Chapter 44: Hellscape Island (9)
The other cadets returned with their catches, but Jack and Elliott brought something entirely unexpected.
A woman, unconscious, and a hulking man who appeared dead.
“What in the world is this?”
Nell and the instructors in the forest demanded an explanation, and Elliott, speaking for me, laid out the details.
“They knocked us out and kidnapped us. Thankfully, the Elixir’s effects were still active, so we woke up quickly, but after that…”
He recounted the battle that ensued, detailing their roles and achievements.
While this was intriguing, it wasn’t the instructors’ main concern.
“Why?”
They were puzzled about why humans, other than their group, were here.
More specifically—
“Aren’t these members of the Viper Organization? Why would they come all this way to kidnap you?”
Nell noticed the snake-coiled ring, a symbol of Viper, on both of them and raised the issue.
“I’ll take it from here,” I said.
I offered a speculative explanation.
“They came for me. It’s tied to my family, so I can’t go into too much detail.”
“For you, Evan? Is this connected to the incident where your family’s hires were killed?”
“Hm… You could say that.”
“Despicable! Even so, hiring Viper to disrupt the sacred Executor course? Taking Academy cadets hostage?”
The instructors’ fury reached a boiling point.
Not only had these intruders dared to touch the cadets, but they targeted me—someone they didn’t exactly dote on, but certainly kept an eye on.
“This cannot be overlooked! We must send word to the palace at once. Even for Viper, this crosses a line.”
Though I was unbothered, the instructors were in an uproar.
I stepped in to calm them.
“I share your sentiment, but let’s hold off for now.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want a commotion over me, and this is strictly my issue.”
That’s what I said, but my real intentions were different.
‘They’ll just cut their losses and vanish. If they didn’t, Duke Theron would’ve crushed them long ago.’
I wasn’t relying on the Duke to deal with the branch family.
After this incident, I was determined to exact revenge on them myself.
‘Those wretched bastards. Targeting me twice? You’re as good as dead when I return.’
That’s why I opposed making this public.
I wanted to handle my revenge personally, without the Duke’s interference.
Nell, unaware of the full context, misinterpreted my calm demeanor.
‘Is he worried this will disrupt the Executor course? So young, yet so thoughtful.’
It prompted him to reflect on his own agitation.
“Still, we need to deal with this woman, don’t we? The big guy’s dead, so we could leave him for the monsters if necessary.”
“I agree. I kept her alive to extract information.”
“Alright. Let’s escort her to the fortress and interrogate her.”
“Um…”
“Hm? Got something to say?”
“Can I handle the interrogation myself?”
Nell smirked at my request.
‘Fair enough, you must be furious too. Do what you want. It’ll just be a few slaps, and the Head Instructor will let it slide.’
He nodded in approval.
***
Bentram Fortress, believed to have been constructed centuries ago, had a dungeon buried beneath it.
No one in the present era knew its original purpose.
It was merely speculated that the island’s ruler created it to torment those who defied them.
“Aaaagh!!!”
In that grim place, Lina’s piercing screams reverberated.
“Please! I’ll tell you everything, just stop! Ask me anything, please!”
I had tied Lina to a chair and was pulling out her fingernails, one by one.
I didn’t ask a single question.
I was only inflicting pain.
“Please…”
When Lina pleaded, I finally got to the point.
“You’ve got three seconds to answer, or I’ll rip out the rest of your nails. Who exactly hired you to kill me?”
I already knew it was the branch family.
But the Lafard family had many factions, and pinpointing the culprit was tricky.
“John Arad…! I heard it was the second son of the Arad family!”
Desperate to avoid more agony, Lina spilled in less than a second.
“The payment?”
“Fifteen hundred gold!”
“What? Those lunatics spent that much to kill me?”
With three Viper members, that meant 500 gold per head.
That was enough to start a business or buy a farm in the provinces.
Ultimately, they got death instead of gold.
“With a fee like that, your organization must’ve been in a frenzy.”
“Yeah. Word about the Lafard family spread like wildfire. Once they hear we failed, others will come for you.”
“Sounds about right…”
I could handle whoever came next.
Having decided to confront the branch family myself, that was my plan.
Alternatively, as Nell suggested, I could expose this to block Viper’s involvement.
The issue was that both paths were a hassle.
“If that’s the case, what reason do I have to keep you alive?”
This situation was far from pleasant for me.
“That’s…”
I pulled out her remaining nails.
Three seconds had passed.
“Aagh! I’ll find a way!”
“You, tied up here? That just sounds like an escape plan. Just join your comrades cleanly.”
I grabbed an axe propped against the wall.
I raised it above my head.
“News! I’ll send word that you’re dead! If the contract’s fulfilled, no one else will come!”
Her suggestion had merit.
But one part still didn’t add up in my mind.
“How? This is a remote island. Sending birds or people isn’t easy.”
“The magic mirror, the Mar Kyung! It’s in my backpack. The small one! I can send a message with that.”
“Mar Kyung?”
“Yeah! A palm-sized mirror. Bring it, and I’ll do it now.”
I rummaged through the small leather backpack on the table.
Sure enough, there was a small hand mirror, just as she described.
‘This looks like an ordinary mirror.’
But upon closer inspection, I sensed a faint trace of mana, unlike a regular mirror.
“Untie one of my hands. I need to operate it.”
“Try anything clever, and you know the consequences. Even if you get past me, you’re not leaving this place.”
“I know. I won’t.”
I freed one of her hands and handed her the Mar Kyung.
She brought it to her face.
“Step back. You can’t be seen.”
She adjusted the mirror’s position and channeled mana into it.
The mirror’s surface dimmed, losing its luster.
“Oh?”
“Shh! They’ll hear you.”
The dimmed mirror regained its light.
But instead of reflecting her face, it showed a hooded figure.
“This is Lina, contact for Kasion’s team.”
“Confirmed. State your business.”
“John Arad’s contract has been completed.”
Lina lied.
Fortunately, the man on the other side didn’t seem suspicious.
“The proof requested by the client?”
“We’ll deliver it. We’re on Benner Island, so it’ll take time.”
“Understood. I’ll relay this to the client.”
“Business concluded.”
The mirror dimmed again, reverting to its original function.
Watching silently, my eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“What is that?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s a Mar Kyung.”
I was a man from a hundred years ago.
I’d been in this era for less than a year.
I was clueless about the advancements made in that time.
‘They used that to communicate?’
Having spent most of my time in the isolated Academy, I hadn’t encountered many new inventions, especially those tied to magical engineering.
The Mar Kyung, a product of such technology, was particularly fascinating.
“That’s incredible.”
As I toyed with the Mar Kyung, Lina cautiously asked,
“So, you’re letting me live for now?”
“Hm… Sure, for the moment.”
“Phew…”
“But since you might try to escape, let’s cut off your legs.”
I swung the axe down as I spoke.
“No, don’t!”
―Thud!
The axe struck the floor.
“Just kidding. She fainted?”
Lina had passed out, foaming at the mouth.
Leaving her as is, I left the dungeon.
Outside, Head Instructor Everhart was waiting for me.
“Any results?”
“Yes, I got everything I needed.”
“What do you want to do with her?”
“I’d prefer a summary execution, but you’d rather escort her, right?”
“That’s about right.”
“Then lock her up and send her to the palace on the next ship. But as I mentioned, please hold off on taking action against Viper.”
“Alright, we’ll do as you say. She’ll face proper punishment, but we’ll delay dealing with Viper.”
“Perfect.”
And so, it was decided that Lina would be sent on the next transport ship.
“It’s getting late. Go eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
I headed to the dining hall to make up for my delayed meal.
There, I saw Jack and Elliott scarfing down their food with gusto.
“Slow down. You’ll choke.”
“Mmph! Young master, come eat!”
“Ah, this is pure happiness.”
With a hearty meal and the afternoon’s training waived, they were basking in rare joy.
Elliott even went so far as to say,
“Any more guys coming to kill you? I could use more rest.”
***
Having gained some resilience through mental conditioning, the cadets moved on to the full Executor course.
The first phase was physical conditioning to build their bodies.
This was part of Academy training too, but the Executor course took it to another level.
“Aaagh!”
“Argh!”
The cadets’ screams became as commonplace as daily noise, and I, like the other instructors, drove them hard.
‘Is there anything interesting going on? I’ve already gotten everything I could from that Lina woman.’
Whenever I had a spare moment, I’d visited Lina in the dungeon.
Hearing about magical engineering was intriguing.
But since she didn’t know everything, our conversations quickly ran dry.
With no new topics, I lost interest.
The training was also limited to within or just outside the barrier, leaving me with little to do.
Especially since the Head Instructor’s orders put me under surveillance, preventing me from leaving the barrier.
As these monotonous days dragged on, the Head Instructor called the instructors together before evening training.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes!”
“We’re past the midpoint of the physical conditioning phase, so it’s time to prepare for the next step.”
The mention of the next phase piqued my interest.
‘Physical conditioning is followed by practical combat. And the targets are monsters.’
The cadets would face captured monsters one-on-one or in groups to sharpen their real-world combat skills.
Capturing those monsters was the instructors’ responsibility.
“But Head Instructor, how do we bring monsters here? The barrier keeps them out.”
“Don’t worry. There’s a way.”
The Head Instructor produced a collar, the kind beast tamers might use.
“Huh? Isn’t that a Red Ring?”
“You recognize it?”
I knew it at a glance.
‘How could I not? I still vividly remember fighting monsters wearing those in the arena, blood splattering everywhere. To think they’d use such a costly slave collar from the Empire here. Like the Elixir, the palace is really investing in this course.’
Red Ring.
Originally designed in the southern desert kingdom to prevent slave escapes.
But through an alchemist’s refinements, it became a magical tool capable of controlling animals and even monsters.
“With a Red Ring, we can bring low-grade monsters inside the barrier. The control magic’s mana masks their presence, so the barrier doesn’t react. Once they’re inside, removing the Red Ring won’t affect the barrier.”
“Exactly. Though it only works for low-grade monsters with weak presences.”
“We wouldn’t be catching or fighting high-grade monsters anyway, right?”
The Head Instructor smiled at my comment.
“You know your stuff. Let’s start by scouting for monsters suitable for the cadets. Those leading tonight’s training stay; the rest, come with me to scout. Volunteers for capturing monsters…”
“Me!”
“I knew you’d volunteer. You’d go even if I tried to stop you, so Evan, you’re in. Now, who else?”
Thus, six instructors, including me, formed the advance team.
We left the fortress to scout near the barrier, assessing the number and types of monsters in the area.
But we ran into a problem.
“Why are monsters like that showing up around here?”
Through the tall grass, we spotted a Wyvern tearing into a Lizard.
“Is it a problem for it to be here?”
At my naive question, Nell nodded gravely.
“Not exactly, but this isn’t their usual habitat. There’s no shortage of prey either.”
“Guess someone told them to get lost.”
My offhand remark made everyone’s expressions darken.
“What?”
“Could it be… it’s starting to stir?”
The instructors seemed to share some knowledge.
I pressed them for answers.
“What’s going on? Why do only the instructors know?”
“Knowing won’t do you any good. It’s about a monster on this island.”
“This place is already crawling with monsters.”
“Not just any monster—the worst one, the island’s apex. The Hydra.”
“Hydra? That enormous one?”
“Yeah. It’s terrifying, but…”
My eyes sparkled brighter than the stars.
‘This guy acts like he’s got ten lives.’
Nell issued a low warning.
“Aren’t you afraid? This is serious; you might face a nine-headed beast.”
“You just kill it nine times, right?”
“Let’s drop it.”
With Hellscape Island’s ecosystem behaving oddly, we returned to the fortress.
Upon hearing our report, the Head Instructor decided to head to the island’s central area himself.
To investigate the Hydra’s activities.