Dammit. It's not painful, but it's weird as hell. It's like there is something swimming in my brain. "Baroness, how much time will this take? I just feel this thing swi—", Roberion couldn't say more, as his brain was shortcircuited.
Roberion still felt his body, but he felt his brain more intensely. Like a sensation he never felt before, it was different than a simple headache; it was like he was feeling it for the first time—all the neurons, the electricity, the connections. And outside, there was an alien feeling of something that shouldn't be there.
This visitor didn't seem to hold any intellect, working on instincts. Roberion thought it weird that the parasite was trying to show him the process in which he worked; with each change his brain had, he felt and saw it, not in a normal sense; it was like the parasite was detailing the changes and improvements, using his own brain as a conduit of information.
This doesn't make any sense; the only thing I can think of is that the researchers made him do that. I doubt the original parasite had this on him, or maybe they did; I'm not a professional on these things. At least I know that this one must be the closest these modified parasites are to the originals; the mobile ones should be way less intrusive, or maybe worse, like when they go out they explode your head or something.
I feel my brain…compressing. What is this guy doing? What's happening to the parasite? Something unexpected was happening to the worm; its body was fragmenting, fusing with Roberion's brain, and the null's brain was being modified as a consequence, being compressed and expanding. Roberion stopped thinking; the last feeling he had aside from his brain before slumbering was that something was put over his head.
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"Miss Cerulean Baroness. Are you sure that putting his cape on is enough? His body seemed to be starving a while ago" Percival said, preoccupied.
"He will be fine; I gave him the [Behemoth Skin] just for that. The others didn't need it; the parasite started growing by itself; just eating is enough to satisfy its needs. The original parasites of the Pained Chimera are like his. That's why all of their initiations need a healer. At least that was the information the emperor's forces could get.", Cerulean Baroness was intently looking at Roberion; at least the hologram was.
Percival wasn't satisfied with the answer and said, "My patron will be fine, right?"
"It depends on what you think fine means. Yes, he will be himself; the parasite won't change him. The Emperor of Creation's propaganda doesn't cease to teel that the parasite would rob its host body, but in truth, the parasite is a boon, like an enhancement. It's not for nothing that they were trying to research it. They failed anyway; before doing their last trials, this situation we found ourselves in happened", the Cerulean Baroness gave a little smile at the end, a proud one.
"Excuse me, Miss Baroness, but I think you didn't finish your explanation. Please."
"He is fine; the [Behemoth Skin] will use his mana to repair all his lost mass. The thing is, although its healing is splendid, do you think it's easy to restore bodies in the VII tier?! The bigger the tier, the harder it is for the healer to heal. The parasite won't consume even 10% of his mass in the end, and it will take hours for him to recover. Alchemists take even more time to create materials with only mana, and they need to have a perfect knowledge of what they are creating.", the Cerulean Baroness kept explaining to the capybara knight.
Percival was already interrupting the hologram again. But the baroness got the massage and signaled him to stop with her hand.
"I'm giving you useful information to give to your master, and you don't care at all?! Anyway, let's continue. What I meant by saying that he was fine for now was that he would need to participate in the selection. Nuh-uh, don't look at me like that. All will be explained to your master later. During the selection, only he can secure his own life; that's what I meant."
The baroness kept explaining, "His recovery will take more time than I thought; the selection will initiate in twelve hours, and then he will be recovered. Most of the participants will be happy with the delay too; they all need time to prepare themselves.", the hologram looked at a wall, and in a second, a hole in a door format and a tunnel were created instantly on it.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Now, it's time to go to where we will do the selection; it will be a long walk, and for that, I will need you to carry him. I could move him, but that would be taking him against his choice, wouldn't it? Be fast", saying that the hologram disapeared.
"But my patron already accepted it. Oh well. You, big machine, will go inside Sir Roberion's space bag. Let's go, sir", After putting the gun in the space bag, Percival carried Roberion on his back.
"I won't disappoint you this time, Sir Robberion. We will get out of here, more powerful than ever; me and my marvelous bombs will make sure of that."
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The first thing Roberion saw was Percival's face, looking at him with concern and then happiness.
"Sir, are you—are you well?", Percival asked, anxious.
"My head is weird, but I'm fine; it's like my mind was misty, but now it's clear; the parasite did something to it", Roberion looked at his hand; it was like he could see each of his hand lines with clarity. He looked around; he could get the metallic smell from the walls around him, like a cage or a walled prison.
He felt his heartbeat, blood pumping from his veins with clarity, and moving his hands felt like something maleable and easy. He felt that if he wanted to learn an instrument, his hands would play it without any problem; anything he wished his hands would do, it would obey. It was a complete improvement, even compared to his change in incarnation. Before, there was a small change in his whole body, but now it feels like his brain and mind have been upgraded. And now that I think back…
"Percival, you should have tried harder to change my mind about this deal. I was in a bad place. I was mad and having a mental breakdown. Now it's late, though. And we didn't have a choice either, but next time try to content my bad ideas more, buddy."
"Sir, sorry. But I have urgent matters to tell you—", Percival proceeded to tell everything he spoke with the Cerulean Baroness.
"I understand; we need to take everything she told you with a caveat; it could be a lie. For now, let's assume all this is true. Thank you for carrying me, Percival. Did anything more happen?"
"No sir. After I climbed a rise in the way, I found myself here with you. The floor closed right up after I entered. There is no more information. I didn't see the baroness either. Maybe this is a place before the—", before Percival could finish the hologram of the Cerulean Baroness showed in the middle of the floor, she didn't look at them though, as if ignoring their presence.
"Inside your test room will be realized the upcoming trials; all of them will analyze your physical and willpower. The test will be according to your incarnation; the use of any spell or item is prohibited. Remove your equipment and items and deposit them in the storage opened right now; they will be returned when the physical test ends. No compliance will be cause for termination. You have ten minutes", a cube without a top was created from the floor.
"Alright, no need for threats. Part of me is against it, but there is no doubt we are just guinea pigs here", Roberion took out his equipment and put on casual, mundane clothes. Feeling that it was the better choice, he chose gym clothes, "This thing will probably rip apart in the first trial, but the better thing I can do is try, right?! Hey, baroness, if my die activates, it is your fault; I don't want to be punished by your mistakes". What answered Roberion was only silence. Dammit.
Roberion waited the next seven minutes in silence, and after that, the hologram spoke again.
In a monotone voice, the hologram informed him, "Thank you. 34 participants were terminated. Out of 4521 contestants, 4487 will proceed to the next trial. We will only stop the physical trials until this number is reduced to 2000. Each trial will stop when 500 contestants are eliminated or the target number is reached. At the end of each trial, you will be healed, so try your best."
Ruthless, but these guys are here dumb. We are in a game with a psycho as the gamemaster. Just dance to the tune of the music, your crazy bastards.
"The next trial is initiating in 3 minutes. First Trial: Marathon. Falling to the ground and not getting up in more than three seconds is cause for elimination. Good Luck!"
She is acting more like a robot than before. Maybe it's because of the quantity of participants to monitor? Alright, it's time to prepare.
"Sorry, buddy, but I think I will need the strength. I see you when I finish these trials", Roberion gave a thumbs up for the frightened knight.
"Sir, be strong. Have faith that we will surpass this obstacle like the others before. We will leave here, and you will learn how to live!", Percival said, animated and hopeful.
"Thank you, Percivall; see ya", Roberion deactivated the die. A few seconds later, he could hear the Cerulean Baroness's voice, but this time there was no hologram.
"Starting the First Trial: Marathon", as she said that, the entire room started to spin vertically, like a rammster ball, but this one was a cube.