I Became a Leader in a Wretched Prison - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9

It was an innocent-looking face.

An ordinary and kind face so plain you’d trip over it on the street. But that face just looking down at him suddenly felt terrifying.

“Are you alright?”

“D-don’t come! Don’t come!”

Why did such a monster-like bastard end up under him?

Sergeant Steven. He should have known when that crazy bastard pretending to be normal said an interesting newcomer had appeared!

“N-Newcomer. You, you, don’t come and just stand there!”

“Yes.”

This bastard… suddenly he’s answering properly!

Cain was furious but chose to back down while gritting his teeth.

His instincts were warning him.

This was someone he shouldn’t mess with.

“Then what should I do?”

“…What?”

“The manual says to follow instructions, and Sergeant Steven told me not to cause trouble and to obediently follow orders.”

You already caused trouble, you bastard!

Cain couldn’t hold back and bolted upright.

“I knew it was that bastard Steven trying to screw me over!”

“Huh?”

Cain shouted while gritting his teeth.

“Whatever, you, just go watch your assigned mutt in front!”

“Yes.”

What an angry person.

Mint obediently approached the window.

On the ground floor visible below the window, a fierce battle was taking place, though it was unclear when it had started.

‘The Male Lead is… ah, there he is.’

* * *

The Tower’s trials given to prisoners are, simply put, about surviving in extreme situations.

The only difference is the theme for each grade.

From the 1st to 20th floor, the theme is ‘insects and animals’.

The moment you enter a floor, the animals or insects assigned to each floor come pouring out.

In other words, it was about killing the things that poured out during the time limit and surviving.

‘This section can be climbed sufficiently even without Kia.’

The downside is that here, without Kia, you need clever thinking or physical abilities to support you for survival to be advantageous.

I recalled the Male Lead’s physique.

‘He must have been starving when he was caught.’

His basic build wasn’t bad, but it was the body of someone who had been starving for a long time.

Perhaps he hadn’t been eating properly since he was mistakenly captured as a prisoner.

‘He barely ate in the cafeteria either.’

Of course, he had to endure all kinds of harassment in the cafeteria, so his appetite might have been affected.

Helios’s food tray had suffered the ordeal of being overturned no less than three times.

But since his life wasn’t in danger, this level of harassment was quite mild.

‘So it would be troublesome if he died here.’

Behind me, the guards were grumbling.

“All the newcomers this time are duds.”

“Oh, really? That bad?”

“Yeah. How did we end up with only idiots who can’t even handle a single Kia?”

“Huh, I heard only smugglers came this way this time – is that why?”

They talked as if everyone would die soon, as if what was happening below wasn’t even worth watching.

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for all newcomers to die on the 1st Floor.

‘Though the year I was here was different.’

Were they being mindful of Sergeant Cain? They glanced around and spoke very quietly, but I could hear everything.

All the newcomers this time would die. That was the unanimous atmosphere.

‘Let’s just watch and see.’

However, what was happening below was flowing differently from what the guards thought.

* * *

Helios exhaled roughly.

“Ugh…”

He could feel throbbing in his forearm, but he couldn’t see how badly he was hurt or what condition he was in.

If he turned his eyes away even slightly…

Squeak! Squeak squeak! Squeak!

The giant rats would obviously bite and tear at his flesh.

The scene from when he first entered this place flashed through his mind.

“What the hell is this place? A cave?”

There were quite a few new prisoners who entered this place with him. Roughly ten or so.

They were all either bewildered, anxious, or uneasy.

It was natural.

Niflheim was the worst possible place for criminals.

A prison where no one had ever come out alive, and there had never been an escapee.

Moreover, no other information was known about it.

The unknown only amplified their fear.

“Now, you can choose one weapon, up to a maximum of three!”

The guard who entered with them guided the new prisoners from the front.

In one corner of the circular space, various weapons were fully prepared.

The new prisoners chose their weapons with bewildered feelings, and Helios was no different.

“Hey, new mutts. Do your best, though I don’t know how many will survive! Hehe.”

The guard disappeared with an unpleasantly sinister smile.

At the same time, the space filled with weapons also vanished.

Squeak! Screech!

“What, what is that, rats?”

“Rats! But why, why are they so big?!”

No one could continue their thoughts any further.

One part of the space opened and a swarm of rats, so numerous they appeared pitch black, came rushing at them.

“Aaaaah! Die! Die!”

“Save me, please save me. Why me! Gah, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Get me out of here!”

Helios struck down a rat that had just leaped up with the crude spear in his hand and looked around at the distance.

“Hah, gasp. Crazy, they’re trying to, kill us all…!”

And now.

Of the more than ten lowest-grade prisoners, only about five were visible.

Even those who remained all looked exhausted without exception.

Not a single person’s breathing remained undisturbed.

Though there was someone who felt strangely off, he couldn’t pay attention for long due to the rat swarm.

Helios glanced upward.

He could see a huge window. He could also clearly see the figure of a person moving in front of it.

A smaller build than the other guards. He recognized them at a glance.

“I’ll protect you.”

It was his personal guard.

The moment he recognized them, he didn’t think ‘What are you doing now when you said you’d protect me?’

He didn’t feel particularly dissatisfied either.

After all, his life had been lonely from the beginning, and living alone was just how life was, so it didn’t matter.

“Just focus on surviving.”

Besides, now was the time to think of only one thing to death – survival.

But how exactly?

“Haah…”

This space was a massive circle.

From one side where the door had opened, rats were endlessly pouring out.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

“Damn it, how are we supposed to… this time!”

After facing the rats for exactly 20 minutes, like a lie, they were given 5 minutes of rest.

Just like now, the moment 20 minutes passed, a blue barrier appeared separating the rats from the new prisoners.

The prisoners sat slumped on the ground, glaring at the blue barrier.

“Damn it, how long do we have to repeat this insane shit!”

“Just kill us, kill us already! Fuck!”

They hadn’t figured out the timing accurately from the beginning.

After several repetitions, someone raised their hand.

It was the short-haired woman who was catching her breath at the far end.

“Exactly 20 minutes, the rats swarm for 20 minutes. Rest time is 5 minutes.”

When people stared at her like she was talking crazy, she introduced herself.

Her name was ‘Kana’. Outside, she had been an alchemist and pharmacist, and could measure time with her eyes closed.

“Damn it! Fuck! There’s no end! Are we all supposed to die like this!”

While the short but sturdy man was angrily raging, Helios was quietly lost in thought.

The remaining rest time was 3 minutes, not much left.

‘They called it the Tower’s trial.’

If they simply wanted to kill the prisoners, there were much easier and simpler methods.

But since they called it a trial, there must be an end.

What could be the method to end this trial?

With roughly about 1 minute remaining, Helios couldn’t find an answer and raised his head.

Above the bluish barrier, he could see a massive window.

‘Could they still be watching?’

They were still looking down.

Though Helios wasn’t sure, it seemed like his eyes met with the personal guard looking down.

It wasn’t his imagination.

“Be careful not to get torn apart and eaten. Especially your ‘legs’.”

Don’t get torn apart and eaten. Though Helios didn’t like that guard, he figured they wouldn’t deliberately say such things just to mess with him.

Besides, he already thought it was a strange choice of words.

And so.

‘It’s a hint.’

I concluded that it was a ‘hint’.

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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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