Aid

I woke up for the umpteenth time, shaking my head to remove the fatigue I felt.

'Ah, fuck. I get knocked out more than I sleep.' I grumbled to myself.

I stood up slowly, my legs shaking, whether from exhaustion or pain, I wasn't sure. I was completely numb all over, so I had to pat myself down to check my condition. 

PAT PAT!

"Hmmm..."

'Strange, I'm not injured. I guess the soul healed me.' I wasn't going to complain about that.

I shrugged my shoulders, turned around, away from the chest, and then walked away. I was done with my work there, so I had nothing to do.

'Nothing to do at all... for the next 4 fucking years!' I frustratingly scrubbed my head.

"The fuck am I meant to do? Contemplate my life choices!? Find a conviction?!" I was pissed off at the fact that there was nothing to do, and I knew that if I didn't stay busy, the thought that I didn't want to think about would come.

Finding a conviction.

At that moment, my goal was to gain strength to reach the top, to get strong for the sake of being strong. I had no reason behind it, and I knew that that would get me somewhere, just not as high as I wanted to go. I needed a true reason to get there, or I would succumb to the pain.

However, I didn't want to do that. Not yet. There was no point in finding a conviction if I had nothing other than myself.

I walked down the passageway, reaching the crocodile corpse.

'If I had a knife and the space, I would have carved you up. You could have made me so much money.' I groaned to the corpse, kicking it in the snout.

"Ah, fuck!" I cried, grasping my foot and hopping around. "Bastard stubbed my toe!"

I walked passed the corpse, eager to leave. I had been there for 3 days, and I stank to high heaven.

'It's going to suck walking into the hotel.' I dreaded the thought of subjecting everyone to my stink, and I also dreaded the looks I would receive.

I soon reached the broken wall, and the memory of it made me look at my hand.

'Huh, it healed too.'

I crossed the barrier, heading into the sewer system. I opened my hologram, following the path that would take me out of the sewers.

---

"Huh, huh..." I panted as I stood at the exit to the sewer. I had decided to run to the end, the temptation of a shower too much for my stinky self.

I looked up at the grinding maw of the sewer plant that stood 10 meters above me.

'I can jump that, right?' During my walk, I had a long time to recharge my Energy, and I felt that if I boosted my muscles with Lightning, I would be able to do it.

I circulated my Energy, imagining Lightning boosting my muscles. In the beginning, I had to focus on each aspect, but now I could do it by simply imagining it.

Crouching to flex my muscles, I pushed off my feet. The wind rushed past my face, and I felt weightless for a second.

My feet touched the ground to the side of the treatment plant, the maw growling beside me.

I strolled away from the machine, reaching the boundary of the plant in no time, so I only had to walk for an hour to reach the city border.

---

'They must think I'm disgusting.' I thought in the shower. I had entered the hotel only to receive the biggest stank eye from the receptionist and several looks of disgust from other occupants. 'It's not like I want to stink!'

I hadn't expected to be affected by their remarks, but I guess I was still a teenager. Although it only hurt a little, my self-confidence took a small hit.

As I scrubbed my body with a rough sponge and an extremely strong soap. It itched all over, but I needed to remove the layers of dead skin that the smell stuck to.

Once I was done, I lay on my bed, contemplating.

'I guess I'll get breakfast tomorrow and then think of something to do.' My eyes closed again, but this time it was for sleep.

---

I walked through the streets of Neon, heading to my now favorite food diner. I had come to enjoy it greatly over the past 8 months, and I had gotten to know the owner. His name was Aki, and he was not an Awakened. He had lived for 80 years, perfecting his craft to superhuman levels.

My stomach grumbled and I salivated at the thought of eating his food. I had gone there hundreds of times, and each time I had been met with both a new and an old dish. Thanks to Aki, I gained a deep understanding of the food culture in Averia. The food was very different from Earth, but I enjoyed it greatly.

I turned a corner, and the diner came into view. 

"Aw yeah!" I said, speeding up.

"KHAK!" Suddenly, a bag was placed over my head, choking me, and I was flying through the air.

'Huh, I think I know this.' I couldn't put my tongue on this, but it was oddly similar.

---

"Well, of course, we can't have that, can we? The story can't have a time skip so large so early." Scribe said.

"Let me give you a hand. I also don't want you to ponder your conviction. After all, whilst you are the story, I am the author. I have many plans for you yet." Scribe looked at the pond, sniggering to himself. 

'Oh, I can't wait for Inquisitor to find out. That bastard always got on my nerves. I wonder what Father will think of the plot?'

Scribe's pen floated in the air, recording every action Arthur made in a language that no one but his kin spoke. It was ancient, old, and mysterious, and if you didn't know it, it'd kill you.

"Oh, how I love my life." Scribe said gleefully.

"Now, please let me know how it goes. I hope your master doesn't kill you."

---

The bag sat on my head, and my hands were tied around a chair. My legs were wrapped together, but not tied to the chair.

"What do you want from me?" I spoke. My mouth hadn't been taped shut, so I simply asked the intention of the kidnapper.

"..." No reply came.

"You know, just because I can't see or perceive you, doesn't mean I don't know you're there. It's common sense that you are in front of me, or the room, or are watching me from afar. Since you are, you might as well come out."

"..." Again, no reply came.

'Someone is there, right?' I thought that I could get the kidnapper to come out if they were there, but if no one was, then I would have seemed stupid... if anyone was there. So, in the end, nothing happened as no one saw. I think.

Time passed, and I had soon been there for an hour.

"You know, it's rather rude to leave someone alone the entire time when you've kidnapped them. It's a courtesy to at least let me know how I'm going to be exploited.

If you're after my money, I blew most of it. If you want something from my family, they are all on Earth, I think, which is a New World, so they don't have much either. Also, we aren't really on good terms.

I don't think I have any friends or anything, so there's nothing there either." I monologued to the perpetrator. If they were there.

Again, however, nothing stirred.

'Maybe I was forgotten.' I thought. 'Nothing happens even when I talk.'

Rustle!

My ears picked up the sound of cloth rubbing against itself, a sign of someone in the room.

I looked toward the source of the sound and spoke.

"Gotcha now, bitch! I know you're here. You can't hide!" 

Suddenly, something moved and a door swung open. 

CREAK

"Impressive, to hear me that fast. When my Master, your Grandmaster, first found me, I took a day to hear him. Yet you, only an hour. You're truly extraordinary." An old, deep voice spoke, echoing in the room.

'Damn, his voice is so deep and cool, it echoes across the room. Mine doesn't. Anyway, I think I know where I am now.'

"I know right, now, please explain." I needed to keep the facade that I knew nothing, and the simple way was to ask questions.

"Well, I am now your Master. What happened here, is that I locked you in a small room, with none of your senses but hearing, and let you adapt. I stood in a room over 10 meters away, rustling my clothes every 5 minutes, waiting for you to hear it."

"And why were you doing that?" I asked, 'oblivious' to his intentions.

"Well, I was testing your senses. Geez, my new pupil isn't the brightest, it seems."

'I have no choice, I can't let you know that I know stuff.'