Even after I sat down, he still continued silently eating his food. "Do you know why some people don’t use magic? Isn’t the whole point of this experiment of theirs to create strong mages?" I asked him. "Everyone has circles, most have 2. The amount that has more than is declining rapidly the higher it goes. Also, don’t ask me how many circles I have. I don’t feel like telling you." He responded coldly, as always. Instead of trying to get his circle number anyway, I asked: "How do you think my spars went?"

"Your sword fighting sucks." He then lectured me about why it sucked and how I needed to improve it. He finally finished, so I used the chance to say: "But I won both fights, and my magic was prett—"

"Sorry, time’s up. We gotta go back or we’re gonna get punished." He quickly got up and left. Not wanting to be disciplined either, I chewed down the rest of my meal and swiftly followed him. After everything he said, my performance appeared to be very much lacking, so I had to follow his advice and improve quickly. Since he didn’t critique my use of magic, it meant that at least some part of my combat abilities were decent.

I arrived just in time. After I also joined the line, Okada entered the room. He didn’t look at me, which was a good sign. Okada then proclaimed: "You have 1 hour of self study. Be sure to use the time to practice and don’t slack off or you will fall behind and get beaten in spars. Always remember at our organization only the useful survive."

It made no sense that an incompetent instructor like Okada could survive in this organization, if that really was their motto. Still, Self-study was ideal for me since he had fewer opportunities to bother me. I went over to the weapon display, quickly found the short sword I used earlier, and started implementing the advice I got. To my surprise, after a bit of practice, both my leg and sword movements had already started becoming more fluid.

He must have read many books about weaponry and how to use them to obtain his vast swordsmanship knowledge. However, even if he had outstanding study material, giving such excellent advice at his age was still an incredible feat.

Time flew by, and soon self-study was over, and I was told to follow everyone to the sleeping quarters. The cell I woke up in was only a temporary accommodation until the slave magic was applied. Our actual sleeping quarters were located in a long hall. Luckily everyone had a room for themself, so I shouldn’t have to worry much about being attacked in my sleep. Although that possibility still wasn’t zero when I had a room for myself.

After everyone entered their rooms, all the rooms got locked. Maybe the Slave magic wasn’t perfect, or they had another reason. The room was surprisingly good. It had a bed, a small bath, and a nightstand with a change of cloth on it, one for sleeping and one for the next day. This room also had lighting crystals and the usual air shafts for ventilation. The door was made of metal and had barred windows, like the prison door in the room I woke up in.

It was a stressful day, but I figured out most of the essential answers. For now, staying here was my only option. To escape, I needed to figure out this building’s structure and how the slave magic worked.

But escaping didn’t seem like a good option for now, since it would be hard to find food outside. However, if there was a forest nearby or something akin to where I could hunt animals, I could probably get by. For now, I will focus on getting stronger and figuring out the intentions of the Bloody Crows. Tomorrow I also need to ask 7659 if he has any relatives outside or knows someone that can give us shelter. I also should exchange names with him to get closer. My eyes were getting heavier, but I still had one thing left to do.

I wanted to try the method to increase one’s life force capabilities Higa told me about. After closing my eyes, I started meditating and converting life force to mana and back until the exhaustion started feeling dangerous. This should be good enough for now, I thought. I laid down on my bed and was fast asleep only a few seconds later.

I got woken by a loud constant ringing. This appeared to be their version of an alarm clock. When I got up, most others were already standing, ready to go. After a few minutes, the cells were unlocked, and everyone went towards the dining hall. I got my food and took the usual seat next to my partner and straight-up asked him: "Since we're partners, how about we exchange names? My name is Ken Suehiro. What is yours?"

"What importance does my name have that would justify telling you?" He responded coldly, as usual. Quickly I tried to persuade him: "Come on, we’re partners, right? So far, I have been leaching off you, but I will pay you back once an opportunity presents itself. I also promise not to use your name when others can hear it. Also, there might come a time when one of us has to leave this facility separately. At that point, it would be significantly easier to track each other down with our real name."

"Your reasoning doesn’t sound convincing, and I don’t think I want to work with you if I manage to escape. But I fear you won’t stop bothering me if I don’t tell you. My name is Higa Tessai." After his unenthusiastic response, I gave him my best smile and said: "Glad you understand, Higa. You mentioned escaping. Do you already have a plan?"

"Unfortunately, I don’t. It’s almost impossible to escape, anyway. From what I could figure out, there are 6 underground floors. We are on the 4th, and in the time I have been here, we weren’t allowed to go any higher. That means if you wanted to escape, you would have no way of knowing what the security is like on the higher floor.

Even if we escaped successfully, we likely wouldn’t know where we are. In the worst case, we might even be on an island. Disregarding all those obstacles, there is still the Slave seal. It allows the owner to know the target’s location, and you can control your target by giving them an order. This requires the master to be close so we wouldn’t be affected if we got away safely. However, no matter how far away we are, you can still inflict a bunch of pain or, with enough time, even kill the enslaved person."

"You really know everything there is to know about slave seals. Maybe you can even help me find take advantage of the slave magic that was used on me. It's not the usual kind, but something newly developed by the man they call Father Crow. It might even fall into the unique category. I know you’re pretty knowledgeable. Maybe you can figure out a weakness. Since he used his mana directly, it might become possible to abuse it to influence the normal seal. He is their leader, so he should have the highest authority over slaves."

"If he is powerful enough to achieve magic classified in the unique category, the chance of a flaw is near zero. However, it’s more likely that he modified the existing slave magic. Modifying it is still an incredible feat but not even close, as difficult as creating a new version. It would also not be considered unique. But I must say you got me interested. Do you remember the exact spot where he injected magic into you to create the seal?"

"I do. It was at my chest. The exact spot should be roughly about here close to my heart." I responded quickly. "Get as much mana as possible close to that spot. You should feel something similar to a magic circle there. This is the slave seal. Use the mana and try to flow through it just like you did when converting life force through a magic circle. Once you do, your mana will get pushed back, but if you’re strong enough, you might successfully push a bit of foreign mana through. At that point, instantly let me know, and I will try to absorb some of that mana.

This is a pretty unknown technique. My father used to treat patients with mana-related diseases. However, if at any points something odd occurs, stop what you're doing and tell me about it. If he really created his original slave magic, this method will probably fail."

"Wasn’t he a librarian?" I inquired.

"He was, but on the side, he also did a lot of experiments and helped people in need." This talent of his father probably got him killed by people who he refused to work for or others who saw him as a nuisance. It also explained Higa’s vast skills and knowledge. He inherited his father’s intelligence and learned a lot from him. Without prying further, I said: "I’m going to do it now and close my right eye if I succeed."

"Good luck." He said before placing his hand on my chest. I closed my eyes, focused, and started gathering life force at the magic circle near my heart and began transforming it into mana until I had lots. Then I moved it around and quickly discovered what Higa was talking about.

It really felt similar to a magic circle, but also completely different. I focused all my mana into a triangle above the seal, pointing at it. Then crashed it into the obstacle with full force. The mana that got close instantly started getting pushed back, but I kept on pressing.

My life force stopped flowing, and I felt like I was suffocating, but I would not give up easily. Then finally, a drop of mana got through. Instantly, I closed my right eye, giving him the signal. It felt like my very essence was being sucked out of me, but shortly after, he was done.