In the dark space, without a sun, what could illuminate the space. The flickering cloth of an old and rough-looking ship was drifting in this space. There was no wind, yet it was slowly waving throughout this empty region.
Destination of this ship? It probably did not matter, as there was no one on the deck. Just the ship and the grey-looking wood of the floor and half-destroyed barrels. Those were once full of wine or other beverages.
Insides within this ship, on the other hand, were not so shabby. The corridors and halls had some flickering dots scattered around the walls and air. These dots illuminated the dark spaces with natural light. There was even a worn-down carpet in the middle.
In the hallway, on some regular floor, on each left and right wall, were multiple doors. At the end were stairs above and below. There were more of the same door everywhere on every part of the floor. Everything was connected to this staircase, which led to the deck all the way to the bottom floor.
On the lowest point of this ship region. In one particularly bright room. Number 36 was playing a game of waiting. It was already some time since he finished his outlines and plan for Allan’s progress. Even though there could be some variables, he was a firm believer in his gut feelings.
There was no way he could do it differently after spending months upon months on this. His mind was already resilient enough after being imprisoned for so long.
“How the bloody long will they take? I don’t remember what I told them the last time I have seen them. It has been days of their time, for sure. I bet they run into some problems. There are meant to be some hard obstacles at the beginning.”
“The majority of beings who embark on this pathway will quit within the first month to the end of the year. Pain and unwillingness to continue are the cause of these cowards. Although this is not so traditional way and not a normal circumstance either. No normal beginner would get a chance to experience such a path.”
36 anxiety came from the further research he conducted. This came after giving Allan his first step on this path. There were a lot more variables than he had to choose to make him withstand. He thought that the preparations were more than enough, but he couldn’t stop the feeling of uncertainty.
“What else could I forget? There must be something more. Ahhhhhhh! I hate this!” He slammed into the table with his fists. His fingers as well as part of his fists were the only thing that could become corporeal. They made it easy to keep his workflow, with some addition to slapping the wall and table on many occasions.
“This is getting more and more out of my touch...” 36 felt rather nervous after days of calmness. He never used to be like that. Always calm and patient, that was what he thought he was good at.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
36 was jolted away from the sudden knocking sounds that came from the door. He was shaken to his core. In all this time, he never heard anything from outside this of this door.
He gave up long ago about trying something to save himself. He couldn’t shake his head in fear of his experience of being forced by these people.
He would rather not have anything to do with them. Nothing that would change his current position was something he was willing to give up. He worked hard for himself for the past months. Even though all of it was for the sake of someone else.
“W-w-what?”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Uhh. W-who is it?” 36 said with a fair amount of nervousness.
“Number 36?!” A familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar female voice sounded beyond the door.
“Y-you? What is it?”
“There seemed to be some mistake. I made a mistake... can you open the door?” Voice said with an anxious tone.
“H-h-how? I have no idea how. What do you want?”
“Right. You are really... Ahh…” The voice stumbled into the distance from beyond the door.
36 floated to it since something strange was going on. There were no hinges or door handles he could try to open. Just a frame of a door within the wall itself. He placed his head in the door in a manner of listening to what was beyond it. He did not know how he was hearing things, but not as if it mattered to him.
“What was that? Who was that woman’s voice? Is it that serious-looking woman who chose me to be given a chance? She sounded like the death itself, right now.” 36 guessed, but he had not a good memory for people who were not interesting to him. That voice seemed familiar. All he could do was compare it to the women he had seen when he came here all those months ago.
There was only silence. Beyond the door, there were some tangible humming tones that were barely recognizable.
A small dragging sound was heard after some minutes. The heavy steps of somebody followed it.
“You were a mistake number 36... I paid the price. Yet, the damage is already done. You... shouldn’t exist... It is against the codex, but... not entirely. They will know soon. It will.... be death.” Gradually weakening voice of the woman was spreading from the door. A small gust of wind was spread from the small cracks across the door frame. 36 listened very carefully while remaining with his side of the face on the door.
36 couldn’t help but back off. There was a blank, hideous and fearful expression on his face. He couldn't understand what she was trying to imply. Something is very bad, but what?
Dragging sounds with gradual beating sounds as well, which were moving from the door. Before 36 had any chance to respond to anything they disappeared completely.
“You must be kidding me?! What does she mean by that? Mistake? Is she mocking me for who am I? Did the world turn retarded or what?” He muttered in fear.
“What to do now? "They" will come? This is ridiculous!” 36 shouted in unwillingness and frustration.
“Mistaken my ass! I won’t back down if they think I shouldn’t exist. What does that even mean?”
It took him a long time to calm down. There were no longer any abnormalities.
“Phew. Alright. Let it get it straight. My existence stands for my imprisonment in this book. Does that mean I shouldn’t have been chosen this chance, or is it something else? There could be some other reasons. Like the book in the real world, or something along the line of an error which would put me in vast advantage?”
“Hmmm. No matter what is it, I won’t stop. She warned me for some reason. I wonder why? Maybe it was a statement? She is probably some sort of spokesperson who has some sort of condition. Like me, she could be managed within this shitty prison.”
“I can’t understand it, nor I can do something about it in my position. Well, all I can do is let Allan finish his tests, then I could be freed. Phew... Although it would take decades, if not centuries if he is untalented.”
“ Huh... OH SHIT! I’ve got it now!?” 36 slapped his ghostly forehead with his fist, which traveled through his head.
“Now? What the fuck is wrong with me? This is bad. I should have made it more obvious. Talent is more or less useless within these methods for Allan. It is mixed with the Unmoving technique. There needs to be some sense of balance and power. He will fail or die if he doesn’t have some sort of coordination. Lifespan is the most crucial aspect in any pathway. Especially the corresponding body techniques. Body, blood, and bones... right, right... Shit!”
“What should be done? WHAT should be done? That acupoint section? No, that is far too unstable. Went directly into the blood forging? That would be insanely dangerous but not unbearable. There could even be a chance for him to harden himself against the future path.”
“Or... Potions, pills, or some kind of natural material with life-force powers. That shouldn’t be something that would be found in mortal worlds.”
“FUCK! Why did I not think of the instability? Time is relative, after all.” 36 fell into a great depression and floated towards the table. He did not even glance at the scrolls as he already knew most there were known in there.
After thinking for quite some time, he came to a normal revelation.
“There is only a path of risk. How troublesome. Potions or pills would be able to do this, but first, I need to know the progress of Allan. I have no idea what he is even capable of handling right now.. Considering the injuries and strange circumstances, it is the least good idea for him.”
“If only I had a top-tier alchemy book and encyclopedia.” 36 sighed to himself.
Beep! Boob! Request accepted. Starting alchemical knowledge transfer. Cost: 30 years.
Mechanical voice spread from the empty air. 36 remained with no expression. As if frozen in shock.
“Am I drunk, or is this getting more and more ridiculous?” He muttered. Although he did not get any physical needs, his mentality was strong as ever. Perhaps even improved from his real-life counterpart.
Thick tome materialized above the table, and with a thud, fell down.
“Oh? Wait. 30 years? How? I should not be able to get to this yet. What is this?” He lifted the book and turned a few pages.
“Holy demon! This is a true top-tier alchemical knowledge book. Good. Good. I can work with this. Although I won’t ask how it all happened. I don’t care at all! Heheheh!” 36 chuckled in insanity while pretending to not look at the feeding hand that had just saved a lot of troubles for him.
36 dived into the book with no hesitation. His initial worry was no longer his problem. This could be that problem he thought about, but there was no point in worrying about it.
There were a whole lot of services and methods one could use to guide their student. The ones who made this whole mess made it easier to manage. Giving hope and rewards to the pair of students and teachers was a technique used by many organizations.
It costs the life of prisoners' sentences, where the intangible time for them did not matter too much. Their sentences were much higher than the life of a general dynasty of mortal kingdoms.
It was strange thinking. Why would they even make the price according to the years of the life of the teachers? 36 could not understand it at all, nor care too much about it too.
36 shouldn’t be able to get such a chance yet. He knew and was aware of the stages in front of him. However, because of that woman’s words, his mind did not think about any of them anymore. There is probably a reason for her to say that.
Nonetheless, 36 had no way of guessing it. Only some hints of what he was aware of, from glimpses to the scrolls and bits of rules he was given a chance to read. He lacked the bigger picture because it was way too early for him too. He started his teachings not so long ago. It could even barely be evaluated as one.
There was one thing he would not consider important but, was something that made his situation somewhat different from other prisoners. He was the first one to fully process the materials he was given.
Not the scrolls or the techniques which were freely available to the prisoners. It was the source of everything. The Diary of the Body.
The majority of the prisoners chose the pathways they were familiar with. Some teachers knew their advantages or disadvantages. Within many pathways laid their knowledge. Their egos were simply too big to handle this situation to think of something uncommon.
Although, in the end, the choice depends on the students. It was a weird way to teach at today’s age. Unorthodox methods could make some strange people, but it was still not frowned upon. Unlike some demonic cultivation methods and similar techniques.
36’s way of doing it was the first. It was unknown if someone was watching over him or not. Unwillingly, he put his fingers on something the writers of this diary did not think about. It did not classify as copying it. There were too many words in it, with even stranger methods of acquiring the teachings inside.
Only a bored or crazy person would even consider what 36 did. One had to be a madman in a burning corner to even consider making a brand new method in such a situation. Especially when the time was so precious.
Teachers had limited time per day to teach their students. Then, they could plan their paths once they were summoned back into their room in this worn-down ship. Time here would allow them to progress much faster.
As for the real world, 36 knew very little of the true reason behind the limited time. The future yearly examinations were even more questionable to him. That was not something that he even considered accomplishing in the current situation. It was so briefly mentioned he only hoped for the best.