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

Four silver wasn’t an extraordinary reward.

But it was enough.

More importantly, it was the kind of work Eldrin needed if he intended to make hunting a regular source of income.

He carried the notice back to the counter and registered the request.

The woman behind the desk recorded it in his ring before returning the paper.

”Solmere outskirt is a little distance from here.”

”I know.”

Outside, he immediately began calculating the cost.

A horse would make things easier.

It would also eat into the reward before he’d even reached the hunting grounds.

Not worth it yet.

Public transport was slower, but considerably cheaper.

For someone trying to buy back his freedom, every silver mattered.

He took the evening coach instead.

The journey lasted nearly two hours.

By the time Eldrin stepped down at the outskirts of Solmere, it was close to nine in the evening.

The settlement was already quiet.

Most businesses had closed, and only a handful of lamps remained lit along the road leading toward the fields.

Eldrin tightened the strap of his equipment and looked toward the dark countryside.

Hunting at this hour wasn’t ideal.

He knew that.

Most monsters became bolder once the roads emptied, and inexperienced hunters had a nasty habit of becoming prey themselves.

But Shade had given him one advantage he didn’t have before.

The darkness wasn’t nearly as difficult to read anymore.

The fields stretched ahead in shades of grey and black.

Fences.

Trees.

Low stone walls.

He could distinguish them clearly enough to move without a lantern.

Eldrin left the road.

The reports had placed the creature somewhere near an abandoned grazing area west of the settlement.

He followed the edge of the fields, checking for disturbed soil or broken fencing.

Nothing.

For nearly twenty minutes, there was only the sound of wind moving through the grass.

Then he found the first sign.

A fence post had been snapped cleanly in half.

Eldrin crouched beside it.

The break was fresh.

Eldrin followed the broken fence until the grass became high enough to hide his boots. Something large had passed through recently; several stalks were bent in the same direction.

He lowered himself and examined the ground.

The tracks were strange. They looked almost like paw marks, except the front impressions were too long and the claws had dug deep into the soil.

That’s bigger than a wolf.

A faint sound came from somewhere ahead.

Eldrin straightened, hand already moving toward his weapon. He didn’t hear footsteps, only the soft movement of grass being disturbed.

He turned toward the sound and waited.

Nothing.

The wind moved through the field again.

His eyes narrowed.

He took another careful step forward.

Something rushed through the grass behind him.

Eldrin spun around just as a dark shape burst from the shadows.

He barely had time to throw himself aside.

skrrrch

A claw ripped across his coat, missing his ribs by inches.

He landed hard, rolled through the dirt, and came up with his weapon in hand.

The creature had already turned toward him.

Under the moonlight, he finally saw it clearly.

It resembled a wolf, but there was nothing natural about it. Its body was longer, its shoulders unnaturally broad, and pale markings ran beneath its fur like faintly glowing veins. Its eyes reflected the moonlight with an eerie blue-white sheen.

Eldrin’s grip tightened.

”So you’re the one.”

The beast lowered its head.

For one brief second, neither moved.

Then it charged.

Eldrin waited until the last possible moment before shifting his weight.

The creature lunged past him.

He swung sword hard.

The blade struck its side.

A deep cut opened beneath its ribs.

The beast stumbled, snarled, and spun around with far more speed than Eldrin expected.

Too fast.

He barely raised his sword in time.

CLANK

The impact drove him backward.

Pain shot through his arms as the claws scraped against the sword.

He pushed away and retreated several steps, his breathing already becoming heavier.

The creature was staring at him now.

Eldrin swallowed.

All right. So it isn’t going to die from one hit.

The beast lunged again.

Eldrin had barely recovered his footing when its body shot toward him, claws tearing through the darkness.

He tried to use Shadow Step.

Nothing happened.

For a split second, Eldrin couldn’t understand why.

The entire field was covered in darkness beneath the night sky. There were shadows everywhere, yet none of them felt distinct enough to grasp. His ability seemed to search for a point of darkness separate from his own, something he could lock onto and move toward.

Here, there was simply too much of it.

”So that’s the problem.”

The realization came a little too late.

The beast’s claw swept across him.

Eldrin twisted violently to the side, but the tip still caught his ribs.

”Haah!”

Pain flashed through his side as three shallow cuts opened across his skin.

He stumbled away, one hand pressing against the wound.

The creature turned almost immediately.

Shadow Step won’t work here.

That left him with one option.

Eldrin drew a slow breath and reached for the other ability he’d been trying to master.

Veil.

The change was subtle.

The world didn’t disappear around him. His body didn’t become transparent.

Instead, the moment the Veil settled over him, the beast’s attention seemed to slip.

Its head turned slightly.

Searching.

Eldrin moved.

He didn’t run directly away. He circled wide, keeping low and using the uneven ground to break the creature’s line of sight. Every few seconds he changed direction, never staying where the beast expected him to be.

It worked.

For a few moments.

Then the creature suddenly snapped toward him.

Eldrin barely avoided another charge.

It can still sense me.

He retreated farther into the field, keeping the Veil active as he studied the beast.

The ability was consuming mana continuously.

He could feel it draining away.

Mana — 9.

He gritted his teeth.

Too expensive.

He couldn’t keep hiding forever.

The creature charged again.

Eldrin moved just before it reached him, letting the Veil blur its attention long enough for him to slip past its claws. He turned with the momentum and drove his weapon into its side.

The beast roared.

This time it bled heavily.

Eldrin didn’t waste the opening.

He struck again.

Then again.

The creature lashed out wildly, forcing him back.

His arms were beginning to ache, and the wound across his ribs burned every time he breathed, but he could see the difference now.

It was slowing.

Eldrin let the Veil fade.

His mana was too low.

One chance.

The beast charged.