"… 8028 is regaining consciousness. Get everything ready."

As I slowly opened my eyes, all I could see was a cold stone wall. My head hurt badly, and what I heard made no sense. I tried to get up, but shackles bound me on what seemed to be a stone table, judging from the texture and coldness creeping up from my back.

What I just heard now made sense. After last night’s encounter, the kidnapper brought me into some kind of laboratory where I was some kind of test subject. A tall man wearing a crow mask, just like I had seen last night, came up to me and said,

"Listen up, you worthless street rat. If you want to survive, you better brace yourself. We’re gonna pump mana into you forcefully, so condense it in one place, and if you’re lucky, you will create a magic circle. Unfortunately for you, this is not enough for his eminence. For he longs for the ultimate soldier, so you will have to endure the procedure 6 times if you don’t wanna become a splattered corpse."

A terrifying scream of pain came from the left and a damp splash afterward. "too bad it looks like another failed attempt. Anyways, enough shit chat. Let’s get this show on the road,"

"Ah, wait, Arghh!" Something was violently being injected into me. It felt like hot boiling water flowing through my bloodstream. I never experienced pain close to this. The adrenaline kept me rational, and I tried to do as I was told. However, it was just too vague of a description.

This all made no sense. However, for now, all I could do was continuously try. Slowly, I could control the flow of boiling water and steadily moved it all towards my heart. The pain I felt all over my body now was just limited to my chest and gradually lessened.

Suddenly a sharp pain, like the pain I felt being stepped by that prick back home, made me shiver, struggling to stay conscious. The masked man approached me again and said, "Ho, not bad, but this is just the beginning. Let’s start round two."

Before I could even respond, the pain-inducing substance started flowing into me again. Like before, I focused and tried to control the flow towards my center. However, I couldn’t bring it there.

It felt like trying to push the positive side of 2 magnets together. Still shivering in pain, I changed the flow towards my brain. Barely staying conscious, slowly everything was moving. Then another sharp pain. I gasped heavily, struggled to breathe.

"Not bad at all. Hey you, bring some water!" The masked man shouted. Finally, I had a break and could start comprehending this mess. Still, before anything constructive came out of my head, the masked man had a water bag in his hand. In the next moment, he shoved it straight into my mouth.

"Drink up and don’t die now. Your worth just multiplied. You’re getting closer to being worthy of becoming the lord’s slave. Get ready for round 3 if you wanna continue your measly existence."

He pulled the water bag out of my mouth, and the pain started flowing again, even stronger than before. Feeling refreshed and confident, I started moving the stream towards my hips, but something was off. Unlike before the gathered substance started expanding quickly, I tried to alter the flow to figure out what was wrong. Maybe there was a capacity limit, and my upper body exceeded it. Instantly I started leading the flow towards my right foot.

This time it seemed to work, but the clock was ticking. I clenched my teeth as my mind went blank, but before the world faded to black, the pain that felt like being skewered brought me back, sweating and breathing roughly.

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"For a second, you had me worried that you would create a mess like the guy next doors. You’re not gonna tell me that’s your limit, are ya? Even if you did, that would change nothing. Get ready for round 4."

With little to no time to think about anything, it all started once more. However, if I was correct, this time should go smoothly without further implications. Feeling such pain over and over didn’t make it hurt less.

Regardless, I stayed focused and moved the substance they called mana towards my left foot. Just as expected, the fluid started condensing. I braced myself. Unfortunately, preparing didn’t make it hurt less. I cried out in pain, sweat running down my skin, trying to control my breath.

"That’s how it’s done, but don’t feel too good about yourself. There are still two more injections to go. Hey you, bring me two more mages. We need more juice." With a pained expression, I pleaded to my captor, "Please, let’s just continue like before. I can’t take anymore." The masked man turned around, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I felt his death stare. In a deep voice, he said,

"Listen, you little fuck, even though you currently have 4 circles in you, your opinion doesn’t mean shit. If you don’t wanna die, you will do everything you’re told to without talking back." He turned around and faced the man he was talking to before and said, "Scratch the 2 mages bring me 4."

Fuck, why did I have to say anything? I should have kept silent till the end. He slowly changed his attitude towards me, so I thought I had some room for negotiation, but I was wrong. Shortly after, the lackey was back and brought 4 others with him, presumably mages. "You brought this upon yourself. Next time, better think twice before talking back. Hey, start pumping it!"

Immediately after it started flowing, before, it was a calm flow like a river, but this time it was as violent as a storm surge. It hit me all at once, barely able to keep comprehending. Even worse, if my theory regarding the limit was correct, I was doomed because I had 2 circles in my upper and lower body, respectively. However, I had one more idea that might save me.

All circles I had created successfully were in significant parts of the human body, so if I was correct, I still had both hands, so it should work out. Time was almost up. Everything was spinning, and I was getting dizzier, but I couldn’t give up now.

I endured too much to end up dead here, and finally, before losing control, I succeeded. An explosive pain instantly erupted, feeling like a hand grenade had detonated in my left hand. My painful cries echoed through the stone room.

If I had enough guts, I would have said something along the lines of "Is this the best you got, you bastards?" but I was coughing and gasping for air. One mage walked over to the man I developed an intense hatred for and whispered something into his ear.

Suddenly he screamed, "You wanna give this lowly street rat a break? Are you kidding me? Even if he has 5 circles, his eminence said 6 and no less. Start the procedure right now, or even you, being a mid-class mage, won’t protect you." Another mage quickly responded: "don’t you know how precious 5 circles are? Maybe we should consult his greatness before rushing things."

The masked man looked at me and then back at the mages and angrily declared: "Fine, get going and tell his eminence of the news and hurry the fuck up if you don’t wanna face my wrath."

The 2 mages quickly got up and left the room. This finally gave me some time to assess the situation more calmly. My kidnapper worked for an organization with a single leader who had all the say. And most importantly, the existence of mana meant that there was magic, and this procedure should give me the ability to use it. It wasn’t rare that magic circles were needed to cast spells, and there were cases where mages shaped magic circles into their body. Still, I couldn’t remember anything about such a violent method.

I already have 5 circles, so maybe I can cast magic and escape before the procedure continues. I created the circles with mana, so for now, I have to focus on getting some of it out. To my dismay, I noticed that the 2 mages were back. They simply said, "Let’s get started right away." Instantly they got an arrogant repose: "I told you fuckers, so just get to pumping like there is no tomorrow if you don’t wanna get punished."

Shortly after, a violent surge of mana started flowing through me, making it almost impossible to redirect. With my consciousness in a worse state than ever, I closed my eyes, stopped my breath, and focused every inch of my body on just achieving one thing: getting this seemingly uncontrollable flow concentrated in my right hand. I smiled faintly. Pain erupted, and everything went black.