Edited by: Kuro and Lille
Fel stretched his limbs and found he wasn't chained. That made it a lot easier for him to put his right hand at the front of the slave collar. Instead of getting magic from inside his body, he collected it from around him, concentrating it at the lock on the collar. In a matter of seconds, he revoked the original owner of the collar and deactivated it. Fel kept it on so that he wouldn't raise suspicion.
There were two ways to use magic in this world. One was from absorbing magic into the person's core, filtering it, and then releasing it back out, or by gathering it from outside the body and directly using it like that. Mortals were only able to do the former while spirits were capable of doing both. That was because Spirits were able to convert magic into different elements without needing to use their core.
Fire, Water that could also be converted into ice, Wind, Earth, Light, and Darkness were the six basic magic elements. There were also special ones like Space-time and Wood that could grow and control plants. Finally, there was Neutral magic that had no elements. This was the purest form of magical energy, nine elements in total.
Sadly, the original Fel was not taught any complex magic yet. If he was, he would've been able to do what the Host just did. Host's imagination-driven magic was more powerful than any of the magic that Fel was taught. Whatever could be put into thought and converted into magic, Fel was capable of. Perks of being a foreign entity not of this world.
He stood up and looked around the small basement. There was a bucket for a toilet at one corner and at another corner was where they dropped food and water. There was a dirty brown mat for sleeping and a door across the mat. A small window was on the right wall near the ceiling making it difficult for the original to reach and climb up. Overall, the room was simple, cold, and dirty. The only form of ventilation was the little window.
Fel looked down at his clothes that were just brown rags. They were falling apart and had holes in them. The original body had no problems with the stench, but the Host found it unbearable. He went around the room using [Clean]. It was neutral magic that everyone knew. He also cleaned himself because he knew he had contributed to the smell too.
When he sniffed the air, it no longer smelled of feces and urine. It honestly didn't smell like anything, which was the result of cleaning with magic. It was better than the putrid smell from earlier though.
Knowing that the original had lived this way until he died, made Fel's stomach hurt.
'System, I just realized this but this situation reminds me of a story that I had read.'
[*Chirp…* Host, what story?] System 225 was a little surprised to be called as there was nothing going on so he accidentally pressed the chirp button.
'It was a story that was against the utilitarianism doctrine. An easy definition would be that any action, regardless of what it was, was okay as long as it benefited the majority. That means that if the suffering of one person could make the rest happy, then the suffering of that single individual was justified. This story that I read a long time ago was called "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin. There was a child that was locked up in the basement or a tool room or something like that. Their suffering was what made the people of Omelas happy. Though this was all a metaphor, it really does speak out to me.
'Every world I go into feels exactly like that. This sounds crazy but it was like villains and cannon fodders were made exactly for this reason. Like in the first world where I was Alec and I played the role of a villain, everything he did was to help the people even if it meant that he was suffering and people had to die. Even Alec himself was sacrificed for Stephan so that Stephan, the Child of God, could live his life to the potential even if the man was evil.
'Why does the suffering of these people give others happiness? Isn't that unfair? Where was their happiness or even a happy ending? Why did it all have to be so tragic?'
This had been on Fel's mind for a long time, even while being in the Villain System. He understood that if there was good then there would be bad. But why does some people's whole existence have to be for someone else? Why couldn't they live for themselves instead of others? Was it so selfish of him to think for himself?
[Host, I understand where you are coming from, but I don't know the answer to that. If people didn't suffer like this, there would be no System or Host. That is something I don't want to imagine. But even then, aren't you and all the other hosts healing those that suffer? Healing those who didn't deserve such treatment? We are healing the souls of those who have suffered a great deal and aren't able to move on. Aren't we combating this?]
He knew that System 225 was right, but it had always left a bad taste in his mouth. He felt it was something that Fel, the Host, had to keep thinking about. He thought about it to keep his sanity, to keep his kindness, and most importantly, to keep his humanity.
Even though it was unrealistic to dream of a world without suffering, he wished that they were just mere coincidences or because of wrong decisions, not based on fate or that person's destiny… Like those not written in the World Plot or in stories, but to let them live their lives as people and not tools. That was all he could hope for.
He patted his cheeks so he could stop thinking about it. He knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. He just needed to focus on the missions…
Fel waited in the basement for a while thinking about what to do while waiting for Adelia’s arrival. He had a lot to think about like getting decent food, weapons, and mapping out the estate.
When he saw the moon and the stars painted across the sky, he decided to initiate the first part of his plan. As a Nine-tailed fox, he could use all the elements. Space-time was the one he was going to use the most. Though he had a System Space where he could store things, he only used that when he didn’t have magic that could store items.
Fel stood in front of the door and put his ear up against the door. Not feeling any movement or breathing, he created two thin twig-shaped sticks with earth magic. The first one was placed at the bottom part of the opening, where the shaft was. Then he took the other "stick" where the teeth of the key would go through. Feeling around, he could tell there were four parts of the lock he needed to apply pressure to. One by one, he pressed on them, slowly turning the doorknob until he heard a click. He quickly turned the bottom part and successfully unlocked the door.
He slowly opened the door and noticed no one was around. There were no lights, but staying inside the dark basement gave the original the ability to see in the dark.
It was a long hallway and Fel’s room was at the end. He had to go past a few prisons and a couple of doors before getting to his room. He didn’t really need to explore them unless someone he needed to rescue was trapped behind one of the locked doors.
Sensing no movement in the area, Fel soundlessly walked down the hallway. It seemed that Earl Rottrett didn't have any new shipments or he didn't keep them down in the basement...
It took almost 2 minutes to get to the stairway leading up into the mansion. He listened by the door before going into the hallway. He walked along the walls just in case someone walked down the hall. Exploring the area and letting System 225 slowly guide him around to the kitchen.
Almost everyone was sleeping so there were no movements besides the occasional guard walking by. There weren’t a lot so they were easy to dodge.
He easily slipped into the kitchen and saw an abundance of leftover food. There were also fruits and vegetables in a slightly chilled room. It seemed they didn't have a proper freezer or fridge, but it was a room that had a concentrated amount of ice magic. Fel took enough for a couple of days so that no one would notice the disappearance of food. He also grabbed some bread and raw meat he was going to save for later. He took a couple of bowls and cups as well as a knife. The knife could be used to cut his food or cut his enemies. Either worked...
He left as quickly as he came.
After going through the kitchen, he began to map out the estate.
There were four wings: North, South, East, and West. The basement where he lived was in the East wing. The servant’s quarter and the kitchen were in the West Wing. The Earl, his wife, and children were in the North wing, and the South wing was the place that was going to be used for the auction.
He decided to explore outside of the mansion on another date and hurried back to the basement before the sun rose.
*****
A couple of days later, System 225 alerted him about the first “shipment.”
[*Chirp chirp* Host, two young siblings, the ages of 10 and 12, were thrown into the prison. They must leave tonight as their cruel fate will occur tomorrow.]
‘Children this young? How disgusting the Earl is…’
The sun hadn’t set yet, so he decided to wait until everyone went to bed. The Earl didn’t keep guards in the basement as the slave collars were implemented. During the day, three times a day, someone would come into the basement to hand out food to Fel and the prisoners, so it wasn’t practical to escape during the day.
Fel had already scoped the estate grounds and knew where to go that could help the victims escape. What worried him though, was how young these children were. If he were to just toss them out, they could get kidnapped again or worse, die outside of the estate by a monster or something. If they just ended up dying, what was the use of rescuing them?
He couldn’t leave with them though, which was the worse part.
‘System, when those two kids escape, can you monitor them for me? I can’t help but feel uneasy not knowing what will happen to them.’ It was better to die outside of these walls than to die here, so the best he could do is give them some money hoping that they make it to a town.
He could not save everyone, that was something that he needed to drill into his skull early on. Even if he couldn’t save everyone though, he knew that if he saved one person, that person’s world was saved at least.
[Host, I will keep you updated on what happens to them.]
‘Thank you, that’s all I need.’
After getting a little care bag ready for the victims, he slipped out of the room. He already had System 225 double-check the area. All the servants were sleeping and only a few guards were up patrolling. Even then, they barely did their work.
He quickly walked down the hallway, but he was so quiet, it was like he was walking on clouds. He stopped in front of the prison gates to see two young kids, huddled together to keep themselves warm.
The younger-looking child was a boy, his clothes were in tatters. While the older child was the sister. She was calm in comparison to her brother and she held on to him, comforting him.
“Hey,” Fel knew he was too quiet for them to hear so it was best to speak a little louder, “I am here to help you escape.”
The two kids immediately shot their heads up and tried to back into the wall as much as they could. But then they saw the slave collar around Fel’s neck and became confused. Why and how could this person walk around freely even with that thing around his neck?
“Shh, I can help you escape but you must listen to me okay?”
They looked into Fel’s golden eyes and felt entranced. They nodded their heads in sync and didn’t make a sound.
Fel entered the prison cell and took off their slave collars.
“Remember, you must do everything I say, okay? Don’t touch anything and keep quiet.”
The two nodded.
“Good, let’s get going.
Fel started to walk down the hall but he forgot that the humans behind him had short and stubby legs as they struggled to keep up with him. They didn’t make a sound but he could feel that they were struggling, and the young boy was even about to fall!
He caught the brother with one hand and picked them both up. “Sorry, you two are too slow. I will put you down when we get there.”
Fel felt bad for having to pick them up but he couldn’t waste too much time. If they were not quick enough to hide from the guards, things could get hectic.
Sometime later, they arrived outside of the walls of the estate. He was able to get out quickly as he carried the kids in his arms.
He set them down on the ground and then took out a bag. He handed it to the older sister.
“Take this bag. It has rations for 2 weeks, two water containers so you can fill up when you run out of water, and some money for when you get to the city.” Fel knelt down and patted her and her brother’s heads. “You two must survive, okay?” He couldn’t tell them to promise him, so he can only hope they will do their best to survive.
“Thank you, big brother, we will survive.” The older sister said, her eyes filled with determination even though she looked like she was going to cry. She wanted to be strong in front of Fel and her little brother.
“That’s good. That’s all I can ask for…”
After that, he made sure he couldn’t see them as they walked in a direction following a small map he gave them.
This was all he could do for them. He could only hope they would be alright.
Lille: Good luck to the siblings!!! (>_<)
A/N: Hey y'all, this will be the only update for the week while I slowly post the edited chapters of Arc 2. Also, I've been going through physical therapy every day and I'm exhausted. I haven't been able to properly hold stuff in my hands or open water bottles. I don't understand because I've been working on my legs, not my arms LOL maybe I should work on my arms too. I'm really struggling honestly XD Anyway, thank you everyone for reading my story! This Grandpa will be updating at random. See you all in the next chapter! <3 (taken from CG/Tapas)
