Chapter 157: Go to Sleep

***AUTHOR FAVOR***

Please do still vote for "My Hermes System"!

As promised, I gave huge discounts on the Privelege Tiers for December! The contest is not over yet. Our opponent has an army!

******

"...You should probably talk"

Sofia gently slammed the small bag she was holding on the table, and yet, the sound of its contents still clanged loudly.

The man twitched as soon as the sound reached through his ears, it was as if the noise itself was threatening him. Nonetheless, his eyes were still full of resolution, looking far ahead, as if even Death itself will not be able to make him talk.

Slowly, Sofia untied the wrapping on the bag and rolled it open. The clanging noise once again reverberated in the air as numerous metallic tools were revealed.

The man's eyes widened as a barrage of sweat started to appear on his face. But of course, his eyes were still full of resolution.

Sofia then retrieved a tool with a funny shape and slowly approached the bound man.

"Last chance", Sofia whispered in his ear, "Are you going to talk? Because I am telling you, this will be the worst pain you will ever experience in your life", she then placed the weird-looking tool on the man's neck.

Feeling the chill on his neck, the man could not help but gulp. He closed his eyes as he let out a huge breath.

He then shouted, his saliva spewing from his mouth as the veins on his neck almost popped out. His eyes full of resolution, loyalty, and conviction,

"Never!"

***

The man is a disciple of the Heaven Bamboo sect.

Heaven Bamboo Sect is one of, if not the oldest, sects in the whole of Choryu. In terms of prestige, The Heaven Bamboo sect was considered to be of even higher status than the Golden Pavilion when it was still in its prime.

But alas, age is cruel, even to the supreme. Now, the only thing that they had was their name. With the western arts gaining popularity throughout the years, their old ways all but died. It would seem that no one was interested in joining their sect anymore. And with the appearance of the dungeons, they knew that they had to truly adapt, or else, they will be forgotten, left to swim in the ashes of their history.

The Heaven Bamboo sect disciple said that they were gathering Drifters, mostly children, and bringing them to their sect. But, as a matter of course, the expected response- the natives of the other world were not willing to go.

And so, most of the time, it turns violent as they forcefully take the children away from the embrace of their mothers.

They have been doing this for as long as the Dungeons first appeared in Choryu. The children were being trained and forced to cultivate. Those who showed promise and potential were given benefits. However, if they do not obey, then they will be tortured.

-And that was the extent of the knowledge of the masked man, if anything else was happening, then it was already outside of his jurisdiction.

"Training them?", Xing Cai furrowed her eyebrows. The Heaven Bamboo sect… was forcefully making the inhabitants of the other worlds into their disciples?

There was a reason why Drifters needed to be questioned and examined. It wasn't only to control the number of Drifters that are going into their world but to confirm that it was truly their choice, that they weren't there by accident, and that they were not leaving any regrets behind.

To forcefully them away… from their families, forever? Xing Cai's face could not help but turn into a scowl. If the Dungeon had already closed, then there was no way for the children to return to their mothers. In a weird way, she knew exactly how this felt.

She then looked at Viel, who was casually healing the masked man.

Viel… was like the child she never had, wasn't he? She then shook her head as she lightly touched her belly. There was no use thinking about it now, she thought.

She wasn't his sworn mother, she was his sworn sister. That will never change.

*Bleurgh!*

The sound of someone puking instantly disrupted Xing Cai's thoughts. Jiff was currently kneeling in the doorway, his eyes watering from disgust as he felt his whole body weaken from the sight he just saw.

Sofia… used her tools in very creative ways. They had to cover and fill in the man's mouth so that his screams of pain did not wake up the neighbors.

It first started with Sofia making very small cuts on the man's arms. But the man seemed to be accustomed to torture, as he only shook his head while Sofia was making the cuts.

But then, Sofia retrieved something else from her bag, it was a flat metallic square with numerous holes on it. And without even saying anything, she placed it on the cuts on the man's arms. And very slowly, she pulled it down, rendering the masked man's skin into flakes.

That was when the masked man started to scream as if he wanted to say something. But still, Sofia did not even flinch as she continued doing her thing.

The next thing she did was insert a needle in between the man's fingers and nails, then proceeded to make the needles vibrate.

Jiff decided to stop watching there as he rushed towards the door and started puking. Based on the muffled screams he was hearing, the man seemed like he already wanted to talk, but Sofia didn't care.

Jiff almost wanted to make her stop, but he remembered that this masked man killed his brothers, literally stabbing them in the back. The masked man was his enemy.

With this thought, Jiff no longer thought about the man's life. But still, it did not stop him from almost puking his innards out.

Hearing the masked man's screams no longer, Jiff released a huge breath as he returned inside the house. Looking at the masked man, it was as if nothing had ever happened to him. His wounds were fully healed, not even a scar to remember them by.

The previous vigor and life on the man's eyes, however, were nowhere to be found. He was just staring at the ceiling, his saliva dripping from his mouth.

"What… What do we do with him now?", Jiff could not help but ask.

"Let me deal with this", Xing Cai sighed as she casually lifted the masked man, "The three of you should get some sleep", she said, grabbing the masked man by his collars as she exited the house.

"Good night, sister Xing Cai", Viel yawned. His sleep was disrupted due to Jiff's cries for help. It has been a while since he learned to seal his abnormal hearing, but someone shouting for his name? That seemed to be the exception as he quickly woke up, his eyes red in annoyance.

Sofia as well, after cleaning herself with her magic, casually entered her room, "Sorry about your brothers", Sofia said before closing the door.

Jiff stood there alone, standing in the empty living room, his eyes filled with confusion.

Sleep? Was he supposed to sleep in the living room, where a man just got tortured near death? How was he even supposed to sleep after all that has happened today?

...Was he actually the weird one here?