Chapter 36: Survival rate increases…?
/
Name: Aether
Sex: Male
Race: #####
Level: 0
Title: The Lost One, Slave [Eternal Contract to ########], The Only Holder of Ether and Past-less, Future-less Entity.
Attributes:
Strength: -1
Agility: 0
Intelligence: 3
Magic Affinity: 0
Charm: 1
Compatibility: 85%
Survival rate= 0.19%
Affection Points: 10984 (1000 Affection Points = 1 *any Attributes)
?????
/
Aether blankly stared at his Log, his mind swirling with confusion. After a minute of contemplation, he questioned himself, “So, I am not human?”
He glanced down at his skinny frame, pondering what race he could possibly belong to. But he couldn’t shake the memory of his log clearly indicating he was human before the mysterious changes.
Aether shrugged off the thought; after all, his race seemed inconsequential as long as he could still savour the taste of food.
Then his eyes fixated on the enigmatic title bestowed upon him.
‘Sigh…’ He couldn’t help but sigh in frustration at his lack of understanding.
“Tsk, Come on, Log, at least give me a description!” Aether grumbled, growing increasingly annoyed.
… No reaction, just like before.
Aether’s lips curled in anger, shaking his head in exasperation. “You are utterly useless,” he muttered bitterly.
Determined to unravel the meaning behind his title, he began to speculate.
“Lost one? Did I lose something?” he wondered aloud, furrowing his brow in confusion.
“Slave… Eternal contract to… whom?” Aether frowned, his mind racing with unanswered questions.
“Holder of Ether?” He glanced down at his body, contemplating the cryptic title, “Yeah…. I mean, I am inhabiting his body, so I suppose I am the holder of Ether… Something like that?”
“Paste-less, Future-less entity…?” Aether squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of the peculiar designation.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aether racked his brain, attempting to decipher the enigma. After considering various possibilities, he arrived at a tentative conclusion.
“Ether didn’t have past memories, so Past-less… right? Then Future-less means… what? Does that mean… Oh! I see, the Survival rate,” he murmured, his eyes flicking to the decreased Survival rate displayed in his log.
He was truly lost when he saw his Survival rate before, but now, even a 0.01% decrease was alarming.
A decrease was a decrease, no matter how small the amount, leaving Aether unable to fathom what would happen next.
‘Gulp’
Aether audibly gulped, his voice trembling with uncertainty. “S-So, I should avoid her, right?” he muttered to himself, his thoughts consumed by the implications of his dwindling survival rate.
“Seems like Future-less means I don’t have a definite future… heh,” Aether chuckled weakly, attempting to lighten the heavy atmosphere with humour.
He couldn’t shake the feeling of unease, unsure if it was solely due to Empress influence or if there were other factors at play. Regardless, he decided it was better to err on the side of caution and avoid any potential dangers that lay ahead.
“Compatibility increased? Why?” Aether pondered aloud, his mind racing with questions and confusion.
Many things perplexed him, especially the ten thousand Affection points displayed in his log.
‘Gulp’
He gulped again, this time with a mixture of happiness and….. an underlying sense of foreboding.
Shaking off his apprehension, he focused his attention on the attribute text for Strength. With expectant eyes, he reached out to touch it, but to his dismay, nothing happened.
Frowning, he tapped a few more times, hoping for a response, but still, nothing occurred.
Frustrated, he muttered,
“Increase Strength”
!~Ding~!
The sound of the bell reverberated in his mind, and Aether let out an aggravated sigh.
Then,
[+1 Strength]
[Strength: 0⬆]
Seeing his strength finally transition from negative to neutral, Aether couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. “Finally, I can start exercising withou—”
Suddenly, Aether’s world spun in a whirlwind of agony as his heart lurched, sending sharp bolts of pain coursing through his chest with each pounding beat.
“Ba-dump, Ba-dump”
The relentless rhythm of his heartbeat reverberated loudly in his ears, drowning out all other sounds as he clutched his chest in a desperate attempt to quell the searing pain. Each thud felt like a hammer blow to his already battered body, echoing the turmoil within.
“Arrrhh!” He groaned, the agony gripping him like a vice, squeezing the breath from his lungs as he writhed on the ground, his limbs thrashing in a futile attempt to escape the torment.
“Arrrhh!”
‘Crack, Crack’
Aether’s bones shifted and snapped with sickening sounds, each fracture sending waves of excruciating pain rippling through his body. It was as if his very essence was being torn asunder, shredded into pieces by some unseen force.
“OOFRRRR!!!”
The intensity of the torment escalated, red tears streaming from his bulging eyes, staining his cheeks with their crimson hue. His neck twisted and contorted with each convulsion, emitting sickening cracks and pops as if it were being twisted like a rag doll.
“ARRRRHHHHHHHH!!!”
‘Crack, Crack, Crack..”
His screams pierced the air, a primal cry of anguish and despair as he endured the unrelenting onslaught of agony. Each crack echoed like thunder in the silence, a symphony of suffering that seemed to reverberate throughout the very fabric of his being.
“PUFFF!!!”
“PPSSSSSSSS!!”
His body betrayed him, his muscles spasming uncontrollably as he lay writhing on the ground, his senses overwhelmed by the stench of his own filth.
Urine and faeces leaked from him in a sickening cascade, staining the ground beneath him with their foul presence.
The air permeated with a nasty smell… as it was a local toilet.
“Cough, Cough!!!”
Aether’s chest heaved with each ragged breath, his lungs burning with the effort as he fought to draw air into his battered body. Each cough sent waves of agony rippling through him….. as if his very soul was being torn apart from within.
‘Tuck, Tuck’
The grotesque substance oozed from his every orifice, a dark red jelly tide that stained his skin and clothes with its foul presence. It dripped from his nose, ears, eyes, mouth, and….. every other opening, a macabre testament to the horrors he endured.
“GGRRRRRR!!!”
Aether’s grip on consciousness slipped, his vision swimming as he teetered on the brink of oblivion. Every fibre of his being screamed for release, for an end to the torment that threatened to consume him whole.
After what felt like an eternity of torment, the agonizing sounds and images finally ceased, leaving Aether battered and broken, but somehow still clinging to life.
Aether slowly rose from the filth that coated his body, his sack dress soaked through with a noxious combination of excrement, urine, and the dark blood-like substance he had coughed up.
With a resigned sigh, he shed the soiled garment, standing naked amidst the squalor. Instead of inspecting his body, he lifted his gaze to the sky, seeking solace in the vast expanse above,
/
Name: Aether
Sex: Male
Race: #####
Level: 0
Title: The Lost One, Slave [Eternal Contract to ########], The Only Holder of Ether and Past-less, Future-less Entity.
Attributes:
Strength: 0
Agility: 1 ⬆
Intelligence: 3
Magic Affinity: 0
Charm: 2 ⬆
Compatibility: 88% ⬆
Survival rate= 0.5% ⬆
Affection Points: 09984 (1000 Affection Points = 1 *any Attributes)
?????
/
His gaze fell upon the holographic display of his attributes, noting the changes that had occurred during his ordeal.
His survival rate had increased, along with his compatibility…. yet he still remained perplexed by the meaning behind these alterations.
Aether didn’t fully comprehend the significance of compatibility, but he took solace in the fact that his survival rate had improved. It gave him hope, a glimmer of optimism amidst the chaos that surrounded him.
“Glad to see some progress, at least,” he murmured to himself, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Despite the hellish torment he had endured, he found a sense of satisfaction in knowing that his efforts had not been in vain.
He contemplated using the remaining points to further enhance his abilities but hesitated at the thought of drawing undue attention to himself.
“If I suddenly become too powerful, others might grow suspicious and it would be a pain in the ass to deal with…” he muttered to himself, casting a wary glance around his room, which still reeked of faeces.
Though it was really shit!!!
With a resigned sigh, Aether silently opened the door and peered outside, scanning the darkened surroundings for any signs of movement. It was midnight, and the household was quiet, everyone had retired for the night.
Gulping nervously, Aether slipped out of the room, clad only in his nakedness.
His destination was the pond located in the yard, the only place where he could bathe without drawing unwanted attention.
As a slave, he was denied access to the bathroom, and forced to rely on the mercy of others for even the most basic of needs. The common restroom for servants was off-limits to him, as the other servants made sure to exclude him whenever they were present.
Frustrated and angry, Aether had resigned himself to bathing outside under the cover of darkness, when the mansion lay quiet and still.
“Woahhh!!” Aether exclaimed in surprise as he reached the edge of the pond.
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