Enslaved by the Crown: The Weakest Slave Has the Strongest Ability

”Hah!”

Eldrin jolted awake.

Air rushed into his lungs so quickly that he immediately began coughing. His chest hurt, his throat felt dry, and for a few seconds he had no idea where he was.

He stared at the ceiling.

A medical room.

Right.

Ender.

The strange darkness.

The three gates.

Eldrin slowly turned his head.

Something appeared in front of him.

He blinked.

Nothing was actually there.

Yet he could see it.

Lines of pale text seemed to hang in the air wherever he focused his eyes. They were perfectly clear, almost as though someone had written them directly across the inside of his vision.

He sat up.

The strange display remained.

For a moment, Eldrin simply stared.

Then he read.

—————— SHADE PATHWAY ——————

NICKNAME — Shadow Child

Novice

Mana — 0

Skills

Shadow Step — 0%

Veil — 0%

NEXT AWAKENING — ???

Eldrin frowned.

”Shade...”

He whispered the word.

The display didn’t change.

He looked at Shadow Step.

Nothing happened.

Then he looked at Veil.

Still nothing.

Are these... abilities?

His gaze returned to the final line.

NEXT AWAKENING — ???

There was something strange about it.

Eldrin stared at it.

So I just have to get stronger?

The display gave him no answer.

Perhaps the next stage wasn’t something that could be reached merely by collecting mana or practicing a skill.

Perhaps he had to understand what Shade actually meant to him first.

He didn’t know.

CLICK.

The door opened.

Ender stuck his head inside.

”Oh, you’re awake.”

Eldrin looked toward him.

”Yeah.”

Ender gave him a quick once-over.

”Good. You look less dead.”

”Thanks.” Eldrin said.

”I’ve got to go to army camp for inspection... Bye”

He took a few steps backward toward the door.

Then pointed at Eldrin.

”And remember...., Keep this quiet.”

”Don’t tell anyone.”

Then he disappeared through the doorway.

Eldrin slowly pushed himself out of the bed.

’Ender knew.’

He had seen the awakening.

And if Ender recognized what had happened, there was a very good chance Ennessa had too.

Eldrin’s expression tightened.

He had never been able to understand what went on inside that girl’s head.

Ender was simple enough. Annoying at times, unpredictable, occasionally arrogant, but simple. Eldrin usually knew what Ender wanted within a few minutes of meeting him.

Ennessa was different.

Whenever Eldrin thought he had figured out what she wanted, she did something that made him reconsider everything.

Now she knew about his awakening.

Maybe she already knew what Pathway he had awakened.

Maybe she had told someone.

The thought made him uncomfortable.

He couldn’t remain in the medical room forever.

Eldrin stepped into the corridor and began making his way toward the library.

After several minutes, something unpleasant caught his attention.

A smell.

He stopped.

Looked down at himself.

Then sniffed cautiously at his sleeve.

His face twisted.

”...Oh.”

The hospital had cleaned some of the blood from his body, but after the awakening and the night spent unconscious, sweat and dried medicine had turned him into something considerably less pleasant.

Perhaps that was why Ender had remained near the doorway.

Eldrin groaned and turned around.

There was no point walking into the library smelling like he had crawled out of a battlefield.

The bathing area was in the slave quarters.

That meant another twenty minutes of walking.

He hurried.

By the time the familiar buildings came into view, Eldrin was already thinking about how quickly he could wash, change, and get back to the library.

He had a new Pathway to understand.

Two skills he had never used.

A strange display that had appeared inside his vision.

And, most troublesome of all...

Ennessa probably knew.

Eldrin pushed open the door to the bathing area.....

.

By the time Eldrin returned to the library.

His body still felt different.

There was a strange warmth moving beneath his skin, almost like something had been rebuilt inside him while he slept. His muscles felt tighter. Even the bruises from his training seemed less painful.

He needed answers.

He know one thing about magic: every Pathway had its own rules.

Different mana circulation.

Different methods of cultivation.

Different abilities.

He had read about fourteen recognized Pathways, each developing in its own direction. Some were useful in combat. Others were valued for healing, crafting, exploration, investigation, or countless other professions.

A newly awakened person couldn’t simply copy someone else’s method.

Their mana had to be understood first.

Their Pathway had to be cultivated according to its nature.

That was why Eldrin hadn’t wanted to waste time.

If he could understand the Shade Pathway quickly enough, he could eventually take requests outside the estate. Hunting magical creatures, escorting merchants, retrieving materials..... awakened people were paid far more for that kind of work than ordinary servants.

Money.

That was what he needed.

He still had eighty silver coins left before he could buy back his freedom.

And one year remained before Kaiser’s deadline.

Eldrin couldn’t afford to spend either carelessly.

He needed the money.

He needed to become stronger.

And after that...

He would return for his father’s body.

That goal had never changed.

Only now, he finally had another weapon to work with.

The strange display from earlier appeared again when he focused.

Shade Pathway.

The words were still there.

Shadow Step.

Veil.

Two abilities.

Eldrin stared at them for a moment before dismissing the thought.

Reading first.

He knew where to begin.

The magical reference section occupied one of the deeper wings of the library. Eldrin had passed it countless times over the past year, but until now he had only skimmed the material whenever his normal duties allowed.

Today, he walked straight toward it.

He followed the brass labels along the shelves until one finally appeared.

SHADE

Eldrin stopped.

There were far fewer books here than in some of the other Pathway sections.

That alone caught his attention.

Eldrin crouched and searched the lower shelves.

The first book he pulled out was enormous and covered in notes.

Too advanced.

The next discussed historical practitioners.

Not what he needed.

Finally, he found a thin, worn volume with a plain black cover.

There were only a few words on the front.

A Beginner’s Guide to the Shade Pathway

Eldrin smiled faintly.

”Perfect.”

He carried it back toward his desk.