Chapter 3: The Crazy Head Warden

After what seemed like a long time, Jamond awoke, his eyes slowly coming to focus on the naked bulb above. He was dimly aware of his body being rigid and straight, without the ability to make any significant movements. Cocking his head slightly, he noticed that he was only in his underwear, and he could see thick straps over his arms and legs. Saliva pooled in the back of his throat, and he swallowed, panicked. More saliva came, and over and over, he forced it back down so as not to panic. He twisted his limbs, turning them, feeling the friction of the fabric of the straps against his skin. Without a doubt, his situation had really worsened.

"You're awake yet?" A weak and soothing voice sounded from somewhere beside him. Straining against the straps binding his limbs to the bed, he turned his head, trying to look. He could barely see the girl strapped on the other bed out of the corner of his eye. Her situation seemed to have improved, as her legs were no longer moving erratically over the bed. But she still appeared weak, with tears, sweat, and snot all over her face.

"What's going on?" Jamond whispered.

The girl whimpered feebly on hearing the question. "It's what it is. We're being used as lab rats to test some potent and mysterious elixir. I don't know what it is or where it's from, but that elixir is really messed up. I can feel it sapping away all my vitality and energy. I think I'll die soon."

Jamond swallowed, his heart starting to thud in his chest. "Is there a way for us to escape?"

The girl closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. Then she said weakly, "I don't think there's a chance. There's the powerful head warden outside. He's a powerful two-star psionic. We can't escape from his palms."

On hearing that, Jamond didn't give up. He tried to move, hoping to free himself from the straps fastening him to the bed. However, all his efforts were fruitless, as the straps were quite firm. He couldn't stretch them, even after exerting all his strength.

"Don't bother struggling," the girl said after noticing his actions. "These people know what they are doing. They have even experimented on the true-blue awakened psionics. So, how can they allow us to escape? We aren't even at the level of pseudo-psionics yet! We're doomed."

The words hit Jamond like a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil. He shuddered involuntarily as the fear of impending death threatened to overwhelm him.

He'd just reincarnated into a new world. He'd hoped that he would be able to start anew and live a glorious life. He'd even yearned to understand the ways of psionics so that he could rise to become a powerful individual in the new world. But there he was, trapped in a lab like a guinea pig. He was without hope and most likely about to face death again.

"No!" He thought, shaking his head to gain clarity. "I won't give up until the very last moment."

He thought for a fleeting moment about his past life. He'd grown up as an orphan without any parental love. On multiple occasions during his adolescence, he had been involved in crimes and almost perished. But due to his unwavering attitude and flexible character, he'd done his utmost to straighten himself and escape his fate.

After his eighteenth birthday, he'd abandoned his life of crime, studied hard in university, and developed his artistic talent. He graduated with honors before quickly making his name as a renowned artist in Hong Kong. And if it weren't for the fire that took his life, he would have continued developing his career until his name rose to prominence across Asia and the whole world. He was that confident due to his talent and ability to learn things quickly.

"There's something I don't understand," he said to the girl. "Why is the head warden here dressed like a scholar or a life sage?"

The girl turned her head, sighing. "That's because he's a scholar and a psionic majoring in the path of life and death. As you should already know, human experimentation is illegal in most parts of Egios. Except in the dark realm of the dark races and prisons, such as the Forsaken Temple of Merciless Nightmares, you can't conduct experiments on humans. So, he only applied for the position of head warden to obtain free human specimens to carry out his experiments."

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Jamond slowly digested the information before asking, "What about this place? Where are we, and where is this lab located?"

The girl slowly closed her eyes and said, "From what I have heard, the Forsaken Temple of Merciless Nightmares is located deep in the expansive Forest of Omens. But where the prison is exactly, not many know the answer to that mystery."

"Oh!" Jamond nodded in understanding.

From the other Jamond's memories, he'd already learned that the Forest of Omens was a jungle south of Blackfen City, the location of his home. The forest was full of evolved beasts and other oddities, with some so fierce to the point of threatening true-blue awakened psionics. Thus, for a person like Jamond, without any abilities, it was a place he couldn't traverse alone unless he wanted to serve as a snack for some evolved beast.

"What about this lab?" Jamond continued inquiring.

"This lab should be within the structure positioned strategically at the entrance of the Forsaken Temple of Merciless Nightmares. Rumors say that the Unified Government of Egios built this structure to guard against something deep in the goddamned prison. But again, except for a few top brasses and very mighty psionics within the unified government, I highly doubt there's another living person out there who knows what the government is really guarding."

Jamond cocked his head even further to observe the girl. "How come I have never heard about all this?"

"As I said, not many are privy to the information," the girl responded with a weak smile.

"Then, how do you know about this?"

"That's a secret I can't tell you," the girl said, still smiling weakly.

Despite the circumstances, Jamond smiled, intent on asking another question. But just as he was about to open his mouth, the door flew open, and the head warden in a white lab coat entered the room. A smile outlined his face as he glanced at the two guinea pigs. "Well, well," he said. "You two seem to be having a good time catching up."

The guard, who had escorted Jamond from the prison cell, came in behind the head warden, his red eyes glowing slightly under the hood of his cloak. In his left hand was a mid-sized silver case, which he quickly placed on the long white table beside the two beds.

"We should begin."

The head warden turned his gaze away from his two captives. He then stepped towards the table and opened the silver case. And very carefully, with slow and measured movements, he picked up what appeared to be a long syringe, the size of a baby's arm, from the silver case. It contained a light green liquid that glowed under the bright artificial lighting in the room.

Damn!

On seeing the oversized syringe, Jamond felt a wave of intense fear overwhelm him to the point of making his strapped limbs feel cold. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said in an imposing voice, "Are you aware that Count Gileon Maxith is my father? He's a four-star psionic, a fire sage in Blackfen City. He won't let you off if you harm even a single hair on my body."

On hearing the proclamation, the head warden slowly whirled around. He shot Jamond a strange look and then burst into laughter. "Are you trying to threaten me?" He asked with a teasing smile.

Jamond tried to suppress the feeling of apprehension on seeing the head warden's glowing blue eyes. Swallowing hard, he said, "I'm not threatening you. I'm just speaking facts."

The head warden let out another hearty chuckle and slowly came to Jamond's side. Slowly but steadily, he leaned forward with the oversized syringe in his right hand and used its tip to caress Jamond's cheek. Cocking his head slightly, he asked while using his free hand to point at the girl strapped on the other bed, "Do you know who she is?"

Jamond's body started trembling as he met the head warden's gaze. He could feel the sharp tip of the syringe, so cold as ice, against his cheek. Every single cell in his body was screaming the word danger, and he couldn't stop his heart from thumping hard and fast within his ribcage.

"It seems that you don't know," the head warden said with a smirk. "Let me answer the question for you. That girl you see over there is Lady Myla Bladerock. She's the youngest daughter of Duchess Tasia Bladerock, one of the three five-star psionics in the renowned Bladerock family."

"What?" Jamond cocked his head to stare at the other girl, his eyes widening with shock. His mind blanked out, and for a moment, he couldn't register the fact that a girl of such lofty stature had also suffered the fate of a lab rat under the head warden's machinations. It seemed that the head warden didn't really fear even a family with three powerful five-star psionics.

"You're crazy," Jamond whispered to the warden.

"Yes, indeed. I'm crazy," the head warden agreed, laughing derisively. "I'm crazy for the psionic arts. I'm crazy for the truth, and I'm very willing to cross all lines for research. So, young Maxith! Please, don't attempt to threaten me with your family status. Such tricks won't work on me."

After saying all that, the head warden's eyes hardened like ice, brittle, distant, and he slowly raised the oversized syringe containing the green liquid. "Let's not waste any more time," he said. "We'll proceed with the experiment. I really hope that you survive after receiving the fourth injection. It's my sole wish as a scholar who has been researching this elixir for years. I must succeed this time."

"If I survive, you'll regret this," Jamond groaned weakly.

The head warden shook his head and ignored the threat. Then, without giving Jamond any time to react, he leaned forward quickly and plunged the oversized syringe into Jamond's left part of his chest.