Somewhere a bit far from the center of the capital, Arvin continued to step his feet down every street he passed.
The youth without hesitation kept walking, searching for the location of the slum area by relying solely on his instincts.
After tens of minutes of walking away from the city's hustle and bustle, the surrounding scenery changed drastically. The scent of dust and rotten wood began to linger in the air. Finally, he stopped his tracks, standing right in front of the entrance to the area he was looking for.
Is this what the slum area in the capital of Victoriaz looks like? Arvin thought while observing the narrow and dense area in front of him. Hopefully, the people I am looking for are indeed in this slum!
He began to step slowly, entering the slum area with a high level of vigilance.
His head turned left and right, paying attention to every detail of the houses he passed. Most of the roofs were made of dull straw. Many of the wooden walls were full of holes and only patched using thick cloth.
The buildings are more or less like the slum houses on the outskirts of the Astoria Kingdom. Are the slum houses in this world really designed exactly like this?
Seeing little children in shabby clothes running around barefoot around him, Arvin's steps slowed down a bit.
If I had been sent here and became a person living in a slum like this, what would my life be like? Would everything go as smoothly as me currently being lucky to be a high-class noble?
The youth closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he let out a sigh of relief, feeling very grateful to fate for having transmigrated into an Arvin Vedegra who possesses power and resources.
As he resumed his steps and turned into a narrow alley between two wooden buildings...
Thud!
Arvin was bumped by someone from the front quite hard. He looked down, staring at the figure who had fallen to the ground after bumping into him.
"Forgive me for bumping into you!" the boy said feeling guilty, his face looking panicked and his breath panting. "I am in a hurry. There are some bad guys chasing me!"
The shabbily dressed boy hurriedly got up and prepared to run past him again.
"Hey don't you run, brat!"
A harsh shout was heard from the end of the alley where the boy came from.
Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, Arvin did not immediately believe the words of the boy. With agility, his right hand reached out and directly grabbed the boy's arm to keep him from escaping.
"What are you doing?" the boy exclaimed, struggling frantically trying to release Arvin's grip. "Let me go! Are you their friend?"
"Calm down!" Arvin said with his cold expression, his hand gripping quite strongly. "I do not easily believe the people living here and I also don't know who they are!"
Not long after, four adult men arrived with various builds and fierce faces. They stopped with heavy breaths, staring at the neatly dressed Arvin and the boy struggling in his grip.
"Thank you very much for catching that boy, young man." a large-built man among them said, trying to be polite upon seeing the nice clothes Arvin wore. "That boy has stolen our money."
Hearing that accusation, Arvin turned his face and glared sharply at the boy he was still holding tightly.
"Did you steal their money?" Arvin asked, his tone sounding like it demanded the truth.
"Of course that is not true!" the boy answered quickly defending himself, looking at Arvin with trembling eyes. "I could never possibly-"
"You don't need to lie to me!" Arvin cut in firmly, raising his voice slightly. "If you keep lying, I will not hesitate to forcefully take you and the four of them to the capital's guard soldiers so that all of you can be properly judged there!"
The straightforward threat that had just come out of Arvin's mouth successfully made the boy's mentality shrink instantly.
Realizing he had no way out, the boy lowered his head and nodded slowly admitting his actions. With trembling hands, he reached into the pocket of his shabby pants and then handed a pouch of coin money he had stolen to the four adults.
The large-built man accepted it and checked its contents for a moment. After counting that the amount of money was not reduced, the four men thanked Arvin and then immediately dispersed, leaving the two of them still standing silently in their current position.
Arvin released his grip from the boy's arm.
"Why did you steal their money like that?" Arvin asked firmly, looking straight at the boy who was now holding his arm. Even though his voice sounded cold, actually he deeply understood the harshness of life in the slums. "Your life could have just been lost on the spot if you were caught by them."
"What else can I do! I have no money and I also haven't eaten anything for three days." the boy replied in frustration, his voice hoarse from holding back tears and hunger. "I live alone here and I am the only child without parents in this slum."
"Where are your parents?" Arvin asked.
That question made the boy fall silent for a few moments with his head continuing to look down at the ground. The atmosphere became silent for a moment.
Seeing that sad reaction, Arvin felt a little bad for asking something that made the boy recall his past.
"They threw me away because I only possess a useless transparent element!" the boy finally answered, his voice filled with bitterness and disappointment. "When I regained consciousness, I suddenly found myself abandoned and in this place alone."
The boy slowly looked up, gazing at the handsome and clean youth's face beside him with a gaze full of wounds.
"Am I wrong for being born possessing only one element? Why was I born into this world if in the end I have to experience suffering like this?"
Hearing that whimper of despair, Arvin deeply understood the suffering experienced by the boy. Being in a world where magical power determines everything is indeed very cruel. However, Arvin still had to be careful.
He observed the face of the boy looking at him more closely.
If I look closely again in detail, even though his face and body are covered in dirt and dust, this boy's face is quite cute. Arvin praised in his heart, his character-assessing soul beginning to emerge.
"What is your name and how old are you now?" Arvin asked slowly.
"My name is Daviniel Ertachel and my current age is almost 16 years old." the boy answered while wiping the dirt on his cheek. "Just call me Davin."
Arvin's heart felt like it stopped beating for a moment hearing the full name of the boy. His eyes widened slightly, realizing that he had just hit a huge jackpot through this completely accidental destined encounter.
I truly never expected that the shabby boy in front of me right now is Davin, a very unique dimension space user of the transparent element. Arvin thought, his feelings suddenly overwhelmed with enthusiasm. He is not a boy with a useless element. He is a high-level support type whose ability can create a gate that leads anywhere.
Arvin's analytical mind began to dissect all the information he knew from the game.
He can also use his gate right behind his opponent and send someone or a weapon to attack suddenly without being detected. No wonder in the original storyline, he was appointed as one of the generals in the grand alliance fighting against the villain.
Instantly, Arvin's body froze stiffly. A memory of Alrain being suddenly killed from behind without being detected by anyone.
Wait a minute! Is it this Davin who killed Alrain in that era? Or... is it possible that he had used his ability to send someone using that gate to be able to attack and kill Alrain from behind? Arvin thought, his gaze sharpening. If my guess is right, this encounter is truly my luck! I must be able to get him on my side!
Arvin let out a soft sigh, staring at Davin who was still standing in confusion seeing him fall silent.
Now, the main problem at this moment is... can I conquer Davin's heart? His dimension space ability is very useful to mobilize all my spouses if at any time they are in an emergency situation.