True colors

Swarmed by a mob of enemies, Ryu found himself in the worst possible position. But it was too late to back out, which meant his only option was to stake his life on his acting ability.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the anxious soldiers, a large, rustic-looking man stepped out of the tent. Total silence fell over the crowd, waiting for the next words that would bring an important announcement; only Ryu looked worried as he was waiting for the announcement that someone had killed a highvale in the forest.

"Today..." the large man began his announcement with solemnity, causing all of the soldiers to grasp in anticipation, "we have roast pork and buttered vegetables." he finished.

"Huh?" confused, Ryu asked, as the soldiers fired up talking loudly about the day's meal.

"One of the few good things to be here is the food. It turns out that chief Byron loves food more than anything, so we have a good kitchen over here." Cory, misunderstanding Ryu's confusion, tried to explain.

"So, it's like this." Ryu said to keep the acting.

Relieved at having gained more time, Ryu grabbed a plate and sat at a large table with Cory and the other valuable soldiers, where he shared the strangest meal of his life. If, on the one hand, the food was delicious, on the other, the company was made up only of people that Ryu saw enemies and would try to kill in the not too distant future.

"Chief Byrons. Is he really that strong?" between mouthfuls, Ryu asked Cory, trying to gather information about the enemy he was destined to face.

"Humpf. Do you still have to ask this?" a grim-faced man sitting on the opposite side of the table replied in a sneer.

"I heard a couple of stories only, but I have never got a chance to witness." Ryu tried to dodge the reply to avoid a confrontation.

"Don't mind him, Max is always in a bad mood. You should be curious to know if the stories are real, right? I can guarantee to you that they are because I have seen it with my own eyes." an older man crossed the conversation; while Cory looked from the side, entertained with his food.

"So, how was it?" Ryu asked.

"If I have to describe, it is not that he is strong." the old man started to talk, it was clear on his face that this man likes too much attention and to tell stories, "it's more about his skill. That skill of his is truly a scam. How can you defeat someone that takes no damage?".

"No damage? There is really a skill like this?" Ryu asked in astonishment, as he couldn't hide his surprise.

"At least it looks that way. I saw him once fighting someone who tried to rob the headquarters, a strong guy, almost level forty." As the man began his story, the other soldiers rolled their eyes in disgust, making it clear that they had heard this story more times than they would have liked.

Even for Ryu, who wanted to learn something about his next enemy, the story got boring after a few minutes and ended up losing interest. Somehow, the way the man narrated the story, the narrative didn't progress, and the man continued to recap the same part of the story over and over, trying to add drama to a story that shouldn't last more than two minutes.

"Didn't you say that you had something to do?" Cory interrupted the story to ask Ryu.

"Ah, yes! I almost forgot." Ryu said, raising from the table and walking backward, saying, "thanks for the story, it was nice.".

"I wonder if any of his stories have an actual end." Cory said as he walked away with Ryu.

"Thanks for the rescue. I was almost falling asleep." Ryu said.

After lunch, Ryu continued to randomly walk around the base while pretending to be busy patrolling. Until he decided he was already comfortable enough to go into the mines to see the slaves.

Then, he headed to the mine's entrance, where he saw two slaves pushing a cart loaded with rocks out. Ryu took a step to the side to make room for the cart to pass, and as he passed him, one of the slaves looked into his eyes but looked away quickly, avoiding eye contact.

However, that single moment of distraction caused the cart to slow down, and when it lost speed, the two slaves were unable to push it harder to regain the former pace.

While Ryu remained motionless looking at the two slaves struggling to push the cart, Cory saw the scene and came walking towards Ryu and the slaves. Then, the young highvale soldier stopped beside Ryu, and for a second, he looked like he was just going to stand there with Ryu, watching the slaves struggle to push the cart.

But, instead of remaining quiet, Cory stepped forward and kicked the cart. A cultivator's hard kick caused the cart to tip to the side and the stones to fall, rolling away.

"If you can't push the cart, carry one by one." Cory yelled at the slaves, but the slaves, flinched in fright, thinking that a beat was about to come. "Are you going to stay there all day? Hurry up!" Cory continued to yell when the slaves didn't obey his command immediately.

So each of the slaves, afraid of taking a beating, grabbed a stone and ran to the deposit. Then, Cory went back to Ryu's side, "These people are so lazy. We always have to push them to work. It pissed me off." Cory said harshly.

If the young man had made a good impression before, now that image was gone. Cory showed his true colors by intimidating the slaves and, even worse, his twisted mentality made him believe that slaves should feel happy working in the mines as if they were in a regular job.

Even though Ryu knew that he should say something in agreement to keep up with his character, he found himself unable to say something, as the very thought of it refused to connect the words in his mind. So he only just remained silent, staring at the two slaves coming and going with stones, rushing with all their forces.

"I am going to check what is going on inside the mine," said Ryu, implying that he would enter the mine to inspect the slaves and see if they weren't slacking off. It was a convenient story to get inside without causing any suspicion, but, at this moment, all that Ryu wished was to get far away from Cory.

"I don't feel like going in. It's dark inside, and it stinks." Cory said, making a disgusted face.

Not bothering to answer Cory, Ryu headed for the mine, half relieved that Cory had dismissed him and half annoyed that he'd considered this an invitation to go inside together.

Then Ryu reached the mine entrance and looked into the darkness inside. He grabbed a lit qi lantern from the side and went inside, following the only path ahead.

Thus, the search for Ian and the other slaves began.