n

n

nWhere am I?

nMy body felt kinda groggy. I felt a small itch on my nose and began to move my arm, but I couldn't get it to even budge. What's going on? I opened my eyes and looked around. It was kinda dark in here.

nTwo people were in front of me, wearing white robes.

nI came to my senses as I recalled everything that had happened. I tried to move, but it felt like my limbs were restrain- oh, wait...they are restrained.

nI was chained up.

nI looked around and saw Instructor Trocuelo, Gela and Vi in the same position as I was, though they were all unconscious.

n

"Ah, you're awake! I am very intrigued that you were able to shake off the effects of my sleeping gas so soon. That, and also the fact that you grew back your hand,

" Remarked one of the two white-robes.

nSounded like a woman's voice. The other one was quiet, standing off to the side.

n

"He's the one who cut off your hand, by the way! We were really surprised when it started growing back after we brought you here!

" Exclaimed the woman.

nOh, right...I had ended up on the wrong side of the barrier when my hand got cut off...he was the one who slashed it off, huh?

nI felt a twinge of panic beginning to envelop me, I quickly took a deep breath and slowed down my heart rate. Huh...I guess three years of torture had left a scar on me after all.

nBut now's not the time to let my previous world's trauma resurface, just handle the situation rationally and calmly.

n

"So...why are the four of us alive? You were all definitely trying to kill us back there, so why take us prisoner instead?

"

nTheir faces were covered, but I could sense that their expressions grimaced.

n

"Our mission was to kill you all, the two of us were given about five hundred pawns to do so, but then all of you completely turned the tables on us! Well over half our pawns dead, my previously unbreakable barrier was shattered, my Blood Crystal beam was undone by a crazy powerful barrier, and we couldn't even inflict a single damned casualty! It was quite infuriating, so right before our barrier collapsed, we accepted that killing all of you right then was no longer possible, and instead planned to knock all of you out with the sleeping gas and then kill you. Unfortunately thanks to you, that barrier got in our way again. We all severely underestimated you, we couldn't imagine mere Student Adventurers from the Rustlands being this strong!

" Exclaimed the woman.

nShe seemed...eccentric.

n

" Lose all hope of experiencing freedom ever again, we may have failed to take down all of you, but the four of you that we did capture will suffer,

" Added the man.

n

"Uh-huh, cool story. Aren't you two in an arguably worse position than we are though, you may have captured the four of us, but your mission was a clear failure. The Rustlands' representatives were completely unharmed, all you managed to do was kidnap a quarter of their bodyguards. I can't imagine your superiors will be too pleased about that,

" I responded, trying to agitate them.

nI couldn't escape right now, it felt like my Mana was being blocked or something. So, I'll try and wring out as much information out of my captors as I possibly could, it might come in handy on the off chance that we do escape.

nThough, I knew from experience that our chances of that were slim.

n

"You are surprisingly calm in such a bleak situation. Even if the two of us are executed for our failure, someone else will simply be assigned to replace us. We are quite a large organization, so the demand for fresh human test subjects is always rather high. Regardless of what happens to the two of us, your fate is sealed. Perhaps you do not comprehend the endless pain you are about to be put through?

"

n

"Oh, believe me...I comprehend it perfectly, in fact...this situation is a rather nostalgic one for me.

"

n

"Big words...let's see how long you can keep up this bluff,

" Laughed the woman.

nIt wasn't a bluff, though. Something then occurred to me.

n

"There's something else I'm curious about. How did you kidnap us anyway? Given the speed that some of the others on my side possess, I can't imagine how you would manage to escape while carrying four unconscious bodies.

"

n

"Oh, well that's easy. We didn't run, we teleported. We unfortunately had to leave behind all of our remaining pawns, I assume they're all dead now. Not that it matters if they were alive, none of them know how to get to this place without a teleportation scroll, so interrogating them would be useless. In other words, you can give up on hoping that your friends will find this place!

"

nSpeaking of this place, where were we, anyway? I gave the room a quick scan, it didn't look like we were in a man-made building. I closed my eyes, and went through all the information I had. I came up with a couple of possibilities, and then began narrowing them down.

nAlright, time to see if my best guess is correct.

n

"Teleportation has a distance limit, so we can't be too far from where we fought, unless you teleported more than once. And this looks like we're in a cave, so that strengthens the theory that we are relatively close to that spot,

" I surmised.

n

"Ooh, nice deduction skills! Yes, we're somewhere in the vast network of caves in this area, but it'll be almost impossible to find us here. And yes, it was just a single teleport, multiple teleportation points sure would have been nice, but unfortunately-.

"

n

"You're talking a bit too much, Dista,

" Interrupted the man.

n

"Oops. Well, does it really matter? It's not like escape is even possible for him,

" She shrugged in reply.

n

"I suppose that is true. At any rate, our most pressing concern is the upper Tier. They will be sending a messenger to this location tonight...and all we have to report is the failure of the mission and the loss of all the manpower we were given. I doubt that four measly test subjects will be enough to appease them,

" The man grimaced.

nHe was putting on a stoic front, but I could tell that he was afraid of how their higher ups would react.

n

"No point worrying about that, it's out of our control, it's not like we can run or hide. We can't escape...so let's just act like there was no avoiding this failure, that it was an impossible mission, but we still tried our absolute best...and hopefully they'll understand!

" Suggested the woman with forced optimism.

nThey were both clearly on edge, dreading the arrival of their higher-ups' messenger.

n

"I seriously doubt that will work, but I have no alternatives, so it will have to do.

"

n

"Ahh, let's face it! We might both end up dead by tonight. Well, in that case...after the other three wake up, I'm going to torture them to my heart's content! If this is my last day, I'll enjoy it to the fullest!

"

nAnother freaky sadist, and a seriously unstable one at that...give me a break, already.

n

"Sit tight, I'll be back for you later!

" She exclaimed, as they walked around the corner and headed to a different section of this cave.

nThere wasn't a door or anything, but whatever they were restraining us with was too strong to break with just brute strength alone. And these restraints felt like they were blocking my Mana flow, so Elemental Magic was out too.

n

"Seriously? Am I going to die here the same way I did in my old world?

" I sighed in frustration.

nA familiar, looming sense of despair began creeping around me, I bit my lip and inhaled sharply, forcing myself to shake it off. This sucks...I can't believe I let myself get captured again. I dropped my guard for an instant, and this happened.

nRight before I had begun to activate the barrier, I pushed Persia back to save her, when I did that, my mind snapped itself out of Bloodlust Mode instantly. I've always used that state of mind to kill people, but never to save someone.

nI had contradicted my state of mind, and as a result, just for a moment afterwards, the sudden and jarring shift in mindset caused me to drop my guard. And that was all it took for me to end up here.

nAs I sighed in frustration, I realized something.

nI can't use my lightning right now, but my Healing Factor was working normally. The fact that the effects of the sleeping gas wore off for me before the others was proof of that, plus that woman mentioned my hand growing back. I could feel the spot where I just bit my lip healing, confirming it.

nAlright, that information wasn't quite useful right now, but I'll file it away for later.

nNow then...I guess I don't have any options besides killing time.

n...

n...

nAbout three or four hours passed by before the others finally began to wake up, after which I explained the situation to them.

n

"I suppose for now we should just be grateful to still be alive,

" Sighed Instructor Trocuelo, following a prolonged silence after I finished explaining what was going on.

n

"Yeah...the others will find us, won't they?

" Asked Vi hopefully.

n

"It's not impossible, but...well, I'm not going to sugarcoat this, realistically speaking, we're screwed,

" I replied bluntly.

nIt was a harsh reality, but giving them false hope would be infinitely crueler.

n

"Ahh! We were so close to finishing them all off too!

" Groaned Gela, trying to free her arms, to no avail.

n

"It doesn't matter if you lost by an inch or by a mile, a loss is a loss, simple as that,

" I responded.

n

"For someone who's being so negative, you sure are calm, Kuro,

" Remarked Instructor Trocuelo.

n

"I'm being realistic, not negative, Instructor. It just so happens that our current reality is overwhelmingly negative, so yeah, realism doesn't seem too different from pessimism right now.

"

nI could almost certainly handle whatever torture these people had in store, but I couldn't say the same about the other three. It took me well over a year of getting tortured before I even began to be able to tolerate pain the way I can now.

nI was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard footsteps approaching. A light began to get closer from around the corner, and the white-robed woman appeared from around it, carrying a Light Crystal, as well as a large sack.

n

"Looks like everyone's awake! I can finally introduce myself. I am a member of the Magic Research Group, Dista Matist. My physical and Elemental skills are below average, but I'm nearly unrivaled when it comes to the creation and use of Spell Scrolls and other magic tools! In fact, I made the shackles around your limbs too, they're lined with a type of crystal that blocks a person's Mana flow. Anyway, nice to meet you all!

" She declared, pushing off her hood and pulling down her mask.

n

"...

"

n

"...

"

n

"...

"

n

"...

"

nNone of us responded, as she stared at us with an unhinged smile. She had long, unruly blonde hair, brown eyes, and a pale complexion. She then put down the sack she was carrying, and took out its contents, which were two items, a box and a large, faceless doll about half the size of a person.

nShe propped up the doll in a seated position with its back resting up against the wall, and then opened the box. It was filled with a variety of different tools. She picked out a pair of scissors and walked over to us.

n

"Let me explain something about my style of torture. I love inflicting pain and forcing out those beautiful, excruciating screams from people, but I don't enjoy cutting into live flesh and getting blood splatter everywhere, it's too messy! I rarely ever directly touch my test subjects. Well, you aren't test subjects right now since I'm not testing anything, right now...I'm just torturing you for the fun it, for my own personal pleasure. Well, I'm not going to spoil the surprise, you'll see soon enough how different and unique my style of torture is!

"

nUsing the scissor, she cut off a small lock of hair from each of us, before heading back to the doll. She then opened it from the back and stuffed the hair into it.

nWait, this looks like...

nShe pressed a Spell Scroll to it and activated it, then pulled out a plyer and used it to squeeze one of the doll's fingers. At the same time, it felt like my left ring finger was getting crushed, while cries and screams of pain echoed around me from the other three.

n...a voodoo doll.

nDid she just invent voodoo magic in this world!?

n

"Ahahaha...painful, isn't it!? Don't worry, none of you are actually getting injured, this method transmits pain but not damage. See, a person's hair contains a small essence of their Mana, so by putting a bit of someone's hair into this doll, this Spell Scroll upon activation will link the body of the doll to the bodies of the owners of the hair I put into it. With normal torture, if you get carried away you could end up killing and wasting a test subject...but with this technique, there's no such risk no matter how carried away you get! I visualized this a long time ago, but it took years of trial and error before I finally got it working the exact way I envisioned it. I'm so proud of it, it's among my best works!

"

nThe whole time she was talking, she had continued to nonchalantly jab and poke away at the doll using her diverse box of torture tools. I was handling it fine, but the others weren't, as each dose of pain prompted continuous screams of agony from each of them.

nShe was having too much fun for my liking, let's provoke her unstable nature, shall we? I just need to act like nothing's happening.

nSure enough, she soon noticed my lack of reaction.

n

"What's going on? Did I forget to add your hair? No, I'm pretty sure I did. So why aren't you feeling any of it!?

"

n

"Hm? Were you doing something? I can't feel a thing. Maybe your doll can't handle linking up with four people,

" I bluffed.

nWhen up against an unstable person like this, pushing their buttons is very much worth the risk, there's every chance they'll make an irrational decision that works in your favor...of course, it could also backfire, but in this situation, we had nothing to lose.

n

"No, that can't be...I'm sure I made it so that there wouldn't be any such limit!

" She muttered, opening the Spell Scroll and rapidly scanning the command lines inside it.

n

"Well...I guess you aren't the Spell Scroll genius you claim to be, after all,

" I added, as she frantically went through the scroll.

n

"Wh-what are you doing?

" Panted a pale-looking Instructor Trocuelo.

n

"People tend to make irrational and strange decisions when their thought process is panicked and unstable. It could backfire, but it might be worth the risk provoking her. Besides...we have nothing to lose right now?

"

nShe seemed rather proud and confident of her skills with Spell Scrolls...so I'll shake that confidence a bit.

n

"I-I can't find any mistakes. What am I overlooking!? M-maybe I just messed up with the hair. Yeah...I'll take it all out and try again!

"

nShe opened the doll and pulled out our strands of hair, before picking up the scissors and heading towards us.

nAlright, time for a gamble.

n

"Hey, why don't you try it with just my hair? After all, I'm the only one it didn't seem to affect,

" I suggested.

nI could handle it just fine, but the others would probably lose their sanity if they had to go through this for too much longer. If she was thinking rationally, then my suggestion might have sounded suspicious, but the way she was right now...

n

"I-I see...yes, that makes sense,

" She mumbled, snipping off another lock of hair from me and heading back to the doll.

nOkay, now how should I react? Should I fake it and scream in pain? Should I continue to act like it isn't affecting me? I considered both options, before making my decision as I remembered another factor I could use.

nAs she put my hair in the doll and stabbed it in the chest, I showed no outward signs of being in any pain.

n

"H-huh? It's still not working? Why not!?

" She shrieked in confusion, violently stabbing the doll all over.

n

"Oh, I might know what the problem is...see, my hair isn't like regular hair, it's actually a physical mutation from my Anima. You must be relieved, you didn't make a mistake after all, you just failed to take into account hair affected by Anima mutations! In other words, your scroll wasn't incorrect, just imperfect. Still...given that numerous people tend to have hair that's affected by their Animas, that's a pretty big oversight for someone who claims to be a geni-.

"

n

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! No, how could I make such a trivial error...!?

"

nAs she began ranting, I just had to hope she didn't notice the obvious contradiction to my statement.

nNamely, Gela's hair, which was mostly feathers.

nBefore she has a chance to come to her senses and notice the holes in my theory, I'll push her as hard as I can...I didn't really have a specific goal, I was just hoping that I could maybe drive her to the point where an opportunity to convince her to release our shackles would arise.

nIt was optimistic wishful thinking at its most delusional, but...unlike the last time I had ended up as a test subject, this time I had a life I wanted to get back to.

nSo I'll do everything I possibly can, no matter how minor, to try and escape. It could backfire really badly...but the reward was far greater than the risk. If it doesn't work, then so be it, but so long as I'm alive, I'm not going to just give up and accept this fate...not this time.

nBefore I could think of a way to aggravate her further, I heard two pairs of footsteps approaching.

n

"What's all the racket? I don't often see you lose your cool, Dista,

" Came an amused sounding voice.

nShe instantly froze at the sound of his voice, genuine fear spreading across her face, as she turned towards his and got down on one knee.

n

"S-sir Routh. I d-did not expect to see you here, wh-what a pleasant surprise!

"

nThe other guy was standing behind this new one, bowing before him.

nOkay...based on their reactions, this wasn't some ordinary messenger. Guess he was someone important.

nHe wasn't dressed in the same matching white-robes for one thing, he wore a regular black shirt, lightly armored leather trousers, and a longish white coat that went below the back of his knees. He wore two rings, one with a curved X-shaped symbol, and the other with the number 4 on it.

nHe had longish brown hair parted in front, with the back tied in a low ponytail, black eyes, well-built, with a confident look on his face, and looked to be around...19 or 20 years old. He had a spotted tail...looked like either a leopard or a cheetah.

n

"Wiut already informed me of your failure, along with the loss of all of the pawns we entrusted you two with. Unbelievable...you were unable to kill just over a dozen people despite having hundreds on your side!? Well, what's done is done, I suppose. Before I discuss that matter any further, I am rather curious, Dista...what were you shrieking about?

"

n

"O-oh, uh...well...

"

nShe explained everything to him, as he listened with a fascinated expression.

n

"Hmm, I see. It's quite obvious...that you've been completely fooled. Have some common sense, that girl over there literally has feathers for hair! Or...you could have just tried this,

" He remarked, strangling the doll.

nNot good...I couldn't breathe.

nI can always bluff my way through pain, but I can only hold my breath for so long. No point keeping up this act any longer.

n

"Alright...guess you got me,

" I admitted, my spine breaking as he flung the doll against the wall.

n

"So...not only did you fail to take out the targets, but then also allowed yourself to be manipulated by the few that you did manage to capture? Tell me why I shouldn't just kill the both of you right now?

"

n

"I-it wasn't our fault! At least two of them had S-Rank level abilities, and pretty much all the others were easily at A-Rank! These can't just be Student Adventurers!

" She defended herself desperately.

n

"It's as she says...one of them who wielded Water Magic was particularly powerful, he crushed her one-way barrier like it was nothing but glass- AHH!

" Began the man, stopping as his arm suddenly fell off, blood pouring from the stump like a waterfall.

nWoah...

nHe was fast. He had drawn his sword, shot past the man, and cut off his arm in an instant...I could barely follow his movements. He was way faster than Misen.

n

"Just sounds like a bunch of excuses...pathetic,

" He said coldly, his blade dripping with blood, before wiping and putting it away with an irritated sigh,

"Well, as much as I want to, I don't actually have the authority to kill you two right now, I was just supposed to teleport here, see how the mission went, report back, and then receive my next orders on how to proceed. But I honestly wasn't expecting such a colossal failure. I'll be back tomorrow...my next orders will probably be to kill the two of you and then hand over these new test subjects to whichever of our researchers are short on supply. I'll be taking your teleportation scrolls with me, I don't need to explain why, it should be obvious.

"

n

"Hey, quick question...who are you?

" I chimed in, as he turned to leave.

nInstructor Trocuelo and Vi looked at me with expressions that said 'what are you doing!?', while Gela looked fascinated.

nThe two white-robes looked nervous as I spoke.

n

"Hm, I must say, you've got some nerve, kid. You manipulated your captor and now you're speaking to me in such a casual manner?

"

n

"First off, don't call me kid, I doubt you're more than a couple of years older than me, anyway. And what's with the high and mighty attitude...you supposed to be someone important?

"

nWhat...was I doing? Something about his superior attitude ticked me off...I couldn't help but want to antagonize him.

n

"It takes some nerve to speak like that in your current position. Very well, as a sign of respect, I suppose I'll show you a bit of benevolence and answer your question. I am the fourth highest ranking member of the Magic Research Group's Retribution Tier, I am known as Hacte Routh. Our organization consists of five tiers. They are, from lowest to highest, the Pawn Tier, Lapdog Tier, Research Tier, Retribution Tier, and God Tier. These two are both in the Lapdog Tier.

"

n...Pawn and Lapdog, really?

nWow, they sure didn't sugarcoat their opinions of their lower ranks, did they?

n

"Mhm. Sorry, halfway through your explanation, I realized that I don't really care, after all,

" I replied with a smirk.

nThe instant I finished talking, he shot towards me, too fast for my eyes to follow without Lightning Boost-enhanced perception, and drove his blade through my left shoulder.

n

"...don't push your luck. I'll make sure you end up somewhere especially painful. Dista, Wiut...since this will most likely be both of your final nights, I shall be generous enough to grant you permission...feel free to take out your despair and frustrations on these four...just make sure not to kill them...especially this one in black. I'll be back tomorrow.

"

nWith those parting words, he pulled back his sword, put it away, and then left. I let out a sigh as my wound healed up. He'd be back tomorrow huh...I hated to say it, but it looked like our chances at freedom were effectively zero now.

nFor a while, no one said anything. The others were probably feeling pretty overwhelmed and hopeless right now, and understandably so. As for the two white-robes...

n

"Heh...heh...hehe...looks like we're going to die tomorrow, Wiut.

"

n

"Indeed...I am in a rather foul mood now,

" Came the reply, as he tied a cloth around the stump of his severed arm.

n

"Go get...get my blue box.

"

n

"I was about to suggest the same...this time, I will be partaking in their torture as well.

"

nThis didn't bode too well.

n

"Hey, guys...I don't mean to be a downer, but you should prepare yourselves for the worst. They're both deep in despair now, so there's no telling what they might do,

" I warned the others quietly.

nNone of them really responded, even Gela kept quiet.

nGuess the reality of the situation was starting to sink in for the three of them. The man soon returned, carrying a small blue box. It didn't look big enough to be carrying any tools.

n

"Spell Scrolls aren't the only things I'm talented with...I'm also great an concocting toxins and potions. Let's see...what should I pick...? Ah, this one! I call it the Pain Amplifier. You'll see why soon enough,

" She cackled maniacally, pulling out a small, clear bottle filled with a purple liquid.

nShe took out a syringe and filled it with the liquid, before walking over to us. She injected it into each of the others, before stopping in front of me. Her mouth spread out into a wide, sadistic grin as she injected it into me. I didn't feel anything at first...and then it hit me.

nOh wow, even with my threshold for pain...this was rough.

nIt felt like every single muscle in my body was on fire, and even that felt like an understatement...just a fraction of movement sent waves of intense pain throughout the part of my body I had tried to move.

nEven blinking was painful.

nWhatever that concoction was, it had made moving even a single muscle strand excruciatingly painful.

nAnd it had spread throughout my body so quickly that my healing factor was having no luck with eradicating it.

nI glanced at the others from the corner of my eye...their faces were twisted with so much agony that they couldn't even cry out in pain...doing so would only make the pain even worse.

n

"Hahahaha! Hurts, doesn't it!? With the amount I dosed you each with, the effects shouldn't wear off for at least a couple of hours! Even the tiniest movement will cause unimaginable pain, so being chained up and unable to move actually works in your favor right now! Which is why...!

"

nThe man, Wiut, approached us, thick bloodlust emanating from him.

nWhat was he...?

nI stared in astonishment as he undid the shackles around Vi's ankles and wrists, as she collapsed onto her knees. The moment she did, the pain etched across her expression intensified like crazy.

nOh, I see what they were doing...this pain was so intense that no normal person could move even an inch while under its effects, it didn't matter whether they were restrained or not, but that wasn't the main reason he had released her shackles. While we're restrained, the only part of our bodies that we could move freely were our necks, our limbs are almost completely immobile, and the same went for our torsos.

nBut with the restraints removed, and our bodies immobilized by the intense agony, he could inflict unimaginable levels of pain from something as simple as lifting an arm or a leg.

n

"Feel free to try using Elemental Magic, but I should warn you, attempting to channel Mana right now will hurt even more than trying to move will!

"

nHe kicked Vi in the middle of the chest, a grin spreading out across his face as her body fell back, and her expression of agony grew more tortured, as he started kicking her slumped, pain-stricken body.

nI had seen plenty of messed up things as an assassin, but this was hard to watch, even for me.

nThis was some seriously nasty stuff, no matter how much pain you're in, you can't defend yourself or even cry out in pain, doing so would only make it even worse. All you can do is to try and stay immobile to the best of your ability.

n

"Slow down...I'm loving the show, but we can't kill any of them!

"

n

"...yes, I got a little too engrossed in it,

" He replied, composing himself before stopping and moving on to Gela, and then repeating the dose.

nAfter he was done with her, Instructor Trocuelo was next.

nHe then appeared in front of me with a murderous grin, having left the other three with bloodied faces and awkwardly positions bodies.

n

"Give this one another dose of the Pain Amplifier!

"

n

"Good idea,

" Agreed the woman, walking over with her syringe, stepping back after injecting me.

nI braced myself as Wiut undid my shackles and my body began to drop.

nHeh...this was seriously painful, it may be the most intense physical pain I've ever felt. No normal person could even begin to move while under its effects.

nBut...

n

"...I'm no normal person! This pain...is nothing. Hehe...you underestimated me.

"

nI couldn't stop a triumphant grin from breaking out across my face, as I quickly regained my balance. Out of nowhere...an opportunity at freedom had presented itself.

nAnd all I needed to do to grasp this opportunity...was to bear a little pain.

nTalk about a tailor-made situation for me.

nI activated Lightning Boost at x2, slightly flinching as an excruciating pain shot throughout my body upon the use of Mana. I ignored it, and slipped behind him.

n

"Impossible, you-!

"

nBefore he could finish his sentence, I sprang onto his shoulders, and in one, swift motion, snapped his neck.

n

"...you were saying?

"

nI jumped off his lifeless body before it hit the floor, before turning to the woman with a malicious grin.

n

"So...is this the extent of the pain you're able to inflict on a person? Not bad at all, but unfortunately for you...now it's my turn.

"

n_____________________________________________

nThank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism! Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

n