I gulped down nervously as I felt the healer’s robe drenched with my own sweat against my back. I stared at Eliss as she carefully examined the vials I arranged earlier. Each vial contained the blood of a creature and my task has been to separate the poisonous and non-poisonous blood.
After mumbling to herself, the dark elf finally put the vials back on their rack. “You’ve made some progress. Only one mistake this time.”
My lips naturally curled up. I heaved a sigh of relief as I felt my heart racing. It has been a long time since I’ve felt the satisfaction of being praised. After over a week of study, I have finally obtained acceptable results from my ‘mentor’.
“We’re getting there. It is a bit late right now but you can come back tomorrow and I’ll show you some basics.”
“Is it finally time to get some hands-on experience?” I said with a delighted expression.
“You’ve studied for over a week. You should at least get to make a few tests. Although… It does not mean that you should stop reading and learning about their properties. If you want to pass the examinations to become a potioneer, you’ll need to get at least 90% of the questions right.”
“I know. Knowledge of the raw materials is essential for any crafting profession.” I replied. ‘Even if I do not end up choosing potion-making.’
It was already quite late. I picked one of the smaller books for some late night reading and left the laboratory. Dinner service had already started and I could not wait to fill my grumbling stomach. I nevertheless chose to make a stop at my room to leave the book.
However, to my surprise, a person was waiting for me in front of my room.
“Park Sungjun? That was your name, right?” I eyed the teenager suspiciously. He was leaning against the door of my room in a daze; it was clear that he was waiting for me.
“Oh? Hello. Yes, that’s my name.” Park Sungjun said, looking flustered.
“Do you need to speak to me?”
“Y-yes. I have some concerns and I would like to share it with someone…”
“Sure. Let’s go to the dining hall together.”
“If possible, I would like to say it in a more private place. It is about how I have been treated here…”
I raised an eyebrow but eventually opened the door and let him inside my small room. “You can speak now but it’s not going to make much of a difference as long as we are in the Healing Temple. You know… Walls have ears. Are you not satisfied to work as an attendant? Before you reach the first circle, you are not a true healer.”
“Well… The induction and work as an attendant were alright but after work, some of the attendants accosted me. We chatted a little bit and I thought they wanted to be friends. But then, they revealed their true intentions and stole my equipment. They took the weapons and the armour set I had…”
“…” I blankly stared at the teenager, lost for words. ‘Textbook case of bullying? Most of the attendants are youngsters who obtained the Healing element. They pick on the new guy because he is quiet and has nice items… And because they are attendants, they live in dorms and its hard to hide his items.’
“What did Robb say?”
“Nothing. When I tried to speak to him, he said he did not want to get involved in disputes with the other attendants. He left to enjoy himself at the Lovers Hall…” Park Sungjun replied meekly.
I sighed frustratedly. “He is not wrong. Nobody would like to get involved in meaningless arguments like this. If you let them take your things like this. I wonder how you even managed to gather a thousand points that quickly on the zeroth floor…”
“I was lucky. I met someone I knew. He used to work for my father and took me under his wing and let me climb up first.”
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I did not like how he was looking at me expectantly. How was I supposed to get his stuff back? “Fine. Then, how did you deal with bullies at school on Earth?”
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‘Looking at your face, you look like the prime target of a bully.’
“I never did anything. When I was bullied, the students involved were expelled on the next day.”
“…” ‘The kid of a rich man… He lived an easy life so far and would have been set for life if we were not all forced to enter the tower.’
“Sadly… There is nothing I can do. And you should also forget about the items you’ve lost.” I said with a low voice. Park Sungjun’s expression changed; his distress and disappointment were evident. He seemed to be about to cry.
“Let me guess. The other attendants were very friendly and chatted with you. Somehow, the conversation changed to what you did on the zeroth floor and then you showed them your equipment. They must have said that the equipment were cool and they wanted to try it but never returned it.”
“This… Something along these lines.” Park Sungjun bit his lips as his eyes started tearing.
“Forget about them. At least, they won’t come back to annoy you anymore. This place is like a school on Earth. There are bullies that are not afraid of the teachers and principals. I may have some authority on them as a first circle healer, but at the end of the day, nothing will stop them from repeating their actions. They may even hold a grudge against you. You must have seen it on Earth, right? You were protected by your father at school but there were still bullies and some people had to suffer, right?”
“…”
He remained silent and I knew I was right. He must have quietly observed other people suffering. “Even if I do act, what if other healers get involved, healers of higher circles? You only lost a few things and are already thinking of making a fuss but I was literally raped on my first night but I remained silent. Do you know why?”
“Because I am a new recruit and I can get kicked out at anytime. This is like a workplace. Say on his first day, an employee causes a commotion and claims to have been raped by the CEO of a company. Who do you think has more credibility? Who do you think the company will choose to back up? The most likely course of action will be to cover things up and fire the new guy. Sure, on Earth, you can report it to the news and on social media but these things do not exist here. If I speak up, chances are I will be the only one to suffer. It is better to endure quietly and even on Earth, this is what many people do when they are taken advantage of. They keep quiet about it while they start looking for other options in other companies but sadly, there are no alternatives here.”
I vented out part of the frustration I kept inside as I spoke. Park Sungjun was visibly upset. “Then, I should have never accepted to come here in the first place. Would it not have been better for me to stay in that team and climb up the tower? At least, they did not steal from me and once we escaped from this floor, we would no longer have to run away from the guards. We were so close to the teleportation portal too…”
I frowned lightly. “Do you really think so? You realise that the people you were associated with are not exactly good people? Even Robb has killed his fair share of people and the only reason they did not steal from you is simply that they had better stuff. Aside from the stealing incident, has the Healing Temple not treated you quite well?”
“As I said, this place is like a school for you. Nobody likes to go to school and would rather mess around all day long with friends but we all know that it is in our best interest to do so. Of course, even people with no education has been successful on Earth but it is a fact that educated people have much higher chances of success. Use the opportunity you have to learn something and improve your skills.”
“Between suffering a bit but getting to stay at the Healing Temple and being kicked out to live like a criminal, what do you think is the right choice? In my case, I chose the former even though I was taken advantage of. People will judge my choice. They will say I am a coward and so on but the truth is, if they were in my current position, they would choose the same option.”
“The peaceful times on Earth has warped our perception. Many think that rape is the worst possible crime but that is not the case. History has proved it many times or else, why would sex slaves exist? Why did people agree to become slaves? If people cared so much about their freedom and their virginities over their lives, they would not have chosen to submit to the conquerors of the past and fought to death. I am just doing the same thing and you should do it too. At least for now… Things are going to change in a few months… So endure it. It is a small loss for an opportunity to improve your life in the near future.”
Park Sungjun lowered his head, unconvinced by my words. He was more focused on trying to get back his items than listening to me. “You are telling me to just stay quiet. But if they took my equipment first, what will stop them from taking more? What if they take the mana stones I am supposed to earn? What if they push their tasks onto me?”
‘At least you know how bullies act…’
“I am in the same situation, so endure it. They won’t push things too far. As I said, think of it as a school. The principals and teachers may turn a blind eye to some actions but there is a limit. Things will get better soon.”
“You said twice that the situation is going to improve… How can you be so sure?” Parj Sungjun said in an upset tone.
‘How am I supposed to tell you that I know the future?’ I fell silent for a moment before coming up with a plausible explanation.
“For the same reasons that slavery was abolished and revolutions took place. Because of the ones in power were the minority. Right now, there are only a few hundred humans on the first floor but as time goes by, more and more humans will arrive here. A few hundred people are irrelevant but can the Union really ignore billions of people? Even though humans are far weaker than any of the races of the Union, they would at least be forced to consider us as equals, especially if they want to trade with the only race that can climb the tower.”