"Knock Knock"
I opened my eyes quickly and looked at the door, but the sound wasn't coming from there...
"Knock Knock"
My gaze was fixed on the wall. The tapping sound came from the next wall. Who is bothering me? It couldn't be Gloriana, she's in the room on the other side. This sound was coming from the wall next to my bed. Who was? I didn't know who was in the next room, I had never seen the door to that room open and I had never heard any noise coming from there. I moved closer, pressing my ear to the wall when a female voice spoke.
"Hey, is your name Asher?" said the voice on the other side of the wall.
I was instantly surprised when I heard the voice. How the hell does he know my name? According to this body's memories, I never spoke to anyone. Since I was reincarnated into this body, the only person I told my name to was Gloriana. So how does the person on the other end know my name and what purpose does he or she have?
"Sigh"
I sighed and answered. I had nothing to lose, but I couldn't trust this person.
"Yes… My name is Asher, but how do you know my name and who you are?" I asked bluntly and straight to the point.
"Don't speak too loudly, I can only tell you this, but promise me one thing," she said.
Promise... but what did he want me to promise him? I didn't know who she was or what purpose she had with me. I sighed and listened to what the person on the other end had to say.
"What do you want? Say it quickly," I said.
"Fine, but don't tell anyone. I don't know if you know this, but in a few hours many of us will die because they will take us from this place to kill monsters."
"…"
My eyes widened, my breathing quickened, and my face contorted into a disturbed expression. Why would they take us to a place of death? If we are slaves they are supposed to keep us alive to sell us. So why would they take us out? If there are monsters, it means that all the slaves would die. What do they want to achieve with this? But what I wondered most was, where did the person on the other side of the wall get this information?
"Sigh"
My breathing calmed and I tried to think more clearly. I don't know why they would take us out of this place just to take us to a place where monsters live.
"How do you know that? Is what you told me even real?" I asked, I couldn't jump to a conclusion. He still couldn't create a spell and was still very weak this time.
"I can't answer you, but what I told you is real. If anyone finds out about this, it could be chaos," she said.
"So what are you getting at by saying all this to me, to someone you just met?" said.
"It's not there yet. I know you are learning to do magic and that is why I need your help so I can save as many slaves as possible," she said.
"…"
How did he know she was learning magic? Nothing was clear. If he knows I use magic, why didn't he ever look for me in the dining room? Who the hell is the person on the other side of the wall? He knows too much, including that I'm learning to use magic. Who the hell is he and how did he get all this information?
"How do you know that? But what if it was him…?" I thought.
He wasn't too sure, but what if he is that man who came in to inspect all the rooms? There could be a certain amount of chance that it had been that man who had entered my room to check every part of it. He was very suspicious, perhaps that explains why he "didn't see the rectangular surface on the shelf." But it is also possible that he is not like that and that he is just someone normal.
"So, how long do we have before they take us out of this place?"
"It will be at noon," he replied.
So, I need to learn at least one magic spell, an attack one. Among those he had to learn were: fire arrow, fire shield and fireball. Fire arrow would help me attack at long range, fireball would cause an attack at close range but with a very large destruction impact, and fire shield would be for defense in case I am attacked up close.
But all that was being ruined. Currently it was almost 8 AM, I didn't have much time. What would happen if he really managed to master all three spells? It would be very advantageous, since I may face my first monster. Although I trained to face some swordsman and be able to free all the slaves in this place, I still couldn't do it. I'm very weak right now, I can't even create magic even though I'm already in the first circle.
"Sigh"
I got out of bed and quickly took out the magic book from the hiding place. I went back to the bed and looked at the content about spells. I need time, just a little. Even if I can't use all three spells, I must use one, and this would be the fireball, a basic spell but with great power.
[Ball of fire]
[You need to be a magician of the first circle. This spell is one of the most basic. When learning the spell, it doesn't take much time. Depending on the wizard's talent in spell comprehension, he can learn it in a day.]
"One day… I don't have time, I need to learn this spell in less than four hours," I muttered.
I looked at the bottom of the page. This page explained the basics of the fireball spell and also how to create the spell.
[To create the fireball spell, mana must be infused into the book right on the fireball spell page. Once the first step is done, he will close his eyes and be in a state of paralysis. When you open your eyes, you will be in a different space. A box full of runes will appear in front of her eyes, a total of 6 runes. To complete the spell, you must connect all 6 runes. Once all that is done, the spell will be complete and then you will only need to move the mana to the palm of your hand.]
The content of the spell was clear. I did what the book said: I placed my hand on the page of the book, then concentrated my mana on my fingertips. My circuit began to tingle as mana began to flow in one direction. The mana reached my fingers, the page of the book began to fill with mana when suddenly my body became paralyzed.
"Sigh"
I closed the eyes. The second step is to be fully focused. I closed them and then, following the instructions in the book, tried to open my eyes.
"…"
A different place unfolded before me. Everything was white, like a closed room with four walls of the same color. There was no noise and my breathing did not resonate in this place. My heart couldn't be heard either; everything was completely silent. The book specified a painting with runes. I turned my gaze in another direction and, sure enough, a painting was in front of me. Inside the room were six types of black and purple threads.
"These are the runes, some threads," I thought.
The threads were connected to the walls of the painting, but they seemed to be in no specific order. The book only said to connect the runes on the painting, but did not specify whether they should be arranged in a special order.
I moved my hand and touched the threads of the painting. They felt warm but also sharp, with a hard, sharp texture. If I used any more force, I could easily cut off my fingers… I concentrated, filled my fingers with mana, and then grabbed one of the threads, which came off easily.
With one, two, three, four and five threads detached from the painting wall, suddenly the threads changed color. I looked at the picture wall and there were five different colors. I looked at the threads and they were the same colors. It looked like an electrical installation; At that time it was almost the same, so it didn't cost me anything to connect the six wires correctly.
Then suddenly, when the threads were connected in the correct order, the white spot disappeared and I opened my eyes. I was no longer paralyzed and could move freely. The last step was to get my mana into the palm of my hand, but once that was done, what should I do? The book did not indicate what should be done.
"Sigh"
"Okay, now I just have to get my mana into my hand," I thought.
My mana began to flow throughout my arm. I focused on bringing that mana to the palm of my hand. The manna came, but nothing happened. I closed my eyes and, as if it were an X-ray machine that can see through the body, I looked at my mana in the palm of my hand. The manna was accumulated.
"What am I supposed to do? What if I imagine a fireball?"
I tried to imagine a ball the size of a soccer ball. The mana began to behave differently, and suddenly the mana began to rise above my hand. Then it began to take a spherical shape. The mana came with more force and the size of the sphere began to grow. Then it stopped in the palm of my hand. Just above was a floating energy sphere the size of a soccer ball. I opened my eyes, and when I looked at my mana, my eyes widened.
"T-this is a spell," I said as a sphere floated in my hand.
"But why does it have that color? Normal fire is yellow and sometimes blue, but this one is black and purple," I said.
It looked like a fireball, but it had an unknown color, one that fire should not have. So why is there black and purple fire? The purple sparkled everywhere while the black color kept in constant motion. It was like a fireball, but the dark kind.
"Now how do I turn it off or get rid of this?" I thought as reality hit my mind and I didn't know how to dispel the spell.
I grabbed the book with my other hand and looked at a small text in it.
[To dispel a spell, you must only absorb the spell's mana.]
"Sigh"
I began to absorb the mana. Suddenly, the black and purple sphere began to decrease in size. Slowly, it began to disappear until there was nothing left but my hand. I looked out the window and it seemed like only a few minutes had passed.
"I learned it very quickly. Then, I can learn the other spells, even a few more," I thought as I scratched my chin.
***
—Change of scene.
Four hours passed. I managed to learn all three spells and, along the way, I learned one more, although I didn't know how it worked. I had plenty of time on my hands and it was only a matter of time before the door in front of me opened and someone came in to force me out.
"It should be time…"
"Deaf sound."
Suddenly, the doors of other rooms began to collide with the walls. The screams of children could be heard, along with the screams of adults urging them to leave. The footsteps were getting louder. The hairs on my body stood on end when the door to my room swung open and collided with the wall. It was the same man as before; His dark eyes and large muscles gave a feeling of intimidation.
"Come out quickly," the man shouted.
I walked calmly when the man whispered to me.
"Do not be separated from Princess Gloriana and her friend," the man whispered.
"…"
I was surprised, but I contained my emotions and left the room. I looked up and down the hallway. Gloriana's door opened and red eyes stared at me. Her face was half red, but I ignored it and turned my gaze to the next room. I wanted to see the person who gave me all that information. The door opened.
"…"
"It's her, but why was she crying in the dining room earlier?"
She was the girl with white hair and white eyes, the same girl who was crying in the dining room the day before and who she assumed had recently been brought in. So, was it all an act by that girl or was it true? Her face was cold, she didn't have the tearful face she had before. She looked at me, her white eyes penetrated my entire body, she seemed to be analyzing me. I did the same, but I didn't feel any mana in her; she was simply an ordinary person with no mana.
"Deaf sound."
A man slammed the doors as he led the children out of their rooms.
"Let's walk, it's better to avoid that bastard," said the white-haired girl.
"By the way, my name is Luna Hazard," the girl introduced herself.
"Let's hurry, we have to get outside," Luna said as she grabbed Gloriana's hand.
I walked down the hallway and reached the stairs. There were many adult people, all wearing leather armor and base metal swords in their hands. They stood in line as all the slave children passed through the white door.
We walked and finally left the place. We entered a hallway that led to some stairs that took us up. We went up and a very familiar light emerged at the end of the stairs. We finished climbing the stairs, there was one more hallway. We walked and finally reached some large doors where sunlight came in. We went out and a field full of snow appeared in front of us. There were horse stables and house-sized tents on each side. Up ahead was a wall of wooden logs.
"I finally surfaced, the sun is very refreshing and the breeze of the wind…" I murmured when a voice spoke.
"All of you get ready because today many of you will die while doing cleanup work," one man said. He was wearing solid iron armor and a long sword. That must have been a swordsman...