Victor Von Deckart (2)

When humans are born to the world, they are introduced to the first cruel nature of reality: unfamiliarity.

They open their eyes to a new world, ignorant and unaware. The unfamiliar surroundings made them instinctively understand that they were breathing in reality—no longer in a state of limbo, thus crying.

The second cruel nature of reality would introduce itself later in a person's life, and it could either kill them completely or forge them a new.

Victor Von Deckart had already experienced the second cruelty.

A few minutes before the slaves arrive to escort him to his death, he thought back to the past.

Once, he was known as the genius heir of the Deckart Family, the eldest son of the powerful Duke Deckart.

Wealth, power, and women. All of it were under his grasp. His status had filled him with arrogance, and he looked down on those beneath him.

But reality had a way of turning the tables.

During his coming-to-age ceremony, it was discovered that he was incapable of performing soul-forging arts.

Overnight, he had lost his standing on the family and was labeled as a worthless cripple.

As a family that was primarily known for their soul forging capabilities, the Deckart Family had no respect for cripples.

He saw his father's disappointed gaze—

His friends mocking sneers—

His fiancee's disgusted expression—

Victor had fallen from the top of the world, and he couldn't do anything about it.

This was the second cruelty of reality: disillusionment.

But unlike most people, he didn't give up.

He stood right back up. He tried to learn why he couldn't perform soul forging arts, but his long research only came to the conclusion that there was something fundamentally wrong with his body.

Left with no choice, Victor focused on learning other paths instead. Martial arts, material crafting, assassination…

With his genius talent for learning, he absorbed knowledge like sponge. He found a new path to walk on, and he was ready to reclaim his throne and prove everyone wrong.

But before that could even happen, the vampires invaded— destroying his chances.

That was the end of Victor's second contact with the cruel nature of reality.

"…"

"Are you ready?"

The old man, who was named Mir, spoke to his mind again.

Victor shifted his gaze to the old man. He grunted quietly.

After the old man was convinced by him, he gave Victor three gifts: an orb of power, a wealth of knowledge, and a sea of experience.

The old man suggested to only absorb the knowledge and experience first, and the orb of power later as it could alarm the vampires nearby.

Victor did as the old man suggested. From the sea of experience, he learned that the old man's name was Mir.

Mir wasn't any ordinary old man– he was the Floor Master of the 4th Floor, an existence that was leagues and above his father.

But even Mir was imprisoned here, tortured and treated like a slave.

For a moment, Victor's confidence wavered. But it was quickly overcame by the extreme rage simmering within him.

His rage was overwhelming. It didn't allow any other emotion— other than extreme anger toward the vampires to exist.

"After you absorb the orb of power…"

Mir spoke once more, indifferent.

"I'll disappear. They will sense my disappearance and piece things together, so you have to find a safe place to hide before then."

"Hide and survive. Eat bugs if you have to. Forsake your pride… continue to keep yourself alive until you're ready to kill them all."

Victor didn't respond. His eyes were still closed, if Mir didn't know any better, he would've thought the young man was dead.

After a while, heavy footsteps resounded.

The slaves were coming.

Feeling his heart tighten, Victor let out a deep breath. He looked at Mir and nodded: "Thank you."

Mir quietly nodded back. He was resting the hope of the entire 4th Floor's survival to this young man.

Whether it would pay off or not, only time would tell.

Bam!

The slaves barged in the cell room, slamming the door open.

The slaves were armed from bottom to top, metal plated armor forged from rare blue-steel.

A month ago, they were the empire's finest soldiers, now they were just slaves of the nightwalkers.

Among the slaves, the torturer was the one Victor was the most familiar with.

"Victor Von Deckart, the Lord has ordered for your execution."

The leading slave spoke flatly, lacking any emotion. His eyes were empty; purposeless.

Shortly after, the slaves unshackled Victor, escorting him out of the cell while handcuffing him.

Before they left, Mir gave a deep look at Victor.

…

Bam!

The door slammed shut, and for the first time since forever, Victor had stepped outside of his cell room.

But it was hard for him to be happy knowing he was about to be executed.

"Dear, Victor Von Deckart, old pal of mine…" The torturer sighed, breaking the silence. "I'll miss you. But I'll be sure to savor your painful death later. As an old pal of mine, I'll tell you how you will die…"

Victor ignored his words. He was observing each of the slaves escorting him.

He recognized none of them, meaning, they were likely nobodies during the empire's reign.

This makes his escape all the more easier.

The torturer rambled on and on to the point even the slaves were irritated.

"Shut up!"

The torturer felt wronged.

Thankfully, they soon got out of the passage, appearing outside. Stepping foot on the Marsh Forest, the first thing that everyone felt was the red light.

The moon outside shone of deep scarlet, giving off an eerie and uncomfortable feeling.

Victor gazed at the blood moon solemnly. But he was quickly pulled by the slaves, walking on a dark path.

His eyes glimmered under the night.

Further down the path, he could see long, tall dark trees that seemed older than the empires existence.

Thorny branches stretched from its trunks, and the slaves carefully navigated the dangerous pathway.

While they were busy navigating, he lowered his head and looked at the ground.

The party was quiet, with no one speaking a single word. Quiet breaths echoed in the dark forest.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a small shadow pass by. No one noticed it but him.

Finding the best opportunity, Victor lightly kicked a rock, shooting towards the left.

It crashed towards the shadow, creating a large noise.

Squeal—!

Distracted, the slaves pupils' shrank as they turned to the left. They raised their guards as they closely watched the rustling bushes.

However…

At that moment, Victor acted. He observed the slaves formation, and quickly decided on a target.

He took a slight step back, and in one swift motion, he twisted his body and landed a spinning kick towards the torturer behind him.

Stunned, the torturer was unable to react.

Victor wasted no time. He back flipped, landing behind the torturer. Then, with a quick headbutt he pushed the torturer's body to the slaves.

The slaves were shocked and instinctively dodged the torturer's body coming their way.

But that moment was enough for Victor. He ran towards the left while they were distracted, escaping their hold in mere seconds.

It was only when a few seconds had passed did the slaves realize Victor managed to escape.

The leading slave's face twisted in anger.

"What are you waiting for?! CATCH HIM!"