'' Urgh! ''
A weak grunt escaped Jerouch's mouth as a thick wooden club struck his stomach.
His hands were tied on two separate poles which were a couple of meters apart, and his body was left hanging in mid-air.
Blood trickled from both corners of his mouth, and his grey robe was stained with dried blood.
The hot wind blew his dishevelled platinum hair as he looked downwards to avoid the fierce sunlight.
He had been in this state since three days ago, when he was caught by the head guard of the slave house.
Whenever a slave was caught trying to run away, they would tie them to these particular poles, torture them, starve them and watch as life slowly left their body.
This was done to instil fear in the other slaves. If not, with the hundreds of slaves here, many could go rogue.
'' You seem quite tough for your age. '' The guard in charge of the torture laughed as he struck the club on his thighs.
The guard wore rusty armour, just like the other guards here, and each strike that landed on Jerouch made his inside churn with happiness.
'' Patt! ''
A thick spit landed on the guard's brown forehead, and his face twisted and darkened in disgust and rage.
'' Bam! ''
A heavy slap landed on Jerouch's right face, which was wholly covered with an old burnt mark.
His eyes started twinkling and his ears buzzed.
'' These fuckers. '' He gritted his teeth as he endured the excruciating pain.
'' I swear I will screw your mother. '' The guard roared as he saw the mocking looks that the other guards gave him.
Even though all the slaves were made to watch this kind of event, none of them dared to look at him mockingly.
However, he knew they were also gleeful inside, which worsened his exasperation.
'' Well, you will be saving me more energy to do the work myself, hehe. '' Jerouch replied with a weak smirk. He raised his head, giving the guard a dark stare.
Since these people would kill him anyway, he would gladly use the little time he had to annoy them down to their bones.
Actually, tortures like these were common occurrences for Jerouch.
His life had always been full of miseries since he transmigrated to this world.
He was reborn as the child of a noble in a city neighbouring the royal capital.
He retained all the memories of his life on Earth. And he had great anticipation for this world when he found out that it was a world where magic was the foundation.
He found out that this world not only featured the medieval era, but also sophisticated magic technology.
Being a reincarnator, he was optimistic about becoming some sort of protagonist with unparallel magic powers that would make him walk the path of the strongest warlock.
However, fantasies were sweet, but the reality was full of grief and bitterness.
His parents, at first, had high hopes for him as he showcased his bright head that wasn't expected of a kid.
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'' You all just wait as my child awakens a three petals scripture. '' Jerouch heard his mother boast to her friends as she caressed him with love.
Jerouch too was happy, as he had begun showing the signs of mana instability that pointed depicted that he was about to awaken his scripture.
The scriptures meant everything in this world. If one could awaken a scripture, even if it was a one star scripture, they would surely become a warlock.
'' Riza, don't you think you're being audacious? A three stars scripture, eh? '' One of her friends gave Riza, Jerouch's mother, an envious stare.
What was a three stars scripture? Even the royals who had the strongest affinity for magic usually awakened two stars scriptures.
And not to talk of a kid who was barely five years old.
Some days later, the mana fluctuation around Jerouch grew wilder as his grimoire descended like a god from heaven.
There wasn't any grand thunder or supreme power that came with it. However, the phenomenon that followed was one that affected everyone on a large scale.
Everyone suddenly fell to the ground as they felt a pressure they couldn't defy. Not just that, as the pressure grew, everyone fainted, including the royals.
Shockingly enough though, as everyone regained their consciousness, none of them could remember what happened before their vision blanked out.
It was as if that part of their memories was erased without leaving any trace.
People were looking confused as to why they passed out, but at Jerouch's house, a different scene was unfolding.
'' Y-you, what is this? '' Riza's face lost colour.
They had woken up just like the people outside, but what they were seeing confused them, including Jerouch and his father.
'' A-a grimoire with no star…''
'' A zero star scripture. '' Jerouch's father completed with widened eyes that didn't hide his shock.
His bald head showed trickles of sweat as his big belly turned in turmoil.
It wasn't even a one star grimoire as no star was on the cover, an ordinary book with no use?
'' A trashy scripture, you vile creature. '' Riza's mind was in chaos as she rushed to Jerouch who also had a look which showed that he was as confused as them.
Riza tightened her hands around five years old Jerouch, and she shook him with all the force she could muster, not minding whether she hurt him or the baby she was carrying.
Life turned in a one-eighty degree since that day, and it only worsened when he was eight.
His younger brother had awakened a scripture, and not just any scripture…
It was a grimoire that was said to exist only in legends.
A five star scripture.
'' The gods have repaid my kindness. '' Tears flowed down Riza's face as she hug her little son.
Jerouch's younger brother was immediately admitted to the warlocks' academy and became the personal disciple of a powerful warlock that even the king could not dare offend.
Before, his brother used to stand against his parents to not maltreat him but with his departure, starvation and heavy beating were the kindest of treatments that he was subjected to by his own parents.
Outsiders didn't even bully him, since he wasn't allowed to step out of his room. He was a prisoner in his parents' house.
'' A kid with no magic? What would be your use in the future? ''
The shrill voice of his mother would enter his ears whenever she sighted him.
'' You might as well die with your useless book. '' She didn't even bother filtering her words as she sent him a venomous glare.
As for his father, he didn't give a damn about one random child that couldn't awaken a proper scripture.
The gods have already blessed him with a child with an unparallel talent for magic.
As for the other kid, hmph, he was as good as rubbish.
Things went worst for Jerouch, though, when his brother came back home during his second year in the academy.
During his first year's holiday, Jerouch noticed that his younger brother acted distant to him, but he still wasn't mistreated.
However, it didn't remain like that when he came back home for his second year's holiday.
Torture!!!
That was what his life revolved around.
His younger brother used him as a sparring partner to practice magic. And whenever he was injured, an evil grin and dead expression would appear on his face.
Jerouch might have the mind of an adult, but he was still in the body of a kid, and those pains were nightmarish for him.
The last day for him in that house was the day half of his face got burnt. His brother had called him as usual that he wanted to spar with him.
He was enduring the beatings like he had been doing until he cast a high-class fire spell that charred his face.
He straight away passed out due to the heat stroke and from there, he was sold to the slave merchants.
As for his life in the slave house, it didn't get better, it could only worsen.
They only ate dried bread or nut once a day, and the only water supply was filled with mud and excrement.
Here, the male slaves had to do hard labours such as mining, breaking rocks, and dragging wild animals.
The female slaves were usually taken as toys for the guards, and the beautiful ones were sometimes sold to brothels.
'' Just what fate is this? '' Jerouch couldn't help but wonder as another strike woke him from his reminiscence.
'' I was betrayed by my brother in my past life, but here is even worse. '' His teeth cracked against each other.
'' I want to rip these fuckers apart. '' His face turned grim as he felt an intense urge to reduce these people to dust.
'' If only…''
'' If only this trashy grimoireisn't as useless as it is. '' Blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he couldn't care less.
[The first requirement made, initialization in progress…]
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A/N
Hello mighty readers, there will be small rewards for the readers who supports this book the most by the end of the following month.
The first ranker, gets to name a character, the power of their Grimoire, and their role.
The second ranker, gets to name a character, their history, and role.
The third ranker, gets to name a character and their history.
You can rank up by supporting the book with powerstones,, comments, reviews, paragraph comments and golden tickets.
The book is fairly new meaning you can rank up quite easily.
Your support gives it a higher chance of receiving a contract. Thanks a lot.