Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 38: Unveiling

Subsequently, I remained in the confinement room for some time. Nevertheless, my days were mostly spent sitting calmly, which proved to be quite a peaceful experience. Occasionally, Orvo would enter and utilize his spiritual arts to gauge my responses, although he never employed the same painful arts as Georg did. Orvo wasn’t a kind person, but he might have been relatively gentle with his research subjects.

The only painful thing was the blood collection that was done once a day. But even that was tolerable, and from the second day onwards, my skin didn’t harden by itself anymore at the touch of the syringe. Orvo praised my “high learning ability” when he saw that. From that day on, I felt like the amount of food I was given had slightly increased.

When Orvo wasn’t around, I voluntarily trained and ate the food that Mika brought. The days were calmer than I had imagined. I wished this peaceful life could continue forever, but I knew that was absolutely impossible.

“Mika, please.”

“Understood.”

Suddenly, the peaceful days came to an abrupt end. Without doing his usual research, Orvo brought Mika to take me away. Mika effortlessly lifted the restraining chair I was sitting on and followed Orvo as he led the way. Ahead of us was a carriage.

After Mika secured the chair I was sitting on in the cage on the back of the carriage with a clang, he closed the lock of the cage. Then, the carriage slowly started moving. It felt like I was being transported to an unknown location.

Alright, are you ready for teleportation?”

“Yes.”

Immediately after Mika’s brisk answer, Orvo’s spiritual power gradually increased. And the moment he activated some kind of spiritual art, I was enveloped in a strange sensation, as if my body was floating softly. Although the sensation subsided in an instant, the smell of the air reaching the carriage from the outside had changed significantly.

“Well done.”

“Dealing with spatial spiritual art is my specialty.”

Spatial spiritual art? So, we had moved far away from the place we were before. That would explain the change in the smell of the air. It was quite a convenience to be able to move instantly.

After that, the carriage slowly began to move. Ah, this feeling! It reminded me of the days when I was a battle beast. Being used as a battle beast was not a fond memory but rather a humiliating one. Why did I feel a sense of nostalgia even though it reminded me of that?

Ah, I see. Although I disliked being a battle beast, I might have actually enjoyed being rocked in a carriage like this. I strangely found myself exhilarated as I enjoyed the journey in the carriage.

The carriage journey continued for about half a day, and my cage was placed on something that shook along with other cargo after being covered with a cloth. My vision was obstructed by the cloth, so I tried to explore my surroundings using my sense of smell and hearing.

(I smell the stench of fresh water and hear the sound of flowing water… Based on my knowledge, this must be a river? Could it be that I’m on a boat?)

My guess was correct, as the ceiling above me became more chaotic and I could hear the sound of many humanoid creatures moving along with shouts. Among them, there were voices angrily yelling “Row harder!” so there was no doubt that I was on a boat. The ones being yelled at were probably the slaves rowing the oars. Slaves seemed to be used everywhere.

The boat’s journey didn’t last long either. The boat seemed to have arrived at its destination quickly, and my cage was once again carried outside. The slaves who were carrying it complained about the weight, but they should complain to Orvo, not me. Though they were likely to be ignored.

From there, it was another carriage ride. However, the carriage I’m currently on is much larger, judging from the echoing sounds. It seems to be more than twice the size of the first carriage. The cloth was still covering my cage, so I couldn’t see the outside world. From my sense of smell and hearing, all I could gather was that this was not in the middle of a town or city.

After journeying for what felt like an entire day, my cage was once again transported, and I found myself in a bustling place with numerous presences.

As I surveyed my surroundings with my senses, I realized I was in a spacious room, filled with roughly thirty humanoid figures. Despite their agitated chatter making it hard to discern their words, my keen sense of smell immediately detected the unmistakable odor of blood emanating from them.

(These must be people involved in battles. There are several strong presences, and among them, three particularly strong ones are blatantly wary of me. Do they sense my strength? Can’t underestimate them.)

As I surveyed the presences around me, three of them emitted a palpable hostility towards me. Their strength could rival that of seasoned holy knights who had come close to defeating me in the past. It was surprising to see such skilled individuals gathered here. Where was this place?

These three individuals exuded an air that seemed to say they would strike down anyone with suspicious movements without hesitation. Although it was annoying to have my concentration broken by their animosity, it didn’t matter since I couldn’t move anyway. After all, I still didn’t want to die.

“Hello, everyone gathered here! Another day of war against the invading army, good job!” Orvo spoke in his usual cheerful tone, seemingly unfazed by the hostility directed towards me. Perhaps his words had taken the edge off, as the hostility from the three individuals seemed to weaken slightly.

While that was certainly a relief, there was something even more important. Orvo mentioned a war against the invading army just now? Speaking of the invading army, weren’t they the ruthless ones that Georg had mentioned, who showed no mercy and shed no tears?

Let’s see, if I remember correctly… the invading forces were ravaging the Enzo continent using powerful weapons, right? Was I going to be thrown into a battle against such a threat? Come to think of it, Orvo and the old craftsman mentioned something like that. There were folks who would be pleased if I killed them, he said.

The ruthless and merciless invading army was undoubtedly feared throughout the continent, while also earning strong resentment from the surviving countries that have been invaded. Indeed, if they are the invading forces, no matter how many people they kill on this continent, they would likely be celebrated. Do I have to fight against the infamous invading army rumored to be powerful? Oh, I really don’t want to.

“Well then, the luxurious request for a ‘docile, intelligent, and powerful synthetic beast’ from all of you is finally complete! After all, today is the unveiling of that product. Let me show it to you right away!”

Orvo’s excitement was palpable as he swiftly pulled back the cloth that had been covering my cage. As it fell away, revealing my surroundings, I could see about thirty humanoid creatures, just as I had sensed earlier, seated in a circle around me. With the exception of the three who were on guard, the rest of them were all casting curious gazes in my direction.

I had grown accustomed to the curious stares. After all, in the “Battle Beast Tournament,” I had always been stared at by even more diverse species. However, that didn’t mean I liked the attention. In fact, I despised it.

What bothered me even more were the cautious glances from the three formidable individuals. I memorized their appearances with my compound eyes. There was the burly male with rough hair and beard, the tall and slender male with long hair tied back, and the female with short hair and pointed ears. I wanted to avoid getting involved with them as much as possible.

“This is the first synthetic beast ever created using a human species. It’s been about a month since its creation, so its stability is guaranteed. We have thoroughly examined it, and it’s in perfect health. It won’t die suddenly for no reason, and its lifespan is expected to be longer than that of regular humans,” said Orvo.

Ah, so the daily examinations were for that purpose. It was a testament to Orvo’s excellence that he didn’t overlook any details in his work.

But more than that, deep down, I was overjoyed. Just the fact that I wouldn’t die suddenly for no reason was a relief, but even more so, the fact that my lifespan had increased made me very happy. It made fulfilling my mission to “live for a hundred years” much easier.

Those who heard Orvo’s explanation were all equally surprised, but the timing of their astonishment was divided into two. The first moment of surprise came when Orvo mentioned “a synthetic beast using a human species.” As Orvo had said, this seemed to be a historic breakthrough. Anyone with knowledge about synthetic beasts couldn’t help but be amazed.

And the second moment of surprise came when Orvo mentioned “longer lifespan.” Every living creature has an instinct to want to keep living. Perhaps they saw it as a way to extend that lifespan. But was it really worth living longer, even if it meant fusing with other creatures? It was a concept that I couldn’t quite understand.

“Well, I know my words alone won’t be convincing. So feel free to test if he meets your criteria combat strength wise. Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you could try not to break anything,” Orvo said.

A performance test, huh? But was I ready? Since turning into this body shape, I hadn’t even stood up once, being bound to a chair all the time. Well, to begin with, I didn’t even know if I could stand like a human did.

It appeared risky for me to be deployed in battle in this condition. However, those around me initiated a discussion on how to conduct the examination. There were two main opinions on the testing methods. One suggested engaging me in a mock battle alongside an experienced soldier in this field, while the other proposed assigning me suitable missions and deploying me into real combat.

After a lengthy discussion, it seemed that the latter option had been agreed upon. They didn’t want to waste me by killing me off too soon, as it would be a shame. Well, except for the three formidable-looking individuals, I believe I could easily dispatch the rest. They seemed to be underestimating my hidden abilities.

In the end, it was decided that I would participate in the attack on the enemy fortress the following morning. However, I wouldn’t be part of the main force launching the assault. My mission was to secretly approach the fortress from a different direction and infiltrate it alone.

No one believed that a solo mission would be successful. The main objective was to have the separate demolition unit, which was operating independently from me, destroy the walls of the fortress. I was merely a decoy, meant to distract the enemy and draw their attention away. If I could return alive, it would be considered a successful performance based on my capabilities.

Wasn’t it highly risky for me to act as a decoy all by myself? But it seemed inevitable. There was no unit that could readily accept a monstrous being like me, so I had no choice but to operate alone. As a result, my mission options were limited, and this task was assigned to me.

If they were so troubled by handling me, they could have utilized me in a different strategy. The fact that they didn’t indicated how critical the assault on the fortress tomorrow was, to the extent of needing even the smallest force.

“I’ll be fine; this much we can handle easily,” Orvo reassured.

While there were some skeptical voices questioning the feasibility, Orvo accepted it calmly and naturally. Sadly, I have no right to choose. Once Orvo has given permission, I must do it.

With my fate determined, my cage was transported from the large room. At that moment, I was covered with a cloth again, preventing me from seeing my surroundings.

After a while, my cage was placed on the floor. The narrow room was filled with the smell of metal, and there was no sound at all. There wasn’t a single human being around; it felt like a storage shed.

I didn’t know the exact time now. However, since it took about a day to travel, there was certainly not much time left until the execution of the mission. In case I was asked to depart at a moment’s notice, I decided to get some rest by falling into light sleep, trying to relax my body as much as possible.

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