RIINNGG! RIINNGG! RIINNGG!
It echoed through the entire flour. Rin woke up to the vibrations. His heart expanded and contracted to the sound. He found himself unable to breathe, gasping for air. Although it was only 2 seconds, Rin felt like he almost had a heart attack.
"Hey, get used to it."
Rin heard the deep low voice from the bunk bed above him. "What is it?"
"It's mealtime for half the floors. They choose randomly either odd or even floors to eat at a random time. All you gotta know is to eat as much as possible. We only get to eat once a day for an hour. Maintain as much strength as you can before the fights.
"What are the fights?"
"You'll find out when you get there. You aren't my first roommate."
Rin began to panic. He needed to become stronger sooner. Rin tried recalling the energy absorption skill he just learned. To his surprise, it was level 4.
'System, why is my [Basic Energy Absorption] level 4?'
[Your appendix was traded to the person who could bring the most benefit. As such you were able to receive a Level 4 [Basic Energy Absorption] skill]
Rin realized this meant he could train 20 times as fast. This meant he had just enough time to train to a Level 1 human before mealtime.
Crossing his legs on his bed, Rin relaxed his entire body. As he cleared his mind of all thoughts, Rin could feel the energy in the air rushing towards him.
Even with his eyes closed, he could slightly see the little glows of light swimming around him. As the orbs entered his body, he felt a refreshing feeling pour over him.
Rin's roommate, Tiger could feel the energy in the air as well as he observed it being pushed towards Rin. As he watched he noticed something amazing.
"So Basic Energy Absorption has priorities even in an energy-deprived place like this?"
Tiger rested his hands under his head, he remembered laughing at his friend for learning [Basic Energy Absorption]. Now he could not.
A year ago, Tiger sat, legs spread out, on a log next to a scorching campfire. Another man was seated across from him. Both of them held a leg of a deer and a beer in the other.
"Tiger, learn [Basic Energy Absorption]."
"Why would I do that? I already have [Air Energy Absorption]" Tiger asked.
"[Air Energy Absorption] allows you to absorb energy from the air when you're in an energy-dense area, but [Basic Energy Absorption] lets you absorb the same amount of energy everywhere. Compared to [Air Energy Absorption], [Basic Energy Absorption] is much more flexible."
"We live in an energy world, there is no place that has less than 1 energy to air ratio."
But Tiger was wrong. In a large-scale prison-like Grimhope Jail, the energy was sealed to prevent the prisoners from escaping. Without energy, most criminals can only wish away all dreams of escaping.
After a jailbreak involving a criminal using a teleportation skill, prisons now block most energy. While this meant the guards would no longer be able to energy either, they still had laser guns while the criminals had nothing.
RIINNGG! RIINNGG! RIINNGG!
It was time for food. Rin broke out of his meditating state. He was now a level 1 human which was 5 times stronger than an average person.
Exiting the cells, he was greeted by two guards. Outside of each jail cell were two guards which meant each guard would only need to take down one prisoner in case of a problem. Looking around, Rin noticed there were at least a thousand people on his floor alone.
Together they were led towards the cafeteria. Everything was quiet and peaceful. One prisoner tried to cut ahead of the line, but they were immediately knocked unconscious by the guard behind them and dragged away.
The cafeteria was just a different situation. The guards did not enter the cafeteria, standing at the door. Inside, there was only one large rectangular mat made of plastic, no tables, no chairs. On the mat was a feast for kings, enough food for every prisoner, and more.
The food in the middle was stacked high filled with expensive high-calorie foods like lobster, steak, and caviar while the other layers had less expensive food with the outermost layer of food being bowls of fly-covered gruel.
One by one, all the prisoners rushed for the food in the middle like hungry zombies to a crowd of humans, each one pushing and shoving past the next. Rin, on the other hand, settled for the food near the edges.
Only a few minutes later, all the food near the center was gone. Rin was only able to half fill his stomach before he was surrounded by a group of four people. All of them had bodies much larger than Rin.
"You must be new here. This is Green Lion's area!" The tallest guy cracked his knuckles.
Although Rin was a level 1 human, he wasn't confident in facing four guys who could be just as strong as him. While he wasn't scared per se, he wasn't stupid either.
"I'm sorry I didn't know."
"You'll know after we take care of you." They walked closer. Rin was still seated with a piece of bread in his hand, thinking about what to do.
"He's with me." Tiger held two of the guys' shoulders back.
"Ti..ti..ger you mean this scrawny kid is with you...?"
"Yes, this scrawny kid is with me." Although Tiger spoke with a quiet voice, all four of the criminals surrounding Rin could feel a cold pressure bearing down on them.
After they ran away, Tiger turned to Rin. Rin took a gulp. "Eat first, questions later."
Ten minutes later, all the food was gone. While the strong inmates stood strong and full in the center, the weaker inmates sat on the outside holding their stomachs in hunger.
Rin heard the voice from the speakers above him, and before he knew it, the sprinklers turned on, releasing a constant spray of water on everyone. It lasted for 10 minutes after which everyone and their clothes were soaked whether they stripped or not.
Next, every prisoner was escorted back to their cells still drenched in water. Entering his cell with Tiger, Rin was about to squeeze water from his clothes into a small hole designed in the ground, but Tiger stopped him.
"Dry it here." Tiger pointed to the toilet tank. "It's the only water we get."
"...Ok…"
Rin squeezed the remaining water from his clothes into the tank only filling it up slightly. He watched Tiger do the same. Rin had questions, but he didn't know when to ask.
"Why did you help me?" Rin finally asked.
Tiger looked Rin in his eyes. Tiger's poker face made Rin regret asking anything. Tiger slowly opened his lips, and with the same dry deep voice replied.
"I want to escape."