In an area where the darkness of night covers the land and crickets and the howls of beasts can be heard a cart was drawn as the hoofs of a horse walked through the dead night.
Coming to a sudden pause the cart stopped.
"Hey, we're here Michael."
Stepping out of the cart Michael stretched his aching muscles from being in the cart too long.
"It's about damn time, being in here with all this shit cramped my style. Gerrad, why the hell is all this shit in the cart."
A short man with grey hair and brown eyes sitting on a horse with a piece of straw in his mouth had a disgruntled look.
"Well, I have a day job ya know, who do you think has to carry all this hay in the morning." The man said with an annoyed tone.
Micheal scoffed and turned to look around the forest.
"Let's just get this shit over with before anyone notices I am not at my post anymore."
He was on a thin time frame if he took too long to return to the village his story would have holes when they started investigating. It was becoming harder for him to kidnap kids as the academies put up a bounty for the kidnapper. He had to be cautious as more people started searching for him.
Pulling him from his thought was a man clad in all-black clothes with a hood above his head covering his face.
"Hello, gentleman." The hooded figure said
Micheal was annoyed by his tardiness as he was a valuable seller and he treated him as if his time didn't matter.
"Where the hell have you been? I can't be caught outside the village this late."
The black figure stared at them silently, walking by them without paying attention to focus on a boy lying down in the carriage.
Touching the boy as he inspected him.
"You brought me a cripple I see."
'A cripple is rare and many buyers would want one.' he thought
Taking his hand off Amir he turned to Micheal.
"Yea he got it out of the village when no one was looking.So how much is he for?" Micheal asked
After staring at the boy unconscious in the cart for a few seconds Micheal had a look of pity for a moment. Where he was about to be sold to would be even more hell than he already suffered. The world was cruel, and he would only die a miserable death.
Putting away those thoughts he felt happy about all the money he was about to get.
A wide grin broke out on his face.
"I'll take him for 10,000 EST"
"Eh"
He froze after hearing the offer.
"What! Why did he cost so little who the fuck do you think you bullshiting here. He's at least worth 30,000"
The hooded figure stayed silent and after a few seconds of pure silence. He threw a projectile from his arm that hit Micheal without him even noticing.
"Arghhhh!"
Micheal shouted as he tried to stop the blood from flowing out more. kneels and clutches his arm in pain.
"Listen here you fool you brought me a cripple; how do you expect me to sell such a useless specimen. You're lucky that I might have some use for such garbage so be grateful that you even get a single EST from me you insufferable worm."
As Michael stared at the figure in front of him he became frightened. He knew that he was from a powerful organization even though the figure had never revealed it. Micheal knew if he defied him then no one would be able to find his body.
"Sir forgive us, we are very sorry for even suggesting that this cripple could even be worth anything. "
Gerrad ran and kneeled at the hooded figure's feet.
The black figure stared down at the man and then kicked him. Sending him flying across the dirt.
"I swear I wish I wasn't deployed to such a disgusting town there's nothing here but insects down here."
Taking out a sack of coins he threw it off the ground and went over to Amir in a cart.
"Listen I'm taking this kid and in the interest of keeping business you'll get to keep your lives."
When Michael heard what the man said he sighed in relief as he realized that he made a horrible decision in making an outburst. He knew the man was dangerous but not that his temper would be so easy to trigger. He just wished to get out as quickly as possible.
"Please you can have the boy just please let me live and I'll go." Micheal pleaded
Hearing this the man scoffed.
"Pathetic and you call yourself a martial artist, I'll let you live sure" He said
Not reacting to anything the man had just said he was grateful to leave with his life.
"Thank you, sir really thank, you"
Micheal sighed in relief as stood up and went over to Gerrad
"Well, just what do we have here?"
A voice echoed throughout the forest.
With some surprise in his voice, the hooded looked in the distance and asked, "What is an academy official doing out here?"
From afar, a woman with fiery red hair stood on a tree in the distance.
"What do we have here if not a filthy slave merchant?"
"I just happened to be walking past and was pleasantly surprised to discover such filth."
If one could see the hooded figure one could discern a contorted facial expression.
"Human trafficking amid a forest, how very sneaky of you," she said with a laugh
Looking at her fiery red hair and a tall figure in the tree. The hooded figure could only lament his bad luck.
'Of all the people to run into.'
Sigh the hooded figure truly felt his luck was the shittiest.
He disappeared instantly. Leaving the area as though he wasn't there to begin with.
"Don't run away now my little shadow"
The woman smiled as she disappeared as well.
Nothing but the chirping of crickets could be heard in the forest as time wore on. Amir lay in the cart seemingly unconscious.
'I think they're gone.'
Amir jumped out of the cart stooped down and searched the area if anyone was still around.
'I can't believe he fooled me and I was dumb enough to believe that someone cared about me."
Clutching his head he tried to calm down but was too frazzled to do so.
'He was going to sell me, Shit!'
As he fled through the woods, he tried his best to stifle his anger.
'Of course, this happened to me just when I thought I found a decent person they planned to sell me for money.'
"I should have never trusted him."
Running through the forest at night was difficult because the moonlight didn't brighten this side of the village. Amir soon emerged into an open area that had light.
Before exiting the forest he collided with something hard.
'It's so dark, what did I run into."
Clutching his head in pain as he stepped back
"It's the kid," a rough voice said.
He saw two silhouettes in the darkness but slowly made it out to be Micheal and Gerrad.
Noticing Micheal his anger exploded as he jumped at him and threw a punch as hard as he could at the figure.
His fist connecting with one of the figures he heard a low scream.
"You lied to me! and then drugged me before trying to sell me."
Amir shouted blinded by rage.
Soon a fist came flying out of the darkness and punched Amir in his face and a cracking sound could be heard.
Micheal came through the darkness with a disgruntled look on his face.
"You hit Gerrad hard back there kid. when did you get so strong?"
Micheal chuckled at the fact that Gerrad was sulking about getting injured by a cripple. Gerrad was a pitifully weak farmer who never even cultivated so his being injured was too crazy to Micheal.
Looking at Amir who was reeling in pain on the floor he was extremely annoyed. He wished the kid would stay unconscious and a magic beast would eat him but now he would have to kill him to cover his tracks.
A academy official was here and if he didn't want to die he would have to go on the run.
"You should have just died kid. After allowing you to sit on my couch, you should be thankful that I even get something out of you."
Michael's words hurt him, and as he thought about them, he felt his heart break. He just couldn't understand what truly was so horrible about him. How could someone pretend to be so kind but be so evil, it just didn't make sense to him.
'Is this the extent of my existence? Is all I'm worth is to be truly this"
'Am I merely here to be subject to the whims of these heartless pieces of shit for the rest of my life?'
He started zoning out everything Micheal was saying as he felt another piece of himself dying.
'Why?'
'Why?'
'Why?'
'Why was I given weakness while they were given the gift of strength? Do they truly have the right to decide how I should live my life?'
'I want to live too! So why does everyone treat me like I nothing but an insect that needs to die.'
'My life hangs on the whims of pieces of shit like this all because I'm weak.'
'WHY!!!!'
Getting up Amir started running in the opposite direction.
Amid Michael's rant, he saw the kid running away before he started chasing him. Hitting the ground with his feet Michael disappeared showing right up in front of Amir
"I am a martial artist kid you can't escape."
Amir saw Micheal appear in front of him and threw out a punch.
Seeing the punch from a mile away Micheal grabbed his arm and pulled him in before punching him in the stomach.
Amir flew a couple of meters as he got punched hit a tree and started coughing up blood. cough a lot of blood
"Shit, that hurts so much god dammit. "
Amir only ever felt such pain when he got attacked by the magic beast from yesterday.
"Hey, you little shit don't think am done with you yet."
Grabbing Amir by the throat Michael smiled viciously he struggled gripping his hand trying to pull free.
"What can't breathe kid?"
Throwing his arm down carry Amir's body as it crashed into the ground with tremendous force
Ahhhh!! Amir screamed writhing in pain
"This is the difference between us mana users and garbage, do you feel it trash, the difference between us."
Amir had bloodshot eyes as he could barely stand the pain.
"No? Hey, I'm talking to you."
taking his arm and throwing out multiple punches at Amir breaking multiple bones in his body."
As Amir Screamed and writhed in pain his vision started to get blurry.
'The stars probably look beautiful tonight even on a shit one like this.'
His mind drifted ass Micheal beat him to death. He was quite sure that he would die soon and he couldn't escape this one.
'A star is so bright it shines and removes all the darkness as it illuminates the world.'
This was the dream he had as a kid and the dream that got shattered the day he found out he was a cripple. He lamented how bright and happy he was before then. It all came crashing down that day he failed the elemental test.
Everyone he knew and loved turned their backs on him, and he became the village rat in everyone's eyes. It was all just a lie, and nobody cared about him except the fair and honorable guard Micheal.
He scoffed at the thought of it all. Look where that got him.
'Power is what it takes to be up there, but I can't have it!'
He felt his mind slipping further as everything got darker and he could no longer think.
"All I wanted was to be a star." he barely muttered as Micheal continued to beat him to a bloody pulp.
===
Ding*
Body analysis complete*
Bloodline replacement complete*
status attachment complete*
===
As Michael stared down at the body beaten to a bloody pulp as blood dripped from his fists a wave of disgust washed over him as he looked at the boy. He felt like puking as he realized he had overdone it.
Turning his head away from the mess in front of him he heads back in the direction of the village.
"Leaving him to the magic beasts should hide all the evidence. I need to hurry up and get the hell out of here, Gerrad already probably went into hiding but no amount of hiding in the village can stop them from finding you."
Hearing a noise behind him he turned only to see Amir standing up dripping from head to toe in blood. Looking at Amir was slightly scary as he looked like a bloody mess and it made Micheal's stomach turn
"How the hell can you still move after all that!"
As he stared at the boy in front of him who had his fist curled into a fist he wondered what kind of power anyone would need to have to stand up after all that.
"Just what the hell are you?"
Amir looked up and stared him dead in the eyes.
"I'm going to kill you!"
His eyes shined golden as he kicked the ground pushing forward and threw a punch out. His fist tore through the air with threatening speed as it approached Michael's head. As it was about to hit him, the fist stopped as Amir stood still in his striking position.
Standing paralyzed in fear as the fist stopped right in front of his face Michael was dazed. He fell as he stared at the frightening child in front of him who seemed to be unconscious.
'What was that it was so fast I couldn't even see it. How could a cripple move like that!'
As he saw the boy frozen in front of him his face contorted as he thought about the possibility of him using mana.
Clutching his head at the notion that such a thing could be possible he refused to believe it.
"I must be dreaming right, no way what I just saw was real but just how did he get in front of me from over there."
Look back at the spot where the boy should have been; it was at least 40 meters away!"
"There's no just way, he's a damn cripple."
He picked up a fairly large stone as he gripped it tightly with a crazed look on his face. He took the stone and swung it with threatening force to crack his skull.
"Die! You piece of shit" He shouted
Before Michael could reach his head a string-like object wrapped around his arm as it stopped him from moving.
"What is this?"
More strings entangled his body, he was completely covered with them from head to toe."
Trying his best to rip off the threads but nothing worked as much as tangled around his body.
"What the hell is this stop, stop spreading on me!"
"Shut up, you talk too much" a cold voice echoed in the forest
The strings tightened on his body.
"Aghh! Wait please whoever it is I...."
Nothing but the sound of blood splashing everywhere could be heard as the corpse of Michael collapsed to the floor and his head rolled creating a bloody scene.