Waking up a couple hours later, a sudden and sharp pain jolted me up. In fact, we appear to have arrived, and the sharp pain I felt just now was that damned Carmen soldier kicking me awake. That’s right, I was demoted from human being into a mere slave by these monsters, and I’ll apparently be used as free labor until I earn my freedom.

“Wake up, boy!” He kicked me once more, “We’re here.”

Lifting me by the back of my collar, just like you would any old mutt, I was dragged out of the transport wagon and taken to the front gates of something that most resembled a maximum security prison on the levels of even the one found in what we now know as Lichtenstelle, only way more modern.

Well, I say modern, but really I mean refurbished. The place is still a couple of 20m stone walls that contained two watchtowers, atop which were snipers that would presumably shoot anyone that tried to escape. Bad news, I won’t be able to do a thing until I deal with them somehow. Walking inside, the air got chillingly cold. The walls were just as gritty as they were decrepit, and the only warmth you could actually feel was from all the pipes protruding throughout the halls that most probably all reconvened at a boiler room. It looks somewhat cheaply and hastily put together, despite its large size, almost as if they don’t plan on keeping this place after finishing the Great Canal.

“Here.” The soldier gave me a black and white striped prison uniform, “Put this on. This little outfit is your identity from now on, make sure not to get them mixed up.”

“My name is Meil…” I tried to speak, but was once again punched in the gut.

“I don’t care what your name is!” He yelled, “Listen here, no one here cares about what your names are, because all of you are nothing more than slaves! Slaves don’t have names, so from now on you’ll all be called by the numbers on the back of your uniforms, y’hear?!”

“Ugh…” I caught my breath before answering, “U-Understood. So from now on, I’ll be number 729, right? Charming…”

But wait, are you telling me that there are a total of 728 other slaves in this place that came before me? And no one managed to get out? How the hell has this been kept under the radar for so long? You’re telling me that none of the other countries out in the world have thought to take action against this crime against humanity?

“Looks like you’re finally starting to know your place, mutt.” He smiled, “Now follow me into the cafeteria.”

Giving me a short tour around the place, I had more or less grasped where each part of the prison was. The tour wasn’t all that helpful, though, as he would only show me the places I would be found in frequently. Stuff like the cafeteria, the gym, the library, only to name a few. Any time I would try to step out of line and ask about a door that I had no business going near, I would just get punched in the gut and reprimanded. I did notice one thing though, and that’s that their personnel are decked out in terms of weaponry. Each and every one of the guards here has an AFP on them, with the only exception being the snipers on the watchtowers, who both have these longer, presumably more precise and powerful guns.

“Y’know, mutt, I think you think you still have a chance at running away.” The soldier egged me on, “If there’s still any hope left in that useless little dark-skinned noggin of yours, I’d kindly suggest you discard of it. Best you do as we say, that way you won’t get punched in the gut as much, and everyone’s happy, okay?”

“…”

“Not the talkative type, eh? Well, that’s better than the loud ones that came before you. Honestly, you’re one of the better mutts we’ve gotten. These days most of the newcomers just try to escape and get shot before even properly spending a night here. Shame too, so many good uniforms put to waste…”

“Wait, is that why the numbers on these are so high?” I questioned, “Why are you doing this?”

“No hard feelings, champ. It’s just the luck of the draw. I was born the more elite race, while you runts just have to wallow in your own piss and shit here. I don’t make the rules.”

That’s horrible…! And judging by his tone and the look on his face, it doesn’t sound like he’s joking at all. He’s one hundred and ten percent serious when he says that, with a ten percent margin of error! What level of indoctrination did he have to endure, and from how young of an age, to be this sick and twisted?

“Now, why don’t we make our way to the courtyard?”

“…Alright.” I muttered back.

***

“Alright, this is the place.” He pointed to it, “You’re in luck, it’s recess right now, so I’ll let you socialize a little bit. See, I’m a good guy when you’re not trying to constantly think up ways to escape, aren’t I?”

“Don’t talk to me ever again, please.” I moved away from him, “I just want to leave this place as soon as possible and get myself a proper education.”

“Suit yourself, mutt.”

Seriously, what a setback… Looks like this is the only taste of the outside I’ll be getting for the time being, apart from when I actually start working on the canal. It’s a shame, but I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll have to play their games for now, at least until I find a proper way out of here. Maybe if I find likeminded people who’ll assist me in my escape?

“Oi, where’s my money, bitch?!” A strong and rough voice could be heard kicking another person to the ground.

“Heh, ow! A-ha, I’ll pay you back as soon as I get it, man! Oof!” The older man chuckled whilst on the ground.

“Shut the hell up, you damned retired bandit!” The burly prisoner pulled out a knife, “No more chances! You used up all your lifelines!”

“Hey!” I shoulder tackled him away, “What the hell do you think you’re doing to a fellow inmate?!”

“Tch, and who the hell are you?” He spit in my direction, “Ooh, judging by your number… You must be a newbie! You ever heard of the Food Chain?”

What the hell is this guy spouting all of a sudden? Food Chain? Certainly, I’ve heard of the phenomenon. Uh, how does the song go again? Caterpillars eat plants…?

“Dammit, Bryce, don’t touch him!” The inmate that was getting beaten up until now raised his voice, “Listen, it’s me you’re after, so at least let him get his bearings! He doesn’t know what he’s doing!”

“Sir, are you injured?” I went to tend to his wounds, “Good, looks like he got a few good kicks in, but it’ll be nothing more than some minor swelling-”

“Shut up and run, kid!” The inmate pushed me to the side, effectively saving me from a sucker punch to the back of the head, “Bryce! I told you to lay off of him!”

“Hehe, no can do, Lee!” He passed the knife from one hand to the other, “I’m kind of pissed right now, especially at this little runt that doesn’t know his place.”

Readying my stance and preparing to fight, I had finally gotten a look at his prison number after he turned his back and flashed it at me. He was number 23, so he’s one of the people who’ve been here the longest. No wonder he’s so confident, I imagine no normal newbie could stand in his way. Except of course me, that is.

“Hup!” I ran up to him, casting Spark just as we had made contact, “Argh! My wound’s acting up again!”

“Ouch!” He yelped in pain before palming my head as if it were a ball, “Runt, you had a lighter tucked away somewhere? That’s an advanced tactic… No wait, that fire wasn’t something that could be produced with a mere lighter…”

“Hup!” I refused to answer him, instead casting Materialize and stealing his uniform’s shirt away from him, “You seem to be really proud of this, huh? Certainly, it’s one of a kind…”

“Wait, wha-?! How did you…!?”

Without waiting for his next move, I made full use of the confusion and crawled my way around his bulky body, before strangling him with his very shirt, “What’s this? Not so tough now, are ya?”

“Grrr…. Rah!” He threw me off of him just before losing consciousness, “You… Haah, you’re not normal, are you?”

“Kid…” The inmate who was getting beaten up previously spoke, “It’s just like him…”

“Oi, break it up, break it up!” The guards surrounded the two of us, “First day here and you’re already causing a ruckus? Not good, monkey, not good at all…”

”It was self-defense!” I pleaded, “I was just…!”

“We’ll keep your punishment light since it’s your first offense, not to mention you’re new here.” The guard said, “So how about we start with you working both shifts for a month?”

“What, but I…!” I tried to say something else, but I looked over at that Lee guy, who gestured for me to keep my mouth shut, “Alright. I’m sorry.”

“That’s right. Good boy.” He grabbed me by the back of the collar, “Alright now, recess is over! Everyone get back to your cells! You too, runt, I’ll be showing you to your place, so pay attention.”

Taking me back through the halls, we had arrived at the jail cell labeled with the numbers 729 and 720 respectively. It seems I’ll be sharing a cell with this guy sitting ominously in the corner. He looks to be around my age, at least, so I hope he’s not as stupid and battle hungry as that Bryce guy…

“Yo!” He greeted me with a grin from ear to ear, “I’m Issei Kaido! Looks like we’re cell buds, so pleased to meet your acquaintance! Yoroshiku!”

“Yoro… huh?” I was left flabbergasted, “Never mind, nice to meet you too. I’m Meil Deram.”

“Meiru… Ack, that’s kind of hard to pronounce, so I hope you don’t mind me calling you M-kun. Well then, M-kun, what are you in for?”

“You’re kind of noisy.”

“That’s just how I roll!” He made finger guns and ‘shot’ them at me, “But never mind that, tell me what you’re in for! Come on, I’m bored out of my mind!”

“Sigh, alright…” I explained, “I was walking through the desert to get to Simpleton. I wish to enroll in Dimitri Uni, but I got caught by a Carmen camp, and they took me here as a slave. Nothing much to it.”

“Simpleton?” He raised his eyebrows, “Oh yeah, I’ve been there. Beautiful place, full of lush green scenery and a ton of hot babes wearing those cute robes and stuff. I can definitely see why you’d wanna go there.”

Hot babes? Stop, I don’t want to hear you make light of my dream location like this anymore! But wait, a person like him has been to Simpleton? For what purpose? He doesn’t seem like the scholarly type. In fact, I’d much rather take him for a fool…

“Now I know you’re probably asking yourself stuff like How did this amazing and handsome black haired young man with somewhat slanted eyes get himself in this place.” Issei appeared to be praising himself, “But don’t worry, for I am here of my own volition!”

“Your own volition?” I furrowed my brows, “Who’s the M-kun here again?”

“Hey, I’m not a masochist! I’m just saying that I got myself here on purpose to save a friend!” He explained, “Her name is Othelia. We’re travel buddies, but she got caught in a similar way to yourself. I was away from her in that moment, but I couldn’t stand to just let her rot in here by herself. So I did the most rational thing any person would do in that scenario, and I blew up the camp that took her from me.”

“…” I couldn’t believe my ears, “I’m starting to see why you were tucked so far into the prison halls…”

Well, he’s got a few screws loose, but I’ve dealt with Lune before, so I know how to handle him at least. He’s not so bad, either, given that he seems to be enacting justice for his friends. First I’ve ever heard of a girl being taken to this place though. I wonder if this Othelia girl is in a separate part of the prison. Maybe a place reserved for women?