Chapter 7 – The Brain

It definitely was like college – when it came to his room, at least. They gave him a bed, bathroom, and wardrobe. ‘I haven’t gotten my quest reward yet, but since it was a beginner’s quest, it probably isn’t much…’ Kuno thought to himself.

A minute after the man had jumped, and Don finished him, twenty-four guards had gathered. They cleaned up the body and took the lower ranks away as Don gave a witness report. The whole event had left Kuno numb. ‘I’m sure he was one of us…’ Kuno thought. Don had told him he’d explain everything later, but until then, it was just Kuno and his racing mind here in this empty room.

‘Forced mercenaries…’ Kuno thought. There wasn’t a better way to describe their situation. After his first quest, Kuno could understand the man’s reason to end things, although it certainly wasn’t an option that crossed his mind. Up until this point, he’d been enjoying himself, but Kuno knew he was the only one who thought about this situation that way.

‘It’s only day two…’ he thought. ‘Still enough time to lose hope…’

He slapped himself on the cheeks. ‘You idiot!’ he said. ‘Those thoughts aren’t gonna get you anywhere!’ the sight of the dead man flashed before his mind. ‘I refuse!’ he said. ‘I’m gonna go home, and take everyone with me!’

He paced around the room, thinking out loud: ‘It’s simple, it’s simple. Everything’s bound to your ranking… The higher your rank, the easier you get to live, the more information you get, the faster you can end this war, or whatever they want,’ he slammed his fist into his palm as he raised his head. ‘Leveling! Leveling is the only thing I can control right now! Leveling and information! Nothing is impossible if you divide it into small jobs. You got this, Kuno!’ he said, hyping himself up in the middle of the night. ‘Level during your free time, prove yourself during quests, rise in the ranks, click-clack-boom, easy-peasy!’

Whilst Kuno was punching the air, a fist knocked thrice on his door. He embarked on the six-step journey, stopping before the door and saying: ‘House of the Hero, who am I speaking with?’

‘It’s me, Don.’

‘What the password?’ Kuno asked. The fact that Don threatened to kill him had already slipped to the back of his mind.

‘Open the door…’ Don said, not in the mood to entertain Kuno.

Kuno opened the door. ‘It’s where’s the gabagool? - but I’ll let you off the hook this time.’

Don had changed his suit to a fresh one, carrying in his arms a pair of black pants and two white t-shirts, presumably for Kuno.

He walked in, saying: ‘Take a seat,’ before realizing the bed was the only place they could sit on. Don had already started at a decent rank, so the room they’d given Kuno came as a surprise, but after a second of thought, he should’ve expected it.

They both sat on the bed. Don lay the clothes behind him, saying: ‘This is for you.’

Kuno knew Don was about to tell him something interesting, but the silent look on his mentor’s face showed he needed some time to think. Kuno puckered his lips, looking blankly around the room, only now realizing there weren’t any windows.

‘What happened today…’ Don began. ‘What happened today wasn’t new. I mean, I’d never been put in that position, but it’s not the first time someone killed themselves. Most of the time, when it happens in or around the palace, it’s the same guy, or at least, the same type of guy.’

Kuno tilted his head forward. ‘What do you mean?’

Don took a deep breath. ‘You know how you asked what the highest rank is?’

‘S+, right?’ Kuno replied.

He nodded. ‘Exactly, S+. Well, you see, that rank is only ever given to one person… immediately upon discovering their ability… Since it’s the one thing we’re already the best at back home, and an even amplified version is of the utmost importance here.’

Kuno already had an idea of the S+ rank’s ability, looking away from Don as his brows rose.

‘When a person from Earth is summoned here with that curse of a class, they get stamped with the S+ rank and life becomes a hell.’

Don closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head. ‘We’re in the 22nd generation, at least, we were… What defines the generation is the arrival and departure of that one class. Some classes tend to survive longer than others. There have been four people with the Blood class before me, and as far as I know, only one with Intestines before you.’

‘The man that died just a moment ago was the 22nd bearer of the Brain… The only S+ class in all of Terra Two.’

‘Brain…’ Kuno said. ‘If I can shit like this, he must’ve been a super-duper genius…’

Don fell silent for a moment before giving a deep sigh, and saying: ‘None of us are allowed to interact with him, since he’s too dangerous. He could do this empire a lot of harm if he wanted to. He knew my name, even though I’d never seen him in my life, together with the suicide attempt making me know for sure that was the Brain. He must’ve known I’d be showing mercy… I’m sure he planned everything out to have it happen like this… If I didn’t kill him, they’d have been able to keep him alive using magic.’

‘I still don’t understand. What are they exactly doing to him that’d make him want to kill himself?’ Don asked.

‘They… They lock him up, strip him of every human right and make him consume information so he can shit out solutions to problems. If he refuses, they torture him…’ Don said, causing Kuno’s eyes to grow wide.

‘But…’ he continued. ‘I think the worst part is the ability itself… To know so much… It can’t be healthy,’ he speculated.

Kuno is an optimist, so although he’d rather have wanted a different ability, he wasn’t all too mad at what he got. But after hearing this, he felt ashamed for being ungrateful for even a split second.

‘What now? Do they know what you did? Will they get mad? Will there be another?’ he whispered.

Don began with the latter. ‘Some abilities are prioritized over others. I’m sure the Order has no total control over it, but the way their summoning and connection to Earth works is that upon the loss of the Brain, the first summon after will be a new Brain. The history books say that the first summon of the first generation was the Brain and the last the Intestines, with the lowest lifespan being that of the Brain and the highest the Intestines.’

He puckered his lips. ‘Well, good news for me, I guess…’ Kuno said.

‘As for me…’ Don said. ‘I had received an envelope without any name on it prior. In it was the very knife I ended Brain’s life with… I’m sure he must’ve sent it, somehow expecting me to carry it with me… Since it’s not a magical weapon, and I made it seem like he killed himself with it, I think I’m safe. I hope, at least.’

Kuno got goose bumps. ‘Woah,’ he said, standing up. ‘I mean, knowing where you would be aside, this guy can practically read minds!’

Don gave a single nod. ‘He gets our status reports. Since I’ve been here for a year, he must’ve gotten a good impression of me, giving him the ability to correctly guess my thought patterns and character.’

Kuno let himself fall back on his bed, bouncing up once as he put his hands behind his head. ‘That’s insane. I can see why he’s the only S+.’

Don stood up. ‘That’s what I wanted to tell you. The Order wanted me to inform you about tomorrow.’

Kuno also stood up, tilting his head back to look at the much taller Don. ‘What’s going on tomorrow?’

‘They’re going to do another summoning to replace the late Brain, which will start the 23rd generation. It’s tradition to give a presentation at the start of every generation. Usually it’s the same bullshit, but they want to do something new this time. Something to help us grow and probably some propaganda bullshit to get us excited and prevent us from killing ourselves. We’re replaceable, but I guess it’s still a waste if experienced summons die.’

‘Cool,’ Kuno said.

‘A guard will pick you up in the morning. The presentation will start immediately after the new Brain arrives. You’re gonna get to meet the others. Oh, and I’ll upload your credits for the quest tomorrow.’

‘Cool!’

‘Not all of them are nice like our party, so don’t be too buddy-buddy.’

‘Boo! Not cool!’ he said, after which he saw Don out, changed his clothes, brushed his teeth and hopped into bed.

Before he closed his eyes, he looked at his fingers, a sudden surge of emotions rapidly crawling up. He sighed. ‘It’s been just two days and I miss you two already…’ he thought about the two most important women in his life. He turned to his side, and a single teardrop fell on his pillow.

‘I promise I’ll make it back. It won’t be long, Minerva (his keyboard), Diana (his mouse).’

And with that thought he made his way to dreamland, hoping he’d get to see his PC, or his family, but mostly his PC.

Sadly, he didn’t dream about a single thing. In this dreamlike world, maybe he doesn’t even need to dream.

His body jolted up, hearing the heavy knocks on his door as a guard spoke:

‘Wake up! The highest Order of this realm demands your presence!’

Kuno rubbed his eyes. ‘Bencen--- I mean, I’ll be right there.’ He quickly brushed his teeth before putting his moccasins on and heading out.

When he opened the door, the guards bowed to him. ‘It’s an honor to meet you, Shitman,’ one of the three guards said. The bald spotted ones weren’t among them, but it seems like everyone has heard of the former of his kind, and Kuno was benefitting from the prestige.

‘Good morning, gentlemen!’ he said in a joyous tone. He stretched his back from right to left. ‘Am I gonna get to eat?’

The guards stood straight again. ‘Uh, we don’t know. We just have to get you to the others.’

As the haze of his cold mind faded, a thought popped up in Kuno’s head: information.

‘Hey, is the Brain already summoned?’ he asked.

‘They’re preparing the summoning, Shitman, but you don’t have to worry about that,’ a guard answered.

‘Ok-ok-ok,’ Kuno said as they passed the marble halls of the palace.

The guards had a faint, but genuine smile on their face as they walked alongside Kuno. They had heard countless of stories from their parents about the legendary Shitman. The man who didn’t just put his name in the history books, but shat on all the pages.

His heroism had been witnessed in every corner of Regnum, lifting the Kingdom from almost losing the war, to the advantageous position they now held. The peace of all the people was thanks to Shitman, and although Kuno wasn’t the real Shitman, right now, he was the closest thing to it.

Their smile quickly faded after crossing the next corner, where Kuno almost collapsed to the floor as he held his stomach. His face turned red as he shouted at the top of his lungs, a cry of agony turning every bit of comfort into panic:

‘GET ME TO A TOILET, NOW!’