Chapter 33: Official Run!

Chapter 33: Official Run! "Ugh... Uh, uh." Weird sounds were coming from the cell as Ken was once again on the upper bed of his cell, resting for as long as time allowed. Michael, the dark-skinned criminal, had met his bad fate for the second time now and was thrashing on the ground. *Biiip* Once again the doors opened, and Ken went through the same course of action. He threw Michael and didn’t even allow for him to hit the ground before he slashed his neck, beheading him in the air with his transformed xian liansuo. Then he walked outside, untransformed his weapon, and took the same torch he had taken the previous time before he walked towards the stairs. Once he was out, the prisoners came out and rushed towards the door at full speed. But this time, it was different for them. Ken wasn’t planning on letting anyone so much as reach the intersection. "Get Out Of My Way!" Titan, the giant, headed towards the stairs, his loud voice not even allowing those on the very front to move. And so, they watched as he followed Ken to escape. *Thud* *Thud* *BJKH* Step by step, he walked, once again bursting Michael’s head; the man’s fate followed him throughout the two lifetimes. And as Titan walked to the stairs, his mind knowing exactly what to do to leave the prison, he reached the stairs. And then, in front of every single person, he took a step and another one before loud sounds played out one after the other. *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* His left leg was cut first, its thickness doing nothing to prevent its outcome of being cut. And then, his massive body fell on the trap, sealing his fate. Head, torso, and arms—the strings set by Ken were far too sharp for him to possibly have any outcome. In war, where swords took men’s lives, Ken would never amputate an enemy. But the xianliansuo was different; its entire purpose was being stealthy, and its usage only allowed for such a cruel outcome. And thus, the only one who was allowed to leave the prison had ended up dead before he even took the chance. The prisoners stood in their places for a minute before the desperation took control and they rushed forward, planning to, one way or another, bypass the strings. Ken had no plans of taking the left or right path this time, as he knew that there was no way someone would be able to leave using them. That was the first and most important point behind his exploration during the test run. Thus, he planned to close the only way out, the central path. Indeed, Ken was set on not allowing a single criminal out of the prison, even if that meant closing every possibility. The path to the intersection also had sections with string traps, even if that took out his reserves. His string supply wasn’t large; even if he was able to regenerate it with spiritual energy, as he was right now, it was far from unlimited. Thus, he only wisely used it. Even so, a hundred prisoners was a large number; they could use each other in different ways to leave. But he wasn’t going to allow for a single bastard to get out of here alive, and he was going to make sure of that himself. He was doing this for two reasons. One, out of pure hate for these individuals, and second, rating. Disciples are rewarded at the end of each month, depending on their ranking, but mostly the top 100 get good rewards, and some scraps for the top 1000. And then, it depends on your final trial rating. You get rewards at the end of each trial, if you’re successful, that is. And if your rating is C-rank or below, you don’t get anything worth showing off. Just some spirit stones and some pills to help you sit in seclusion longer. However, from B-rank upward is where the real stuff starts, or so Ken heard from Max and others in one of the lectures; he doesn’t have much of an idea what he’ll get, just that it’s worth it. But knowing that he has keys to precious treasures made him not as fazed as others. He was here for the training. Being put in dangerous situations always brings out some hidden traits within oneself. From the hints the tower spirit gave him, he was sure that one way or another, not allowing these bastards to leave should have an effect on his rating, and another thing that should have an effect is where he was heading towards right now. The warden, or in more detail, the reason behind the prison break. All of these things were the hidden objectives that Ken deduced, among other things. Like actually mapping out the paths, checking out the guards, and exploring every single place in the prison. Even though he had only done so in the test run, it counts as if he had done it, something his hints told him. This gave more of an incentive for disciples to try the test run, making it worth it. But if they actually would have an effect on the rating was something to be seen in the end. Thus, after tampering with the difficulty of the left and right passages from the central path by releasing more dangers and triggering hidden traps. He also closed the way to the central one, as there was no Titan to scare the other prisoners into not following the central path like in the test run. Then, only after making sure that there was no way out for the prisoners, did he head directly towards the exit. He didn’t check on the guards, nor did he go to the canteen; all the worth in doing so had been claimed. But when he came towards the intersection, he stopped. "The exit is to the left, huh?" Ken spoke out loud, his mind playing out the words the warden spoke in the test run, before he looked towards it and then to the right. Then he stepped forward... To the control room. -----End-----