Shadow Slave

For a few minutes after that, Sunny was in a dark mood. But then he pulled himself out of it and inhaled deeply, trying to enjoy the fresh air. Indeed, air like that was hard to come by in the real world: micro dust and other pollutants made it rough and unpleasant, not to mention the general stench of the outskirts. In the better parts of the city, sophisticated filtration systems worked diligently — however, filtrated air tasted sterile and stagnant. Only the very rich had access to truly pleasant breathing.

And here he was, able to enjoy an unlimited amount of pristine, delicious air like a second-generation chaebol.

'Truly, being chosen by the Spell has its benefits.'

If only there was no dreadful cold, his feet did not ache, and his wrists and back were not in agony!

The slave caravan slowly dragged itself up the mountain, with more and more slaves stumbling and periodically falling to the ground. A couple of times, those who could not walk anymore were taken off the chain and unceremoniously tossed off the road, down into the abyss that loomed to the left of it. Sunny watched them fall with a bit of compassion.

'Poor fellows. Rest in peace, you pitiful souls.'

All in all, he was in good spirits.

It was a bit strange to feel good amidst this disaster of a Nightmare, but, thankfully, Sunny had time to prepare himself for this eventuality. When the symptoms of the Spell first appeared, he did not handle it well. Dying before you even turn seventeen was not something one could easily cope with.

But, in the end, it only took Sunny several days to come to terms with it. After visiting his parents' makeshift resting place — well, actually, since he was too poor to afford even the cheapest slot in the remembrance facility, it was just two lines carved into an old tree — and adding a third line for himself, Sunny suddenly became relaxed and carefree.

After all, he didn't have to worry about earning money, finding food, protecting himself and planning for the future anymore. Once the worst that could happen had already happened, what else was there to fear?

So, becoming a slave and slowly freezing to death was not that much of a shock.

Besides, he knew that cold would not kill him — simply because he had already seen what fate was awaiting the caravan further up the mountain. The picture of piled bones littering the ground was still fresh in his mind. Most likely, it was a pack of monsters that were going to do the caravan in… and by the look of it, the attack was going to take place in a matter of hours, not days.

So he still had a chance.

runes again. The last time he was too outraged by the Aspect and didn't study the Attributes well. While not as important as one's Aspect, the Attributes were often the deciding factor between life and death. They represented one's natural traits

strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and bad, are drawn by

faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by

Shadows] Attribute Description: "Shadows recognize you as

'Hmmm… Interesting.'

that he was destined for a certain fate — to die miserably and vanish without a trace, for example. But after reading the

one of the super rare useless

[Mark of Divinity] was more a less straightforward — it was supposed to allow passage into certain sacred places

to do — at least not until the sun hid behind the mountain and the sky began to darken. To his surprise, Sunny found himself able to see perfectly in the darkness, as though it was still as bright as day. This ability alone was nothing to scoff at, and it was quite possible that shadows would reward him with some other,

something good. I

caravan! Prepare

clearing where the road widened was somewhat protected from the wind by a protruding mass of rock, but it

their horses. The heavy wagon carrying food, water and other cargo, to which the main chain was firmly affixed, was pushed forward to block the wind. While looking around, Sunny noticed the young soldier from before watching the mountain with

'What a weirdo.'

ones, like Sunny, were forced to sit at the outer end of the circle, with their backs freezing in the cold. Of

Imperials!" he hissed,

the slaves, giving them water and food. Sunny, just like everybody else, received a few sips of icy water and a small piece of rock-hard, moldy bread. Despite

looks of it, he wasn't the

walking behind him looked around in

gods, they used to feed me better even in the

on the

us innocent men in the dungeon were there waiting to visit

had noticed them before, clustering here and there along the road, and even noted how pretty those resilient things looked contrasted against the white. The shifty

would advise against eating those,