Thinking of the miserable fate he might suffer, Fredos's expression unconsciously turned much uglier.
However, when his gaze once more fell upon a certain spot not far from his feet.
His mind.
Inadvertently began automatically recalling that feeling from before.
That feeling as though some kind of change had sprouted within his very soul...
For no reason at all.
He instinctively felt.
That if he truly wished to escape this wretched life of being at others' mercy.
Then he absolutely could not give up that scroll.
Perhaps.
Its existence would be his only chance in this lifetime to break free from Destiny's shackles!
It was absolutely worth staking everything on and fighting for!
At that thought.
Fredos's gaze changed as well.
There was far less confusion, and far more resolve.
Although quite a bit of bewilderment still lingered in his heart.
For the first time in his life.
He had finally found the resolve to stake his life on doing something!
That feeling.
Made him, who had been raised to possess a slave's mentality and was accustomed to simply going with the flow whenever trouble arose, directly experience an unusual sense of intoxication and satisfaction!
Several dozen days later.
Inside an excavation cavern within the underground mineral vein.
Holding a special pickaxe and squatting atop a protruding ore deposit whose outer surface was relatively smooth, Fredos panted heavily from the grueling physical labor he had just endured while silently observing the conditions of the other slaves around him.
He watched to see whether there was dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs in their expressions.
And the result was simple and straightforward.
Though the degrees differed.
Without exception, their eyes all held more or less dissatisfaction with their current miserable circumstances!
After all, no one wanted to open their eyes