Back in the Pit, Van and the now ex-guard has been listening on the androgynous long-haired man, Reed, babble for quite some time now. He was supposed to only tell them the rules, but still, he has been talking to them for almost an hour now.

As per his explanation and story, there were only 3 rules in the Pit.

​​

Rule number 1 is that no one goes near the wall set up by the Locals. But even though this was the number 1 rule, it was also the most violated one. Not a week goes by that someone attempts to climb over the wall, but alas, their attempts would always lead to death.

Either the Locals would see them climbing and kill them, or they manage to escape, only to be killed by the one calling the shots in the… Encampment, the one they call the Boss.

Rule number 2 is that rape is not allowed. If found out, the perpetrator's genitals will be pulled by the Boss and he or she will be forced to eat it. The one that Van just killed was actually one of the most notorious rapists in the Pit, but even then, he has not committed any sexual harassment in fear of the Boss.

For that matter, having children was also not allowed.

Rule Number 3 is that any items or trades that are happening inside the Encampment must and should go through the Boss first for checking. Some might slip contraband from the outside, and the Boss does not like it when someone or something impedes his authority in trading.

And that was it.

There was no mention of murder, stealing, and other major and heinous crimes. Although, Van found it weird that they had rules in the first place. Truly, it was different from everything he expected.

...Wasn't this place even better than the Relic Graveyard?

"Speaking of which, you must meet the Boss."

Finally, after an hour of listening to Reed, his stories were finally over.

"...Alright." Van agreed immediately. If this was to be his home now, then he must know how their inner workings… work.

"Although I suggest you change your clothes." Reed placed his hand on his chin as he looked at Gil from head to toe.

"Ah!" Realizing what Reed meant by his words, Gil quickly removed his helmet, revealing his short almost flaming red hair. Other than his hair, there weren't really any distinct features to describe him by.

He then removed his uniform, leaving only his undershirt that was already drowning with his sweat.

"Alright, I am done. L… let's go."

The three proceeded to walk through the Encampment. There really were people living inside the houses that were neatly built apart from each other. If Van didn't know that all of the people here were prisoners, then he would have thought that he was just in some backwater village somewhere outside.

...The outside.

It's only been a few hours since he was prisoned here. Van could not help but let out a sigh as he thought of Andrea.

No… this was not the time to be worrying about others. Considering the looks that he had been getting ever since he got here, he was most probably in danger. Even right now as they follow Reed, some of the people have been giving them odd looks.

No, most of the eyes weren't for him, but for Gil.

Since a lot of people have seen him wearing a guard's uniform earlier, word has already gotten out that he was indeed a guard from the outside. He probably wouldn't last long here. Perhaps Van should avoid him after all of this is over?

Gil immediately noticed that Van was looking at him, and he waved his hand in response while adorning a huge smile on his face.

"..."

Red hair, spontaneous, knows a lot of things and likes to talk a lot. Gil was kind of like a mixture of Gemma, Harvey, and Beatrice, is he not?

...Would that make Van Victoria, then?

"Pft," with that thought, Van could not help but let out a tiny chuckle.

"...You seem awfully calm for someone who was just thrown to the Pit tied up like an animal," hearing Van's breaths, Reed commented, "You must have done something really bad to end up like that, tell me. What did you do?"

Gil's ears perked up as soon as he heard Reed's question. He too has been curious as to why Van was brought to them like that. He was only tasked to guard the entrance of the Pit, and no one really tells him anything since he was somewhat new.

"I snorted some illegal drugs and stole some Crystals," Van said without even a pause in his words.

"R… really!?" Gil let out a loud gasp as soon as he heard Van's words.

Reed, on the other hand, scoffed. It was obviously a lie. But then again, it didn't matter. Lots of people had secrets inside the Pit, it was practically a den of lies and feces.

"And you?" Reed then placed his attention to Gil as they continued to walk, "You also seem to be awfully calm for someone that obviously doesn't belong here."

"Me? Well, every negative situation will and can only lead to something good! I am sure that my being here happened for a reason. My mother once told me that negativity only lives inside our mind and that all you have to do was not respond to…"

"How many prisoners are there here?"

As Gil continued with his story, Van walked beside Reed.

"Always less than 100."

"...Always?" Van furrowed his eyebrows from Reed's words.

"Hm."

"..."

The three continued to walk, with Gil still telling his story even though no one seemed to be listening to him anymore. Although there were only supposed to be a hundred people here, do they all have their own house? They have been walking for quite a while now and there were still houses neatly lined up.

But then, as they reached a certain house, Van's eyes quickly widened. He saw a very familiar-looking woman wearing a bandana leaning on a wall.

Van definitely knew who she was-- Nisha.

And seeing as she was also looking at him, she also knew who he was.

Nisha was about to wave her hand as soon as their eyes met. But before she could do so, Van looked the other way.

"..."

Did that boy just ignore me? Could she be mistaken?

No… she only met him once, but she was sure there could only be one person in the country that was as small but as fearsome looking as him. There must be a reason why he ignored her, Nisha thought.

'...Maybe I should approach him when he's alone'

A few more minutes have passed before Van and the others arrived in front of a house. Unlike the rest of the houses which were made with wood and a bit hardened mud, the house in front of them seemed like it was completely built with marble.

Where they even got that, Van could not help but wonder.

"Wait here, I will see if the Boss is awake."

Reed beckoned for the two to wait in front of the door. And as soon as Reed opened the door of the house, Van, and Gil slightly stepped back.

The smell of sweat and a very familiar stench wafted through their face, piercing their nose violently. Van only slightly closed his eyes as he held his breath. Gil, on the other hand, completely covered his nose.

"Smells like ass." Gil's muffled words did not even need to be repeated.

The two waited for a few minutes before Reed finally came out. His previously tidy hair was now messy and tangled. The strong smell also wrapped around him, his lips slightly wrinkled and wet.

"Come on in, the Boss is awake," Reed slightly coughed as he beckoned for the two to follow him inside.

Van and Gil looked at each other, hesitation clearly on their faces.

"You go first," Van said.

"W… what? Why me?"

"You have the sword… not to mention you're older than me."

"That… Fine."

Seeing as he could not really refute Van's words, Gil could only move his hesitating legs to the inside of the house.

"Ack!" And as soon as they entered, the stench of sweat, jizz, and spunk got even stronger.

Aside from covering his nose, Gil now also slightly covered his eyes as a scenery of debauchery moaned in front of him.

There were women, and men sprawled across the hallway. Their clothes were nowhere to be found and their sweat and arms entangled with each other. Gil almost slipped as he stepped on sweat, or at least he wanted it to be just sweat.

"Boss, there are the two fishes that arrived today."

Both Gil and Van then looked at the huge bed that was right in the center of the marbled house. And there, a huge man even bigger than Mr. Jacobs was sitting. If Van were to go near the man, then he would probably be only as big as his arm.

And without even a word, the huge man suddenly moved.

"!!!"

Van was about to go super speed. But then he heard a voice.

"Oh? They are throwing in kids now?"

The voice was not like Van expected it to be. It was… high pitched.

The man continued to move, or rather, he continued to fall to the floor. The sound of him hitting the hard marbled floor echoed throughout the house of pleasure, but Van did not flinch even a finger.

The owner of the high-pitched voice revealed herself behind the huge man. It was a dark-skinned woman, her hair locked in dreads. Her body, almost rivaling that of the talking Arachnaea.

The dark-skinned woman then looked at Gil and Van, her bright blue eyes almost felt like it was drowning them. The woman then licked her lips as she moved, her gigantic bosoms swaying along with her body.

"Right then… What are your names?"