Dirk was taken to Fingers for the second time in a day's time. Of course, the mad doctor was thrilled to see this.
"Here, here, let's get potions inside you. Can't have that wonderful skin of yours remain destroyed."
Fingers grabbed a bag and a needle as he spoke with a jittery voice. It looked like he administered potions through something similar to an IV drip. After all, unconscious people couldn't drink potions.
Dirk wasn't unconscious though. Although it was sooner than he thought, he was making true on his vow to never sleep while in the presence of Fingers.
When he saw Fingers about to stab him with those shaky hands, he shouted.
"Get... away from me! Give me... the bottle, dammit!"
He cursed between breaths. He was so weak that the guards didn't even need restraints to hold him down.
Seeing as how Fingers ignored him though, he glared at the man.
"Hey! Stab me with that needle... and the next time I get out of here, I won't bother trying to escape. I'll come straight for you!"
"Quiet!"
Suddenly, one of the guards smacked Dirk across the face. Fingers clearly hesitated though.
He didn't hesitate for long, however. After Dirk was chained down, he stuck the needle into his arm.
"Agh!"
Dirk grunted and looked over. The needle didn't even go into the vein! Fingers' shaky hand missed and hit his muscle instead.
Seeing this, Fingers pulled out the needle before trying again. But he still missed, and Dirk was baffled as he retried.
Like that, Dirk was stabbed 5 times before the needle went into the vein. Moments later, Dirk felt a refreshing liquid stream through his body. His wounds healed at a visible rate, and even his energy was slightly restored.
Of course, Dirk wasn't one to just let things happen.
'Interface, isolate that potion. Save the excess for later.'
[Affirmative.]
With that command, the nanites in Dirk's body began to grab and store the potion streaming into his veins. It took control by distributing the potion to urgent injuries, making efficient use of it before storing some for later.
This happened across the course of about 8 hours. The potion didn't stream into him all at once. He was given ample time to heal, and the drip bag was replaced twice. Dirk was a bit baffled by the expenditure. This was obviously an expensive potion, yet these people were giving it to him.
'He really does value my talent. But what the hell does he plan on doing anyway?'
Dirk began to wonder about Asura's motives. After a few seconds though, he shook his head. That wasn't what he should be caring about right now.
'The portal is no longer there. I need to find where the exit is. But... I don't have the power. I'm still weak. I need to bid my time. From the looks of it, this isn't just some kind of torture dungeon. I need to get a grasp on the situation.'
Dirk made his decisions in his mind. It was impossible to fight his way out when he didn't know where out was. All the adults were also more powerful than him, and he only had his bare hands and magic to fight with.
So he decided that he wouldn't go running around like a headless chicken. On the stone bed, he let out a long breath.
Despite his previously splitting headache, Dirk kept himself awake for the entire 8 hours that he was on the stone bed. By that time, he had mostly healed. The stab wound had completely sealed while his skin had turned pink after healing from the whipping. Still, he had some injuries that would take a bit longer to heal, and he was tired.
Unfortunately, that was also the time when someone came to get him.
"Wakey wakey! Are you thinking about trying to run again? I wouldn't mind if you did! Then I'll be able to whip you!"
Deliha walked over to his stone bed, chuckling at his restrained body. Unlike previously though, Dirk no longer looked at her with enraged eyes. He was now apathetic, as if nothing mattered.
Deliha clicked her tongue seeing that. She had fun whenever Dirk tried to resist and was brutally beaten down by her.
"Hmph. Finally whipped some sense into you?"
"..."
"Good. Because thanks to Asura's benevolence, your life isn't going to be nothing but torture. Unshackle him."
With her word, a guard came and undid Dirk's restraints. Surprisingly, he didn't bother to put mobile restraints on.
Dirk didn't question why though. Deliha was right here. He couldn't do anything in front of her.
"Follow."
Deliha waved before walking out. Dirk stood there for a second, and when he was finally shoved forward by the guard, he began walking.
He followed Deliha through the tunnel and out into the town. Upon arriving on a wide street, Deliha turned back and looked at Dirk, her arms raised.
"See all the buildings around you? There's a rule here that there's no such thing as inherent possession. If you want something, you take it by force. If you want to keep something, you better be able to defend it. This goes for everything from your clothes to your residence to any items you receive. Of course, not all the items in circulation are borrowed goods. There's currency here and a place to buy things. The only rule here is that there is no killing. You can beat someone within an inch of their life, but you aren't allowed to take it, and aren't allowed to let them die from the aftereffects of your work. After all, you are now property. We aren't keen on losing our investments. If you're found to have killed someone or let someone be killed, you will be subject to a month of 'physical education'."
Deliha chuckled as she explained. Dirk listened quietly and quickly understood the nature of this place.
It was the law of the jungle here. If you were weak, you'd have everything taken from you, even the clothes on your back. While you would still live in the end, it would be a hellish life. You'd be worse off than a homeless man in the streets of a city.
Not even getting treated was pleasant. There was the doctor Fingers who was as creepy as creepy gets. Going there meant dealing with him, and even Dirk would make sure he wouldn't have to go if he could help it.
"Other than that, there are two things that go on in this place. Every one of you little asuras in training are required to take lessons. And every month, there are evaluations. There are rankings that score you based on your performance in the evaluations. And of course, there's the arena where battles take place every 3 months. Everyone must fight in these battles. Nothing is optional. And to incentivize good performance, people who don't live up to standards are given extra physical education. Those that do good are handed currency, allowing a bit more luxury in this place."
"..."
Dirk was silent. It seemed like there was a kind of hierarchy in this place, and competition was definitely fierce.
After giving out that basic information, Deliha went on to take Dirk on a small tour. She went through several tunnels, showing Dirk where all the lesson areas he would be taking were. There were some lessons for pure learning, but most were taught by example.
They taught everything from stealth to killing to protocol. This was a place that trained assassins, so it was natural they taught all these things.
Dirk was actually surprised though when he saw how much effort was going into this place. He was able to get a glimpse into the nature of this entire endeavor. It was an organization. While there was plenty of torture and brainwashing, it still had a purpose, and it needed people to achieve goals. If they just whipped their people all day, there wouldn't be any competent underlings. There had to be incentive, a reason to improve and obey.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
'They'll train me. But they'll also ensure that I will be working for them. There will come a time when I will do things without their supervision. But they won't let me until they can trust that I've been assimilated, and I will not do what they want me to. So I need to escape, but I need power for that.'
Dirk came to this conclusion. The only variable was time. How long would it take him to gain power, and how long could he last? Dirk knew that given enough time, there were very few that couldn't be broken, or at least affected and twisted.
How long would it take? A week? Months? Years? He didn't know. It all came down to how he adapted to this place and how hard they tested his tolerance.
After being taken to all the lesson areas and given a schedule that he needed to follow, Dirk was taken back to the town. Then, Deliha came up to him and grabbed his forearm. He resisted a bit, but she could easily control him with her strength.
'Rank 6? Probably.'
Dirk guessed her Rank as she brought out an item. It was a black metal band with a black crystal embedded in its center. She slapped this metal band on his right forearm, and it clamped down.
"Agh!"
Dirk suddenly felt a searing pain that seemed to melt into his bones as the metal heated up. The black metal turned to liquid and extended from his wrist to his elbow. It even sunk into his skin as it formed something like a runic formation.
After several seconds, the metal band had turned into a runic enchantment that branded his arm like a tattoo. The black crystal had also formed itself into a shape in the middle of his forearm.
Dirk looked at the tattoo. Other than the runes he couldn't understand, there was a large infinity loop in the middle. It was a number 8.
"Congratulations. You are no longer the noble child, Dirk Strider. You are now Harbinger 8."
"Eight..."
Dirk mumbled, the corner of his mouth twitching a bit. Could there be such coincidences?
Deliha smiled.
"Anyway, that's all I have for you. You're on your own now. And do be sure to perform well. Or don't. I'll personally be carrying out any of your physical education, so it's fine with me if you slack off for a while."
With a small chuckle, Deliha waved and walked off with her guards. Dirk was left in nothing but a pair of shorts, standing in the middle of a street.
'So I need to fend for myself, huh? Everything from my clothes to a house...'
Dirk frowned as he looked around. He had already memorized his schedule, and there were clocks all around the town to track time. Since there was no light in this place other than the artificial lamps everywhere, one couldn't track time by the sun. Dirk had his AI though, so that wasn't a problem.
Either way, he didn't start anything until tomorrow, or 14 hours from now. Truth was, Dirk wanted to sleep more than anything. He had been up for nearly 10 hours, and all of it was spent recovering from a nasty headache and horrible wounds. His body and mind were exhausted.
And while Dirk would prefer a house, he wasn't interested in fighting anybody for one right now. Thinking that, he turned and walked off between some buildings, avoiding the curious gazes coming from all around.
The town was a large area within the massive cave, composed entirely of stone buildings, walls, and structures. There were small and large living spaces, some of which were like apartments and others that were like proper houses. The houses were on the outskirts of the town while the more compact apartments were in the center.
There were even houses that were built up the walls of the cave. These ones had large staircases leading to them and windows that were lit. It seemed pretty luxurious, and Dirk guessed that only the most powerful lived there.
Not wishing to attract trouble, Dirk made his way to an alley between some deeper apartment buildings. When he found a clean patch of dirt that he could sit on and a wall to lay against, he walked over.
He didn't sit though. He stared at the dirt, and his heart rate suddenly went up as his body felt weak.
He fell to his knees. Perhaps it was because he was finally alone, but all the stress that built up since he was taken came crashing down all at once. And not the physical stress either.
He clutched his chest as he breathed roughly, feeling a deep pain inside of him that didn't come from any wound.
"Agh... Hah... Hahaha. Damn. I really thought I had it for a while there. I was actually satisfied with myself, with my half-decent life. You'd probably call me a dumbass if you heard that, huh Gray? You'd say that I'd become complacent... that I need to get my ass up and run another mile..."
Dirk chuckled hollowly as he hunched over, falling onto his side. He seemed to curl up like a child, feeling weaker and weaker every second. It was such a foreign feeling.
"But... I don't know if I want to anymore. It hurts, Gray. I'm sorry. I just wanted to have some fun. I had a friend and everything. Why... Why did this have to happen? At least I had you last time, but I'm alone now... Can't I just rest? Is that okay..?
Dirk's eyelids drooped as he mumbled. Like that, he passed into a deep slumber while curled in on himself.
And while he turned unconscious, a sinister pair of abyssal eyes locked in on Dirk from the ocean of mana around him.
The Dark element incarnate. That colossal being slowly inched towards Dirk, not attacking, but keen on taking that pure soul for itself. It waited, delightful over the weakness that its prey was exposing.
So delightful... despair...
........
....
13 hours passed as Dirk slept. For him who was far beyond ordinary humans, sleeping for such a long time was as out of place as it was concerning.
And he would've slept longer if not for an untimely interruption.
[Proximity chatter detected.]
Dirk's eyes slowly began to open at the alert of his AI. Since it was chatter he was alerted about, Dirk's ears automatically perked up while the AI isolated some sound.
"Is he the new one?"
"Yea, the Harbinger."
"I saw him come in here and fall asleep. It's been a long time since then, so he might be awake."
"H-hey, I hear he got the Bloody Mistress on his ass. He's quite the unlucky one."
"He's Harbinger 8 though. 8 is lucky, right?"
"Fortune's fool."
"Why does Silky want to hurt him though..."
"That's none of your concern. Just get ready."
After Dirk listened in on the chatter, three people suddenly appeared at the entrance to the alley he was in. His eyes closed for a moment.
'Lucky...'
He sighed inwardly as he turned over. His face was blank, as if he didn't care about the three people who sneakily approached him. They looked to be older teenagers, perhaps 16 or 17 years old.
"Go away..."
Dirk mumbled just loud enough for them to hear. They were momentarily surprised that he detected them so easily, but got over it as they smiled.
The leader of the three looked at Dirk who lay on the floor like a homeless man with his back turned to them. He was in nothing but shorts, so his body was dirtied by dirt, dust, and residual dried blood from his healed wounds.
The leader walked over next to Dirk. When he did, he caught a glimpse of the large number 8 on his forearm. It caused him to frown momentarily before he snickered at Dirk's pitiful appearance.
"A Harbinger sleeping like a dog? That's a first."
"..."
"Hey! I have a message from Silky that I was personally tasked with delivering to you. You probably have no idea who that is, so all I'll say is that she's someone you can't defy. I suggest you climb to your feet and receive the message!"
"..."
Dirk didn't respond at all, causing the leader to frown. He growled and brought his leg back.
"Hey! I'm telling you to stand up!"
*Woosh!*
He kicked out his leg with full force, aiming right for Dirk's back. At that moment though, Dirk threw out his elbow. The two collided.
*Crack!*
With Dirk aiming at a weak spot on the leader's shin bone, it wasn't he who gave out. The leader felt waves of pain overcome him as his bone folded around Dirk's elbow, snapping in half.
"Ahh!!"
He yelled as he fell backward, clutching his broken leg. The other two, enemy 2 and enemy 3, rushed forward to attack.
Dirk slowly began to get to his feet as they approached. While he was hunched over, enemy 2 stepped forward and swung out his own leg backed by large amounts of anima, intending to kick Dirk in the face. Dirk activated his own anima though and threw out his palms, stopping the leg and grabbing it.
After grabbing his leg, Dirk kicked out enemy 2's other leg, making him fall on his back. With him on the floor, Dirk used his foot to step on his chest and his arms to put his leg into a hold. Enemy 2's knee was quickly put into a lock, causing him to feel a wave of chills.
"No, wai-!"
*Crack!*
After Dirk used a bit more strength than normal, the knee that enemy 2 had attempted to reinforce with anima was bent the wrong way. Dirk dropped the leg as he started letting out loud screams of pain, turning his attention to enemy 3.
Enemy 3 was actually casting fire magic. Dirk didn't even move as he cast rock wall in front of him. At the same time, a fireball shot out from enemy 3. It was a concentrated fireball, and it collided with the metallic stone.
*Boom!*
The wall exploded under the fireball, but Dirk had already raised his arm. In it was a small shield of rock, more than enough to block the debris from hitting him.
Dust was kicked up, causing enemy 3 to squint his eyes. As he searched for Dirk though, he felt a piercing pain in his leg.
Rock spike.
Dirk cast this magic, and the spike shot right through enemy 3's leg. He let out a small scream, barely keeping on his feet and hastily trying to lift his leg out of the spike. He couldn't though since the spike was pointed upward, keeping him from just sliding his leg out.
"Agh!"
At this moment, the leader gritted his teeth and pointed his hand. Dirk turned and saw a magic circle of the dark element.
To this, Dirk just cast another rock wall. The next moment, Dirk saw black tendrils wrap around the wall, crushing it directly like an angry squid. They then charged toward him, though they were weakened.
Dirk cast another spell, a simple fireball. This fireball was instantly created and shot toward the tendrils, exploding and engulfing them in flame. There was a momentary flash before the flames quickly died down.
With the flames, the tendrils were snuffed out. Dirk calmly walked over as the leader tried to cast another spell and swung his foot.
*Crack!*
His foot buried itself into the leader's side, breaking two ribs. The leader cried out, and the spell failed to cast.
After that, it was enemy 2 that tried to stand back up and fight. It didn't look like he was a mage, and Dirk was able to easily put him back on the floor. Then, when enemy 3 tried to cast another fire spell with the spike still in his leg, Dirk cast another rock spike, the spike shooting through his arm this time and interrupting the spell.
With that, all three enemies were incapacitated. The entire time, Dirk didn't have the slightest change in expression. His eyes were still dull, even a little sorrowful.
"I... I didn't want to fight. I just... Why did you have to come here? Should I take you to Fingers now? I can't let you die, after all."
As if he were a merciful caregiver, Dirk suddenly walked over and grabbed each person, throwing one over his shoulder and dragging two by their arms. Like that, he walked all the way to Fingers, though he had to dish out some more punishment to the rowdy bunch along the way when they got angry.