"Test subject 278, time to wake up. You have a procedure scheduled today." (???)
I woke up hearing that. Opening my eyes, I could see that the one who spoke was one of the many royal alchemists who come and go around here. Well, I guess it was one of the nicer ones, at least. Never cared to remember his name tho.
I've been in this pce for as long as I can remember, really. A cold underground b full of researchers. I think one of them told me that the purpose of this facility was to create a new weapon to win the war against the Southern Alliance. Well, not like I have any reason to care about any of that since no test subject ever makes it to adulthood. Actually, I think that I am the one that has survived this pce the longest...
"Hey, get up, it's not nice to leave people waiting." (Alchemist)
I stood up quickly after hearing that. After all, making sure that the researchers stay happy is the best way to avoid the more painful tests. And so, I did my best to act I was in a good mood.
"Good morning! What's the procedure? It's not one of the painful ones, right?" (278)
"Don't worry about it and follow me. I'll open your cell. Don't try anything funny." (Alchemist)
That attitude was a bad omen and I was fully aware of it. The researchers would always tell me what was going on unless they thought I would resist if I knew. Today was going to be a very bad day. Sadly, there was nothing I could do. Even the weakest of those alchemists was several times stronger than me.
I simply walked out of the cell when the door was opened, as usual. As usual, I kept a fake cheerful smile on my face. Luckily, these people didn't care about me enough to realise how much I hated this pce.
Following the man, I passed by several empty cells. They all used to be full, at some point. I don't know what exactly happened to the other test subjects, but it couldn't have been good. I decided that it was better to not think about it too hard, however. It's not like I could do anything about my fate...
Snapping out of my gloomy thoughts, I noticed that I had arrived in one of the many test chambers. This one was filled with medical equipment with that looked like a weird bed in the middle. For some reason it just felt off. The alchemist was holding what looked like a weird apple-sized gss ball.
"What's this thing? It looks strange." (278)
"This is a status orb. Take it and put some mana into it to dispy your status so I can write it down. It lets other people see your status, unlike checking it normally." (Alchemist)
As usual, I complied without causing any trouble. Upon picking up the orb, I put some mana into it. It was a bit difficult since I barely had any magic training, but I managed to do it. Doing so projected my status on a strange intangible screen above the status orb.
[Name: Error: No name found.
Age: 12
Race: Human
Level: 1
Hp: 42
Mp: 25
Str: 16
Vit: 23
Dex: 12
Int: 11
Skills: Space magic affinity, genetic instability, pain resistance, mental fortitude UP+++]
"Good, good, considering the fact that the average stats for a lv1 civilian are of 10, you are quite strong. Now, just y down over there while I write this down, alright?" (Alchemist)
Apparently my stats were good? Well, it's probably just the result of all that testing they did on me, isn't it? Genetic instability sounds like an issue more than a skill tho. That can't be good.
Upon ying down on the weird bed, I realised that I couldn't move. It felt like I was paralysed. That's why I felt something was off. The thing was enchanted. I saw something come closer in my peripheral vision before I felt a syringe full of a red liquid pierce my skin. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I did know that it hurt. It felt like fire was injected straight into my veins. My entire body hurt more than what I knew was possible. Right before passing out, I saw the system dispy something about an error of some kind? Interference from an outside force? Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to read it since I passed out right after. It probably wasn't too important.
