Aimless Ascension

My plan to avoid the sadistic bastards didn't work well. If you think more carefully, you could understand why.

First of all, I'm their captive. Even if they hadn't locked me up, they wouldn't want me getting out of here. Secondly, there were hardly any more freshly captured captives every day. Whatever experiment those men were pulling, they couldn't bring out alive men every day.

So, their duties weren't much. Taking care of the security where they were terribly lax. If it weren't for their sheer confidence, I would have already tried to escape for real.

Of course, they would have ways to find me, even if I secure the most effective way out. This was their playground, after all.

So the only way I could over-smart them was by playing dumb. They would certainly put me through something special if they had to spend time and energy to look for me. That's why I play dumb on my first run every day and get caught pretty early. I got my share of beatings and handled it pretty well. Well, if you could say taking broken bones and knockout punches to the face easy, that was.

It was quite masochistic to admit it, but when you look forward to getting beaten up, it hurts a little less. Or perhaps my pain tolerance was growing, getting beaten up every day.

Another thing I remember of my time there was that, there was another person like me there, in a room a few kilometres away. If I hadn't travelled far, I wouldn't have noticed him. His name was Bardi Tuon sai.

Failure 302.

I wanted to see if we speak the same language or not. However, unlike me, he didn't try to run away every day and try his best to not get beaten up.

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When I sneaked into his room to speak to him, it turned out he did speak my language, but his head wasn't in the right place to think clearly. All he did was scream the moment he discovered.

"Go Away! Please, I won't run. I promise!" he repeated all those words, screaming.

Well, that wasn't productive at all. Finally, I found someone who spoke my tongue, and that person turned out to be insane.

Anyway, after finishing my spree of punishment, I would recover in time to have another go to the maze. On this run, I would go far, escaping from the gazes of all the workers. On some rare occasions, I felt a sense of freedom too, but deep down, I was aware it was nothing but a misconception.

Of course, I couldn't run away like this. Even if I mapped out over ten kilometres within ten days, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the labyrinth. It was nearly endless, with confusing routes. Each of them looked about the same.

Even my brain was muddled to keep the information correct in my mind. I was aware I wouldn't be able to keep up like this for long. Even if my body recovered after ingesting the potion, there was fatigue building in my body and mind, bringing me closer to the brink of insanity every day.

Even if I kept my sanity, I knew if I kept getting my bones broken and muscles torn every day, I would be a complete mess in another work or two.

It wouldn't be long until I would be like Tuon Sai.

No, that wasn't his name. I don't know his name. But I knew my name. I'm Gale. Not some failure. No matter what they were planning to do to me.

I first thought those sadistic bastards had some purpose of beating me up and healing me up. Well, even if there was none, they should be doing this to break my spirit. But for what, exactly? So that they can beat me every day like this?

Well, this murky labyrinth was a place that could easily bring out the worst in men. They were probably insane and couldn't control their urges.

I really didn't want to stay there for another minute. So I made my plan. I couldn't just hope someone would be there to help me when I was out. Who knows? They probably had guards on the outside.

So, I made a plan to steal the uniform of one of those men. After securing a uniform, I need to do something about the chain on my neck. That was the worst giveaway.

So, for my plan to succeed, I need to choose my opponent very carefully. The men that beat me up every day were profoundly strong. I couldn't hope to win against them in a fair fight, or even in an unfair fight.

So I decided on the most vulnerable opponent I could find. Theodore, the elderly man who fed me recovery potion every day, was my only option where I could see myself winning. He was one of the few that hadn't used violence on me. Well, at least not more than necessary. Yet, I don't feel any bit bad for selecting him.

I had no sharp weapon, but I managed to find a few stones I could hide with me. They were not that great of a weapon, but could easily kill a man if hit at the right spot.

I wouldn't mind being a killer if I could get out of this place. I told myself that the whole night before the eventful day.

My plan was pretty simple. Obviously, I didn't have the mental capacity or the resources to make anything broad or thoughtful. However, on most occasions, you overlook the simplest thing. That was my plan. And that I was hoping.

Here my weapon was looking weak. I was powerless against these men, and I wanted to use that fact against them.

A tiger didn't chase after a rat with its full force. That was what I was hoping.

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I could've made it more interesting, but then I had to broaden the sequence. I don't want that currently. That's why I try to make the narration smooth and playful at times.