After obtaining [Mana Amplification], Alex roamed the tower in search of Cedric, but no matter how hard he tried, he didn’t find him.

It was as if Cedric had vanished into smoke.

Shaking his head, he formed a bitter smile and said, "Stop being a tsundere and at least see me off."

His words rebounded from the walls and spread throughout the room – however, Cedric didn’t come out.

Alex sighed and muttered, "Time here flows much faster than my world, so I won’t be able to see you for long... however, I will for sure come back to see you, and one day, I will take you out of here."

Somewhere within the dark corners of the wizard tower, Cedric’s lips lifted into a faint smile.

At the same time, the respawn cooldown finished, and a screen appeared before Alex.

[System: Host Alex, you are being revived.]

Suddenly, his world shifted, and he found himself suspended in a groundless, pitch-black expanse – he scowled.

"I’ve started to hate darkness now."

As those words escaped his lips, the darkness around him pixelated into a mass of vibrant colors, and the system’s monotonous voice echoed in his head.

[System: Host Alex, you have been revived.]

[System: Host Alex, you have entered Nyxare City – your status has been updated and new features have been unlocked.]

About the damn time.

Alex commented inwardly, and the vibrant pixilated world settled into a dark room.

Alex’s attire suddenly looked old and torn, while iron cuffs were placed on both of his wrists.

He was sitting in a cage, and even though everything was very dark, he could see similar cages around him.

"What a disgusting feeling," Alex muttered and thought, Status.

[Host: Alex Blade (Anomaly)]

[Race: Human]

[Main Class: Slave (Forced - Locked)]

[Sub Class: None (Locked)]

[Talent: Hall of Great Evils (SSS), Perfect Shield (B)]

[Level: 1 (20/200) (F)]

[Rank: Bronze V]

[Combat Value: 15.2 (16.7)]

[Evo Points: 250]

[Mana Pool: Initial]

[Skills: Mark of Subservience (S), Monarch’s Gluttony (S), Seed Of Evolution (S), Mana Kick Boxing (C), Mana Amplification (B)]

[Artifacts: Grand Mage’s Black Shirt (Rare), Grand Mage’s Black Pants (Rare), Grand Mage’s Pair of Black Shoes (Rare)]

Seeing the rank of the attire he had been wearing for nearly a month, Alex’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, and he muttered in a deeply shocked tone.

"You are telling me that this plain-looking attire is all rare?! What kind of joke is this? And they are giving me 1.5 CV boost now!!"

His respect and gratitude for Cedric increased inwardly, outwardly, though he had a lot to worry about. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

As if to remind him of his position, a blue screen appeared before him.

[System: Host Alex, you have received a major quest.]

[Quest: Freedom — Reach level 5 and obtain a Main Class other than Slave.]

[Reward: 500 Experience, 500 Evo Points, 1 Golden House Ticket.]

[Time Limit: 1 week.]

[Failure: Death.]

His expression darkened even further, and he remembered why Nyxare was so dreaded by most Players.

When a newbie was killed for the first time during the tutorial period, they were revived in Nyxare City and were forcefully given the Slave Class, which forced the NPCs to think of the Player as a slave, causing them to not even look at that Player.

And to make things even worse, their first quest was to break out of this cage, enter the forest surrounding Nyxare for enough experience to reach level five, and then find a guild or master NPC to join a different class.

Alex thought over various things he needed to do, and after a few minutes, he slightly lifted his hands and mumbled, "Common Artifact Loot Box."

Red and blue sparks crackled above his palm, and a white gift box with a white ribbon appeared on them.

Alex pulled at the ribbon, and the box opened with a humming chime.

[System: Host Alex, you have opened a Common Artifact Loot Box.]

[Loot: Sharp Dagger (Common)]

[System: Host Alex, the obtained loot has been placed in your inventory.]

"Well its better than nothing, I guess," Alex stated impassively.

"Let’s get out of here," Alex mumbled and rose to his feet.

He gripped the bars of the iron cage and pulled at them with all of his strength.

The iron bars groaned and folded under his raw strength.

His lips curled up into a grin, and he mumbled while walking out, "That was easier than I thought."

Alex was already much stronger than most newbies, and he was also receiving a 1.5 CV boost with his attire.

He channelled mana to his eyes, and the dark room became slightly visible.

"Most of them are empty," Alex mumbled dejectedly and walked closer toward the room’s exit.

As he reached the exit, he peeked outside, and his gaze fell on more of such cages, and unlike the ones inside, all of these had Players trapped in them.

Their expressions were near lifeless, and their eyes were devoid of any hope. To him, they looked no different than corpses – however, they were needed for his escape.

Alex carefully walked over to the nearest cage, then he equipped [Sharp Dagger] and channeled mana into it.

The Player inside regained his senses, and his eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Alex placed a finger on his own lips and whispered, "Shhh. Stay put and silent."

The one inside immediately placed his hands on his lips and frantically nodded his head.

The corners of Alex’s lips arched upward, and he struck the metal lock with his dagger.

The dagger cut through the lock like butter, and before the sliced chunk of metal could land onto the ground, he grabbed the two parts with his other hand and muttered, "If you don’t have anything. Use this as a weapon."

The Player inside nodded, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes, and he whispered gratefully, "Thank you..."

Alex smiled. "Don’t worry about it."

One by one, he opened the remaining cages and commanded them not to move yet, and they listened as they had no other choice.

While he was breaking the locks, he found someone unexpected.

Alex halted and stared at the caged person with a dumbfounded expression.

"What are you doing here?"