n

n

n“I never liked you from the beginning….” The captain mutters while picking up the greatsword from behind his office chair.

n“I never liked you either,” I reply.

nMy sword shimmered a low red glow while the captain’s greatsword was coated in a thick and bright red light.

n“You’re the one who killed my parents, weren’t you?”

n“Yeah… What about it?” He says, his face warping into a psychotic smile.

n“YOU BASTARD!”

n…

n(Orion POV)

n“Wait here,” Leo says and storms out of the dungeon, a nostalgic bloodlust leaking from him.

n“*sigh*… Mother… Goodbye,” I say, kissing her on the forehead before getting up and gathering a sack of materials I might need when escaping this place.

nMy eyes weren’t determined.

nMy eyes weren’t excited.

nThey were just dead.

nThis was utterly suicide without motivation, but I had no other reason to stay here any longer…

nOriginally, I planned on trying to convince Leo to let me out of the cell for a bit, and then I would start my plan from there… but it seems my mother dying was a blessing and a curse in disguise.

nI glanced at my status, staring at the new piece on the panel.

n『Status』

nName: Orion

nRace: Human

nLevel: 1

/10 (1

/100) XP Needed

nHP: 10

/10 MP: 5

/5 SP: 5

/5 – Normal Human

nStrength: -1 – Sub Human

nDefense: -1 – Sub Human

nMagic: 0 – Normal Human

nSpeed: -1 – Sub Human

nSkills: None

n…

nAnd so, I stepped out of the cell for the first time in forever.

nIt wasn’t revolutionary, but I could definitely feel a bit better than when I was locked in that cell, with absolutely no sure hope of escaping.

n“*sigh*… Let’s move,” I mutter, walking up the steps and pushing the wooden door open.

nTime seemed to slow down as the world outside the cell was revealed.

nA tower made of quartz and stone… is what I heard from Leo, the guard… but I never expected it to be this big.

nWell, I mean, the inside was pretty compact, but when I glanced at one of the walls, which was just entirely a window, I saw that we were at least on the hundredth floor as we were above the clouds.

n“What the hell-“

nBOOM

nSuddenly, the tower shook, shifting it to the side.

nI used my hands to balance myself by slamming my palms against the smooth stone floor.

nAnd suddenly, I heard a crack from above me, so I went to run away but stumbled on my own feet.

n“Urk-“

nLeo had landed in front of me, hundreds of small scratches along his chest, and a man built like a mountain, jumped through the hole in the ceiling and landed on Leo’s stomach.

nHe knocked the wind out of him, causing Leo to turn his head to the side and see me.

nHis eyes widened from shock.

n“Well, I guess that’s it. You can always be replaced so-“

n“Enough talking,” Leo says, lifting up his knee and kneeing the man built like a mountain in the family jewels.

nHe hunched over in pain before Leo swung his sword up, just barely missing the man’s heart but managing to land a large laceration across his leg.

nBone had been exposed, and the man immediately felt it, causing him to cry out in pain.

nIt was a blood-curdling scream, but Leo lunged towards me instead of finishing off the man, scooping me up from the ground.

n“Let’s go… I’ll repay my wrongdoings,”

nI smiled slightly, but my eyes were completely numb.

n“Heh, maybe you should work on smiling with your eyes,” Leo chuckled, clearly misunderstanding my smile.

nWe dashed through the hallway, and eventually, we ran into two guards clad in metal armor that glowed a slight purple.

n“Dammit, A-Rank guards,” Leo mutters, raising his sword above his head and swinging down with full force.

nA blade made of the same red glowy stuff surrounding Leo’s sword burst out from the blade.

nIt then split into two, cutting both guards down.

nIs that magic or something else? Maybe I should keep this guy alive for a bit longer just so I can learn a few more things about this world.

n“LIEUTENANT!” A loud cry comes from down the hall.

nBut just as I was about to look back, Leo slammed against a quartz wall, allowing him to redirect his speed towards the stairs that spiral downwards.

nThough the stairs were as long as his foot, he still ran down them as if we were on flat land.

nFWOOSH

nSuddenly, a blast of air came from below us, sending me flying through the air, but Leo caught me by my leg before dragging me into his chest.

nHe held me like a ball as he ran down the stairs, fighting off the occasional guard that would try and interrupt us.

nHis face was filled with rage.

nAh, it seems everybody here pissed him off… That’s good… More… More!

nAnd after a few minutes of repeating the process, we arrived halfway down the tower.

nUpon arriving at the next floor, I glanced out one of the windows and saw the outside world.

nBut… It looked strange.

nBuildings I had never seen before. Strange clothing that covered up more than needed. Irregular forms of transportation that sped on a black road.

nMost would’ve been excited at the sight of this, but the only thing I could think about were the different types of people.

nThere were bound to be people just like the ones in this tower…. Bloodthirsty and cruel.

nIt’s not like I didn’t live in that type of society before, but as everything looked so different, those aspects would be displayed in various different ways that I’m unaware of.

nBut first, I need to survive.

nLeo tore through all the guards on the present floor in an instant, with his bloodlust also reacting to his raging emotions.

nThe bloodlust began to turn into a floating red substance that felt as if it was about to eat me.

n“LIEUTENANT!” The same voice cried out, but we were already on our way down the stairs that led to the bottom of the tower.

nI saw familiar grass and trees surrounding the area, but I still couldn’t feel any excitement.

nBOOM BOOM BOOM

nThe floors above us cracked, letting the mountain-like man from before tear through the tower.

nHe rapidly approached us and I knew that we wouldn’t make it to the bottom in time, so I placed a few traps down from my sack that I still somehow held onto.

nThey were small caltrops that I made from chipping the knife that Leo gave me into pieces.

nI was hoping these would land in a few weak points that could hopefully slow him down.

nBOOM BOOM BOOM

n“Almost there…” Leo mutters through gritted teeth.

nBOOM BOOM BOOM

nAnd suddenly, I felt weightless.

nI was sent flying into the air again as a man with one massive greatsword tears apart the spiraling staircase.

nWe were sent flying out of the tower, and I quickly plummeted to the itchy green grass below.

nBut I didn’t panic as Leo reached out for me and tucked me in once again.

nBAM

nJust before we hit the ground, Leo had turned me away from the ground, causing his back to slam against the grass.

n“Uh…” Leo groans as the metal coating us suddenly gets absorbed back into his body.

nWas that magic as well?

nBut before I could try and think any deeper, somebody else slammed against the ground, sending a shockwave through the air.

n“ARGHHHHH!”

n