I shook my head and turned toward the other prisoners. The cage was tiny. We could barely fit without bumping into each other. One bad bump on the road and we’d all tumble over each other like sacks of grain.
"Ah... I’m fucked..." I muttered, sliding down to sit on the dirty floor like the rest of them.
"Yo, kid," one of the n said. He was bald, powerfully built, with thick arms and a chest like a barrel. Scars crisscrossed his scalp and shoulders. "What’s your cri, then?"
"It’s... nothing."
"Talkative, aren’t you?" the man next to him added. He was slender, with pale, almost sickly skin and sharp, sunken features that made him look like he hadn’t eaten properly in weeks.
"We’re gonna die..." the older woman to my right muttered, her eyes wide with terror. "Gods, gods, gods... we’re gonna die! I just stole a damned bread! A bread!"
"The dungeons are filled to the brim," the slender one said calmly. "Us extras are just destined for The Circle. Look on the bright side, Saka. We could earn our freedom there."
"Fuck you, Jugo!" the woman spat. "I’m the only one here who isn’t blessed! I’m... I’m screwed!"
The last prisoner, a girl who looked nearly my age, had her hood pulled low at first. When she finally lifted her head, I saw short, ssy red hair and a face covered in old scars, so thin and precise, others jagged and ugly. She didn’t look at my face. Her eyes went straight to the black glove on my hand.
"Is that..." Her eyes widened. "No way..."
I quickly hid my hand behind my back. "What?"
She didn’t answer. She just t my eyes for a split second, then pulled her hood lower, hiding her face in shadow. She knew about Ambly? That this simple fingerless glove was her mark? No way. From the outside, it just looked like a basic glove. Nothing special.
"I’m Bone," the bald man said, jerking a thumb at himself. "This old fart is Saka. The skinny one who looks like he hasn’t eaten in a decade is Jugo. And she..."
He squinted at the hooded girl.
"I actually don’t know her."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Jugo scoffed.
Then our eyes t.
"Hell."
ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎
The horses, which had been growing increasingly nervous for the last five minutes, finally ca to a stop. We were heading west, straight toward The Circle.
Just before I could open the map, a notification flashed in front of my eyes. Yeah. I was right. This was exactly where I thought it was.
╔═══════════════╗
Location Discovered!
─────────────────
Na: Western Forest
╠═══════════════╣
Region: Toakwood
Objective:
○ Enter The Circle.
○ Find the phantom chest.
╠═══════════════╣
Gained EXP: 20
╚═══════════════╝
Shit. I really was in the Western Forest. What was going to happen now? Were they seriously just going to throw us into whatever The Circle was and leave us there? And what were we even supposed to do once we were inside? Try to survive? Why were we here in the first place?
"Why are we here?" I asked, voice tight.
"To earn our freedom, boy," Bone answered gruffly. "If we gather stuff worth ten gold, we’re good."
"Ten gold?" I muttered. "It’s... easy, right?"
"Ten gold per person," Jugo replied, his voice far too calm for the situation. "That’s not easy."
"Shut it, prisoners!" Captain Tornhawk yelled from the front. "Stop the horses. We’re here."
"Oh, god... oh, god..." the old lady muttered, her voice trembling with terror. "We’re gonna die..."
╔═══════════════════════╗
> Ace | LC: 7 | EXP: 83/133 | LVL 2
╠═══════════════════════╣
> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100
> MP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 70/70
> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱ 60/80
────────────────────────
> Class: MAGE
> Known Abilities:
• Fireball
• Heal
────────────────────────
> PERKS
• 10% More magic damage
╠═══════════════════════╣
> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [QUESTS]
╚═══════════════════════╝
Okay, my EXP had updated, and I had full HP and MP again. That was good. If I got attacked inside The Circle, at least I’d have so ans of protection. I just hoped these four people I was stuck with were decent enough not to stab in the back.
Captain Tornhawk hopped off his horse, grabbed the reins, and walked to the back of the cage. Peeking slightly to the left, I saw him tying the reins to a low tree branch before turning toward us.
He pulled a large ring of keys from his pocket and stopped in front of the cage door. He glanced down, searching for the right one among the many. Once he found it, he unlocked the cage and swung the door open.
"Out!" he barked, grabbing by the collar and shoving forward. "Move faster, you scum!"
"Shit..."
I stumbled out and fell hard onto the ground. My right hand was still chained to the bar inside the cage, yanking my arm painfully upward. The other prisoners filed out one by one behind . Once everyone was clear, Tornhawk slamd the cage door shut.
The area around us was eerie. A narrow dirt road zig-zagged ahead, disappearing into the thick trees. Dense forest pressed in from both the left and right sides, the branches forming a dark canopy that blocked most of the fading sunlight. The sun was sinking low on the horizon, painting the sky in deep oranges and purples. Long shadows stretched across the ground, and the air felt heavier, colder. It was getting dark fast.
Tornhawk walked over to his horse’s saddle and pulled out five strange devices. They looked like thick tal collars, etched with glowing blue runes that pulsed faintly like living veins. Small crystals were embedded in the front of each one, humming with a low, ominous energy.
He approached us one by one and clamped the devices around our necks. The tal was cold and heavy, clicking shut with a final, ominous lock. I felt the runes against my skin, warm and faintly vibrating.
"W-what is this?" the old woman spat, eyes wide with fear. "A bomb?"
"A tracking device," Captain Tornhawk answered flatly. "You exit The Circle without permission... it will automatically explode."
"Oh, gods... oh gods..."
"So," Jugo exhaled, calm as ever. "Ten gold per person? Still the sa?"
"Been here before?" the old woman, Saka, asked.
Jugo didn’t reply to her.
"Yes," Tornhawk said. "Now go. I don’t have all day."
"That’s a student!" the woman with the greatsword on her horse suddenly said, staring at . "Where’s your mark, boy?"
Before I could answer, Tornhawk exhaled loudly. "Don’t talk to them. They are prisoners."
He stepped forward and removed the shackles from all of us quickly, then pointed down the zig-zagging dirt road to the right.
The prisoners and I started walking in that direction.
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