The basement remained silent, waiting for morning to lighten it again. No one really spoke to each other, as they knew their life had already turned into hell.
A slave was treated worse than an animal.
They were just livestocks meant to be used for some time before throwing them away when they lost their value.
I knew that very well from not only the VN, but also my life.
Growing up on the streets had their own benefits.
Now, the problem remained on how to get out of here?
'What to do? I can lure him with words and even escape, but what would happen after it? Easily captured once again.'
I was just thinking about solutions when a hologram popped before me, making my eyes glisten in joy.
[Ding! Primordial Villain System is Installed!]
'Hell yeah! Finally something good.'
Who didn't know about systems?
I was actually prepared for the worst-case scenario where I didn't get any golden cheat, but it seemed there was something for me in store.
'Wait, why villain though?'
I wasn't a hero, but I wasn't particularly a villain too. I was just a selfish bastard who wouldn't care about others when it came to my own benefits.
Innocent blood was on my hands, so perhaps I really was close to a Villain.
'But I ain't no murder hobo.'
I've killed many people for my benefit and survival, but it wasn't like I killed at random or something.
I never killed unless necessary for me.
It was just that for me, the line of morality was far lower than other humans. Perhaps, that's why people questioned if I had any empathy or not.
Well, I definitely had otherwise I wouldn't love all these psychotic villainesses.
'What can you do, system?'
[As the name suggests, you are hereby the Primordial Villain. But you're weak, so you will have to unlock the functions of the system slowly.]
'How do I do that?'
[By being a Villain. Break Fate, humiliate rivals, dominate the world and rule over it. No protagonist shall stand against you.]
'I see. So, I just need to be a Villain? That's pretty easy.'
Closing my eyes, I focused on its words.
'Break fate, huh. So, go against the original plot since that's what's fated in this world. I was gonna do that anyway. Well, seems easy.'
There was probably more to it, but I didn't mind. I've lived worse.
'So, do you have an interface or something?' I thought and mumbled softly. "Status!"
...
[Primordial Villain System]
Name: Corvin Maldrath
Status: Slave
Species: Lesser Vampire (Weak) [Primordial (Locked)]
Titles: None
Level: 02 [0/13]
Rank: F
Villain Rank: F (Dormant)
Fate: 0
Authority: 0
Primordial Trait: None
-SKILLS-
Passive: Villain's Aura, Villain's Instinct, Villain's Arrogance, Tactical Mind, Minor Charm,
Active: Blood Healing, Craving, Predator's Focus, Bloodsense
...
Now, this was interesting.
I quickly went through the system and its functions, ignoring most of them as I needed something for now.
That's when I realized only my passive skills could help me.
Active skills were sealed because of this slave collar and the system didn't give otherwise much.
It was fine. I'm currently weak after all.
But its potential made me grin widely.
"Heh? Imagining some wrong things, bitch?"
The old man once again shouted.
"Keep dreaming! Countess Veronica isn't some beautiful lady. Nah, she's an elephant. When she'll jump on you, you'll feel as if a mountain was smashing your dick, hahaha!"
"Old man, did your mom fuck a parrot?" I rolled my eyes and said. "So much nonsense. Is this the reason why you're so useless?"
"Hahah! Say whatever you want. I'll live while you die such a pathetic death. Suits your leech race!"
"We'll see about that, blabbering monkey."
Ignoring him, I focused on my passive skills.
[Villain's Aura: Emits a faint oppressive presence. Weakens enemies' resolve.]
[Villain's Instinct: Warns you of danger, betrayal, or killing intent.]
[Villain's Arrogance: Immune to intimidation and fear-based effects.]
[Tactical Mind: Sharper thinking under stress. Boosts strategy in combat.]
[Minor Charm: Slight vampiric allure. Increases likability and hesitation in others.]
'Alright. I'll just need to play my cards right.'
I scanned the room once again, spotting many items I could use, but all were far from me.
It was then I noticed a box of pens behind my cellar.
Curious, I gave it a glance, and something about those pens felt familiar.
'Wait! Are they the Crimson River's pens? That sign... yes, definitely.'
I smiled, as I moved a little backwards and asked mentally, 'Do I have an open inventory?'
[The Collar Seal cannot affect the system's inventory.]
'Noice! Store every pen in my inventory. They're my best chance of survival after escaping here.'
Finally, my last card was the woman beside me. Without her support, I can forget about getting out, at least for now.
I slid over to the cellar's edges and whispered, "Oi! Do you want to get out of here?"
However, there was no reaction.
Of course, there wasn't. She stopped trusting anyone at this point.
But I'm also a Player.
"Aurora Frostbane, do you want to get out?" I asked, using her full name.
Her eyes fluttered open, finally giving the reaction I wanted.
Nobody here knew her name, let alone her full name, after all.
If they knew, either they wouldn't have taken her in as a slave or finished her off quickly in fear.
That fear.
I wanted to use it.
As she turned her hollow eyes at me, I smiled, "Now, tell me, do you want to get out?"
Surprise flickered in her crimson eyes, as she asked, "Who are you?"
"Irrelevant. Answer me first," I said, glancing at the windows.
Dawn was near.
"Who doesn't want to get out?" She said, keeping her voice low.
"Good! Then, help me and we'll get out of here together," I said.
"Why should I trust you?" She asked, suspicious.
Well, after this much time being a slave, she was afraid of even help.
"You're soon to be a sex slave to a cruel old man who loves torturing his sexual partners," I explained, feeling an ache whenever I remembered that memory.
It all happened in the VN.
I took a deep breath to calm myself and said, "You don't have any other choice unless you're into that."
"What if you're the same?" She said, her voice a whisper. "My fate wouldn't change so why struggle?"
"I'm surprised Ruby Frostbane's daughter is giving up," I choked out a laugh. "In my defence, you can certainly kill me unlike that bastard. You can sense my strength, right?"
"How do you know so much?" She finally asked, as nobody was supposed to know so much.
"Is that really important?" I replied, keeping the mystery. "Tell me your answer quickly before we get shipped off."
She stayed silent for a while before answering, "Fine! There's nothing to lose. So, what is your plan?"
This girl was pretending.
The only reason she agreed was because of fear.
Fear that I would tell this information to the Slavers, which would result in her death.
Even if she seemed like she gave up, she was one of the most stubborn people I knew.
She clung to survival with everything.
Just like me.
"For the first part of my plan, I need to speak with the boss, so you'll have to act as if you're dying." I explained.
"I expected you to use this to escape from this basement," she chuckled hollowly.
"It's useless. Our status is sealed, after all. We're dead meat if we try to escape with this collar," I explained through a whisper.
We had been talking quietly, so all one could hear were just whispers.
"I'll try!" Aurora finally gave in.
"Do it!"
Then, right under my surprised eyes, she coughed up blood, which aroused something within me.
But I suppressed it and shouted, "Guards! You fucking burden on this world! Come here! She's dying!"
Only a few seconds passed before the upper wooden door slammed open, revealing a tall man clad in silver armour, having a frustrated look on his oldish face.
"What is it?" He bellowed, descending down the stairs.
"She's your Boss's valuable product," I shouted back. "Hurry up and tell him she's dying and wants to say something important to him."
Now, if this was a normal world, this most likely wouldn't have worked.
If it was normal that is.
"W-What?" The guard almost slipped as he hurriedly turned over to my crime partner.
Seeing the blood on the floor and her pale face, he panicked and hurriedly ran upwards, "I'll call him."
'And there it worked. Idiotic VN.'
One major flaw about these same cliched old things was dumb characters, and even worse were these no-named NPCs.
The dumbest of them all.
Of course, it would work on them.
'Now, come here, little Boss!'