I froze in my steps.

  “Adventurer? Please!” The voice called, louder, followed by the clang of metal.

  I almost ran straight for her, before I remembered Asiel’s advice.

  She’d told me not to go anywhere near that quest. I shouldn't even be listening to her. I know that. Asiel knew that.

  The voice cracked, then choked, turning to hot, violent sobs.

  Asiel had warned me about a lot of things.

  She’s played the game for thirty years.

  She couldn’t possibly be wrong, could she?

  At once, the voice stopped, replaced with a horrible screech of metal on rock.

  Then I was running, pushing through the crowd, forcing my way toward the voice.

  “Boy,” a figure warned, clamping a hand on my shoulder. “Best be careful.”

  He wore a thick black robe, hiding most of his face. From what little I could make out, he seemed old, with exaggerated bony features. Most notable were his eyes, which flickered with pits of glittering light. “That’s a hard quest,” he grunted. “People tend to die.”

  I shoved his hand off my shoulder. “What’s it to you?”

  “Just makes my job harder, I suppose,” the figure whispered. “Don’t get carried away.”

  I broke from his grip, through the crowd, to a small alley in the markets, beside a large booth. The booth wasn’t particularly notable—filled with a wide variety of animals and goods, likely imports, since I didn’t recognize anything I saw.

  But further down, toward the shadows, I heard faint cries, and whimpering.

  Should I—

  Death wasn’t an issue. I’d just respawn. Simple as that.

  I took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness.

  Within that darkness, there was a path, branching off, where the whimpers grew steadily louder, punctuated by an occasional crack, like shattered pottery.

  I swallowed hard and kept moving forward.

  Tall wooden houses loomed overhead, blocking most any trace of sunlight.

  Then, in the shadows, I saw the edges of a cage.

  Unlike the others, this one was different.

  For a start, it was larger, and thicker, each bar wider than a fist. It smelled awfully too, like rotten flesh.

  I stepped into a pool of sticky black liquid, with a grimace.

  I really should’ve bought shoes by now.

  Judging from the scraping on the floor, this particular cage had been dragged from the market, into the alley, then wrenched open.

  Curiously, there weren’t any scratches on the cage itself. By look, it’d been for monsters, so you'd have expected at least a couple nicks in the metal, from clawing or biting. Monsters did a lot of clawing and biting.

  Someone shouted in anger, and there was another snapping sound.

  Should I continue? No? Probably not, right?

  I started walking again.

  And the path widened, until it became clear that the houses around me were not houses at all, but hollow shells, with a large dark area stored within them, connecting to the open alleyway.

  Chains creaked and groaned, swaying in the gentle breeze that came from off the streets, into the dark corner of the market.

  There was another cage, just to my left. I almost reached into, before I saw a pair of beady eyes staring back at me.

  “Hello—”

  The monster inside cut me off, erupting in a fit of thrashing and snapping.

  Other cages were scattered around, sometimes in piles, sometimes in rows. Within the darkness, I couldn’t tell what was in each cage, but it went without saying nothing here was friendly.

  These cages had scratches and gouges and claw marks, where metal had been worn down over months, if not years, if not longer still.

  A face appeared from the shadows. “Hello sir,” she said, soft and otherwise without inflection. “Welcome to the Bestiary.”

  “Bestiary?” I asked. The word was familiar, and I’d certainly heard it before, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it meant.

  She answered it for me. “The Bestiary is a special shop for animals that aren’t traditionally sold. Pet monsters, as some have called it. We have offices all over Tetratera.”

  “Monsters?” my gaze flickered to the cages around me. “Are they dangerous?”

  “At first,” the girl said.

  She moved in the darkness, gesturing vaguely toward a row of cages. “He will see you now, if you wish to make a purchase.”

  “Actually…” I started, before hesitating. “I came because it sounded like someone was in trouble—”

  “You’re one of those, are you?” The girl asked, without leaving the room for an answer. “Go talk business and see what you wish. I’m certain you’ll find whatever you need.”

  As she turned, I caught a faint glimpse of scarring, down an arm and side. “What happened to you?”

  “Training,” she said, without inflection. “Follow the south wing.”

  With that, she disappeared into the shadows, without leaving me more than a direction to go in.

  Still a direction was a direction, and I followed along, trying and failing to ignore the watching eyes.

  But what was I even scared of?

  I had two hundred health. Two. Hundred. I was fine.

  There was a third crack, echoing off the walls.

  It was the sound of a whip.

  A young girl hung by her wrists, dangling from the ceiling. Black monster blood dripped down her back, collecting in puddles on the floor.

  An uneven man stood a little ways away from her, smoking no less than three cigarettes at once. His hair was greasy and unkempt, and his complexion best described as ghoulish, likely from lacking personal care.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  I cleared my throat.

  “I’ll be with you in a minute,” he said, cracking his whip on the floor. “I’ve just got a little bit of business to attend to, that’s all.”

  “What’s going on here?” I hissed.

  “Didn’t Madelaid tell you?” The man asked, raising a bushy eyebrow. “This is the Bestiary.” he flicked his wrist and the whip snarled in his hand, lashing against the rock. “Our stock has to be well trained, that’s all.”

  “Stock?” I pointed at the hanging girl. “STOCK?”

  “Slavery, my boy,” the man grinned. “But call it what you like. You’re the buyer after all.”

  He cracked the whip, slashing the girl. She gave no response, though a fresh line of blood twinkled down her back.

  The man grinned wider. “See? She doesn’t mind.”

  I spat on the ground. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you here and now.”

  “Oh ho,” he laughed. “Big words, yes? Well then, have a look, would you?”

  ~Slave Lord~

  {URGOT}

  [666 Hp 666 Str 666 Dur 666 Mana]

  [+2 hidden stat types]

  Energy in the room exploded outward, crashing against cages, before dying to a low simmer.

  Urgot grinned, flashing blackened teeth. “If any half-baked passionate adventure like you could beat the snot outta me, I’d be dead and out of business. Speaking of which, I assume you have a purchase in mind?”

  I gritted my teeth. “There was a scream.”

  “Oh, that’s just a little trick of mine,” he chuckled. “You bring one of the softer girls to a stand in the market, get the crowd riled up, then take her in the back and the adventurers come rolling in.”

  “How much for the girl?” I snapped.

  “You speak my language!” Urgot snapped back. He whistled for Madelaid to come over.

  She won’t quite come out into the hazy light, but was nevertheless close enough for me to make out a clipboard and pencil in her hands.

  Urgot continued. “Now I’m nothing if not a salesman, so you’ll see that my wares are in the best condition the market can offer. She’s strong, cute, and obedient. I’ll admit, she’s got a couple kinks, but I’m sure you’ll find a truly great use for her.”

  One of his cigarettes fizzled out, so he spat it onto the ground and popped a couple, smiling wide.

  “Normally I’d charge a gold ring for a beauty like her, but you don’t have nearly that much, do you? I’ll cut you a deal and just take all the money you have.”

  I checked the rings on my hand.

  “What?” Urgot whispered, leaning close. “Is she not worth that much?”

  I ripped my rings off and pressed them into his assistant's hand. “The girl. Now.”

  He snapped his fingers, and the bonds around her hands were snapped from their hinges, and she fell to the ground unmoving.

  I brushed against her shoulder.

  Nothing.

  “What’d you do to her?”

  “She’s just tired,” Urgot stated, with a lopsided grin. “She probably blacked out after the third or fourth lashing.”

  “I’m a friend,” I whispered into her ear, scooping her up off the ground. “And I’m going to get you out of here.“

  “Pleasure doing business!” Urgot shouted over his shoulder, counting the rings in his palm, then tossing them into his other hand and counting again, giddy with delight.

  I gritted my teeth, avoiding the urge to scream and bolt as my stomach wound knots around itself.

  Then the anger just stopped, all at once.

  I had reached a point beyond anything I could process, so I could no longer bother to try. Instead, I felt tired. Exhausted.

  Madelaid coughed, appearing behind me.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  She handed me the clipboard, bowing low. “Master would like you to have a receipt. He is nothing if not a good salesman.”

  As she bent, I noticed the glint of collar around her neck. “You too, huh?”

  She remained silent, until I took the papers. Once I did, she straightened, sinking back into the darkness. “I am not human. I cannot be a slave.” Madelaid stated. She gestured toward the girl in my arms. “Please take care of her.”

  Then she left, without another word.

  I looked down at the girl.

  Even in the darkness, her skin had a faint whitish glow to it.

  Not human?

  She’d talked, hadn’t she?

  Wasn’t that enough?

  I sighed, adjusting my strength. It was a little harder, holding the girl, but I couldn’t risk getting her hurt.

  This “store” reeked of evil and blood. It hung in the air like smog, collecting in its presence. After a short trip, I felt filthy.

  As I carried the girl into sunlight, I got a better look at what I’d just gotten myself into.

  First off, she was an elf. Her skin was bone white and she had big pointy ears jutting out the sides of her head, so Elf it was. She wore a ratty “dress,” little more than a piece of thin fabric wrapped around herself, tied with a loop of twine. Third and most importantly, she was feverish, obviously sick.

  I groaned.

  Urgot had taken all my money for the chance to save a dying girl.

  “A good salesman indeed,” I muttered.

  What was I going to do?

  A notification chirped up beside me, casting ghoulish white light over the street.

  {Quest : Lost and Found}

  [+1 companion]

  “Deliver the slave girl to her hometown”

  [no reward]

  [Y/N]

  Yes or no?

  So I had a choice whether or not I went through with this quest.

  “Yes,” I said.

  The notification flickered.

  {Quest : Lost and Found}

  [Are you sure?]

  [There is no reward]

  [Failure with result in {Unnamed’s} return]

  [Y/N]

  Why wouldn’t there be an award? Didn't the system want people to do this quest?

  I looked down at the girl. Her wrists and neck were scarred from the metal clasps, and her ragged dress was caked in blood from twenty to thirty lashings, some old and others new.

  In an instant, I understood the stakes.

  If I rejected the quest, she would go back to the slave market.

  If I died, she would go back to the slave market.

  If she died, she would go back to the slave market.

  No reward, huh?

  No wonder this quest was rough.

  I took a deep breath. “Yes.”

  {Quest : Lost and Found}

  [Quest accepted.]

  I slumped down on a bench beside the market, laying the girl beside me.

  So…I’d beat this entire ultra-dangerous quest…in one life?

  Seriously?

  That wasn’t so bad, I had a decent amount of power…and a shovel…

  What was I gonna feed her?

  “What was I thinking?” I hissed, face-palming into my hands. “I can’t take care of a little girl.”

  She shifted uncomfortably, wincing in pain, but unable to wake up.

  Right. Sick.

  Fortunately, even if I didn’t have a clue what to do, I knew someone who did.

  Hopefully she wouldn’t kill me first.

  and . Seriously, don't underestimate the power of community engagement. I went from ~95 views per chapter to ~275 views...overnight.