
Fire Resistance, E
Poison Resistance, E
Cold Resistance, F
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY – Life, Fire, Wind
---
My mind didn't panic when I saw Alfred's stats.
It just… accepted them.
Level 80.
Authority 9.
Magic Knight (A-rank).
Barely older than us.
A walking prodigy politely standing behind Lenna like her little miniboss.
Yesterday I spiraled into a whole rabbit-panic about being assigned a suicide squad.
But Looking at this lineup now… the "suicide" part feels less about the monsters and more about the performance expectations.
My brain kicked into assessment mode on its own.
Arial?
Yeah, her price tag wasn't because she was strong for her age.
It was because she was strong and young and a mermaid and carrying a rare priest class and had 4 affinities.
Five factors no auction house would undersell.
Her being pretty was probably just the cherry on top for bidders with rotting brains.
And Alfred?
Twenty-something at most.
Eswald isn't a noble house under us, which means he wasn't born into resources.
He climbed to eighty the hard way.
Talent, grit, probably a suicidal training regimen, and a tiny sprinkle of "the universe just likes him."
When a guy like that swears loyalty to the Ironcreed family, it means one thing:
We're terrifying enough to earn that loyalty.
There's a reason we've guarded the western border since the kingdom's founding.
Not because we're the strongest.
But because we're the kind of crazy that attracts monsters on purpose —
and still comes home for dinner.
I exhaled, staring at my three teammates:
A sword-maiden prodigy with a personality forged in sub-zero temperatures.
A mermaid priestess who could heal, bless, and probably annihilate me with a frown.
A Magic Knight golden boy who looked like he eats danger for breakfast.
And me.
Augustus Ironcreed.
Professional danger detector.
Semi-voluntary shield.
Owner of a Luck stat so low it should qualify as a disability. May be a tank.
Why does this feel like we're only missing a hero and a magician to complete the damn hero party?