Return of the Lost One

The Legendary Forsaken One

"N-no... T-this can't be true..."

Dugo Zugath let out a low groan as he stared at the spherical magic crystal in front of him. Even after a long while, it was still yet to react. It was obvious from his trembling voice that he found it hard to believe what he had just seen.

For a moment, it was as if the world had just befallen him. His right hand, though still trembling, was reached out towards the magic crystal, seemingly hoping for it to light up even with the slightest gleam.

This was his only way to escape from his sl*very and return to his village to be with his family again. Because he missed them all for a long time now.

There was not a day that he couldn't think of them. The warm smile of his mother, father, and his little sister... The warm food laid on the table... The warm bed that protects him from cold... The place he could call home... Dugo missed them all. Though they were only commoners living in a remote village, it was more than enough for him to live the happy life he wished for.

But it seemed like God wanted to play tricks on him.

A year ago, Dugo Zugath went out of the village to look for a birthday present for his beloved little sister. The smile filled with warmth was still painted on his face when he left the village and went deeper into the woods. Although he knew well that it was dangerous for him because of the beasts lingering around, Dugo still went on to try his luck. He only prayed that his life wouldn't be in danger as he could find the so-called Portia that was said to finally have bloomed after a hundred years. If he could just find it, then how happy would his little sister be?

His little sister was crippled. She was born without a chance to walk with her two feet. If Dugo could just find Portia, the legendary flower that could heal any injury and disability, and then give it to her, then he could finally give his little sister the true happiness she deserved.

But reality seemed more cruel than dreams. As luck would want to, instead of the peerless treasure, what he found had spelled his doom. Dugo Zugath bumped into a group of people that appeared to be slave hunters.

Dugo Zugath was still halfway through his journey and would he just bump with these kinds of people? Just how unlucky was he for something like this to happen to him?

So, not wanting to accept his fate, Dugo Zugath ran desperately to escape the imminent danger. But how could his young body, which was still yet to awaken any kind of energy, possibly escape these slave hunters who were adept at hunting?

It didn't even take a minute for one of the slave hunters to catch him. The other party only appeared in front of Dugo as if he was a ghost. One could immediately tell the disparity in speed between them.

Dugo Zugath was utterly helpless. Seeing the cold smile of the slave hunter in front of him, only dread remained in his heart. His face was completely pale and his body couldn't stop shaking. But before he could utter any words to beg for mercy, he just found his eyes becoming more and more blurry before he finally lost consciousness. The last thing he had seen was the impassive smile of the slave hunter who caught him.

And just like that, Dugo Zugath was sold as a slave in a town unknown to him. He was bought by a seemingly wealthy family and, at the same time, cruel.

Dugo lived his life like a dog. Just to live, he was forced to eat the food of the pigs and sleep with them. He did the hard labor with his young body. He was even forced to kill and steal some things just for the sake of his master. If his master was unsatisfied with his labor, he would be whipped until he passed out. The world became cold to him as the only thing that could give him warmth was the memories of the past.

Days passed by and his life repeated like this in a cycle. Even when the scorching sun burned his body while doing the hard labor for his master, what he only felt at that time was coldness. The life of a slave has never been easy!

Thankfully, he was hardworking and he rarely failed a task that was given to him. It was not because he liked the work, which was no different than torture, but because he was venting all his anger into it. But who would have thought that his master would take a liking to him because of this?

As a result, his value in the eyes of his master had increased significantly. He was not fed with the food of the pigs anymore and he was given a cottage for him to sleep in. Although it was small, it was more than enough compared to sleeping with the pigs. But Dugo Zugath knew well that compared to what he had done for his master, what he had received was not worth mentioning. That said, he was still filled with coldness and resentment as the real smile that already disappeared a long time ago was still refusing to come out. He might be smiling in front of his master, but only he knew how fake it was. If he had a chance, he would definitely kill this master of his.

Unfortunately, his master was an awakener. And the other party was far stronger than him. As unwilling as he was, his life and death were still held by his master. The only thing he was hoping for was for the day when he turned 13, the day when he would awaken a certain kind of energy and finally become an awakener.

Since his master had taken a liking to him, his master would definitely support him somehow and raise him as a better dog that he could order around. If that time came, he would have a chance to become stronger and use this opportunity to rebel.

And as expected, when Dugo Zugath finally turned 13 after a year of being a slave, his master had brought him to see what kind of energy did he awaken and see what kind of future he had. If his master saw that it was worth raising such a dog, he would definitely invest his money in him. Seeing the strong body of Dugo, and the loyalty he had displayed in the past year, his master felt that he would give him a surprise, as he was even thinking of sending him to the Academy to give him a better future.

But now, when Dugo Zugath finally saw a slight ray of hope, when he thought that the endless night was finally coming to an end, he would have just found that the world really didn't want to let him go. He was even asking the seemingly non-existent God above, why was this happening to him? Just what kind of evil deeds had he done to deserve such a cold fate?

Looking at the unlit magic crystal before him, only one thought surfaced in Dugo's mind. And this thought could only give him fear and disbelief. He didn't awaken any kind of energy! Or in other words, he was one of those very few unlucky individuals in the world who were forsaken by God, the Forsaken Ones! Just when was the last time someone like them appeared in the world anyway? Putting that aside, why would it be him in all the people of the world? He who craved for power just to escape this cruel fate of his!

"Impossible! This magic crystal must be broken!" Dugo Zugath pointed his right forefinger towards the magic crystal as he shouted in grief, unwilling to accept such a reality.

Sapak!

However, instead of getting a reply, Dugo Zugath was sent flying and then bumped heavily on the ground outside the high platform. Blood spurted out of his mouth with a few of his bones being broken as he found it hard to stand up anymore. As it turned out, one of the two middle-aged men standing on the high platform had made a move to strike him. Just a sheer force coming from the wave of his hand was more than enough to send Dugo Zugath flying.

"Trash!" The one who attacked Dugo spoke coldly. "This magic crystal is provided by the City Lord himself and you dare to say that it is broken? Out of respect for master Diego Salaman, I won't kill you. Or else, you would be dead already."

Silence.

The crowd surrounding the high platform was silent for a moment before finally bursting into an uproar.

My God! Just what did they see?

"This slave failed to awaken any kind of energy? Is he the legendary 'Forsaken One'?"

"That should be it! Or else, how can you explain this?! Since Master Diego brought him here, he must be sure that he is already 13 years old. And since he didn't awaken any energy at the age of 13, then he must really be one of those unlucky fellows."

"As expected of a slave, he surely is worthless! I'm sure Master Diego would be utterly disappointed about wasting his money on this slave. I wonder what Master Diego will do to this slave to punish him for venting his anger..."

"How unlucky of him..."

Although some people sighed in lament, there was no lack of people who mocked him for his misfortune. Only one person was frowning at the sudden event. And that was Diego Salaman who brought three slaves to see the potential and the kind of energy they awakened. Now that one of them was trash among trashes, the one that he had high hopes for, he was really not in a mood to even force a smile.

In his mind, he had already killed Dugo a thousand times.