“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.” — Lao Tzu Riven slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, he simply stared at the ceiling, listening to the familiar sounds of the slave quarters.
Another day.
Another day of hard labor, terrible food, and barely enough sleep.
He sighed and sat up, rubbing his sore arms.
It had been nearly a week since he first arrived in this world.
He had made some small progress, but he wasn’t particularly pleased with it.
He had deliberately disobeyed several minor orders, delayed his work, and even ignored guards when he could play it off.
Aside from a few beatings and plenty of shouting, nothing particularly unusual had happened.
No sudden pain.
No magical punishment.
Nothing.
It seemed increasingly likely that the contract had stopped working when he took over the boy’s body.
Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he was free.
He was still surrounded by armed guards, trapped inside a heavily fortified compound, and forced to work in the mines every day.
If he wanted to escape, he needed to find a way out.
And that meant learning as much as he could about the camp.
Riven slowly got to his feet.
‘Today, I’ll have to pay closer attention.’ He had spent the past several days thinking about possible escape routes, but he still knew very little about the compound itself.
He needed to understand the guards’ routines, find out how the gates operated, and determine whether there were any weaknesses in the walls.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t simply wander around whenever he pleased.
For now, he would have to make do with whatever opportunities presented themselves.
A loud metallic bang interrupted his thoughts.
“GET UP!
EVERYONE OUT!” Riven flinched.
The familiar guard stood in the doorway, holding his usual metal bucket.
The other slaves immediately began scrambling to their feet.
Riven followed them outside.
He had no idea what the day would bring, but he hoped it would be different from the previous ones.
As it turned out, he was about to get his wish.
The workers were gathered in the courtyard, waiting for their usual orders.
However, instead of immediately sending them toward the mines, the overseer stood in front of them with an irritated expression.
“Listen up, you worthless bastards!” The slaves fell silent.
“Apparently, some of the lazy idiots around here have forgotten how to do their jobs.” He gestured toward the nearby buildings.
“The courtyard is filthy, the slave quarters are a mess, and the water supplies haven’t been properly maintained.” Riven glanced around.
He hadn’t particularly noticed anything unusual about the courtyard, but now that he looked closer, he could see rubbish scattered across the ground.
There were also several empty barrels lying near one of the buildings.
The overseer continued.
“Since the guards responsible for keeping this place clean have apparently decided to do absolutely nothing, you’ll be taking care of it instead.” A few slaves exchanged glances.
Nobody dared to complain.
“Some of you will clean the quarters.
Others will collect water and clean the courtyard.
I expect everything to be spotless by the end of the day.” He pointed toward the guards standing nearby.
“Anyone who refuses will be punished.” Riven quietly sighed.
‘Well, at least I won’t have to spend the entire day in the mines.’ He wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about cleaning, but it was a welcome change from crawling through narrow tunnels and hammering rocks for hours.
More importantly, it would give him an opportunity to observe the camp.
The overseer began assigning workers to their tasks.
When he reached Riven, he briefly looked him over.
“You.
You’re to small to carry buckets.
You’ll be scrubbing the slave quarters, emptying trash and helping clean the courtyard.” Riven nodded.
“Yes, sir.” “Then get moving!” Riven quickly joined the other slaves.
Perhaps today wouldn’t be a complete waste after all.
His first task was relatively simple.
He just had to move the trash from various dumpsters to the pit they burned it in.
As he made his way across the compound, he took the opportunity to observe his surroundings.
The camp was considerably larger than he had initially thought.
Several stone buildings surrounded the central courtyard, including the slave quarters, storage buildings, and what he assumed were the guards’ barracks.
Beyond those stood the enormous outer walls.
Riven glanced upward.
They were even taller than he remembered.
The stone stretched high above him, with several watchtowers positioned along the top.
Armed guards could be seen walking along the walls, occasionally stopping to look down at the compound.
‘There’s no way I’m climbing those.’ Even if he somehow managed to find a way up, the guards would almost certainly spot him.
And considering his current physical condition, he doubted he could climb very far anyway.
He continued walking.
Eventually, dumpsters and scooped up the trash.
It smelled disgusting and he wasn’t given anything to use but his bare hands.
He turned around and started making his way back.
As he walked, he noticed guards laughing at him they found it funny this slave boy had to carry their waste, how he had to live in their filth.
Another two guards were standing near one of the entrances.
They appeared to be watching a group of workers moving supplies through the gate.
Riven slowed slightly.
‘Two guards?’ He glanced toward the main entrance.
There were also two guards stationed there.
He continued walking, trying not to stare too obviously.
When he reached the courtyard, he carefully set down his buckets.
Then he looked around again.
The same arrangement seemed to be present at every entrance he could see.
Two guards in the side entrances, with more at the main gate where the carts came in.
For the moment, he focused on his assigned work.
After emptying the trash, Riven was ordered to help clean the slave quarters.
The task was unpleasant, but at least it didn’t require much physical strength.
He swept the floors, scrubbed the floors, collected rubbish, and carried several filthy blankets outside to be shaken clean.
The quarters were in an even worse condition than he had expected.
Dust covered practically every surface, and the smell was almost unbearable.
He wrinkled his nose.
‘How do people even live like this?’ Of course, he already knew the answer.
‘He lived like this’ He continued sweeping.
While working, he occasionally glanced toward the doorway.
Several guards passed by throughout the morning.
Some barely paid attention to the slaves, while others stopped to shout at anyone who wasn’t working quickly enough.
Riven began trying to memorize their movements.
One guard seemed to spend most of his time near the entrance to the quarters.
Another regularly walked between the courtyard and the storage buildings.
A third appeared to patrol the area surrounding the main gate.
He didn’t know whether their routines were always the same, but it was worth remembering.
‘If I can figure out when they’re distracted, I might have a chance.’ He continued cleaning.
Eventually, one of the guards entered the quarters.
“YOU!
Finish that corner!” Riven immediately turned toward him.
“Yes, sir.” The guard pointed toward a particularly dirty section of the floor.
“And make sure you get all of it!” Riven nodded and returned to scrubbing.
He had no intention of giving the man another reason to hit him.
Especially not when he was finally getting an opportunity to observe the camp.
By midday, the slave quarters were considerably cleaner.
Riven’s next assignment was to help clean the courtyard.
He was given a broom and ordered to sweep the debris into several piles.
It was tedious work, but it had one significant advantage.
The courtyard offered a much better view of the compound.
From there, he could see the main entrance, several smaller gates, and much of the surrounding wall.
He could also observe the guards without having to move around too much.
Riven began sweeping.
As he worked, he noticed a large cart approaching the main entrance.
Several men were pulling it, and the back was loaded with wooden crates.
The guards stationed at the gate immediately stepped forward.
One of them inspected the cart while the other spoke with the men transporting it.
Riven slowed his sweeping.
‘Supplies?’ He watched as the guards examined the crates.
Eventually, they allowed the cart to enter.
Riven continued watching as it disappeared into the compound.
A little while later, another cart approached the gate.
This time, however, it was leaving.
Riven immediately concentrated on the cart.
He watched as the guards stopped the cart and began inspecting it.
One of them climbed onto the back and examined the contents.
Another checked underneath the cart.
They even made the driver step aside while they searched.
Riven frowned.
‘They’re checking for stowaways.’ ‘They’re more thorough then I thought they’d be.’ He watched carefully.
The guards continued inspecting the cart for several minutes before finally allowing it to leave.
Then another cart arrived.
The same thing happened.
The guards inspected it thoroughly before allowing it through the gate.
If someone tried to escape by hiding inside a supply cart, the guards would have to catch them before they left the compound.
He watched another cart pass through.
The cycle continued.
There was no obvious way to sneak past them.
Riven sighed internally.
‘So much for that idea.’ He continued sweeping, but his attention remained on the gate.
He had hoped the carts might provide an easy way out.
Unfortunately, it seemed the guards had already thought of that possibility.
Still, the information was useful.
At least now he knew that hiding in a cart wouldn’t be an easy way out of here.
He turned his attention toward the walls.
They were tall, thick, and heavily guarded.
There were no obvious gaps or damaged sections that he could use.
Even if he somehow managed to climb them, the guards in the watchtowers would likely spot him.
‘Great.
So the walls are practically impossible to climb, and the gates are constantly guarded.’ He frowned.
There had to be another way.
Perhaps there was a service entrance somewhere else.
Or maybe there was a way to leave the compound without going through the gates.
He would have to keep looking.
For now, however, he needed to finish his chores.
Riven continued sweeping.
Unfortunately, he was becoming increasingly distracted.
Every few minutes, another cart passed through the gate.
Each time, he found himself watching the guards inspect it.
He was so focused on observing their movements that he barely noticed the bucket of dirty water sitting beside him.
He stepped backward.
His foot struck the bucket.
Before he could react, it tipped over.
Water spilled across the ground.
Riven froze.
‘Oh, shit.’ He stared at the spreading puddle.
The water used to scrub grime was spilled all over the freshly cleaned courtyard.
“HEY!” Riven immediately turned around.
One of the guards was glaring at him.
“What the hell are you doing?” Riven swallowed.
“I…
I’m sorry, sir.” The guard marched toward him.
“You’re supposed to be cleaning, not standing around!” Riven quickly lowered his head.
“Yes, sir.” The guard pointed at the spilled water.
“Then clean that up!” Riven nodded.
“Right away.” “AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” The guard slapped the back of his head.
Riven winced.
“Yes, sir.” The man glared at him for another moment before walking away.
Riven remained still until he was certain the guard wasn’t coming back.
Then he crouched down and began cleaning up the mess.
‘Damn it.’ He had been so focused on watching the carts that he’d completely forgotten about his own work.
He glanced toward the gate one last time.
Another cart was passing through.
For a moment, he considered watching it.
Then he quickly looked away.
‘No.
Not worth it.’ He returned to his chores.
From that point onward, he made sure to pay much closer attention to what he was doing, resigning to steal glances rather then watch.
He could observe the guards without being careless.
He just needed to be more patient.
The rest of the afternoon passed without any further incidents.
Riven finished cleaning the courtyard and helped carry several more buckets of water.
By the time the guards finally dismissed the workers, his arms were aching.
He was exhausted, but he couldn’t deny that the day had been useful.
He had learned quite a bit about the compound.
Every entrance he had seen was guarded by at least two men.
The outer walls were far too tall to climb easily.
The carts entering and leaving the camp were inspected, making them an unreliable means of escape.
He had also begun noticing the guards’ routines.
Some seemed to spend most of their time near the entrances, while others regularly patrolled the courtyard and surrounding buildings.
It wasn’t much.
But it was a start.
That evening, Riven returned to the slave quarters.
He collected his usual bowl of watery soup and sat down in his corner.
His body ached from the day’s work, and his stomach was still far from satisfied.
Nevertheless, he was in a relatively good mood.
For the first time since arriving at the camp, he had been able to spend an entire day outside the mines.
And although he hadn’t found a way to escape, he had learned several useful things.
He slowly ate his soup while thinking about what he’d observed.
‘The main gate is too heavily guarded.’ He took another spoonful.
The walls are too tall.
He sighed.
‘And hiding in a cart probably won’t work.’ He leaned back against the wall.
It was frustrating.
He had hoped that spending a day exploring the compound would reveal some obvious weakness.
Instead, he’d discovered just how carefully the place was guarded.
Still, he wasn’t ready to give up.
There had to be a way out.
He simply hadn’t found it yet.
Riven glanced around the room.
The other slaves were eating, talking quietly, or preparing to sleep.
Nobody seemed particularly concerned about escaping.
Perhaps they had already accepted that they would spend the rest of their lives here.
Riven clenched his fists.
He wasn’t going to accept that.
He had already spent enough time being helpless.
He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life trapped in this miserable place.
For now, he would continue observing the guards.
He would memorize their routines, learn the layout of the compound, and look for any possible clue that could help his escape.
Eventually, he would find a way out.
He just needed to be patient.
Riven finished his soup and set the bowl aside.
Then he lay down on his mattress and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow would probably be another day in the mines.
But at least now he had a better idea of what he was dealing with.
And that was something.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt as though he was making actual progress toward his freedom.
He slowly drifted off to sleep.
Tomorrow, he’d continue looking for a way out.