Cassian was inside the iron maiden and was already falling apart mentally. At any point he could have sworn it had been several hours in the darkness already.
However, whenever he tried to count, he unexpectedly got the numbers messed up.
He tried to take a deep breath, but his body barely existed; he could feel nothing. Every sense was blocked from him.
'How can I know Cypher won't keep me here forever?'
He had no support for his logic on Cypher; at any moment, he could make a radical action that could very well end the world.
After mulling it over for a long time, he eventually knew that he was completely at the mercy of the demon. He would only be let out when Cypher allowed it.
The feeling was horrible when the pair first met; Cassian was at least able to put his life on the line as resistance. However, now he had already submitted his life to their deal.
That was when a voice appeared in his head.
'Just a little longer.'
At first, it was comforting, even supportive.
'You are doing what you can for humanity.'
He felt stronger because of its support, and hoped that he was doing the right thing.
However, it changed.
'But why save humanity?'
It revealed everything he was trying to hide from himself.
'Nobody treats you as human, everybody targets you just because you are an F-rank.'
"There is still Alizée, no matter what, I must protect her."
It immediately countered him
'I bet you could make a deal with the demon; he could spare a couple of people. He does want to invade the human world after all.'
"The only ones that treat me like that are the ones inside school, as soon as I am registered and go through the dungeon, I can leave that place."
'Is that true though?'
Cassian faltered; the voice targeted his doubts perfectly. He couldn't deny these ideas and fears in the back of his head.
'People outside the school will treat you the same; nobody cares for a mere F-rank.'
"I still have my pledge, I still believe in humanity, I still believe in kindness."
'Very well.' The voice seemingly gave up.
However, 'Will it be that way forever?'
The voice's words were no different than poison; Cassian had resisted every doubt before. Everybody who targeted him, and everything that happened to him. Every ounce of pain was worth it for the priceless survival of humanity.
"Will I be this way forever?"
The doubt was thoroughly driven through him.
No longer was he strong in the face of pain and suffering; he instantly gained fear for himself.
"I will be the one to betray humanity."
Ever since he made the deal that was his fate, to be the traitor.
"I will be the one to give in to demons."
"How long?"
"How long can I last before I give in?"
Cassian's thoughts grew bigger and more horrible until the time was completely up.
Finally, light shone inside the iron maiden, and he was able to see again. Along with the light came the stench of blood, unknowing the room was always stained with it. However, it was only at that point that his sense of smell picked it up.
The rest of his senses returned as well, and he found some comfort in them.
'The dark is scary.' His eyes were glazed over, a type of dullness that came from his smallness.
Cassian crawled out of the iron maiden and stood up.
"I have a question."
He spoke calmly as he began to put his clothes on.
"Anything for you."
Cypher replied sweetly, like a newlywed wife to her husband.
"What is the extent of the pseudo-immortality skill?" This was bugging him; how far he could really go depended on this skill, how much he could resist.
"Oh, it's just that." Cypher grasped his chin, "Let me see, you will live if your head gets cut off, but if your entire body is destroyed, you can't come back from that."
"I can survive decapitation?"
A sense of wonder was found in him; it was definitely an amazing skill.
"Yes, if the person is not level fifty, then they will have no chance of killing you."
Cassian instantly suppressed his emotions; he was getting out of control.
This basically guaranteed his success as a hunter, not even the principal was level fifty. Though nobody knew the exact number, he was apparently only in his forties.
Every twenty-five levels granted a huge boost in power; they also represented a boundary that must be overcome.
To advance past this boundary, one had to gather rare materials and defeat difficult boss monsters. Nobody knew the exact conditions they would get, but very few were actually easy.
However, the effort was entirely worth it. Despite a difference of a single level, there have been many accounts of a level fifty fighting a dozen people at level forty-nine, and winning.
With this information, he came to another realization, part of his deal with Cypher. The part where the demons could invade if he died was not aimed at other people trying to kill him.
It made him feel trapped in another way, even if he knew that he would never choose that path.
"Is there anything else you would like to ask?"
Cypher spoke with a wise look in his eyes.
'Wait, is he watching me outside of torture?'
This thought had never occurred to him before, but it made perfect sense. The demon invasion relied on him; watching the target was a basic precaution.
"How are you in the human world?"
"You do not need to worry about what you are thinking. I have almost zero ability to interact with the human world, besides these parties we have every night."
He knew this was the most he would get out of the demon, so he gave up there.
"In two days, my class will be entering a dungeon; it will likely last for three days…"
He began to trail off; he knew that entering the dungeon would take multiple days. He also knew that Cypher likely wouldn't accept it, since it would take time away from his torture.
"Say no more," Cypher showed no falter in his smile, "You can participate in the dungeon for its full length, and I will not ask anything of you in return."
Cassian was surprised; the demon was allowing this.
"Thank you." He forced the words from his lips.
"No problem, humans have their own things to worry about."
With that, Cassian left for school. Things would finally change for him. Because today was the day all the students registered with the Hunter association.
He checked out his new skill.
[Sense Enhancement - Level 3
Passive Skill
Effect: Increases the five senses' ability by 32%]
'It's already level 3?'
The deprivation of his senses in the iron maiden actually helped him level up the skill. However, the fact that it was now his highest-level skill brought him some shame.