บท 1: 1.Prologue.
June 1, 1245. Empire of Fire. City of Fire.
In the slums of a bustling capital city, a little boy sat with his hands to his head, trying to recover from a near-death experience. He was a middle-aged man (44) who worked as a teacher at an average university, teaching Roman law. He died of a heart attack and was taken over by a 6 year old orphan who lives in the slums of the capital city of Imeria and tries not to starve to death.
"What a shit storm I've been thrown into"
Now he is an orphan named Stone, his predecessor died of malnutrition and beatings when he tried to steal food but was caught. After serving time, he came to terms with what happened. He had nothing to miss in his past life. He lived only for his work and his hobby of researching the structure of ancient states.
"Seriously, the name Stone? No. I can't keep it, but I don't want to use my old name either....hmmm.... From now on, I'll call myself Amadeus Black.... although, judging by my memories, I could get killed for my last name, so we'll leave it for later."
*Ding *
* Connection....*
*Connection successful *
/ System active /
"Ooooh, my cheat has arrived, I'm very happy"
(System,what can you do)
/The host system is in demo mode as you still need to prove that you are worthy of using me. Therefore, the features are very limited, the only features that are currently available to you are three (3) in-depth analyzes of your choice and the main mission is to unlock all the features./
"It's bad news, but it's better than nothing."
*Main mission issuance*
**Main Mission**
*1. Earn 1,000,000 gold coins.*
*2. Gather 100 people with loyalty to you above 70.*
*3. Acquire and train 1,000 slaves.*
*Time limit for the mission: 4 years.*
*Reward: Unlocking system functions.*
*Penalty for mission failure: System disappearance.*
*Comment: Additional rewards depend on exceeding the minimum requirements.1,000,000 gold does not take into account anything other than the cash you have at the time of the task's completion.*
/Does the host have any questions about the main mission?/
"Yes, is it really 1,000,000 gold coins? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
/Yes, that's correct. It's the minimum requirement for completing the task. Also, only the coins themselves are counted (Copper, Silver, Gold). To clarify, no property: slaves, buildings, antiques, or jewels are considered. Does the host understand this?/
"Yes, I understand. But this is crazy. Do you realize the value of a gold coin?"
/Yes./
"Yes? Is that all you have to say?" Amadeus felt a headache coming on. His predecessor was beaten to death over a bun. Two such buns cost only 1 copper coin, meaning he died for 0.5 copper coins. Now, he needs to earn 10,000,000,000 copper coins. After a sigh, he continued.
"Okay, what about training the slaves?"
/Slave training: A slave must be trained in any craft to an intermediate level. The rewards at the task's end will depend on what they are trained in and their success in that craft. The system will provide a report on current skill levels upon the host's request./
"Ugh... That doesn't sound too complicated, but a million gold coins is a real issue. One more thing, how do I find out people's loyalty?"
/Upon the host's request./
"So what should I do now? First, I need to sort out food and water. The good news is that my physical condition healed after the transition, so that's one less problem."
He glanced around the alley where he was sitting and saw dilapidated, unstable buildings that looked ready to collapse. The air was filled with an indescribable stench. This was the alley where he had been thrown after losing consciousness during the beating. After pondering for a few minutes, he decided to return to the hideout where he stayed with other orphans.
As he walked the streets and observed his surroundings, he grimaced at the amount of dirt around him.Feces, water, mud, and blood were all mixed together, creating a scene you wouldn't want to be a part of. Along the way, he saw a couple of corpses lying in alleys similar to the one he had just left.
Upon reaching his destination, he saw a large, partially collapsed single-story building that looked like it could be blown over by a gust of wind. Sneaking inside, he found a few dozen children of various ages, from 5 to 14, dressed in tattered rags like himself. Among them, he spotted one of his friends, who was the same age as him. Approaching her, he greeted her.
"Hi."
"Hi," she replied, noticing him covered in dirt and traces of blood. "How are you? Did you try to steal something again and get caught?"
"Yes."
"Stone, I told you not to do that. Boss Wind called me today; I'm going with him tomorrow, and we won't have any problems feeding ourselves," she said.
"You don't understand what you're agreeing to," said Amadeus, recalling this morning.
*\Flashback\*
Wind, who also lived here until he turned 15, came to recruit people into the gang he had joined. The gang was involved in everything—brothels, drugs, kidnapping, robbery, and more. In this slum area, they were like kings who could do whatever they wanted.
He was recruiting for two purposes: the first was to get lackeys to help him gain more power in the gang, and the second was for brothel workers. While the first category had criteria, the second did not, as there was always a buyer for every type of "merchandise."Even if there was none, those who "inflicted damage" were demoted to slaves and sold.
Grass, Amadeus's friend, at six years old, didn't fully understand what she was being recruited for or how she would be used. She was lured by the promise of steady food, which was enough for the children living here. Stone also wanted to join, but because of his black hair, which was considered hostile in the Fire Empire due to long wars with the Orthean Khaganate, where most people had black hair, he was rejected. In the Fire Empire, the standard hair color was light or red, and although other colors existed, they were treated normally.People with black hair were considered descendants of the Ortean Khaganate and traitors to the Fire Empire. Therefore, the Wind did not even consider Stone and immediately released him.
*\End of Flashback\*
"I have agreed to constant access to food," Grass replied.
"Do you know what you will have to do for that?" Amadeus asked.
"Does it matter, as long as I can eat regularly?" she retorted.
Her response gave Amadeus a headache because it reflected the harsh reality of their world. In the slums, it was almost the only way to improve one's life. Looking at his small friend, who had shared her meager food supplies with the previous owner of his body, he felt sick thinking about the future that awaited her. After a moment of hesitation, he asked,
"Grass, do you trust me?"
"Yes," she replied, surprised by the question.
"If you trust me, don't accept Wind's offer."
"Why?" she asked, looking at him doubtfully.
"Don't accept it. You'll realize later that it's a bad offer and you'll regret it," Amadeus said, looking into her eyes.
"Okay, Stone, I won't do that, but if we're going to starve, I'll take him up on his offer."
"Fine," Amadeus said, approaching and hugging her. The smell that hit him almost made him push her away. Hygiene in this city was certainly not its strong suit.
At that moment, a boy about 13-14 years old approached them.
"Stone, Grass, I'm back," the boy said with a smile.
They looked at him, and the girl smiled.
"Rain!"
"How was your day?" the boy asked.
"Wind offered Grass a job," Amadeus replied.
Rain's face immediately darkened.
"What did you say to him?"
"Stone told me not to agree, so I haven't given an answer yet."
Rain's frown softened noticeably.
"Good," the boy said, approaching and placing a hand on Amadeus's head. Amadeus initially wanted to avoid this but restrained himself. These two were the only close people to the previous owner of his body. Then they sat in a corner, away from everyone else, because despite sharing the same living space, relationships between the groups were far from friendly.
Sitting down, Rain pulled out a bun, broke it in half, and handed it to them.
"What about you?" Amadeus asked.
"I already ate before I came. You two eat."
Grrrgrrgrrr
The young man's stomach growled, to which he simply smiled. Amadeus looked at him and thought to himself,
"System, evaluate him."
/Evaluating…/
/Ding!/
Character
Name: Rain
Age: 13
Loyalty: 60
Seeing the evaluation, a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. After eating their share, they began to find a place to sleep while they still could.They laid down what can only be described as garbage, thus making themselves sleeping places so that they would not have to lie on the ground.Lying there, Amadeus pondered what to do next. More people were returning as time passed. A nearby group was discussing their day when Amadeus caught part of their conversation.
"Today, I saw a nobleman get attacked, and his daughter was even poisoned."
"Ahahaha!"
"HAHAHA! Serves that cursed noble right. What was he doing in this area anyway?"
"Yeah, he's lucky they didn't kill him."
At that moment, Amadeus heard in his head:
/Ding!/
/Host, this is one of the few situations where I will offer advice. You should pay attention to the information about this nobleman. What you do with it is your choice./
Hearing this, Amadeus began to think about what to do. After a bit more pondering, he decided to go to the place the nearby group had mentioned.
The next morning, he woke up with the sunrise. Looking at the sleeping Grass and noticing Rain's absence, he shook his head.He woke up Grass, reminded her once again not to accept the Wind's offer, and went to the place where the nobleman had been attacked.After walking for almost half an hour through the slums, he began listening to what the nearby shops and stalls were saying. This was one of the few trading spots in the area. He moved among the people, gathering information. After almost an hour of eavesdropping, he could draw the following conclusions:
1.Not only the nobleman's daughter but also most of his guards were injured in the attack.
2.All the attackers were either killed or committed suicide.
3.The nobleman, his daughter, and the surviving guards took refuge in a nearby district and called for doctors.
Having made these conclusions and thinking he would not get more information here, he went towards the place where the nobleman had taken refuge. It didn't take long, and in about five minutes, he was near a building that looked like an inn. However, it didn't seem like a place where nobles would stay.As he approached, he saw the servants talking.Using his small stature, he hid behind a corner to overhear their conversation.
"Such a shame about that beautiful girl."
"Yes, it's a loss, even though it's not our business, but still a shame."
"Baron Clement is truly unfortunate. After his wife's death, he treasured his daughter, and now no doctor can cure her."
"It's none of our business. Better not speak about the nobles' personal matters, or we'll be punished if he hears us."
Listening to their conversation, Amadeus got lost in thought. After a minute, he said,
"System, is there a way to subdue him?"
/The system can help this time, given the circumstances, but there are conditions. First, this is a one-time help.Secondly, it will cost 10,000 gold coins on credit, with a charge of 1,000 gold coins per month until the entire debt is paid. Third, it will still depend mostly on you rather than the system. Do you agree?/
Hearing about the 10,000 gold credit, Amadeus grimaced but still said,
"Agreed."
/Ding!/
/You have received a Slave Contract Scroll./
*Slave Contract Scroll*
A scroll that both parties sign voluntarily, where one party surrenders their life to the other. Breaking the contract results in death.
Seeing the scroll's description, Amadeus's brow twitched.
"And who would ever sign such a scroll?" he muttered.
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