Chapter 167 — Freedom

Victor left Elder Benton's office.

He had barely stepped into the hallway when someone approached him and immediately escorted him toward the elevator.

The elevator carried them down several floors before the doors finally opened.

Victor stepped out.

The person escorting him pointed toward the hallway and left without saying much.

Victor stood there for a moment.

He looked to the left.

Then to the right.

He frowned.

…Where am I?

He had spent most of his time in the lower levels of the Tower. Even when he had been allowed to move around, there were entire sections he had never been permitted to enter.

This part of the Tower was completely unfamiliar.

Victor glanced around, trying to figure out where he was supposed to go.

After a moment, he spotted someone walking down the hallway.

It was a young man who looked to be around eighteen or nineteen years old. He wore glasses and carried several pieces of alchemical equipment in his arms.

Victor walked toward him.

"Hey, excuse me."

The young man stopped.

"Yes?"

There was something strangely mechanical about the way he spoke.

Not robotic exactly.

Just… overly precise.

Victor found it a little strange.

"Which way do I go to get to the Quartermaster's Office?"

The young man stared at him for a second.

Then he pushed his glasses up with his thumb.

"Ah. You must be lost."

Victor nodded.

"Yeah. You could say that."

The young man pointed down the hallway.

"Go this way and make a left. Follow that hallway for approximately ten minutes. You should begin recognizing the area. The Quartermaster's Office will be nearby."

Victor nodded.

"Thanks."

The young man gave another small nod before continuing on his way.

Victor watched him disappear around the corner.

Interesting guy.

He shrugged and followed the directions.

After several minutes of walking through unfamiliar corridors, the surroundings gradually became more familiar.

Eventually, Victor arrived back at the Quartermaster's Office.

He stepped inside.

The same clerk who had first alerted Law Enforcement about his return was still behind the counter.

The room was considerably quieter now.

Most of the people who had been there earlier were gone.

Victor approached the counter.

"Excuse me."

The clerk looked up.

His eyes widened.

"Oh."

He stared at Victor.

"You're back."

Victor gave him a slightly strange look.

The way the man had said it made it sound like he had been expecting Victor to disappear again.

Victor decided not to comment on it.

"There should have been some paperwork sent to you requesting the release of my slave bracelet."

The clerk immediately nodded.

"Yes, yes. I have it."

"I was also told you could set up my citizen ID and transfer all of my credits and other belongings over."

"Of course."

The clerk pulled out several documents.

"Let's take care of everything."

It took nearly twenty minutes.

Victor signed one document after another while the clerk checked his records, transferred his credits, updated his status, and entered the necessary information into the Tower's system.

Eventually, the clerk looked up.

"All right."

He extended his hand.

"Let me see your wrist."

Victor lifted his arm over the counter.

The clerk placed a strange magical device over the slave bracelet.

A faint blue light swept across the metal.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

After roughly ten seconds, the bracelet suddenly clicked.

Victor's eyes widened.

The metal loosened.

Then—

Clunk.

The slave bracelet dropped onto the counter.

Victor stared at it.

For several seconds, he didn't move.

It was gone.

The bracelet that had been attached to his wrist for six months was finally gone.

Victor slowly turned his wrist over.

There was nothing there.

No restriction.

No cold metal.

No reminder that someone else technically owned his life.

A smile slowly spread across his face.

His first goal after arriving in this world had been to figure out how to get rid of that bracelet.

He had imagined the moment countless times.

Yet now that it had finally happened, it felt strangely simple.

Victor looked at the bracelet sitting on the counter.

He thought about Jacob.

The old man had spent his final days as a slave.

He would never get to experience this moment.

1

Victor's smile softened.

You would've been happy for me, Jacob.

For the first time since returning to the Tower, Victor felt like something had genuinely changed.

He was free.

The clerk finished processing the final documents.

After another minute, he reached beneath the counter and pulled out a small object.

He handed it to Victor.

"This is your citizen ID."

Victor took it.

It was a thin, rectangular card.

At first glance, it looked almost like some kind of futuristic device.