"You appear healthy, but you still haven't awakened your power core at your age. I guess that means you are fated to be dormant forever."
Vince glared at the girl. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
There were many unfortunate people whose power cores never awakened. In this world, they were the lowest class in society. Powerless and as weak as humans.
Being dormant meant having the weakest soul force. What did this mean? It meant no significant abilities, no magical affinities, and no power in society.
A dormant demon had no true demon form.
A dormant vampire, though capable of feeding on blood, lacked basic vampire abilities such as enhanced speed, strength, and heightened senses.
A dormant werewolf couldn't shift, and a dormant mage had no grimoire and couldn't cast spells.
In short, dormant creatures were no better than humans in this world. They were looked down upon and given little to no opportunity. The rich and powerful sat atop the hierarchy, controlling the food chain.
Vince wasn't surprised by this. Even in his world, where everyone was human, the wealthy and influential ruled. They could bend the rules as they pleased, with no regard for the less fortunate.
"I don't know what Lady Raine sees in you, to choose someone like you," the girl said, belittlement gleaming in her icy grey eyes.
'So, she knows Raine,' thought Vince. With the girl's refined appearance, he guessed she must be an acquaintance or someone working for Raine. Perhaps a city guardian on her team?
The girl might look young by human standards, but for a demon, she was likely at least 50 years old. Vince knew she could be much older if she had a high power class.
After all, the higher your power class, the slower you age.
Lifespans vary from one kind to another, though. But Vince could tell the girl in front of him was likely a demon. Why? Because they were in Demon City, and her eyes weren't red or gold, the telltale colors of vampires and werewolves.
"Maybe she knows I'm special. Have you heard the saying? It takes special eyes to see a hidden treasure."
"Are you implying there's something wrong with my eyesight?"
'This lowly rat,' thought the girl with disdain.
Vince smiled, flashing his perfect set of white teeth. It wasn't a friendly smile, but one filled with mockery.
"You asked who I am earlier, but I guess you already know. It's unfair because I don't know who you are. A friend of Raine, perhaps?"
"You're wrong. I only know you as the charity case Lady Raine picked from the Selection, but I don't know who you are."
"Okay, let me introduce myself properly, then." He kept his smile, which only annoyed the girl more. "I'm Vince Rosen. The one and only. How about you introduce yourself too? It would be rude not to return the favor, little girl."
'Little girl? Hmph! I really don't like the arrogance of this man. I'm sure Lady Raine wouldn't mind if I taught this lowlife a little lesson. That way, I'd be helping Lady Raine discipline her servant.'
The raven-haired girl pulled something from her skirt's pocket.
Vince's eyes grew cautious as he watched her hand, wondering if she was about to pull out a dagger and throw it at him.
But she didn't pull out a dagger.
It looked like a round compact, something similar to a makeup case. The exterior was white and gold, just like the average compacts you'd find in beauty stalls at the mall.
She opened it, and Vince could see from her eyes that she was looking into the mirror.
Vince was about to tell the girl that he would head inside, since she seemed so annoyed by his presence. But after taking one step, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
He was no longer in the garden of Raine's residence.
The raven-haired girl was nowhere to be seen, leaving him alone in a deserted place.
He found himself standing on a small, narrow platform of rock, no more than five feet in diameter.
As Vince looked down, he realized he was atop a towering, cylindrical pillar of stone, similar to the beanstalk in the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk that soared into the sky.
When he understood where he was, the blood drained from Vince's face, and he froze in the middle of the rock, worried that one wrong move would send him tumbling down like a stone falling from the sky.
He could see clouds drifting near him. The sky was dark and gloomy, as if it were about to rain, and distant thunder echoed in his ears.
"That girl," Vince muttered to himself. "She did something. Did she transport me to this place? Tsk, this is a problem."
Could she have a magic affinity for spatial manipulation?
Vince speculated that he might have been transported to a different place in reality, or he could be in a self-contained space outside of reality, constructed by the girl's magic.
Or perhaps she was casting some sort of illusion?
He couldn't be sure. He was a novice in this world, and though he had some knowledge of magic and supernatural abilities from the fiction he had read, he had never experienced them firsthand.
Who knew how accurate those stories were? They could be far different from how things worked in this world.
The distant thunder suddenly seemed to grow louder, as if approaching Vince.
Lightning flashed in the grey sky, and Vince felt like he could be struck at any moment. He was in a dangerously high place, close to the clouds, with nothing to shield him.
If this was an illusion, then everything was just in his head, right?
But what if it was real? What if he was truly in this place, at this moment, with his real, living body? The girl might have the ability to transport someone to another place in reality.
But based on their earlier conversation, the girl knew that Raine had picked him from the Selection. She must have also known that he was chosen as a mate, not a slave.
Surely, she wouldn't dare kill a royal lady's potential mate, would she?
Right, she wouldn't. So, this must just be a little prank. An illusion.