I look at the third layer for a minute or two and conclude that I’m not going to bother figuring the damn thing out. Well, it’s not like I don’t know what the thing does; it emanates mana in a frequency that somehow bounces around in my soul.

Now, how would I turn it off?

I could remove the second layer, but that seems like a rather obvious flaw. The unknown runes in the third layer probably have something to explode my soul or something after it senses not enough energy.

It probably needs some high-level control and skill to disable the damn thing, which I don’t have, so I probably can’t remove the circle.

All right, whatever. If removing the unfair curse isn’t an option, maybe I can think of something to bypass it. Maybe like putting the ring under my skin directly into my soul, hoping the random waves will set it off.

Hmm, seems plausible enough, but I need something to cut myself with. I look at the wooden spoon that I used to draw the circle onto the wall. Its seems a bit sharp, though not very much. I wasn’t really focusing on making it sharp while drawing the circle. Just in case, I take the spoon, rigorously wash it with water, and try to make an incision with it on my skin. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much. Though maybe with a bit more grinding, I could get it to cut my skin.

So I grind away, and thanks to it being wood, it doesn’t take long for it to become sharp.

I take it, wash it again, and attempt to slice my skin. Though also thanks to it being wood it takes a bit of effert, but it actually cuts through. I take the ring, which I’ve also washed regurousle, and place it in the cut, which stings a smidge.

I wait eagerly. Yet after some time, it seems quite clear that nothing is happening.

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Annoyed, I remove the ring from my cut and wash my cut with water. I’m too afraid of the damned diseases Henbrick spooked me with not to, though I know some disease will still probably get to me anyway, being in a disgusting prison and all.

Alright, whatever, that plan didn’t work. I have plenty more ideas to test out.

So I spend seven more days experimenting with different ideas. Many of which failed. About two days ago though, I got the bright idea of carving another magic circle onto my skin.

The hard part of figuring out how to get mana into the sircle was already handled by Henbrick, so if I coped over the first two layers, I should have been able to gather my mana and use it for something.

So I used my wooden spoon again, which is incredibly annoying to use for cutting skin precisely. With effort and a lot of annoying pain, I copied over the circle onto my skin, specifically onto my thigh, and added a small rune that made it glow to actually figure out if it works in the end.

Now I am just picking at the scabs so the cuts actually turns into a scar.

One day, as I’m staring at the potential magic circle on my thigh, I hear some people walking to my cell. Normally, the only people that visit my cell are the guards who come here to replace my food and water, but considering I just ate, it’s quite early for that.

I look up to find it’s Keswick, the bastard, surrounded by a bunch of guards.

I look at her blankly. What the hell is she even doing here? Does she want to rub it in or something?

After looking at me for a little while, she starts talking in her own language because apparently Henbrick didn’t tell her, or probably anyone really, that I can’t speak their stupid tongue. She speks on for about ten minutes about something I have no idea about, but considering her predictable personality, it’s probably something about Ustos. Man, I wish I knew the stupid language so I could bully the hell out of her, but alass.

After finishing her speech, which accomplished as much as speaking to a wall, she said something to the guards around her and left.

After she left, I shrugged and continued thinking about magic.

As that day ended and my night meal was to be given by the guards, I realized that my sample was cut in half. And so was the next day’s, and the next.

Keswick, that absolute no-life, told the guards to cut my rations in half. I already barely had enough to survive in the first place; now I’m just bairly scraping by.

Well, at least after a whole damned week of waiting, the circle finally scarred over.

Though as I was waiting for it to scar over, something concerning happened. I woke up with a sore throat. Perhaps it’s the water, or the lack of food, or the air I was breathing in, but it doesn’t matter now. I got a fantasy disease.

Now I currently have a mild headache and a sore throat. Lovely.