"Hah."
Liam leaned on his bed, staring at the dirty, cold ceiling where a small magic stone illuminated the room from its center.
Very slowly, he raised his hand, blocking the light from his eyes, and began to think, "It's clear that the Baron is supported by one of my brothers.
I don't think he's crazy enough to defy the Duke's orders unless someone is protecting his back from execution."
He lowered his hand and sighed deeply. "There's no point in thinking about it, and no use in staying in this place."
"All I want now is to leave peacefully, but I'm sure that damned Robert won't let me go easily. So, I must escape at the first opportunity I find."
Without a hint of hesitation, he made his decision. He'd had enough of his miserable life and no longer cared about anything. All he wanted now was his freedom and a peaceful life, even if it meant abandoning everything that tied him to the Draven family.
He quickly got up from his bed and gathered his black leather bags, which were strewn across the room.
He placed his hand on one of the bags, intending to open it, when he noticed signs of inspection. However, he wasn't worried; he had already sealed his bags with a sealing spell.
Without paying the matter any mind, he uttered "Open." An incomprehensible sound, similar to a lock disengaging, was heard, followed by the appearance of a silver glow that quickly faded.
Afterward, he checked his belongings and pulled out a set of strange leather scrolls that glowed faintly.
After staring at the magic scrolls for a moment, Liam let out a tired sigh. "I spent a lot of money on these magic scrolls, just in case things went bad. I never thought I'd need them so soon."
Each scroll he possessed contained a single spell, usable only once.
Magic scrolls were an expensive item, yet very common among Ascendants, especially those with non-magical classes.
In this world, there were special individuals who possessed extraordinary abilities and great powers, capable of leveling mountains and parting rivers, either through destructive spells or through supreme skills. These individuals were called Ascendants.
Ascendants were divided into several ranks based on their power, starting from the weakest, the most common F-rank, to the strongest, the legendary SS-rank.
As their name suggests, Ascendants can increase their power and ascend through the ranks, but this was not easy. It required a lot of hard work, and more importantly, great talent, which they could neither control nor change.
When humans reached the age of fifteen, their talents awakened, determining the course of their lives.
A poor farmer's son might become a knight serving the king if his talent was high, while a Duke's son might be treated like trash if his talent was low, like Liam, who suffered immensely due to his weakness.
After organizing his belongings, Liam picked up an offensive D-Rank magic scroll containing a "Fireball" spell.
With a determined look, he tore it into two. Instantly, parts of the scroll began to burn rapidly, and from its smoke, a fiery red beam shot out, striking his hand.
He didn't panic or feel pain, as he had expected it. He looked at his palm, and after a few seconds, a small, flaming orb appeared, meaning he could use the "Fireball" spell once.
"This is good." He nodded with a hint of satisfaction. He quickly tore the rest of his offensive and defensive magic scrolls.
Once finished, his palm was filled with six strange symbols: one in the shape of a shield with a rock symbol, another a green sword, two in the shape of a winged shoe, and the last resembled a large, spiked metal fist.
After finishing his preparations, he tidied his room, then picked up his last scroll. He opened it, and a beautiful green light emerged, covering the entire room.
The dirt began to vanish, all the bugs in his bed died, spiderwebs burned away, and within a few seconds, the room became sparkling clean, as if it had never been dirty.
As soon as the magical cleaning scroll's effect ended, it turned into vapor and vanished.
Tiredly, Liam leaned on his bed, clapped his hands, and said, "Darkness." At once, the magic stone illuminating the room went out, leaving no ray of light in the room.
After briefly considering his next move, he fell asleep without realizing it. Thus, his first night in this place passed, unaware of what was being plotted for him in the shadows.
…..
The next morning, Liam woke up with an energetic body. He opened his eyes, clapped his hands, and said, "Light."
After the magic stone lit up, he yawned lengthily, stretched his body relaxed, then got up. He immediately headed toward his room door, intending to open it, but it was locked, just as he expected.
He felt no anger. With great force, he knocked on the door and shouted, "Open up! I need to use the latrine."
Without waiting long, one of the soldiers opened the door and, in a stern voice, told him, "Follow me."
Liam followed the soldier through the corridors, his sharp eyes carefully inspecting his surroundings for any exploitable weaknesses to escape.
Unfortunately, the place he was in was built with very sturdy, hard-to-break stones.
It was also guarded by several E-rank soldiers led by a D-rank knight, which made the idea of escaping from this place impossible.
However, he felt no dismay and didn't give up. He knew he wouldn't be able to escape the castle easily and that it would require several days of planning.
As soon as Liam approached the latrine, he caught a disgusting stench that made his pale face turn even whiter.
The soldier noticed his reaction and smirked, "This is the latrine, hurry up." He then roughly pushed him inside.
Liam's features twisted, and he held his breath, looking at the dirty latrine. He fought back the urge to vomit, clenched his fist, and forced himself to answer nature's call.
After he finished and left the latrine, his eyes were blank. The sight he had witnessed was enough to give him several nightmares in the coming days.
He wanted to return to his room quickly to spray himself with some perfume, hoping to forget even a little of the disgusting smell. But the guard stopped him and told him, "It's time for breakfast."
Against his will, he was escorted toward the main dining hall, which was filled with soldiers and servants devouring their food with a kind of savagery. The meal itself looked and smelled terrible.
Everyone in the hall cast cold glances at him, then returned to their food.
Without bothering with them, he sat in an empty corner and ate his miserable meal, which consisted of cold soup and a piece of black bread.
When he was about to finish, three strong guards surrounded him and sternly ordered, "Come with us. It's time to work; this food you're eating isn't free."
Without resisting, he accompanied them to the stables, where he was assigned the task of cleaning the place and caring for the horses. He felt deeply humiliated but said nothing.
He endured it, performing all the tasks he was assigned. Thus, three days of suffering passed, during which he was forced to perform all sorts of menial labor.
He shoveled manure, scrubbed floors, prepared food, tilled the land, ground wheat, got dirty, stumbled, and suffered both physical and emotional wounds. Yet, he didn't complain.
He waited in silence, biding his time for a suitable chance to escape.
On the fourth day, while working in a field far from the castle, he found the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Very slowly, he pulled a heavy metal plow, tilling the land like a slave. But unlike usual, he wasn't furiously exhaling resentment; instead, he was calm.
He cautiously observed his surroundings, focusing all his attention on the three soldiers assigned to guard him.
Due to the scorching sun, the soldiers sat under a somewhat distant tree, sheltering in its shade, leaving him to suffer under the sun.
"Bastards," he cursed under his breath. Without hesitation, he threw the plow, then clenched his fist filled with spell symbols and muttered, "Wind Steps, release."
The shoe symbol on his palm shattered, and the winds around him began to move strangely, gathering at his feet. Because of this, he felt incredibly light.
The guards felt the strange fluctuation in the surrounding mana. They quickly turned and looked at him, seeing his feet surrounded by transparent wind shoes.
Their expressions twisted, and they realized how bad the situation was. They stood up and ran towards him, shouting: "Stop!"
But Liam didn't care. He fled at top speed, heading towards some dense trees he intended to use for cover.