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Alex was tired and starting to lose his mind. Going a month without sleep, enduring terrible food, and being confined to a small room, he was slowly going insane. Alex knew this and hoped for an opportunity to present itself soon.

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Blossom arrived at the reception desk of the adventure guild. The wait in line was 20 minutes, but she couldn't get a word out. The receptionist kept talking over her until she could finally ask for a room. The adventure guild had bedrooms for tired adventurers, and they were usually a go-to choice as they offered discounts. She specifically asked for Room 18, explaining to the receptionist that she wanted to relive some history associated with that room. The receptionist happily rented out Room 18 to Blossom, who paid 8 copper coins for a night. The room was on the second floor of the adventure guild, located on the left side. Blossom walked in and began to look around. The room was small, containing only a bed, a desk with a lamp, and a table. The room felt incredibly sad, and Blossom couldn't help but shake her head. She first tore apart the bed, looking under the sheets. Finding nothing, she searched through the desk and still came up empty-handed. She was stumped, but then she remembered something her father had told her. People tend to keep things close to them and hide them behind or inside something. Her father had also taught her how to check if a wall was hollow or if something was hidden behind wood. She started to knock on the walls, floorboards, and inside the drawers of the desk. In the bottom drawer, she noticed the bottom was lifted. She broke the bottom of the drawer and found a hidden compartment containing a black journal. The black journal was closed with a white ribbon that had the initials "KC." Blossom grabbed the journal, and a system notification appeared.

[Decision

Difficulty: Uncommon

You have been asked to find something important. Now you have to make a decision: Do you comply with that person's request and give the journal to the Church of Light? Or do you betray that person and give the journal to the Crown?

Rewards: Depends on choice]

Blossom was stunned. She realized this was bigger than she thought.

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Alex watched the person who fed him leave the room with dull eyes. He was slowly starting to lose himself, going insane bit by bit. Every day, he felt something inside him die, as if he was losing himself completely. Alex hadn't lost hope yet; he still kept his mind as sharp as he could. He called out to Demin,

"Are you still alive over there?"

"I'm still alive and kicking, at least for now."

"Heh! I don't know how much longer I can stay sane here. I have no idea how you do it."

"Well, not to be rude, but I'm stronger than you, and I have a stronger mind."

"That might be the only reason you could last this long."

"Maybe. So, do you want to talk about your life? You're always asking about mine. How about you share?"

"Well, where should I start? I was an orphan, abandoned by my mother in an alley. I was left to die there because of the circumstances of my birth explained in a note. A kind elderly couple took me in before I succumbed to the elements inside the ally, and raised me as their own until I was six. They then left and never returned. I was abandoned by the people who had raised me, unfortunately I wasn't an adult and was put into the foster child system. I was adopted by a middle aged white man when I was 10, and stayed there until I was 14. He then disowned me because I didn't fit his preference anymore, and as I was old enough by my countries laws to live alone. I was given a run-down house and receive a sum of money every month. However even that seemed to have stopped."

"Woah! What the hell! How old are you?"

"I'm 16."

"Is Violet Kingdom not your country?"

"No, I was born and raised somewhere else."

"Well whatever your country is, they are horrible to let something like that happen to a child."

"Yeah."

"Did they ever arrest your foster father for what he did to you?"

"No, they didn't. I was told that inefficient evidence made it impossible to arrest him."

"Sigh! Well just know you are a strong child. The world might be corrupt and unfair, however all you need to do is focus on the good of it. Their will be a time where you were happy yo be somewhere, or near someone. I just hope your not completely broken before then."

Silence began to fill the secret facility, except for the occasional grunts of pain from the prisoners. An elderly man watched everything from an item he had installed all over the facility. He saw that most had already lost hope, but he noticed two individuals who were still lively. One was the kid he had brought into the facility, and the other was a middle-aged man who had been brought in two years ago. He was genuinely impressed by their ability to hold onto hope and maintain their sanity for this long. He had recently checked the middle-aged man's file and felt that it wasn't hope he held onto, but rather, it was hatred. He had read about what they did to his daughter in front of him, and even he was repulsed by it.

The old man let out a tired sigh. He just wanted to die already. He didn't want to be a part of this anymore, but he couldn't just leave. They held his soul in their hands. You know what they say, "Don't make a deal with a devil." That's when someone dressed completely in black approached him and whispered something in his ear. He let out a small sigh and told the man in black with a monotone voice,

"Deal with it. Leave no witnesses."

"Understood, sir."

The man in black attire left the room, leaving the old man alone again. He knew something big was about to happen, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He went back to observing the facility's newest addition.

Alex sat in the room, waiting for something to change in this monotonous routine. He had been there for another month, and he had started to lose himself. He could barely think straight, and his vision was completely blurry. Alex wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in the hospital after he finished this quest. His mind had gone through so much that he might need counseling. That's when Alex felt something; he felt the need to move. He was about to initiate his plan and was just waiting for the person who fed him. An hour later, it was feeding time.

Alex waited until the door was shut and used the spell Stop on the only other person in the room. The person stepped back, looking around confused. Alex quietly whispered,

"Don't act suspicious. Quickly untie me and get ready for a fight."

The person seemed suspicious but quickly complied. He knew that they probably already noticed he had been freed from their control and were on their way.

"How do they control the prisoners' strength in here?"

"They don't. They suppress everyone to Tier 1 Level 50. The chains prisoners have on them are enchanted with suppression skills and magic."

"That doesn't make sense. If they are enchanted to suppress magic, then how could I use my magic?"

"While I'm not sure, the chains only disrupt mana in the air. It seems like you stopped mana altogether, and I believe that completely bypassed the suppression. I'm not a mage, so I could be wrong."

"No, that sounds about right. It might also be due to the element I used."

"Mhm, it could be that too. I've heard higher-leveled elements can sometimes bypass distance and instantly reach their targets."

"Where do they keep the prisoners belongings?"

"That I have no clue, however their probably with the warden of this place."

"We have to hold out for a minute. Then I can turn the tide. Alright? Is that doable?"

"Mhm, that is doable. I'll make sure to hold out for a minute."

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A/N

Hey everyone hope you enjoyed the chapter! I also hope you have a good rest of your day or night!

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!