The Survival of an Inferior

Multiple whistles ring in the atmosphere. The main force found the corpses and is gathering everyone, I can hear thousands of footsteps heading my way. 

At the rift valley, a man is trying to pull Bodev away at the cliff of block mountain. Scattered at the edge are groups of archers. They need to leave before the main forces catch up. 

The man pulling Bodev has a huge bow behind his back. He is the elder brother of Bodev, Solondria Isva. 

"No! We have to leave, we've accomplished our goal of retrieving you," says Solondria. 

"No, I keep my promises." 

"Fuck! We have to go! They are aiming for YOUR life." 

"But-"

"Sir." a subordinate interrupts Bodev. 

"What is it?" 

The subordinate points at the rift valley. "2 people. Grey or probably white hair and red eyes, the other one, black hair and eyes."

Solondria peeks over the edge to see their guest. He raises his hand and everyone draws their bow. 

"Wait! That's the person I talked about. He is Arsto." Says Bodev. 

"The one from the newspaper? Heh... I don't believe someone heroic wants to save you without an ulterior motive."

"He calls himself a traitor. He said it when he betrayed his group to help me."

Solondria glance at Bodev, his expression is firm. In the end, he sighs and pulls his bow. Mana flows from his hand into the bow, forming a mana arrow at the bowstring. Solondria releases his pull. 

*BING!* 

A large ray arrow zooms through the sky, leaving behind sparks of mana and lighting. 

*BAM!!* 

It destroys the ground next to the two men. 

"Hands up!" Solondria shouts. 

I put the assassin down on the floor and raise my hand above my head. 

"Capture them. That's the most I can do." Solondria says. 

Bodev nods and thanks Solondria. 

The subordinates leap down the mountain using platforms and gaps. Once behind me, they put a bag over my head and tie my hand together before knocking me out. 

================================ 

Some hours later... 

================================ 

"Ngh..." The assassin groans. His head rings painfully. Trying to breathe hurts in the chest and his legs and arms feel numb. Yet he pushes his body and forces himself up. Sitting against the wall with a pale complexion, he tries to look around. 

"Hey hey." a voice echoes. 

I walk up to the assassin and help him up. 

"Are you okay?" I say. My face comes into his view. 

"You...Who are..." The assassin says. 

"I'm Arsto."

"Ah...the guy...from the newspaper...I'm Grad." 

"Alright, stop talking. You are in a bad shape." I say. 

Grad shows zero emotions in his eyes. 

"We are in a prison cell. Some guy beat me up before I could do anything in the forest. Was it the same for you?" 

Grad nods. 

I sigh and scratch my head. 

"Uhm...is help coming? No no, quite unlikely." I mumble. 

Grad musters his strength with his trembling arms and reaches into his coat, pulling out the BOV badge. 

"Kill me..." he says. "This badge...will...send our location...to the captain..."

The badge partially links with the owner's life force. That's why it is important to keep it with us wherever 

we go. However, the core crystal used for sending the location is costly. Hence, the mechanism only activates when an officer dies. 

The higher-ups in the BOV view the crystal's worth as more than an officer's life. 

"No. We can get out of here." I say. 

Grad stays silent. 

I look out beyond the rows of iron black bars. Nothing but a moist dark hallway. 

Only a torch lights this cold and claustrophobic room. 

A few people walk down the stairs at the end. I bang on the iron bars. 

Their attention shifts to me. 

"Hey! Let's make a deal. In return, heal this man." 

Grad looks at me. 

They walk to our cell and exchange glances among themselves. I smile at them. Now closer to the light, I can see them wearing a similar orange-brown coat and pants. 

One of them draws a sword and aims it at my neck. 

"Why should we waste a healing potion on a dying man?"  

"Because that will reveal your location." 

Grad widens his eyes. The men outside the cell look confused. 

"If you don't believe me. Try it. Kill me."

...

The men glare at me and leave the prison cell. 

"You...what..." Grad says. 

"Even at the expense of BOV, I cannot let a man die in front of me," I say. 

Grad looks down and grits his teeth. 

"I will take full responsibility." 

...

"You are...a good person," he says. 

I simply smile at that compliment, unable to respond. 

The Night Owl men return with Bodev, they draw their swords and point them at me. Bodev unlocks the prison cell and gestures for me to follow him. 

"Wait here," I say to Grad. He nods. A man locks the prison cell and walks behind me. 

When we are out of sight, everyone relaxes. 

"Phew...you guys have a knack for acting," I say. 

The men ignored me. Bodev nods. 

----------------

Bodev Isva 

Age: 13

Level: 21

Title: Heir of Fate

Class: Prophet

Hp: 2000/2000

Mana: 300

Atk: 10

Def: 9

Dex:27

Mag:9

Luck:7

Skills:

-Cooking(lvl 4)

-Personality Guage(lvl max)

-Quick Hands(lvl max)

-Divinity Foresight(lvl max)

Isva Bloodline awakened. 

Favourability: 28 

------------------ 

Bodev is not fond of me but is genuinely sincere and thankful that I saved his life unlike the ungrateful fucks at Elvis. I like this kid. 

"Do we proceed as planned?" a man asks me. 

"Yes, after 30 minutes, take a healer and heal Grad. Afterwards, torture him for information regarding BOV. Not too serious though, he is a mere contracted mercenary, he won't know much."

The men nod and leave Bodev and me alone. 

================================= 

An hour ago... 

================================= 

Somewhere in this hidden base, a singular large room with a chair exists. I sit in that lonely room with my arms chained together. 

Footsteps come from afar and I look up at the door. It swings open to reveal a few people, one man wearing a straw hat and dirty gloves, a woman wearing an open black jacket of a red collar and long black pants, and a few subordinates.  

The man dismisses the subordinate and closes the door. Leaving him, the woman, and me alone. 

"Well...first of all, thank you for saving Bodev. Now then I'm quite busy so get to the point. What do you want? Money?" The man says. 

"Quite difficult to talk with my hands tied, isn't it?" I reply. 

The man frowns and goes behind me. He easily extends an aura from his finger and cuts the chain. 

"Judging the mana in your body, you can easily cut the chain but I will close one eye. What do you want?" 

...

I sigh. He wants me to talk without introducing himself. Well, fine.

"An alliance."

The man raises his brow. "What?" 

The woman walks closer and exposes her feature in the illumination. Her black long hair has a low ponytail that fits with her crimson eyes. She slides her hand into her jacket pockets and stares at me from head to toe. From her posture, she emits an aggressive first impression. 

This woman is Alure Isva, a main character and the best warrior Rena has, contesting Radz. She is the reason why I'm here.