VanKcrow currently found himself in a cafeteria,if you could call the run down and dirty looking place one,The food was... Unpleasant.

  A brown liquid with a bunch of worm looking things inside it,it certainly was the least appetizing food he had ever seen.

  Around him were other people,most staring at the bowl of food with empty gazes.

  "Don't worry,they aren't worms or anything... even slaves don't deserve to eat such an undignified meal...These things come from a plant called Saol,they come from the continent of Terra,They are frequently eaten by the Sitheach.

  These things are easy to collect and therefore used to feed slaves."

  An slightly overweight elderly woman spoke to the slaves upon seeing their downcast expressions,She was the one who made their food.

  VanKcrow brought the bowl near his mouth and took a gulp of the brown water,the worm like things were then munched in a slow rithim.

  They tasted horrible,But VanKcrow didn't really care about the taste of foods that much,he just needed them to give proper nutrients.

  After finishing his meal, VanKcrow yet again focused his mind on all the information he had about the 8 Pathways.

  The 8 Pathways is essentially a sort of experiment Created by the Inhuman Emperor.

  In the 8 pathways,the lives of mundane people are worth even less than in most other parts of the world.

  They have essentially no rights and can only work as a slave,but simultaneously, unlike in the rest of the world,they can actually Interact with the supernatural,this is because of the expeditions where they will enter Trials.

  The expeditions are when a group of people will leave the 8 Residents,the Lands where most individuals live,and enter the land of Heaven and Earth.

  There,they will face countless dangers in a journey to reach the Paths of Sacrifice.

  Trials given to five different groups of people.

  Mundane humans, Enlightened, Light Seekers, Light Keepers, Light Bringers.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  For unknown reasons, Changelings aren't allowed to enter the 8 Pathways.

  All the different trials have valuable resources that are necessary for the safety of the inhabitants of the 8 Pathways, They also have resources necessary for Fated to grow in strength.

  Geistertore,A portal that can bring the souls of Fated to the soul realm,is a resource commonly found there.

  Because of that, expeditions are launched from time to time,and in these expeditions, Certain people are chosen to take part,some are fated,some are common humans,they are called the War Slaves.

  In the expeditions,the Enemies that will attack the army can only attack those of similar "rank" to them.

  Extremely powerful beings can only attack Light Bringers while the weakest beings can only attack Mundane humans.

  This is one of the reasons why it's possible for normal people to interact with the supernatural.

  On the outside world where there is no such rule, mundane people would get instantly killed by the most common creatures,but here,there are very weak creatures created specifically to test them.

  When they enter the trials,they will also face only beings that are "technically possible" to beat, although in certain cases,those enemies are as close to being unbeatable without actually being unbeatable.

  The reason VanKcrow had come to the 8 Pathways,was because he wished to become a war slave and enter the trials,that way,he would have the opportunity to interact with the supernatural.

  Specifically,he wished to interact with one of the 9 terrors that invaded Era.

  The Natchez,The soul Reaper,the reason why he wanted this,was because the Soul reaper was a "force" that "devoured" the souls of others, Meaning that potentially,it was in possession of remnant souls of fated.

  This is a theory that has been widely discussed by many different Wisemen throughout history,it's plausibility had been placed within the "This kind of hittin" rank of the grimouire of Ganean,one of the greatest Wisemen in history.

  Wisemen were sort of like scientists of earth,they researched the mysticism of the world.

  "This kind of hittin",was the second highest rank,just below"This be bussin" rank.

  Ganean,had a... peculiar, naming sense...

  However, despite being considered a logical theory , almost no one wanted to test it.

  Because interacting with the Soul Reaper could end in someone being stuck in a loop of constant pain and suffering.

  One may even spend thousands of years in pure agony.

  And of those who did try, most were never seen again,the reason wasn't clear,but the majority shared the same opinion.

  They were taken by the Soul Reaper.

  VanKcrow trying to interact with the Soul reaper could certainly end up in him paying a great price,but if he didn't,there was no other choice but to rely on luck and hope to find a Fragment or somehow stumble upon a remnant soul.

  The Soul reaper was one of the few powerful beings he could actually interact with as a mortal and have a "fair" chance of a successful interaction.

  This was because an interaction with it didn't require power,but only the

  Power of the mind.

  The Heir of the world, Akerveyn,had once interacted with it,he is the only person in history Known to survive an interaction with the Soul Reaper.

  However,back then,it wasn't even known that one could become a fated by absorbing the soul of another fated.

  And even if it was,it's unknown if Akerveyn would even care, after all,he was the heir of the world, someone born to be the strongest.

  Why would he care about the Souls of others,

  His own was above all.

  ...

  142 people were standing in an medium sized combat arena.

  They were the entire new batch of newcomers from the past month.

  One month from now,they would either be sent to work as slaves for the noble ones or be sent to an expedition as a war slave.

  Today,They were going to start their training with the Huntress, Venatrix.

  Venatrix stood at the center of the arena with an icy gaze, she took some time to analyze the group and then said,

  "Pick up a wooden weapon,the goal is to land a single blow on me."

  Right after she said this,She pointed at VanKcrow and said,

  "You First."

  VanKcrow was planning on waiting to analyze how Venatrix fought,but since she ordered,he had to be the first one to go.

  VanKcrow picked up a wooden spear,the same weapon venatrix had,and walked towards her.