My consciousness returned and then my eyes instantly snapped open.
I tried to draw in a breath, but then I winced as a sharp pain flared in my chest.
'What?!'
Panic instantly slammed into me and a series of questions suddenly flooded my mind.
'Huh? Didn't i die? I died, right? If I died, then… chrysalis should have brought me back without any injuries. So what is this?'
The pain was not just from my chest, but even the one in my side from my earlier squabble with the goat-headed ghouls began to ache. It was dull and bearable, likely due to the Health Elixir I'd consumed earlier.
If that wound was still here, then… this meant, I did not die.
Fuck!
Then where am I? What happened? Did I just pass out, and they dragged me to... wherever the hell this was?
…Wait.
What about Aika?
'Aika… Aika can you hear me? Are you okay?'~
I was panicking for a second, but then I heard her strained voice.
'Yes, I'm fine.'~~
I immediately heaved a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness she was okay.
It seemed the sedative from the arrow that had rendered her unconscious must have finally worn off.
'What happened? Why am I not dead and where are we?'~
A few seconds passed before Aika replied in an uncertain tone. 'As for why you are not dead, I think it's because of the elixir you drank earlier. It's probably working on that wound on your chest. The ghouls must have brought us here after we both passed out.'~~
My eyes immediately darted around to scan my surroundings. Since I was currently lying down on the floor, I could see that above was a low, hard ceiling, almost as if we were… indoors?
Groaning, I tried to sit up to have a proper look around. It took a lot of effort and my entire body felt like a ruin.
But when I finally sat up and looked around, my eyes widened, and my jaw dropped in a mix of confusion and surprise.
I was in what looked like a big underground prison, divided into many large cells by rough bamboo walls. But it was not the prison itself that made me utterly bewildered; it was the people in the prison with me, and more specifically, the three people sharing the cell I was in.
I could recognize the three first-years, though albeit vaguely. They were not from Class Delta, which I was in, but from the other first-year classes.
They consisted of two girls and one boy, and all of them were bruised and battered.
The first was a slender girl with short, dark hair. She leaned against the wall, shivering and crying uncontrollably, like someone mourning.
Unlike her, the boy was unconscious and lay limp on the floor. His visible wounds didn't seem severe, so he was likely just sleeping due to the effect of a sedative.
When my gaze landed on the last person, I couldn't help but frown.
'What the fuck is this bitch doing here?!'
It was a familiar pale girl with short, vibrant red hair that was now messy and striking blue eyes that were wide and bloodshot. She leaned in the corner, shaking too, but unlike the first girl, hers didn't seem to be from just fear. She also kept scratching her arm like someone who was dealing with severe, desperate withdrawal.
Seeing her, I couldn't properly describe the mix of emotions that I was feeling.
When she saw that I was looking at her, she quickly turned away in shame and raw fear.
After a moment, I sighed, looked away from her, and decided to focus on the situation at hand.
I needed an answer to the question of where we were, so I turned to the large map that appeared at my side.
Unsurprisingly, it showed that we were not only still in Aziz's Beautiful Garden, but were in the very heart of the territory.
I could see hundreds of red dots scattered across the map. When I saw this, I swallowed as a chill ran down my spine.
'How am I going to escape this hellhole?'
My gaze slowly dropped to my arms that were bound by thick, strong vines.
I arched a brow.
'What is this feeling of deja vu?'
I looked back up at the three people that were in the cell with me, who were also bound by the same vines, and I was suddenly reminded of my first day after my transmigration.
Setting that feeling aside, I tried to rip the vines that were binding me, but when I couldn't, I then decided to burn them using my exclusive skill.
However…
When I tried to activate it, nothing happened.
'Huh?'
Then I suddenly remembered that I was low on mana.
But still, the lack of power felt wrong.
Shouldn't it be night right now?
It was night and so my mana should have at least been replenished even a little bit, so why can't I use flames of decay?
I turned to my side and reached out to where an Inventory Portal opened. I took out a vial filled with golden liquid, which was the Mana Elixir. I then uncorked it and drank every bit of the horrible tasting liquid.
A few seconds passed, then I decided to try using my skill again.
Still… nothing happened.
"Wha…"
I kept trying over and over again, and then a notification suddenly popped up in my vision.
[The exclusive skill Flames of decay cannot be used.]
What the fuck?
'What do you mean by that, Gamer Privileges? Why can't I use my skill?'
Another notification popped up.
[Gamer Privileges has detected an anti-magical barrier.]
'Anti-magical barrier?'
[Searching for the source of the anti-magical barrier…]
'…'
[Gamer Privileges has determined that the source of the barrier is the work of the Sages of the goat-headed Ghouls.]
'Crap!'
The Sages of the goat-headed Ghouls. The name brought back a flood of terrifying knowledge.
I could remember them. The Ghouls were widely known as extremely good hunters, but that wasn't their only danger. There was a specific reason why anyone caught by them never escaped, and that reason was the Sages.
Although these Sages weren't versed in offensive magic, they were infamous for their ability to set traps using it. One of their most notorious traps was their anti-magical barriers.
It was immediately clear this entire prison had been constructed as one of those barriers.
My gaze dropped to the floor, and my dread intensified when I saw a dense array of glowing runes marked into the earth. In the spaces between the markings, I saw what looked like dried blood.
'Aika, things have moved from really bad to utterly, utterly worse.'~
This anti-magical barrier meant we could all do nothing but sit here and wait for death.
While I was still wallowing in my panic, I began to hear the chilling, high-pitched voices of the Ghouls.
They were coming!