Ch. 3: An Unfair Deal
The decision was made quickly.
"70715, depart imdiately! Co outside!"
"Yes!"
Finally, I'm getting out.
Calix responds loudly and then looks around at his fellow divers.
"You fool, what were you thinking when you raised your hand! If you had waited just one more year, you could have gone to a farm or manor, so why did you volunteer to be conscripted as a soldier?"
"......"
"Hey, even so, there's no need to be angry."
"I'm just regretful. Aigo... Anyway, thank you for everything. Thanks to you, I suffered less. I wish you luck."
"Yeah. Everyone... Thank you."
Since the senior divers who had looked after him like 909 had already passed away, there were more people in the group who followed him than those he had followed.
Though they were bewildered and regretful, few genuinely worried about him. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the farewell process ended quickly.
"70715! You bastard, hurry up and co out!"
"Yes! I'm coming out!"
Soon, he was on his way up to the outside along with other slaves who would be sold elsewhere.
Deureuruk, deureureureuk.
The crude elevator slowly rose to the surface.
Just like when he first arrived at the mine, the manually operated pulley made its characteristic noise, and the view gradually filled with the sight of the mine.
A place where the rising and setting of the sun was aningless. The deep darkness that had soaked into hundreds of vertical and horizontal tunnels actually beca fainter in form as they approached the entrance.
Seueueueu.
Sunlight.
The primordial light that could never be compared to the dimness of candles.
"Ah..."
"You vermin... Move! If you slack off, you'll suffer greatly! Just try not to reach the destination today!"
Teobeok teobeok.
After briefly admiring the outside scenery for the first ti in three years, the slaves walked in formation at the supervisor's shouting.
Going down the rocky mountain, passing through narrow paths overgrown with branches and bushes, until the city walls could be faintly seen in the distance... About nine hours.
"Well, you've arrived."
"Let's process this quickly. We need to get inside the outer walls today."
"Very well."
"There, the promised one."
When they arrived at their destination and Calix's ownership was transferred, the sun was beginning to set.
****
Central Astria Kingdom, Randel Viscounty.
The logistics center heading north, and one of the five largest comrcial cities in the kingdom, holds its breath along with the setting sun.
The central square, lined with buildings reaching up to 3-4 stories, had not a soul to be found, and the narrow, winding alleys had long since fallen asleep.
Chiik, hwaak!
Soldiers light torch wicks and patrol various places, while ordinary residents also extinguish candles they had briefly lit, worried that light might leak out of their windows, and retire to bed early.
Outside the outer walls.
The slums that don't receive the protection of the walls actually beco lively after being shrouded in the night's shadows.
Kkeubeueueuup! Heueueu!
Of course, its liveliness is in a completely different direction from inside the walls.
Hyuu-
From the shacks made of wood scraps, mud, and crude stones, sighs of relief flow out toward the screams echoing between the alleys.
Because sound ans they can tell how far away they are.
Because it ans the rulers of the back alleys are absorbed in sothing.
Because soone has beco tonight's sacrifice instead of .
And in a secluded alley where even traces of a path are hard to find. Under the agreed silence of neighbors, the back alley operating room is in full swing.
Seuk, saaaak- chiik!
A scalpel for incising skin, wedges for opening surgical sites, forceps for picking up or securing small objects, cutters and needles, thread, and red-hot branding irons.
Just hearing the nas of the tools, it might feel like a doctor's workshop, but looking at the miserable state of the man lying face down on the tal table with his limbs bound, it also looked like the secret dwelling of a torture technician.
Indeed, the victim had skin peeled from the back of his neck to his lower back, with his spine exposed to the point where it was doubtful he could survive even if the surgery ended successfully.
Kkeueueueueu!
"Shut your mouth."
"Heu, heu..."
"Ah, such a frustrating fellow. You don't even know what I'm doing for you, do you? This is why ignorant people won't do. Where else could you et a magical engineer like ?"
"Heueueu, heueu..."
"Ah, are you curious about my na? I'm Nilo. Usually I sell experintal organs or do profitable jobs, and when decent goods co in like today-"
Kwang kwang kwang!
Just then, at the sound of knocking on the door, wrinkles form on magical engineer Nilo's brow.
Displeasure at having his work ti interrupted.
However, since those who might interrupt were also predetermined, he made an effort to compose his expression and shouted toward the outside to co in.
Deolkeok.
"Well, you crazy old man. Working?"
"...Rude fellow. Did you co alone?"
"Why does sothing change if I ca alone? I'm suddenly curious. You do know it would be more unfair to get beaten by a rude fellow, right?"
"......"
Originally, magical engineers were intellectuals who deserved to be treated just below the nobility. If they hadn't strayed from the established system, they wouldn't have had to associate with these back-alley ruffians.
Given who his opponent was, Nilo reluctantly accepts the fact that he lost in the battle of wills.
Actually, the other party's position wasn't much different.
Extractor Sid.
The ruler of the back alleys had also built his power through the human trade, so they were essentially in the sa boat.
"Let's stop the jokes here. But I wasn't joking. Why did you peel the skin off that one? Hmm, and why is the floor so sticky? Anyone would think you slaughtered a bull."
"...Didn't you say you needed soone to deliver?"
"Don't tell
you an the conscript?"
"That's right. It's not like you've been pestering
for just a day or two, so I had to prepare in advance. A neural accelerator isn't sothing that ends just by sticking it in the back of the neck..."
Pusik!
Therefore, even if this old engineer occasionally acted on his own and made mistakes, he couldn't just carelessly kill him by tearing apart the victim lying on the table next to him.
Chwaaaak! Kureureuk! Cheolpeok!
"What are you doing! This, this fellow, this precious thing..."
The workshop floor, already dried with blood, becos irreversibly ssy as intestines spill out, but he responds with a calm expression.
"What do you an 'this fellow'? Didn't I tell you to just remove the organs and process him? We have principles too, you know."
"This, this..."
"There's probably no chance of it, but just in case this vengeful bastard cos back alive, hm? If he cos back for revenge with a fine neural accelerator attached, who's going to handle that then?"
"......"
"Let's just do what's decided, what we're told to do. Okay?"
"...Didn't you say to prepare by tomorrow? It's tight even starting now, so where am I supposed to get the next item!"
"Old man, that's why I ca personally."
Tung tung!
Then, as if he had been waiting, he knocks on the wall next to the door, and Calix walks in, following a large man.
Finally, having obtained what he had hoped for, but with a tense expression.
"New goods. By tomorrow, will it work?"
"...He looks too weak."
"He did hard labor in a mine, so what can you do? Just gradually attach the flesh. Still, he should have decent guts. Having worked as a diver for three years and keeping his limbs intact says it all."
"Rather than guts, it's a physical problem. He lacks vitality, so he might have a seizure during transplantation and die."
"Don't drag out your words and just say what you need."
"Low-grade bone strengthener, Kratul, mid-to-high grade herbs, blood transfusion potion."
"...Are you crazy? Trying to make a real killing? Kratul is an easily obtainable drug, I'll give you that, but asking for bone strengthener and blood transfusion potion, does that even make sense?"
"The bone strengthener and blood transfusion potion are absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it's pointless to even try. All I have now are goods obtained from the back alleys."
The ruler of the back alleys makes his decision without delay.
"...Let's do it. What a loss this is."
"The goods?"
"They'll co soon. Getting them into the city is hard, but getting them out isn't difficult."
The principle of the world is give and take.
The reason they could rule outside the walls was because they paid the price to those in high places, so the deadline for offering conscription had to be kept absolutely.
***
Deolkeong, kwang!
A little later, after Extractor Sid left.
In the magical engineer's workshop, only the old man, Calix, and one unidentified corpse remained, silence flowing.
"Lie down over there."
"......"
"I said lie down facing downward."
"...Yes."
Kwaak.
Then, suddenly, magical engineer Nilo begins talking to himself while binding Calix's limbs to the empty operating table. It was more like a rant filled with anger than sothing ant to be heard.
"Sid, that bastard. That guy always ignores , you know? No, wait, I don't care if he ignores . But ruining my work is a completely different story. Hm? What do you think? You think so too, right?"
"...Yes."
"Look at this. This precious thing."
Deureureureuk.
Chiiik, jjeok!
The mont he pushes the tray containing surgical instrunts with his foot from the operating table next to him, the old man completely tears out what is commonly called a 'combat enhancent device' from the back of the cold corpse's neck.
Neural accelerator.
The thing extracted from the victim's corpse hangs limply in Nilo's grasp, looking like a centipede summoned from hell.
Covered with a hard tallic carapace with each segnt distinct, it was at least a span and a half in length. At the very top was embedded a translucent gem, and seeing the hundreds of long, thin silver tal spines on both sides of the body that would penetrate into human neural networks naturally evoked a sense of eeriness.
But instead of taking it to Calix, the old magical engineer,
Cheolgeureok!
Casually throws it into a bucket containing blood, then suddenly disappears underground from the workshop.
And so ti later,
He returns to the workshop and approaches Calix, who is tied to the operating table, speaking to him. His reddish, heated face and aningful laughter were a bonus.
"Heuheuheuheu, but it might not be such a bad thing after all. Yeah, really not bad at all. If you think about it, it's like gaining one more test subject. Even for you. It's a good thing."
"...Is that so?"
"Of course. Such things happen in the world from ti to ti. Just as farrs plow fields, oxen pull plows, and lords receive tributes, an unintended but fair trade that helps everyone."
"I see. I understand."
Calix suppresses his tension while humoring his opponent. There would be nothing good about getting on the surgeon's nerves.
But the half-mad engineer pays no attention to this and focuses only on his work.
Grabbing the test subject's hair and holding the new neural accelerator he brought in front of his eyes.
"So, I'm going to attach this to you."
"What is... This?"
"It doesn't have a na. It's sothing that ca from the Northern Niboria Empire's royal family, but this thing is... Dangerous. The output is fantastic, but it burns up the entire neural network. Even the empire's finest died with their tongues hanging out, so they strictly banned its distribution afterward. If my guess is right, it's probably one of the few remaining early models. That's because if it weren't an early model, I would have already figured out how it works."
"......"
Indeed, even to Calix, who knew nothing, the neural accelerator before his eyes could not be called ordinary. The body was covered in dark blue tal, and above all, the gem embedded in its center-
It was emitting brilliant pure white light.
It was an overwhelming wave of light he had never seen in his childhood at the Marquis's house or in the muddy pits of the mine.
"...Why are you closing your eyes? Look properly. If used well, it's a treasure that could change the world. Do you know how lucky you are? If I wasn't thinking of getting back at that bastard Sid, a re conscript would never be able to receive such a thing."
"......"
"Hm? Say sothing in response."
"......"
"Answer !"
"...Thank you. Truly."
"Yeah, that's it. People should have manners. Of course, of course."
And ten hours later, when the morning sun rose beyond the horizon.
Chiik, piik, pusyusyuk!
With the help of anesthetics and bone strengtheners, after overcoming several crises during surgery, the neural accelerator was successfully implanted in the back of Calix's neck.
Soon, the gem embedded in the center of the device blinks, indicating whether it's operational.
[Balder Valefor, restarting...]
[Niboria Empire Royal Authorization Number--]
[Error, critical damage detected]
......
......
[Ergency rescue signal, no response]
[Initiating self-restart]
......
......
Na: Raimund[Error]
Age: 37[Error]
Biotric Data
Strength: 10/10[Error]
Agility: 9/10[Error]
Endurance: 10/10[Error]
Reality Acceleration: 9.8x[Inoperable, Error]
Maximum Oxygen Uptake (VO2 max): 10/10[Error]
Vision: 20/20[Error]
Physical Recovery: --/10[Critical damage detected, Error]
[ntal State]
ntal Contamination: 46%[Retest required]
Neural Network State: 68%[Retest required]
[Physical Developnt]
Muscle Developnt: 87%[Re-reading required due to critical damage]
Enhanced Bone Density: 91%[Retest required]
......
......
......
[Critical error detected]
[New user confird]
[Neural network invasion and qualification verification process...]
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
......
......
......
[Bloodline factor unconfird, temporary user qualification granted]
[Neural stabilization and readjustnt work in progress]
[Biotric data adjustnt required for new user]
And in his fading consciousness.
Calix looks at only one of the several sentences that appeared before his eyes.
'The previous user's na was... Raimund?'
The only Raimund he knew was the first head of the Ashapel family and one of the 12 heroes, Ashapel Raimund.
It was an unexpected encounter.
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