??? POV
" Alright, it's time for a change. Bring the next batch down for work, and take this batch back to their cells!"
As soon as the slaver says this, I hear the sounds of exhaustion fill the cave as many of the enslaved people nearly drop their pickaxes in relief, and the sounds of coughing fill the air from those who have long since reached their limit and vomit what little they had in their stomachs. I also sighed in relief as I felt the soreness in my arms constantly throbbing.
I, along with this batch, was led down to our cells deep into the cave system, practically shoved in, and given small, stale loaves of bread and murky water that looked almost like coffee. One by one, the enslaved people all lined up to get their loaves and water and went and sat dejected in their own little corners of the cell.
Once I got my rations, I walked to my own little corner, getting small, almost fearful looks from the other enslaved people. It was something I had noticed while I was going around asking about this world. As soon as I approached them, they became afraid even more so than when the slavers got near them. I even saw some of the slavers flinch for a moment when I looked at them, but they soon regained their scowl and acted as if nothing was wrong.
As I thought about this, I continued to eat my stale bread and watched the others silently eat their bread as well. These poor people have been beaten and abused, and I wanted to help them, but there was nothing I could realistically do for them due to a lack of strength and one other issue. Even though we live in a world of magic, no one has been able to use even a semblance of it thanks to these shackles. I originally thought of these as nothing more than heavy pieces of metal, but it was so much more. On closer observation, these shackles had strange symbols carved into them, and I once saw what they do firsthand when a new arrival attempted to attack one of the slavers. As the new arrival summoned in his hand what looked like a vicious-looking torrent of wind, the shackles placed on him glowed a dark purple, and the torrent of wind instantly dissipated, leaving him defenseless against the violent lashing that came his way.
It was impossible to use any magic as long as we had these shackles on us, but that wasn't the only reason for my inability to help them.
'System'
As I looked at my skills, I focused on one in particular. [Self-Preservation]- your well-being comes first, and your body will prevent you from taking any action considered unnecessarily dangerous or harmful to yourself.
As I looked at this skill, a memory came forth of roughly two months ago when one of the slavers took notice of one of the older enslaved women and had what I can only describe as a disgusting leer from a genuine monster as he looked her up and down. He then called one of his higher-ups to let them know that he was going to take his "reward" for the month, and after getting the ok he began to drag the woman by the hair, screaming. When I saw this, my blood began to boil, and as I went to say something, I felt my body lock up in an instant, and a horrible shock shot through me as the system screen popped up in front of me, saying, "Self-preservation activated." It was an awful sensation that caused me to stay where I was, and I could do nothing but watch as that bastard took her away. I never saw that woman again after that day.
After remembering that day, I nearly crushed what was left of my bread and was furious that my own body told me not to help someone. Though looking back, if I had done something, the slaver probably would have beaten me half to death, and my skill activated to prevent that very thing from happening.
I slowly began to understand why that angel had become frustrated when she was at that screen. This skill may prevent me from taking unnecessary risks, but there are times when I may need to take a risk to do something, or to help someone... help someone. As that thought crossed my mind, I was reminded of an unpleasant memory from my past life that came from helping someone, which led to many horrible moments.
I sighed and reminded myself that I need to focus on surviving and can't worry about anybody at this time. To survive, I need to find a way to escape this place, but even that proves difficult. As I thought about escape plans, the thought of using magic crossed my mind, but unless I get these shackles off, then that too is a dead end. I mindlessly go through multiple scenarios and keep looking at my skills as well. I looked at a few other skills that were grayed out and were shown as unavailable.
I thought about what the reason could be and concluded that these were unique skills that either required mana to activate or I had to achieve or unlock them through some unknown method. The main reason I still had access to the other skills was probably that they were part of my biology and not magically connected, or however the other skills worked. I had come to understand the reasons for my various skills... except for one.
I looked at the last "skill" that appeared on the list, but this one was different from the rest. It didn't appear as unavailable, nor did it say it was locked. This "skill" appeared almost... corrupted and remained unknown. Every time I looked at it, it gave me a sense of unease, as though it wasn't supposed to be here, and I quickly moved the screen away from it and finished my rations.
As I finished my bread, I quietly curled up in my corner and attempted to sleep to prepare myself for another day in this hellhole, wondering how I'll get out of this place.
-----‐--------------------------------------------------------
3rd person POV
*Outside of the Prison on the dock*
As the sun begins to set, a strict-looking woman in a uniform watches a small ship close in on the dock. As the ship docks, a tan-skinned man covered in scars makes his way off the ship and onto the dock towards the woman.
"So this is the new shipment?" the woman asks.
"Yeah. Sorry for taking so long, those damned Adventurers are making it harder and harder to get good products," replied the man.
"Oy bring them out!"
At the man's yell, lines of newly caught enslaved people, both demihumans and regular humans covered in wounds, slowly made their way out of the ship and onto the docks.
" I see that more than a few of them have some severe wounds on them. You know I don't like damaged products. It makes it harder to sell or put them to work," the woman scowled at the man as she said this.
Nervously, the man replied, " I am truly sorry, Madam! This new batch was particularly feisty, and we had to rough them up a bit to make sure they didn't cause any trouble, but I assure you they can be put to work or sold right away!"
"Mmmm," replied the woman, skeptical of the man's claims.
"Ummmmm w-well, Madam, I think you'll be particularly happy when you see one of the newest products that I personally caught out by the desert!"
"Oh? Please let me know what this new product is that will prevent me from putting you in this lineup as well. I'm sure there are a few buyers who would love a big, strong guy like you," the woman coldly remarked and patted his cheek.
Terrified, the man quickly went to the back of the line-up of enslaved people and grabbed a small girl covered in a dirty cloth.
" ...This is your big surprise? Forgive me for my underwhelming reaction," the woman scowled.
" W- wait, Madam, take off the cloak!"
The woman, raising an eyebrow, lifted the cloak off the girl and was shocked by what she saw.
" Well, now~ this is a surprise. It seems you do have an eye for the good stuff. I'll see to it that you get a proper reward for this, and I'll even look over the damages," the woman smiled with a look of almost genuine joy.
"T-thank you, Madam. I will continue to do my utmost best for you," the man stuttered and bowed.
"I look forward to it." After this comment, the woman yells to her people standing behind her. "Alright, move them inside. We'll begin sorting them out. Take especially good care of this one!" Pointing at the young girl in front of her.
As soon as she finished her sentence, her people began to lead the enslaved people into the prison, and as they did, she took one last glance at the young girl.
"You'll be worth a fortune," she happily says as she stares at the girl's pitch-black lizard tail and small horns on top of her head.
------------------------------------------------------