Lord of Rot

”Work points,” Big Beard said, ”are a slave’s money! You’ll get one more free meal tomorrow, then everyone has to work! Work earns you work points, and work points can be exchanged for food, water, and even clothes and sugar!”

”Sugar?!” a slave exclaimed.

That was something a slave could never hope to touch.

Big Beard chuckled. ”If you perform well, it’s not impossible for you to shed your slave status and become freemen in the future. You could even buy your own house in Porcupine Territory and live under the Lord’s protection.”

”Shed our slave status?” The group, which had been gloomy and lifeless, suddenly buzzed with excitement.

”Can we really shed our slave status?”

”Of course,” Big Beard said with conviction. ”Because I was once a slave myself!”

’From a slave to a man in charge... what did you have to do?’

Luca didn’t know, but he desperately wanted to shed his slave status.

Big Beard was a good talker, and he filled Luca and the others with hope for the lives that awaited them.

”Alright, this is your dormitory,” Big Beard said, stopping at the door of a building. ”Follow me inside. Everyone gets their own bed. I’ll be back for you tomorrow to tell you what to do after you wake up.”

Fifty people surged into the room.

By the light of the torches, they could see clearly—they were strange, two-tiered beds.

Big Beard casually assigned spots. ”You, top bunk. You, bottom bunk. Everyone must remember their spot, or you can spend tomorrow outside feeding the mosquitoes.”

Once everyone was in their beds, Big Beard spoke. ”You can rest now or go to the toilet. But the moment you hear the whistle blow outside, not another sound. I must emphasize one point: the fifty of you are a single unit. If one person is punished, everyone gets punished with them.”

With that, Big Beard turned and left.

Luca had been assigned a top bunk. He lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

’The glory of my ancestral bloodline must be protecting me,’ he prayed silently in his heart. ’Furnace!’

That night, Luca had a very long dream. This dream was not a fantasy, but a memory.

His parents had died. He and his six siblings were captured and sold into slavery.

Until recently, a man on horseback had taken his younger brothers and sisters away. Only Luca, because of his scrawny frame, was left behind.

He watched the bald man on the horse and rushed forward, begging him to take him along.

But the bald man suddenly turned his head and roared at Luca: ”SKREEE—!”

The cry was piercing, just like... a whistle blast!

Luca’s eyes snapped open. He quickly rolled over and jumped off the bed.

They rushed out and saw Big Beard again.

”Let’s go. You’re in luck, there’s work to be done!”

...

Leech, who was up early, stretched.

He sat at the dining table, picked up his milk, and took a sip.

Then he picked up a piece of crispy toasted bread, took a bite, and asked Kro, who was eating at the same table, ”Where’s Gelan?”

”He’s organizing the records,” Kro Camel said. ”He was complaining all day yesterday that the records for over four thousand people were driving him crazy, but he was smiling the whole time. I really don’t get that guy.”

Leech pretended not to understand that Kro was speaking up for Gelan.

”In a couple of days, we can start a large-scale expansion of the serf land-reclamation teams. We’ll open up another 4,000 acres to plant corn and potatoes.”

”You’re very confident in corn?”

”Our environment is only suitable for that kind of crop,” Leech said. ”Besides, just being able to eat our fill is good enough, isn’t it?”

”That’s right,” Kro nodded.

”I’ll leave the rest to you,” Leech said. ”I have to go to Iron Valley. Remember to have Gelan copy all the records on anyone whose ancestors had a bit of a name for themselves and give them to me.”

If someone’s ancestor had been a Knight or a Caster, Leech was willing to use bloodline herbs to help them awaken their lineage, or send them to night school.

The power of a bloodline brought glory; that much seemed to be true, for now.

”Yes, my Lord,” Kro replied.

After his meal, Leech mounted Rocket and took to the sky...

KREEE—!

The piercing cry echoed.

Luca subconsciously looked up at the sky. The sight of the figure soaring high on outstretched wings filled him with an involuntary sense of worship.

”That’s the Lord,” said a man working nearby. ”He has a Flying Horse with an eagle’s head and a horse’s body that can fly. That horse can even understand what we say. If you can become a Soldier of Porcupine Territory, you might be able to get a closer look at that Flying Horse.”

”Become a Soldier?” Luca bent down and picked up a silkworm as thick as his arm.

His assigned job was to raise and feed the silkworms and keep them from escaping.

The other slaves who came with him weren’t so lucky. They had to go out and collect leaves, and they often couldn’t pick them faster than the silkworms could eat.

”Yeah,” the man said with a nod. ”The Lord picks new Soldiers every so often. Each one gets brand-new armor and a sharp sword. This is also the best chance for you slaves. As long as you can become a Soldier, you can immediately shed your slave status.”

”When will the Lord be picking Soldiers again?”

”Not sure. But you’re so skinny. Could you even move in armor that weighs dozens of pounds? You should focus on earning some work points and fattening yourself up a bit first.”

”You’re right!” Luca nodded, taking the words to heart.

He now had a new goal: to become a Soldier of Porcupine Territory!