Carn's tears streamed down his face as he hugged Alicia tightly, seeking comfort in her embrace. She held him close, her arms a safe haven, as he recounted the trauma he had endured. He could still feel the blades ripping through his flesh as if it was still happening, but Alicia's presence helped him forget the pain. Eventually, his sobs subsided, and he whispered, "Thank you."
Alicia and Carn sat at the edge of his bed, lost in thought. Shaun and the priest had left them alone, and the room was silent. Finally, Carn broke the silence by recounting his experience in detail, and Alicia listened in horror. "I don't think they know that I can enter God's Paradise," he said, finishing his story.
Alicia's expression grew dark with anger as she listened. She took a deep breath and spoke, trying to control her rage, "It makes sense that they wouldn't know. The Paradise Pill is a closely guarded secret, and very few people know about it. It won't even be on the market for like half a year,” She continued, “So when it comes down to it, they're after you because you are part high-elemental, and not because of your rising star status in our guild.”
"That seems to be the case," Carn said, fidgeting with his thumbs. "Hey, I was wondering… why didn't you tell me who you were when you recommended me to the guild?"
Alicia paused, taken aback by the question. She thought for a moment before responding, "When we talked in the hospital, you treated me like a normal girl, not someone of higher status. Our conversations felt genuine, and I didn't want that to change if you knew who I was."
“That makes sense,” Carn replied. "That makes sense. I don't think I would treat you any differently. You're still the same person after all. What does someone's strength or status matter when you like them as a person?"
Alicia's heart skipped a beat at his words. She was reminded of why she had enjoyed his company so much in the first place. "You know what, Carn? I'm going to get in touch with Fen. If anyone knows this group, it will be him. In the meantime, if you see an opportunity to escape, you should take it. And while you're in God's Paradise, you should try to strengthen yourself as much as possible in secret, so that an escape is more plausible."
Carn nodded his head in agreement, “Be careful when talking to Fen, okay?”
“You don’t need to worry about me, I am the famous White Mage Alicia after all.” She said with a confident smile, “I will make sure the priest is on standby at the guild so that the mental damage isn’t too much.”
Carn watched as Alicia stood up, “That would be great.”
As Alicia stood up to leave, Carn spun her around to face him. Before she could react, he leaned forward and kissed her lips. It was brief, but it sent a thrill through Alicia's body.
"Please find me," Carn said.
Alicia's face flushed with embarrassment, but she managed to maintain her composure. "Don't worry, I will find you soon," she said with determination.
She hugged him tightly before quickly leaving the room, her heart pounding in her chest and a look of determination on her beat red face.
—
Carn sat alone in his room, his mind racing with thoughts on how he could become stronger. He couldn't help but feel the blades tearing into his flesh as he replayed the gruesome attack over and over in his head. But he knew he needed to stay focused if he had any chance of escaping.
He looked down at the skill book he had acquired, realizing that learning a new skill would be crucial to his survival. However, he knew it wouldn't be easy. Learning a skill in God's paradise required not only reading the book but also understanding its concepts. It could take days, even weeks to master a new skill.
But Carn was determined. He decided his first task would be to reach the peak of copper tier or level 60. It wouldn't be easy, but he was willing to do whatever it took.
As he sat there, lost in thought, Shaun entered the room. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but the words seemed to escape him. Instead, he handed Carn a mask before quietly slipping out.
- Basic Mask -
Tier: Wood
Level: 1
Defense: 0
This thin mask can be worn on the face to conceal your identity.
Soon after, a message from Alicia appeared on Carn's screen. She had added him as a friend during their conversation earlier. "Shaun told me he gave you the mask. He feels partially responsible for what happened to you because he suggested you join Liam’s team," she wrote.
Carn didn't know what to say. He didn’t think it was Shaun’s fault at all if anything it was his fault for not getting more protection from the guild.
Alicia sent another message, this time with advice. "Don't do a tier-up ceremony if you hit level 60. They'll figure out you can go to God's paradise from that. Instead, work on getting some slayer achievements. They may not give you a lot of stats, and most people work on getting them when they are a bit stronger, but in my opinion, it's your best bet right now."
Carn thought back to the title he had received for killing a thousand slimes. He realized that Alicia was right; it was a good way to increase his stats without drawing unwanted attention. There were a wide variety of monster habitats nearby so Carn could get quite a few if he put his mind to it. In his downtime, he could also work on learning Web Shot from the skill book as well.
Carn stared at the map on his screen, pondering the best strategy for leveling up. The monsters in the nearby forest were either slimy or spider-y. He knew he could take on the copper tier Large Slimes that he had barely defeated before when he was wood tier, but he also wondered if he could handle the iron tier Giant Slimes deeper in the forest. Meanwhile, he could also aim for the iron tier Silk Trap spiders if he could solo them reliably. He knew their attack patterns, so it was worth a shot.
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Carn's eyes scanned the map for other viable options. He hadn't explored the riverside or the foothills yet. The river hosted copper tier Bladefish and iron tier Raziranhas, while the foothills had wood tier Red Goblins, copper tier Red Goblin Scouts, and iron tier Red Goblin Warriors.
As he researched each enemy type, he realized that it would be best to start with the slimes and work his way up from there. With a newfound sense of purpose, Carn set out to hone his skills and gain power determined to find a way out of his current situation.
—
Carn ventured into the forest, armed with his newfound strategy to boost his stats through slayer achievements. He had equipped himself with the Novice Slime Slayer title, which proved to be a wise choice as he quickly encountered large slimes. His attacks were efficient and swift, allowing him to take them down with ease.
Carn also took advantage of his skills, utilizing Satellite Warp to gain a better understanding of its abilities, even if it required repeated use. The Spinneret Ring, a tool that shot out a line of web, proved to be an excellent asset for quickly shifting his momentum and accelerating his movements. He even used it to collect the large slime cores without having to move an inch.
Carn was determined to master the Spinneret Ring and improve his skills, understanding that with 50,000 uses, he could learn it permanently. By the end of his hunting session, he had used it over 1,500 times, making significant progress toward mastery. Carn had ended up getting about 453 large slime cores and he leveled up twice.
As Carn walked back to Sienna Village he spent his time learning Web Shot from the skill book. A lot of the concepts it mentioned went over his head. It detailed moving mana in such a way where it became threads then detailed how to interlace those threads to perform this skill. He felt like he was starting to understand the basic concept by the time he reached his room.
—
The days passed like an endless nightmare for Carn as the surgeons kept coming in every other day to inflict agony on his body. The excruciating pain made him long for the days when he woke up to only IV tubes and oxygen masks. On those days, he sat in silence, fearing the sudden arrival of the surgeons.
But the mental burden was somewhat alleviated by the visits of an old priest granted access to his room by Alicia. The priest would wait in his room until Carn arrived in God’s paradise. He would cast a spell on him and would leave shortly after Carn seemed better.
Alicia, meanwhile, was tirelessly trying to contact Fen, but to no avail. His guild said that they didn’t have a way to contact him either and so she was left to her own devices. She visited Carn frequently, but much of her time was spent trying to gather any intelligence on his captors.
Despite his imprisonment, Carn had managed to hunt down all the monsters he had targeted, save for the elusive Red Goblin Warriors who lay deep within goblin villages, protected by stronger and higher-tier foes.
Hunting the fish monsters turned out to be a breeze, thanks to his Cosmic Eyes. He would simply sit at the river's edge, watching the creatures swim below before taking them down with a single Magic Arrow.
Through all of this, Carn amassed a vast trove of materials from his hunts: Bladefish corpses, Raziranha teeth, and a myriad of other items. Alicia advised him to hold off on selling them until he was freed, so Carn let the bounty accumulate in boxes that seemed to have infinite space in his room.
The titles that he obtained were as follows:
- Title Enhanced: Adept Slime Slayer -
Tier: Iron
Description: A slayer title rewarded for defeating 1000 of 3 different tiers of slimes (Basic Slime, Large Slime, Giant Slime). Can be enhanced by defeating 1000 of a silver tiered or greater slime.
When equipped: +3 All stats (except luck and charisma) and deal 14% more damage to slimes
Not equipped: +3 All stats (except luck and charisma)
- Title Achieved: Apprentice Monster Fish Slayer -
Tier: Copper
Description: A slayer title rewarded for defeating 1000 of 2 different tiers of monstrous fish (Bladefish, Raziranha). Can be enhanced by defeating 1000 of an iron tiered or greater fish monster.
When equipped: +2 All stats (except luck and charisma) and deal 12% more damage to monster fish
Not equipped: +2 All stats (except luck and charisma)
- Title Achieved: Apprentice Goblin Slayer -
Tier: Copper
Description: A slayer title rewarded for defeating 1000 of 2 different tiers of goblins (Red Goblin, Red Goblin Scout). Can be enhanced by defeating 1000 of an iron tiered or greater goblin.
When equipped: +2 All stats (except luck and charisma) and deal 12% more damage to goblins.
Not equipped: +2 All stats (except luck and charisma)
- Title Achieved: Novice Arachnid Slayer -
Tier: Wood
Description: A slayer title rewarded for defeating 1000 of 1 tier of arachnids (Silk Trap Spider). Can be enhanced by defeating 1000 of a copper tiered or greater arachnid.
When equipped: +1 All stats (except luck and charisma) and deal 10% more damage to arachnids
Not equipped: +1 All stats (except luck and charisma)
Carn was satisfied with his progress as he looked at his stat page before heading to sleep:
[https://i.imgur.com/J8bzMhp.jpg]
—
Carn's eyes fluttered open to the frigid room, once again strapped to the cold metal chair. The previous week had been a living nightmare, with the sadistic surgeons inflicting unimaginable pain on him. But through it all, he had hatched a plan to escape. Alicia's attempts to locate his captors had come up empty, leaving Carn to fend for himself.
As the door squeaked open, he saw the familiar group of surgeons, including the soulless man, and the ominous pole that had caused him so much pain. They bantered in their unrecognizable, otherworldly voices as they readied themselves. The head surgeon spoke up, "Would you all like to hear him scream again?"
In unison, they all responded, “Yes.”
One of the surgeons beheaded the ragged man causing the demonic pole to start glowing with a terrifying red light. Carn braced himself, knowing what was coming. He needed to act fast before they paralyzed him with the drug. In a swift move, he bit off the tip of his tongue, holding it in his mouth. The totem pole immediately healed the wound, and he waited for the perfect moment to strike.
As one of the surgeons approached with the paralyzing drug and another removed his oxygen mask, Carn spat out the piece of his tongue and cried out, "Satellite Warp!"