"hmm...what happened"
Jishnu wakes up from his bed after being knocked out.
"What happened to me?" he said as he looked at his hand.
HOURS AGO.
"Kid, stretch out your hand and think of arranging that book."
hearing Ronald Jishnu stretched out his hand and thought of arranging the book.
The moment he thought of arranging, a sudden flow of some unknown energy flowed through his body from head to toe, then to his hand.
"the f**k..." But before he could see what was happening, he fell unconscious on the floor.
AT PRESENT.
"What was that?" Jishnu said as he looked at his hand.
As the strange energy passed through his body, he felt a new sensation that he had never felt in his past life or his new life until this day.
"But why did I fall unconscious after using my ability? Wait, is it my ability's side effects?"
He thought about trying to find a possible answer for his falling unconscious.
but suddenly the door opened as Ronald walked in.
"Oo, you're awake," Ronald said as he moved towards him and sat on the chair to the left of Jishnu's bed.
"Are you surprised after using your Either Astral for the first time?" Ronald asked, seeing Jishnu looking at his hand.
as Jishnu unknowingly felt the sensation of using astral for the first time in his new life.
"Either astral?" Jishnu asked with a confused face.
seeing Jishnu's confused face.
"Oo astral is a form of energy that is used by awakened beings to use their power."
but still seeing his confused face, Ronald sighed.
"Let me explain it in a simpler way: astral energy is like stamina. That means stamina helps your body move and work harder for prolonged periods.
Just like that, either astral helps you activate your ability. "The more astral energy you have, the longer you can use your ability. Wait, did I make it complicated?"
but it did not matter as Jishnu understood what Ronald was trying to explain.
(It's like mana from games and manga I have read.) (The more astral energy I have, the more I could use.)
Jishnu said in his mind, but that still did not explain him being unconscious.
"Uncle, why did I fall asleep after using my power?"
asked with an innocent face.
Jishnu, who now has the acting skills of a side character because of the days he spent with Philip,
Ronald was not pleased to hear him being called uncle, but he could not do anything to the kid.
"It's because you exhausted your astral reserve."Just like stamina, when you use it up, you will fall asleep; it naturally fills up after some time of rest."
Hearing it, Jishnu breathed out a sigh of relief after knowing that it was not a side effect of his ability but that he had just used up his energy reserve.
He looked around the room.
"Oo, are you looking for Philip? He is working downstairs."
Seeing Jishnu looking around, Ronald misunderstood.
"Now that's all, I should return and continue my work; I only come to look if you wake up, and you can also rest today and start working tomorrow."
Ronald said as he moved out of the room, leaving Jishnu alone.
Laying back in his bed, Jishnu started to brainstorm.
"Would someone kidnap a kid just for lessening his work? That can't be possible; there is something more to it that I don't know about."
He felt fear because of this unknown factor that made his life move in a different direction than he thought.
"Let's think about it later. Let's go back to sleep. Overthinking myself will only make things worse."
Jishnu loosened his body and went to sleep.
NEXT MORNING.
Jishnu wakes up in the morning wearing the uniform that was left on the table inside his room.
walking out of the room to see a huge space filled with books.
Everywhere he looked, there was only a book.
"Good morning, kid."
Hearing the sudden greeting, Jishnu turned to see who it was.
Turning back, Jishnu saw Ronald walking towards him with a coffee cup in his hand.
"Good morning, uncle," Jishnu replied.
"Call me, sir, when you are working and that uniform suits you well," Ronald said as he looked at Jishnu from head to toe.
Both walked down the corridor as they reached Ronald's office room.
"Catch this," Ronald said as he threw a silver coin.
Jishnu barely caught it but was confused.
Seeing the confused face , Ronald spoke.
"Kid, there is a restaurant down the road. Go there,eat some food, and drink some milk." Come back at eight o'clock when the library will open."
He opened the door to his office.
"OK, then on your way," Ronald said as he closed the door.
Jishnu, with the silver coin in his hand, walked down the street to reach
LYINGWAK INN
"Hey there, cutie, "Are you new here?"
Seeing Jishnu walk in through the entrance, a waitress asked
"yes"
"Then where are you from?" the waitress asked.
"I am from the library".
"Library? What are you doing there?" The waitress asked with a confused face.
"I work there," Jishnu replied.
The moment the waitress heard 'work," her face got serious.
"What happened, sister?" Jishnu asked, looking at the now serious face of the waitress.
Hearing the call, the waitress changed back to her normal self and replied.
"What? Nothing? Please wait here," the waitress said as she dashed away.
Jishnu waited there because he had more than enough time to return after breakfast.
After some time, the waitress returned, but with someone else with her.
a bulky, bold man with a brown apron.
As he stood before Jishnu, a big shadow dawned on him.
"Child, what's your name?" The bold man asked as he bent down.
"Jishnu"
"Jishnu, if you don't mind, would you show your hand?"
Hearing it, Jishnu was confused but still showed his hands.
"Can you curl up your sleeves?" he said, as he did not find what he wanted.
Hearing it, Jishnu curled up his sleeves.
seeing Jishnu's arms that were clean as a piece of white paper.
The bold man breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened, mister?" Jishnu asked as he saw the man relax.
"Mister? Boy, you can call me Ivyn; I was just checking if you have a slave mark on you."
"Slave mark?"
"By the look on your face, I can understand that you don't know what a slave mark is."
jishnu noded.
"Let's sit somewhere," Ivyn said.
They moved to a table on the second floor of the building.
Seeing the 2nd floor, Jishnu understood that the 1st floor and 2nd floor were a lot different.
if the first floor was like your typical restaurant.
The second floor is a 5-star hotel where wealthy people dine.
Jishnu looked at his hand, which was holding a silver coin, and knew that he could not eat anything on the second floor.
seeing the kid looking at his hand.
LVYN laughed and said
"Don't get nervous, it's on me, so you can buy anything you like."
Hearing which Jishnu ordered a cup of hot milk and toast, thinking that what he ordered didn't go over the money in his hand and not wanting to disturb Ivyn's business.
But Jishnu, who did not know the value of money in this world, misunderstood that silver was the standard currency, not knowing that what he brought was only worth 1 copper.
(100 copper = 1 silver; 1000 silver = 1 gold)
that he could buy the same meal 98 more times until he left with one copper.
(He is still a child)
Ivyn thought as he looked at Jishnu, who was waiting for his meal.
"Let us finish our discussion before your meal arrives, okay?"
Ivyn said it attracted Jishnu's attention.
"A slave mark is a mark that forms on someone's hand when they are in a contract of work with someone for a long period; a slave contract is also called a work period contract."
"period work contract?" Jishnu was surprised to hear that the fantasy slave-mark that he only read in manga and light novels really existed in his new world.
but now his mind is in another storm.
(Why did he not use it on me?)
but his confusion did not last long as Ivyn cleared it.
"A slave contract to work in this kingdom requires both parties to give their verbal permission in the presence of officials, even if they are adults or miners; without it, no man inside his wall can be a slave to another, and if anyone finds out about any forced contract, it can result in death".
Hearing it, Jishnu found the missing piece that bothered him.
why he was kidnapped and why he was tortured for a week.
(Mental submission, that beast!) Jishnu cursed.
Jishnu had read his fair share of books where the MC kidnaps an important person by someone else, tortures them until their mind is about to break, and comes to save them when they are at their lowest, becoming the saviour.
AFTER A SECOND.
The meal that Jishnu ordered came.
"Kid, I want to ask you something before you start to eat: why are you working at the library? As you're not bound by any slave contract, then why?" Ivyn asked.
Hearing it, Jishnu's hand that was going for the cup stopped midway and retracted back.
Seeing Jishnu remain silent after he pulls back his hand, Ivyn feels something is wrong.
After a second or two, Jishnu replied.
"Uncle Ben said that we should always repay kindness shown by others with kindness."
Ivyn was surprised to receive the answer.
but it did not stop him from asking.
"What kindness are you repaying by working at the library at this age?"
"To repay Uncle Philip, who saved me when the bandit kidnapped me, gave me food when I was hungry, and looked after me when I was ill,
"I want to repay him by working for him," Jishnu said with an innocent face, but inside he was feeling the most disgust in his life.
(Uncle, my ass, he will die from my hand.) He cursed with disgust.
Hearing what Jishnu just said, Ivyn and the waitress looked at Jishnu in a new light.
At the same time, Jishnu too looked at them with a new light that had a shade of darkness and was inhuman.
After some time, Ivyn and Amelia, the waitress, left the jishnu alone.
"If he f**ks me over, I will f**k him over."
Jishnu pledged as he looked at Ivyn and Amelia, who were walking away doing their work as lifeless pawns that he could use to destroy someone.
Jishnu knew that if his usefulness was reduced even a little, he would be taken care of, and when that happened, he would need people to seek him out when he disappeared suddenly.
"Even if he has the power to make the inn disappear in a night, it will not go unnoticed, and when someone with authority comes, he will be f**ked. At least that's what I think."
Jishnu finished his meal and walked out of the inn,only thinking about the his new plan
"F**K HIM OVER."