Nathan looked at the old man and thought that if he wanted to stay alive, he would have to learn from him. To reach that age and still be in good shape, he must know something about life. Who knows, with time, he might have a chance to leave this human cesspool and live a better life.
As he thought, the cut that tormented him so much began to go numb; apparently, the leaves the old man used were analgesic and had a great effect. Thinking of this, the young man decided to lie on his stomach and let his back take some air until he improved.
As he lay there, he listened to some conversations—daydreams about what life was like before slavery: food, landscapes, women, and incredibly, even children playing. To think that even in such an environment, some people could maintain a shred of sanity to the point of managing to have fun and even play.
Opening his eyes, he saw the children playing what seemed to be Rock-Paper-Scissors, only with different symbols than the ones he knew. He watched, thinking about his own childhood, which, let's be honest, hadn't been the best, but was still incredible compared to these boys. He began to observe the other slaves.
They all appeared thin, around 30 slaves, all men, ranging from 11 (only him) to 50 years old (White). It wasn't known if it was due to slavery or if people in this world really were more worn out, but they all appeared much older. He wasn't sure of the ages but estimated them by their attitudes, gestures, and actions.
He observed a certain boy who appeared to be around 16. He was big, and despite being thin like all the others, he conveyed a sense of strength. Nathan recalled that this young man also had no name and was known as Ox, for being strong and dumb as an ox. He had difficulty speaking, but if given food, he would do the necessary work.
Ox was trying to put on his shirt to sleep, but apparently, he couldn't differentiate the armholes from the head hole, creating a comical scene that made some of the less kind men laugh and mock him. Oblivious to this, he kept trying to dress himself to cover his body from the cold coming from the walls.
"Wait, cold? It hasn't even been an hour since we left the mine. It shouldn't be this cold." Noticing this, Nathan looked between the wooden planks that were supposed to be walls and realized that although light still passed through the holes, a freezing wind was already settling in the room.
He forced his mind to think about it, to understand the situation. After a few seconds, he remembered that every night the cold set in after they ate. It wasn't strange to any of them, but for Nathan, who came from another world, it was strange to be so cold in an environment that had been so hot just a few minutes ago.
He began to squeeze into his corner while the cooks, finishing gathering their things, hurriedly retreated out of the shack. The others started to huddle together and drink from a pot of water by the door. From afar, one could see the water wasn't the cleanest, and with each person who drank from it, it got even worse.
"Truly, the law of the strongest prevails here." Realizing there would soon be no more water, he got up and headed with disgust toward the water, trying to wash down the rest of that food that still seemed stuck in his throat.
After a few moments in line, it was his turn to drink the water, and well... not to say it was unsanitary, disgusting, grotesque, and undrinkable, let's just say the water didn't look pretty. He closed his eyes and drank it, knowing that if he didn't, he would probably be thirsty until the next night.
He left quickly and followed the rough floor back to his corner. On the way, as his feet stepped on the dry wooden floor that creaked with every step, he passed near Ox. Seeing him still struggling to put on his shirt, he felt slightly sorry, realizing the boy probably had problems with his mental faculties.
He stopped for a second, looked at the boy, and decided to help. "Hey, didn't you realize that's wrong? That's not how you wear it, man," he said while trying to pull Ox's head out of the wrong hole. Ox, not understanding very well, just looked at his face with doubt and reached out his hand, as if asking for the shirt back.
"Damn, I forgot he doesn't speak," thought Nathan. "Ah, screw it. Come here, let me put this crap on you. I don't want to see a frozen body tomorrow morning." While speaking, he started putting Ox's head in the right place and tried to teach him while dressing him. Ox, not understanding much, just accepted Nathan doing it and kept looking at him without saying anything.
After that, Ox looked at him, and without further ado, lowered his head until it touched the ground as if saying thank you, perhaps. After doing this three times, he lay down on the floor and started snoring without any warning.
"Man, you really are very dum—" Before he could finish offending Ox, a noise appeared in his mind, interrupting him.
[Ding!]
[Hidden Condition Met: The Master's Benevolence.]
[Hidden Condition Met: The Ritual of the Three Kowtows.]
A translucent blue screen, glowing with an ethereal light that contrasted with the filth of the shack, materialized before his eyes.
[Unilateral Soul Bond Detected.]
[Target 'Nameless Slave (Ox)' has recognized the host as his Guide.]
[Initializing Great Patriarch System...] [Loading: 1%... 50%... 100%.]
[Welcome, Sect Master Nathan.]
[Current Disciples: 1/1 (Quality: Trash)]
[PS: What a great disciple you got, huh? A true idiot.]
All that went through Nathan's head was a sincere '?', before he suddenly fainted.
[Information loading process initiated, forced rest initiated.]
After some time, he woke up with his whole body aching and a strong headache. "Damn, if I keep fainting like this, sooner or later I'm going to be in big trouble." While saying this, he looked around and realized that a good portion were already asleep. It couldn't have been long, since some slaves were still sitting and talking in the same place; at most, an hour must have passed.
He suddenly remembered what happened and began to recall the information that appeared in his mind before he fainted. "Damn, what a sadistic system, seriously! Giving a sect-building system to a slave? What kind of idiotic system is this? And on top of everything, it gives me this kind of hidden task. How would anyone manage to activate this? If it weren't for the idiot Ox, I would never have discovered it."
Thinking of his new 'disciple,' he looked to the side and saw the young man sleeping and snoring like a pig, to the point where his cheeks trembled with the exhalation of air. "Heh, I think Pig would be a better nickname for him."
"Okay, and now how do I activate this system?" As he thought this, a screen simply appeared in front of him.
[Patriarch System Initiated]
Host: Nathan (No Surname)
Cultivation: None (Mortal)
Body Training: None (Fragile Body)
Sect: None (Level: Slave Shack) Master Points: 0
Disciples (1/1):
[Ox] - Status: Fanatical Loyalty (Stupidity).
Potential: Iron Body (Partially blocked due to lack of nutrition).
[Main Mission Activated: Make 'Ox' Survive this Night.]
Reward: 1h of Cultivation.
[Error! Host has no potential for cultivation, searching for alternatives...]
[Reward Updated!]
Reward: Acquire body skill equivalent to 20% of your disciple.
"Well, apparently, I have a system and I am trash. WAIT, what do you mean cultivation? Is this a cultivation world? System, answer me, can you speak?" After trying in various ways to get an answer, he gave up and started thinking.
"Okay, from what I know, I transmigrated as an 11-year-old slave, I have a crazy system that has weird conditions that rewards me for having disciples and taking care of them, and apparently something is going to happen tonight and I need to survive it."
"But what could happen tonight that could end his life? Is it an overseer? Did he steal something or irritate someone? No, he's too dumb for that. It's unfeasible; it must be something external."
As he thought, something crossed his mind: the reason they locked themselves inside early every day, the cold, the cooks in a hurry, them being loose without guards apparently. It could only be one thing: there was something around the mines that could kill anyone who went out at night!
Upon concluding this thought, a distant noise was heard, sounding like a man's scream.
"DAMN, they came, hel—!" The voice vanished suddenly.
The only thought in Nathan's head was "Damn."