đźź Chapter 5 :
Ever since I heard Boral and the guard talk, I decided to try to understand what was really going on and dig deeper. I can't imagine myself living in this prison for years. That morning, I tried to talk to Simon in the prison cafeteria, but it was useless—he shoved himself into a corner and stayed there alone. The same thing happened during recess and lunch; he always went to a corner and squeezed himself in. I couldn't even get close to him. Every time he saw someone approaching, he moved away. My first day after hearing that conversation felt completely wasted.
The next day, during recess, I tried to approach Simon again. As expected, he still didn't want to talk. I guess he has completely lost trust in people by now. I can't really blame him; after coming to Valoris to promote it, he was deceived and thrown into prison. Boral is probably involved—he was likely tricked with fake currency. Well, some people form a bad impression of a place because of just one person. I'm not saying Valoris is either good or bad, but I can't judge all its people as scum like Boral. He needs to understand that the world doesn't revolve around him, and that there are people who have suffered far greater injustice than he has.
While these thoughts ran through my mind, Ren appeared, smiling brightly despite being in a prison. I wondered—if he were thrown into the depths of the ocean, would he still keep that smile? I had forgotten to ask him about his skill. I had a feeling I'd need it soon. He looked at me, laughing:
"So, you're still trying to get Simon to talk, huh!"
He noticed I was trying to speak to Simon. Naturally, anyone in prison would notice me trying to approach that oddball.
"Well, maybe I need to make some other friends here," I muttered.
Ren looked at me in surprise.
"Friends? What do you mean?"
"The word 'friendship' is a bit of an exaggeration; let's just say… mutual interest."
"That completely changes the meaning."
Since he was standing right in front of me, I figured I should ask him about his skill. Hopefully, it's not useless.
"Ren, what skill did you get before being sent to Valoris?"
He looked a bit surprised—he probably didn't expect me to ask.
"My skill? Oh, right, I didn't tell you, did I? It's called Gravity Flow."
"Gravity Flow? How does it work?"
"Imagine your body being able to manipulate its weight at any moment. While moving, your legs become so light it's like they don't even touch the ground—you can run at unbelievable speeds and leap distances you never dreamed of. And when you strike, your weight suddenly turns into an enormous force, making every punch or kick devastating, as if you're holding mountains in your hands.
In short, your body changes moment by moment: light and fast when you need to dash, heavy and destructive when you attack. Your opponent won't know where the strike will come from, and no ground can handle that weight except you."
Well, that doesn't sound like a bad skill. But I suspect it has limited applications. Even my Factory skill seems superior in capabilities, though currently useless. I wonder how he knows all these details. Did he memorize it from a paper? Maybe he has a powerful memory. Nuul didn't give me such a detailed explanation about my skill, but after thinking about it, mine seems straightforward… or so I thought.
Anyway, what does he even use his skill for? The weekly chicken?
"You only use it to get the weekly chicken plate?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise.
"Is there anything else worth using it for?" he replied with a serious face. He seems to value using his skill just to get chicken wings. What a waste of talent. Don't worry, Ren—I'll find a better use for your skill later.
Looking around, I spotted Raynar sitting alone, as usual. No one approached him. Honestly, I can't blame them; he's the reason behind the toilet disaster. Still, his knowledge of the prison layout caught my attention.
I said goodbye to Ren.
"Alright, I'll see you later."
He looked surprised—probably didn't expect me to willingly talk to Raynar. I must look suspicious now.
I walked up to Raynar and asked:
"Hey, Raynar, mind if I sit and talk?"
Even he looked shocked. Has it really come to this? Am I really that suspicious?
"Sure, go ahead. Let me remember… your name is Takero, right?"
At least he remembers my name.
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you a bit."
"About what?"
"What do you think it's about?"
"I don't know, I have no idea."
He didn't even bother thinking about what it might be; I simply told him:
"About a possible escape from this prison."
He jumped up as soon as I said that. Clearly, he didn't expect someone to share his crazy dream.
"Let's do it then, Takero! Let's get out of here!"
"Hold on, hold on! Not so fast. We're not there yet. First… how do you know the prison layout so well?"
"Well… to be honest, I've been in and out of this prison many times. My father and grandfather too. We've attempted to escape several times, but all attempts failed."
…What?
So his whole family… serially failed at escaping? Or are they just really bad at it?
"But listen," he continued,
"There was a tunnel dug from the toilets. My grandfather tried to escape through it but failed, and the guards sealed it. Still, he managed to draw a map of the tunnels before he died, passed it to my father, and then it came to me, hoping that someone in our bloodline would finally manage to escape this disgusting place."
Wow. He enters prison for a crime, tries to escape but fails, serves his sentence, gets out, then gets in again for another crime, as if determined to break free by escaping. Their whole family history revolves around failing to escape from prison. If they had a show, it would be called Prison Freak.
Raynar continued:
"I've spent twenty-five years going in and out of this prison. During that time, I built a new escape route from the guards' kitchen."
Finally, something useful—a tunnel from the kitchen.
"Do you know where the tunnels lead? And what's above them?"
"Kid, I've lived my whole life in this city. I know every inch of it. Of course I know what's above the tunnels."
"Perfect. Then we're escaping for real soon."
I have six days. What I'm planning is risky but necessary. If I don't act, I might stay trapped here for a long time… and when I finally gain my freedom, who knows what they'll do to me. Simon is a victim of Boral, like me; whatever happens to Simon could happen to me too, and of course, I don't want that.