"Unless I unknowingly turned blind, I can see that none of them have above average body constitutions."
A cold voice echoed in the spacious but dimly lit hall of the Dark Palace.
There was no way to tell if it was currently day or night. The windows were closed, covered by thick curtains. Even if it was daytime outside, no light passed through which means that the only source of illumination in the place was the ball of light emitting soft violet glow at the center.
The person holding the glowing ball was standing next to the only seated man in the place with his head bowed.
He explained apologetically.
"We're terribly sorry, Sir. We have yet to find a few kids with good aptitude. Unexpectedly, this kingdom is actually quite… lax."
"Hmm, that's not what I expected from a place renowned for having a harsh wintery season all year round. Shouldn't the harsh environment here force the citizen to become extra hardworking and eager for power?" asked the owner of the cold booming voice.
Still holding the round illuminating tool, the magician replied respectfully.
"No, Sir. It seems their queen has done a great job of protecting her citizens so her subjects turned out like this, too content and without much ambition to seek strength under her rules."
"Is that so?" The one sitting on the throne looked down. Boredom and lack of interest became evident from his expression after he observed the people below.
Several kids and teenagers were gathered in the middle of the hall. One odd thing about these kids was their varying appearances and stature. A few looked like regular sons and daughters of peasants, while some looked like scions of less influential noble clans. Their only similarity was their style of clothing which revealed that they were from a cold region. All of them wore thick garments, some were even wrapped in two or three more layers of clothes. The majority were clearly kids below ten years of age. As to why they all ended up here, one look at their scared expressions was all it would take to know that none of them came to this place willingly.
The atmosphere in the hall was dreary and heavy. Especially since the children's hands were tied behind their backs.
The kids were also surrounded by several black-clothed adults whose faces were hidden by their masks and hoods. No wonder fear and insecurity could be seen on their faces as they cried soundlessly. All of them felt like they were surrounded by man-eating walls.
However, their expressions really made the 'Leader' dissatisfied.
"All weaklings." A flash of annoyance crossed the face of the man on the throne.
"... Yes." Only one or two of them will become useful in the future. Even the less powerful dark magicians could see this.
One of the magicians in the place was making sure no sound would escape from the captives. But he was skilled enough to only isolate the sounds from the crying and panicking kids. It was done not to arouse suspicions from people who might be near their gathering area. The palace was located in one of the forbidden regions of the continent so there was no need to do that.
The only reason the silencing magic was cast was to not worsen the already terrible mood of the leader.
The tense atmosphere persisted.
The kids cried without a sound while the subordinates of the leader worried whether they would be punished or not.
It was in the middle of this confusing situation that one of the captured youngsters, Alexei, a fifteen-year-old peasant boy and the oldest of the bunch, lifted his head. Because he was at the front, he immediately saw the line of black-robed guys flanking a huge throne.
His eyes stared blankly at the being seated on the throne for a few seconds before roaming around the area.
'A TV show?'
'No... Which stupid director would be bold enough to kidnap a university student from our dorm?'
Unlike the others, the fifteen-year-old boy was not crying nor trying his hardest to free himself from the ominous-looking chains of the magicians.
He was too busy for all that, busy figuring out his current state and observing the extremely unfamiliar surroundings. However, not long after, it dawned on him that there were just several things here that were not possible in his original world.
There was a stone platform floating in front and he could see no pillar or cable holding it in place.
The handsome middle-aged man seated on the fancy-looking chair gave off an eerie feeling, not to mention that he was somehow three times taller than a regular man. Yes, the realization came to him a few seconds late, but that seated human-like figure was indeed three times taller than normal.
The person standing closest to the giant guy seemed to be what the movies and illustrated novels described as a lich.
'Wait…'
Alexei's pupils shook. He could feel the coldness of the floor. The piercing and unkind stares of the black-clothed people near him. The black rope binding him and the other kids looked odd too, could be touched but looked illusory. He could not feel it rubbing against his skin, yet he could not move.
'Not a dream or a prank show?'
'It can't be.'
Alex's mind turned blank and goosebumps formed under the thick cover of his clothes.
The last thing he could remember was the welcome screen of a game he was planning to play last night. Because it was late at night, the lights in the dorm were long switched off. The background music was too soothing, so he was sure as hell that he fell asleep before his game could load.
But then, suddenly, Alex was at this place.
'Why am I here and where am I now?'
'How come I suddenly woke up here?'
It was a few seconds later that he recognized that things could still get worse as he and the other kids were in a dangerous situation.
"Take them away." The seated giant humanoid spoke softly and without emotion, yet his voice reverberated loudly in everyone's ears.
"Yes, milord," enunciated the lich.
Yet actually, even before the black-haired giant finished speaking, his subordinates began to move and their actions were swift and efficient. They dragged the crying children one by one. Mercy was obviously not in their vocabulary as they did not care if the ones they were dragging across the cold floor were injured or had delicate bodies.
The ones being manhandled wanted to struggle. Then found out there was no need to do so when their bodies began to move on their own.
Not long after, they entered the basement of the eerie mansion. Alexei did not escape the same fate.
'Oh my god-'
Alexei was stunned. He immediately understood several things. For example, he was really no longer on Earth, and their sudden inability to control their bodies was the work of the black magicians surrounding them.
As to how he suddenly concluded that the black-wearing adults were magicians, it was quite hard to explain. The notion just popped up in his head. In fact, several keywords also suddenly popped up in his mind. Forbidden region. Abyss cult. Black magicians. Forbidden experiments.
He couldn't help but feel numb in his heart.
What kind of situation had he gotten himself into?
In his panic, Alexei subconsciously spoke.
"You. W-where are you taking us?"
The stammering voice that came out of his throat was unfamiliar. This was not his own voice and this fact made him even more horrified.
A moment after that, he received responses from the black-wearing men. And actually, it was not only the closest black-wearing guy who turned around, even those magicians who were walking far ahead did.
Alexei came to realize that he underestimated how loud his voice would sound in an enclosed underground space.
When he observed their faces, or rather, their eyes, cold sweat then ran down his spine after knowing what kind of stares he was getting from the magicians.
"He can speak?" A voice echoed, something like it came from an old man.
Intrigue. Interest. Coming from people who could easily abduct others for an obviously malicious goal.
An ominous feeling crept upon Alexei.
"Interesting."
"Yes. How curious."
Voices echoed soon after, and all of them seemed to be fascinated by something.
That was when Alexei realized that none of the captives were supposed to have the ability to speak. Yet somehow, he was able to do it.
'F*ck.' Alexei's heart sank, berating himself for being too careless and not being observant enough.
"Marlon, did you purposely loosen this thing's restriction to amuse us?" Apparently, the person controlling Alexei and the kids near him was called Marlon.
"I implore you to not mistake me for somebody who would take our lord's order for a joke."
The two who spoke all had deep baritone voices. The echoing sounds that ensued struck fear in Alexei's heart.
The black-robed man nearest to him gave him a brief glance before saying to the other. "I remember this thing. He's from one of the villages at the foot of the ice mountain."
"Are you sure he's not a spy? Remote places like that are perfect for planting moles."
"How about you give it a test?"
The nearest black-robed guy turned to Alexei, observing. Then said, "Separate him from the rest. Have our experts investigate his background and study him."
Interest once again shone in the eyes of the other magicians. Alexei wanted to back away when he saw a skull-painted face zooming close into his vision. This was actually what was hidden by their hoods. Sadly his voice might be under his control, but not his body. The horror that engulfed his heart was reflected by his ever-paling face.
"Perhaps we just unearthed an interesting toy. Let's hope the Leader would be pleased." Marlon smiled coldly. Alexei felt that the man did so behind the skull-painted mask.
"W-what are you planning to do?" Alexei asked with fear. Even though he was mentally older than the body he had somehow possessed, he just couldn't fight the unease that kept torturing him. He urgently tried to reason, "H-hey. The giant from earlier said that we should not be too useful to you guys. Dealing with us will just be a wasted effort. Shouldn't you release us and look for others? Haha."
Alexei did not know where this was. But at least he knew that continuing to stay here would be detrimental to his mental health that was already shaken by his sudden transmigration.
The words he said sounded idiotic even to him, yet that was all that his muddled brain could come up with.
Unfortunately, the two men continued to treat him like air. The magician called Marlon, whose face couldn't be seen under his hood, waved his hand. He said to the others, "I'm taking this thing away. You supervise the rest. There won't be any delay to the elimination battle."
Before he knew it, Alexei was separated from the rest of the children. Contrary to his will, his feet began to follow Marlon, walking down another dark corridor which led to a prison cell. He was the only one confined there. The place was just as dump, cold, dark, and smelly as other cells.
Without knowing what fate was stored for him, Alexei couldn't suppress the urge to ask the magician. It was the cold, unfeeling gaze that the other party threw at him before leaving which sobered him. It made him understand that resistance was futile, and saying anything more would just invite trouble.
Regaining control of his body, the first thing that he did was slumped down weakly on the floor. With his heart beating madly, he looked down at his hands that could be faintly seen thanks to the flickering lamp in the corridor. His hands too were different from what he remembered, they were smaller.
Then when he closed his eyes, memories that were not his began to play in his mind.
Once again, that youthful but unfamiliar voice escaped from his trembling lips.
"Just... Just what the hell is going on?"
"In this world, I'm called... Alexei, Orlov?"