After Dirk was brought through the portal, he reappeared in a dark space. He had been smiling at his mother as he was brought through, but as soon as they disappeared, the smile was wiped off his face.

Now, he looked around with a ruthless gaze. The room they were in held a portal, but they quickly walked out of this room into another area.

At first glance, it looked like a massive cave. The ceiling was nearly 100 meters high and the walls had tunnels that led to other areas similar to an ant colony. This seemed to be the central hub for this underground settlement, and there were stone buildings all along the ground and even some on the walls.

"Welcome to hell."

The woman snickered as they walked into this hub. Along the way, Dirk looked around and saw cloaked adults and uncloaked teenagers. The teenagers all had either fearful or numb expressions, and the adults had either angry frowns or insidious smiles. There were crowds of people, enough to fill a town at first glance.

Of course, as they walked down a street, all eyes were pulled to Asura and Dirk. Dirk especially. The cloaked adults all grinned at him as if he were fresh prey, and the teens glanced at him with pitiful or resentful eyes. Dirk just kept his gaze forward.

Soon enough, they actually arrived at an open clearing. It was almost like a town square. Except, in the center of this town square was a lifted stone platform. Dirk was a bit shocked when he saw a metal pole with chains sticking out of the platform, and frowned when he saw the red and black streaks that dyed the stone a sinister color. It was blood.

"You know what to do."

"Of course."

After Asura spoke, the cloaked woman nodded with a smile. She threw Dirk onto the platform before walking over and chaining him to the pole. It was only his hands that were chained.

Then, Asura went up to him and inspected his body. Dirk had already lost his Infernia knife, but he still had a pocket ring on him. Asura took it off his finger, inspecting it.

"Just some supplies? Poor bastard."

"What, you actually thought I'd keep valuable items in that thing? How stupid are you?"

Dirk sneered at the man. When this was heard though, all the surrounding people who were still walking stopped. They all turned toward the platform.

From behind, the woman spoke.

"Watch your words, little boy. You think I was just sitting in your house doing nothing? Feast your eyes."

Suddenly, the woman waved her hand. In front of Dirk appeared some books. His eyes widened.

It was his mana and anima training manuals, along with the stolen books Garel had given him. The dwarf's book wasn't there since Dirk had returned it after some time, thankfully.

For a moment, Dirk panicked. They had a hold on books that were the key to his future advancement. But suddenly, he remembered his AI.

'I already got everything up until Tier and Rank 5. Thankfully I focused on analyzing those runes. Interface, I love you.'

Dirk smiled inwardly. Outwardly though, he was frowning. Asura finally smiled seeing his distress.

"That's right. I think I hold your future in my hands now. You want to advance? Think long and hard about whether you obey me or resist me. Let's not worry about that right now though. Deliha, go ahead and start."

"Alright!"

"Wait, Deliha?"

After the woman cheered with sinister intent, Dirk perked up in astonishment. This woman, she had the same name as the one who dumped Garel.

The woman clearly saw Dirk's astonishment and smiled.

"Recognize that name? I'm sure taking care of that depressed idiot was awfully exhausting. In the end though, I had to suffer for a year as that man begged like a dog just to take me to dinner! Ugh! He's as disgusting as his fashion sense! Still, he was at least a bit useful. A bit of information feeding, and not only did he steal some spell books, but I was able to take out the academy's alarm formations. What an idiot."

Deliha sneered as she recalled her manipulations. Dirk found himself enraged.

"You conniving bitch! Garel was a happy man before you!"

"Yea! A bit too happy for anyone's taste!"

"Deliha!"

Suddenly, Asura shouted. Deliha instantly went silent before bowing.

"I'm sorry, master."

"No more chatting. Give this stubborn child some physical education."

"Right away."

As Asura took the books, Deliha retreated behind Dirk. Looking around, Dirk could still see crowds of people silently watching him. In fact, it seemed like everyone in the vicinity had stopped to watch. It was eerie.

Asura smiled as he turned to the crowds.

"See this, child? They're all here to watch you suffer. This is law in this place. All peoples are to stop their activities and watch when someone is receiving physical education. This way, they remember why bowing their heads is the correct decision."

"Physical education? What are you, a clown? Just call it torture! No need to be stupid, dumbass!"

Dirk jeered at Asura, causing him to frown again. He turned and looked at Deliha behind Dirk.

"Deliha. Level 3."

"Of course."

With a nod, Deliha turned. On the back of the stone platform were 10 pedestals. Each one of them held a whip. At Asura's words, Deliha went to the third pedestal and grabbed the whip.

"Take his shirt off."

Asura spoke after Deliha brandished the whip. Dirk smiled again.

"Stripping me? At least take me to dinner first."

"Keep laughing while you can. You may never do so again."

Asura spoke simply before walking away. As he disappeared into the crowd, there was suddenly a crack.

*Slash!*

Suddenly, Dirk felt something tear at his back. It was the whip. And after it swiped across Dirk's skin, his pupils contracted.

"Ahhh!!!"

Dirk let out a low scream as his body was suddenly jolted with pain. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. No gunshot, stab, or broken bone could compare to the nerve rending pain this whip sent through him. The smile was immediately wiped off his face, and he fell to his knees.

Blood immediately streamed down and soaked his torn shirt. But there was no rest before another crack graced his ears.

*Whack!*

"Arghh!!"

*Crack!*

"Aghh!!"

Deliha had a bright smile as she swiped out with the whip several times in a row. Each time, Dirk felt mind numbing pain shoot through him. Obviously the whip was special, meant for delivering massive amounts of pain. Dirk already knew that dark magic could be infinitely more painful when used to wound people. But now, he was directly experiencing that for himself.

The whip had a leather tail on it that was equipped with dozens of small nails. These nails scraped and gouged his skin. Deliha didn't stop at his back either. Occasionally the whip would wrap around his body, slicing his abdomen, arms, or shoulders. He was mutilated by the whip that Deliha was more than happy to repay his snobby words with.

"What's wrong?! Why aren't you laughing anymore?! Where did those snide remarks go?!"

Deliha shouted in building rage as she continued to whip Dirk. He continued to cry out, the pain going so far as to pierce his mind. He already slumped down, his arms raised as they were chained to the pole.

Everyone in the town square watched with blank faces, except for the adults who were smiling. They had all heard Dirk's rebellious retorts, but all that was gone now. Now, he was only letting out horrible cries from the whip. It was a scene they had seen too many times as evidenced by the red stone dyed by the blood of countless others.

Only, this lesson in 'physical education' didn't continue for long. Eventually, Dirk's shirt was turned into nothing but scraps, revealing his entire upper body. This was what Asura meant by taking his shirt off.

And once his blood began to soak the stone underneath, Deliha finally stopped. She had already wounded him from their fight earlier, and she knew that she couldn't kill him. She was even surprised that Asura had told her to use the level 3 whip. But she was satisfied by the suffering she inflicted. For now at least. She would have to wait for her next opportunity.

After gazing at Dirk's collapsed body, she shouted.

"Hurry up and get this thing out of my sight! He needs to be completely fixed for the next time we do this!"

With her words, two men suddenly ran up and unchained Dirk. By his arms, they dragged him to another area in the cave.

After he disappeared, the surrounding people went back to what they were doing. Nobody spared a second glance at the stone platform.

...........

"Ugh..."

After an unknown amount of time, Dirk, who had passed out not long after the whipping, began to regain consciousness. He was currently on a stone bed just big enough for a body. It seemed this place had a twisted sense of what a hospital bed was supposed to be.

At first, Dirk wanted to pop right off of the stone bed, but he quickly found his body chained down by his wrists and ankles. He merely pulled on his wrists a bit, feeling the abnormal strength of the metal that held him. Obviously, normal metal couldn't be used to restrain body refiners.

With that, he didn't bother resisting. Instead, he turned inward.

'Interface. Status.'

[14 hours have passed.]

[Current bodily state: 94% healthy.]

[Minor internal injuries still present.]

[100% combat capable.]

Dirk watched as his AI assessed his injuries. Thinking for a moment, Dirk did indeed feel oddly well considering he was close to dying after the whipping.

'They must've healed me. Break me down, build me up, rinse and repeat. That's torture 101.'

Dirk sighed a bit. Still, he couldn't help but remember the mind tearing pain the whip caused. When he thought about it, he could feel his back sting. It was like phantom pain.

When this happened though, Dirk gritted his teeth.

'No. I will not be traumatized by them. Pain is nothing more than just pain. I can't show any weakness.'

He tried to harden his mind. At that time though, a man walked over. Dirk's face went blank as he saw him.

He looked like a doctor, but not a good one. Strapped to the fingers of his right hand were scalpels of various shapes and sizes. His clothes were covered in dried bloodstains, and on his eye looked like a magnifying monocle. His skin was wrinkly like a withered old man, and his left hand constantly shook oddly. Just looking at him, Dirk knew he was a psycho.

"Oh, you're awake. Ah, let me see your skin. That beautiful skin..."

When the man realized Dirk was awake, he hastily shuffled over. Dirk tried to retreat as his hand began to trace his arm and exposed chest.

"Hah... Huhuhu... Truly, I've never seen skin quite like this. Not even the girls have skin like yours. It's smooth and firm, so pleasing to touch."

"Get your hands off me."

As the man spoke dangerous words, Dirk let out a low growl. The man just ignored him though as he focused on Dirk's skin some more.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before someone suddenly walked into the room. It was a cloaked man, and he immediately laid eyes on Dirk.

"Fingers. I need the kid."

"Ah, pity, a pity. Do be sure to send him back quickly."

"I doubt it'll be long if he keeps the attitude."

The man snickered. At the same time, the doctor named Fingers walked off to another table where another body was unconscious. He was disturbed as Fingers began feeling the skin of a boy.

'A very good reason to never fall unconscious here ever again.'

Dirk made a silent vow as the man began to unchain him. First were Dirk's arms, and once both were freed, Dirk suddenly shot his hand out, grabbing the man's arms that went to grab a restraint.

After getting a hold on him, Dirk pulled with his full strength. Anima was burned as he twisted the man's arm. Or, when he tried to twist it.

"Hah! I was told you might struggle!"

The man smiled a bit after activating his own strength. Then, Dirk was overpowered as he was slammed into the stone bed.

*Cough!*

Dirk grit his teeth as he tasted blood in his mouth. However, he wasn't yet done.

Suddenly, a metallic spike surged from the ground. It slammed into the man's thigh, and this time, the man couldn't handle it so well.

"Agh!"

He grunted as the spike pierced into his thigh. After that, Dirk threw out a punch, his knuckles slamming into the man's jaw from below.

He went tumbling to the floor. With that, Dirk concentrated on the shackles around his ankles.

Feeling the metal mana within him, he filled the shackles. Then, using the knowledge he was taught while forging, he bent the metal using his mana.

*Creak!*

The metal barely warped after Dirk poured his energy into the mana. He felt a sharp pain pierce his head, but he ignored it as he pulled the shackles off his ankles.

Then, he looked at the man who was kneeled down with his pierced thigh. After bringing back his foot, he kicked out.

*Bam!*

His heel slammed into the man's nose, causing blood to spray. Dirk then jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. He didn't even spare a glance at the panicked doctor Fingers.

After exiting the room in nothing but shorts, he looked around. He had entered a tunnel with only one direction to go. Without hesitation he ran through, quickly coming upon the exit.

By the exit though were two cloaked guards. These two guards quickly noticed Dirk, but by that time, he had already taken the initiative.

He cast more magic, five metallic arrows appearing around him. These arrows hurled forth at the guards while he charged. They raised their own magic though, blocking all the arrows with wind and dark magic before pulling out knives.

Dirk jumped at one man just as he pulled his knife. He didn't dare to bet that they wouldn't stab him since they could heal him afterward anyway. So using more magic and his oppressive strength, he bombarded the man with swift fists.

Only, he quickly realized that the guard was much stronger than he thought. The guard didn't even flinch as Dirk drove his fist into his face.

"Hah! Weak!"

With a snicker, the guard threw his own punch. It was fast, and Dirk couldn't dodge it. The fist slammed into his side.

*Crack!*

Dirk was shocked as he felt two of his ribs break. He coughed out blood as the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

As if he didn't feel pain though, Dirk dodged the hand that was about to grab him, tumbling out of the tunnel. Then, he took off into a sprint, running into the central town.

Dirk looked around as he jumped on top of a building, the two guards right on his tail. He barely began to breathe again, but his face was apathetic as he scanned the surrounding terrain.

'Where would the exit to this place be? Maybe the portal?'

Thinking that, Dirk shot off into another direction. Dirk's AI rapidly created a map of the place from what he saw, so he was able to remember the location of the portal. The guards shouted as he used all his strength to run.

Dirk's body flew across and between buildings. He ran across walls, tumbled through tight holes, and scaled tall stone structures. He had the balance of a gymnast and the skill of a parkour expert. Like that, he was able to maintain distance from the two guards who didn't wish to cause too much damage to the surroundings just to catch him.

But they weren't his only enemies. As he ran through the town, all the cloaked adults walking around naturally saw him and heard the shouts of the guards. Since something interesting was happening, they didn't hesitate to join in the chase. Soon enough, Dirk had over a dozen cloaked assassins on his tail. He even got into scuffles, but he slipped through them quickly in order not to get surrounded.

Like that, he eventually ended up outside the door to the portal. With all his strength, Dirk rammed the door, blasting through.

When he did, he was shocked to see no portal of any kind. The only thing he saw was Deliha, and she was casually sitting on a chair in the middle of the empty room.

"Wow. He told me you would arrive here. Turns out you can be read like a book."

Deliha stood with a sneer. She then shot out her hand, her spiked chain hurtling toward Dirk.

He couldn't dodge, and the spike pierced into his shoulder. Dirk let out a groan when the spike seemed to sear his nerves, but he wasn't one to easily give up.

He ran backward with the spike inside his shoulder, casting all the spells he could to hurt Deliha. His free hand also grabbed the chain, and he went to pull it out.

But it was as if the spike was glued to his body. The only thing he felt was pain as he pulled harder and harder, and when he was yanked forward, he couldn't resist.

Deliha huffed as Dirk landed in front of her feet. She pulled the chain again, lifting him up. Then, she took out a knife and drove it into his stomach, brutally twisting it. When blood dripped onto her hand, she threw him away.

She chuckled as Dirk struggled to even breath.

"Really? Fighting when you know it's useless?"

*Rip!*

"Agh!!"

Dirk cried out a bit as the spiked chain tore out a chunk of his shoulder. She then walked over and grabbed his leg, dragging him out of the room.

When she exited, she saw a dozen cloaked men surrounding the doorway. Her gaze swept over them all.

"Hmph, useless! Couldn't even catch a child, huh?! Does that mean I should bring out the whips for all of you?! Fuck! Bring him to the platform!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The men all shouted before one of them ran over and grabbed Dirk. Then, he was quickly dragged to the stone platform before being chained up again. He kneeled as blood streamed down his stomach.

"20 lashes! Level 3!"

"Yes!"

When Deliha gave the command, one of the men grabbed the level 3 whip.

*Crack!*

The whip shot forth, creating red streaks on Dirk's back. He cried out as his body seemed to fail him.

Every single time the whip came down, Dirk's voice echoed out into the ears of everyone who stopped to watch. At some point though, Dirk let out a roar.

"Ahhh!!! Fuck you!! You can't break me!!"

He screamed, and when the next whip came down, he sealed his mouth shut. Grunts escaped between his gritted teeth, but he refused to let himself cry out like a child.

Still, the pain was horrific. When the 20th lash came down, Dirk had collapsed. His body was finished, especially after being blatantly stabbed by Deliha.

Deliha frowned.

"Take him to Fingers! Hurry up!"

"Yes!"

With her word, Dirk was dragged away like a corpse. Once he disappeared again, the surrounding people went on their way.

Meanwhile, Asura watched from above. With a huff, he turned away, going back to business.

"In time, you naive child."