61 Max(1)

In the prison that was present in the forest beside Bryarmont Town, a weird sound could be heard from one of the cells that was present in its depths where no one was said to be able to leave if they had the misfortune to be taken there.

The prison had two levels: one above ground, and one below, and the latter was where all the serious criminals whose screams shouldn't be heard to the outside when they were tortured were held.

It was here that an old man had been imprisoned till now and tortured for no apparent reason, and, in fact, when one thought about this, they would get the feeling as if they were forgetting something.

Yet, no matter how much they tried, they would never be able to recall anything, and all they could do was put it to the side and try to ignore it as dwelling on it would result in nothing but a headache.

Right beside that cell where the old man had been present was the one where the sound was coming from, and as footsteps began to echo in the from the steps that lead downward, it ceased.

The guard who arrived sighed and gave up, as this seemed to be a game by this prisoner who had been pissing them off to no end since he had been placed here. He had committed a very grave crime, and, initially, he had been set to be executed. Yet, later on, certain information had been revealed which showed that the crime was not what it had appeared to be, so, now, he was waiting to be escorted back to his village by an Ascender.

As soon as the guard left, the sound resumed, and this time, no one bothered.

Yet, a few hours later, multiple footsteps were heard, following which three people stood in front of the cell which was inhabited by someone wearing very grimy clothes.

This man had features which were covered in dirt, almost as if he had rolled in mud and hadn't bothered to wash himself afterward. This made it so that his features, and hence, his age, couldn't be discerned by anyone who looked at him. His clothes were torn, and in certain areas, the telltale signs of wounds that had been healed were visible.

As Aaron first laid his hands on this man that he was supposed to be escorting, he couldn't help but feel that something was…off, about him.

He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it reminded Aaron of the time when he and Woof had come across a harmless-looking flower in the middle of a pond that they had waded into to bathe themselves.

Aaron had been captivated by it and he had wanted to see how it was possible for it to even be in the middle of the pond, but as he had been about to go check it out, he had been stopped by Woof, who insisted that something was wrong.

Aaron felt the same way after seeing a few other signs around the area, such as the fact that it was empty of the usual Teras that should also be drinking there, and they had immediately left before deciding to test in a round-about manner.

Picking up a large boulder, Aaron had flung it at the flower, following which they had been treated to the shock of their lives.

The flower had been part of a gigantic stingray that was using it as bait to pull in curious creatures like himself, and it had even tried to leap at them to swallow them whole.

That incident was something he would never forget, and as he remembered it now, he couldn't help but double his caution.

The new captain, who had replaced the old one that had been fired because of being charged with the crime of engaging in illegal Tera Battles, handed Aaron a bracelet made of steel and said, "Put this on. It's a standard Mental Cuff, developed by the World Government to keep track of criminals. Its other part is on him, and if he gets too far from you, it will instantly disable him and make him fall unconscious. It's done by using a strong electric shock, and it's supposed to be pretty powerful. I'm saying this for your benefit, too, Max."

Hearing his name called, the man inside the cell nodded, following which he held up his hand to show the twin of the bracelet that had been handed to Aaron.

Aaron put it on, and the captain opened the door.

"He will be escorting you. Be good, and don't get yourself back here."

With a nod, Max shuffled outside, but spotting something, Aaron walked into the cell.

The walls were made of stone, and reaching a certain corner of the cell, Aaron simply…punched a section of it, lightly, and it crumbled to bits.

A hole was exposed, and a small knife fell to the floor.

Seeing this, the captain pointed at Max and stuttered, "Y-you…"

The voice that answered him was deep, and it had a certain playfulness to it that did not match the situation, at all.

"Hey, don't blame me for trying to get the f*ck out of here…I was close, too. 3 days would have been enough. Hell, I was prepared to use it the next time, but it's obvious I can't."

The other guard who had accompanied them actually chuckled as he heard this, but that laughter was stifled when the captain glared at him with red eyes.

A few minutes later, Aaron nodded as the captain said goodbye after once again warning him that the prisoner was quite dangerous.

As soon as the captain disappeared, he began walking toward the path which he and Edmond had traveled on before to reach here.

He didn't turn back to check whether the prisoner was following, but from what he had heard about the bracelet, he was pretty sure that the man had no choice.

Indeed, the sound of footsteps could be heard behind him, and after they reached a spot where there was no one else, Aaron turned around and was about to say that they should battle.

Even before he did so, though, the prisoner spoke up.

"I can tell you're a new Ascender. You must have taken this mission thinking it will be easy, but I think I must warn you. 10 days back, 23 people and 51 Teras were massacred in Bryarmont Town. I…was the one who killed them all. If you don't want to meet the same fate, I suggest you let me go, and just report that I overpowered you. All you'll need to do is pay a fine, but that's better than dying while choking on your own blood…"