Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Experiment Arc (3)
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As the conversation dragged on, he seemed pressed for time.
Even as he busily kept cleaning, he opened his mouth to speak.
“Since this is getting long, I'll summarize. He was a monster who committed massacres and rapes to satisfy his twisted urges. After a petty dispute in the Rock Forest, he froze half the Long Ears race to death. In the empire's city of Quesel, he raped hundreds of women. He cut down every knight and soldier who tried to stop him, and rampaged through countries everywhere, killing thousands at his hands. In the end, all races had to unite just to barely take him down.”
He paused his hands for a moment and stared straight at me, driving the point home.
“In short, Long Ears half-breeds are symbols of terror and objects of hatred in this world.”
I'd heard something I never expected.
…So that's why.
If this was true, then what Grandmother had called “very bad things” was an incredibly softened version of the story.
It made me understand the reactions people in the village had shown me all this time—the deeds of Demon King Nel were beyond imagination.
He killed half the Long Ears in the forest? And he was the only Long Ears half-breed in hundreds of years to do something like that. On top of rape... and thousands massacred.
The whole world had banded together to kill him just 30 years ago, and about 10 years after that, I was born.
The first Long Ears half-breed in recent centuries since Demon King Nel was born.
No wonder the villagers saw me as his reincarnation or felt extreme fear.
“They're also called cursed half-breeds.”
Cursed... I didn't even know why I was born into this world, and now this treatment—what had I done wrong from the start?
“...You know a lot about this. It's hard to believe—such a horrific tale.”
“My old mercenary captain used to ramble about it whenever he got drunk. Said he'd fought in that subjugation battle.”
“Now I get it. Why the forest folk treated me that way all this time. And that they were holding back as much as they could without showing it... Though that doesn't mean I can forgive how they've shunned me.”
“Do you understand now why I told you to hide your Long Ears half-breed blood?”
“I do. But Rat Pup... why tell me all this?”
“Call me whatever's comfortable. You're a maggot too, after all. And I told you because you didn't seem like a symbol of terror or hatred to me—you seemed like an unlucky human about to suffer the same pain I did.”
With that, he went back to cleaning busily.
“What exactly are these experiments?”
Maybe time was really running out now—he moved even faster as he answered.
“No point looking into it; it'll just make your fear worse. All you need to know is it'll hurt a lot, and you'll have to get used to the pain.”
“Pain...”
“Mere has no blood or tears. She's obsessed with her research for her goals and doesn't give a damn about others' suffering. She uses violence often too. You seem more mature than you look, but that won't help much. In front of Mere, adults turn into kids. You'll beg and plead, show your ugly side. All from my experience.”
Rat Pup's calm words, laced with deep resentment, filled me with dark emotions and sweeping anxiety.
After finishing cleaning, just before leaving the laundry room, he tossed out one last flat remark.
“For reference, I was called to the lab every week... for a year.”
After that, from 8 to 9 a.m., I waited in front of a room in the corridor. Following Rat Pup's instructions, I fetched water or coffee—something I'd never seen in the forest—or bread, assisting with chores.
From 9, while the residents who lived here were out, I cleaned the dorms, and at 11, I got yesterday's same rice balls rationed and ate in the laundry room.
The afternoon followed a similar routine, but midway, I heard a commotion and went out to the corridor to see a servant groveling on the floor, getting kicked by someone.
Time passed, and at last, 7:50 p.m., I moved to the central hall and stood before Dregs.
Stairs were visible behind him, guarded by two warriors. There'd be guards downstairs too.
Of course, there was no hole for me to escape through.
“Then, we'll head to the lab.”
Hiding my trembling heart, I followed behind Dregs.
The place we arrived at, following him, was the room at the very end of the corridor.
—Knock, knock
Dregs knocked, and the door opened from inside, revealing a man.
From his chin to above his nose, he wore a black mask; a black hood covered his head, barely exposing his eyes.
His clothes under the mask were all black like Mere's, with a dagger and pouch at his waist.
Dregs bowed his head and said,
“I've brought the maggot.”
The masked man silently gestured for me to enter while looking at me.
Following him inside, a sharp smell assaulted my nose.
A bizarre mix of chemicals, metal, and something fishy.
The interior felt like two spaces merged together.
The left was like a study lined with bookshelves and display cases; the right, unmistakably an operating room.
Sharp tools lay on the table; restraints were on the chair and bed. Next to them stood a light far brighter than mana lamps, like a stand illuminating the surgery area.
Around were round black crystal orbs on tripods, and hammers or saw blades like from a workshop.
This... there's no way I'll come out unscathed.
Rat Pup had warned me, but seeing it with my own eyes, no amount of mental preparation could stop the terror from surging.
“Bark, go inside and get the experiment robes.”
Mere was already at the operating table, wearing thin gloves.
The masked man called Bark went through to the study side and soon returned with two thick gray robes.
Mere and Bark donned them. They covered front and back, leaving only arms exposed on the sides.
Mere placed a hand on the crystal orb stand nearby, infused mana, and said,
“Long Ears half-breed No. 1, Aroin. Record start.”
How does she know my name? What's 'record start'? Is that crystal orb some kind of magic camera tool?
I had questions, but voicing them would break the rule against speaking out of turn.
“Maggot, listen carefully from now on.”
Back to 'maggot' for my name. Not that I'd expected otherwise.
“Yes, Mere.”
“Every week at this time, two hours of experiments.
The experiments check differences between Long Ears half-breeds and other races. Some are minor, some hurt a lot. Anesthesia as needed—maybe or maybe not. If you scream from pain, it's noisy, so we'll gag you beforehand. Cooperate well for rewards; otherwise, punishment.
I warned you before about cutting off a finger—remember? Not a joke, so behave yourself.”
“...Understood.”
Mere delivered the brutal words without a flicker of expression.
Everything so far and Mere's attitude screamed that resistance meant greater pain, so like it or not, I'd cooperate.
“Oh, and don't worry if the experiments cause any bodily defects. I'm a special-grade holy mage, so I'll fix everything perfectly afterward. Even cutting off a finger for punishment is just to inflict pure pain.”
Like recalling some trivial fact, Mere casually conveyed the horror.
This meant my body could be damaged anytime, and if needed, fingers could be severed dozens of times.
From books, holy mages specialized in 'healing' magic and usually belonged to priestly groups like the goddess faith.
Yet Mere, a holy mage, walked the complete opposite path—why?
Please, let it be nothing serious. Nothing big.
I prayed desperately inside. I couldn't stand pain.
“Then, a few checks before we start. Age and birthday, magic acquisition status and type.”
“I'm twenty, birthday May 27th. I've learned one beginner blue magic spell.”
A change of expression crossed Mere's face for the first time.
“As expected, magic talent. At what age?”
I didn't know what 'as expected' meant, but answered honestly.
“At ten.”
“Two years behind the youngest record, but still very fast. Bark, note it all.”
Bark now held a pen and notebook.
“Blue magic is perfect timing. Your goal from now: learn intermediate blue magics 'Dirt Clear' and 'Preserve'. They're needed for my research—keep that in mind. I'll arrange a teacher too.”
“...Understood.”
“Only one beginner blue magic at twenty means you've neglected magic till now. But learning at ten means two years should suffice for intermediate.”
I hadn't neglected magic.
No one had ever taught me any, so all I had was the beginner blue magic 'Warms'.
And learning it at ten was thanks to my previous life's adult mindset carrying over.
But now I'm just an utterly ordinary human—can I really do intermediate in two years?