Lance waked to a bang.

  Dust filled his shack, stinging his eyes and blinding his vision.

  He heard 3 voices, one of which he recognised as Jael, the other voices belonged to two ruffians that would take to beating the poor boy, though it was better then alternatives, many orphans find themselves sold into slavery or to Dark Mages, named as such because of the magic they wield and practice.

  Reaching for a bone shiv he tried to wrestle with the stinging sensation in his eyes, his eyelids betraying him, demanding to be kept shut. At last taking in his view through tears, he could see the door shattered on the floor in pieces, and 3 men stood at the doorway with wide grins adorning their faces.

  “Boy, where’s ya stash” Jael shouts, no doubt having worked out some sort of deal with Benny and Brack.

  “You tell us where it is and we’ll let you go” Benny, the larger of the two speaks, his voice deep and heavy. His scarred face and calloused hands speaking of a brutal life.

  Before anyone could make another move it happened. A rat scampered up Bracks leg whilst another bit at his ankle, his shocked shout distracting the other two, as Lances protection jumped into action. There wasn’t much light to see, only a few of the morning sun’s rays reaching this far through the cacophony of structures, and this worked in Lance’s favour.

  “Shit, a fucking rat, get it off me” Brack screams.

  “Stay still fucker I’ll get it”

  Reaching for his knife Benny found himself grabbing something soft and furry.

  “Fuck” he throws his hand out sending a rabid grey squirrel slamming into the wall “A squirrel? Here? What is going on?”

  The three men finally took some time to assess the area around them, though Brack does this whilst wrestling with the two rats still giving their all to defeat him, and what they see will fuel their nightmares to come. Squirrels, rats, mice, rabbits all running and jumping at them with a wildness unnatural to their species, not noticing the various insects kamikazeing to their deaths, with only but one thought in their mindless minds,

  Lance, seeing his chance, was up with a renewed energy, his mind clear.

  Running past the 3 screaming men he took a left, slipping in the mud and finding himself caked in both mud and excrement, but he couldn’t stop, not now, picking himself up he ran, past the onlooking confused bystanders, weaving through allies so complex that after 1 minute he didn’t recognise where he was, his inherited memories failing him.

  Charging through a small gap between two huts he found himself in a hidden space, there was nowhere else to go, but they would struggle to get through the gap if they had managed to follow him. Lance gasped for breath, falling to his knees, holding his burning chest as a wave of relief washed over him.

  Taking stock of himself, he had but the clothes on his back and the shiv he had grabbed, leaving the copper coins he had made for himself.

  Remaining in this space he found; he begins trying to recoup his losses spending the next 6 hours summoning various items and organisms. He needed to be smarter, this power of his has immense potential but only if he can develop it, and magic, what if someone simply curses him to death? He’d need to be quieter and more cautious, no more stupid mistakes that will get him killed.

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  He took off his clothing which was basic linen wear and had a few rats run off with it to leave it somewhere, it may throw them off if they try to find him which would be a bonus but more importantly the clothing was unsalvageable, already damaged and now so dirty wearing it would no doubt decrease his most likely already meagre lifespan. In turn he summoned a Linen tunic and a simple loincloth.

  The space he had found, whilst shut off with only a small gap to squeeze through as an entrance, was surprisingly spacious, a rough square shape a few meters each side and more importantly the sky could be seen high at the top. He felt like he could breathe again.

  He had a nice set up by the time night was upon him. Summoned enough straw for a basic bed on the muddy surface a few poor-quality wooden bowls and cups, some filled with water, a couple spoons and a variety of foods as he had perused his options more. Though nothing of good quality, at least he was ready to start again.

  Having cleaned himself up with summoned water, Lance began his planning again. He doesn’t know where he is, but that’s fine, he has no intentions of going back as it would be suicide. Knowing that the system progresses with a rank up quest he just had to keep busy till such a time comes upon him.

  As night came upon him, he set out, his plan a simple one which he hopes will be effective, to find a merchant to sell his wares to.

  The search was a success, he had found a more expansive less cluttered street with decrepit market stalls. He would need to return in the morning, but he had a direction now.

  The next day he set out, keeping the animals within his new home, they would be far to obvious at day and most likely killed outright. Nobody had pets in the slums.

  Making his was to the market, he could hear a rousing crowd on the cusp of a busy day, some street urchins ran by him and gave him looks, he guessed they were assessing whether he’d be worth an attempt at stealing but luckily they moved on swiftly.

  Reaching the market, there was a number of people setting up at their stalls whilst a few others would assist or were simply standing by waiting. From his memories, such locations were protected by a gang, this made them relatively safe to the rest of the slums and gave the merchants an opportunity to sell their wares, though their profits would be eaten up by protection fees. This is what ended up happening to his family, after they had fallen and had to resort to trade in the slums, they were further taken advantage of, leading to their ultimate ruin.

  Lance assessed the scene before him, the open sky allowing the rising suns rays to illuminate his surroundings, many wary looks were thrown at him.

  Lance walked on, approaching a clean-shaven large man who was stringing up a few fish and other various meats.

  “Hi”

  “Look kid, I’m not in the business of giving out handouts, we all got to make a living” A gruff guarded voice followed, the man not looking away from what he was doing.

  .

  “Sorry sir, I’m not here for a handout but a business proposition”

  “Business proposition? You’ve got some awfully big words ain’t ya”

  “Please hear me out, I have a few items that I’d like to sell to you”

  “I’m not buying some squashed beetle you’ve found, now I’m busy alright, run along”

  “No bugs, meat, I can give some to you for cheap”

  The man’s eyes finally looked to Lance, “What meat? How cheap?”

  “Rat for 3 coppers, and even some fish for 4 coppers”.

  “Well, I can always sell some rat, 3s not bad, but it’ll depend on the condition, same to the fish”

  “Thank you, sir, I’ll be back”,

  Returning, the market was bustling now, a river of people passing through with shouts of haggling all he could hear. Finding his way back to the man, Lance revealed 3 rats and two minnows that he’d covered in a linen tunic he had summoned.

  “Ah kid, didn’t expect you back. And look what you’ve brought for me” the man began assessing the fish as customers looked on, his wares already had a large dent in them, not that he had much to sell in the first place. “I’m not sure what fish this is, but they look fresh at least. Not bad, here”, without fanfare the man placed 17 coppers into Lances cupped hands.

  “You bring me more stuff like that, then there’s more where that came from. I’m Jack, what’s ya name kid”

  “Thank you, I’m Lance”.

  And with that a blossoming friendship started.