“Stay silent, make no attempts to escape”
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Basic 7
Gain 1 exp
Sara is in a daze. She had awoken screaming, the command had silenced her. Sara was sitting at a camp fire.
“I don't know if it's wise to keep doing that, if you break the kid we won't be able to improve the product before we can sell her off. She was supposed to be a big payday but even I can tell she is no different from the other children. Weird title though.”
Sara hears them talking but it's not really being comprehended.
“We've almost reached the camp, when she is inside a cage I'll only need to use silence, that will ease the burden of the spell.”
-----
Sara sits in a cage now. The silence command was given again.
“We have to get moving, boss said we spun up the hornets' nest with the last grab. Apparently the nearby town’s guard been mobilized to hunt for us as well as a bounty been placed at the local adventurer guild.
Sara has an idle thought about ears and how much she would get for the right ears of the men around her. Not the left ones though.
Sara doesn't recognize the children in the other cages, but they recognize her.
-----
My father is dead. These bastards around me killed him. They have placed me in a cage, and the cage has been placed into a covered wagon. I am with seven other children, they are younger than me, and they are from my village. I never learned their names growing up. I just stuck with my own family. They are whispering about me though. At least a few voiceless comments. I ignore them.
-----
I don't know how far we've gone but it's been at least 4 days. Going by daily reminders. We're fed once a day and they don't care about bathroom breaks. It smells horrible in here. They seem to be moving at a terrible quick pace. There is a change going on now. It sounds like other wagons are being unloaded. Our turn comes shortly after.
“Do not resist”
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Basic 8
Gain 1 exp
The other children comply immediately. The command doesn't affect me. Is it because of the skill gain or because the spell was given to multiple people. I comply with the command anyways. Getting cast on directly is not something I wish to risk.
Our cages are opened and we are led to a holding room. There was no opportunity to see what the outside of the building looked like. We are told to strip off all our clothing. We do so, I hope my hesitation was not noticed. The clothing is burnt in front of us, it doesn't improve the smell. We are then bathed rather roughly and given simple cloth tunics and pants. Then down a set of stairs into a set holding cells. In we go, the cell doors clicks. The other children are just standing in the spot they were led to. I go into the corner.
If I am resisting the mind dominance spell when it's not directed at me then perhaps with a little more mental fortitude I could resist when it is. The strengthening of my aura could be useful as well. I will lose the handy way of keeping track of time but I don't think these slavers are here to sell us for labor. The other children are too young and that talk of improving us. I fear this is an exp farm. If they can get these children to level five they will at least be worth seventy exp when slaughtered. The numbers get even better if they can squeeze out more levels. The man from the first night was afraid I was going to be broken, so that's what I'll have to be.
I walk over to one of the standing kids and rip his sleeve off. It won't do for me to scream and if my clothes are damaged then they might investigate me more. I stick the wad of cloth in my mouth and open my status screen.
You gained lvl 7
Cha raised to 19
Men raised to 35
Soul raised to 68
I scream into the cloth. The soul fire is hotter now, never did six at once before, the headache is about the same as the first time I leveled but now my skin feels like it's crawling, while still on fire. The eternity lasts even longer. Look at me comparing infinite sets, and the system only gave me Intermediate 8 in math. I can only think that because it's already over. I throw the cloth out of the cell. I'm exhausted but I will my ring to adjust my level to one and my soul to eleven, if they start an argument over my supposed level perhaps that can be to my advantage.
I sit in the corner, knees to my face and pull my aura back to where I thought I could handle it. The children in front of me gasp. It's too much at this point, the soul gain has made it worse by a lot, I let my aura ease out a bit. The children are milling around at this point, some start crying. They are remembering what they just went through. I only hope they were too zonked out to notice the cloth ripping. My aura is not helping the mood but I will survive this, my father died after I made a promise to him.
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Basic 9
Gain 1 exp
That's good.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Core] Basic 8
Gain 1 exp
That's not so good, Cecelia, mom, told me my ring wouldn't be able to hide my tier change. The aura grows denser for a moment.
-----
“Hey which one of you brats ripped their clothes.”
The boy with the missing sleeve is taken out of our cell and beaten in front of us. I can't control myself, I start murmuring to myself. The aura grows denser still, the other children huddle in the opposite corner from me. They are together with the beaten boy, his name is Timothy, I can hear them asking if he is okay. They are too far away to hear me repeat myself just two words over and over again. “I'm sorry”.
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Apprentice 1
Apprentice - you can negate a mental attack at twice the cost of the mana attack
Gain 2 exp
-----
You have gained [Arcane Mana Core] Basic 9
Gain 1 exp
It's only been a couple hours. I don't have a way to burn my mana. Maybe if they try to dominate mind on me, but my goal here is to be left alone. The guard arrives with food. When he leaves I grab mine and eat in silence. The others are chattering in their corner. When I am done I place my plate near the door and return to my corner. Two guards come back. One is collecting plates, the other speaks.
“Who is ready for some exercise and levels?”
The kids are hopeful for any change in the situation, they latch onto the words of their jailer. I'm making the best of staring at a specific pebble on the ground.
“You girl, are you coming.”
One of girls volunteers, “That's Sara she voiceless, my mama told me she has no system and is worthless”
Grateful for the hate for once, the guards are standing in my aura, I don't dare try to adjust it. I just have to hope.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Ah, no point in wasting our time, go head up with the rest of ‘em.” It was the guard who was picking up the plates.
There is a pause, and then a chorus of feet going up the stairs, the cell door is closed after the plate guard finishes his task. I'm still staring at mister pebble when he leaves. When they are back hours later, I hope the pebble I am staring at is the same as Mr pebble from before or at least a close enough neighbor that the guards won't notice.
“A pity girl you hadn't come with, everyone was fed but you will go hungry.” The guard closes the cell and leaves.
Mr pebble, things just got worse.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Core] Apprentice 1
Apprentice - you can now draw mana from your core, keep growing
Gain 2 exp
A lot worse.
-----
This happened five more times, we are fed, the kids leave, they are fed again and I go hungry. At least not moving is preventing me from needing so many calories.
I’m up to apprentice five in my core, three in mental. Ha, you get the joke Ms pebble right? I ask you cause I'm pretty sure your husband's head is a piece of granite. She doesn't laugh, I'm starting to suspect I know what drew Mr and Ms pebble together. They may have met because of me but they won't talk to me anymore now that they have each other. Worst pebble friends ever.
The bars of my cell rattles. I don't look but I am paying attention now.
“Girl, why aren't you joining the others.”
See ms pebble, he is feeling what I feel when you ignore me. My arm is grabbed, he tries to get me to my feet. My legs weren't having it, I've been in the same sitting position for too long today. My shoulder pops, I scream, I hope catatonic people scream when they feel pain, or at the very least the guard knows as much as I do about catatonic people.
You have gained [Yell] Apprentice 4
Str raised to 15
“Quit your yawling.”
He punctuates his statement by slamming his meaty palm into my shoulder. It worked, but it hurt.
You have gained the skill [Resist Blunt Force] Basic 1
Resist Blunt Force - you resist blunt force trauma
Basic - slaps burn a little less
Gain 1 exp
That's a low blow system, I miss Marie and my mom, the lady and Belna, drake and the guild master I miss them all. Even the guard J name twins and Sencea. No can't give in, must maintain my aura when guards are around no fluctuations. Speaking of, the guard must have given up on trying to make me stand and had thrown me over his shoulder. My life as a sack of potatoes is short lived, I'm placed in the corner of a couch. The guard tried to sit me up right, but I am the wet noodle and listed into the corner. I resist the urge to scan the room. I can see legs in my awkward position.
“This the one not reacting to anything.” a new voice, mister legs.
“She reacted plenty when I wrenched her shoulder, my ears are still ringing.” Meaty palm responds.
“I believe I've informed you before not to damage the goods.”
“Ah she right as rain, I put the shoulder right back in its place.”
“Get Albert and Frank.”
“Right away boss.”
So mister legs is the boss. He comes over and attempts to right me again. I think the wet noodle leaves me in a more awkward position than last time. There is some shuffling behind me. I hear the old fools voice, that fucker, no control, control.
“What do you want, I've lost everything dealing with you.”
“You lost everything because you insisted this girl was worth the money I was paying you.”
It's getting a lot harder to control, I'm biting my tongue.
“She is worth it, she got the soul of at least eight children her age.”
“She has the feel of a ten year old soul, some of the goods are already bigger then she is already.”
“That can't be right, she distinctly had more soul when she was born, she may of been voiceless but that shouldn't impact her value.”
“What does that title even mean?”
“It means she can't hear the voice of god, she has no system.”
“Frank the stone.”
Ah shit, I will my ring to blank my status screen and show it in Common. I hope it's enough. The stone is pressed against my skin, I have to hope they don't try to use another mana interface on me, faking a fainting might be hard.
Tier 1 : Human lvl 1 [NOTIFICATIONS]
Title:[Voiceless]
Strength - 5
Agility - 5
Perception - 5
Constitution - 5
Presence- 5
Mental Fortitude 5
Intelligence - 5
Soul - 11
Skills:
Earned Titles: [Voiceless]
Please work, please work, please work.
“The hell, she has no skills.”
Hoping no systems means no skills right. I can only hope no one has experience with this.
“If she has no system, maybe this is what the stone defaults to.”
O thank the system.
“Frank, I need you to compel her to talk. What is her name Albert”
“Sara.”
Well time for operation shatter ear drums.
“Sara, you need to answer the next few questions asked of you.”
I don't know where I rate mana wise against an adult but I know it took half my mana to negate that. I have to hope this will dissuade them from trying again. I slap my hands to my ears and scream. I keep screaming until my voice is hoarse. I'm breathing heavily and trying to keep my eyes unfocused. They are shouting now.
“Gods my ears, damnit, Albert go get Vance.”
More shuffling, a moment and then some more. “Vance put her at the end of the cell block away from the others. The other merchandise seem to think she's cursed.”
“Why not just get rid of her.” o meaty palm is back, guess his name is Vance.
“We kicked up a shit storm when we took her, if it catches us, she might be our only bargaining chip.”
Their talking becomes too quiet to understand and soon enough I'm back to being a sack of potatoes, he goes down four cells before opening my home. He lays me against the wall. He turns to leave, then stops.
“You ain't merchandise anymore, a few less fingers to pay back for my ears should do it.”
He has a knife out, he lifts my hand as if he is going to kiss it, he leaning over with his knife hand approaching my pinkie. I snap my aura to just the two of us. It's horrible, at this density I feel like it's not even worth breathing. Vance is crawling backwards, he hits the cell door. He starts murmuring “it's not worth it”, he keeps repeating it. Then he starts stabbing his own chest with the knife. It doesn't take him long to expire.
I let my aura diffuse out, it still feels heavy. I feel something push into me. I can't describe it.
Gained 64 Exp from unidentified source
I promptly fainted.
-----
For once I didn't have to act catatonic, when the guard brought back the other kids there was a lot of shouting. I think I was shouted at and shaken, it didn't matter.
-----
My eyes focus again, I'm on my side. Vance is gone, the pool of blood is still there. Next to that is my dinner. I don't want to but I have to survive. I'm mechanical as I eat, I don't taste anything. When I'm done I lay on my back. Staring at a ceiling crack I notice a faint amount of mana, there is a blob of mana to both sides of the initial blob. They feel evenly spaced. I stare some more then feel a familiar pinch in my eye.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Sight] Basic 6
Gain 1 exp
Seeing the exp gain, I turn and vomit. I move to the back corner away from the blood and vomit. I go back to looking at the ceiling, it's a different blob this time. I can tell more details, arms, legs and a head. They look like they are laying down. I study the other blobs for some time.
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Apprentice 7
Gain 2 exp
-----
It's another two kid cycles before my mana has been full enough for my doom to start ticking again.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Core] Apprentice 6
Gain 2 exp
Both mana sight and mental resist leveled twice in that time. I can clearly see the people above me. I can even tell when one leaves the bubble of my perception in a certain direction that they are heading towards the stairs that lead to the cells. It's definitely the guards barracks above me. A pity that my aura is not dense enough to matter when it's expanded to reach them. Is it a pity, do I want to cause more deaths. Vance is dead, was it worth my pinky? I can't tell if it's my self loathing or my aura that's causing this line of thought.
I push my aura out more to clear my head. I am determined to survive this. If that means condemning more slavers to suicidal thoughts then so be it.
I consider the problem, as tempting as it is to pick them off one at a time when they drop off my daily meal, that's just a recipe for them starving me out. No, it has to be through the floor. My aura is a bubble around me, I can make it contract or expand why not shape it. That will be my focus, not that much else to do.
-----
I saw another three kid cycle and then they never came back, now it's meal cycles which there have been two. Mana sight hit basic 9, Core is 8 and 9 in resist. I'm sitting on my level up. I'm focused on just making a bump on my aura, just a bump. Then it happens.
You have gained [Pariah Aura Manipulation]
Pariah Aura Manipulation - you are treading a dangerous path
Basic - you can distort your pariah aura
Gain 1 exp
That's ominous. I don't care, I'm surviving. I add my two Men stats and suffer the soul fire burn.
You gained lvl 8
Cha raised to 20
Men raised to 37
Soul raised to 71
-----
I was screaming, no one came to check. Food is still arriving on the daily. When I finish eating, my chest begins to burn. It doesn't stop burning. My core feels alive.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Core] Competent 1
Competent - your core regens its own mana, continue to grow
Gain 4 exp
Guess it is alive now. Even if I escape, there is no stopping it, is there. I stare at the ceiling, watching the guards mill about. It's not a pinch this time, it feels like it's stretching up and down.
You have gained [Arcane Mana Sight] Apprentice 1
Apprentice - the hole expands, meow, it now can see beyond the angles of your mundane eyes
Gain 2 exp
Why the hell did my system notice just put a meow in its text. I have a bad feeling about this. I look at my hand, I see the mana flowing in it, I move my hand just outside my peripheral vision. I can still see the mana. That's freaky, is my vision going to become a sphere around my head? I try not to think about it or the meow.
You have gained [Resist Mental Attacks] Competent 1
Competent - negation only cost half as much
Gain 4 exp
That's just lame after the last two.
-----
It's been thirty meal cycles when it happened.
You have been expelled from the adventurer guild
Voiceless Tier 1 Adventurer reverts back to Voiceless
I found that I can still cry. It is a long and hard cry.
