Kapitel 26: Fleeting Time (2nd Time-Skip)
The incident created by Glim inside the mine and then as punishment for stepping over Vlad viciously being killed.
Time passed slowly for the boys and the entire mine camp.
Since that incident, Inorra had to wait for almost three weeks to recover properly from his broken bones, while Vlad managed to heal even faster than Inorra, taking him only one week for his broken bones.
Kipset had it worse than anyone, but thanks to Nius help. His bones got arranged and heavily bandaged to keep them in place. He also had broken ribs to add salt to the injury, being in a way like brothers to Vlad, feeling the annoying pain of ribs stabbing inside your chest. Even the simple act of breathing caused him excruciating pain.
As for Vlad, not considering the tortures he suffered when he resaw Mayer, his amount of work in the mine has slowly increased exponentially, almost like those guys were trying to kill him.
He was in the mine from the start of the day to night time. He wasn't forced to do all the workload, and instead, only half of the requirement. This fact was not precisely on paper. Sometimes some of Belpel's guards would assemble in a group to look over Vlad and annoy him, checking every single of his actions, like they were observing and analyzing each of his moves.
They started to view this abomination that awakened the most feared nightmares in their minds as someone that should be watched closely until Mayer gave the Yes sign to kill him. They watched him so closely to have time to react if he had other crazy ideas that he wanted to try on them.
Miners inside started to talk more and more since the incident in the mine. He even got a nickname in the mining camp, "Blood Devil."
At first, he got pissed off about his association with Satan, him leading a devoted life to God until this new journey to this world slowly turned into a devil.
But the irony of having this nickname gave him another identity that he could jungle around, "Blood" was a simple word that could mean many things when you heard it, either life or death.
As he heard this nickname more often coming from the slave's and miners' mouths that spectated to Vlad's fight and heard Glim's agony, it began to resound more and more in his mind. The Irony played him by her fingers, but in fact, this nickname was more appealing to Vlad just like the Turks called him "Kaziklu Bey" (Impaling Prince), and now in this world, turning himself into a Blood Devil.
A bloodthirsty killer. But was he one of those? Obviously, no, he just had an embedded structure and beliefs that were hard to crumble.
Stories concerning his actions propagated similarly to bushfires in a short time. The cruel killing of the guards and his bloodied state bathing in the blood of enemies while also matching together with Glim's screams of terror.
When described by miners with a lot of imaginations, his act turned close to a legendary song a bard would sing at taverns for some coins. Except that there were no bards to sing about his feat but drunk miners. Like this, Vlad got in the center of attention, not something he wanted, yet he didn't forget to profit from this unfortunate event.
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With time, the aggression of those criminals inside the Chaotic zone dimmed, and it got even lesser after brutally killing some of them. With their heads being shattered on the ground.
Like this, a pact between those criminals and Vlad was formed. If they didn't bother Vlad with their dumb antics, he wouldn't try and kill them, and the same was for Vlad and the two boys Kipset and Inorra.
The reputation he held inside the Chaotic zone really resounded loud from everyone's mouths. The young devil residing at the deepest point of the Chaotic zone. If you cross him, you would be found only by your mates, but dead and not alive.
Kipset and Inorra had it hard one month or two because of their injuries. Inorra's head healed a bit in the second week, and so he would tag to take care of cooking the scrapped food they had.
It was tough for Vlad to handle the food supplies after Nius stopped helping him out.
Sometimes, he would sleep with an empty stomach because when he was done working in the mine, the canteen would be closed. However, remembering what Nius had said to him about the canteen's raiding, he began thinking of this idea with each day that he had less food in his storage.
Unknowingly for Vlad, even the boys in the shack suffered in silence when seeing Vlad getting skinny compared to how he looked. The scar on his back got highlighted even more as it was easy to spot the nasty wounds on him.
Those were the cruel moments of living in slavery that increased Inorra and Kipset mentality, slowly turning them from innocent brats to young adults that also had their target in life.
Kipset, when remembering how he messed up when fighting Glim he would curse himself out loud. While doing so, he affected his broken ribs, dealing with unintentional pain to follow him around. In this aspect, Inorra was the same. When looking at Kipset lying in his bed without doing anything, he would lament himself for being far more useless.
"Just look at you two, always down because you got down for once. If I was in your stead I would laugh that I can live for more. That's how you should think, thankful that you can live for a next day. Now enough crying and get your act together." said Vlad when seeing those two at their lowest morale.
Staring at Vlad after figuring out what he said, they thanked him from all breath for staying and helping them without asking anything from them.
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Time passed by in the mining camp. The only problem the boys had to deal with was the food supply. Surprisingly Vlad managed to handle it perfectly, doing crazy feats to steal at night's food from the canteen without being noticed.
The night he first raided the canteen of food and went back to his shack with a shirt in his hand full of diverse foods to choose from. Entering inside the shack, he stared vigilantly as if still looking out for the guards.
"I hit it big, you two. I managed to get inside the canteen without being noticed and took everything that I could get my eyes on. I even got to eat like a king all alone, not disturbed by any annoying guard or staff member.
The old man's advice was perfect. To even think that the canteen opening would be open so wide just for me. It's been a while since I've seen so much food. Boy's these following days we eat like we don't care for the next day."
Laughing when he finished announcing his success, he got to a wood table and started arranging everything he got. From cured meats to fruits, vegetables, spices, or even cheeses, he struck while the iron was hot and profited greatly.
The staff didn't let him eat because the canteen was closed, yet look at him, serving himself like this camp was his home, owned by his dad or something.
Looking at Inorra while he put the shirt on the table and said, smiling at him.
"Come here, Inor, I need your hand in here. We don't have to eat moldy bread tonight, it's been two weeks, and I already got sick of eating that gross bread."
Kipset from his bed, when feeling the mood around the shack lifted up, he chuckled a little and said.
"Finally, no more coarse bread. To be honest, I don't believe my teeth would have lasted much while eating that garbage."
Even saying that caused him to yell a bit in pain because of his ribs,
"Fuck! I forgot about those ribs. The good thing is I start feeling an itch around my legs and ribs. They seem to heal properly from what I heard old Nius say."
"Heh, your ribs still didn't heal yet? Mine got fine in just one week." followed Vlad by informing Kipset of how fast he healed.
"That's because your body is weird, don't compare yourself with us." added Inorra with an angry face that looked more like someone jealous.
"Eat as much you can. You don't have to feel indebted or something. It's only something simple that I did, so no need for pleasantry."
Inorra, who was by the table, started tearing a bit and took Vlad's hand with his still okay right hand and said.
"Brother, you are really something else. Not even a blood sibling would act like you right now, yet look at you bringing food to us, when that responsibility would be ours since we're older than you."
Patting the boy's back, and looking at his face with his dark-green eyes, smiling, he said.
"Sometimes, even strangers can be closer than a blood brother, we share many things in common, the same pain of living in this environment. There's nothing that can differentiate us from maybe our appearances and strength.
Also, never forget that at one point in time, when I was just a skinny kid, It was you who helped me out in my hardest moments."
"Sigh, Zag. You can't compare those times with what we got past this year. Look at you, those two weeks have been really hard on you, it even started to show their marks on you." said Kipset from where he was.
"It will be fine, don't worry. I know my body better than you. Just go eat and stop saying those sentimental things to me." as Vlad said that and walked to his bed to relax a bit, he reminded Inorra, who was at the table.
"Inor, when you're done eating with Kip, and if there's still food remaining, make sure to put everything into the storage on the ground. I don't want to hear that the next day the guards find who stole the canteen food. I want some peace of mind for now.
Keeping that in mind, not long, Inorra went to Kipset's bed with food, and they started wolfing down some food.
Vlad could only smile while looking at them, reminding him of the times he was young with his older brother and younger brother.
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The next day, guards stormed around the camp, the canteen staff seemed to notify them regarding the missing stockpile.
Not taking lightly the news brought by the canteen, the guards started searching for the culprit. They even barged inside the boy's 115 shack. Searching around, but in the end, they didn't find anything.
Inorra did an excellent job of putting everything in order inside their storage hidden in the ground, covered by wood planks, while Vlad was only looking with cold eyes towards the guards without them noticing his gaze.
'Hmph, those guards are exactly the idiots that slacked their guard yesterday. Now probably they are risking their heads for their mistake and can only hope to find the food.'
When the guards left and waited for a bit, Inorra was the first one to laugh. "Zag, it seems that the entire camp will suffer for a while because of you, haha not like I care."
"That's right, Inor. You shouldn't care so much. If you're smart, you can deal with the losses and improvise, start your own stockpile, and when times like this come, you'll live without worry."
For a while, people started to feel this food shortage whenever Vlad raided at night the canteen, not seen by guards. But that was it. No one found the culprit who raided the canteen even after they increased the number of guards. All of the effort put in by the guards was meaningless when Vlad read them like the changing clouds.
Time passed fast inside the mining camp when you worked from day to darkness. Even Inorra and Kipset got better with time, healing their broken bones faster than what old Nius expected.
Finally, the rhythmic way of life the boys had resumed without incidents. There was only silence inside the camp like a storm was brewing around.
Various minor incidents happened over time, apart from the short episodes where Vlad couldn't get anything to eat and resumed stealing from others or moments where the mine staff would assign hard jobs.
Small rebellions happened from time to time. New people came in as fast as the old ones were dying.
The mine was not short of miners or slaves but considering that, it created more chances for people to find out about the guard's strategy of defending the mine. So the consequences were the people sick and tired of slaving for nothing trying to escape.
Diverse plans formed inside the mine in the circle of slaves about how they should break out, it almost became like a festival of sorts where people would gather somewhere in the camp and start discussing ways of breaking out.
All kinds of ideas circulated in the mine, and almost each of those ideas got to Vlad's ears.
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Two years passed like that, and Vlad's little Zagreus became now a 14 years old young man, and with all this time that passed, one thing could be said with certainty, his body developed the most in those years people gave him a break without tortures.
His body developed well beyond how any boy his age would turn out. Because of his relentless raids inside the canteen storage and eating to his heart's content and at the same time solving his nutrition problem, those passing years could be said not to be miserly at all.
The excellent nutrition increased his growth spurt, turning him from once a skinny boy relatively small of stature to a tall young adult rising at 1,80 meters.
His hair also went by various stages, from the really short dark hair that he had as a malnourished kid to growing his hair in the following two years toward a medium-length hair that was not short or long.
Yet this time, after four years have passed since he took home this mining camp, he let his hair flow wildly. His jet-black hair formed a shadow veil around his head and back. The once short hair now flowed past his shoulders, hitting his developed back and covered some of his deep scars. Usually, he kept his long tied, keeping it tied most of the time when he was inside the mine, while when he was alone with his little brats, it was on full display for others to see.
His once childish face that he tried hard to turn it mature, in those four years turned now truly matured, with small adolescence bits that could be ignored. Vlad's development turned his features even more handsome. His dark-green eyes got enhanced by his long jet-black hair, to his roommate's lament.
Aside from the moment he had to help out Kipset and Inorra with food and guide them on a better diet, it turned out well for him. The boys from his shack also turned out fine. With Vlad's care and advice, they got the nutrition they needed to grow but still got dwarfed by Vlad's growth.
Inorra growth in these two years was also significant, growing to have 1,75 meters.
The once tanned brat that Vlad kicked around when they first meet now looked more honorable, his childish features shifting towards maturity.
Still, some bits of his personality didn't change much with his body growth, him being the one most disturbed by Vlad's development that overshadowed his own. The same story was for Kipset, who was now tall for his age, walking with 1,78 meters.
The first time Vlad met Kipset, he was a tanned brat that charged at him like a little monkey that had his food stolen. Still, compared to Inorra, he was more mature than him by the time they first met Vlad, and with his help, turning into a fine young man of only 17 years old.
In those two years, except for growing, the boys trained, learning how to fight. Vlad took great care this time to teach them how to fight, holding swords, spears, and so on, using pieces of planks as weapons of training.
They grew up, so he also had to change how he taught them, getting into a more direct approach, sometimes bruising them hard when they thought he was making fun of them when using planks or branches when teaching.
Vlad's response when they questioned his idea of using wood planks or branches was simple.
"You morons, tell me from where should I get my hands on a metal sword? I got those years of peace because I complied with what they asked me and didn't offend anyone. What I'm teaching you are the basics.
If you want to learn more, you have to get experience while fighting. You can start being a mercenary, a guard, a marine, or a pirate. As you follow this path, you will get your sword's expertise even higher."
"Ahhh! This is not fair. How come you know all of this stuff? Just by watching you at night while you're training after the mine work is disturbing. Are you sure you're 14 this year? But how? You came in the mine when you were ten, right?" yelled Inorra, frustrated because he couldn't fight back against Vlad's hits with his branch.
"You silly, have you ever wondered? What If I am just like those heroes that you so dearly love to tell stories about. Well, here you have one that it's trying to change your futures. Do you got any complaints to this unfortunate hero?" Asked Vlad while chuckling a bit and hitting Inorra.
Inorra, hearing his comment, got even angry, saying in a high voice.
"NOO, you're the Dark Lord, the Blood Lord that will punish and rule over all the evil. Instead, I'll become the hero of the story. How can I not be one, after I experienced everything so far? What do you think Kip? Wanna be my right hand and hunt the pirates that almost destroyed our futures?"
Kipset turned to look at Inorra and only laughed heartily while sneaking a look at Vlad, who was just looking at the sneaky tanned boy with a dumbfounded face.
"Haha, maybe you're not wrong with this aspect, I've constantly heard this nickname Blood and Blood Devil, even Blood Lord. Those poor guys, can't even imagine that the one they fear so much is just like them, an average person. But not gonna lie, this nickname is cool, Blood. Like someone from a secret organization, that is tasked to help or punish certain people."
"As for you Inorra, stop dreaming, if Zagreus doesn't become that hero, how can you be one, without even being stronger than him. Anyway, I don't care about my path. If one of you wants to become a pirate, as much I hate this idea, I will do it, but instead hunt down pirates. Similiarly for the marines, I don't care."
"Hoh, Kipset you're thinking similarly to me. I'll tag in after we get out of this cage. Hey Zag, our big villain, our trump card, what do you say are you tagging in?"
'Hmm, both sides are just one side of a coin to me. But I can't travel yet too far because of my debt to old Nius, and also I have to deal with Mayer problem for good. If I can find those underworld traffickers and kill them is all even better. After that, I will no longer be tied by this place.'
"There are still things I have to do when we get out that bounds me to this kingdom. I can only guide you forward and hope you make the best choice for your respective futures. Don't get upset that I will not be with you when we get out. This doesn't mean that we will forget each other so easily.
Four years we stayed together and bounded like brothers you want to bother me even the following years?"
Chuckling a bit while smiling at the two, he continued.
"Can't you bother someone else the following years before our next reunion? It's not this hard, you'll probably see me create a big disturbance in this kingdom, and you'll know where to find me."
The boys took some time to digest that information, they turned a bit sad, especially Inorra, but the last words that he said made them happy, knowing that they will meet at one point when they are all on their own feet.
"We'll believe you. Just don't get yourself killed while you're doing your evil persona things. Also, if you ever have to tell others your name, just tell them that you're called Blood, it gives a more menacing feeling that would scare others." said Inorra, while rubbing a bit of salt on Vlad and his nickname.
Kipset went for the safe and kicked Inorra's ass a bit, and later turning to Vlad, who was just smiling at them. "No need to bother yourself with this idiot. At least we know who you are."
When hearing that, Vlad's face turned gloomy and later sad. Kipset and Inorra noticed this change and asked him. "Hey Zag what is going on with you?"
"No nothing much. I started remembering about a dream that keeps haunting me."
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A/N: Time skips, well-worthed time skip.
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