A lonely chandelier dangled from a chain, but like the last chamber I entered, the ceiling above us was completely obscured by shadows. Not even the daylight coming through those stained glass windows could pierce the darkness. The candles on it barely illuminated the stone floors. There was probably more than one little floating eyeball sneaking around in the darkness watching us.
No test tubes or vials of strange liquid were to be found anywhere. Yet.
Our steps filled the hall as the Observer Eye silently guided us to a door at the end. Blue light filtered from underneath it. Rustling came from behind it, the sound of metal latches unlocking followed by a hum. Huh, I mused. It’s just a simple wooden door. So regular people doors do exist in this world, after all.
The door swung open with a loud creak, and a tall woman stepped out. She wore the signature Ravenclast expression, one full of scorn and disdain for us. However, instead of a red Ravenclast Hunter uniform or a lab coat, she was wearing a green uniform similar to ours. Strange medals and pins studded her lapel like stars. Among them, a familiar Ravenclast-studded medal gleamed under the candlelight.
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Risa Ravenclast
Human Duelist, level ??
A Ravenclast Hunter representing the Great House of Ravenclast in the eyes of this nation’s Adventurer Guild.
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An Adventurer’s Guild. Huh, so that type of thing is in this world as well. The Observer Eye floated by her. It evidently belonged to someone else lurking in the shadows here. The true head honcho must be overseeing this whole thing remotely.
“Greetings, Batch 1061,” the official spoke with a dry tone. She raked her eyes over us all, then settled back into a look reserved for regarding boring furniture. “Come. The potency of the Bearer’s blood within you shall be recorded in the chamber up ahead. Then you will be sorted accordingly.”
Measured and sorted. I pondered over the words for a moment. I theorized this cult’s whole setup was to filter us lab rats for those dangerous Rifts. A little bit over the top and inefficient, but I also began to theorize that we “batchlings” were the result of the Consorts and the Bearer. The particular details of how that activity went between the two could be skipped.
We stepped from cobblestone floors to wooden planks into another circular, tiered chamber. A foul smell made me scrunch up my nose. Ugh. Why does everything around here smell? Inside the chamber was the very source of that disturbance—stinky black bits of creatures in bubbling jars.
However, at the center of the room where Risa stopped was another one of those demon raven goat-headed creatures strapped to a stone coffin. She was searching for something in a cupboard nearby while it squirmed occasionally against the restraints. Unfortunately for it—and for us—it seemed drained of all its blood, lying on the stone slab flat like a soaked, soggy leather book.
I was too fascinated with the whole sacrificial ritual the last time to notice what the Plus Menu named it, but here it didn’t seem like I was going to have to drink its blood.
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Carrier of the Ravenclast Bearer
Demon Monster, level 5
[Dark Element]
A monster born in the spilled blood of a Bearer. Hunters who cannot integrate with their patron’s blood will become this monster and succumb to a fate worse than death.
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Ah. So that’s why the Plus Menu knew what it was. I ignored the small bit where I might have transformed into one if I didn’t survive last night’s activities. From above, a massive orb of flesh hooked to a chain slowly descended to our level. A brain? How ugly and wonderful! Just what did it belong to? Risa pulled out an odd device from a drawer, apparently able to control the chain’s height with it.
With the press of a button, the wooden floor opened up like a mouth, revealing a pit of darkness below, which swallowed the coffin and its unlucky passenger unceremoniously. There wasn’t any sound of things crashing in the depths beneath. With another click, the false wooden floorboards were replaced by another platform of stone.
Risa still did not react, but my companions and I stood there like idiots with our mouths agape as we stared at the spectacle.
So this was the thing that would read our power levels, huh? I gawked at it. A grey brain the size of a tour bus!
I flinched when it let out an odd oscillation of low, violent thrumming and high-pitched screaming, seemingly without any reason. This must have been the source of the humming I heard while entering. A thin layer of red mist clung to its wrinkles. Magic. The wisps of crimson swirled in small circles off the cold metal hook it was attached to.
No one seemed to see it, or they were too stunned to speak. On the other hand, I was amazed. If there was a silver lining to being transported to this world, it was this new sense—seeing the beautiful, colorful sparks defy the greyness and darkness covering this cursed place. I peeked at the thing with the Plus Menu open.
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— Armoured One’s Mind
An artifact scavenged from a slain Avatar of the Armoured One, Long May He Reign. It reacts to blood resonation and shudders violently when it encounters strong Hunters.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
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Well, my theory that it was the Bearer’s brain had been debunked. But it probably had bad memories of us Hunters, and that’s why it shook. Poor thing. It suddenly vibrated again; its wrinkles pulsed like a body bag with its occupant still very much alive and choking inside.
The clattering of the official’s stone tablet on a desk broke my fixation on the brain’s tantrums and magical aura. Risa pulled a thick ledger from the desk’s drawer. She cleared her throat and flipped to a page.
“Since you all survived the Ritual Test, you are now Hunters worthy of the Bearer. It gave you life and power,” Risa said blandly. “Now, you are sworn by birth to serve Us, House Ravenclast, in Honour and Glory, and for our great Bearer. You will aid Us in closing Rifts and offering their Core energies to restore our Holy One.”
A bunch of questions buzzed around in my head like bees and flies.
Eh? Restoring the Bearer? It seemed to me that despite all his concubines and consorts, demons and Hunters, and great Main Family of monsters, he still needed saving. Interesting. The Rifts seemed fraught with danger and magical food for the Bearer, whatever that is. Something told me he needed a lot of it, and that we Hunters were in short supply. This brain belonged to a creature from a Rift, didn’t it?
It suddenly made sense to me why this Adventurer Official bird was so bored with us all. She must have gone through a thousand batchlings just like us. Still, I wondered how she got out of those ugly red uniforms into a fancy green one. She must have a lot more freedom than us. But an organization separate from the House of Ravenclast meant there were more than one House, right? Or perhaps it was also for Hunters not from any House—but how could that be?
Risa tapped the ledger and pointed to the Armoured One’s Mind.
“You will give it a drop of your blood, and the machine will resonate with the Bearer’s blood within you. It will give you your potency’s official rank. I will handle the rest. Now, Devon, Batch 1061’s eldest. Take this and give it your blood.”
I raised a hand to ask a question, but Risa ignored me. Her tone, while flat, certainly didn’t seem open to answering anything from those she considered beneath her. Devon took the knife she held out and approached the dangling brain as if it were a bomb on a countdown. I held my breath and watched, thanking my lucky stars that I wasn’t called first.
He did his best to remain calm, but the knife’s gleaming surface, twitching ever so slightly, gave him away. He walked to the Armoured One’s Mind and lifted his finger over one of its exposed bumps. With a flick, a small drop of blood splashed on the brain. It shuddered and groaned, rattling the chain as Devon quickly stepped back.
The magic coating its ugly form began to swell, turning from crimson to a faint purple. Risa turned to the brain and raised her arms in a Y-pose, waiting a minute before switching to an L-pose with her back ramrod straight. The creature relaxed into a faint quiver in response. They were communicating, I marveled.
Afterward, Risa dropped her pose and chanted something. A faint red pentagram of pure magic manifested in front of her with crackling energy, aiming directly at Devon. I checked the strange spell with my Plus Menu.
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— Adventurous One’s Identification Spell [Tier: 3]
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How fascinating! I wondered how many tiers there were in this wonderful world. The pentagram hovered as Risa waited for it to give the results, her eyes closed in focus. After it settled, she clasped her hands over her magic. When she opened her eyes, the magical crimson star formed in her pupils.
“Devon, you are B Rank. Principal. Eric, Batch 1061’s now second eldest. You’re next.”
Devon’s confidence was restored when he heard the results. He smacked the back of the knife’s handle into Eric, giving him a few mocking words. Eric took it, giving his big brother a cocky look back. It was a strangely harmonious scene—if only we weren’t in an evil laboratory with a living brain dangling from the ceiling. Devon scurried back to us after a stern look from Risa, clutching his finger. He didn’t forget to shoot me a disdainful glare, having regained some of his former arrogance.
That cut looks like it could get infected, I mused. I hoped my healing could apply to myself. Otherwise, things could get bad real soon.
The brain screamed again, and Eric walked confidently forward. Risa closed her magic once more and declared, “Eric, you are C Rank. Reach.”
Tiffany was up next. She was still shaken over the soldier smacking her in the back. Her face showed a trace of unease as she looked at the knife, but some color had returned to her cheeks. She scowled at me for good measure before fluttering toward the massive Mind. I didn’t miss her wince as she poked herself with the bloody knife.
“Tiffany, Batch 1061’s third daughter. Also C Rank.”
Tiffany stepped back from the whining brain and up to me, trying her best to look imposing. I had simply rested my staff against a nearby sturdy table when the handle of the knife jabbed into my chest. She suddenly grew a mocking smile and scoffed. I yanked it out of her grasp and glared back.
Tiffany didn’t seem to expect that from me and stumbled back. She whined coquettishly. “Big Sister, must we truly test this one? She’s not like us, and she’s weak. Can’t we kick her down the Pit instead?”
That comment caused a few stifled laughs from the pair of surviving brothers. Tiffany noticed my stare hadn’t changed, and whatever look I had on made her even more unnerved. The bird doesn’t know that she was dead already. A shame.
Risa let out a stern growl, shutting the peanut gallery up instantly.
“The Bearer’s blood has bonded with her. She must take the test.” Her tone left no room for argument. Still, the resignation I detected in her voice told me she agreed with the dead bird. “Now. Kathleen, Batch 1061’s… experiment, you’re up next.”
Oh god. It’s me next.
My heart slammed against my ribs as Tiffany stepped aside, giving me a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. The brain was a grey blob that towered over me. I stared up at the magnificent thing; the knife hovering above my finger was steady. The bloodstained tentacle shuddered and pulsed, then receded into itself as if it were afraid of me.
Well, now how do I manage to not cut my finger off?
I stared at the blade and hesitated for a moment. Screw it. I winced as I poked the tip of my finger quickly.
The prickly sensation stung after the drop of blood splotched the quivering tentacle, but after backing away to the first tier of desks, nothing happened. I not-so-discreetly tucked the knife into my uniform belt as I waited. The brain made no sound and remained still. My finger throbbed, and the room’s silence was broken by shrill laughter.
Tiffany pointed at me while Risa shook her head.
The buzzing of the Tier 3 spell’s pentagram stopped behind me. The Adventurer Guild member sighed as she picked up her tablet to record my power level.
“Kathleen, you’re E Rank. Menial.”
“Menial! The worst rank! Ha!” Tiffany laughed the loudest. “I told you! She’s nothing! Not even worthy of entering a Rift! Not—”
She was cut off when the massive brain began to shake violently. I quickly stepped out of the way, clearing the center of the room for the highest tier of tables. The chains clinked as it erupted with an ear-piercing scream. I covered my ears while chaos and squabbling broke out among the siblings. I looked at Risa, whose face had gone pale. Well, it seemed like the adventurer bird hadn’t expected this either.
The Armoured One’s Mind contracted, every wrinkle squeezing and bursting with fluid. Through its throes, I heard a horrid snapping sound. A part of it ripped open, revealing an enormous eye with a widened, diluted pupil that locked onto me at the back of the room.
It was terrified.
What did it see in my blood?
I didn’t get an answer. Instead, the scream stopped abruptly, and the frayed wrinkles ceased their struggles. The Armoured One’s Mind slumped, swaying in its restraints like a sock puppet that had lost the hand controlling it.
It was… dead?