As I regained consciousness, my eyes slowly opened to reveal my surroundings. I found myself in a large carriage, one used for transporting goods. The sight that greeted me was not a pleasant one. I was surrounded by children of my age, all of them weeping and crying. The atmosphere was thick with fear and despair, and it was clear that we all knew our fate. We were to be sold as playthings to powerful individuals. Despite slavery being forbidden in this world, the rich and influential could do as they pleased.
I closed my eyes, wishing for death instead of becoming a plaything for some cruel person. There was a saying among common people "You are weak because you sinned in your past life, and this is your punishment." I had already suffered enough, and I didn't want to endure a life like this again.
Suddenly, a growl emanated from somewhere in the distance. I opened my eyes to find everyone in a state of panic. All the children in the carriage began to scream, kick, and punch the door, hoping to escape their grim fate.
"Stop it!" a voice bellowed from outside, accompanied by a loud bang. The sound was enough to halt all of them in their tracks, and They were too afraid to do anything. I looked around at the faces of the childrens, they all looked terrified. It was clear that if we didn't escape, we were as good as dead.
I made my way to the door and started to kick and punch it again, and to my surprise, the others followed suit. After a while, we heard the sound of a door opening and a yell that accompanied it. A man in his forties appeared before us, with black hair and brown eyes. He was bulky and looked like he could inflict a lot of damage. He opened a small portion of a door, but with everyone's attempts, we started to push it open. When he realized what we were trying to do, he began to close the door.
Despite his attempts to close the door, we managed to open a small space that was just enough for a person to pass through. A I was in front. I was the first to exit, and as I looked back at the man, I could see the fury in his eyes. He wanted to kill me but was too busy trying to close the door. I trembled under his gaze, but I knew that there were more dangerous things in this place that I needed to worry about.
As I turned around, my heart raced at the sight of a monster. It had a feline structure, but its entire body was covered in a thick black substance that emitted ominous black smoke. I knew this creature was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It had escaped from the demon border, a rarity for a monster of such caliber to be seen in the inner part of humanland.
Our eyes met, and I froze in terror as I felt its piercing gaze upon me. My survival instinct kicked in, and I immediately turned and ran as fast as I could, trying to put as much distance between myself and the monster. However, my luck seemed to run out as my foot got caught in the root of a tree, and I fell to the ground.
When I turned back, I saw that the monster was only a meter away from me, and my heart sank. My mind went black with fear, and my body trembled with terror. My inner self urged me to scream, just once. With every ounce of courage I had left, I let out a deafening cry of "Stoooooooooop!"
To my surprise, the monster stopped in its tracks, and I seized the opportunity to get back on my feet and run as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I didn't care why it stopped or how it stopped; all that mattered was getting away from it.
I ran and ran until my body ached, my throat was parched, and my vision grew dark. I stumbled and fell, but I picked myself up and kept running. My legs hurt, and I was exhausted, but I refused to stop.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, I collapsed on the ground, completely spent. I felt the weight of unconsciousness take over, and I surrendered to it, hoping that when I awoke, the monster would be nothing more than a distant memory.
***
As I opened my eyes, I was disoriented by my surroundings. There were no trees, just a vast expanse of plain ground. In the distance, I could see a crowd of people and I felt compelled to move towards them.
As I approached the group, I noticed that they were all children around my age, some even younger. But what captured my attention the most was the queue that had formed in front of me. They were distributing food and water to everyone present, and I rushed towards the source of sustenance.
The children around me looked at me with disgust, repulsed by my appearance. Covered in dust from head to toe, I reeked of sweat and looked starved and sickly. But I paid no attention to their scornful glances. I only had eyes for the food and water in front of me.
As I made my way through the line, people began to move away from me, but that didn't bother me. If anything, it allowed me to get to the front faster. Eventually, I arrived at the person responsible for distributing the food, and I eagerly held out my bowl and glass.
I barely registered the man's face as I took my first mouthfuls of food. It was so delicious and satisfying that I quickly consumed three more bowls. The others looked at me like I was a beggar, but I couldn't care less. All that mattered was that I had something to eat.
As I sat in a corner of the camp, I couldn't help but ponder my future. I had nowhere to go, and if I returned to my old home, they would certainly try to catch me again. All my savings were locked inside my house, and I didn't even have the means to purchase new clothes.
Lost in my thoughts, I heard a voice behind me. "You eat a lot, but can I know your name so that I can register you for the inspection?" It was the same man who had given me food.
"My name is Olivia Minden," I said, not caring what they were inspecting. All that mattered was that they let me stay and continue to receive food.
As I sat there, the weight of my miserable life bore down on me, and I couldn't help but wonder what the future held for me.
...
I heard my name and it woke me up from my slumber. I shouted "YES" and got up, starting to move towards the tent where everyone was going when their name was called. As I was only one meter away from the tent, I heard a voice from behind.
"Olivia Minden, from today onward you are going to be the personal maid of Asher Blackthorn, The Third Lord of the Blackthorn family."
When I turned around, I saw a charming boy of around six years old with jet black hair and black eyes. He looked mesmerizing in his black clothes that fit his muscular body
***
Deep inside the dense forest, two figures could be seen moving with astonishing speed. They were powerful individuals whose mere presence was enough to make even the most skilled of five-level ability users tremble with fear.
A man with striking green hair and piercing green eyes looked at the woman beside him. They shared similar features, suggesting that they were siblings. "Did you find that monster?" he asked her.
"No," she replied. "Did you find any traces?"
"Yes, I found some traces leading towards the Blackthorn border," he said decisively.
"Then let's go," she said, wasting no time in setting off towards the border.
...
As they reached their destination, the woman suddenly cried out, "There it is!" and dashed towards a particular point. The man followed closely behind.
But as they approached the monster, something seemed off. The creature that should have been snarling and lunging at them was standing completely still. They inspected the beast, and to their surprise, they found it to be alive and well. However, it refused to move, as if it had been commanded to stay put.
The man slowly approached the monster's face, noticing its eyes glaring at him with a murderous intensity. But even in the face of danger, the monster remained motionless.
Both of them were perplexed by this unexpected turn of events, but they knew they didn't have time to ponder over it. There were still more monsters out there that had escaped the border, and they needed to be stopped.
The siblings acted quickly, dispatching the monster with deadly efficiency. However, even in death, the monster remained as still as it had been before.
With a sense of unease, they left the area in a hurry, knowing that they had more important tasks at hand.