As soon as lunch ended, Ethan quickly stood up and walked toward the forge as fast as he could. The guard noticed Ethan's behavior and approached him. "You're quite eager, aren't you? I like to see that."
With that, the man suddenly kicked Ethan's leg, trying to knock him to the ground.
He did this because he enjoyed humiliating the slaves there.
However, when his kick struck Ethan's leg, Ethan didn't fall as usual. His leg merely shuddered slightly but remained planted firmly in place. The man—who was Level 1 but possessed slightly elevated stats—was taken aback.
Ethan looked back, and his eyes met the guard's.
The guard stared directly into Ethan's golden eyes and felt a shiver run through his body.
Ethan looked at him as if he were about to kill him at any moment.
The man took a step back, then slapped Ethan across the face with all his might. SLAP! The loud sound echoed through the forge, drawing the attention of the other slaves. "Why are you looking at me like that, huh?! Do you want to die?"
"..."
"Kneel down right now and apologize," the guard said.
Ethan looked at him, feeling intense loathing.
"Kneel right now," the guard repeated.
Ethan felt the urge to vomit, but he calmly knelt down. The guard then placed his foot on Ethan's head and said, "Yeah, yeah, that's right. Next time you look at me like that, I'll rip your head off."
The man then kicked Ethan in the side, though Ethan didn't feel much pain.
He then calmly stood up, surprising the man.
'What is going on with him?' the guard wondered as he watched Ethan return to work as if nothing had happened. Ethan had always been one of the weakest slaves, crying out in pain whenever he was struck. But he was different now, and that worried the man. He sensed that something was wrong.
He stepped away from Ethan, his mind wandering.
Meanwhile, Ethan watched the iron "burn" as he repeated a phrase over and over in his mind.
'I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you.'
He could picture the man's head burning inside the furnace.
####
As the days went by, Ethan's luck improved and his points accumulated; on the fifth day, he finally managed to pull a silver sword from the gacha. He sighed and checked the sword's stats.
Sword (Silver) ★★
Attack - 266
Magic Conductivity - 167
Skills - Agility Boost Lv. 4
He looked at the sword and felt disappointed. Two stars, yet the attack power was so low? He wasn't satisfied with something like that. However, forging a silver sword earned him 20 points.
If he started forging silver swords frequently, the number of points he gained would increase significantly.
'And it's important that I boost my luck as much as possible. I need a sword for when I eventually leave this place.'
Then, the sixth day arrived.
Forging silver swords was becoming routine, so Ethan's point gains had increased considerably. Yet, despite his rising luck, he still hadn't forged a single gold sword.
Then, the seventh day arrived.
Thanks to the quality of the swords he was consistently forging, Ethan received a promotion. He began to be treated as a "Premium Slave." The food he ate was better, and he was even given his own room.
The point count in his status kept skyrocketing, but Ethan remained focused.
Then, the day arrived.
It had been 22 days since Ethan arrived in this world.
Things had improved after he boosted his stats days ago; he wasn't in as much pain, and his forging efficiency had increased. Yet, in his eyes, it was still hell. He wanted to see the sunlight.
At the end of the day, a guard escorted Ethan to his room.
The room he had been given featured a better bed and even a private bathroom.
As soon as he entered the room, he went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the cracked mirror. Golden eyes and long blond hair—grown out because he hadn't cut it in ages. He had an incredible appearance, nothing like the one he'd had in his old world. His physique was enviable, too; even covered in soot and exhausted, he still looked amazing.
'I look just like Ais,' Ethan thought.
After washing his face, he went to his room and sat on the bed. Then, he opened his status screen.
Name: Ethan Walker
Familia: Alectro Familia
Level: 1
Status - Strength (STR): F 336
Endurance (END): G 241
Dexterity (DEX): G 215
Agility (AGI): I 367
Magic (MAG): I 43
Luck (LUK): H 153
Available Points: 1,200
His Luck had risen enough for him to dream of forging a "Golden" sword, and his saved-up points had reached 1,200. He was ready to escape this place. He was confident that those guards wouldn't be able to stop him.
However, he knew for a fact that there were people in the Alectro Familia far stronger than any of those guards.
He couldn't simply go to the God and ask to leave. He couldn't get rid of his Falna.
He just wanted a taste of freedom. Perhaps seeking the backing of a more powerful Familia would work.
So, Ethan distributed all his points, focusing primarily on Strength and Agility.
If he could, he would have poured points into Luck to forge a top-tier sword, but that wasn't possible; his Luck only increased after he finished forging a sword.
Once all the points were allocated, Ethan smiled and thought:
'Tomorrow's the day.'