Confusion and fear were the two primary emotions going through everyone's minds.

Lone was overtaken mostly by interest while Hazel was trying her best to see if anyone in the room knew anything important pertaining to their situation.

"Hiss," the soft sound of a snake calling him filled Lone's ears.

"Hmm? Hungry, are you, Greed?" Lone asked.

In response, the critter which was wrapped around his bicep nodded fervently. "Okay, let's eat, but not the people, understood?"

"Hiss..." Greed replied and hung her head in disappointment.

Lone approached one of the massive feast tables and took a seat. Hazel sat next to him and frowned. "I have no idea if it's poisoned or not."

No one had moved much since they were still getting their bearings or trying to control their violent reactions to the teleportation, and, just like Hazel, many people were suspicious of the food.

Even if they were hungry beggars and slummers, they weren't fools. A life of poverty typically led to a personality of distrust and scepticism. Of course, selfishness is a common trait born of such circumstances as well, but greed, however, is secondary to one's natural survival instinct when any day could be your last.

Lone shrugged. "We'll soon find out."

He picked up a knife and fork set then got stuck in. Every few mouthfuls he'd offer his fork to Greed. She happily ate whatever he gave her and after a few minutes had passed, she uncoiled herself from him and began munching her way through a large pie of some sort.

Lone swallowed the food in his mouth then looked at the massive crowd of over 400 people just staring at him waiting for him to fall over dead. "I have the Poison Resistance skill. It hasn't levelled up, so I think this food's good. If you're hungry, grab something to eat."

A big muscular human man stepped forward and wore an upset expression as he asked, "How can you eat right now? We've been whisked away from our homes! Only the Primals know where we are or if our families are still safe! I have a wife and kid back home. For all I know, they raped and killed them! I refuse to eat food prepared by them, poisoned or not."

'I highly doubt the Primals know where we are, Pal,' Lone tilted his head to the side. "What's your name?"

'Indeed, we know nothing~' Darkness playfully replied but was promptly ignored by Lone who was ever-cold to the annoying Primal.

"Huh? Joseph. Why?" the burly man responded.

Lone smiled. "I'm Darren," he said. 'Can't really use my real name since they know about the adventurers investigating them, and for all I know, they could be monitoring us right now.'

He picked up a fat and juicy drumstick of some sort and held it out in Joseph's direction. "C'mon, Joe. Take a seat and eat some meat. If you really do have a family back home, do you think they'd be happy to see you starve yourself to death? First, eat, gather your strength. We need to know more about what's going on here before we can escape, right? Since that's the case, you may as well avoid doing it on an empty stomach."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 10.

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"They're eating and sleeping happily, did you say?" the woman who had led the kidnappers here with the teleportation asked.

A man with firmly closed eyes yet ever-moving eyes nodded. "An Amber Foxkin claimed to have the Poison Resistance skill, and seeing as how he convinced everyone to relax a bit instead of needlessly worrying and speculating, he likely has a leadership-type skill. Persuasion, I'd wager. I would also bet that he has a few points in both Charm and Charisma."

"A lucky catch then," the woman said.

"So it would seem," the man replied. "Hopefully, he survives the stimulation process."

"Yes, hopefully." The woman smiled then said, "Well, I'll leave you to it. Again, contact me if something else interesting happens. If not, then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Be seeing you, Victoria," the man responded.

"You always do, whether I want you to or not," Victoria teased before leaving the room.

----------------------------------------

Roughly 4-hours later by Lone's estimations, the massive double doors that served as the only conventional escape from the resting chamber and feast hall opened up.

The lady from earlier entered the room with about 50 people behind her - all wearing what looked like magical robes that seemed more impressive than those of the prior 400 people she had following her commands.

'More powerful mages, maybe?' Lone wondered.

"I see that you've all settled down a bit. Was the food to your liking?" she asked.

Low murmurs and slight nods of confusion filled the room as those sleeping rubbed open their eyes and raised their weary torsos, and those halfway through a meal tightly held their forks and knives, presumably to use as make-shift weapons if need be.

"That's excellent. Well, I'm sure you're all curious as to who we are, what we want from you, and, most importantly, why we liberated you in the dead of night," the woman said.

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'Liberated? That's a kind way to say 'used magic to keep you asleep then ran cross-country for about 40-miles with you over our shoulders like a sack of spuds',' Lone thought mockingly.

"I am Victoria gor Gratwund," she claimed. "I shall not hide from you all that I was once a young and arrogant noblewoman. In the grand scheme of things, I was no one of any real import, but yes, I was the very thing that you all hate and are oppressed by - a noble."

Lone's eyebrow rose in interest while many angered and upset looks spread throughout the crowd of homeless beggars and slummers. He lowered his head and whispered into his sister's ear while everyone was quietly muttered their worries and concerns for their safety. "Got anything juicy?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet. All she's thinking about is her coming 'big reveal'."

"Oh?" Lone watched the robed beauty with interest.

"As a noble, I admit to turning a blind eye to our continent-wide oppression of those without money nor power." She wore what looked like a genuinely saddened expression on her face. "It was my master who taught me that failing to stop injustice or not even attempting to fight back is just as good as being the cause of it in the first place."

'Pretty words, but stupid ones. If you fight to stop a case of injustice when you lack the means to make a difference, you're just opening yourself up to being crushed and erased. Maybe you can become a martyr, but that's pointless in a world like this where all you need to gain power is kill a few things and be open-minded and willing to enlighten yourself,' Lone criticised privately.

"I have since abandoned my claims to nobility. I now only keep my name unchanged to serve as a reminder of how weak I once was," Victoria declared.

Joseph bravely stepped to the front of the crowd of kidnapping victims and asked, "Why have you kidnapped us? To preach about your personal reformation? We have families to feed! Some of us have jobs to do! As unsavoury as they may be, they pay the damned bills! Some of us also have debts that can't afford to be ignored!"

He took several steps forward them stared Victoria right in the eyes. "We are people and we demand that you respect us as such! Return us to our homes!"

Lone wore a surprised look on his face. 'He's got big balls to be speaking like that to a leader or high-ranking member of what is obviously some sort of mage-filled cult. It's stupid since he's weak, but boy does that earn him my respect. Well played, Joe.'

Victoria smiled in response. "What we stand to give you more than exempts us for our... actions, thus far."

"And what, exactly, do you plan to give us?" Lone asked while he weaved his way through the group of beggars and slummers to stand at Joseph's side.

"Ah, the Amber Foxkin that relaxed everyone. It's a pleasure to meet you, you and your little friend there," she replied as she looked warmly at both Lone and Greed.

"Likew-" Lone stopped midsentence due to being distracted by two system notifications.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Charm Magic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

The host has developed the charm magic skill: Diversionary Words.

'Ah, she just used charm magic on me... The bitch. Good fuckin' thing the system alerted me. I almost played right into her hand there. So she either doesn't want to reveal what they want, or she doesn't want to reveal it just yet?' Lone frowned. "You never answered me."

Some surprise washed over Victoria's face but it was soon replaced by mirth. "Indeed, I didn't, did I? I was building up to it, you see."

"I'm sure," Lone replied as he suppressed his sneer. 'You're not a triple-S-ranked badass right now, Lone, you're only the most powerful H-ranker to have ever existed... and you can easily kill her and probably all 50 of her men with your skills alone... Damn, I'm powerful, aren't I?'

Hazel in the crowd chuckled faintly and smiled wryly. 'Trust him to still struggle to be humble even when he's been regressed so much, though he is right. If he just lets Darkness take control and stops suppressing the regrowth of his tails, the Primal would wipe all of them out in a flash. Ranks are meaningless to a Primal with Lone's current body, after all, regression or not. Well, unless they're a Divine or an Ancient, but I find that to be highly unlikely.'

"Indeed," Victoria said. "Well, since you are so eager, I shall explain. We have liberated you to give you all the chance to become powerful mages like us!"

Joseph looked confused. "Mages? Us? But we're just nobodies."

Lone nodded. "Awakening mana organs isn't something that can just be done at the snap of a finger," he said. 'Well, not unless you're Snapper.'

He had long suspected that the frog-lady who called herself The Guider, Snapper, was a being similar to Clicker, Tapper, and the fourth one that Tapper had mentioned when they met at the eastern world tree, Flicker.

The strange frog lady had only approached his and Soph's ship on her tiny rectangular boat and pointed them towards Milindo, however, her timing was something to be questioned. She had only appeared after Lone and Soph were finally starting to give up their search for some form of a mainland after 2-weeks of aimless sailing.

Not to mention how she had appeared in the middle of Clicker's dungeon and awakened Breena's mana organs like it was nothing. To this day that still confused and sent shivers down Lone's spine.

This was certainly a topic worth further exploration, Lone felt, but certainly not now.

Victoria smiled warmly. "Ah, that's what those from conventional magic institutes like The Academy would have you believe, and, in fact, they are wrong."

"For some reason, I'm a bit doubtful," Lone said sarcastically.

Joseph found himself agreeing. "If just anyone could awaken to Magic Power, then nobles wouldn't exist and everyone would be a powerful mage, even if they struggled to rank up their internal strength."

"We here have an item that allows anyone to go through a... test. It will awaken you with an 80% success rate," Victoria explained.

"And the other 20%?" Lone inquired.

"They fail and are returned home. Of course, we use magic to erase their memories of this place and of us. We also leave them with a single golden coin in their pockets. It's a good deal, no? On one hand, become a powerful mage with free training from us, on the other hand, go home with enough money to keep yourself fed and warm for several months." Victoria's words slowly shifted the suspicion of the over 400 beggars and slummers into curiosity and greed.

Survival instincts only went so far when incredible power or incredible wealth were offered, after all.

"I can... become a mage? I can cast them fancy spells like Fireball an' all that gaff?"

"If ah was a magic man, ah could probably make a livin' helpin' folks... That'd get me out of the slums in no time ah bet..."

"A gold coin? A whole gold coin? That's an entire year's wage fer just doin' menial labour work! Sign me up!"

"Me too!"

"Let me take the test!"

More and more voices of support and downright selfish fervour began drowning out all other noises.

Lone held his chin in one hand and his elbow in the other. 'What's the catch? Or, better yet, what are the catches? From my understanding, only world tree High Elf council elders and masters at illusion magic like Eolande can meddle with memories... Is this test really safe? Will they ever be allowed to leave even if they pass?'

Hazel had wormed her way up to his side while the crowd had started to basically beg Victoria to let them take her test. "I can answer those questions."

Lone grinned. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along."

Hazel hid her bashful blush then coughed before she began whispering what she knew into Lone's ear.