Risks

"Eat"

A deep, emotionless and slow voice sounded from the black-robed figure. 

Roland looked at the bowl of unfamiliar food and began to eat. 'Never look at a gift horse in the mouth. Since they call it food I doubt it will kill me, right?'

Roland was famished and his first meal in this new world was dissapointing, to say the least. It resembled meat soup or 'chum' but was blue and green in color. 

As soon as the 'food' passed his throat it wanted to come back out but Roland fought his body and pushed it down. To add insult to injury, the food lacked any discerning taste, not even salt.

"Do you want to get out of here?" 

A barely audiable voice sounded, Roland looked towards the guard and saw a gesture to keep quite, he was confused but he nodded.

"Can you actually remove those restraints?" The guard whispered .

Roland wanted to nod at first but after some thought he shook his head, the figure fell into silence for a while before finally speaking.

"Ok, I'll be back in a few days and I'll help you get out of here. Here" the guard took the tray from Roland after he was done and gave him a piece of bread, the guard then promtly turned and left, taking away with him the light.

'He was probably sent by that old man to try and see what I know, thank goodness I lied. I'm guessing they are gonna try buttering me up. che' Roland scoffed in his heart, he quickly ate the bread and he had to admit it was way better than the 'food' he just ate..

'Wait? He gestured to keep quite! Does that mean there are people eavesdropping in on our conversations? I need to be more careful in the future.' Roland suddenly remembered.

'I need to find a way to escape from this place, I can't just sit here and wait to die.' Roland thought as he looked at the restraints.

He got up and started looking around, since there was barely any light, he ran his hands on the walls, the air, the floor, and even under the bed and toilet but...

'Please give me something! Anything will do!' Roland continued his search.

He was hoping to find a loose and hard object to use as a shovel to try and dig his way out. Since the bed and toilet were firmly connect to the walls but he found something else.

He suddenly stopped at one corner.

[Fabric substance was found. Do you want to absorb?]

The familiar notification rang in his head as the semi-transparent screen appeared. 

Roland didn't know much about this new world but for some weird reason, he felt confident that he could repeat what he did earlier with the floor. After some thought he moved away from the corner.

'If I confim, will the entire floor disappear. Even if it does work, which way leads to the outside world.? Will the guards come in again?' Even with this, he still showed some caution

"Hey brother, are you there!" Roland shouted but there was nothing, he moved closer and tried a few more times but he got no reply.

"Did he go somewhere? Let's get some rest first and I'll ask him tommorrow." Roland yawned. 

Although there was no natural light and it was dark, he felt like it was already night time, but he was strangely tired. After a rough first day he finally closed his eyes.

Roland's breathing fall into a rythm and his body relaxed as his mind was carried off to god knows where, time slowly passed.

_The following day_

Roland woke up the next morning feeling uncomfortable and stiff like he didn't have any joints. He was wondering if this stone bed was designed to be uncomfortable on purpose to further torture the prisoners or not.

He didn't even know what time it was. He got up and did a few stretches before he sat back down. The restraints and chains made him extreamly uncomfortable, plus the chains dangled and hurt him.

"Human cub Roland! Are you present?" Just as Roland was thinking a voice came in through the vent, it was the Demi-Human boy

"Yes, I'm here. Brother I still don't know your name." Roland got closer and answered.

"Ohh I'm known as Artic" The voice said.

"Brother Artic, I'm wondering what you know about this place? As you know, I don't remember anything." Roland inquired.

"Well nothing much, I know that we only get two meals a day and that's late at night and early in the morning. Which is to keep us from dying but I think it's pointless since these restraints do the exact same thing."

Roland's eyes widened as he looked at the restraints, 'So they have this function too huh?'

"Prior we had to toil in the mines but I'm guessing that won't be the case anymore. "Artic explained. He added with sarcasm, "Afterall you can't have your product looking tired and depressed."

'If you can call it a meal that is.' Roland joked. He inquired "What about our location or anything around us?" 

Roland was hoping to get the general information that everyone had.

"Everyone was blindfolded or unconscious when they were kidnapped so no one has a clue. As for the things around us some say we are underground but it's all speculations." Artic responded.

Roland than began to ask about the outside world and the magical stuff. Artic answered all of Rolands questions patiently and he seemed excited himself, maybe it was because he barely got the chance to speak but he was very enthusiastic. 

For some unknown and weird reseason, Roland felt his body relaxed, his mood improved and motivated when he heard that having multiple wives was the norm here.

'I want a harem like those characters in the light novels.'

Sometime later, the door opened and a black robed figure appeared carrying a tray of food.

"Eat."

The figure said in a hoarse and deep voice, this time the voice was different from before. Roland swallowed the questions he had and started eating his food.

Roland observed the guard, although most of these guards were covered up and it was impossible for someone to know their sex but this time from the small movements of the cloak, Roland was able to see some curves.

"Can I have some bread Ms.?" Roland asked after passing the tray.

The figure was taken aback, she turned around and said "Bread is very expansive and only the higher ups can have it! ...H How did you know I was a woman?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me what is behind these walls." Roland said cautiously, he didn't want to seem suspicious. 

"... Other prisoners" after a brief pause, the woman said. "Now tell me how you knew?"

"Although that robe does cover up a few things it still can't hide your beautiful curves." Roland said with a warm yet forced smile. With his child like appearance the woman could not help but sigh.

"Thank you!!" The girl said those words in a weird tone before leaving the room.

'Weird!'

'What is wrong with her?

'She seems so nicer then everybody else.'

'I wonder how she got here?'

The day came and went and Roland was able to confirm the guards routine and timing.

He thought for a bit, after sometime he went to a corner that was so well hidden in the cell that, even when the door was opened, the light didn't reach the spot.

[Fabric substance was found. Do you want to absorb?]

A 'ding' sound rang in his head and the mysteriouse voice sounded.

'Gotta start taking risks.' Roland looked at the semi-tranparent screen and with sweat dripping down his face and confirmed. 

To his suprise and relief, a small imprint the shape of his hand appeared and small debries of dirt gathered at the bottom, it was like he had placed his hand in wet cement before it dried.

He ran his hands on the same spot and the notification rang again. He looked back at the door nervously and confirmed.

At first Roland was concerned that the whole floor or a huge chunk might dissappear, causing a commotion that might get him in trouble or worse, killed, but his worries were unfounded.

[Absorbing Fabric Substance, system booting process at 0.02%]

[Absorbing Fabric Substance, system booting process at 0.03%]

[Absorbing Fabric Substance, system booting process at 0.04%]

...

The mysteriouse voice continously rang in Roland's head, it wasn't loud or annoying but was mild and soft so it didn't bother Roland. It sounded robotic and Roland couldn't descern if it was a man or a woman's voice.

Roland anxiously looked back a few times but no one was coming in. 

Time slowly passed....

Roland continued to 'dig' for a few seconds, a few seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into an hour. 

While 'digging' Roland noticed that not all the floor/ground was being absorbed and some would just drop to the ground as either rocks or small debries

Roland theorized that the system could absorb a centain substance and that the substance was mixed in the floor and walls, which he/the system couldn't absorbed and thus was left behind.

Sometime when he absorbed, he would need to move the rocks to the side with his hands, luckily they weren't that heavy or big.

Pretty soon a one meter circle appeared and Roland was at least six meters deep, his whole body was in the hole. Suddenly he stopped. 

Right under his feet, a single ray of light the size of a needle pierced through, it was very small but Roland could see it in the dark hole that was currenlt a tunnel.

Another concern Roland had, was arriving in a cell with a dangerous person or falling into a guard's lap.

Roland cleared the hole a bit more, he peeked through the opening. He didn't see nor hear anyone, so he quickly opened the hole wider enough for him to enter.

The ground beneath his feet suddenly gave out and he fall and hit the hard uneven floor. Roland fall into what looked like a cross between a locker room and a staffroom, luckily there was no one insight. 

"Ahh" falling from the top of the room caused some pain, Roland moaned for a bit.

He got up and was surveying the room, when suddenly... 

A door not far away swung open and an angry shout came in.

"Hey!"