「Arc 1: Subjugation」
Chapter 0015 「Labyrinth」
"My lord," the Ryutch bowed before the Lord. Only the Liege Lord and the Ryutch were present in the room.
"Speak." The Lord permitted.
"The Trail has begun. But letting 200 participate in the Trial labyrinth and allowing 101 to enter the Pit, these actions are double-edged swords. 200 may be weakened due to the countless seals we placed on him, but after devouring the 59 pupils, he carries their strength and potential within him. 101, with his healer's eyes, has a high probability of survival. My Lord, it may be bold of me to suggest, but after the Trail, I suggest those two be ostracized from the rest and handed over to Governer Seth or Groak." The Ryutch suggested.
"A wise suggestion indeed." The Lord smiled. "I let 200 participate because there is someone I want him to meet. After the trial, take 200 to Groak's Palace. However, for 101, let's first see how he survives."
Inside the Pit
"How far have I fallen?" 101 asked as he bit a chuck out of an ant's leg.
He gathered the corpses of all the creatures he killed and created a pyramid. The sand swallowed the corpses steadily, so the pyramid kept on sinking.
101 remained seated on top of the pyramid consuming chunks of the insects. There wasn't much time. Once the pyramid sunk completely, more deadly creatures would appear. The strength and number of the creatures increased with every summon.
He made a pyramid to ensure that the corpses take longer to sink, thus giving him more time to rest.
101 took a long breath. He could feel his heartbeat; it was weak. The damage was accumulating, and his body was taking a toll.
He once cut off his finger to see if it would regrow. It did. Humans are not capable of regrowing lost parts. He discovered neither he nor the other kids were humans a while back.
The first time he used a striking wooden post, he passed out due to blood loss after continually striking the post even when his fist broke. 71 experienced something similar.
At that time, 101 discovered the innate instincts planted within them. When certain conditions meet, they lose their sense of reason and enter a beastly state. Their mind would push their body to its utmost limit ignoring all the injuries inflicted. The damage would still accumulate. Hence, they will die if their instincts take over for too long. 101 didn't know if the ones who created them already termed the state, but he named that state "Berserker."
Due to this discovery, he also saw the truth behind the Dark Arts. Their instincts aligned with those of Sentient Beings. When a Sentient Being is born, some byproduct is also produced. That byproduct is the mold used by the Sect to birth an individual. Thus, a kid is only compatible with the Sentient being whose byproduct was used during his/her birth.
To trigger an awakening, the first condition is the body should feel under threat. This can be achieved by inflicting a deep wound. After that, the blood from the wound should come in contact with the Manual. This would cause the incantations prescribed on the pages to become active. The incantations would cover the Host's body and form a spiritual gate near the Host's heart called "HeartForger." This gate would establish an imaginary tunnel between the Host and the Sentient being, enabling the Host to safely summon the Sentient being's Essence and use it as his own. The Sentient Being's Essence then would amalgamate with the Host's heart and be distributed throughout his body. This would result in Marking's appearing on the Host's body.
If the person used a manual, he was not compatible with; then during the summon, the Essence would be rejected by the heart and cause internal injuries.
Dark Summoning Arts was a technique that could only be used by the kids who were created using the Sentient Being's byproduct. The Art made it possible to harness the Sentient's power safely.
'What if someone tried to harness their power without a Manual?' 101 didn't know the answer before. He figured it out after being thrown in the Pit.
The Pit was the final test to see if anyone would manage to awaken or not. If the kids are not instantly killed, their instincts will slowly take over. Once they were pushed to the absolute verge of death, their body would innately summon a Sentient's Essence, but without a gate, the Essence wouldn't be distributed by their heart. Their skin would absorb the Essence without limit, and due to their instincts dulling their rationality, the Sentient's Essence would start mutating the kids, i.e., turning them into lesser forms of the Sentient's. He did not doubt that all the creatures he killed in the Pit were once kids.
The only way to avoid being turned into something hideous was to preserve your sanity, circulate the Essence internally, and limit the absorption to its minimum.
It would be no easy feat, but this was possible without a manual, and the ones who would manage to do it would be known as "True Awakenee." The Pit's purpose was to find someone like that.
To escape this place, he would have to become a True Awakenee. This entire field of sand was an illusionary land. It wouldn't end. No matter how long he walked, there won't be an end. The only way to escape would be to get kicked out by the sand; for that, he needed to undergo Mark Awakening.
He still hesitated because even though he figured out how the entire Art worked, he still couldn't see how the Sect could use the Dark Arts to control them.
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Inside the Trial Labyrinth
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"It’s been a while.” 71 didn’t know what to say.
“Why hesitate?” 50 smiled. “What happened to the 71 who snapped just by seeing me smile.”
They were summoned into a wide hallway lighted by oil lamps on a stand. 71 knew a clash between them was inevitable, but he didn’t expect it to be this early.
“I did not snap seeing you smile. I snapped because you grabbed my shoulder.” For some reason, 71 felt stupid saying that sentence aloud. “It would be a waste of stamina if we fight. No matter who wins, the ones in advantage would be kids from other classes.”
“Look at you.” 50 laughed. “No matter who wins? You considered the possibility of losing. What happened to the person arrogant enough to think he would never lose.”
Vein’s bulged on 71’s forehead. “Fine.” He cracked his fist. “I will knock you out without breaking a sweat.” He did try being logical, but 71 just couldn’t back down after such a provocation.
“Yes. That look.” 50 marched forwards. “Come.”
In another section of the labyrinth, 82 and 10 of his group members were summoned.
They were in the middle of a ballroom in a palace. It was a big room filled with candles, dining tables, and a large stairway to the second floor.
“It’s the infamous 21st batch.” Whispers came from the second floor.
“Stay on guard.” 82 commanded. Everyone surrounded 82, protecting him from all sides.
“They don’t look that special.” Staring down at 82 and his groupmates, more kids revealed themselves on the 2nd floor.
82 scouted his environment. The kids from the other class had a high-ground advantage. Not to mention they surrounded his group from all sides, but he did notice the kids on four different sides of the room were from 4 different classes.
He could tell this by looking at their headband number. Those numbered less than 199 belonged to the 21st batch. Those numbered 200-399 belonged to the 22nd. 400-599 to the 23rd, and so on. Of course, it didn’t mean that there were 199 kids in every class. Despite the number range, each class had a maximum limit of 65 kids.
“We will be the ones to take their headband.” 456 declared in front of all the rest.
“Mind your words. You have got the least number on your side.” 863 retorted.
82 found it strange. It almost looked like all four classes were aiming for them. ‘Did they team up? No, it doesn’t seem that way.”
82 was right; they had not teamed up. The goal for the 21st batch was to collect the headbands of the kids from the other classes. However, the goal for the rest of the classes was to collect the headbands from 21st-batch members.
This happened because 60 students managed to Awaken from the 21st batch. This number was bigger than the awakened ones from the rest of the classes combined. From some classes, only 4-5 managed to Awaken, and the 22nd batch was out of the picture due to all the kids being massacred. Thus, to make it fair, the Council decided the 21st batch would be the sole target for the rest of the classes.
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84 gulped. “Ha, what a place to be summoned at…” he was also summoned to the palace. But unlike 82, 84 was on the 2nd floor above the ballroom with the kids from the other classes. The other kids were near the railing, observing 82 and his team below. 84 was near the wall, away from the railings, trying to hide. There was no telling how strong the kids from the other class could be, so he felt no rush to engage.
Although, he didn’t need to hide for long, as all the kids on the 2nd floor vaulted off the railing and charged toward 82’s group.
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‘Have I or have not I been through here before?’
18 sighed. It had been a while since she started roaming, yet she encountered no one. The hallways were like a mage, with countless gates and pathways.
Sniff!
‘Hm. Blood.’ She had a keen sense of smell. Till now, she chose to avoid the paths that reeked of blood. But now it seemed she couldn’t avoid it if she wanted to get out of this labyrinth.
‘Why do I even have to participate? Not like I want to be a dictator.’
All she wanted right now was to leave this labyrinth...
She followed the smell till she finally spotted other kids.
“We are not your enemies…..” one kid screamed. Another had gripped his head and raised him above the ground.
“True. You’re not.” He smashed the kid's head into the ground. “But you’re not my friend either.” He raised the kid’s head once more and smashed again. Blood soaked the floor.
18 from far spotted this. It was a violent sight. She didn’t like it one bit. One of the kids was just knocked out, and beside him were four more unconscious kids covered in blood. Standing in the center was the boy responsible for all this bloodshed. Taller than anyone she had seen in her batch. His eyes glowed red like the blood spilled on the floor, and his black hair blended with the shadows. On his headband, she noticed the number “200."
EntonaVZ· Mar 3, 2023
