-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: A Few Pieces of Advice
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“……”
“Guys like this are the better ones. A guy who enjoys torture might make a blade out of Kia first. Another might put Kia-laced poison in your food.”
“If you’re trying to scare me.”
“It’s happened before.”
I briefly recalled the time before I became the top dog.
The one before me was a cruel man who took pleasure in exploiting and tormenting the weak.
He was a prisoner who fit this cell block well.
The prisoners’ behavior changes to match the disposition of the one in charge. This place, already a jungle, was a chaotic hellscape back then.
*A living portrait of hell, you could say.*
Every newcomer died as soon as they arrived.
*Besides, now that the top dog has changed, the fighting will pick up again.*
After all, I had put a stop to all the unnecessary fights.
When I looked up, I saw his face, slightly pale.
Even pale, his face was remarkably pretty and beautiful.
*This is a problem.*
Being pretty and weak here means you’re easy to break.
“Just one piece of advice. If someone comes at you, have a conversation with your fists.”
“...What kind of conversation?”
“That’s how you can become friends.”
“It seems certain now that only complete lunatics can become guards here.”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“I wasn’t being serious, so don’t explain.”
I shut my mouth.
Helios looked conflicted.
In any case, the protagonist awakens his Kia in this prison.
The very Kia that will make him the strongest in the empire.
“One more piece of advice… hmm.”
I shot my hand out.
*Whoosh—!*
The wind from my fist blew the protagonist’s bangs back.
Helios turned his head to dodge the punch, his brow furrowing deeply.
*Hmm, reflexes are okay.*
So his body isn’t completely ignorant of combat.
“Try to punch me.”
“What?”
“Go on. Quickly.”
I lightly caught his incoming fist and swept his ankle.
As the protagonist’s body flew into the air, I caught him once before he hit the ground to soften the impact.
“Wh-what was that?”
“This is the difference between a Kia user and a non-user.”
Helios looked utterly shocked.
“First, if someone offers you something, don’t take it. If someone throws a punch, go for their eyes. They usually can’t protect their eyes.”
“...You said yourself that the guards don’t protect the prisoners. So why are you telling me all this?”
“Because you’re pretty?”
“You…!”
I dodged his kick and grabbed his ankle. Oh, he’s quick.
“It’s a compliment, a compliment.”
“Do not insult me!”
“Oh? Then let’s call it an insult.”
“……”
To be honest, the "pretty" comment had just slipped out, so I gave a half-hearted reply.
“We’ll eat together. I’ll teach you how to identify poison.”
“……”
“The fact that you attacked me means you don’t want to die. To survive, you sometimes have to accept temporary humiliation. Prisoner Helios.”
The protagonist’s expression twisted.
“Ah, and do you remember the ‘Tower’ we passed?”
“...I remember.”
“Good. For your information, to raise your rank, you have to enter the ‘Tower’ and pass the trials assigned to each floor.”
“……”
“The trial is held once a week, and tomorrow is that day.”
“……”
“But since you just got here, you can also choose to participate a week from tomorrow instead.”
I looked down at Helios, still lying on his back, and tilted my head.
“What will you do?”
The protagonist thought for a moment, then asked after a long silence.
“When I saw the inside of the ‘Tower’ as we passed… they said the higher you go, the closer you get to the outside. Is that true?”
“It is.”
It was true.
That’s why, surprisingly, the higher a prisoner’s rank, the closer they get to the outside. At the same time, their chances of a successful escape also increase.
So, in truth, the Tower’s trials were a form of torture for the prisoners. A contradictory punishment that offered the hope of getting closer to land.
But I knew.
It was nothing more than false hope.
“For your reference, up to the 10th floor of the Tower is for the lowest-grade prisoners.”
And yet, you, the protagonist, still managed to figure out how to escape.
I was going to diligently fulfill the warden’s proposal, but this was interesting in its own right.
“I’ll participate.”
I let out a small smile.
“Alright.”
I’ll be in your care, Mr. Protagonist.
Until the day I’m released.
I’ll take good care of you.
* * *
The next day.
The day of the ‘Tower’ trial.
We wouldn’t enter the Tower until the afternoon, so we had plenty of time in the morning.
And then, what I had feared happened.
*Thwack!*
“Oh…”
I learned something new.
That the chick-like new prisoner, the protagonist Helios, had—more of a temper than I thought.
No, did I realize that too late?
“Hey.”
“Not ‘hey,’ it’s Guard Garet.”
“Hey.”
“Guard Garet.”
Helios clenched his fists, seething.
I briefly recalled what had happened in the dining hall a little while ago.
The moment Helios appeared, sharp glares followed him.
Scrutiny, observation, surveillance, desire, joy, anger, inferiority, bloodlust…
Amidst the various gazes, Helios surprisingly ate his meal steadfastly, unfazed.
Quite a few people lose their appetite over that.
“Answer me now.”
On the ground, a man larger than Helios was lying in the dirt.
The prison’s post-meal rest period was regular. It was now the break after breakfast, and we were in the walking area.
“I know I shouldn’t be the one to say this, but was your promise to protect me a lie after all?”
“To think you needed my protection. As a fellow new guard and your dedicated overseer, I’m almost pleased.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny…”
“Were you about to die?”
“……”
“Any permanent damage to your body or loss of limbs?”
“……”
A look of "I'm seeing a crazy person" crossed Helios’s face.
At the same time, he seemed to have an epiphany.
My finger pointed to the guy Helios had just knocked down.
He seems to know how to throw a punch, but that one is a non-Kia user and a lowest-grade prisoner.
“Ah, just a heads-up. This is just the beginning.”
“What?”
Helios had already noticed the murderous intent and cruelly curious interest he didn’t recognize before.
I spun around halfway.
*Terms of the contract. Do not use my unique Kia.*
You can change the unique color of your Kia’s light if you want. But it puts restrictions on using great power.
However, it doesn’t take much power to block the attack coming my way now.
*Ah, maybe it’s better to manifest the power.*
A shield made of golden light materialized from my hand and deflected the incoming beam.
“Learn quickly.”
I casually deflected the attack and turned my head.
“An attack that maims the body is like this.”
The protagonist blinked.
It was due to shock, but for a moment, the docile expression that emerged was a little interesting.
This suits him better.
And then, the surroundings grew somewhat quiet.
“Hey, Guard.”
At the low voice, I turned my head and saw the one who had thrown the attack.
“If I’m not mistaken, it looks like you just protected that guy.”
He was quite large and bald.
I didn’t know every prisoner, so his face was unfamiliar.
*Then he’s not a high-grade prisoner.*
“The new prisoner is currently undergoing an adjustment period. Therefore, as his dedicated guard, I have a duty to protect him from fatal attacks.”
I answered calmly.
“Whoa, what kind of fucking bullshit is this? I haven't heard that crap in three years. Hey! You, was there a rule like that?”
“Huh? Uh, well. I think there is, but has anyone ever done it? This is the first time I’ve seen a guard make a move…?”
The attacker nudged the companion next to him to ask, and his companion nodded uncertainly.
The gazes that had been on Helios now shifted to me. I ignored them and looked back at Helios.
“See? An attack with killing intent is like this. What that guy is emitting right now is bloodlust.”
“...Your kindness in providing a personal demonstration is enough to bring me to tears.”
“...? It’s enough to make you cry? Fine. It’s okay to cry.”
“……”
Why that peculiar expression again?
As I tilted my head at the protagonist’s contorted face, someone whistled.
It was Sergeant Steven, who was nearby.
“Well now, newbie. You’ve got some nerve.”
The veteran guards, who were out for surveillance and patrol, were also looking at me with interest.
“To think the psycho who follows a rule that’s already dead and gone would be my junior!”
Ah, so it wasn’t interest, but a "look at the crazy bastard" face.
“I get that you want to rack up achievements to get ahead, but you don’t have to follow rules like that. The pressure must be really getting to you.”
“Sergeant Steven, I’m not trying to rack up…”
“No, no. It’s fine. You don’t have to explain.”
Sergeant Steven waved his hand and glanced at the surrounding prisoners.
Since we were near the main building of the men’s ward, the area was filled with male prisoners.
“I’m interested enough in my junior’s crazy antics to want to see more, but it’s time for the Stray Dogs to go to the ‘Tower’.”
