"Wake up, inmate!"
The guard shook the cells.
Clang! Clang!
In the cell room, Elias was woken up by the loud and erratic noise. However, he didn't stand up yet. His eyes were glazed towards the ceiling, as though unresigned.
'Ha. Bullshit, it was really real.'
The plain ceiling, ragged dirty bed and cell room reeking of rust made him realize that yesterday was real—as real as it gets.
Last night, he was still keeping up hopes that he was just dreaming and one good sleep would make him forget about it.
But… Elias couldn't help but clench his fist in a mix of rage and resignation.
A few seconds later, the clanging of the cell door increasingly grew louder and louder, irritating Eliss.
"Wake up! Inm—"
Bam!
"Shut up, will you?!"
Elias clicked his tongue, slamming his hand on the wall. Too damn loud. He really wants to bash that guard's head to the cell.
The guard retreated in shock before realizing that it was nothing. Angered by Elias actions, the guard fumed in rage.
"You damn bastard, you dare to hold a tone against me? Who do you think you are, do you want me to beat you up..."
"Fuck."
Elias scoffed without regard. He was a person that could control his emotions, but when he was truly angry, he never cares for the consequences.
It has always been a flaw of his, one that he was willing to embrace.
'Ah... fuck. I can't do anything about it.'
Elias stretched his hands as he slowly stood up. He gave the guard outside a sharp glare, causing the guard to stiffen.
Although the guards had access to mana, he couldn't find himself to care.
They wouldn't carelessly beat up prisoners, the guards also have 'restrictions' in their actions.
Seeing Elias appearance, the guard eye's widened in horror. His body trembled as he took a step back subconsciously.
Elias yawned lazily and approached the guard who was scared stiff. He patted the guard's shoulder before leaning forward to whisper something,
"Let's go. I'm guessing you're new here? You need to know the rules of this place. I'll forgive you this time... but there's no next time, alright?"
The guard felt a chill crawl up on his spine. He nodded hurriedly, fearing that Elias would take back his words.
Elias shook his head and walked ahead of the guard. There was no use crying over spilled milk, besides he needed to hurry...
It was Daytime, even if he had some authority here in the prison, it was not good to be late at Daytime.
The guard, seeing that Elias already walked ahead, sighed in relief before following in a slow manner.
'My bad luck... I just had to meet this man...'
Although guards in Tartarus were in paper invincible due to being able to wield mana, making them naturally superior to the manaless prisoners.
But this was not true.
The security guards were not invincible. They also had to thread carefully on which prisoner they could offend or not.
Some prisoners, like Elias for example, had a some strong prisoners backing him up and listening to his commands.
Those were the prisoners that even the guards had to slightly keep their guards up to. Afterall, no matter how great mana is, could it save you from plenty of former rankers?
Most of the security were only at Rank E to D, with a special few at Rank C such as the vice chieftains, and the chieftain at Rank B.
There were special prisoners in the facility that they had to take a step back too, even if they possessed mana.
At some point, when a Ranker undergoes an advancement or trains long enough, the mana inside them would start to engrave in their body, as though becoming a part of themselves.
That allowed them to be resistant to attacks involving mana and even harm those with mana, even if their mana was restricted.
That's why, even if the security team were in possession of mana, they weren't safe from harm… especially from strong people or the prison bosses.
Looking at Elias from the back, the guard fell silent.
***
Tartarus, Courtyard.
On a wide court spanning hundreds of yards, thousands of prisoners organized themselves in a line.
Elias followed casually, his eyes observing the courtyard. The place was truly wide, as though a combination of two or more football fields.
All over the court, there were numerous fields with different purposes. What caught his interest was the gym section.
There were also fields centered around sports. A basketball field, badminton field, etc…
But the most eye-catching thing on the entire courtyard were the colossal watch towers beside each field. On top of each tower, multiple guards with firearms stood.
Of course, the court ground also had multiple guards standing at the periphery of the courtyard, near the long walls of spikes that covered the outside world.
Through the long spikes, Elias saw the outside world for the first time.
The blazing sun, the ever vast blue sky and the fresh lively wind. It was no different from earth, but the sight of it was more repulsive than where he previously was.
'Aegis... huh... How deplorable.'
While the prisoners lined up and organized themselves, a loud whistle suddenly echoed and rang out.
"Alright, line up! You bunch of squirming thieves and criminals have new damn buddies!"
A tall guard whistled as he sternly shouted in the front. Behind him, several silhouettes walked to the front.
Elias brows furrowed for a moment before looking at the new prisoners.
Most of the new prisoners were on the left with a small smile. Meanwhile, on their front leading them was an intimidating man.
By a glance, one would catch the assumption that the intimidating man was the tyrant leader while the others behind him were his loyal dogs.
Similarly, everyone else in the courtyard thought the same as they turned to look at the man.
The man reciprocated their stares and gave a cruel grin.
'The others aren't anything much, but that man…'
Elias frowned before shaking his head. He was thinking if these new variables would affect his time in the prison.
Afterall, despite being the author, he never thought of himself as omnipotent and omniscient.
There were bound to be new and unpredictable variables amok.
However, he wasn't much surprised by the new prisoners. Tartarus always had new people every week.
"Huh, wait… isn't that the Bones King?"
A mutter escaped from the inmate beside him.
'Bones King..?'
Elias thought carefully, diving through his memories. He never wrote a character like that before.
While he was thinking, the stern guard suddenly paused before saying to the new prisoners,
"You can leave your introductions for later. Each of you inmates go and line up with the rest. I suppose you inmates already got an idea about the prison schedule, right?"
The intimidating man opened his mouth. However, before he could answer he was suddenly cut off by the stern guard.
"You don't have to answer. Even if you don't know, I don't care. Just go line up with the rest."
The stern guard said coldly.
The intimidating man, Bones King Garland, was visibly angered by the guard's tone. However, whether it be his great will or perception, he ultimately nodded and obediently followed.
Behind him, the other new prisoners also followed him like meek pets. Bones King Garland took a deep breathe before muttering to himself.
"Calm down, I just have to kill that person and I'm out of this garbage hole... the Family was eager, weren't they? As long as my contribution is enough, they will release me."
"...Elias Vito Castellano, just a brat..."