??? POV
" Alright it's time for the change bring the next batch down The Unknown Skill and The New Productfor work and take this batch back to their cells!"
As soon as the slaver say this I hear the sounds of exhaustion fill the cave as many of the slaves nearly drop their pickaxes in relief and the sounds of coughing fill the air from those who have long since reached their limit and vomiting what little they had in their stomachs.
I along with this batch were lead down to our disgusting cells deep into the cave system and were practically shoved in and were given small stale loads of bread and murky water that almost looked similar to coffee. One by one the slaves all limed up to get their loafs and water and went and sat dejected in their own little corners of the cell.
Once I got my rations I walked to my own little corner getting small almost fearful looks from the other slaves. It was something I had noticed when I went around asking about this world. As soon as I approached them they became afraid even more so than when the slavers got near them. I even saw some of the slavers flinch for a moment when I looked at them but they soon regained their scowl and acted as if nothing was wrong.
As I thought about this I continued to eat my stale bread and watched the others silently eat their bread as well. These poor people have been beaten and abused and I wanted to help them but there was nothing I could realistically do for them due to a lack of strength and one other issue. Despite the fact we live in a world of magic no one has been able to use even a semblance of it thanks to these shackles. I originally thought of these as nothing more than heavy pieces of metal but it was so much more. On closer observation these shackles had strange symbols carved into them and I once saw what they do first hand when a new ⁸arrival attempted to attack one of the slavers. As the new arrival summoned in his hand what looked to be a vicious looking torrent of wind, the shackles placed on him glowed a dark purple and instantly the torrent of wind dissipated leaving him defenseless against the violent lashing that came his way.
It was impossible to use any type of magic as long as we had these shackles on us but that wasn't the only reason for my inability to help them.
'System'
As I looked at my skills I focused on one in particular. Self Preservation- your well-being comes first and your body will prevent you from taking any action considered unnecessarily dangerous or harmful to yourself.
As I looked at this skill a memory came forth of roughly two months ago when one of the slavers took notice of one of the older female slaves and had what I can only describe as a disgusting leer from a genuine monster as he looked her up and down. He then called one of his higher ups to let them know that he was going to take his "reward" for the month and after getting the ok he began to drag the woman by the hair screaming. When I saw this my blood began to boil and when I went to say or do something in a instant I felt my body lock up and a horrible shock jolted through my body as I saw the system screen pop in front of me saying Self preservation activated. It was an awful sensation that caused me to stay where I was and I could do nothing but watch as that bastard took her away, I never saw that woman again after that day.
After remembering that day I nearly crushed what was left of my bread and was furious at the fact that my own body told me not to help someone. Looking back at that moment if I had done something the slaver probably would have beaten me half to death and my skill activated to prevent that very thing from happening.
I slowly began to understand why that angel had become frustrated when she was at that screen. This skill may prevent me from taking unnecessary risks but there are times when I may need to take a risk to do something or I need to help someone.... help someone. As that thought crossed my mind I was reminded of an unpleasant memory from my past life that came from me helping someone which lead to many horrible moments.
I sighed and realized that I need to focus on surving and can't worry about anybody at this time. In order to survive I need to find a way to escape this place but even that proves difficult. As I thought about escape plans the thought of using magic crossed my mind but unless I get these shackles off then that too is a dead end. I mindlessly go across multiple scenarios and continue to look at my skills as well. The truth is I actually have more than the first three but it shows up as locked.
I thought as to what the reason could be and came to the conclusion that these were unique skill that either required mana to activate or I had to achieve or unlock them through some unknown method. The main reason I had still had access to the other skills were probably due to the fact that they were part of my biology and not magically connected or however the other skills worked. I had come to understand the reasons for my various skills... except for one.
I looked to the last "skill" that appeared on the list but this one was different from the rest. It had no title nor did it say it was locked. This "skill" appeared almost... corrupted and simply displayed itself as unknown. Everytime I looked at it, it gave me a sense of unease as though I wasn't supposed to have this very power and I quickly moved the screen away from whatever it was and finished my rations.
As I finished my bread I quietly curled up in my corner and attempted to sleep to prepare myself for another day in this hellhole and wondering how I'll get out of this place.
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3rd person POV
*Outside of the Prison on the dock*
As the sun begins to set a strict looking woman in a uniform looks as a small ship begins to close in on the dock. As the ship docks a tan looking man covered in scars makes his way out of the ship and onto the dock towards the woman.
"So this is the new shipment?" the woman asks?
"Yeah. Sorry for taking so long those damned Adventurers are making it harder and harder to get good products" replied the man.
"Oy bring them out!"
At the mans yell lines of newly caught slaves both demihumans and regular humans covered in wounds slowly made their way out of the ship and onto the docks.
" I see that more than a few of them have some severe wounds on them. You know I don't like damaged products. It makes it harder to sell or put them to work." the woman scowled at the man as she said this.
Nervously the man replied " I and truly sorry Madam! This new batch was particularly feisty and we had to bought them up a bit to make sure they didn't cause any trouble but I assure you they can be put to work or sold right away!"
"Mmmm" replied the woman skeptical of the man's claims.
"Ummmmm w-well Madam I think you'll be particularly happy when you see one of the newest products that I personally caught out by the desert!"
"Oh? Do tell what is this new product that will prevent me from putting you in this line up as well? I'm sure there a few buyers who would love a big and strong guy like you" the woman coldly remarked and patted his cheek.
Terrified the man quickly went to the back of the line up of slaves and grabbed a small girl covered in a diry cloth.
" ...This is your big surprise? Forgive me for my underwhelming reaction" the woman scowled once more preparing a small fire in her hand.
" W- wait Madam t-the cloak take off the cloak!"
The woman raising an eyebrow extinguished the flame and lifted the cloak off the girl and instantly became shocked at what she had seen.
" Well now~ this is a true suprise. It seems you do have an eye for the good stuff. I'll see to it that you get a proper reward for this and I'll even look over the damages" the woman smiled with a look of almost genuine joy.
"T-thank you Madam I will continue to do my utmost best for you" the man stuttered and bowed.
"I look forward to it." After this comment the woman yells to her people standing behind her. "Alright move them inside we'll begin sorting them out take especially good care of this one!" Pointing at the young girl in front of her.
As soon as she finished her sentence her people began to lead the slaves into the prison and as they did she took one last glance at the young girl.
"You'll be worth a fortune" she happily says as she stared at the girls pitch black lizard tail and small horns on top of her head.
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