The longer Ash watched Shina play with the children, the more he wondered how the people of this world could consider them lesser beings. They were not human, but neither were they animals. They could love, smile, laugh, and cry just as any human could. So what made them inferior? From what Ash could see, in a lot of ways Yuki and Shina were better than many of the humans he had met, both in his previous world and the new one. It seemed that no matter what world you were in, people had to have someone or something that they felt superior too. In his last world people focused on race, religion, sex, and a number of other things. This world was much simpler in their hate, but he was sure that the longer he lived here, the more he would find dissention between people. It was the one true fault of humanity that had been proven time and time again throughout history.
Time passed by quickly and soon the children were gone. As the sun reached its peak in the sky, Ash and Shina found themselves sitting alone on the stone bench.
At the moment, Shina was using Ash’s lap as a pillow. It felt slightly odd, but seeing as she had tired herself out playing with the kids, Ash couldn’t find it in himself to turn her away. The contented smile on her face as Ash ran his fingers through her hair until her stomach started to grumble.
“Hungry?” Ash asked, suppressing a laugh as Shina’s face turned a deep crimson.
“No…I…Mou…I’m hungry,” Shina admitted, her face completely flushed.
Ash took Shina to the small eatery near the adventurer’s guild that was famous for its sweets. Ash ordered a large meat platter for the table and Shina added a few sweets to the order.
When the food arrived, Ash ate slowly while Shina ate as if she hadn’t had a meal in weeks. Ash was amazed at how much she could eat, given how slender her body was. After he had eaten his fill, Ash sat back and watched as Shina finished off the meat plate then as she started to eat the pastries. The content look on her face as she ate thee sweets made Ash want to laugh, but he simply smiled while he waited for her to finish.
After the meal was done, the two headed in the direction of the adventurer school. Other than to go to Yuki’s advancement class, Ash hadn’t checked up on her and even then, he had not spoken to any of her instructors. He knew that he wasn’t her father, but he felt responsible for her in the same way.
As they neared the school on the outskirts of the city, Ash noticed that a large number of students were outside practicing with their weapons. Some of them were hitting wooden dolls while others were sparing. “Over there,” Shina said, tugging on Ash’s arm and pointed toward Yuki.
Yuki and the young girl Tina were sparing together. Yuki was using a sword while Tina was using a spear. From what Ash could see, Yuki was playing the main attacker while Tina was trying to defend with the spear. Once Yuki broke through Tina’s defense and got in close, she would stop her attack and move back and start again. Ash was amazed at how the two young girls practiced. After about ten rounds, they switched, though the attack patterns were slightly different. Tina was attacking, but instead of trying to break through and draw in close, she was trying to knock Yuki’s sword out wide so she could get a clear stick at Yuki’s chest.
The longer he watched the two kids practicing, the more surprised Ash was. Most the kids were practicing lazily while taking a lot of breaks. Seeing them, Ash thought that was how children should be. Ash himself was only seventeen, but there was a big difference in those two or three years. At fourteen, Ash didn’t think he could have the same resolve that Yuki and Tina were showing.
Ash and Shina moved off to the side, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed by Yuki and continued to watch. After almost half an hour a teacher noticed them and approached where they hid. “Can I help you?”
“I-I was just watching my s-slave,” Ash said as he tried to explain what he was doing.
“Ah I see,” the man said with a raised eyebrow. “Seeing that you are with a member of the fox tribe, you must be Yuki’s owner. While it is not uncommon for masters to see how their slaves are progressing, we ask that you notify the school when you plan to do so.”
“Uhh, I will do that in the future.”
As the man left, Ash turned his attention back to Yuki and Tina who were now taking a small break under the shadow of a large tree. The two young girls were smiling and talking, but what Ash noticed was a young man about fifteen whose eyes were glued to the pair of young women.
As he watched the young man approach the two girls, Ash felt a somewhat chilly sensation in his chest. “Am I jealous?” Ash asked himself, but shook his head. “No I am just worried…like a parent would be,” he told himself.
Ash leaned closer and strained his ears but he couldn’t understand what the young man was saying. Taking a step forward, Ash leaned his body but still couldn’t hear a thing. A few more steps, he started to pick up a few words, but couldn’t tell what the conversation was about. Two more steps, “My father said that if I move to the third class, he will buy me a slave…At that time, I will ask him to purchase you,” the boy boldly said, making Ash’s heart go cold.
“I told you, master won’t sell me, and I don’t want to be sold,” Yuki said, standing up and turning away from the boy. As she turned, her eyes fell on Ash who was now only a few steps away. “Master,” Yuki said before running up and jumping into Ash’s chest. After taking a deep breath, she looked back at the boy with cold eyes then returned to rubbing her cheek on Ash’s chest.
Ash could see the hate in the young boy’s eyes as he looked at him. Turning his eyes from the young boy, Ash looked down on Yuki and noticed that she had a large smile and her tail was swishing back and forth with vigor. “Master, what are you doing here?” Yuki asked after she had calmed down.
“Master just wanted to make sure you were not slacking off,” Shina said as she pulled Yuki away from Ash.
“Shina, did you have to be so cold about it?” Ash said to himself.
“Mom, I am working hard,” Yuki said puffing out her chest. “I will protect mom and master.”
“Yo-you,” the boy shouted, storming toward Ash. “Sell Yuki to me,” the boy demanded.
“I am sorry, but I cannot sell Yuki to you,” Ash replied. “Not only is she a part of my family, but selling her would also force her to part with her mother.”
“You already have two. Why can’t you sell one to me?” The boy asked, his voice slightly rising in tone and volume.
“What do you mean two?” Ash asked.
“If it’s about the price, my father will pay twice what you paid for Yuki,” the boy said taking another step forward.
“It has nothing to do with the price,” Ash replied, getting slightly angry at the boys attitude. “Just what do you want Yuki for? She is not an object.”
“Huh…What are you saying? She is a slave. I want her because she is good at fighting and she is cute. She is worth the cost of two or three other slaves.”
Shaking his head, Ash wanted to strangle the young man but held himself back. His views were the minority in this world, so there was no point in fighting over it with a young boy. “I will not be selling Yuki, even if you gave me a bag full of platinum coins.”
“Master,” Yuki said looking up at him with her eyes radiating affection.
“Wait until I talk with my father…You will regret it,” the boy said before stomping off.
Tina who had simply been watching the exchange had an odd look on her face. Ash could see that a small war was going on inside her head as the expression on her face changed from one second to the next. “You’re not so bad…For a guy,” Tina said before grabbing Yuki’s hand and dragging her back to the training area.
“What about me master?” Shina asked as soon as Yuki and Tina were out of earshot.
“Would you sell me?” She asked shifting nervously.
“Of course not,” Ash replied as he turned and started walking back toward the center of the city. “Let’s head back home.”
Shina let out a short giggle then grabbed
Ash’s arm tightly. “Master…Thank you.” Ash could hear a slight tug of emotion in Shina’s words, but refused to respond.
4-3
The next morning Ash was back to his normal routine. The only difference was that now instead of one small log, there were four placed an even distance apart. The next phase of training was for Ash to move between the logs while dodging and parrying attacks. The number of spears had also been increased and Shina had been instructed to toss stones at him at irregular intervals.
At first Shina didn’t want to throw the stones, but when Ash asked her to do it so that he could become stronger, she became abnormally motivated. Sometimes the stones came so fast that Ash was sure she was trying to knock him out for some devious purpose.
Training started at what Ash would consider six in the morning, though since this world didn’t have an accurate time measurement, it was only a guess on his part. The first step of training took about four hours, then Ash moved into the second step where he would spar with either Shina or Zelan. Calling it sparing though might be a little of an over generalization.
During the so called sparing matches, Ash was given conditions that he had to deal with during the battle. Sometimes he was not allowed to use his right hand, in others his left leg, or even without the use of his sight. It was a new addition to his training and one that he found more mentally tiring than physically.
Once the sun reached it apex, the three returned to the labyrinth. Today, just as the day before Ash was made to fight sea nettles. Ash knew that time was limited in each day, but he did not push himself during the fight and took his time. His goal was not just to win, but win without having to use one of his precious potions. As he fought, Ash also kept up with the number of the sea nettles he had absorbed. He had learned since absorption had reached level two, he no longer needed fifty monsters to receive an ability, but only forty-five.
The more abilities Ash received, the more he began to understand their uses. Skills could only be learned by a person who has a job that corresponds to the skill. Even with getting a job that didn’t mean that one would get all the skills though. Zelan had told him that many skills were passed down from master to student or learned on you own. Zelan knew a number of skills related to swordsmanship, but because Ash was a gambler he was unable to learn them.
Unlike skills though an ability could not be taught. One was either born with the ability or they received it from a skill book dropped by a monster. It sounded easy enough, but if a monster orb dropped with a .01% chance a skill book dropped with a .001% chance so it was rare for one to be found. Even with Ash’s extremely high luck stat, he had yet to see one ability book.
Ash fought while thinking of what abilities the sea nettles would give him. In his heart he hoped for a passive ability. Active abilities were useful, but passive abilities didn’t cost anything and could be used freely.
After killing seven sea nettles, Ash once again noticed a small shining orb in the water. His luck was higher now, based on the formula given to him in the gambler’s handbook he had a .9% chance for an orb drop. That meant out of a thousand kills he would most likely receive nine orbs. It wasn’t a great number, but it wasn’t absolute either. There was always the possibility that he could get one every time, though that wasn’t very probable.
[Sea Nettle Orb: permanently increase agility +1, intelligence +1, and luck +2.]
“Luck +2…Why would a sea nettle give a bonus to luck?” Ash asked himself as he looked at the orb in his hand. It was great for him, but it didn’t seem to make much sense. This was the fourth orb he had found that seemed off when compared to what Zelan told him and his own sources of information. Still he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Ash felt the normal warm sensation as he placed the orb against his chest. The rise in stats was only comparable to one level, but it was a welcomed boost. The +2 to luck seemed small but when one considered that thanks to his ability devil’s luck that gave a 500% boost, it was equal to getting a +12. When he had first seen the ability, he didn’t think that luck mattered for much and during a fight it didn’t, but when one considered the increase in the rate of rare drops it could be considered priceless. The more he thought about it, the more his mind was decided that he should start putting everything into luck. If he did that one level would be equal to six.
Zelan had often told him that while gambler’s were not combat orientated, there was not a single high level group of adventurers that didn’t have one in their group because of the increase in drop rate, though most gamblers had to work hard to get their luck above 200 where they were seen a truly valuable yet he had surpassed 300 at level 11.
“Boy if anyone knew how often you get those orbs to drop for you, the king himself would send his entire army to enslave you. Even if you were a noble, you wouldn’t be safe,” Zelan said shaking his head. “If you ever think of selling them, I would suggest at most one every five years, or you send your slaves to sell them for you to reduce attention to you.”
“I will take master’s advice to heart,” Ash said. He had thought about doing that, but since then he had only found orbs that increased his luck and that was one thing he would not let pass him by for any amount of gold.
Ash was forced to continue to fight, but with his slow pace, in the eight hours he had within the labyrinth, he was only able to kill eighteen sea nettles. Zelan didn’t seem happy with his speed, but he was happy when Ash refused to drink one of the potions when the paralysis did adversely affect his battle powers. If Zelan knew the real reason that Ash refused to drink the potions though, he would not have been nearly impressed with his student.
Ash had noticed one change during his time fighting in the labyrinth. Zelan always watched him and gave him pointers and criticism after each battle, but Shina would move off and fight on her own. The only time she watched Ash fight was when they first moved to a new level or when he fought against a boss.
Ash was glad that she was making herself stronger, but a part of him hated it. Right now she was already a higher level than he was and her skills in battle were more honed. Even after all his training, he only won one out of seven fights with the busty fox. Ash knew that she was older than him, though he had no idea how much older as she refused to tell him her age, even under an order. Even knowing that, Ash felt that as the master he should be able to protect her instead of the other way around.
“Master, is something bothering you,” Shina asked as she held his arm tight on the way back to the manor.
“Uh…Nothing,” Ash replied, too embarrassed to say what was truly on his mind. “I was just wondering when your birthday was. You know Yuki’s is coming up…So it was on my mind.”
“My birthday is the 28th of Ianuali,” Shina replied with a light giggle. “Will master buy me a present?”
“Ummm…Sure,” Ash said not giving it much thought. “But you might have to remind me…I’m not good with dates.”
“Hehe…O-kay,” Shina replied with a girlish giggle. “When is master’s birthday?”
“My birthday?” Ash asked slightly surprised by the question. “I-I don’t know,” he replied honestly. Even in his last world, he didn’t know his real birthday as he was left to the government shortly after he was born. The government had given him a date of birth, but to him it hadn’t been real. Not to mention, not once had it been celebrated.
“If master doesn’t know, then can I give you a birthday?” Shina asked, her eyes widening.
“I guess that would be fine.”
“Hehe I will pick a great date for master’s birthday,” Shina said laughing.
“What day will that be?” Ash asked his curiosity piqued.
“It’s a secret,” Shina said with a laugh.
“A secret?” Ash said with a laugh. “Who doesn’t know the date of their own birthday?”
“You apparently,” Zelan said cutting in.
Like every day, Ash headed straight for the baths after returning to the
manor. It was one of the most peaceful times of the day for him. After soaking himself for nearly an hour, he headed down to the dining room. Though normally the duchess didn’t have supper until later, with Ash’s training schedule she had ordered the cooks to have it ready shortly after he returned from the labyrinth so that she could eat with him. This came after he had snuck into the kitchen a few days in a row then went to bed.
Like every day for the past few months, Emelia was already sitting in her chair awaiting him with a smile. Today she was wearing a nice low cut white dress with pears around the collar. Ash had seen her almost every day and yet he couldn’t remember one time that she wore the same thing twice. “Evening Ash, how was your day?”
“It was fine. Anything new on your end?” Ash asked as he took his seat.
“Nothing really outside of the ordinary. Other than looking through territorial reports, and sitting through a few court proceedings, there isn’t much for me to do.”
“I didn’t know you had to sit in court,” Ash said slightly taken aback.
“Of course, whenever there is a case involving nobles or if it’s a capital punishment case, I am expected to rule on it myself,” Emelia said in a disgusted voice. “I would be much happier if I didn’t, but judges tend to be easily bribed in either case which causes doubt and unrest in the general population.”
“You always seem to be working, even though you say you don’t have much you have to do. With everything that you have to put up with, I don’t know why anyone would want to be a noble.”
“I didn’t get much of a choice. I was born a noble,” Emelia said frowning. “It’s not all bad, there are a great deal of privileges that go with the responsibilities. It wouldn’t be so bad if my name held a little more authority, but that will come with time. My father often said that finding the other half of one’s soul was the best way to make even the most agonizing life enjoyable.”
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