Fuck. I don’t want to be a slave. That’s the last thing that I want to do, especially now that I’m twelve again. The man (now to be called “evil-Gandalf”) is just standing there menacingly, arms crossed, and a bright smile on his face.

It's really creepy when someone who has just announced that you are a slave smiles at you like that. “Alright then, I suppose we should get started then?” Evil-Gandalf proclaims. Get started with what? Is what I would say if I had no idea what was happening. But, I’m not that dense.

Earlier, bathrobe-man said they were going to “assess” us. In this world, I’m guessing that means we will be appraised. “First! Vena Carrier.” Reading from a list, it seems Vena is first. How are they ordering this? It's definitely not first name alphabetical, so maybe last name, but is Vena’s last name really the first? Are there no As or Bs? Well whatever.

She steps forward. Her tail is quivering, and her ears are bent over. She seems very nervous, which is understandable. “Hmm, a top-quality product.” Bastard. Don’t talk like we aren’t people, even if we are beast-kin slaves. It's rude, you know.

“Alrighty girly, let’s see. Put your hand on this ball.” He talks as if we’re children. I mean, we are now, but it's still degrading. Vena reaches out to the ball in the man’s hand, and hesitantly makes contact. A sharp scream falls out of her mouth, before she steps back in fright.

“What the hell - pyon!! FUCK - pyon! Why am I saying pyon - pyon?” Well. That was unexpected. “Ah, the contract is complete, and your identity is sealed. If you look on your left shoulder, you should see the slave crest. You are now forever and always my rabbit slave. And don’t worry, pyon is natural, you are a rabbit. Here, take a look!” Accompanying his words, a screen appears over the ball.

Name: Vena Carrier Lv.: 1

Race: Rabbit Beast-kin

Class: Slave (Berserker)

Titles: None

Hp: 19/19

Mp: 0/0

Atk: 14

Def: 9

Spd: 26

Mag: 0

Skills: Dash lv 1, Enhanced Hearing lv 1

Ooh. Cool. It's like a game. That’s kinda fun. Her stats seem alright, especially speed. Now I’m kinda excited for my turn. A few more people go by. Most of the stats are around 10, so I assume that’s what’s average. More people go, until its only me.

“Next, Tobias Saunders!” Wait, Tobias? Where is he though? Something brushes past me and I jump back out of shock. A lizard-Tobi shimmers into view. “Ah, there you are.” Evil-Gandalf, what a god. He found Tobi! Thinking about it, it’s really lucky that both of my friends are here. Tobi touches the ball.

Name: Tobias Saunders Lv.: 1

Race: Chameleon Beast-kin

Class: Slave (Rogue)

Titles: None

Hp: 18/20

Mp: 0/10

Atk: 9

Def: 10

Spd: 14

Mag: 1

Skills: Camouflage lv 1, Evade lv 1

Oh, so that’s why we couldn’t see him. He was camouflaged all this time, which is pretty impressive, to say the least. He’s the only one so far to have any magic power. Maybe the camouflage skill uses Mp, which would be really interesting. I guess that crack I heard was a whip or something because he’s a little hurt. Ouch.

Alright, my turn. He calls my name and I saunter up to the ball. I put my hand smack-dab in the middle of that ball. God, I’m so excited. My chunnibyou heart is screaming.

Name: Kriss McDiebich Lv.:1

Race: Red Wolf Beast-kin

Class: Slave (Magical Swordsman)

Titles: None

Hp: 24/24

Mp: 120/120

Atk: 26

Def: 14

Spd: 22

Mag: 12

Skills: Planning lv 1, Fast Learner lv 1, Martial Arts lv 2

Ooh. That’s pretty good, and I finally find out what I am! I guess I’m a wolf-kin of some sort. Cool. I walk over to the rest of the slaves and move up beside Vena and Tobias. Both are panicking, Vena more so, presumably because her speech patterns have changed to always include a “pyon”, and she can’t stop. That’d suck. At least I don't do something like that.

“So uh… you guys seem well” I say. “Oh really - pyon? I don’t feel well - pyon” comes the quivering reply from Vena. “I’m more or less alright. A bit scaly though.” Poor Tobias. He seems pretty chill about it, but his scales are mimicking the background, which probably means he’s nervous.

“Now then, it's time to continue. I should inform you that the crest on your shoulder will force you to always obey me. Next you will be taken to my home and assigned your tasks, all of which will be grueling” evil-Gandalf says. This guy seems a little sadistic, but I’m not gonna judge if that's really what he’s into. “Order - Follow me” he says, and immediately my body jerks in the direction he’s walking, before it stops and I regain control.

That’s good I guess, that means I can resist the slave crest a bit. But, he probably shouldn’t know that, so I follow him. We walk into a dark room, and a circle (ooh, magic circle) lights up on the ground. Suddenly we fall through the floor and back up out of another floor. That’s something I never would have thought I’d experience, but hey, neither would I have thought I’d have a tail either, so...

After my nausea settles down, I open my eyes again to see most of the other kids, Vena included (but not Tobi), retching on the floor. Damn, seems like that was pretty rough. “Ooh, I forgot about that. Having no magic means no magic resistance, so you beasties are in for a wild ride whenever we move around, huh?” Well. That’s pretty convenient Evil-Gandlaf. Thanks for explaining why Tobi and I are alright (although he’s in worse shape than I am).

“Alright, follow along.” We follow EG out of the room and into a grand hall. There are gold and runes covering the ceiling, and elaborate paintings over almost every inch of the wall. There are battles, kings, queens, royalty, and slaves all depicted on the walls. I see the broken eyes and tattered clothing of one subject, imprinted on the wall. It’s one of my kind, a red-wolf beast-kin, with a human boot pushing its face into the dirt. Is that how we’re thought of here?

I wouldn’t have thought of it, but there are no doors or hallways leading off of this massive hall, which means this is disconnected from the main building. I guess teleportation magic is rather expensive and important then. “Ah, we have arrived” EG proclaims. At the end of the hall, there is a massive set of double-doors. EG mutters something under his breath, and the doors swing open.

I say that he muttered it, but that’s only to human ears. I could hear perfectly well what he said, and I’ve saved it for later in my head. We step out of the building, and I am in awe of the world around us. It’s beautiful, to say the least. I never noticed how pristine everything looks in the absence of pollution, buildings, and machines. Something I do notice, however, is that there are a lot of beast-kin slaves, and all of them seem miserable. So, this guy is a sadist. I mean, I thought so before, but now I know for sure. We're all utterly fucked.