Aftermath

I didn't even think of looking back.

I just kept sprinting as fast as humanly possible, and I don't know how long I ran. When I finally felt like I have ran far enough, I stopped to catch a breather.

I'm now in the middle of the crevice of the mountain.. Nanoxate is completely out of sight. I let out a sigh of relief and I sat myself up against a wall. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, trying to rationalize what the hell just went down in Nanoxate.

It's no good. I can't think of anything logical at all.

Maybe the chief and his son had a huge disagreement and it led to their fight? But then, something on such a large scale..

Just ridiculous.

Anyway, I have to think of the next step ahead for me. It's very apparent that I cannot return to Nanoxate anymore. It's probably burning to the ground, and it would cease to exist.

Think, Javean, think!

Where can I go to now that will accept me, or at least not discriminate against me?

Let's think of the cities nearby.

Dooratias, the city of the warrior.. they do not exactly have the best relationship with Nanoxate, and trade between the two cities are heavily restricted.. However, it's not illegal to visit Dooratias and even reside in it. Just that you are not allowed to spend your coins on anything combat related there.

Where else is close by and friendly.. Reskashen? Mattingations?

They're all too far away, and I do not know how to go to these places alone.

If I travel a little further down the crevice, I would reach Dooratias. Alright, I guess I should go there for now. My priority would be to find work to earn money. Living quarters come second. I can always stay a night in a 24/7 restaurant. I have nothing to my name. 3000 coins and a long sword is all I have in my backpack...

I'm thirsty. Magic really comes in handy at times like this.

I said a little chant in an ancient language, and extended my right hand forward.

Water formed from thin air, and remained afloat in the air for a moment.

I cusp my hands in a hurry to catch all the water I possibly could before it falls to the ground.

*GULP* *GULP*

Ah, that was really refreshing.

I primarily use water magic so that I can completely forgo the need of spending money on water.

There are many types of magic, but it's probably near impossible to learn any of them now since Nanoxate is gone, and other magic villages probably wouldn't teach them to outsiders.

I can only use Fire, Water/Ice and light magic.

Fire magic's the most offensive magic I possess; I can shoot fireballs from my fingertips. There are many ways to utilize fire magic, but being the incompetent mage I am, fireballs are all I can manage.

Water/Ice magic has high utility. I use Water magic to clean myself and drink for free, and I mainly use Ice magic to coat my sword with ice. Anything that gets struck by the Ice-coated sword would be frozen briefly, restricting its movement.

Light magic is also mainly for utility. Those very capable in light magic use them for light shows in performances, creating beautiful optical illusions. All I can do with light magic is bending light in a way that defies science, allowing me to magnify my immediate field of vision.

All in all, I might be an incompetent mage, but being able to do this much would still be very useful for my survival. After all, I'll probably be wandering around for a considerable amount of time until I can afford a cheap place to live in.

I'll probably be alone all the way too... If I have to engage in combat, I would have to rely on my sword solely. My magic power is simply too weak to be used by itself.

As I think of all these things and the next step forward, I realized I reached the doorstep of Dooratias. How many hours have passed since...?

I didn't take notice, but the sky's already bright, meaning that I have probably been walking for hours on end, possibly six to seven hours.

My body finally realizes how weary it feels, and all I want to do is to go to sleep right now. But first, I'll have to enter Dooratias..

Two burly men clad in armor stood guard at the entrance to the city.

"Your Identification card, please." The guard on the right requested.

Nanoxate citizens have their Identification cards sealed in a magical realm, and we can materialize them in this realm anytime we need to by casting a spell.

The guards immediately took notice of what I was doing, and one of them started to make conversation with me after he took my card.

"You're from Nanoxate, huh? Where you're from is all the news today. Nanoxate has burnt to the ground, and it is said that everyone living in Nanoxate is killed. The cause of the inferno is unknown, so I'm surprised to actually see someone from Nanoxate in the flesh." He looked at my identification card in awe, probably surprised by the fact that I'm not dead.

Everyone in Nanoxate is killed, huh..?

I would say that 90%-95% ended up dead? There would be people like me who live at the edge of the city, and they would have been able to escape before it was too late..

Anyway, even if that was the case, I couldn't care less. I had no real connections with anyone in Nanoxate, and all that matters is that I'm still alive.

"You're clear. You can enter Dooratias now. I do believe you know the trading rules between our cities, right?" The guard returned my identification guard and opened the gate.

"Yeah, I understand the trade restrictions that are in place. Say, do you have any slave establishments in Dooratias? I plan to sell myself off as one to earn money quickly in the short term."

The guard nodded in response, and told me that one could be found easily around the town square.

Slavery in this world is essentially selling yourself off to a rich family to work for them; it's not necessarily a bad thing. The slave establishment is essentially an agent that sells you off to suitable clients, and the slave actually gets to decide how long he/she wants to work before signing a contract with the establishment. There are many policies in place to protect the rights of slaves and ensure they are paid properly, so I have no worries.

The duties are mostly housekeeping and various other tasks that requires physical labor. From what I know, the pay isn't too shabby and I can make up to 10000 coins in a month, which would at least allow me to solve my food problem once I am independent and free again.

I guess I'll sign a 2 month contract with the establishment.. 20000 coins would let me live in a cheap run down inn for a year. What I do in that year to earn money is yet to be decided.

I took a quick look around. Dooratias looks almost exactly the same as Nanoxate. Houses and wooden cottages all around, and the streets are mainly populated with merchants and trading stores..

All right, time to look for the slave establishment. It would suck to have to relinquish my freedom, but it's only a temporary thing. I have no skills, education nor money, and all I can do is hard labor, and becoming a slave is probably the best paying job I can get for now. It's funny that in school, we learn that the word "Slave" means "a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them", but it has somehow evolved into a legal service where people voluntarily become slaves, and they are treated with respect and paid proper wages too.

How I'll live from now will probably be no different from before, as I was already fully independent aside from receiving financial aid and housing from the Nanoxate government..

with a little bit of hard work, I would be able to build up my finances and get a place to live as well. What happens after that is unknown, but for now, survival is the number one priority.

I clench my fists with determination to build a better life for myself, and head off further into the Dooratias city.