The stench of burnt and rotten flesh filled the room, yet it hasn't fazed him at all. His hands occupied with observing the corpse on the bed he acquired not long ago. Surgical tools of all sorts lined up on the table next to him, making his work all the easier, some for precise and delicate cutting, others crude and fit for more harsh jobs.

Taking a scalpel-like instrument with the blade of the tool, giving a jade glow to it. His hands pierce the jugular notch (frontal base of the neck) and skillfully moves in a straight vertical line to the lower end of the abdomen, only cutting the skin, then another horizontal cut lining with the clavicle (collarbone), and also creating another line at the lower end of the abdomen forming what resembles a sideways H.

After peeling the skin, another vertical cut across the ribcage was made, then he returns the scalpel only to grab a slightly bent shaft with many blades on the concave side, placing it in the gap that was made by the scalpel. Sargon touches both ends of the pole, and steadily a stream of mana goes through it, and as a reaction, the poll expands slowly, bending the ribcage till it formed a hollow ring exposing the lungs and heart.

The steel door to his right opens, and Zol enters the room, seemingly unfazed by the smell nor the sight as if he had witnessed it so many times that his body became numb to it. "Oh, Zol. Right on time. I'm mostly done here. You can bring and prepare the next subject for surgery." Sargon said with a slightly muffled voice due to the gasmask-like cover on his face. "The boy defeated the test subject and is currently in the infirmary," Zol said. Sargon paused before looking at Zol. "He defeated it?" the warden asked only to receive a nod for confirmation.

"Bring the boy," Sargon said with a serious voice. "Miss Kimara refuses to give him to the guards due to the boy's injuries," The guard said, "that girl is becoming more troublesome every time we cross paths. If it weren't for her father's orders, I would have sent her back long ago... It doesn't matter," Sargon strolled to a cabinet filled with glass jars, each jar containing a black and glowing purple liquid. He picked one of the jars and went back to the open chested corpse.

After opening the jar's lid, Sargon pours a small portion of the liquid on the exposed heart. The liquid seeps in the heart, which in turn starts beating, giving a purple eery glow in its veins. "That boy might prove more useful later on" Sargon said with a terrifying grin hidden behind his mask.

You have learned the ability -Tough skin- Active: your skin becomes as tough as steel for a duration of 5 seconds You have learned the ability -Claws- Active: your nails transform, becoming as long and as sharp as beasts' for 5 seconds. You have learned the ability -Neurotoxic- Active: Neurotoxins cover your body, making your touch deadly for a duration of 7 seconds. You have learned the ability -Exoskeleton- Toggle: A hard shell-like armor covers your entire body blocking 1800 incoming damage till it is broken or toggled off. Terror gaze - Lvl 1 Active: Your gaze induces unimaginable fear in the heart of 1 target for 2 seconds. Mana sense - Lvl 1 Active: The mana stream surrounding you in a radius of 10 meters becomes slightly visible. Meditate - Lvl 1

Active: You absorb some of the surrounding mana restoring health, mana, and stamina 10% faster.

Passive: You temporarily gain a 10% boost in all stats while -Meditate- is active.

"-I think I just became OP-" Damian thought, after devouring a few items from his inventory that consisted of, Goblin bones, a Rabbit horn, Poisonous frog, Silver beetle shell, which apparently thanks to the -Devour- ability tasted like the best meal he ever tasted. "-this -Devour- ability is really something else, but I'm more interested in this -Meditate-, I think grinding this one is going to benefit me as well, I should give it a shot-" Damian gets up from the bed closing his eyes, "-ok let's go slow first, -Mana sense-"

The gray stream of mana slowly emerges before him, steadily filling the room as if submerged in a river current. As it comes in contact with the surrounding objects, its color changes but only enough for Damian to notice. After the mana passes through an object it reverts back to a ghostly hue. Small drops come in contact with the boy fading into his body changing to either blue or purple "-Interesting..and also creepy, ok now for the next step-" Damian thought as he activates -Meditate-.

Suddenly, a sense of calm fills his mind. Everything seems clear. Damian discovered that his body is now attracting more mana drops, sucking them in, to course through his body till it reaches the middle of his chest, where his body shined the brightest as it pulsed, giving the boy a refreshing sensation with every bit of mana absorbed. "-so far so good, now the real test-" Damian thought before uttering the word -Pyrokinesis-.

The glowing purple sphere in the boy's chest changed color to orange, gradually expanding till it covered him entirely, flooding his body with warmth, "-not enough, let's give it a little twist-" Damian raises his right hand, willing the mana to flow only to his palm causing it to glow brighter producing heat from it, "-now we're talking, but right now it doesn't even come close to a lighter, I need to grind it some more if I want to make good use of it-"

The infirmary door opened, and a female carrying a plate of vials walks in. Kimara squeaks as she sees the boy standing in the room, losing her balance, slipping and dropping what she held in her hands. Damian rushes towards her on reflex, grabbing the plate with his right hand while supporting Kimara's body with his left arm wrapping around her waist.

"-...I couldn't just let her fall, but somehow I think I might have made the situation worse-" Damian thought when he saw a terrified yet blushing expression on the female elf's face. "please do not hurt me. I just work here, and I will not tell a soul that you are escaping, not a soul. I swear on my life that I possess nothing of value. Just let me live, please!!" Kimara squealed with a single breath while shivering like a leaf on his arm, not daring to resist.

"-yup worse-" Damian thought to himself as he sighed before opening his mouth, "relax I'm not trying to hurt you, now tell me, are you hurt anywhere?" a moment of awkwardness settled in before Kimara's face reddened as her brain finally understood the embarrassment she put herself into. "I-I-I am perfectly fine!" the elf said with an annoyed voice as she removed herself from Damian's arm, taking the plate and resting it on the table.

The silent atmosphere remained for about a minute while Kimara shuffled the vials mixing their contents in a black round pot. Damian's eyes gazed on her the entire time, observing her. The elf wore a gray dress with sleeves rolled up just enough to cover the elbows and a skirt that barely shows above the ankles. A white apron with a green ring symbol on its chest caressed Kimara's attire.

Her figure underneath the white and gray uniform wasn't quite what Damian was used to since most of the elves he saw here and in the games were model figures, but Kimara was slightly on the plus size, a little extra weight here and there but all in the right places. Brown hair wrapped in a thick braid falling to the end of her waist with the addition of her baby face, almost pink skin, and pointy ears, adorable in a way.

Suddenly Kimara turns to Damian with a confused expression. "wait, how are you even up so soon? you should not be awake, let alone walk around." she asked with narrowed eyebrows. "um..well, I heal fast?" Damian responded, "I can't say I met many humans. Still, you healed faster than most of the elves I know of, and as long as it helps, all is well, but you should still rest some more just in case." Kimara said as she walked to a cabinet, picking up some more vials.

Something in her words raised a question in the boy's head "um...Can I ask you something?" Damian spoke hesitantly, "yes?" Kimara responded while semi-focused on mixing potions in the black pot. "Ever since I left my home, most of the elves that I met looked at me with disdain or wanted me dead, even though I haven't done anything to them. Well, it's not like I have met other races, for that matter. Why do elves hate humans to this extent?" as Damian finished his question, he noticed Kimara look at him suspiciously.

"...Did your parents not tell you about Kingslayer?" Kimara asked with narrowed brows. "W-Well, I was born in the woods, so we were disconnected from the outer world... um, so what's a Kingslayer?" Damian spoke, hoping to distract the female elf. "Oh, that explains the odd way you speak, amongst other things. Well, you should sit down. This might take a while"

Damian rested on the bed while Kimara pulled a stool and sat facing him before speaking, "Long ago, the great four races were at war with each other that lasted thousands of years, but all of that changed after witnessing terror at the hands of the Demon King and his armies, The races formed a truce in an effort to put an end to the Demon hordes.

The Great war lasted almost a decade, precious souls were lost, sickness plagued the lands, but fortunately, the races finally bonded and slain the Demon king forcing his armies back into the Under Realm. The land flourished once more, and the races united. It is true skirmishes fumed here and there, but thankfully no war erupted. Peace lasted enough for new cities to be built and families to grow, yet it did not last.

One night the Elven-king's castle erupted with echoes and screams, suddenly the Elven-king's youngest son ran out covered in cuts and bruises, pleading for guards to save his family when the guards out of the castle managed to enter, they found bodies of both nobles and guards disfigured and dismantled all around the castle, hysterical laughter was heard leading to the throne room. When the guards reached the king's throne room, which only the king is allowed to enter, they were all shocked to the core.

The throne room doors were wide open. The tree of life, which is the source of the elves' immortality, was cut down. The Glass lake that feeds the tree and gives it power, soiled in blood. The Elven-king sitting on the tree throne headless, and a human drenched in blood carrying the King's head in his arms, but that was not all there is to the story.

That person was a noble and a war hero. Also, he was supposed to be amongst the Elven-king's most trusted friends. When the guards tried to apprehend the Kingslayer, he opened what they described as a portal and vanished, never to be heard from again. News traveled fast, and even though the truce still exists in public, in the shadows, the elves were treated like maggots for a long time till the king's remaining son took over the throne."

After Kimara finished her story, Damian had a little more understanding of why all these elves bared grudges against him. Even though he had nothing to do with all this, to them, he was nothing more than another human. "Do you hate me too?" he asked while Kimara was staring at a potion in her hand with a somewhat indifferent face. "I did have some bad experiences relating some humans, but I also believe that not all of them are evil, and no, I do not hate you, Damian, I'm just wary".

a sudden knock on the door alerted both of them, and a guard came in to see the boy was alive and well. "have you not learned to knock?" Kimara hissed before standing up. "It seems the boy is well. Then I shall take him to join the rest of the prisoners" the guard issued as he signaled Damian to follow. "Fine, he can leave. And Damian, try not to get killed" Kimara sighed as she returned to mixing her potions.

After strolling behind the guard through long corridors, the boy found himself in a mess hall similar to the one in the post where he was captured yet larger. Piercing gazes of the other inmates tingle his -Wild sense- as one thought crossed his mind forcing a well-hidden smirk to appear on his face "-here we go again-".