「Arc 1: Subjugation」
Chapter 0014 「The Pit」
"Where's 101?" 18 asked.
"How would I know?" 71 looked around. It was strange. All the kids were gathered in the class, and there were more guards than usual. Among the kids, at the end of the room, 71 spotted 50. It had been a while since he saw 50, as 50 barely left his room or showed up in the classroom, training hall, or kitchen.
50 looked unliked his past self. There was no longer the fake smile that annoyed 71 in the past. Now, his face looked glazed, and his amber eyes looked cold. "I want to punch him even more now." 71 thought.
"My, most of you are exactly the way I saw last time." Robert stood in front of everyone. "How boring. But I did hear all of you awakened in only 15 days, so good for you lot." He clapped.
71's eye fell on 18. "Wait. When did you?"
"What? You thought I would lag behind." 18 retorted.
"Of course, you never train. Never study. Did 101 help you?"
"Why would I ask for help when he showed no interest in learning himself?"
71's eyes lit up. "I see now. 101's needles were missing. You told him 84 took it, but you gave it to 84 in exchange for his help, didn't you?"
18 didn't express it, but for a moment, she was surprised by how quickly he came up with that deduction. "He needed help creating a strong sedative, and I thought making a manual from the encyclopedia was too much work. So, a mutual exchange. The needles will be restocked anyway."
"You lied. I am disappointed."
She pinched his cheek. "Say that again."
Clap!
"This has to be the noisiest batch," Robert commented. "When Elders speak, you listen."
The class went silent.
"Here's the thing. We have decided to move up our schedule."
Inside the Pit
"Where?"
"It's so hot.."
"We had 15 days remaining. Why were we suddenly punished?"
"This doesn't make any sense."
Murmurs started to get louder and louder. 101 found himself in a place filled with kids he'd never seen before. His body felt weak. He rested while leaning against a wall. Just keeping his eyes open was hard.
In his mind, he started listing the symptoms:
-skin discoloration
-headache and fever.
-low heartbeat
-blurry vision and visible veins.
-shivering
If he could access the kitchen, he was positive he could cure himself of Robert's poison, but he couldn't see that happening.
Looking around, he appeared to be in a cell. He guessed the other kids here were those who also failed to Awaken.
"The Pit." That was what he remembered from Robert's words. There was not much he could make from that.
Soon after, the colossal metallic gate in the cell opened. Rays of bright light invaded the dark cell.
"Are we supposed to exit?"
The other kids looked confused.
Crack!
Scrrech!
Buzz!
It was swift. Of the numerous kids, only 101's eyes caught what transpired.
"Ahhh" the kids screamed. They saw two kids near the Gate missing their upper bodies and blood gushing out of their tore abdomens.
"Above!" one screamed.
Above was a flying creature. It had a black-and-yellow body, a reddish head with a long beak, dark patches on the wings, and a scorpion-like tail. It looked like a Scorpion Fly. However, its size was unlike an insect.
"That's at least 3 meters long." 101 estimated. He had studied that creature before. They are not harmful creatures – incapable of stinging and do not bite. They are known to be found in deciduous forests and forest edges, where they are found on the leaves of low-lying shrubs and herbaceous plants. They feed primarily on dead insects.
Looking at two kids' upper bodies clutched in its beak, he set aside his knowledge that they were not harmful.
"Aghhh!"
Screams got louder. The fly let go of the two bodies and started hunting for more.
"Run."
But they couldn't. As the Gate opened wider, a swarm of bull ants infiltrated. The ants had large eyes, and long, slender mandibles, and a potent venom-loaded sting. The ants were at least 4 meters long and 1 meter tall.
Thatch!
A tore head came rolling near the seated 101.
"Ha." 101's eyes met the fly. Its wings buzzed as it came flying toward him.
He leaped to the side, and the fly crashed into the wall. 101's eyes fell toward the Gate.
"Would it be wise to leave the room?"
In a hurry, he once again scouted the room. The walls were made of thick black stones. The metallic steel gate seemed like the only entrance or exit. When the Gate opened for the first time, he managed to get somewhat of a glimpse of the outside. The only thing he noticed was an endless field of sand.
How were all the kids brought to this room? Using the Metallic Gate, or was there another entrance?
The creatures all came from outside, so the thing he could see being outside was more creatures.
"A route may be inside." He considered it a possibility.
"I do hope you survive." Those were Robert's words, so there had to be a way to survive.
The fly once more charged towards 101. It was fast, but even in his poisoned state, he was faster, and his eye could track his moments. He kept dodging.
Thud!
The wall opposite the Gate started to come forward.
101's teeth clenched. The room was collapsing on itself. It was a way to force everyone out.
"Shitty bugs," one of the kids shouted as he tore an ant's mandibles with his bare hand and demolished its head with a kick.
Everyone started fighting back. Those incapable of reacting in time were already dead.
101's eyes observed the swarm of ants around the Gate. When the Scorpian Fly charged towards him again, he leaped above, landed one foot on its head, and immediately leaped below towards the ants.
He landed with enough force to destroy an ant's head. Greenish blood plashed his clothing, but he kept leaping and landed outside the Gate.
The soil he landed on, as expected, was sand. Looking around, all he saw was an endless desert.
Looking behind the Gate had disappeared. It was as if he was in the middle of a desert. Spending any more time fighting with those beings while looking for an exit route inside would have been a waste of time.
"It cannot be a test of intelligence."
That was because the 30 days they gave was enough to discover how intelligent everyone was. Those who failed were undoubtedly less clever, so why would they try to test intelligence again? It couldn’t be a test to see who would react in time and quickly discover a hidden route inside.
Bumps of sand started to rise quickly from all around. From beneath the sand, several creatures revealed themselves. Giant wingless insects with a tough cuticle bearing many bristles and frequently combs (ctenidia) of broad, flattened spines. Fleas.
All of them charged at him at once.
"Ha." Robert's poison corrupted his physical and mental state, but he figured it out. He realized what this place was and how to escape it.
----
71 held a paper talisman in his arm. Everyone in the class had received one.
Robert had come to inform everyone of the selection of the 4th responsibility-the Dictators.
It was a position above all the previous responsibilities. The fact that made it so important, was that the one selected would have the power over not only their class but all of the ten classes.
Naturally, there would be a test to select the one best fitted for the position.
"The test would be divided into 2 phases. The first one, you would all be sent inside the Trial Labyrinth. Your goal would be to collect the headbands of the pupils from the other classes. For each headband, you will get 1 point. Keep in mind collecting the headbands of your classmates won't count. Of course, you would need to manage to exit the Labyrinth to move to the 2nd phase.
Robert said nothing about the 2nd phase or how those points will be used. The talisman given to them would take them to a spot inside the Labyrinth. Everyone would be summoned inside the Labyrinth in a different spot. The spot was decided for each individual by the Council after hearing the insight into everyone and their actions during those 15 days.
"We still don't see 101. Aren't you worried?" 18 asked.
"Worrying solves no problem." 71's grip on his talisman tightened. "Besides, my mind's preoccupied with other matters." The Dictator. Only two people would be allowed that position. So, as they move through phases, there would be a clash even among the classmates. He was sure the ones like 50, 82, and 178 would also aim for the position of Dictator. It would finally be decided who among them was the strongest.
After Robert gave the signal, they all tore their talismans at once. Beneath their feet, incantations appeared as their body faded.
After the kids faded, Robert left the class alone, leaving the guards behind. On his way, he was greeted by a Governor.
"On your way towards the Pit's Tail? Mind if I join." Lyla asked. She removed her masquerade mask, revealing her face. Her skin was creamy and glowing.
"Father asked me to keep a watch in case he survives." His eyes narrowed. "Do not mind if I ask, but your presence here and your curiosity in him is suspicious."
She tilted her head. "You overthink. Seth wants his eyes. The Lord wants his devotion. I, on the other hand, am just like you. I like to be there when interesting things happen."
"Fine." Robert could neither think of an alternate motive nor a way to stop her, but his suspicion grew.
-----
200 years had he observed as he sent his soldiers to fight his battles, and as his soldiers bled, got exhausted, and lost their morale, he could only imagine how they felt.
What kind of strength would a person require to keep fighting even when their flesh tears, bones break, and vision blurries?
Crack!
Three giant reddish-black bullet ants simultaneously bit his right wrist, right elbow, and right upper arm.
His teeth clenched as he lurched to the side.
Blood oozed out his shoulder joint as his right arm now had been torn. On his left hand, he held the torn foreleg of a Budwing Mantis, which he swung and struck one ant.
He hammered the foreleg down, demolishing another ant's head. But the remaining one bit his left leg.
He ended the last one with an elbow on the ant's neck.
"Ha ha." After ending the life of the last ant, he fell to his knees. He let go of the foreleg and gripped his shoulder with a missing limb.
The corpses of over 50 creatures that he had slayed started to get devoured by the sand.
Robert's poison alone was deadly enough, but his body was barely functioning after being bit by numerous venomous bugs. He lost one arm, and his legs had also been fractured. From head to toe, no part remained that hadn't been cut, bit, or sliced.
Pain was an old friend. To survive, he had undergone deadly procedures. Born with brittle bones, there wasn't a moment in his previous life where he was free of pain.
But this was different. This time he didn't just need to endure. He needed to fight back to survive. Until now, he had exercised and trained daily with discipline, forging his body and gaining strength little by little.
After experiencing many near-death moments, he was grateful for those days. Maybe if he had missed just one day, he would not have been swift enough to dodge an attack, or his fist would not have been strong enough to scatter their shell.
He was grateful for every moment he dedicated to forging his body.
More bumps appeared on the sand, and from those bumps, other creatures.
The path to gaining strength. He was beginning to understand what it meant, so his feelings toward his sibling's rebellion started to change for the first time. They who dedicated their entire life to fighting for the sake of their kingdom - enduring, struggling, and winning no matter the obstacle thrown in their way when were commanded to bow and serve someone who had never known what it meant to lay his life for the sake of his kingdom in a battlefield, unquestionably revolted against the decision.
He always understood his sibling's decision, but for the first time, he respected their decision. It was precisely why he respected them that he now stood up.
Crippled and poisoned, yet with his fractured legs, he stood up.
No matter what he achieved in the past, the thought that he was undeserving of the throne always hunted him. This time he resolved never to have such thoughts.
He won't take what he didn't earn. With his own pain, he will forge his future and earn his worth. He won't back down. He won't break.
If he deserves to rule, he will rule once more. If he breaks, he breaks, but this time there will be no regrets.
EntonaVZ· Mar 1, 2023
