Chapter 50 - Prison (3)

POV Asani Martin

I woke up with a sense of something fluffy blocking my nose and making it hard to take a proper breath. As my eyes cracked open, all I could see was a mass of black feathers on my face and a little clawed foot that kept twitching.

As I tried to move around, I found my arms tied above my head, and my feet were tied to a bed.

Lightly biting the little clawed foot that belonged to Onyx, it kicked my face in annoyance a couple of times before rolling down to my chest and settling back down.

I continued glancing around and noticed three distinct individuals positioned on the floor.

Lina, Julius, and Solomon were dressed in their white uniforms and kneeling down like three ducks in a row, hands on their knees with their heads bowed, while Professor Lee sat with her legs crossed while glaring at them.

Clearly, they were being lectured. To save myself from being caught up, I should go back to sleep.

Before I could close my eyes, Professor Lee turned to me with fully yellow eyes narrowed in anger.

"Julian said you should be waking up around now. Good to see he hasn't lost his touch. How are you feeling?"

"Ah, good morning. How are you doing today? It seems I've been released from prison? I feel pretty good." I lightly greeted her while looking at the three kneeling students and trying to understand what was going on.

Why were the three of them here?

Why were they kneeling down? And more importantly, why was it being held in my room?

 I hoped they hadn't included me in any of their shenanigans.

From the moment I was arrested, I fully expected to be in a dungeon-like cell when I woke up, but here I was in a nice white room, hands and feet handcuffed to a bed while three 9 clan students knelt on the ground.

Of course, the room was padded, and I could see mana swirling around the walls, so maybe this was where they locked people up? Rich people sure wasted their money in weird ways.

Either way, I was happy the pain was gone, that I wasn't dreaming of the past, and that these handcuffs weren't savagely draining my mana.

Everything else could be handled slowly once I understood what was happening.

Struggling to move, I realized that I could sit up since the handcuffs had some length on them so I carefully sat up and placed Onyx on my lap while patting it softly.

It seemed that my calling Onyx had worked, although the whole thing seemed blurry in my mind. There had been a lot of pain and yelling and mana whirling about me and I distinctly remembered being slapped a few times.

"You still have the mind to smile? How nice for you student Martin. Care to explain what previously happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I nonchalantly replied.

"Smells like a lie. Try again."

"Hmmm, I guess I'm allergic to being locked up for a long time? It doesn't sit well with my body. Makes me go crazy or something." I twisted my words in a semblance of the truth, and she arched her brow.

"Or something indeed. Truth so continue."

"That could be a bit difficult."

I simply stared at her before glancing at th45e three kneeling students who all had different expressions: Julius bored and concerned; Solomon looked quite happy to see me in trouble, and Lina kept mouthing, 'Return my stuff, you thief' before looking at the professor's face again.

My intentions were clear.

Kick them out, and then let's talk.

"Nova. Crimson. Meraki. To your rooms. If you leave campus without my permission, you'll regret it. Solomon, if you tamper with the soundproofing magic of this room or any room I'm in, I'll beat you from here to the Atlantic Ocean. Then tell Caerus. Got it?"

"But I want to stay." Solomon reluctantly grumbled.

"Ahhh? You've learned to talk back? An extra day of training for you."

"What? That's not fair!"

"An extra week of training it is then. Say another word and it's a month. What do you think?" At Professor Lee's glare, Solomon zipped his mouth and pretended to throw away the key before glaring at me.

"Good. All of you out." Professor Lee ordered.

As they shuffled out the door, Lina turned to me and mouthed 

'Give me my stuff up you little piml'."

I simply glanced away while pretending not to know what she was talking about.

Knowing her goody two's self, she probably spilled everything, but I would forgive her this once since she somehow brought Onyx to me. As for what Onyx stole? What did it have to do with me? I wasn't there. She should consider it a donation and tax write-off to the poor.

In the meantime, I had to figure out how to spin a story without telling a lie to Professor Lee and avoid the information the three could have already spilled.

Luckily, thanks to Onyx, I had a nice little tidbit of information to share that the others didn't know.

Let's try to wrangle a deal for myself and shift the blame onto an annoyance, shall we?

I gave Professor Lee an innocent smile, and she snorted.

"Well, now that they're gone, tell me what you want to say. I'm waiting."

"Can you explain what happened to me? My memory is a bit fuzzy."

"Don't try fishing for information, Asani. I would think you would know your own body's condition better than I would. Or would you like to rescind your privacy rights and have someone at the school analyze you from head to toe? I can schedule it in a jiffy. They can tell you exactly what's wrong with your body."

"Hard pass."

"That's what I thought. We'll get to that later. For now, start explaining. If you need a prompt let me help you. Darwinist. Onyx. Mimics. A bastard god. Dead students. Lionel Lionheart. Lighthouse. What do they all have in common?"

Seeing her blazing eyes that were filled with anger, I decided to change the subject, "Am I still under arrest for killing students?"

"It depends on your answers."

"Even though Solomon and Killian killed a bunch as well." I made a wild guess.

"Their punishment is separate from yours, especially since Evelynn Isolde is the complainant against you."

As I opened my mouth to argue, she interrupted me once more, "Lina has already shared the footage with me, but intentions and actuality are two different things. Stop deflecting and answer my questions. What is wrong with you? What was that dark mana and golden mana around you, and why the hell are you with a mimic? What happened on the island? Think it over slowly, we have time."

Seeing her mention what happened on the island and Lionel Lionheart, I doubled down on pointing the target at somebody else.

I thoroughly believed misfortune should be shared amongst people to make everyone's load lighter.

Didn't that bastard want to break my leg and try to kill me multiple times?

Let's drag him and his entire family into the mud.

I couldn't be sure what the other three had said, but considering how Solomon was shielding Lionel a bit while we were on the island, I could bet he hadn't said anything to Professor Lee about the mimic, so it must have been Lina.

I fully believed in deflecting and blowing the whole thing up while dragging everybody into it.

Lionel and Solomon could take each other out. It would be best if they could drag their families into the whole situation as well, and if Professor Lee wanted to investigate thoroughly, I would arm her with information.

"Let's make a deal. You can smell lies, right? I'll give you valuable information on what happened on the island. In return, you can release me from these, " I jangled my cuffs around, "and do me, let's say, three favors."

"You think you can make a deal with me?" Professor Lee growled.

"Can't I? You saw the evidence and know it wasn't my intention to kill those students, plus other students killed people, yet I'm the one being publicly penalized. It's not fair, especially coming from you, Professor and I'll lodge a complaint since I have nothing to lose. From what I can see, the academy wants to cover this incident up. I'm sure Dean Lionheart is trying to block your investigation, and knowing Solomon, he's not being helpful either. Lina and Julius have probably shared what she knows, but I can assure you, I know more than both of them, considering I was the one who freed and chained Solomon back up. Don't you want a resolution to this issue? I can promise it's juicy info." I gave her a knowing smile.

Every word of what I said was true. Or at least true enough that I believed it. If she was using my biological signals to 'smell' the truth or lies, I just needed to be convicted.

Professor Lee contemplated my words for a moment before nodding, "Your words ring true. State your terms. If they're agreeable, we can proceed. If your information is valuable, I'll do so. You have my word."

"One. Defend me from Evelynn and whatever adult she sends after me for this murder case. I don't think I should be penalized for it, considering so many students died. Just cover it up and add it to the count killed by the Darwinists. That is how you're covering up Solomon and Killian's actions, right?"

"Perceptive and acceptable. Next?"

"Cover up for me about this little guy. It's harmless and has saved my life many times. It's also the reason I have this information."

"It's a mimic. I am charged with destroying them when I see them. So I will say no. Pick something else and prepare to say your goodbyes."

At her refusal, I continued smiling.

"It's my familiar, and I have it fully under control. During the whole time on the island, it has never harmed a human who didn't attack me first and has put its life at risk to save Julius, Lina, and me. Even if you don't agree to the other favors. This one is non-negotiable for me. I would rather get in trouble and let other students die again if some incident happens than allow it to get hurt."

Professor Lee and I stared at each other in a deadlock before she shook her head.

"Absolutely not. Pick something else."

Seeing that she was still standing firm, I pretended to think before asking.

"What do you know about individuals named Zero, Duet, and Sha Sha?"

These were some of the names that Onyx had mentioned it had heard in the lighthouse. Since I knew who the rest were, why not see if the professor had heard of them before?

As soon as I said the names, the atmosphere around Professor Lee immediately darkened, and a wave of mana swept through the room.

"Where did you hear those names?"

"Guess." I gave her a wide grin.

"Those damn Worshippers." Professor Lee spat out through gritted teeth.

Oh?

At the unexpected name popping out, I hid my surprised reaction and stared at her, waiting to see if she would say more.

I just assumed they were high-ranking Darwinists, but they were part of another terrorist organization? The Lionhearts really had balls or had the Worshippers infiltrated the Darwinists?

Either way, the plot was thickening. I really wanted to know what Onyx had stolen from there now but there was no way I could check it out while in the academy.

I would have to leave for a bit. As I became lost in thought, Professor Lee quickly collected herself and began questioning me.

"Are you saying those individuals were on the island? Where did you see them? And how are you alive?"

"I can't answer that. Since you don't want to protect Onyx and me, there's nothing I can do about it. I'll just keep this information to myself and see if you can discover more about it yourself." I shrugged nonchalantly while staring at her.

Bite the bait. Protect me properly. How badly do you want to find out the truth of what happened? You'll never get this information from someone else. Don't you want to protect your students from such an incident happening again?

Whether or not she read my intentions or was frustrated about the progress she made, Professor Lee sighed before nodding.

"I can do it to a certain extent. If others know you bonded with a mimic, I can't do anything, but the academy won't find out about it from me. I suggest you get rid of it even if it might be painful and harm your body now. You're young, so you'll heal quickly. It will only get harder to do so in the future."

"I can't do that. Besides, isn't there a tool that can help hide its identity? Something like a, I don't know, an illusion suppression anklet?"

"How do you know what that is?" as her eyes narrowed at me I gave her an innocent smile.

"My eyes are pretty good. I spotted it while walking around one day, and it looked pretty interesting. Can you help me get one?" 

Rather, I had spotted it on that polka-dot head student, and while I briefly considered robbing her, I was already in enough trouble for now. If there was a way to get it legally, I should do that.

"On campus? Or elsewhere?"

"Who knows."

"…I don't know where you saw or heard about it, but that is a very protected item that is strictly regulated. It's not something you can casually get."

"But I need it. Specifically a high-ranking one. Help me, please. I don't want to have to kill my familiar, just like you wouldn't want to have to kill Blue or Red. I'd like my third favor to be that." Rounding my eyes to her in appeal, I silently vowed to go find polka dots if Professor Lee said no. 

If I couldn't steal it from her, couldn't I just blackmail her? She seemed suspicious anyway and was clearly hiding something. And most of all, I was curious about her status.

As I saw her waffling, I doubled down, "You were going to cover up for me anyway right? That's why you called those three that I spent time with on the island? To verify what happened. And to see who knew? Just do this one thing for me and I'll properly behave for the rest of the year. Promise."

"Somehow, I doubt that you'll be behaving." Professor Lee snorted before sighing.

"Well, I'll try to. Just give in, professor." At my cheeky smile, she rolled her eyes.

"You didn't hear this from me, and you can't repeat this to anyone, so listen up."

As she began speaking, I nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm listening."

"There's a small souvenir shop hidden in the wharf area called, Nestor's Knickknacks. Supposedly, you can get what you're looking for there but it will cost you a pretty penny."

"Can't I get a discount code? And a letter of introduction? You seem to be familiar with the person."

"No. Convince the owner to help you yourself. As for your little familiar. Onyx was it, you may not use its abilities on anyone at the academy. If I find out that you did or it's spread, I'll immediately kill it."

"No problem." I would just use it outside of the academy.

"And…you have to allow someone of my choosing to analyze it. It's rare that they're this docile or even bond with a human without overtaking them. If it could be duplicated, it would be quite useful." She glanced thoughtfully at Onyx and I could see her thoughts churning.

"…if you're talking about letting Caerus Nova look, Solomon said he would handle it so can I get a pass on that?"

At her suspicious glance, I rounded my eyes innocently. "Scouts honor. He even forced me to sign a mana contract since he was curious about the mimic not consuming me. You can ask him about it."

"Two troublemakers joining together. My poor life." Professor Lee clutched her head before sighing, "Okay. Fine. The third thing?"

"This one should be very easy. I want to be left out of any report you submit to the dean. Evelynn already snitched so that's unfortunate but everything else, leave me out. I want to be nonexistent."

"Why?"

"No face no case. Her nephew already doesn't like me, and when I tell you what I found out, you'll understand even more. Since I'm the type of weak student she doesn't like, I'd rather she not know my name. Especially with this guy around."

Professor Lee nodded approvingly. "Fair enough and easy enough to do. Share your information. What happened on the island? When and where did you see the Worshippers?"

"Well, to surmise it, it's all Lionel's fault." I happily threw the blame at the Lionheart heir.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

As her eyes narrowed, I leaned forward and relayed everything Onyx had told me about what it listened to the lighthouse and what I had seen with my own eyes. Then I told her about mimic Lionel and how it tried to sabotage us as well as Solomon being difficult with me."

Professor Lee just sat in silence for a while, her facial expression dark as she thought through everything.

"…truth. You're telling the truth." 

"Of course I am. Why would I lie?"

"What about the item then? The one they spoke about?"

"I don't know. I certainly don't have it."

At her disbelieving expression, I doubled down, not forgetting to splash some dirty water on other people.

"What? I'm serious. I don't have it. I only sent Onyx to take a look around and didn't expect to find out this information especially since Solomon, Killian, and Cassandra didn't let me try to get into the lighthouse. In fact, Onyx almost died while repeatedly draining my mana before it came back and told me what it found. The people who are most likely to take such an item are Cassandra Mirage or Killian Raven as they guarded the lighthouse."

Everything I said was true. After all, I didn't have it, Onyx did, and since it was its own being, It wasn't my stuff.

And among the students, who was the most likely to steal things? The two sneaky members of the nine clans.

Weren't the two of them a loving couple? Didn't they enjoy poking fun at me? Have fun being investigated.

"Truth again. Even though I'm skeptical."

"I rarely lie to you professor since there's no point. So. Was my information worth it? Am I free to go?"

She stared at me for a moment before nodding, "You're free. I'll handle the follow-up. Don't share this with anyone else. Not even your friends. And make sure to hide that thing until you can cover it up."

"Naturally."

As she released my body, I sighed in relief before stretching my body out.

For some reason, I was uncomfortably sore.

As I headed out the door while tucking the sleeping Onyx into my pocket, Professor Lee grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

"Asani. You're clearly trying to avoid it but what happened to you? You almost died if Julian hadn't been there. Are you cursed? Possessed? Who is harming you? That was one of the…worst things I've seen." 

At her serious expression, I grinned, "I told you it's the fault of that damn Lionheart clan, and it's not something I can tell you right now because you wouldn't believe me anyway. Either way, I'm handling it properly, so don't worry. You just need to train me to be stronger, and I just need to continue dealing with it as I can and make contingencies for this worst-case scenario. As long as I don't get locked up again, it should be fine. Also, I plan on thanking him myself but please say thank you to Professor Julian for me as well. I'll be sure to bring him snacks."

We stared at each other and feeling bad, I patted her hand while joking around.

"If you feel sorry for me, give me some time off from training. Don't you think I've been tortured enough already?"

"…Students have the week off, so you may stay on campus or go home. I highly recommend you leave and get the item ASAP."

"Got it….thanks again, Professor; I appreciate everything that you do. Truly."

"If you really appreciate it, stop feeding Blue. She's getting fat."

"I'll consider it. Bye, professor. And good luck with your investigation. I hope you bring the bad guys down."

Waving at her, I quickly left before stopping by the dining hall, scarfed down some food, and went back to my room. As I walked through the academy, many students whispered while looking at me but I just ignored them.

From their whispers of 'murderer' and 'criminal', it was clear who had spread the rumors.

Dumb bitch.

As I entered my room, I spotted Solomon lounging on my couch while flipping through my books. A quick glance around showed that he had rifled through my things as well.

What a nosy bastard.

The moment I made a U-turn and tried to leave, a barrier blocked the door, and mana chains wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward.

"Let's talk."

Gathering my mana and snapping the chains, I turned to look at him before pointing.

"Get the hell off my chair."

"I'm a guest. And you're a poor host. No refreshments. Boooo."

"You're an unwanted guest. If you want refreshments, go to the dining hall instead of breaking into my room."

"It's not my fault the security of your building is bad. They just let me waltz in and the students gave up your information."

"Who would dare refuse you Mr. Rank 2?"

The way the ID cards worked in the academy was that anyone could access the common buildings like the library and the cafeteria, but for residential buildings, it was keyed to your rank. So, theoretically, Solomon could enter my building with no problem, but I couldn't enter his. It was just another fucked up way the academy discriminated by rank.

Of course, he couldn't actually enter my room. That was entirely due to his own skill. I didn't know if I should be impressed or condemn him as a nosy bastard. It was likely both.

Seeing him make himself at home, I ignored him and began packing my things. He would talk when he was ready.

A few books to exchange in the library and a spare training uniform. Once I spoke to Rachel, I would head back to my actual apartment. It was time to test some of Onyx's skills while taking a walk in the neighborhood. Then head to the souvenir store the professor mentioned. Finally, I would head to a secret place mentioned in the novel to take a look at the item Onyx had stolen.

"You and Lee seem quite cozy. Had a fun discussion? What did you talk about?" Solomon broke the silence after seeing me ignore him for several minutes.

Hiding my smile, I began changing my clothing as I answered.

"She asked me about the island, the Darwinists, and Onyx. I decently responded and didn't say anything about Lionel being a mimic, just that he was aggressive toward me. The end."

At his raised eyebrow, I snorted. "Isn't that what you were worried about? Trust me, I know how to use my brain. The one you should be questioning is the good student, Lina."

"Hmmmm. Suspicious. But believable considering what the professor asked me as well. Why were you in the infirmary? The kids are saying you're a murderer? Congrats."

"Keep them for yourself. Aren't you one as well?"

"Am I?" at his wide grin, I rolled my eyes.

"Evelynn reported me for accidentally killing two students, but I'm apparently too handsome in prison. Who knew I would have a severe allergic to being drained by mana and breathing prison air?" I easily distracted him with a familiar topic.

"That's a lie. You seem like you would do well in prison. And you're not that handsome."

"Jealousy is a disease, Nova. Go ask Professor Julian to treat you. Anyway, I'm heading to the library to study. Are you coming?"

As Solomon stared at me in disgust, I gave him a wide smile, "Due to a certain somebody, I failed the exam this time. So I have to make it up with the written one. Thanks a lot. I hope you get hit by a bus and die."

"It's not my fault you're weak." Although he grumbled, he couldn't hide his twitching lips before he burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up at my expense. Get the hell out and stop breaking into my apartment. I'm reporting this to Professor Lee."

"Go ahead. I already paid the incoming fine. I'm warning you now, not a word about Lionel."

"As you wish, your lordship. Anything else?"

"Take these off for me." He held out his cuffed hands and I snorted.

"I'll think about it. However, if information about Onyx leaks, the deal is off. This includes your aunt, got it? Respond appropriately if you're asked, and don't say a word about it otherwise."

"And if I do?"

"Enjoy the rest of the year being chained up and remaining number two. Professor Lee plans on defending me anyway so it's not like I need you anyway. Just see how she'll handle you if you blab." I easily sold Professor Lee's name without shame. Solomon was afraid of her, so I doubted he would go question her, and I would just have him deflect me seeing Caerus.

"Anyway, I have things to do, so I won't see you out. Lock the door when you leave."

Ignoring his nonsense, I walked away and headed to the library.

As I made my way to the library amidst the occasional student staring at me, I found Rachel by the front desk. As she spotted me, she immediately dragged me to a private room and slammed the door.

"You- you killed someone? And arrested? With that cute face of yours?"

Wow. The rumor mill worked fast. Even a librarian knew.

"How did you find out?"

"It's all over the school forums. It's all anyone is talking about."

"It was unintentional. Now, back up old lady. Any information for me? I remember I gave you a list last time?"

"Lots. But first my payment?"

"Didn't I tell you Lina Meraki had it? Go bother her tomorrow. Today is her rest day. Give me the info please."

As I held my hand out without paying attention to her twitching face, Rachel slipped me a small USB drive.

"Here you go. I just want you to know it was extra hard to get."

"Sorry, I guess. You can always ask Lina for a bonus. Anyway, I need info on the Darwinists. Not the common stuff I can find and…monster human hybrids. Also an almanac of monsters. From common to rare. And throw in mana reinforcement, books on curses, and any coursework for the rest of the year. And discreetly, very discreetly, find me information on how the heirs of the 10 families are chosen."

Rachel stared at me for a moment before commenting, "Wide range."

"Wide range, big payment. Get to work, Rachel. I'm in a hurry. You can delay on the others till Lina pays you but I need the books before I leave today. Pretty please."

"…got it."

As she left to go dig up some books, I casually began reading through some of the ones I had borrowed.

Once she brought me a large pile to check out, I kicked her out of the room, stuffed them into Onyx's storage, quickly changed my clothes, and snuck out while she was distracted by other students.

Then using my pass, I left the academy, boarded the train, and went back to my apartment.

The train ride was quicker than I remembered and before I knew it, I quickly arrived back.

The door was already opened and as I looked through it, I saw that it was completely ransacked with the things inside being smashed to bits and scattered everywhere.

It was as I expected; it wasn't as if I had left the neighborhood thug in a good mood after robbing him. Of course, he would come and smash my things.

And he was bound to be in a worse mood once I finished with him.

Pulling Onyx out of my pocket, I shook the little mimic awake.

As its large eyes in bird form blinked at me, I pointed to the room.

"Eat everything. Dust and all."

Squeak!

Onyx quickly ballooned as it changed to its original form, continually growing until it was almost the size of the room. Shadowlike tentacles formed as it swept everything into its body before shrinking down into a cute and slightly pudgy bird flying around.

"Good job."

I complimented it before crafting a bed with pillows and sheets. 

Taking a seat, I held it up at eye level.

"What did you steal from Lina? Short girl. Red hair. Spit it up."

Onyx tilted its head at me for a second before opening its bird beak unnaturally wide and coughing up a familiar item.

[Globe of the Silent Forest]

Seeing it, I couldn't help but laugh. No wonder Lina had been so upset. Well, it would be useful regardless. Seeing that it was fully charged again, I guess Lina had prepared it to use. Less work for me.

Letting Onyx roll around on the bed, I went to the window, ripped off the planks, and peeked out, using my mana vision to scan the surroundings.

Apart from the people living in their buildings, the streets were mainly empty as usual. There was just one familiar person walking down the street with two people in hoodies walking behind him.

Ah? Wasn't this my old gopher bringing himself to me again? It seemed the universe was giving me a cold pillow when I wanted to take a nap. I had been wondering how I would find him.

As they walked past the front of my building, I whistled loudly drawing their attention. As all three of them looked up, I waved cheerfully.

Watching their expressions become angry while they began rushing the building, I took a moment to Analyze all three.

James Clerr

Age: 32

Rank: E

▷Stats: 

[Strength – E] 

[Stamina – E] 

[Speed – E]

[Perception – E]

[Vitality – E] 

[Magic power – F] 

[Intelligence – E] 

Gifts: ▷Sleight of Hand, ▷Night Vision

Familiar: None

Mana attribute: Wind

It seemed dear James hadn't improved one bit. How convenient.

Roger Goar

Age: 28

Rank: E

▷Stats: 

[Strength – E] 

[Stamina – E] 

[Speed – E]

[Perception – E]

[Vitality – E] 

[Magic power – E] 

[Intelligence – E] 

Gifts: ▷Strength Hardening,

Familiar: None

Mana attribute: none

Aaron Hern

Age: 27

Rank: E

▷Stats: 

[Strength – E] 

[Stamina – E] 

[Speed – E]

[Perception – E]

[Vitality – E] 

[Magic power – F] 

[Intelligence – F] 

Gifts: ▷Speedy Legs

Familiar: None

Mana attribute:

And he had teamed up with legs and muscle. 

Crafting a wooden bat imbued with Incorporal and Strenghtening, I shook the globe and readied myself as I watched Aaron speed up the steps and through the hallway. As he smashed through my door, running into the barrier I had left there, I immediately took it down and swung at his head with my full strength.

Clang!

Like a rock, he immediately dropped to the ground, his body splayed out on the floor as he was knocked unconscious.

Wow.

That would have been a home run in my student-athlete days. It's good to know I still got it, although I was technically cheating with equipment.

Kicking his body off to the side, I activated Incorporal and waited for the other two to enter the room while waiting for the other two to arrive.

"Aaron. Where the hell did that-"

Clang!

I swung at Roger, and he somehow pulled up his hands to block it. As my hand vibrated, I dropped the bat and shook my hand out.

"Sturdy, aren't you."

"You little punk, I'll kill you!" he immediately swung at me, causing me to duck and sweep the legs out from under James. 

As James Clerr fell with a yelp, I calmly grabbed the bat and smacked him hard on his forehead before fixing my posture and swinging with my whole bodyweight at Rogers's head.

Thud!

His eyes rolled back, and he began frothing at the mouth as he slowly fell backward like a felled tree.

James didn't look much better with the large lump growing on his head. 

Nice, quick, and easy, an nobody had died. A success.

Taken out in under a minute, it seemed all the training I did with Professor Lee was worth it.

Quickly crafting a door, I closed off the room before looking at the three unconscious men.

"Hmm, let's see. A magic rope, was it?"

I crafted the rope Cassandra had used to tie me up, bound all three of them from shoulders down, and dragged them to lean against the wall.

Then I gestured to Onyx.

"Come here. I need you to create a spawn for me."

To my surprise, the little mimic began throwing a hissy fit as it landed on my head and began pecking it aggressively.

To summarize the emotions, it thought it was being replaced.

"I am not replacing you. I just need some ground troops to collect some info for me. Don't you control them anyway? If they misbehave, just eat them. Properly spit out spawns for me and have it eat them up."

Onyx hesitated once more before flying over to James and transforming into its original blob form.

Its body shivered a bit, draining my mana before a smaller blob separated from it.

Before I even had the opportunity to analyze it, Onyx formed a tentacle, picked it up, and angrily slapped it into James Clerr's face. Two more blobs separated from Onyx before being slapped in a similar manner at the other two men

The shadowy blobs immediately latched onto their faces and began spreading and overtaking their bodies.

Through Onyx, I felt a thin connection to the men and watched curiously as it solidified while the little mimic spawns wrapped around them in a layer of shadows before being absorbed slowly into the skin. The swollen injuries healed, the drool disappeared, and for all intents and purposes, they looked like they were sleeping.

Then, all three of them opened their eyes.

Seeing as the shadows were no longer there and he looked normal while staring at me, I analyzed James.

James Clerr

Rank E Mimic Sub-Controller

Controlled by Rank D Mimic

Age: 32

Rank: E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝

▷Stats: 

[Strength – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝] 

[Stamina – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝] 

[Speed – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝]

[Perception – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝]

[Vitality – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝] 

[Magic power – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝] 

[Intelligence – E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝] 

Gifts: ▷Sleight of Hand, ▷Night Vision ▷ S̵̛̝̜̘̈́̂̓̏̿͌̒͠p̴̢̛̘̥̰̖͓̦̝͚͑͌̆͒́͗̔̌̔̂͛͊̕͜ͅȁ̷̢̹̳̲͇̃̈́͜͜w̴̧̛͈̱͎͔̮̪̹͖̩̏̌͋̈́͆̇n̷̡̨̨̢͖̩̠̻̟͌̈͆̓̍͒̔̎̄̊̚͠ ̶̧͕̣̰̣̫̫̟͙̤̣͈̮̩̩̍̔͌̆̈̌͝(̵̛̼͌̄̈́̀͌́͛̓̍̑E̴̙̪͍͔̰̥͖̗̟̝͚͔̥̬͐͊͝)̸̨͔̳̗͓̘͙̫̝̩̬͙̱̊̀͂̀͊̿̅̚͜ͅ

Familiar: Ş̵̨̜̣̟͚͓̆̅̋̀̆̾̐̈́͗͆͘͘͘͝ͅh̶̢̛̠̳̱̠̣̮̗͈͉̘̐͜a̴̝͑̆̒̇̿̏̇͊̍̓͠ḑ̸̺̪̃̍͐̈́͐̔͛̍͊̒͒̽̏̚͘ơ̴̫̣͓̬͕̐̒̂̈́͐͂̽̈̐͐͆̇͝ẘ̵̢͎͛ ̸̛̳̻͉͆̓̀̂̄̀͛̅M̸̫̩̹͖̀̓͑͊̀͐̍͛̀i̸̛̺͈̮̭͈͙̣̤̲̓͑͂͗͊͆̎͊̊͋̇ͅm̷̢̧̛͙̣̣͚̼̓͋̈́̂́́̀͒͂̈́̿ĩ̷̯͖̗̳̀́͋̐͊̈́̾͌̎͝͠c̸̠͍̤͔̎͂̆̑͐͂̓͠

Mana attribute: Wind, Shadow

Perfect.

"You. In the middle. What's your name? Can you speak?"

There was a pause, and the mouth moved, "…James Clerr"

"Good. Do you know who I am?"

"…Master?"

"Good enough. Have you gone through the memories properly?"

"…Yes."

"I love to hear it. I have a lot of questions for you. But you can start by telling me all the information about your job, the organization you work for, and the boss of that body. The rest of you, stay quiet unless you have anything meaningful to add."

I crafted a chair before sitting down after scooping up Onyx and petting it. It had done a good job and should rest for a bit.

It was going to be a long night, so I might as well get comfortable. I couldn't leave until their statuses became normal anyway.