Samuel clapped his hands, gaining the attention of the group, glanced at a smiling Paul, then back at the two girls.
"Will you join us?"
Rose questioned back, "What exactly will I be helping out with?"
Paul answered that question for her.
"That Gear of yours. . .will be useful in destroying the barrier. However, more specifically, you'll be helping us take down Brian and his sister, including tracking them down."
"Tracking them?"
"Yes. I. . .need to find a certain rat. I'm sure you know her, yes? I'm very sure you know her."
She did. She wondered how he obtained such certainty that she did, but she did. She stared at his face.
"What happens if I say no?"
"Well," He looked to Samuel and Lilias.
The two touched the handles of their blades and their stares locked onto her.
Rose, however, scoffed. "You think I can't escape from here?"
Fighting both of them may be difficult, but she had little wonder that they would be able to stop her if she decided escape was the most optimal solution. All it would take was a blast of flames raising the area to the ground and burning everything in her wake.
"Your friend is still sleeping on my couch, is she not?" Walker replied.
<Igris> manifested in her hand, unsheathed, and its blade engulfed in a flaming wrath of crimson. The weapon swerved through the air and stopped in front of the slum lord's face, refusing to advance faster as a ring gleamed on his finger. Her body was surrounded by a film of blue, and it was not there to protect her.
Still, the flames danced as she mouthed. "Threaten me with her life and I'll burn you to ash."
There was a crimson blade on her neck, and a black placed in tandem with it. Still, she mouthed those words even as the two men behind Walker had already unsheathed their weapons to her eyes.
And those eyes, those emerald eyes, never left his.
The Slum Lord smiled, "Your friend is still sleeping on my couch, and finding Brian and thus his sister, Lucy, will allow you to heal her."
Rose narrowed her eyes.
"Is that something you can guarantee?"
"Yes. It is. Even if we can't force her to heal your friend, I have the capacity to send her into the city to be healed."
The flames of her blade flickered as she debated his words. On one end, there was nothing stopping her from killing him if she were to find that he lied. On another end, she could find Mare and ask herself—though the information might cost a thing or two.
"Help us find and capture the rat, win the war, and I will make your wishes come true. Elsa, healed. Alos, reached. Simply work under me," He said.
Her wishes? Her face traced back to placidity as she heard his words. Alos was only a first step to her. If he could really cross her over to meet her creator, she would have to praise him. However, she only felt like scoffing.
"Alright," She said, deciding that she was in some part similar to Lilias. "I'll help you, but I would also like a mech core. Do you have that?"
". . .we have a few."
"We have a deal, then."
The crimson eyed dragonian smiled with that familiar unnatural expression that Rose had quickly found herself loathing as she sat back down and unsummoned her blade.
"Good," Walker said, "You'll be working with Chase. You might as well get familiar with him."
"Chase?"
— — —
Elsa blinked her eyes open as she rose.
". . .the fuck? Where the hell am I?"
She found herself in a room of white. White walls, white curtains streaming in light, and a white bed. Everything was blindingly white, especially the chandelier she had to scowl her face from before it could blind her.
She groggily stood, wincing in pain, and standing upon one leg while the other dangled above the floor. Elsa Mont was a girl of tenacity. As she sweated, hopping herself to the wide window by her bed, she gritted her teeth even as the pain came from her leg.
When she came upon the glass, propping herself on the wall and looking out, she gaped.
There was an endless desert beyond and, currently, it was roaring with the light of a sandstorm like never before. Sand, sand, and sand, dancing in the air, was all she saw.
". . .well shit."
A voice came behind her.
"You're awake. . . and you're up?"
She turned to see Rose standing there, an iron tray of food in her hand, to which Elsa almost dropped at the high quality meat.
"Yo that looks good, are those for me? Man I'm starved, let me at em."
Rose placed the tray down upon the nightstand and walked to the girl.
"Sit down, lay down, here let me help you."
". . .are you my nanny?"
"I see you're in good spirits."
"Better than ever."
"Clearly not."
"I've got a leg up on the competition."
"Are you just joking now?"
Elsa laughed, allowing Rose to place her down on the bed.
". . .I can't tell if I should be worried about you or. . ."
"Be glad I'm not breaking down in tears?"
". . ."
"This is the slums, Rose, injuries are a byproduct of trying to live here," Elsa said, quickly reaching for a piece of meat next to a bowl of soup.
"I'll feed you."
"You don't have to."
Rose took a spoon and began feeding the girl, receiving an eye roll.
"Well, at-least not this place," Elsa continued the conversation after a gulp, "Where am I, anyway?"
"Walker's Mansion."
". . .what? You're joking right?"
"Not one bit~" Rose chuckled at the disbelief apparent on the girl's face, "This is one of the guest rooms."
"The fuck, this is only a guest room?? Damn, now I wanna be a dang slum lord."
"Do you really?" Rose asked, a smile on her lips.
Inside her mind, however, she wondered what it would take for her to cut down Walker and place the girl on a sit of power. Everyone was currently within this building. She could burn it down. And as she thought that, her core hummed silently.
"Your eyes look a bit scary there. . .y'know I'm just joking, right?"
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Nothing."
Rose shook her head of the thought.
"Yeah right. . .and blow on the soup a bit, would'ya?"
She did so and continued feeding the girl.
I love the casual thought process. When you truly don't see something as valuable, it takes nothing to achieve it.
If somebody were holding a gun to my head and told me to help kill a friend, I would say yes in a heartbeat. I'd also never follow through and, in Rose's magical shoes, take the opportunity of physical distance and get stronger.
The hell was Rose expected to do; keel over and get wiped from existence, watch Elsa get killed, and smile knowing she slightly annoyed one slum lord in exchange? She doesn't know she has plot armor. She should absolutely take everything that Walter's offering and give him nothing in return.
I'll only be as pissed as all these other comments if Rose actually performs the nefarious actions behind this exchange of words.
So she don't even ask "to not hurt the rat" after be helped by her ? I'm ... realy, realy disapointed i have to said.
She suck, realy ... she become the same scum the other are around her "for her goal and her friend". It's pathetic ... sad and dark. it's as sh1tty, twisted, slimy and disgusting the real world is.
Even more the fact she let herself be manipuled, and forced in a path who is, basicaly "survive the test or become slave" and after that "fellow the order and become a tool of war or dying and see her friend killed" by this bunch of trash. And even more the fact it's freaking obvious this bunch of trash will betrayed her the second after her help is not needed anymore ...
In fact, we already know the freaking "lord" as "sell her" to the crazy murder hobo girl he as sleep with previously.
Yeah, I think I'm done with this story. It's written well, I just can't stand the thought that she'd so casually sell out another Free homunculus. If she's can do that, what value in any of her other relationships? It's pretty clear by now that this is a crapsack world all the way down but, through her choices and general refusal to assert her own existence, the protagonist isn't being an antihero by dismantling that order so much as embracing it. That's not an indictment of the story, it's just something I get plenty of by watching the news; I don't personally find it entertaining in my leisure reading.
She does not, however, do that. Though I can understand the sentiment. I hope you do find more stories you can enjoy in the future~
And I’m f*cking done. Great story, had a great theme of freedom and loyalty going. And now, f*cked it all over by making the MC bend of like a slut for a f*cking crime lord she should hate. To make it worse, she betrays the rat for information when she has a goddamn map that probably has all the info on it already. If she had worked for them because it was a good deal? Fine. But she bent over like and bit*h and was manipulated and coerced into working for them. Pissed me off way to much. And, I don’t care if it “changes in the future,” I’m not putting up with this sh*t for however many chapters because it supposedly gets better. Tucking threw your themes right out the window, should have left the moment I found out she wasn’t actually free. If you have a theme...stick to it...(this is an angry rant and ill prolly regret it, but ill prolly never regret dropping this book, adios)
Why should she hate the Slum Lord? He never did anything to her. She dislikes him, definitely, but she doesn't hate him enough to be glazed over by emotions. I don't know what you were expecting, but Rose doesn't just go around hating every human she meets simply because they are human. You can make the point that she should hate him because he used Lilias to test her, but then you would also disregard the point that, just as he's using her, Rose is also using him to propel her way into Alos faster and heal her friend, Elsa.
Rose isn't blinded by ideals of 'freedom' and 'loyalty' to the point where she can't weigh circumstances and choose the best option that would take her to her goal. Like, what would you choose, spend time trying to get 50 million Lixels to someday enter Alos (an amount hard to come by in a slum of all places else Reed and his group wouldn't have needed to resort to kidnapping) or participate in a small war to be able to reach the city faster and heal your friend? Which is predicated on the notion that speed is what you want. She literally worked for them because it was a good deal.
Extending beyond that, Rose is an anti-hero. She has literally killed other homunculi, making the rational decision that them standing in her way is a threat greater than the pity she feels for them. Certainly, placing herself under a slum lord in return for greater benefits isn't out of the ordinary for her. I don't know what you're expecting, but logic and idealism are two different things. She already has freedom, which was achieved in chapter 11, and she chose of her own free will to save her friend and hopefully meet her creator to get answers.
You are right, however, their alliance doesn't last all that long, relatively speaking.
By the way, the theme of this story is 'Raging against a World', not freedom and loyalty, else chapters 1 to 11 would have been dragged on for far longer. It has elements of freedom and identity, for sure, but there's a reason the story is called 'Rose Against the Heavens' and the acronym 'R. A. T. H' is read to resemble 'wrath.' In this volume there are only 2 parts that really show that, when she killed Reed's group when they hurt Elsa and a fight at a chapter down from here. Furthermore, the story has barely begun, the true rage, as my plans have it, will start at mid to end of volume 2.
Alright that was a lot to type, that is all, hope I cleared any confusion, and wish you the best with any story you do choose to read~
@LotsChrono I’ve already decided to drop so I’m not gonna argue with you about I teded themes vs the ones I’ve feel you have established in the story. You ticked a few boxes that I majorly dislike (as you could tell from my comment). It’s not that the story is bad, it’s pretty high quality for non professional writing. Also, I don’t consider potential enslavement a “test” if I was her I’d be pissed at him, prolly affected my view. Best of luck writing!
@HeretoRead Ah, now that makes sense. I overlooked the result of what the test result would be if she failed, since I already had it in mind that she wouldn't fail as the writer, but a reader would not see the same thing. That's a blunder there. She should have been pissed about at least that much. That's going to irk me from now on.
Also thank's for both the praise and the good luck.
@LotsChrono That’s one of the main reasons I was so mad. Why should she work for the man that set her up in a situation where she becomes his pawn or becomes a slave with no free will (the thing that seems most important to her right now IMO). The other was I really dislike manipulation, just something I’ve hated ever since reading new journey of an old soul on RR. I was attracted to the story because I liked the idea of her rising up and not bowing, but some events (even if temporary) really ticked my wrong boxes. Sorry if the first comment came off really strong, I was pissed because I’d just spent hours binging your (admittedly good) story and then it ticked some wrong boxes and I had to drop. I tend to overreact when that happens.
@HeretoRead No, it's fine. It can be demotivating when authors see pure rants but, as a reader myself, I think its fair. Little things, no matter how small you may think, can ruin a good story. I've also dropped stories before for some admittedly minuscule reasons that personally irked me. If I had to say it though, I'd say this volume (which ends at chapter 64) is really just an opener to the actual story that begins in volume 2 within Alos when she faces her creator.
@LotsChrono See, this whole thing being “just the introduction” is also a reason why I dropped. If something in the introduction made me drop, I don’t want to power through and hope the main story won’t piss me off as well, making me drop later with a bigger time investment and leave me feeling even emptier. I’ll admit by aversion to manipulation is a bit strong, but ever since I read about an mc being reproductively and emotionally abused at the same time (basically poked hole in condom, took advantage of mc’s weak emotional state to have sex, had baby, forced mc to care for it) by a close friend of the mc, with no explanation because the fiend “couldn’t tell,” I’ve avoided anything with manipulation like the plague. Sadly, with the ingrained commands deep in her soul it seems the mc is a victim from the start, so I don’t really think I’d end up liking ge story anyway. Not because it’s not good literature, but because it simply ticks the wrong boxes. To make it worse, I get really invested in stories I read, so every drop leaves a little hole in my chest. Have fun writing, imma go try to find more OP mc novels to take my mind off things.
@HeretoRead Interesting perspective, can’t fault that then. Also, what story even is that. . .that sounds pretty messed up. Alas, good luck on your journey~
@LotsChrono It’s called New Journey of an Old Soul. Basically the mc had just suffered a close family loss, and her patient goddess and friend had s*x with her to help her cheer up. Since the goddess can get pregnant from women, she allowed herself to be impregnated without even telling the MC it was gonna happen. Then the MC cares for the child the rest of the story until she dies and reinhabits the child’s body i a. Reincarnation. To make things worse the mc is actually stronger than the gods, but let herself be manipulated in the dark by them multiple times (including the abuse, and the loss of her family member was also partially the gods fault). I dropped then and there, reproductive abuse is rape, and the emotional abuse on top of it, as well as never explaining her actions to the MC because “someone wouldn’t let her (I believe an old friend of the MC told her not to tell of the plan actually). The worst part was I was really really loving the story to that point, and something like that really hurt to read.
@HeretoRead not patient, representative I guess, she was the goddess’s chosen, as well as the other God’s chosen, but they screwed her over and forced her to be a parent “for her own good” while never explaining anything. The MC, who can literally eat universes, planets, and gods for lunch with her old powers (from precious lives), just took it and was like “well guess I gotta baby now at the ripe age of 14 (in this life, admittedly she was actually as old as the universe basically).
@HeretoRead The Mc sounds interesting, as far as the premise of what she is goes, but the story sounds like a shitshow wow. I would have dropped it too.
@LotsChrono The multiverse in the book is created by (literally) immortal creators, and old or corrupted worlds are destroyed by (literally) immortal destroyers. The MC was a destroyer that got bored and chose to reincarnate for fun, ends up being manipulated into a galactic war by gods she should never have to listen to anyway. Destroyers have the power to wipe things from existence, including gods. The premise is intersting, but the delivery in some aspects was sorely lacking. IMO having a character like that just roll with the punches and being manipulated by being beneath her in status while not caring about it, because she simply doesn’t care anymore seems wrong.
@HeretoRead That does sound like it could be a fun story. Ruined, indeed, I’d have to agree. That’s kinda sad.
@LotsChrono I can understand her ambivalent, and somewhat mercenary, nature towards walker. He's a means to an end as long as he actually holds up his side and doesnt try to double cross (that's the biggest concern) titanic asshole though he may be.
That said, i hope there is some sort of future 'this is for last time' screwing of his plans when Rose is in a position not to give a sh*t about his power and which he wouldnt have the means to retaliate against her about it.
Lilias, well... i still want her head roasting on Ignis's tip. She deserves that much for all her shit.
@LotsChrono i think this moment is fine actually. I dont know how topic starter come to conclusion that main theme is freedom and identity. Sure, Rose dont want to be captured, since not only she will became slave again, her personality will be deleted. Sure, like most people, she dont like being ordered and manipulated. But thats about it. As for situation. Yeah, Walker ordered a harsh test. But lets be honest, even without test, this bastards would have tried to capture her. Her life is constant danger of being captured. Walker just used this as test for her. It even could have saved her, since if she passed test, but wasnt able to finish them, since lilias was ordered to deal with team and bring her then. On top of it, girl have her goals and working with Walker is basicly shortcut. And as showed earlier, Rose wouldnt mind killing her own, if it brings her closer to her goals. So her reaction and decision was in her character.
@Indream Oh oh, you understand her pretty well. That’s a pretty apt summary of her and the situation.