Along with Conan's idea came small laughs and head shakes, internally mocking the boy.
"We can't, they're all watching us, as soon as we try anything they'll kill us," Ghislaine said with a small smile, still remembering their previous escape attempt.
"What if the wizards help us? The more the better," said Conan, giving them another idea.
"...if we start talking, they'll all get suspicious. We don't usually have many conversations with the others," said Anna, who had remained silent until now.
"That's true," agreed Ghislaine.
"And learning magic is very difficult, especially for us who have never practiced," said the redhead, in a discouraged tone.
"...It's not necessary, we can use Qi," said Ghislaine. "Most of us are not the ideal age to transform mana into Qi. But it's better to try than to do nothing."
When she finished speaking, they all looked at each other, seeing their young bodies, bruised or otherwise malnourished.
"We'll have to try. Last time we almost managed to escape. If we use this, we can do it," said Anna decisively.
"I want to try," said Conan, raising his hand. "Anna, do you know how to do what Ghislaine said?"
"I know, but it will be difficult since you don't even use mana," confirmed Anna, who seemed reluctant to let Conan be the first to try.
Hearing Anna, everyone looked at Conan, who had a determined look on his face, accompanied by a smile.
"All right, if that's what you want, we'd better get ready," she pointed her finger at the others. "Let's decide who is in the best physical condition and let them win. We need them in the best possible shape," Anna said to the others, seeing them nod at the same time.
Everyone nodded in agreement with Anna's words. Looking at Conan, who would be the one they would use to escape from the place, no one else volunteered at that moment, since the process they were about to undergo was a desperate measure, skipping several steps or essential requirements to advance in martial arts.
<<<>>>
Three months had passed since the meeting. Each and every one of the slaves spread the word about the mass escape, convincing those who refused to participate as best they could.
Of course, there were slaves who were slow to join, some taking a few weeks and others two whole months. As a form of compensation, they served as a smokescreen. Those who won the favor of the slave owners gave false reports, gaining more time than expected.
During this time, everyone followed the agreed-upon steps, letting themselves be beaten every time the chosen ones were paired up in sparring, spending time explaining concepts or tactics to win fights.
Added to this was the help of the slaves who had won the favor of the supervisors, teaching various exercises and ways to increase their growth. They explained it to the others, helping them practice mana circulation, accumulation, and transformation into Qi.
Originally, the escape plan would take six months or even a year. But their plans were ruined as soon as the slave owners noticed the children's motivation. Beginning to suspect them, they took several away, interrogating them with beatings or death threats. When they saw that none of them spoke, they decided to increase surveillance.
<<>>
One quiet night, they decided to meet and, with everyone's help, prepared to encourage the chosen ones.
"Everyone sit down and relax, this is going to hurt a lot," said Anna, who had sat cross-legged on the floor.
In front of her was Conan with his back to her, and in the same way there were other slaves, with others behind and in front of them waiting for Anna's orders. The latter discovered and taught others how to open the main mana channels.
She was mainly helped by the three local wizards, which led to a slight demotivation when they saw that there were not as many as they thought. She came to her senses shortly after, as it was rare for a mage to be a slave due to their control over mana.
"Well, let's get started," said Anna, placing her hand on Conan's sword, closing her eyes, and concentrating as hard as she could.
Like Anna, everyone else concentrated, beginning the process.
"First, I'll forcefully inject mana, starting with the opening," Anna said to herself.
The mages had helped Anna experiment with injecting mana into other bodies. Since their bodies have a greater capacity to contain mana, they guided her so she wouldn't make any mistakes.
Slowly, everyone began to inject their mana into each other's bodies. This first step was not difficult since they had all practiced and no body rejected the foreign mana.
Conan, like the others, was not used to the feeling of mana in his body. So their bodies began to feel an uncomfortable tingling sensation as soon as they began to guide the mana through their dedicated veins.
Following this, they began the process of transforming mana into Qi, which was the most difficult part. Their bodies began to suffer the consequences of this. Their muscles began to tense up until they were almost torn apart.
To make matters worse, they continued with the second and most risky part of their plan. They connected a large thread to their bodies, pouring a large amount of Qi into the location of their dantians.
Opening the first one caused most of them to vomit blood and faint. The second one was more difficult, and few managed to open it. It stopped their hearts for a moment and then started beating again, distracting the children and causing their mana to explode in their bodies. This caused them to suffer various internal injuries.
Conan was the last and only one who remained conscious, forcing himself to open the last dantian.
"Shit... I have to stay conscious or Conan won't be able to continue," thought Anna, who was bleeding from her nose and close to fainting.
Although Anna tried to resist, she gradually began to lose strength, stopping supplying mana to Conan and guiding him in the opening.
Conan, who was opening the last dantian with his last strength, suddenly stopped feeling Anna's hand, who had fallen unconscious and was being helped by the others.
"W-why can't I feel Anna...?" he thought to himself, feeling his heart racing with nerves. "Quick, quick, I have to do it quickly—!?" Before he could finish his words, all his orifices began to spill blood, causing him to faint.