Oblivion Seeker

The Kingdom of Eastvein, one of the few places in the world of Grimshire where various races co-exist, but that was only a facade for outsiders…

The Presence of different races, like Beastkins, Vampirekins, Demonkins, Humankins and many more, gave birth to a hierarchical system, where the rulers of the country – Which were the humans – started discriminating other species, labeling them as "disgusting". It kept escalating till a certain revolution broke out, but they were soon overwhelmed by the King's army. The strong was able to escape, while the nobles took advantage of the situation and started turning the weak into slaves, where the attractive ones were sold to the rich, and the rest were used for labor, or worse…

Lucius Ashbridge, a 12 year old Halfling, who was the child of a demon and a human, was one of the victims of slavery, and was the target of discrimination of both races, for he was a "Forbidden Child", since the only way a Halfling could be born was by the sacrifice of the host, which was the mother… And this is his story.

It was a rainy night, one where only one of the three moons could be seen; I could hear the rain drops hitting on the window, trying to break in, the floor cracking, the glass shaking, and even the voices of nearby guards on watch; All while lying on my bed, which was one of the dozens of bunk beds in the room. We were all slaves, bought by Fergus Ravenswood, the head of a noble family, who was attending a certain banquet held by the king. He used us for labor work in his gold mines for 14 hours a day, and would always be seen with raw meat in his hands, which were covered with leather gloves. He was tall and round, wore a blue silk vest with a turtle neck collar, and always treated us badly, hitting us with a whip but never with his hands because we would contaminate him with our "Filthiness".

I never thought of escaping, since I could never survive in the outside world, be it for the lack of food and shelter, or discrimination from others. So I was quite satisfied with my current life, even though it was unfair.

I slightly whispered, so that my voice would not be heard in the echo of the room:

"Status Window"


Lucius Ashbridge

Job: None

Level: 1

Status Points: 0

HP: 30

ATK: 4

AGI: 20

MP: 12

DEF: 6

Weapons:

None

Equipment:

Slavery Choker:

Embodied with Slavery Magic, allows the owner to give orders that could not be opposed by the user, if tried; a lightning bolt will generate from the choker, shocking the user.
Restrains the user from doing anything that could harm his owner.

Worn Out Clothes:

Clothes wore mainly by slaves. Do not contain any material other than leather.

Skills:

Forbidden Child

Appraisal (Beginner):

Allows the user to get limited information on a person/object by simply saying "Appraisal".


I sighted a little at the sight of my miserable stats, but as a kid who never won a fight, I guess that's kind of expected. So I closed my Status Window.

Suddenly, I hear a certain person whisper…

"Psst-"

I slightly lift my head and looked left and right, but couldn't see anyone awake… It must have been my imagination.

"Psst kid! Can't you hear me?"

And then a random dark figure pops up from above me, and was looking down on me. Long hair which was unmistakably white, and ruby eyes that could be seen even in pitch darkness, she's a vampirekin, and about my age at that... It's so rare seeing a member of the strong races being enslaved.

"You sure move a lot kid; do you know how hard it is to be the one sleeping on the top? Every single movement is an earthquake to me!"

Flustered, I answered:

"I'm so sorry I didn't realize… Please forgive me."

As a kid who was considered an abomination in others' eyes, apologizing became a natural aspect of my life.

"Oh, well aren't you a polite one! Well don't worry, I couldn't sleep anyways… We've never talked before have we? What's your name?"

"Luci-… My Name's Ash."

"Ash huh… Well that's a weird name; it's nice to meet you though! I'm Sera!"

"S-Sera... It's nice to meet you too."

"We better get some sleep now, tomorrow's going to be one hell of a day at the mines. Goodnight!"

Her figure disappeared in the darkness of the night, I felt a small shake, she's probably changing her sleeping position, which made the wood creak as if going to break.

And then Again... Complete silence, so I closed my eyes, and fell into deep, deep sleep.

It's Cold...

It's Dark...

Help... Me!

Will my life really stay this way?

I heard the birds sing, and horses trot. It was morning, I opened my eyes and saw the lit up room, most of us were still sleeping, only a few woke up, be it from having nightmares, or not being able to sleep at all.

We heard footsteps, lots of them... It was the guards!

The door opened abruptly, and they started waking us up by shouting, as slaves, we weren't even considered people anymore, and so naturally we would be treated badly.

"Come on! Wake up you brats, it's time to work!"

We became used to getting up early, so most of us got up and started walking quickly towards the door, but unfortunately, those who were still sleeping or were a bit late in waking up, were kicked by the guards and pushed till they reached the door.

I was standing, waiting for the order to go out, when someone suddenly smacks me in the back of my head. It was Tristan, the older kid in our group, and one of the physically strongest. He got along with the guards but was still treated badly, not as bad as us though. He acted like the leader of the pack, ordered everyone around, and picked fights with whoever looked at him.

"Ewww, I just touched the halfling! I'll get cursed now!" He said with a smirky look on his face.

I heard laughter from every direction, and wherever I look, I see expressions of disgust. So as I normally do, I stayed calm and looked down at the ground, I was an abomination, so such a treatment was normal.

And while he was getting ready to hit me again, a sudden person shouted:

"Just because you're the eldest doesn't mean you own this place"

So I looked back, it was Sera!

Annoyed, Tristan answered:

"Well look who it is, the fallen vampire! Since when did you start to meddle in measly fights, Ojou-sama?"

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them again. Tristan took a step back and his expression changed... He was scared.

Neither the guards nor the other kids reacted; it's as if only I could sense Sera's killing intent...

We were then ordered to walk out the door, towards the mines.

We formed a line and started walking quickly so that we don't get hit; Sera came close to me and whispered:

"Are you alright?"

"Yes... Thank you very much for helping me." I answered.

We arrived at the mines, and quickly started working, looking for various ores.

Naturally, I was alone while most of the others formed groups. Sera was nowhere to be seen.

The cave we were in was unexplored, there were tunnels left and right that no one had ever gone into.

And suddenly, the light of the lanterns which was shining on me suddenly vanished, I looked back, it was Tristan. He pushed me down.

"Your Hero isn't here to save you this time is she? Hahahaha."

And so he started hitting me, taking out his anger. Apparently, the guards had a "little talk" with him... I could see the bruises on his face from being hit.

One...

Two...

Three...

Some were laughing, others slightly looked, and some were minding their business. I wasn't expecting anyone to save me, since that's the way it has always been.

So I closed my eyes and waited till he calmed down, but he kept hitting.

Suddenly, the punches stopped... So I opened my eyes and saw blood on my clothes... It wasn't mine.

I glimpsed at Tristan and saw... He was struck in his chest with a rusted sword and then fell on the ground: He was Dead.

So I looked up again, there were goblins, green-skinned muscular goblins...