To Milo

 

---

 

Milo didn’t realise he was awake. He heard people talking, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

 

“...many…hostages…”

 

“...twenty-seven.”

 

“...”

 

“...down south…”

 

“...mines…take them.”

 

“Understood…”

 

Eventually, he slipped back into unconsciousness.

 

***

 

The tarp covering the wagon was pulled off. Sunlight filtered in. Everyone inside shielded themselves away from the blinding light. 

 

At the back of the wagon, Milo woke up with disheveled hair and a dry throat. 

 

How long had he been out?

 

He heard the sound of keys jingling and something screech open. 

 

Rubbing his eyes, he looked around and saw that he was crammed inside a metal cage, a few dozen other people sharing the tiny space with him. Milo was relieved when he saw his brother leaning against his shoulder. 

 

A series of bangs shook the metal cage and woke up those who were still asleep. 

 

“Wakey, wakey! Step out and form a single file. Anyone who runs gets my cleaver! Chop, chop!” 

 

Slowly, one by one, everyone got off the caged wagon. 

 

Milo and Ostin were one of the last people to get off. 

 

When the man in charge spotted them, he asked, “Are you the two from Kirkstead?”

 

Milo avoided his intimidating gaze and hesitated for a moment. 

 

“Out with it!” The bald man raised his cleaver in a threatening manner. 

 

Milo reeled back and spat out the truth, “Yes—we are!”

 

The man snorted as he swung his cleaver back down. 

 

“Hmph, you’re lucky. Get in line with the rest of 'em’.” 

 

Milo scuttled away as soon as he gave the word. Dragging his little brother, Ostin, by the hand, they reached the end of the line. All up there were about twenty of them. 

 

As the man in charge stepped inside the caged wagon to pull out the most unwilling out of them, Milo thought about running. 

 

But when he saw the stone wall in the distance and several spear-wielding guards staring them all down, he gulped. 

 

Maybe not. 

 

***

 

Held down by Overseer Rush, Milo could only watch in horror as the branding iron landed upon his left cheek. 

 

He let out a bloodcurdling howl that echoed throughout the entire building. Those in line behind him shivered, in fear of what was upon them. 

 

The hot iron pressed into his skin for what seemed like the longest seconds of his life. 

 

Even as the priest took back the branding iron, a searing pain was left in its wake. 

 

“See. That wasn’t so bad, huh?” The Priest smiled at him with a friendly face. 

 

Once Overseer Rush let him go and Milo was able to stand, he received a message from the system. 

 

[You are now a Level 0 [Slave (Ordinary)]!]

 

[Every level you will receive: +3 Free Attribute Points]

 

[As you have already chosen another class before, you will not receive any starting skills or abilities from the [Slave (ordinary] class]

 

[You will not receive any AS points or Attribute points until you exceed the highest level that you achieved in your previous class]

 

Milo felt hopeless. 

 

***

 

Milo marched through a dark tunnel. The metal box strapped to his back and filled with several pickaxes felt uncomfortable and heavy. Walking in a single file, only the odd lantern every so often lit the way. Everyone carried a heavy bag of tools that they would all need for work this evening. They were a mixed bunch of all ages. 

 

But they all had one thing in common: they had done something wrong to offend the Grecia Empire. 

 

For example, having their village razed to the ground, stealing a loaf of bread, being transported after being captured…

 

No. This place was wrong. 

 

He could smell death in this place. The suffering. All the sweat and tears that had been spilled inside these walls. 

 

It did not bode well for him. 

 

After twenty minutes of walking and passing through multiple forks, they exited into a larger cavern.  

 

A glistening silver metal covered every surface. Mining away at it with pickaxe, shovel and chisel, the [Slave]s were not given a single break as [Slavemaster] combed the ranks. 

 

Anyone that dared slack off was swiftly snapped back to reality with a lash of the whip. 

 

Shepherded onto the left wall, Milo and everyone else set down their tools. 

 

What followed could barely be considered a “lesson”. Overseer Rush took three minutes to explain how to use their tools. 

 

“Use your pickaxe to break the Silver. Use your chisel and hammer to get out loose, finer pieces of the Silver. Use your shovel to get dirt out of the way. Make sure to pile it behind you. Anyone who pockets any amount of Silver will be punished with thirty lashes. Any questions?” 

 

A young woman who looked like she should be inside and not in some dirty mine, asked hesitantly, “Can you elaborate any further, please?”

 

Overseer Rush acted as if he hadn’t heard it. 

 

“Alright then. Let’s get work. Chop, chop!” 

 

The young lady said, “Excuse me, but you didn’t answer my—”

 

Overseer Rush placed his hand on his waist. He said in a not so friendly tone, “Do we have a problem, missie?” 

 

The young lady shrinked back and shook her head. 

 

“No.” 

 

Overseer Rush nodded his head. “Good. Then get to it!”

 

Milo sighed. 

 

Their status in this place was self-explanatory. Even a pretty young lady didn’t receive even an ounce of respect or lenience. Milo picked up his tools from the slush pile that had formed and approached the wall, dragging Ostin along with him as well. 

 

By chance, he saw that there was a large gap existing around a single man. Every single other place on the wall was crowded. He didn’t know who this person was or why this gap was there in the first place, but it beat being shoulder-to-shoulder with all the others. Plus, he wanted to keep Ostin away from everybody else. 

 

There had to be hundreds of people in just this cavern alone. He had seen the forks in the road, so it wasn’t just here that they were mining. There were likely thousands of them chipping away at the Silver. 

 

Carrying his tools over, he and his little brother set up just a couple of meters away from the man. From here, he got a better look of him—and by look, he meant size.

He was a giant. Milo himself barely reached his waist. Heck, even if his adult self was here, the other person would still be looking over him like a child. 

 

From the waist up he was shirtless. He looked like what ancient Greek sculptures really had in mind when they were sculpting their fabled Gods. Every muscle was perfectly outlined and everything was in perfect proportion. Light from the oil lamp on the wall above reflected against the sweat on his body. 

 

But something was strange about him. As he mined, it wasn’t as if he was just trying to loosen the Silver from its counterpart. It was as if he was attacking it. And it worked. Every time he hit the ore—and without fail—a part of the Silver ore would part and roll to the ground. 

 

Milo observed all of this out of the corner of his eye so as to not attract his attention. 

 

Keeping his little brother close by side and working at a swift pace to avoid the whip, the evening passed without incident and left both him and Ostin exhausted. 

 

***

 

From the size of the hall they ate in, Milo guessed that there was around a thousand people working in the mines. 

 

Shockingly, the food was actually really good. He expected it to be some vomit-inducing rot; Recycled scraps that even street urchins would say no to. Of course even a slave mine would have [Cook]s. Even with their humble ordinary classes, they made a simple meal of porridge, vegetables, and meat into a delicacy.  

 

Milo kept his head down as he ate. 

 

Best to keep to himself and not attract any trouble. The people here were of the rough sort. They were the type of people who were always looking for a fight. 

 

***

 

They were guided to their barracks by Overseer Rush. Due to their special status, they were placed in a small barrack separate from everyone else. It wasn’t anything special. It was a basic wooden hall on the side of a well-trodden dirt road. 

 

Sat in front of the building playing cards and taking turns drinking from a glass bottle, three guards noticed Overseer Rush them as they approached. 

 

The one who was folded hailed the group as the other two battled it out. 

 

“Are these the two we’ll be looking after?” He asked. 

 

Milo noticed the trio of spears laid against the wall. 

 

Overseer Rush nodded. 

 

“Yep. You’re you lucky you got to babysit these two whelps instead of havin’ to deal with the other lot.” 

 

The guard smiled, “That’s perfect. I can just sit back and relax. But why bunch him in with…”

 

His smile dropped and was replaced with uncertainty. 

 

Overseer Rush frowned. 

 

“That’s not your place to know, [Soldier]. I got orders from the capital to make sure they’re treated well and don’t escape under any circumstances. Otherwise, they’ll have my head. And if that happens, you and your friends are going to join me in hell.”

 

The [Soldier] was in brief shock. 

 

Overseer Rush walked away before the [Soldier] could get another word out. 

 

“Have a bloody horrible night!” 

 

Left standing there awkwardly, Ostin and Milo received death stares from the [Soldier]s.

 

The [Soldier] who had been speaking before didn’t act so casually with the two young boys. 

 

“I’m not a bad person, but if you take even a single fucking step outside this building, I will lash you more times than you can count. I’m a [Soldier], not a [Slavemaster]. So if you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you. You get that?” 

 

Milo nodded up and down several times in a row. 

 

Saying what they all wanted to say, the group of [Soldier]s relaxed and returned to their game of cards—which they immediately restarted because one of them cheated while the other wasn’t looking.

 

“Alright. You can head inside now,” The first [Soldier] said. 

 

Milo headed inside, Ostin following behind him closely. The few hours in which they apart as they mined had taken a toll on his younger brother. Unfortunately, unless he found a way out of here, they’d be stuck here for the next while. 

 

He didn’t know why they were given special treatment, but Milo was determined to protect Ostin. He would make sure that nothing bad would ever come his way. 

 

Milo opened the door, the hinges creaking as it swung open.

 

When he saw what the inside looked like, Milo felt like he and Ostin had walked in on something they shouldn’t have.