I Became a Leader in a Wretched Prison - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29

It wasn’t a difficult task.

“You were born with talent for two types of Kia.”

“Huh?”

Tell them what their talent is, and somehow create an ‘environment’ where they can use it.

How about that? Pretty easy, right?

“Sob, sniff sniff. Hic.”

I was sitting against a tree stump with my chin propped up. Then I suddenly stared at Ged who was standing nearby.

“Hey.”

“Yes, yes! Boss! Did you call me?”

“Does that kid always cry like that?”

“Ah…”

Ged looked at Seth who was crouched in a corner next to the tree, sobbing and sniffling, then smiled awkwardly.

“He’s, he’s a bit… timid.”

“Is that so?”

Ged hurriedly returned to his position.

Ged’s spot was in front of a tree wrapped with iron plating. By the way, I was the one who put that iron around it.

Ged frowned and began hitting the iron with his fist.

It must hurt. Still.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

‘The sound is crisp.’

I was yawning when I heard quiet whispering near my ear.

It was Ged’s voice whispering to Helios who was nearby.

‘Even if you whisper, I can hear everything.’

I pretended not to notice and closed my eyes.

“Hey, Helios.”

“What?”

Ged’s gruff voice and Helios’s pleasant voice alternated.

“By any chance… the training, was it always like this?”

“Like this?”

“No, I mean that method he used to make Seth awaken!”

The sound of Helios’s exhale carried what might have been mockery or a bitter laugh.

“Ah, that vicious method?”

Listening to this, I tilted my head.

‘Vicious?’

I recalled the moment when I made Seth awaken his Healing Kia.

“I need a volunteer.”

“What kind of volunteer do you mean? To help Seth? I’ll do it, Boss!”

Since I had decided to overhaul Ged’s Group as well, going straight to the 23rd Floor was out of the question for now.

If I didn’t help improve their abilities, they wouldn’t be able to climb the Tower much longer.

Since Ged readily volunteered, I took him along and explained what I was going to do.

“Yes, really, you’re going to do that? Really? Really?”

“Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong, and I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Ugh…”

Then I brought Ged back in front of Seth and made him bleed right before his eyes.

Seth’s eyes widened as he watched the red droplets of blood dripping down.

“Originally, Kia works better the more desperate you are.”

“W-wait…”

“By the way, if you don’t heal him, your colleague will die.”

Of course, it was an exaggeration, and the wound wasn’t fatal either.

I just used a little sleight of hand to make it look like there was more bleeding, which made Ged’s face turn pale.

And Seth, who finally burst into tears, awakened his Healing Kia that day.

‘Material Realm Summoning ability.’

Seth’s healing method was to summon living creatures capable of treatment.

It was quite a rare ability.

‘There should be someone with this kind of ability at the Temple where the Female Lead is too.’

Of course, we didn’t stop at just awakening and moved on to other training.

Originally, when Kia is awakened, you need to keep pushing forward with progress.

“Now, this time it’s a fracture.”

“Uheheheheng!”

“Now, this time it’s a burn.”

“Uaaaak!”

“Next is frostbite.”

“Kkeup, hheup, hheuhheup…!”

And so I successfully improved his abilities.

“So, Helios, you’ve been receiving this kind of training alone all this time? Really…”

“Get lost, will you? It’s disgusting.”

“Ha, I almost cried like an unmanly fool!”

“You already did cry.”

“Those weren’t tears! It was just comradeship flowing out. Can you see my affection?”

“I don’t need it.”

Listening to the conversation between Helios and Ged felt a bit strange.

I only used Ged on the first day, and made all the subsequent wounds on my own arm.

Developing Kia is similar to learning skills for the first time in a game.

For example, if you hold a sword and learn the skill ‘Slash’, it means ‘Thrust’ is also possible.

In other words, if you can heal stab wounds, you can also heal burns, lacerations, frostbite, etc., so it’s best to learn the sensation all at once.

“Stop it. What kind of behavior is this?”

“Hmm? Right. I’ve finished learning everything anyway.”

“…”

Today, Seth succeeded in healing representative types of wounds. He had mastered it with his body. Though for some reason, he’s still sniffling and crying today.

A few days ago, on the day Seth learned Healing Kia, I led the entire group to the 23rd Floor.

And.

I left them there, telling them to somehow protect Seth who had exhausted all his strength from healing.

‘This is how you build teamwork.’

People become stronger in crisis.

So didn’t they overcome it well? What exactly is so cruel about it?

“Hey, Seth, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, *sniff*. I’m okay…”

“Cheer up! Let’s overcome this together as men! Tell us if it’s hard.”

“N-no. If I can become stronger and be helpful even through such cruel methods…”

And somehow strangely, it seems some kind of teamwork has developed between Ged’s Group and Helios.

But it seems like it was created by making me a common villain.

‘Isn’t this exactly what you’d call “not knowing gratitude”?’

Well, either way, as long as their skills improve, it doesn’t matter.

The stronger Helios’s colleagues become, the faster the possibility and speed of Helios going to the Summit and becoming the Boss.

“Opening!”

Helios, who had been concentrating while holding his spear, quickly moved to the side.

A dagger made of Kia pierced into the spot where Helios had been. And it was smoothly absorbed.

Into Brett’s shadow that had dropped down from the tree.

“Hahaha, this one failed? And it was my finishing blow too.”

Brett approached with a grinning smile and extended his hand. The moment Helios reached out to shake hands.

A gleaming awl aimed toward Helios.

Helios’s spear stabbed Brett, and when he came to his senses, Helios was pointing his spear tip at Brett who was lying on the ground.

‘The spear probably isn’t his suitable weapon, yet he uses it so well.’

Brett’s ability is the same Material Type as Helios, the ability to create weapons.

However, since he was born with a slight talent for Elemental-type, it fused into the ability to create weapons from shadows.

This is also something I taught him though…

I stopped looking at Brett and slightly narrowed my eyes.

“Impressive, isn’t it? I could tell you haven’t awakened Kia for very long. Hahahaha!”

Brett grabbed Helios’s hand and helped him up from where he sat.

Brett’s ability was close to an assassination ability.

That’s why I had Brett train to aim for Helios’s vital points.

On the other hand, Helios received training to defend against or counter Brett’s fatal attacks whenever they came.

Incidentally, on the day Seth sent them to the 23rd Floor in an exhausted state, Helios and Ged’s group managed to clear the 23rd Floor.

‘Who would have thought Helios had leadership qualities too.’

Actually, I hadn’t told them anything about cooperative attacks, so I did help them at the end when they were about to be wiped out.

But they cleared more than 80% of it with their own strength.

And yesterday they cleared the 24th Floor too.

Starting tomorrow, it would be the 25th Floor’s turn.

‘But the 25th Floor is…’

While lost in thought, I felt a faint tingling sensation near my temple.

“You’re weak, Haira.”

“…”

Since Haira used Mental Realm Kia, she couldn’t train carelessly with the others.

‘If she fails to control it, it’s the perfect ability to drive someone insane.’

I personally handled her attacks.

‘If I get the chance, I’d like to ask about Ramona and Deril too.’

I had left them all behind, but there was one thing that bothered me. I looked up at the sky.

There was a massive tower that seemed like it would pierce through the sky.

From the 25th Floor onward, it wouldn’t be easy.

* * *

“Hand.”

Evening. After dinner and rest were finished, the only remaining schedule was roll call and bedtime.

When I lifted my head, Helios was extending his hand toward me.

He must have just finished washing, as water dripped from the ends of his silver hair.

A towel hung around his neck, and the buttons of his prison uniform’s upper garment were quite undone.

It was a different look from his usual neat appearance, as if he suffered from obsessive cleanliness.

Instead of giving him my hand, I tilted my head.

The water droplets clinging to the corners of his eyes above the three dots were quite alluring.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Master wash.”

“Ah, I go when you’re sleeping. A guard is a guard for a reason, isn’t she?”

“More nonsense.”

Actually, I could always keep my body clean with Kia even without washing, so it was close to unnecessary.

I didn’t particularly want to use the Male Communal Facility either.

“Ah, is it because only you have to go through the trouble? Or were you displeased that I don’t get wet?”

“What nonsense are you…”

If you want. Before Helios could even finish speaking, water dripped down from my hair.

It was because I had summoned water above my head and let it fall.

“Mm, it’s wet.”

“You’re stating the obvious. Hurry up and dry it…”

“Ah, I should do that.”

It was too impulsive. I ran one hand through my hair while using the other to unbutton my soaked upper garment.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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