Chapter 38: Unveiling

Chapter 38: Unveiling

Subsequently, I remained in the confinement room for some time. Nevertheless, my days were mostly spent sitting calmly, which proved to be quite a peaceful experience. Occasionally, Orvo would enter and utilize his spiritual arts to gauge my responses, although he never employed the same painful arts as Georg did. Orvo wasn’t a kind person, but he might have been relatively gentle with his research subjects.

The only painful thing was the blood collection that was done once a day. But even that was tolerable, and from the second day onwards, my skin didn’t harden by itself anymore at the touch of the syringe. Orvo praised my “high learning ability” when he saw that. From that day on, I felt like the amount of food I was given had slightly increased.

When Orvo wasn’t around, I voluntarily trained and ate the food that Mika brought. The days were calmer than I had imagined. I wished this peaceful life could continue forever, but I knew that was absolutely impossible.

“Mika, please.”

“Understood.”

Suddenly, the peaceful days came to an abrupt end. Without doing his usual research, Orvo brought Mika to take me away. Mika effortlessly lifted the restraining chair I was sitting on and followed Orvo as he led the way. Ahead of us was a carriage.

After Mika secured the chair I was sitting on in the cage on the back of the carriage with a clang, he closed the lock of the cage. Then, the carriage slowly started moving. It felt like I was being transported to an unknown location.

Alright, are you ready for teleportation?”

“Yes.”

Immediately after Mika’s brisk answer, Orvo’s spiritual power gradually increased. And the moment he activated some kind of spiritual art, I was enveloped in a strange sensation, as if my body was floating softly. Although the sensation subsided in an instant, the smell of the air reaching the carriage from the outside had changed significantly.

“Well done.”

“Dealing with spatial spiritual art is my specialty.”

Spatial spiritual art? So, we had moved far away from the place we were before. That would explain the change in the smell of the air. It was quite a convenience to be able to move instantly.

After that, the carriage slowly began to move. Ah, this feeling! It reminded me of the days when I was a battle beast. Being used as a battle beast was not a fond memory but rather a humiliating one. Why did I feel a sense of nostalgia even though it reminded me of that?

Ah, I see. Although I disliked being a battle beast, I might have actually enjoyed being rocked in a carriage like this. I strangely found myself exhilarated as I enjoyed the journey in the carriage.

The carriage journey continued for about half a day, and my cage was placed on something that shook along with other cargo after being covered with a cloth. My vision was obstructed by the cloth, so I tried to explore my surroundings using my sense of smell and hearing.

(I smell the stench of fresh water and hear the sound of flowing water... Based on my knowledge, this must be a river? Could it be that I’m on a boat?)

Ah, so the daily examinations were for that purpose. It was a testament to Orvo’s excellence that he didn’t overlook any details in his work.

But more than that, deep down, I was overjoyed. Just the fact that I wouldn’t die suddenly for no reason was a relief, but even more so, the fact that my lifespan had increased made me very happy. It made fulfilling my mission to “live for a hundred years” much easier.

Those who heard Orvo’s explanation were all equally surprised, but the timing of their astonishment was divided into two. The first moment of surprise came when Orvo mentioned “a synthetic beast using a human species.” As Orvo had said, this seemed to be a historic breakthrough. Anyone with knowledge about synthetic beasts couldn’t help but be amazed.

And the second moment of surprise came when Orvo mentioned “longer lifespan.” Every living creature has an instinct to want to keep living. Perhaps they saw it as a way to extend that lifespan. But was it really worth living longer, even if it meant fusing with other creatures? It was a concept that I couldn’t quite understand.

“Well, I know my words alone won’t be convincing. So feel free to test if he meets your criteria combat strength wise. Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you could try not to break anything,” Orvo said.

A performance test, huh? But was I ready? Since turning into this body shape, I hadn’t even stood up once, being bound to a chair all the time. Well, to begin with, I didn’t even know if I could stand like a human did.

It appeared risky for me to be deployed in battle in this condition. However, those around me initiated a discussion on how to conduct the examination. There were two main opinions on the testing methods. One suggested engaging me in a mock battle alongside an experienced soldier in this field, while the other proposed assigning me suitable missions and deploying me into real combat.

After a lengthy discussion, it seemed that the latter option had been agreed upon. They didn’t want to waste me by killing me off too soon, as it would be a shame. Well, except for the three formidable-looking individuals, I believe I could easily dispatch the rest. They seemed to be underestimating my hidden abilities.

In the end, it was decided that I would participate in the attack on the enemy fortress the following morning. However, I wouldn’t be part of the main force launching the assault. My mission was to secretly approach the fortress from a different direction and infiltrate it alone.

No one believed that a solo mission would be successful. The main objective was to have the separate demolition unit, which was operating independently from me, destroy the walls of the fortress. I was merely a decoy, meant to distract the enemy and draw their attention away. If I could return alive, it would be considered a successful performance based on my capabilities.

Wasn’t it highly risky for me to act as a decoy all by myself? But it seemed inevitable. There was no unit that could readily accept a monstrous being like me, so I had no choice but to operate alone. As a result, my mission options were limited, and this task was assigned to me.

If they were so troubled by handling me, they could have utilized me in a different strategy. The fact that they didn’t indicated how critical the assault on the fortress tomorrow was, to the extent of needing even the smallest force.

“I’ll be fine; this much we can handle easily,” Orvo reassured.

While there were some skeptical voices questioning the feasibility, Orvo accepted it calmly and naturally. Sadly, I have no right to choose. Once Orvo has given permission, I must do it.

With my fate determined, my cage was transported from the large room. At that moment, I was covered with a cloth again, preventing me from seeing my surroundings.

After a while, my cage was placed on the floor. The narrow room was filled with the smell of metal, and there was no sound at all. There wasn’t a single human being around; it felt like a storage shed.

I didn’t know the exact time now. However, since it took about a day to travel, there was certainly not much time left until the execution of the mission. In case I was asked to depart at a moment’s notice, I decided to get some rest by falling into light sleep, trying to relax my body as much as possible.