"Lately, this is happening way too often," I thought after opening my eyes again in an unfamiliar place. "This time, it seems like I’m on a bed at least." I got up and looked around. The small room I was in looked like an ordinary cell. In the back right corner was a basic bed I still sat on. Behind me were a few small shafts. In front of the bed stood a typical prison door with a barred window you would expect in a prison cell like this.

Unlike many other instances, I knew exactly what had happened. Whatever these psychopaths were trying to do with me succeeded, and after I fainted, they brought me to this room.

For now, the crucial question was whether staying or trying to escape was the better course of action. My stomach rumbled, and instantly the pain of starvation started kicking in. I struggled towards the door and started banging on it. At least I wanted to, but hunger had taken a toll on my strength, and the result was mild knocking.

"Hey anybody there, I’m starving!" to my relief, shortly after, there was a response. "Oi, tell the higher-ups that 8028 woke up." Quickly followed the reply. "On my way, sir!" Presumably, two guards had heard me, and one of them would relay the information that I woke up to whoever was in charge.

The number 8028, which I heard before, was my identification number, which could mean that there were 8027 others like me or that I was the 28th member of the 8th or 80th group. Shortly after, steps echoed through the halls. "Sir, orders are to get 8028 ready in 30 minutes." The guard said before receiving another quick answer. "Go get Meal C size B."

"On my way, sir!" As I heard him leave, I noticed the other one getting closer to the door I was leaning against. He stopped in front of the cell before saying: "You better be thankful to father crow for his generosity to pick up street trash like you. Never forget that you are his belongings. If you value your life, that is."

Steps echoed through the halls, and my mouth watered, anxiously awaiting my first meal after arriving in this world. A small flap at the bottom of the door opened, and through it came a wooden plate and a cup filled with water.

On the wooden plate were vegetables and meat, for many a simple meal, but to me, it was the most valuable thing in the entire world. I took the wooden spoon that came with the plate and instantly started eating. The taste was simply divine. It was the best thing I ever had. I briefly stopped and took a sip of the cup.

"Never knew water could be this refreshing." I thought to myself before quickly switching my attention back to the main course and continuing to chew everything down in record time. I felt alive for the first time since arriving in this hardcore setting of a shitty isekai story. Not only my body but also my mind felt refreshed, and I started planning my next course of action.

One guard mentioned a time limit of 30 minutes, so I had plenty of time to gather my thoughts and decide how to move forward. My capturers gave me good food, which implied that they wouldn’t treat me terribly. Probably...

Since I’m not restrained or still in that medical room, it’s unlikely that they want to continue using me as a test subject. However, I can’t be sure about that yet. For now, let’s ignore that theory. It’s more probable that this organization wants to make use of my magic capabilities. That wouldn’t be a bad outcome since they need me. I will get food, so staying here would be better than starving on the streets.

Now the deciding factor is what they need me for and whether or not they will do more experiments like before, which could threaten my life. If they wanted to use me, another question was how they would try to control me. They don’t seem like a group of knights driven by honor and loyalty.

With the current information, further thinking wouldn’t bring me anywhere, so I will wait until they come to get me and then focus on finding answers to these questions. Some time passed in silence, but then steps echoed damp through the halls and slowly got closer until they stopped in front of my door. A key was inserted, and the door opened with a metallic creak.

In front of me were two tall men wearing a combination of black leather armor and chain mail. The left had a rather large build, and a giant axe peaked over his shoulder. The right had a sword hilt around his waist, which length implied that its content was a longsword or something similar. "Get up and follow me." The big guard ordered.

I did as I was told. His voice matched the guard’s voice that talked to me before, so there weren’t enough guards to have different ones for guarding prisoners and taking them somewhere. The other guard stepped behind me after following him out of my cell. We continuously walked through many corridors. They all had air shafts and different colored crystals shining relatively bright but no windows. We went up two stairs before arriving in a fairly large room that reminded me of a courtroom. Many people were looking at me from all directions in said courtroom, and almost all of them wore crow masks.

The guards weren’t wearing masks, so it’s likely a right reserved to the upper echelon of this group. After we reached the middle of the room, a man entered the room. He was tall and elderly-looking with a dark leather robe, a crow mask, and a dark cane with a red ruby at the top. He slowly made his way towards an empty throne embellished with rubies.

Instantly, the 2 guards pushed down on my shoulder and head, bringing me down to my knees and almost smashing my head into the ground. Voices echoed throughout the room. "We greet the almighty Father Crow."

My tension levels instantly shot through the roof. I had to study their leader to understand his personality. "Rise 8028" In a cold and deep voice, he proclaimed, and I instantly got up

"From this day forward, you shall serve me and fight until the blood of all my enemies is drained. Let the ceremony begin!" Two men got up from both sides, came towards me, and stopped around 1 meter before reaching me. They then started mumbling words I couldn’t understand. "Do you accept to serve as a slave with your blood and follow every command of the supreme leader until the day you die?"

A man sitting close to the throne asked. The world froze around me. Hold up, hold up, hold up. Is this a test to see my loyalty? No, they can’t expect loyalty from someone they kidnapped and experimented on against their will. The four men and this entire situation had to mean that this is a slave contract enforced by magic, and it seems they need the victim to accept the contract for it to work. So if I accept, I’m pretty screwed, but if I don’t, what will they do to me?

Actually, wait a minute. In the experiment, the mages said that 5 stars are scarce. Since I survived 6, I should be worth something to them. It is pretty risky, but I might have room for negotiation. If I can find a convincing reason, it might be worth gambling my life on this. With sweat running down my head and my legs feeling weak, I gathered up all the courage I had and spoke: "Hear me out before continuing, my savior, the almighty Father Crow." Instantly the atmosphere changed

"Speak." The reply came quickly, and I wasted no time. "I want to prove my loyalty to my savior, not through something shallow like a slave contract used to make the unwilling do the masters’ biding. Instead, I desire to serve out of my free will. You had the generosity to pick up street trash like me and give me this incredible power that I will use with all my might to serve you."

Cold, deep, and brief, the answer came: "You can prove your’ve your loyalty to me even under a slave contract and should feel honored to be one of my slaves."

"That may be true. However, while roaming the streets, I heard of a rumor about a new magic spell that allows the user to change the owner of slave contracts. If that was ever to happen, it would endanger my ability to serve you, my Lord." I quickly retorted.

"If you speak the truth, you have given us some valuable information and will be rewarded accordingly after our intelligence network confirms this information. However, if you deceived me, you will pay the price." Acting happy and thankful, I replied. "Thank you, my lord. You won’t be disappointed."

"I shall reward you ahead of time by giving you the privilege of being the first subject to receive my newly developed slave magic." I had to force myself not to change my expression after hearing the man on the throne say something that seemed like I had misheard him.

However, before I could utter anything, he added. "Don’t worry about this magic being exploited. It is my flawless creation." To not arouse any suspicion, I quickly replied. "Thank you, my liege, for this honor."

The masked leader stood up and started chanting, then a red beam shot towards me and hit my chest, engraving something into me. I clenched my teeth, trying my hardest not to scream in pain, and fortunately, only a few seconds later, the beam stopped, and the pain went away.

My legs were shaking, and I could barely stand, but I powered through. Show strength was essential if I wanted to leave a good impression. "You are now officially part of the Bloody Crows rejoice." I shouted, using every bit of volume of my lungs: "Yes, Sir!"