"U-uhh…"
Alicia groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.
The expanse around her was dark, and she struggled to see since her vision was still blurry. Accompanied with the surrounding darkness, her sight was a mess.
She felt her entire body ache as her head pounded. Everything around and about her hurt, so it was painful just raising her eyelids
"You're… awake… huh?" A familiar voice sounded right next to her.
She recognized it instantly, though she couldn't properly see the face of who spoke.
"B-Billy…?" As the whisper escaped her lips, she felt like her throat was on fire.
She felt too uncomfortable to do anything without it hurting.
'What happened? Why am I here? Where is this place? Why is Billy—?'
Before Alicia could complete her set of thoughts, chunks of her most recent memories began to flash in her mind.
She remembered how Rey approached her in the library, and how they went to a shady shop.
And then…
'N-no way!' Alicia's eyes popped wide open as she winced in pain.
'I was kidnapped? Set up by Re… no, that definitely wasn't Rey!'
Now that she was in this state, considering everything with the benefit of hindsight, she was a hundred percent sure that the person she met wasn't the guy she knew and liked.
It was someone else. Perhaps even…
"I'm sorry, Alicia. I… I really am…" Billy's voice echoed in the area just as she was about to think of him as the culprit.
'So it was YOU!' Her thoughts nearly echoed out through her lips.
She felt rage rise up from within her, but it was quickly suspended thanks to the pain and discomfort that swelled throughout her body.
"I just… wanted you to love me. To see me the way I see you… I…"
Alicia didn't know how Billy was able to talk so much when she could hardly leak out a few words without such stinging pain.
'It must be due to his Stats and Class.'
Alicia was jealous. If she could speak even nearly as much as he could, she would tell him to shut up.
'He tricked me and actually allowed both of us to be kidnapped! What in the world?!'
As much as she was curious about why and how it happened, Alicia didn't think she wanted to hear it from him.
The forgotten disgust she had was welling up, especially now that she remembered how he treated the waitress in the shop.
'Now that I think of it, everything makes sense now!'
Alicia always knew Rey wouldn't do the things Billy was doing, yet she couldn't disprove his identity.
Now that she was sure, it all connected.
'I can't believe he would do something so creepy…'
"F-forgive me… please…" She heard Billy murmur and groan, however Alicia didn't care much for what he was saying.
'I've been kidnapped. I need to find a way out!'
That was the only thing on her mind.
'Status Window!'
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Alicia White
- Race: Human (Otherworlder)
- Class: Grand Tamer (A-Tier)
- Level: 9 (34.90% EXP)
- Life Force: 1/10 [Critical]
- Mana Level: 30 (+100) [Locked]
- Combat Ability: 23 [Locked]
- Stat Points: 0
- Skills (Exclusive): [Divine Beast Summon]. [Absolute Healing]. [Greater Ice Magic]
- Skills (Non-Exclusive): Nil
- Alignment: Lawful Good
[Additional Information]
A pet-lover who desires to return home, but can not afford to see others in a state of distress. Your Skills and Class are in perfect synergy with you.
Warning: You are currently under a Status Condition that renders you incapable of much of anything
[End Of Information]
"W-what is this…?"
Alicia could not believe her eyes. Her Mana and Combat abilities were locked, which meant she couldn't utilize them even if she mustered the strength to.
She had never experienced anything like this before, so it took a while to wrap her head around it.
"You… you've checked your Status, haven't you? I checked too…" Billy's voice echoed to remind her of the obvious.
"We can't escape…"
'Would you shut up?! Who put us into this mess in the first place?!' Alicia wanted to yell, but she knew she couldn't.
Yelling was unproductive anyway, so she decided not to suffer for it.
"Are we… the only ones here…?" Alicia finally spoke.
It hurt her to do so—both physically and mentally—but she had to gather more information.
Since he had been awake for longer, surely he'd know.
"No. There are a few others… but they were taken out… to eat."
Billy wasn't called out, and she was unconscious, so did that mean he decided not to leave her all by herself?
Alicia knew it was something that Billy could do, but that didn't mean she suddenly felt grateful.
If it hadn't been for him, she would have been reading her book in peace.
"What's… going to happen to us?"
"…"
Seconds after Alicia croaked out this question, there was no response from Billy.
Only his heavy breathing could be heard.
"Answer me." Alicia hardened her tone, causing her to wince in more pain.
A few more seconds passed before Billy's trembling voice revealed the truth.
"S-slavery…"
As Alicia heard this, her eyes widened.
'Slavery?! We're going to be sold?!' Her heart raced, causing her body to feel much weaker than before.
"It'll be better if you don't get… too worked up." Billy murmured.
"It'll hurt more… if you struggle."
Alicia felt more and more upset as she heard him speak, but Billy wasn't wrong.
Right now, she was in tremendous pain thanks to her current disorientation.
'I can't escape in my current state, and if I don't do anything, we'll be sold to slavery.'
That was her current predicament.
'Is there a way out of this?'
There was none that Alicia knew of. It made her increasingly frustrated, but she kept her emotions in check.
She had to take her time to analyze it.
'H-hold on! That's it… TIME!' She still had no idea what the time was, and how much longer it would take before they would get sold.
Naturally, she did the only thing she could do to find out.
"How long… do we have until we're sold…?"
If they had like a week before being sold, there was a chance that the Royal Estate's search party would find them first.
The Black Market was somehow involved in this, so she knew the Royal Council would crack down on their activities to find her and Billy.
'We still have a chance of our powers returning too. I don't know how long this [Locked] effect lasts for, but it can't be forever, right?'
They just had to be vigilant and bide their time until the perfect opportunity arrived.
"Tomorrow."
"… E-eh?"
As Alicia heard this, her thoughts instantly froze.
"W-what did you just say…?"
Deep down, Alicia hoped she didn't clearly hear what Billy had just whispered.
Much to her horrors, however, her hopes were dashed.
"I heard… we are gonna be sold… tomorrow…"
Her body trembled at the news.
"I-I'm sorry… Alicia… I really am…"
At this point, Alicia was too deep in deep fear to even hear Billy.
She was too scared to think.
The only person she could think of at this point was Rey.
"H-help me…" As Alicia struggled to feel the White Amber on her finger, she couldn't.
This discovery broke her heart even more, and tears fell from her eyes.
"P-please help me… anyone… Rey…"
Even though her prayers fell on deaf ears, Alicia wouldn't stop mumbling to herself.
… Until she finally fell unconscious once again.
*
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Thanks for reading!
Will it be too late? Will Rey be able to save Alicia and will Adonis be able to save Brutus?
Who knows…
