“Huh. You have some brain, even though a slower one,” he smirked. “Yes. Strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom and charisma. Those are basic attributes of any sapient being. There are some hidden ones too. I don’t know why the gods decided it this way…” Sou’Rek contemplated.

“So, how does the choker work?” Vladimir asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Meddling with it makes it explode. So, if you want to try, please do it somewhere else,” the fallen inquisitor said with a sneer.

“Please, do not blow up my home,” Loony squeaked.

“... If you play nice…” Vladimir grinned.

“Okay, do blow up your head, if you want!” He called Vlad’s bluff.

“...” Vladimir ignored him.

The wall opened and the two prisoners went to the opposite wall, raising their arms. A slave-goblin tossed a bowl of mashed goblin meat and potatoes and a canteen on the table without a word and left.

“Half-half?” The ever-hungry goblin inquired with ravenous eyes.

Vladimir nodded and divided it, him taking the bowl back to the sleeping slab. The food didn’t taste that bad, not too different from pork and potatoes back on Earth. He checked the time for the breathing technique and when he could practice another cycle.

“Oh… I have to do another cycle. Please, do not bother me,” Vladimir said to the goblin and swallowed the rest. The goblin observed him closely as he himself never actually did this. When he was chosen by the God of Steam, he never had time to train properly. Only finished missions from the Steam Church in exchange for power and knowledge.

Then he arranged his body in the middle of the cell according to the all-powerful Encyclopaedia and started breathing.

After the cycle, he was covered in filthy, stinky liquid again. He looked at the half-empty canteen, seriously contemplating if he should use it to clean himself.

However, before he could, the wall opened again and a different slave-goblin put a water bucket before him, gawking on him, waiting. Vladimir hastily washed up above the toilet hole. The slave-goblin took the empty bucket and left.

“That was odd. Either they forgot the first time, or they spy on you. I would say magic! Magic is awesome,” Loony melted upon the possibility of seeing another spell.

“That could be bad, especially with the refined technique… I will need to test, and maybe Sou’Rek would know something,” he thought to himself. “Sou’Rek, do they observe us through magic?”

“... I take it back. You are still an idiot…” Sou’Rek deadpanned.

“So, no?” Vlad wanted the confirmation.

“Of course not… Divination magic is extremely rare. Besides, no wizard would ever waste magic on us, human,” the goblin derisively said, sneering.

Vladimir ignored the jab and closed his mind. Meditation session awaaay! Before he set up a notice to do another cycle.

⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬

[Resistance: Serum gained a level]

Vladimir laid on the steel table in the Ssirze’s laboratory again. The White Bastard just cut open his chest and forced him to watch. Strangely, it did not drive him insane as the sessions with the green menace.

Vlad decided to continue in the already established name-calling, but only in his mind as he did not want to be punished.

Sometimes, he wondered how he is not crazy, but realized that it’s probably thanks to the mental disorder resistance. I guess seeing himself being vivisected counted only as an E-grade or lower threat. He could train it more by giving himself into even more mentally strenuous situations, with Encyclopaedia ability to seal memories… Vladimir was coming up with new ways to train and gain power so he would not think about what was happening to him at the moment.

“Hmm, interesting. Your heart is smaller and lungs less effective. Overall, your body had to evolve in lower gravity,” the devil contemplated while he was holding Vladimir’s heart in one hand and a left lung in the right. “So tell me about your world,” he continued.

Vladimir heard a scratching noise as a better-clothed goblin, wearing a small, dirty lab coat and sitting behind a small metallic table, took notes.

The truth serum forced him to spill a lot of things, mostly about general situations, people living there, leadership, society. He divulged even a few secrets…

He hoped that these monsters would never find a way to his home.

“What goes one way, can go another, knighty-boy! And those wizards can travel between dimensions, planes, or whatever you want to call it… Hehe, could be fun. Imagine, Earth overrun by these savages! Heh, kinda reminds me of that old game… what was it… Oh, yea, Doom! Rip and tear, baby!” Loony maniacally laughed while making chainsaw noises.

“Heh, hehehe, HAHAHA!” Vladimir broke. Now he went insane.

“Oh, now you are fun!” Loony happily uttered.

[You went insane]

[Resistance: Mental disorder gained a level]

“Haaah, again?” The Book-Finder sighed and took a vial. He forced the insane man to drink it and the poor man went limp, however, still conscious.

“Where were we? Ah, yes, the stomach,” he returned the innards back and poured another vial on them. They mended with the surrounding flesh as if they were not just on the trip.

⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬

Vladimir woke up back in his cell. The first thing he checked himself if everything was where it was supposed to be. He sighed in relief and looked around. The goblin was sitting on the table, silently observing him.

“You know, if you are going to go insane every time, you will put me out of my job,” Loony complained.

“What happened?” Vladimir asked, his memories gone again.

“You went completely batshit crazy, that’s what happened. Luckily, even though I am me, I am still you, so I locked the memories away,” he responded.

“How?” A dread-filled Vladimir as he thought Loony could access Onyx.

“Heh, do you know what DID is, right? I am you, technically. And don’t worry, I cannot access your precious system. I am literally living in your head. I can do anything I want, especially when you are not… sane at the moment,” Loony explained.

Vladimir shuddered. He checked the logs and the most important one was blinking.

[Orcen basic breathing technique refinement completed. Please name it.]

“Great Super Atomic Super-BREATH! And do not forget those upper-cases,” Loony said.

[Name acc…]

“Declined!” Vlad stopped the system. ¨You have two super. Human basic breathing technique,” he ignored him and went with the classic.

“Spoilsport,” Loony pouted.

[Obb technique adjusted: Human basic breathing technique {Hbb technique}

This breathing technique refines Essence and converts it into attributes. As it is still in your body, mind and soul you do not lose it during refinement.

Adjusted for human physiology, increasing in effect for the race.

Increasing CAC, NSS and ISS by 0.05 per two cycles.

One cycle can be repeated every 35 minutes

Damage to the body is eliminated.

Works for attributes below 10.]

“Hmm, what damage now?” Both exclaimed.

[Analysis complete: Due to incompatibility between you and the origin of the Obb technique, you were accumulating hidden wounds. These were suppressed by the devil Ssirze’s healing, but would kill you in ten days.]

“Oh… Damn. Dodged a bullet here,” Vladimir deeply exhaled in relief.

“So, are you done?” The goblin suddenly asked in a neutral tone.

“Yes and I am hungry,” Vladimir replied.

“Here you go,” Sou’Rek handed him a half-eaten bowl.

“Looks like you helped yourself, already,” of course Vladimir noticed.

“Problem?”

“No,” the human said with a full-mouth. The meal was again the same as the past few days.

⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬⌬

During the past week, Vladimir settled into the routine. Eating, training, lab sessions with the White Bastard, whose interest slowly but visibly fading, training, eating and then exhausted sleeping. He was always so broken and tired, he did not even dream.

On the other hand, the rigorous training elevated his skills in combat to new heights and got almost twice as powerful as a peak human back on the Earth in attributes, only with a week of training. Not to count the passives.

Vladimir D. Svoboda

Age: 229

Race: Homo Sapiens Sapiens - Earth origin

Level: 1

Essence: 12.00%

VIT Vitality: 5.60 (decreasing by 0.09 per day) / 11.00

CAC Cell Activity: 1.10 / 1.50

ISS Immune System Strength: 1.00 / 1.50

NSS Nervous System Speed: 1.05 / 1.50

MPA Mental Processing Ability: 2.00

Ailments:

Dissociative identity disorder (mind)

Pancreatic cancer (4th stage - 123 days left) (body)

Magic-less (body/soul)

Perks:

Centennial Genius

Unknown origin

System Modules:

Enhanced Evolutionary System

Analyser — basic sense-grade

Encased Soul

Encyclopaedia

Skill List:

Weapon Mastery:

Unarmed - Beginner

1-H Bladed - Beginner

1-H Firearms - Beginner

Science:

Energy transmission - Adept

Space - Beginner

Energy:

Meditation - Beginner

Focus (Meditation sub-skill) - Beginner

Resistances:

Serum F7 10,04%

Cutting Trauma F10 99,99%

Blunt Trauma F10 99,99%

Mental Disorder E8 21,10%

Of course, it did not go without some repercussions. Lar’Ako gained even more interest in him as he showed a limited potential to be a gladiator, and it seems he had even less time left thanks to the goddamn, fucking, piece of shit cancer. Why did nobody tell him that increasing cell activity in your body would lead to increased activity of cancerous cells? In hindsight, he should have realized it. The profanities Loony uttered when they noticed it were something unwritable.

Another important thing happened several times a week: Vladimir and Sou’Rek were contacted by goblin revolutionaries. From time to time, they smuggled more food and water for them.

Sou’Rek did not know if he should be angry or happy. A new leader, chosen by Staumaz, raised to the top and according to the reports they had a mission to save him. For what reason, Sou’Rek could not care. He was sure that his second death was coming soon.

In the past week, the human and the goblin became fairly close. Not enough to be friends, as Vladimir still didn’t fully trust him yet, but easily acquaintances in misery. There was an elementary trust between them, as they shared food and boredom. Vladimir knew how to make Sou'Rek trust him: Adjust the orcen breathing technique to goblin physiology. The problem was he would have to very closely examine the goblin’s body.

Vladimir taught him chess and the goblin liked the game quite a lot. Sou’Rek even started to sculpt pieces with Vladimir’s guidance while they played only with memory and fantasy. The goblin learned extremely quickly and was able to defeat Vladimir, to his dismay and Loony's immense amusement, 3 times out of 10 games. Loony and Vladimir took a bet that In another week it will be 5 games out of 10.

Vladimir learned quite a lot about this world too. The city, named Koul’E, was the capital of the Grand Orcen Empire. And so on and so on. The most important piece was that to reach a human city in the east, he would have to either go through immense wilderness, Blood Steppes, an ancient battlefield and demilitarized zone between orcs and humans, filled with powerful beings, bandits, wild goblins, beasts and many more or set sail over the Whispering Sea, which was even more dangerous. Near the city was located a large harbour and shipyard, that was used by mercenaries and lizardman pirates, who were happily raiding human empire outposts and settlements on the islands.

The orcette matron invited him two more times. He always ended up broken and Loony sane. Needless to say, none of them appreciated it. Fortunately, the matron lost interest in the last session, where they forced him to do something he can’t remember and he has done something he can’t remember. The memories were safely locked away, with keys locked in another mentally created maze, guarded by beings of terrible power. Strangely, they had the shapes of a certain, extremely fat female orc. Both have agreed that certain things are worse than death and never spoke of it again.

During their last game of chess, they were interrupted by madame Lar'Ako with two guard-goblins. Sou’Rek jumped up and went to the wall, but was stopped.

“Traitor, today you will train with the human. There is an opening on schedule tomorrow Kulgar needs to fill and both of you are perfect substitutes. Human filth and a traitor fighting together. The crowd will love that,” she sneered. “So move your skinny asses to the training room! MOVE!” The gladiator trainer yelled like a drill sergeant.

They were forced to sprint there, while a whip was cracking behind them.

“Is this normal for her?” The fallen inquisitor asks.

“No, normally she would already hit me to make me bleed,” Vladimir answers while frowning.

“Oh… Heh, I guess she doesn’t want to weaken her trainee,” Sou’Rek grinned.

“Uh huh. Well, she takes great pride in her work. And frankly, I must say, her method works. Only in a week, I got much stronger. Actually…” his unforeseen appreciation was interrupted by a loud crack and a warm feeling on his back.

“Less chatting, ladies, and more running!” She ordered them. A whip crack underlined the command strongly enough for them to not loiter around.

In a moment, they went inside the training room, with three orcs and one orcette clad in Roman-like gladiator armour right behind the doors. Each of them were holding three metres long tridents fully smithed from a new type of alloy.

Vladimir abruptly stopped as he rammed headfirst into the nearest orc’s back.

The green, beefy orc turned and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him like a chicken. Vladimir tried to resist but still could not budge him. So, he could only hang up there.

“Well, I see you know each other already! Aww, young love…” Lar’Ako teased.

The orc grunted and threw two metres back. He almost hit the goblin but he dodged the falling body with ease.

“Heh,” Sou’Rek snickered.