Chapter 2: My Current Situation

Chapter 2: My Current Situation

Ten days had passed since I was born. During those ten days, I had a rough understanding of the environment I was in by eavesdropping on conversations between the old man who was my trainer and the young master who visited to check on me. To put it simply, it seemed that I was in grave danger, and ignorance would have been bliss.

Firstly, my situation was that I had to obey the orders of the young master and the old man, or I would face unbearable pain. Although there was no problem with following their commands silently, I could not help but feel the lack of freedom. I knew what I would be forced to do in the future, which made me feel depressed.

Next, as for my location, it seemed to be a facility located in the basement of a mansion owned by a marquis from an unknown kingdom. I did not know the exact name or geography of the kingdom, as they never discussed such matters while tending to their insects.

The young master was the heir apparent to the marquis and had apparently been given this facility by his father. The purpose of this facility was to raise battle beasts to participate in the popular entertainment of the kingdom, the “Battle Beast Tournament.”

Firstly, what was the “Battle Beast Tournament “? It was a spectacle where individuals or groups pitted living creatures against each other. These beasts, known as “fighting beasts,” fought to the death in an arena surrounded by a large audience.

There were many ways to obtain fighting beasts. One could hire people to capture wild creatures or raise them from scratch. If the former, one had to hire individuals who could capture powerful creatures. If the latter, one has to hire skilled trainers. Regardless of the method, connections and money were necessary to obtain fighting beasts.

As a result, those who could obtain fighting beasts were limited to the upper class. This included royalty, nobles, wealthy merchants, and other affluent organizations. Owning fighting beasts was a given for these people, and having strong fighting beasts was a source of pride.

In other words, I was being raised by the young master for the sole purpose of showing off to others... Oh, how I longed to escape. But it was impossible.

By the way, the “Battle Beast Tournament” allowed commoners to spectate and even gamble. It was perhaps one of the few sources of entertainment for the common people. The profits were enormous, and if one won, the profits exceeded the cost of the bet. Some nobles even raised their status through the profits they gained there. However, there were likely many who suffered great losses and ruin behind the scenes.

Although it may have seemed like a lengthy introduction, the fact was that they were breeding me to be a battle beast for the “Battle Beast Tournament” to fight and kill each other. As someone who could not go against orders, there was no choice but to fight. It was the worst possible environment for someone like me who had a mission to live for a hundred years. Oh, I don’t want to die.

However, the box I was in at the time was not bad. I was born in the same box, so to speak, as my siblings, who were all killed. After that, I was placed in a different box. I was transported with tweezers to a large box with sand on the ground and dried trees and large stones placed around.

It must have been a reproduction of the environment where I used to live. The living conditions were very good. Especially when I was buried in the sand under the shade of a rock, I felt very calm.

“I see, I see. So the wounds heal through molting after all. As expected of an assassin of the desert, the dark emperor scorpion. What impressive recovery ability.”

Although I was in terrible shape, by the morning of today, I had made a complete recovery. There was only one reason for that: I had molted. My entire body had become itchy and tingly, and then the surface of my body cracked with a popping sound.

As I moved my body, the cracks grew larger, and I slipped out of my old skin without making a sound. Surprisingly, my new body had also regenerated my lost pincers and broken venomous stinger. I don’t know how many days it takes to molt, but the fact that every time I do, even my missing parts are regenerated... My species, the dark emperor scorpion, seems to be an incredible creature.

“In that case, let’s start full-scale training from today onward,” the old man declared.

“Kii!?” I exclaimed in surprise.

While experiencing the intense pain, it seemed that the old man’s “training” was starting to show results. I began to feel the power similar to the electric shock released from the old man’s staff and the forcefully extracted power by the ritual inside my body. If I could control it, maybe I could escape from this suffering?

While I had heard the terms “spiritual power” and “fighting spirit” and had knowledge of them, I had no idea how to use them. But if there was a chance to escape this pain, I knew I had to try tapping into unknown powers. I forcefully pulled out a power from within me, similar to an electric shock. Suddenly, my scissors and tail segments began to glow with a golden-red hue, and a wall of sand appeared to shield me from the electric shock.

“Ho! To think that you would awaken spiritual arts on your first day! Truly, you are a chosen being! And I am the one who saw through it! Kukukukuku!” exclaimed the old man.

His excitement was evident from his widened nostrils and flushed cheeks. He continued to watch me without lessening the electrical shock. And as for me, I had no joy in this situation, but I couldn’t do anything about it since I was barely able to defend against the shock using my newfound powers.

“It appears you have an affinity for earth....or was it sand? Well, it appears you have an affinity for both earth and wind, judging from the sand that appeared. And from the shining spiritual arts, you may also have an affinity for fire. To have three different aptitudes... Kukukuku, any ordinary mage would surely be envious,” the old man said.

The old man was closely observing my spiritual art, carefully discerning its nature. Compared to me, who was desperately struggling, the old man seemed to have plenty of room to observe. The difference between us was clear. It was frustrating, but I suppose it’s more of a feat that I am even able to defend against him. After all, it was impossible for a 10-day-old insect to win against a Furu race.

I was squeezing my spiritual power to maintain the wall, but the old man’s electric shock was gradually getting stronger. He must be testing the limits of my power. I was enduring it out of sheer willpower to defend to the very limit, not because I didn’t want to experience the pain.

“The output of your spiritual power is about the same as that of an apprentice mage... for a newborn, this is impressive enough to be called a genius. You really are a promising one!”

However, even my willpower had its limits. The old man suddenly increased the power of his electric shock and pierced through the sand wall in one breath. The shock, unlike anything before, ran through my body, and I ended up convulsing. It’s a miracle that I haven’t lost consciousness.

“I’m going to die if things continue like this!” I strained my last bit of strength and attempted to heal myself using the other power I felt earlier—fighting spirit. Though the pain in my body seemed to ease a little, it was nothing compared to the pain I felt inside my exoskeleton.

“Hmm? You’ve learned fighting spirit too... then there’s no need for healing spirtual art. From tomorrow on, we’ll focus on building up your body and various resistances. Kukuku, it’s going to get busy!” muttered the old man to himself as he picked me up with a pair of tweezers and placed me back into the incubating box.

I tried to move my jointed legs to head under the stone, which served as my sleeping spot, but my body, injured by the electric shock, didn’t move well.

I moved my legs and pincers with all my strength, dragging my body towards the stone, and the old man placed something in front of me. It was a meatball mixed with black powder. The flesh, moist and red, looked fresh and delicious through my compound eyes. Scorpions generally don’t eat much, but my instincts were whispering to me to eat this meatball, perhaps to heal my wounded body.

With trembling pincers, I shredded the surface of the meatball and brought it to my mouth to chew. Although I could hardly taste anything, I felt a warm sensation spreading through my body as my stomach began to fill.

“How about it? What do you think of the meatball with powdered crystallized bloodstone from a sinner? Despite being a sinner, he was known as a skilled mage during his time on this earthly plane. Therefore, the spiritual power that had dissolved in his blood was abundant. Did your spiritual power start to recover?”

...Come to think of it, I did feel like my depleted spiritual power was gradually replenishing. It must have been thanks to the bloodstone the old man mentioned. It was a complicated feeling to be eating nutritious food prepared by the very person who had left me in tatters.

However, to survive, I needed to eat properly and heal my wounds. With a determination not to die until I fulfilled my mission, I continued to devour the meatball in front of me.