(Lucan's POV)
A thousand different thoughts were racing in my head at the moment. I had to be prepared for anything. The habits of protecting myself out of fear were creeping back into me from my past life. It felt like it had been an eternity since I had asked, but in reality, it had only been a few seconds. I anxiously awaited her answer.
"Pfft, hahaha! You don't need to worry about that Lucan. The only people who can use magic properly are the nobles. I have heard that most commoners and slum dwellers like us can't even use magic" she exclaimed.
The second I heard this, I sighed in relief. It seems I was making a mountain out of a molehill, but there was still a problem in this whole conversation. It seems that magic does exist in this world but most commoners cannot use it, that is all well good but the issue here is that if commoners couldn't use magic then what did the slum children mean by 'abilities'.
Magic was praised and respected in this world. It was a symbol and a virtue of nobility. If a commoner were to be able to use magic, by these standards, they would be revered and worshipped among other commoners as well if not with the nobility. If that is the case, then why would the slum children have such a fierce hatred and disgust for Lucan. Are his 'abilities' unnatural or uncommon, maybe his abilities have something to do with this 'heretic'. From the name itself I could guess that he was a sensitive character in this world. His name was always spoken with a clear sign of hatred but there was also always a hint of fear in their eyes. Also, why didn't Lucan use his 'abilities' to fight back against his bullies? Did he not know how to use it properly, or maybe he didn't know how to control his powers...
"Lucan, what are thinking so much about? It's already late in the night, let's go to sleep, you must be tired" Miriam said.
"It's nothing, let's go to sleep mom" I replied.
There was no point in overthinking right now, all I can do now is take in information as it comes and finish this puzzle as and when I find a new piece. I went to bed with Miriam and as I slowly closed my eyes, my first day in this new unknown world came to an end.
It seems that I was exhausted because I slept like a log that night. I didn't even have any nightmares or sleep paralysis that I sometimes had in my old world. It was one of the best nights of sleep I had ever had.
It was on the next day that I came to the full realization of what happened to me. There were still some small doubts in my mind that this may all be some weird dream, but today I was sure that I had died and transmigrated into a different world. After having an early breakfast, Miriam left for her work. I thought that her work hours would be late in the night because of the nature of her job, but it seems that my knowledge of sex workers was lacking. The main activities would of course be held at night but there was still a lot they had to prepare from the morning itself though I didn't know what exactly they had to do since Miriam didn't divulge much about her job to maintain Lucan's innocence.
Once Miriam left I started combing through more memories for any small clue of his lifestyle. It was quickly apparent what my daily life would look like from now on. It seems that he was part of a so-called 'gang' or rather he was forced to be a part of it. About a year ago, he unintentionally got on the bad side of one of these gangs, and they demanded Lucan to do some dirty work for them if he wanted to be forgiven. They made him their errand boy and made him pickpocket and steal from the people who used to come into the slums.
These people not only threatened to hurt Lucan but also told him that if he didn't do what they said, they would kill Miriam. The kids who bullied and killed Lucan were also a part of this same gang and were supposed to work together to make money for the gang, but they used him to vent their frustrations and bullied him every day. Lucan had no choice but to go through it without complaint to protect Miriam.
According to those memories, Lucan would go to the gang's hideout near the sewer every day and meet the gang members who would then assign certain tasks to the group he belonged to, they would complete these tasks throughout the day and report back in the evening. The gang leader would take most of the money and give some of it to his direct subordinates. The rest of the money was supposed to be distributed between the group members but the gang leader couldn't care less of what happened with the rest of the money once he got his share, so the bullies took all the money and didn't leave even a penny for Lucan. This was an everyday occurrence and today was also going to be the same.
I was contemplating whether to go or not because I knew that I would be probably be pushed around by the gang members again and lord knows what would happen if the bullies found out 'Lucan' was still alive but I still decided on going because I needed more information and real-world experience of this place and there was also the threat of Miriam being hurt that loomed over this situation.
When I made my way to a small shed near the sewers, I found that I was quite early because none of the other kids in my group had arrived yet and only the gang leader was there. He was an early pubescent boy with ragged dirty brown hair who was wearing shabby clothes but the most visually striking thing on his body was a thick gold necklace that was draped on his neck. It didn't look good on him at all but it was more like a statement of hierarchy than anything.
"Oya! Quite early aren't you, brat?" He said.
"Yes," I replied.
" Where are the others from your group?"
"I don't know"
"Clean this place up till they come, I want it spotless" He ordered.
I looked around the shed and It was very dirty all around. There were bottles of liquor and stains of vomit all over the place and there were even some white stains that I didn't even want to describe. I got to cleaning while the gang leader continuously glared at me the whole time. He had a lecherous gaze on me and I started shivering involuntarily. Lucan's cute face wasn't doing me any favors and it seems that in the slums, anything goes.
I always had my eye on him and he slowly started making his way toward me. I started shivering visibly and was frozen in place when I heard a loud shout.
"H-how are you alive!!"
It was the leader of the bullies who had killed Lucan. He was understandably shocked at seeing Lucan who he thought he had killed last night.
"Oi, what are you talking about?" It was the gang leader who questioned him.
"Boss! That kid.....he is a monster! He has weird powers just like the heretic! Some of us ganged up on him and killed him yesterday, how the hell is he alive?" The bully replied.
"What the hell are you talking about bastard! Oi, is this true cuz if it ain't you guys are in for some punishment" The leader asked.
"N-no, he is telling the truth. I was there too" another one of the bullies replied.
Y-yeah me too! Lucan acts very weirdly sometimes and he has some disgusting powers too, just like the heretic in the stories" another one said.
"Ah, I see. You killed him you say, it seems you didn't complete the job, so then it's our duty as the citizens of the empire to kill him then. We can't let someone with the powers like the heretic to rampage around again" the gang leader stated.
His face had a disgustingly ugly smile on his face. His eyes still had that lecherous and lustful gaze in them and he did not even try to conceal his thirst for blood. It was just like the time I was being beaten in my previous world. It was apparent that he still did not believe in the bully's testimony, he is just going to use it as an excuse to kill me so that he can have his way with me after my blood went cold. Even he knew that killing in broad daylight could get him in serious trouble even in the slums. This was the perfect cover for him.
He took a metal rod lying next to him and swung it hard at me. It was too fast for me to dodge, so I braced for impact. The rod hit my ribs and I could hear a distinct crack. The very next moment I buckled in pain and fell to the ground.
"What the hell are you guys waiting for? Come on, join in. Just don't hit his face, I need it for later, hehe" I heard the Gang leader say.
At his command, everyone jumped in on the bandwagon and started beating me up. The only people who were hesitant were the bullies but even they joined in apprehensively in the end. I cowered in the fetal position on the ground as I was beaten indiscriminately. As grim as it may sound, I was used to it. They didn't hit my face just as the leader instructed, so I wasn't hit with a fatal blow. The leader was laughing the whole time and he was smacking his lips like he was enjoying a scrumptious meal.
But suddenly his face turned grim, all his expressions of joy and satisfaction were wiped cleanly from his face. I looked at the other people and they had the same expressions. The most terrified one, however, was the bully who had killed Lucan.
"S-see, I-I told you. His powers are just like his...the heretic. I have seen this before too" he shouted.
The gang leader was frozen in place and didn't even respond. I suddenly felt the pain of my wounds suddenly vanish, I looked at my body in reflex and saw the most disgusting sight I had ever seen.
A dark black slime-like mass was strewn between my wounds of flesh and sinew. My broken bones were pulled by this black mass and mended together. The torn skin was pulled together and my flesh wounds were completely healed. It was a horrific sight to see and it made me gag vehemently. In this confusion, I understood one thing. Whatever that black mass is, it came from inside my body. It erupted out from the tears in the skin and between the fractures in my bones. It sucked up all the blood and pulled it back into my body like a sponge.
"What kind of fucked up power is this...." was the only thing that I thought of at that moment.