Lament of the Slave

Mr. Sandoval smiled at my eagerness as he stroked his beard. "Other evolutions are more focused. For example, if I take you as an example, [Slave] is a well-known class. Although few of them live to reach the level of a hundred, their evolution is well documented due to their status.

"[Obedient Slave] is a general class that will strengthen the existing one. [Noble Slave] focuses more on the behavior of a slave, their appearance, and from what I know, they mostly serve in the royal courts. The downside is the [Bloody Slave] evolution, into which [Slaves] are forced into by masters who love to torture them.

"I don't want to go into details, but just outline how it is. You have to understand that evolution will change your class, not give you a new one. You won't start again at level one, but continue at level one hundred," the librarian tried to explain to me.

"I see," I nodded. It wasn't hard to understand. I was just rather excited about the possibility of evolution that I didn't have to have the same class until my death. "I just don't like my future options very much."

The librarian shrugged. "It's the way it is. We can influence a few things, but the rest is beyond our reach. As I said, if the system recognizes that you've accomplished something exceptional, it might offer you a class closer to your heart."

But even though I tried, I couldn't remember such an event that could be described as exceptional. I was locked in a cellar for over a year where my only success was killing a rat, which wanted to steal my food, with my bare hands. In those few days of freedom, I didn't have time to do anything worth mentioning except my suicide.

"I still have eight levels left. I still have time," I said with a sigh.

"Yes. You have," the librarian nodded. "Anyway, to go back to what we were talking about. In addition to your class's evolution, the system will also offer you to change it to a completely different one. If we think of evolution as a crossroads, then the new class is like a parallel path.

"You can become [Librarian] like me, or [Butcher] or [Herbalist], but there's a catch. It counts as evolution. You will not lose your stats, the skills you have had so far will remain, and the skills from the new class will be added to them. Even in this case, you will be able to choose eight class skills and ten general skills. You will jump to a new path, but you will not start your journey from the beginning.

"You will have a new class, the one you longed for, but do you see the disadvantage?" Mr. Sandoval asked.

I had to think before I answered him. "Neither skills nor class will evolve. They will not be stronger."

The librarian tapped the book on the table. "Not only that, you'll have a basic class in which if you want to get to the next level, would be extremely difficult."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why? We have to ask why aren't there many [Carpenters] with a level of a hundred or more? Because getting levels is not so easy for them. Each class gains experience in a way that is specific to it. Mentioned carpenters, for example, gain experience by crafting wooden products. The more complex the product is, the better the material used, the more experience they gain. Can you imagine someone who has just started as a [Carpenter], even at the level of one hundred, to be able to make something that an experienced [Carpenter] at the level of seventy can craft?" the librarian asked a rhetorical question.

I knew he wasn't expecting an answer, but at least I shook my head.

"That's why it's rare for someone to do something like that after reaching the level of one hundred. I know you don't like your current class or the options that await you in evolution, miss Grey, but don't jump on a side path if you achieve evolution. You never know what life will bring you," said the librarian in a serious tone, reminding me of my father when he was telling me not to talk to strangers.

I smiled at him. "Thank you for the advice, I'll think about it, but I believe I still have a lot of time for that…"

Time? Shit. I immediately looked at the time and was horrified by what I saw. I had only a few minutes until noon. A brief visit to the library became a long discussion about my life decisions.

My body spoke for me again. So the librarian immediately noticed that something was wrong.

"Did something happen, miss Grey?" the librarian asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sandoval, but I've lost track of time. I should have been elsewhere a long time ago," I told him quickly.

The librarian nodded knowingly. "It happens to me very often. Time flies when I read a book."

Yeah. I didn't have time for this, but I also didn't want to be rude when he was so accommodating.

"Thank you for everything, I have a lot of questions, but I have to go. Could I come tomorrow morning?" I asked.

"But not too soon, I like to sleep." He smiled but then added more seriously, "I'm opening the library at nine o'clock."

I bowed. "Thank you again for your time and information. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, miss, as I said. I'd love to talk to someone...'" The librarian paused, for all he saw when he looked ahead was a bushy tail disappearing in the front door.

He grinned. "What an interesting girl. She probably was really in a hurry."

Now that he was alone in the library again, he returned to his leather armchair but did not open the unfinished book. Instead, he sat there pensively, contemplating. "I wonder what kind of terran or half-terran she was?" He muttered before getting up again to search for answers among the bookshelves in the library.

***

I didn't like leaving the old librarian in the middle of the sentence, but I had to. I promised Alyson I'd be at Broken Heart at noon, which was just minutes away. I ran through the streets of Castiana to get there in time, for which I earned a few ugly names and comparisons to less decent parts of the human body along the way.

I was sorry, but I also didn't want to be late for work the very next day I got it. I arrived at the brothel two minutes after noon.

I immediately looked around the lobby, trying to find the owner among the gals and guys. Alyson was faster because she had already noticed my arrival and was coming to me.

"Korra, I already considered you a liar," she said in a harsh tone before she reached me.

I took a deep breath to catch my breath. "I'm sorry, Alyson, I've lost track of time. It won't happen again."

To my surprise, however, the woman smiled, stood beside me, and put her arm around my shoulders.

"I was indeed expecting your arrival at noon, but don't blame me. I had a couple of lasses here that didn't show up the next day," she told me, her harsh tone fading from her voice. "I was going to tell the girls that the laundry would be on them again. I'm glad I don't have to. As I told you, I don't care how long it will take you, but I want the laundry to be washed at the end of the day."

"Oh, so I could pop in next door for lunch?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't mind. "It will take me half an hour, max."

Alyson laughed. "I don't see a problem with that, but now I wonder what was holding you back so much that you didn't even have time to have lunch."

"Library, I was in the library," I told her.

The brothel owner released me, looking at me with a smirk on her face. "If you like books, we have a few here, but I don't think you'll find this kind of book in a library."

I had to reject the offer from Alyson politely. I liked books, but that wasn't why I was in the library. I had more important things to do than read erotic books. For example, my life, which I wanted to put in order. Maybe find a place here on Eleaden that I could call home, at least for a while. I was not a traveler. I did not travel the world like many others, and even though this world changed me, and I don't just mean just my body, I don't think I will start traveling around Eleaden.

Yes, ​​traveling the world, learning about new cultures and cuisines was a romantic idea, but the reality was different. The countries on Earth may have been relatively safe to travel to if you considered only the wild life, but Eleaden was different. Beasts lurked here in the woods, the caves were full of monsters, and the cities themselves were built on ancient structures full of bloodthirsty creatures.

No, I wasn't going to travel Eleaden, not until I got stronger. The last year has taught me one thing: I don't want to be weak. That I never want to feel as helpless as in that basement in Arda. Therefore, now that I finally did not have a slave collar around my neck and a lunatic with an injection behind my back, I wanted to use this time as best I could.

Yes, it would be nice to go to bed with a good book for a few hours just reading, immersed in the story on the book's pages, but I didn't plan to, not today.

Nevertheless, it was good to know where I could borrow adult books if I felt the need to do so.

Unfortunately for me, the beginning of my journey was not as epic as in the books I read on Earth. The wizard did not visit me with an offer of adventure or a great calling. It was a Fae with a ticket straight to the hands of a madman. I did not receive the ultimate skill from the uninvited goddess to defeat the demon king, who threatened to destroy the human population. Instead, I was forced to choose [Slave] for my class and the skills that my new master perceived as appropriate.

No wonder I was bitter, angry at this world, and longing for revenge.

But those were dark thoughts unsuitable for lunch I had at a Broken Mug. Unfortunately, since it was noon, there was no free table, meaning I had to sit at the one with others. I had several options for where to sit, but it was harder to choose than I expected. At the thought that I should sit at a table where only men sat, my heart was gripped with anxiety. From a table occupied only by women, ugly glances were directed at me, and I had no idea why. What could I have done that I deserved their hostility? Was it because of what I was in their eyes? Monster.

In the end, I chose a table with two men and a woman who seemed to have a good time at lunch and didn't mind me sitting down with them.

I just wanted to eat in peace, so I was happy when they didn't ask me questions. Of course, I also had my own questions, which I would like to ask them, but I was so nervous in their presence that I preferred to eat lunch in silence and as quickly as possible. My stomach didn't like it, but its complaints had to wait.

I needed to return to Broken Heart, where dirty laundry was waiting for me. Today, however, I had to wash it myself. There was no Zoe or any other girl who would help me with the laundry.

I was glad Zoe was here with me yesterday. I learned a lot from her. My time at work flew much faster, thanks to the fact that we talked most of the time. However, I welcomed today's calmness.

During this monotonous work, I had time thinking about what I learned at City Hall from my trainer, about what I learned in the library.

The possibility of evolving my class after reaching the level of one hundred was mind-blowing to me. It opened up a lot of opportunities for me I couldn't think of before. However, it depended on what choices I would have because the basic ones mentioned by the librarian were not the ones I was happy about. I could only hope that the system would find some extraordinary event from my short stay here on Eleaden worth mentioning and make it a new class.

All this had one condition, which was reaching the level of one hundred. Nobody told me how gaining experience actually worked. I could only draw on my knowledge based on games, anime, manga, and books. There it was mostly enough to kill hordes of beasts. The more monsters they killed, the stronger the enemies were, the more experience the heroes gained. If that were true, the hungry rat I killed must have been the Demon King. After all, it was the only living creature I killed. Where else would I get my levels?

But I knew it was an ordinary rat. I got those levels gradually. It bothered me all the time, but I had no idea why and how I got the levels I had. The librarian said that [Carpenter] gains experience from what he does, that is the production of wooden things. From what [Slave] like me could gain experience?

"Argh," I growled, rummaging through my mane in frustration.

That was the question I was going to ask the librarian tomorrow. I had more, of course. Could [Carpenter] still gain experience from killing monsters?

I knew I wouldn't solve it on my own in the laundry room, but I loved to know the answers.

What also burdened my mind was how to approach the very fight with monsters in the labyrinth. What combat style to choose? I could imagine myself with a katana in my hand. The large two-handed axe seemed a little awkward to me, and close combat was very personal to my taste.

Without realizing it, I thought for hours about my fighting style while washing brothel laundry, yet I didn't come to a clear conclusion. The only thing I realized was that I didn't consider my financial options. I could have trained with katana and zashi because they would lend them to me for training at the city hall, but could I afford them? Just for what I was wearing, I had to give more than half of my hoard, and I was sure that the weapons would not cost the same as the shoes or my underwear.

Not to mention that I could use some armor to protect my body. That meant additional expenses. Because of that, I was afraid that the profession of a seeker was a very distant dream. Nevertheless, I was not ready to give up so soon. That's why I decided to do a little market research tomorrow, despite knowing in my heart that I probably won't be able to afford a weapon.

The only real option was to punch monsters with my bare hands, as Tenderfire had suggested, although that wasn't an idea I favored.

It was incredibly frustrating because I knew the answers to a lot of questions I had which, some of them bothered me for over a year, but at the same time I had more questions I wanted to know the answer to than before.

Even more frustrating or rather annoying was to have to focus on what my tail was doing. It was challenging to keep an eye on him, so he would not touch any laundry. Whether the poison was able to adhere to an objects' surface, I wanted to test in the evening alone in my room.

I washed the laundry and hung it to dry with enough time reserve before my shift in Broken Mug.

The system even rewarded my efforts by gaining a skill level where I didn't expect them.

(ding) Lover of Work reaches lvl 9

(ding) Spatial Domain reaches lvl 3

I welcomed the first one, the work in the laundry was demanding, and if I gained more strength at level ten, it wouldn't hurt. But I was really pleased to get another level in the Spatial Domain. It meant I was doing something right. It also testified how difficult it was to watch the tail. Not to mention how useful this skill was in finding stains on clothes.

The level gains of the next two skills were not so unexpected.

(ding) Swift as a Whip reaches lvl 4

(ding) Swift as a Whip reaches lvl 5

…

(ding) Tireless Machine reaches lvl 5

(ding) Tireless Machine reaches lvl 6

I was not surprised, but it didn't mean that gaining levels on these skills pleased me no less than on the previous two. I did not expect miracles from the very beginning. I was prepared for months, maybe years of hard work, until I reached a strength corresponding to my level. That's why the growth of [Never-dying] was breathtaking. I would welcome such growth in other skills as well, but I didn't expect it.

That's why I wasn't disappointed when working in the kitchen didn't bring me more skill levels. Why would it? It was a simple job. Incredibly dull, but fortunately only for a few hours.

I sought refuge in my room after being filled with a hearty dinner.

Here I could finally calm down. I didn't have to be afraid of accidentally killing someone, except me. Here I will be finally able to see if that fear was justified or not. The question was on what to test the adhesion of poison?

What could I possibly get rid of without much of a thought?