Damian quickly reacted to it, moving his body to hide against the tree again. He also grabbed Cait, ducking her down.

She was on her knees, right in front of him. The tree covered her as well, but the position was somewhat weird. It was like she was ready to do something nasty.

It was not only Damian who thought that. Cait had reddish cheeks and looked up at him with charming eyes.

"Did they see us?" she whispered.

The pirate could still be looking toward them at that very moment, so Damian avoided staring back at it. He gestured for Cait to stop talking.

Shhh

A few seconds passed. Then, for a minute, they were still in that awkward position where it seemed like Cait was ready to blow him.

Damian knew he had to check, eventually. It was a good sign that no attack came his way, and he wasn’t sensing any danger. However, if the pirate was powerful, then it could completely hide his aura from him.

He peeked, looking back at the cave’s entrance. The pirates’ group wasn’t there anymore.

"They aren’t here anymore," Damian said, "but who knows, maybe they hid in the nearby forest, or are inside the cave, waiting for us to go there."

There was no aura of danger, but Damian wanted to be careful. After everything that happened to him, that was not the time to be careless.

"So what do we do now? I can’t go back, or they will find me. I...I need to leave this island."

Cait had fled with his help, but now she couldn’t return there. The moment she went there to catch a boat out of those islands, they would get her.

"I know that," Damian said, looking straight into her eyes, "I said I would help you leave, and I’ll. Don’t worry about that. But we must first rescue my friends."

"It’s not like I can help you with anything. In fact, I’ll get in the way..."

She was visibly sad about it. Someone had helped her, yet she was getting in the way.

Damian looked down, staring, for a moment, at her boobs—which were almost showing through her clothes.

He touched both of her arms, helping her to her feet.

"Relax," Damian said, "everything will be alright. You don’t need to help me."

Damian turned around and faced the cave again. With only those weak pirates there, he was confident in killing all of them pretty fast. It wouldn’t be troublesome for him.

The only problematic group was the one who left the cave just now, but Damian had to risk it. It was the only way to save his friends.

"Let’s move," Damian said, "you’ll keep your role, for the time being. Once we are close to them, near the entrance, I’ll attack when I have the right chance."

Cait’s job was to act as bait. She knew that very well.

’I’ll do my best to be the best bait,’ the thought came to her mind as they walked over toward the cave’s entrance.

The cave was basically a mine where they got their mana stones. Damian was hoping to see his friends there, but he didn’t. The only ones in the entrance were the pirates, who were there to make sure no one escaped, and of course, to whip the miners.

Everyone stared at them the moment they got closer to the entrance. No one made a move, though.

The pirates were either resting in their makeshift tents and beds, cooking something around a campfire, or even just talking and drinking beers.

Someone approached them. Damian realized the man wore a different outfit from the ordinary pirates and had slightly greater power, though it was still quite weak compared to his.

"Who are you?" the man asked, seizing up both of them, "I had never seen you around."

Damian expected that. He just hoped that they wouldn’t recognize Cait from the brothel. Considering there were just too many girls there, and she had just arrived, the chances were pretty low. That was what Damian was counting on.

"I’m new here, sir," Damian said, acting like a scared new guy, "they asked me to deliver this new worker. They tried to place her at the brothel, but she was just too bad at having sex."

The pirate officer looked at Cait with lustful eyes. She was indeed quite beautiful, but that gaze was just disgusting. Damian was ready to fight if the man tried anything, but he didn’t.

"Are you sure she can work in the mines? She doesn’t look that strong."

"Well, if she doesn’t, then we might get rid of her. Useless in the brothel, in the mines, then sell her, I think."

Damian tried his best to sound like a real pirate. The man in front of him appeared to like what he heard from him.

The man laughed.

"You’re smart, young man. I’m sure you’ll do well around here. You can make her start working right now. Just enter, and then choose the right path."

Things were going better than Damian expected. At first, he was sure he would have to fight against them, and then fight again inside the mines. But he avoided the first fight, for the time being.

’This will conserve my strength,’ he thought.

They entered the cave. Cait didn’t say a word. Damian realized no one was around them, so she whispered, "Sorry for what I said, you know, I was just acting."

Cait knew that, but it still hurt to hear those things. Add that to the fact that she wasn’t helping him at all, then you had the perfect concoction for sadness.

"Don’t worry about it," she replied, trying to stop thinking about it and focus on the mission ahead.

When they entered the cave, Damian analyzed the insides. He spotted a few pirates there, making sure the miners were still working.

The mines had multiple tunnels, all of them with lots of miners digging up the mana stone veins, working non-stop. They had a few blankets on the ground where they slept on the hard rock, having zero comfort.

Damian didn’t recognize a single face there. The pirates looked at him only for a moment before returning to what they loved doing, which was yelling and whipping the miners.

"Don’t stop, you piece of shit. Your 20-hour shift just started."

It was brutal. Damian did what the officer asked. He had to explore the whole mines in the end to find his friends, so it didn’t matter where he went first.

Cait was still tied up, but Damian used the sword he had to cut her free, setting her free. Then, a pirate passed by them through the tunnels.

The pirate stared at them for a second.

"You two are new here, right?"

"There are pickaxes there and lots of veins to mine," he said, "all the newcomers are based in this part of the mines. Just keep moving, and you’ll get there."

The last part instantly caught Damian’s attention. If all the newcomers were there, then his friends must be too.

"Thanks, man," Damian said, "the officer just told me the direction and nothing else. I was feeling a bit lost here. You know, it’s my first day."

"Haha, yes. I don’t like that guy either; he’s just so full of himself. Anyway, I need to rest. See you around, man."

Damian anxiously walked through the tunnel, Cait following him closely behind. She had heard what the pirate had said, so she understood why Damian was feeling so anxious and in a hurry.

Those tunnels were different than the rest. It didn’t have the structure. The pirates had recently built that part of the mines, which is why they were gathering more people to work there. Or rather, gathering more slaves...

The mana stone veins were everywhere, making the whole tunnel blue. Damian spotted a few people working there. They all had malnourished bodies and were so pale that they looked like they would die at any given moment.

But no signs of his friends, which was quite strange. Damian ordered Cait to get a pickaxe and start working.

There were some pirates there too, so he had to keep up appearances. Cait barely had the strength to get the pickaxe and start mining. She wouldn’t last that long in those mines.

’I need to act fast,’ realized Damian.

He found a smaller tunnel with only one person mining there. A pirate was there too. It was away from everyone else, so that was the best place to do something. Damian walked over to them.

The pirate turned around to look at him. Because the tunnel was so small, the feeling of someone else in there was quite daunting.

"Hey, man, do you need something?" the pirate said. "I don’t like someone creeping up behind me."

Damian didn’t say a word. He only acted, using his Telekinesis to enter the man’s mind and get the information he needed.