A loud voice boomed through the city center drowning out all sounds. People had gathered in a circle their faces twisted in anger as they shouted without holding back.
"Kill them " they yelled.
"Burn the witch " others chimed in.
"They deserve to die " the crowd shouted in unison.
Stones flew through the air hitting the figures on the stage. Haruto stood at the edge of the crowd his small body shaking as he tried to push. He was six years old, too weak to force his way through the crowd.
On the stage two figures knelt with their faces covered by cloth. Harutos parents. No this can't be happening he thought. His voice cracked as he whispered, "Please don't do this."
No one listened. The crowd only got louder throwing stones and pouring out more hatred. Haruto tried to move again but someone shoved him back. He stumbled, almost falling, his vision blurring as tears filled his eyes.
He couldn't reach Harutos parents. He couldn't do anything. All he could do was watch. That day something inside Haruto broke.. In its place something else was born. A promise.
Even as tears streamed down his face Harutos small hands clenched tightly. One day he thought, I'll kill everyone for this.
Eleven years passed,. The world never changed. In this world every person received a skill at birth. That single ability decided their worth. Strength was everything. Power was everything.
Haruto had been born with the skill of a beast tamer a lower-class ability that most people considered useless. It wasn't something that could make him strong nor something that could earn respect. Because of that he had been mocked, looked down on and treated like nothing.
That was why the hatred inside Haruto never faded. If anything it only grew stronger with time. The only work he could find was the kind no one wanted.
Collecting monster stones carrying bags and doing the lowest tasks for adventurer parties. To them Haruto wasn't a teammate. He was extra weight.
Still Haruto endured it. Because he knew one thing: if he stayed weak nothing would ever change. The deeper parts of the dungeon held monsters and greater rewards. That was the place where
Harutos level could rise where he could gain power.
As an E-rank Haruto wasn't even allowed to enter on his own. The only way in was as a burden as someone who carried followed and stayed silent. So Haruto waited, endured and took every chance he could get.
The Adventurers Guild was crowded and noisy. Haruto stood quietly near the entrance his eyes scanning the room as he searched for a party to join. Around him adventurers laughed, talked and formed groups. No one paid him any attention.
Gathering his courage Haruto approached a group. "Um can I -" he started to say.
Before he could finish one of them shoved him hard. Haruto fell to the ground.
"We don't need trash like you " the man said coldly. Laughter followed. Haruto clenched his teeth. Slowly pushed himself up but before he could stand properly a hand reached out toward him.
"Are you alright?" a young man asked, offering a hand with an expression. Haruto looked up. The young man stood in front of him his face kind.
Before Haruto could respond another voice spoke sharply. "Hey what do you think you're doing?" another member of the group said, glaring at the man who had pushed Haruto. "Is that how you treat someone than you?"
A girl beside him crossed her arms. "Exactly just because hes weak doesn't mean you can treat him like that." The group that had pushed Haruto clicked their tongues. Walked away.
Silence followed for a moment. The young man helped Haruto to his feet. "Sorry about that " he said casually. "There are a lot of idiots like that here."
Haruto shook his head slightly. "I'm fine " he said quietly. The man studied him for a moment before smiling
"Well that's good " he said. "Actually we're looking for someone to join our party."
Harutos eyes widened in surprise.
"" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah " the man replied. "We need someone to carry supplies and help with tasks. If you don't mind you can join us."
Haruto nodded quickly. "I want to join " he said, trying to sound confident. "Great " the man said, smiling. "Lets introduce ourselves first."
He placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Sōta Minamoto I'm an A-rank. I use sword skills." Another stepped forward.
"I'm Kaito Yamazaki, B-rank I'm the tank."
The girl spoke next. "I'm Nanami Okamoto, B-rank, support."
The last one added, "And I'm Akihiro Takeda, B-rank archer." All of them looked at Haruto.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I'm Haruto Kurosawa, E-beast tamer " he said quietly. The group moved through the forest in silence the sound of footsteps and rustling leaves filling the air.
Haruto followed behind them carrying the supplies struggling to keep up. His shoulders already ached. No one spoke to him. After some time they reached the dungeon entrance. A gate standing in the middle of the forest.
Its surface was worn and ancient covered in markings. Haruto couldn't. Stare at it for a moment. "Lets move " Sōta said.
The gate slowly opened, revealing darkness beyond. They stepped inside.
The first ten floors didn't take long. Monsters fell quickly under their attacks leaving Haruto with nothing to do but watch and carry the load.
The party had already reached the floor. Far the journey had been smooth. They had cleared every monster in their path without difficulty. Haruto remained at the back as always carrying the bags and collecting monster stones left behind.
He hadn't fought once. As they moved through a stone corridor something caught their attention. A crack in the wall. It wasn't natural; it looked like an entrance.
Sōta stepped closer narrowing his eyes. "What is this, a hidden path?" Nanami quickly pulled out a map. Opened it. Her brows furrowed.
"There's nothing " she said. "This path isn't on the map." A brief silence followed.
Sōtas lips curved slightly. "I think the dungeon created this recently " he said. "If we explore it we might find something "
Harutos expression tightened. A bad feeling crept into his chest.
"Shouldn't we report this to the guild first?" he said carefully. "If theres a monster inside..." Sōta cut him off casually.
"Relax we can handle it." The others nodded without hesitation. ". If we map it ourselves " Sōta added, "we'll get extra rewards." That was enough to settle it.
Without waiting longer they stepped inside one by one. Haruto hesitated for a moment then followed. The passage was dark and narrow. They activated a magic item casting a faint glow around them.
The walls looked older than the rest of the dungeon covered in cracks and strange marks. The deeper they went the heavier the air felt. After a minutes monsters appeared.
These monsters were different. Stronger and faster than anything they had faced before. The party fought them quickly. Even Haruto could tell. They weren't normal enemies.
Still they continued forward. Eventually the path opened into a circular chamber.
Harutos breath caught. The ceiling stretched high above them disappearing into darkness.
A spiral of stone steps led downward deeper into the dungeon.. At the bottom a black dragon lay sleeping. Its massive body covered the floor its scales dark as night.
Each breath it took was heavy, slow, but powerful. A river of water flowed nearby separating the chamber. On the side a narrow path led further in. Harutos voice barely rose above a whisper.
"We should leave " he said, his hands clenched at his sides.. The others pressed on without a glance. They began moving down the stairs step by step trying not to make a sound.
The dragon didn't move. It was still asleep. When they reached the level Sōta suddenly pointed ahead. "Look " he said quietly.
On the wall there was a mechanism. A lever. "And there's another one, on the side " he added. Har
Haruto was told to stay where he was by the person who turned to him. "You stay here we will go to the side and handle anything that is dangerous " he said.
Haruto was not sure about this. He said "...Alright" after a moment.
The other people crossed the river carefully. Got to the other lever. "Are you ready?" Sōta called out. Haruto nodded his head.
They pulled the levers and a loud rumble echoed through the room. The big stone door started to open.
At the time the dragons eyes opened suddenly. Haruto froze. He felt an scary presence in the air.
The dragon slowly lifted its head. The other people had already gone through the door behind him.
Then the door slammed shut. Haruto heard laughter coming from the side. His eyes got very wide. "...No..." He realized the truth away. He was never really part of the team. He was just used as bait.
Haruto started to panic. He turned around. Ran up the stairs but it was too late.
The dragon opened its mouth. A big fireball shot towards him. The explosion destroyed the stairs under his feet.
Both ways to escape were blocked.
The door behind him was already. The stairs leading up were gone, broken into little pieces of stone. Haruto had no way to escape now.
He was very scared.
He stumbled back. Hid behind a big piece of broken stone. He tried to catch his breath. His chest was moving up and down fast because he was so afraid.
"Why...?" he said, his voice shaking. "Why does this always happen to me...?"
He started to cry because he was so frustrated and sad.
For a moment his hands shook much. Then he grabbed the bag from his shoulder and threw it as far as he could without thinking.
The bag flew across the room.
The dragons head moved away.
A later a big fireball shot out of its mouth and hit the bag in the air. The explosion burned the bag to ashes away and black pieces fell to the ground.
Haruto froze.
He could not breathe.
That one attack had destroyed everything.
He slowly pulled himself back behind the rock and his body started to shake.
"How...?" he whispered to himself. "How could I forget...?"
He held onto the stone tightly with his fingers. "In this world people like me do not get any help."
His voice was very quiet and sad.
"To them we are nothing but people."
He remembered things from the past.
He remembered Sōta helping him up. He remembered feeling warm and safe for a moment.
For a second Haruto thought he had finally found a place where he belonged.
Now
His face twisted in pain.
"It was all a lie..." he said to himself.
He clenched his teeth in anger and sadness. "They knew... They knew from the start " he thought.
He thought about everything that had happened."They brought me here on purpose they used me like bait like a toy..."
He laughed,. It was not a happy laugh.
"I am such a fool..."Before he could think any more. He heard a noise behind him.
The dragon moved.
Harutos body got ready to run.
He heard the dragon breathing heavily. Then he heard the sound of fire.
A big fireball shot, towards the rock he was hiding behind.
"—!"
The explosion hit the stone. It broke into pieces.
The force of the explosion threw Haruto through the air. His body was thrown across the room. He felt heat and force around him.