Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Experiment Arc (4) [Caution: Cruel Depictions]
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"Bark, it might be easy enough to find someone to teach Preserve, but Dirt Clear will be tricky. If you have to, track down instructors all the way from the Aria Kingdom or even the Empire. Start with the basics and get it sorted."
"Understood."
"Maggot, if you don't master it within two years, you'll get punished every week until you do. But if you succeed, there'll be a reward."
I had no idea what kind of spell it was, but learning it would surely benefit me somehow. Besides, I didn't have any choice in the matter.
"Got it."
"Now lie down on that bed over there. Bark, secure him with the restraints and gag him too."
'Gagging me on the first day... does that mean no anesthesia?'
Even as terrifying words filled my ears, I had no choice but to surrender my body to the bed.
Bark lifted the shackles fastened around my limbs and locked my wrists and ankles firmly into the cold metal restraints.
"Dismiss your Mana Coat yourself. From now on, you'll keep it down in my presence unless told otherwise."
Before I could even respond to Mere's command, a hard leather gag clamped over my mouth.
As soon as I released the Mana Coat, Mere donned the same type of mask that Bark wore. In her hand was a small pair of tweezers.
"Hair."
With those words, she yanked out a strand of my hair with the tweezers.
Bark quickly opened a small glass vial beside us and collected it.
The stinging sensation repeated several times before she picked up a scalpel-like surgical knife.
"Skin."
What? No anesthesia—
"Mmgh…!"
A thin, sharp pain like a paper cut sliced into the skin on the outside of my elbow.
Soon after, a burning agony like flesh searing over flames surged through the wound.
'It hurts... what the hell is she doing this for?'
My gums ached from clenching the gag so hard.
I prayed that was the end of it, but next came the same torment on the inside of my thigh.
"Grrgh… hngh."
Mere's expression remained impassive as I endured the pain.
"Next, fingernails."
Oh god, please no—
"Grraaagh, hnnngh…!"
A chilling scrape like nails on metal was followed by excruciating pain laced with a burning heat.
It was the moment my index fingernail was ripped out.
The agony from my fingertip spread through my entire finger, tears welling up in my eyes.
She was supposed to be a holy magic user, yet the grip she had on my hand and her brute strength felt more like a battle-hardened warrior than a typical female mage.
"Hkk, hngh, hnn."
My breath came in ragged gasps from the pain. I struggled to steady myself with the gag still in place.
"Molars... Bark, remove the gag."
'Molars...? Did I hear that right?'
As Bark pulled the gag free, a long, sticky strand of saliva dribbled messily down my chin.
"Puh-haaah, haaack, heuk—!"
Rough breaths escaped me as sweat poured down like rain.
Mere paid no heed to my state and immediately shoved a mouth prop into my jaws to force them open. My lips crushed against it, and the strain of my jaw being pried so wide sent pain radiating through my entire face.
As I groaned from the ache, a pair of iron pliers was thrust into my mouth.
"Mmmgh… uuugh…."
The metallic tang hit my tongue, and my jaws instinctively tried to clamp shut against my will—but the prop only amplified the torment.
A fierce wave of revulsion surged inside me, but I couldn't speak, and soon the cold metal wedged brutally between my gums and teeth.
"Ggggrrgh…!"
Several agonizing attempts at extraction followed.
At the final twist of the tool, a tearing sensation ripped through me, sending waves of ultimate agony straight to my eardrums and shaking my brain.
Blood and saliva flooded my throat, choking me until only desperate gasps escaped.
"Kkheok, kkergh…!"
Ting—
The sound of my molar dropping into the glass vial.
"Bark, release the wrist restraints and prop him up to spit out the blood and saliva—"
Before Mere could finish, Bark swiftly unlocked my wrists, and the mouth prop was yanked free.
I bolted upright and vomited a throatful of blood and saliva.
Chills and cold sweat blanketed my body, alternating between feverish heat and icy shivers. My mouth and chin were smeared with blood and drool, tears streaming endlessly from my eyes.
"Uugh…! Uuuuugh…"
I never imagined it could hurt this much.
The choking sensation had eased, but stabbing pains pierced my ears, jaw, and head without respite, groans spilling involuntarily from my lips.
There was no sign of any hemostasis or even a hint of aid.
She just watched me, observing.
"Now we'll check if the bleeding stops and clots naturally within an hour."
'What the—no, is she insane?'
Squinting through the pain, my contorted face glared at Mere. She spoke as if doing me a favor.
"Oh, did you not understand? The molar extraction serves to sample the tooth itself, but it also tests pain tolerance and bleeding resistance under intense agony."
Even amid the excruciating pain, her words left my jaw slack in shock. For that reason... pulling my molar without anesthesia….
"Bark, note this down. The long-ear hybrid shows no significant difference in pain tolerance or general durability compared to other races. Further longitudinal testing to follow."
The promise of "further testing" terrified me more than anything.
Subjectively, more than an hour had passed, but the clock on the opposite wall showed only thirty minutes gone.
'When the hell will this end? She said master the spell in two years, but if experiments drag on like this Rat Pup-style for a whole year…'
"Ah, but you're still way tougher than your old man, Maggot. That guy would thrash around and pass out just from having a fingernail pulled. Bark, don't write that down."
'What... did she say?'
An unexpected bombshell dropped. Was she really talking about my father?
"Uuh, wha ihh ihh…."
Words slipped out unbidden. It was meant to be "What do you mean?" but the horrific pain from the extraction site mangled my speech.
I couldn't tell if Mere heard it as a pained groan or understood it clearly. She just stared at my face, smirked, and spoke.
"Looks like you're curious. Fine. Cooperate well with my experiments from now on, and as a reward, I'll let you ask questions."
She must have seen the flicker in my eyes. To resolve my doubts, cooperate well—putting a verbal leash on me.
"A... eh... uuh... ee... ah…."
I forced out "Got it" syllable by syllable. The pronunciation was off, but Mere seemed to understand.
"I'll summarize the experiment data for now and check the clotting later. Bark, bind his hands like this."
They tied my hands and left me abandoned there, gathering the glass vials from the table and heading to the lab.
'How did my life come to this…'
It had only been a day since my kidnapping.
Arms, thighs, fingers, mouth, and jaw—all soaked in blood, strapped to the operating table.
"Uugh— uubwaa…."
Blood and saliva kept pouring endlessly into my mouth.
Pain and misery heated my eyes anew.
'Why me... what the hell for…'
In all that had transpired so far, I found no answers.
All I could do was endure the agony—there were no other choices.
Thus, groaning in pain and spitting blood, time dragged on, each second feeling like a minute.
"The blood hasn't clotted yet. It's still oozing steadily."
Mere gripped my chin and forced my mouth open to peer inside.
Even the slightest touch to my face was torture, but having my jaw seized and pried open spread pain across my entire face.
"Uuuugh— uuuaaa…."
My forcibly stretched mouth could only groan in agony, silently begging her to stop.
'Please stop, it hurts—so much, please…'
"Bleeding resistance also shows no difference from short-ears or long-ears."
Bark jotted down Mere's words. Her hand finally released my chin.
The pain eased a fraction, but the forced opening seemed to make the bleeding worse.
Unwittingly, my head drooped, letting saliva and blood drip from my mouth.
"Next is eye enucleation."
'...? What did she... just say?'
No way, it can't be. Words tumbled from my mouth in protest.
"Wha uh... wha hai…."
"Quiet. Don't make me tell you twice."
'Insane bitch—completely deranged. She's gonna pluck out a healthy eye?'
"Last Maggot died of shock right away during the no-anesthesia enucleation trial. Shame, but it was valuable practice for a key subject like you."
With that, Mere held up a rectangular object small enough for one hand and dangled it before my eyes.
"So this is the anesthetic. You'll sleep a bit and wake up when it's done—no need to fear. This time, you'll be out for about a day."
'This time? So she was the one with the anesthetic. Back when I was kidnapped…!'
Mere grabbed my arm, examined it briefly, and pressed the device against it. A needle must have jabbed out—a sharp prick stung my skin.
My body was in such bad shape that consciousness faded swiftly.
"I'll patch you up properly after, but you'll be seeing with one eye for a while. Punishment for yapping without permission—twice today."
'She understood everything—'
My thoughts cut off as darkness claimed me.