Orrin’s body hit the cobblestone floor of the cell. He was one door down from the small room Brandt had occupied hours earlier, the broken barred door still on the ground outside. He rolled until he hit the far wall hard. Without [Mind Bastion], he should have passed out from the pain long ago.

Caught and imprisoned.

When Madi had approached them with the information that their party member, Brandt, had been captured, Orrin and his friend, Daniel had raced to his rescue. From the moment the two of them had been forced into this world, Orrin and Daniel had stayed by each other’s side. Friends for years before a runaway truck had killed them on Earth, the two high-school boys had woken up naked in a new world but with magic, levels, and a System. Just like the stories that Orrin had used to read.

Daniel was a [Hero], the legendary class that was destined to save the world. Orrin could admit to himself in this low moment that the class fit his friend perfectly. Daniel had always been the popular one in school. He succeeded in whatever he put his mind to, treated everyone like a friend, and had just a tiny bit of an ego to go along with his good looks.

Orrin’s class had seemed lackluster at first. [Utility Warder] was a backline support class, something that the world didn’t value as much as the ability to lay the smackdown on the monsters that existed. In a world where the growth of your class depended on how many monsters you could kill, healing and support were rarely a first option. He’d slowly shown those close to him the value in a healer, shield-maker, and stat-increase spell-bot over time. What nobody could have expected was Orrin’s other powers. Administrator powers. Orrin’s rebirth had caused some sort of problem in the System that governed skills, spells, and classes. He’d unlocked a power that nobody alive knew much about. He had only started to find out more about it himself when Madi, Daniel, and himself had left the protection of Dey and stormed the enemy country of Odrana on a suicidal rescue mission. Their friend, Brandt, had been captured and slated to die. They’d planned the best they could but the one thing working for them was that nobody knew they were coming. With any luck, they’d be able to get in and free Brandt without anyone knowing.

Of course, Orrin should have known better. They were never lucky.

Orrin remembered bits and pieces before the beating Lord Sanerris had put on him. He’d hinted that Brandt’s imprisonment was a trap to draw them in. Orrin had convinced Daniel to use his party escape spell to save Brandt and Madi. He would have escaped too, if one of the Odrana thugs hadn’t snapped a collar around his neck. The collar severed his party connection and his access to some of his spells.

Orrin’s right hand reached up and touched the smooth metal around his neck. It was slick with his blood and he couldn’t find a clasp or edge.

He groaned as Lord Sanerris, the ruler of Odrana, sneered down at him. Two guards had dragged him back along the long path before dumping him on the ground. They proceeded to strip him down to his pants and threw his cloak, armor, and potion vials into the hall.

Orrin tried to find a more comfortable position on the ground. At least one arm was broken and if the dull burning in his sides was any indication, Sanerris had shattered a few ribs. His leg hurt as well and he was scared to put weight on it to see how bad it was. It took most of his remaining energy to prop himself up and spit at Sanerris.

“You might as well let me go, right now,” Orrin said, his voice gravely. He must have taken a few hits to the neck. “You don’t want an angry [Hero] coming back for me.

Sanerris lifted an eyebrow. “I’m amazed you can still speak. I am not used to being denied what I want and twice now, you and the [Hero] have surprised me. I will see to it that it doesn’t happen again.”

“Seriously, take the collar off me and I’ll try to convince Daniel not to level your country. He has a bit of a temper sometimes.”

One of the guards moved to hit him but Sanerris grabbed the man’s arm. “Don’t kill him, yet. The slave collar will keep him from attacking anyone.” To Orrin, he only smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I have so much to plan and so little time to inform your friends of your upcoming execution.”

“Huh? I thought you wanted to learn about my skills?” Orrin backpedaled quickly. The flickering light of the guard’s torch lent a crazy glint to Sanerris’ eyes.

“I’ll get what I want,” he said with a sinister smile. The man swept from the room. One of the guards closed the cell door and the lights retreated until Orrin was sitting in darkness.

Orrin’s mind worked through the inconsistencies of what Sanerris had said. He was going to execute him but still learn how his class worked? That made no sense. Why would he need to tell his friends that he was going to be killed… unless…

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

He’s trying to do it again. He wants to draw Daniel back to Odrana in another rescue mission. Orrin sighed in relief. Sanerris was playing mind games. He wasn’t going to kill him. He’d beaten him to a pulp but kept him alive.

I can’t let him know about my Administrator powers. Orrin pulled up his list of skills and spells. I need to figure out how much I can safely give away.

Orrin was under no delusion that Sanerris wouldn’t torture him. He was honestly surprised that it hadn’t started right away. He was weak and supposedly vulnerable after his friends left him behind.

Lord Sanerris had the ability to freeze a person in place. Orrin’s theory was that it was Time magic. He could only focus the spell or skill on one person at a time though. That was how Orrin had figured out a way to get everyone else to safety. He’d hoped that once the rest of his party was safe, he could escape himself.

After Orrin had been frozen in time, Sanerris had snapped a slave collar around his neck. Orrin knew slaves existed in Asmea but had avoided that side of town. Now, he wished he had learned a bit more. Once he’d been collared, he hadn’t been able to use any of his spells or skills, except [Mind Bastion]. One of the first skills that he’d ever received, it had become a blessing and a curse in Orrin’s mind. While it allowed him complete control of his thoughts, turning him into a logic-driven machine, it also could be used to negate or at least slow down the effects of over-using mana or, in the current case, ignoring the pain receptors his body was firing in an attempt to let him know just how badly he was hurt.

If [Mind Bastion] is still working, this collar doesn’t block the System completely.

The first ray of hope sparked in his eyes. It was time to figure out the limits of what he could do.

Orrin breathed heavily, trying to calm down. He’d almost killed himself.

That’s what I get for not taking it slow, he berated himself.

Obviously, the first thing he’d tried to do was heal himself. The slave collar took the mana that was swirling inside, ready to be used… and fired it at him in a painful backlash that left him crying on the floor even with [Mind Bastion] running. It took him five minutes of deep breaths before he gathered the courage to even move.

“No healing spells then with this thing on,” Orrin said aloud to the darkness. He reached up and flicked the collar. “Probably should stay away from casting spells at all.”

The way the collar had collected his mana hinted that he wasn’t going to be using magic to get out. He was relieved that he hadn’t tried to [Teleport].

[Mind Bastion] was working and Orrin could still use [Map] to see his surroundings. Being underground, he could only make out the system of caves that he’d led the group through just hours ago. One guard was stationed by the stairs.

He only left one guard?

Orrin reached into a pocket and almost let out a ‘whoop’ of excitement when [Dimension Hole] worked. He pulled an extra health potion out and had it on his lips before he stopped.

They’ll know I was healed. He wasn’t sure there was a way to block his skill from working but it was better to keep it a secret for now. Orrin looked quickly at his broken arm and sighed. He’d have to deal with it for now.

Luckily, this room had a mattress on the floor and a small latrine. Lucky wasn’t really the word for it. The toilet was nothing more than a wooden box over a hole in the ground. A small bit of water from the ocean somehow made it all the way to the small carved-out hole to flush away whatever filth was thrown down it.

The mattress was… the less said about the mattress, the better. Orrin thought with a shiver.

He pried the top piece of wood off the toilet, letting the fresh smell of saltwater waft up. His first true piece of luck was that nobody seemed to have used it in a long time. The wood was near rotting but stiff enough for his purposes. He pulled a knife from his pocket and paused again. He sighed and put it back.

Using one arm, he positioned the wood lengthwise along the metal base of the gate. He hobbled up to his one good leg and jumped. It took three tries before he landed on the wood and snapped it into two long pieces of unequal size.

Using the sheet that was crumbled up near the mattress, Orrin fashioned a splint for his arm and his leg. Thanking his mom for making him take that first aid class years ago, he clenched his teeth as he tightened the bands he’d made. He had a lower left arm break that was more annoying than painful, in that it left him only able to use one arm. The right leg break was worse. It took longer to set it before applying the splint and he’d passed out twice even with [Mind Bastion] blocking the pain.

Covered in sweat, Orrin started breathing heavily again. It was a few minutes before he realized he was using [Meditate] unconsciously. That last piece of information clicked in his mind and he realized what the slave collar did.

It blocked mana use.

Orrin could still use skills that didn’t depend on using his internal mana reservoir. [Meditate] wasn’t using his internal mana but adding to it. To-do list: figure out how [Meditate] uses mana around the slave collar.

He could use [Obscure], [Analyze], [Identify], [Map], [Mind Bastion], [Dimension Hole], [Meditate], and [Merge], although he didn’t try to actually merge any spells. He hesitantly pulled up [Way of the Water] and got the prompt to reenter the training room with Styx.

Worst case I can try and fight my way out as long as Sanerris isn’t around. Orrin moved to train with Styx. The time dilation of the training room might give him extra time to come up with a plan. Before he selected the skill’s acceptance option, he had another thought.

With a deep breath, Orrin tried to select his ace in the hole.

The Administrator options appeared. Orrin smiled in the darkness. He had options. He’d find a way out of this and if he couldn’t, Daniel would be back soon. Orrin had kept to rule one. He’d survived. Daniel had only left him because he had to save Brandt and Madi. Rule two was to stick together. We’re a team. He’ll come for me. They all will.