"ARGHHHHH!"
Another scream tore out of Arlott's lips when the knight angrily sprinkled some salt on his wounds while cleaning his face with a rag.
"Does it hurt, Arlott?" the knight questioned, but all he got for an answer was a scream.
"Good, as it should." he scoffed before continuing,
"Now tell me the leader, Arlott."
"I don't know!" Arlott said after he felt his mind returning and the pain began to subside, giving way to numbness.
"That's not possible now, is it?" Knight placed his hand back into the container of salt, glaring at Arlott, "Tell us what you know and I will give you a swift death, boy."
Arlott scrunched at the sight of more salt, his eyes red and blood-shot, his leg stumps felt numb and his throat was parched.
He wanted to tell him the name. He wanted to say the main leader was Miss Valentina, the cold hearted assassin of the Paxley.
But he couldn't.
Not until he loses his hope in the system. The mysterious blue rectangle that was only visible to him and could float in air without any difficulty.
Thus Arlott closed his eyes and braced for the another round of pure agony.
***
Another hour had passed since the knight had started to torment Arlott using salt on his wounds.
Tears and snot had already ruined Arlott's sharp facial features, his voice box felt broken as no matter how hard he try, he was unable to produce any sound except broken screams and language of the dumb.
"I respect your guts, Arlott." the knight, who once called Arlott a weak willed boy, now couldn't help but commend his tenacity.
His sight went to the stumps on Arlott's leg.
Chopped from the thighs, it was safe to say that most of his legs were gone, except for the area near his third leg.
The flesh, which once looked fresh and disgusting, now looked like a rotting piece of flesh from the demons.
Most of his nerves on his wounds was fried already due to the repeated assault from the knight's salt, and also the body's natural way of recuperating from the pain.
Arlott, in pain and barely conscious, smiled at the knight's words.
'I swear it on the name blessed to me by my late father,' Arlott glared at the knight hatefully, 'You will be the one I kill first. I will show you how the real guts look after I tear them off your body and push it in your own mouth.
I will chop all four of your limbs and marinate you in a solution of salt.'
Seeing Arlott's smile, shivers ran down the knight's body.
It was a child. A mere 18 year old brat who wasn't even 3 circles in strength. How could his single smile send shivers down the body of a middle aged man, a Magi Knight at that?
"Take a break, Xavier." a feminine voice echoed in the underground cellar, accompanied by the sound of heels clicking against the floor.
"Lady Zordian!" Xavier, the knight, bowed at the sight of the woman, making Arlott struggle to open his eyes and gaze at the woman.
His vision was still blurry due to the tears, but Arlott could roughly make out the lady's features.
Her body was curvaceous, with a supple curve in her bust and rear, giving her a mature look. Her face appeared blurry, but he could make out that the color of her skin was pale white, like that of a corpse.
"You did this?" Lady Zordian, the wife of late Duke Zordian, turned to Xavier after witnessing the horrible condition of poor Arlott.
"Yes, miss. He is a tough nut to crack. But I managed to find out his clan, it is the Red Flower Assassination Clan." Xavier said with a nod.
"Red Flower huh? Subsidiary of Paxleys?" Lady Zordian questioned.
"Yes miss. He isn't telling me the name of his leader." Xavier sighed.
"I see," Lady Zordian turned back to look at Arlott, her eyes cold, "Still Xavier, this condition is inappropriate. Did I waste my time teaching you arts of interrogations for a naught?"
Xavier gulped down his saliva when he read the hidden meaning behind her words.
But in order to not leave him guessing, she opened her mouth and said,
"You left this boy too light. Of course a trained assassin won't open his mouth with only this much."
Arlott's blood turned cold at the sound of her words. The earlier warm woman now looked like a cold demoness to him, the one who will stop at nothing until he takes the name of his leader.
'Xavier. Boss Chang. Red Flower Clan. Paxleys… Lady Zordian.'
Arlott gritted his teeth and scribbled Lady Zordian's name in his mind, as if etching it deep inside to remember it forever.
This was his list of people to destroy. The people for him to slay.
Xavier soon left the cellar and Lady Zordian took over the job of interrogation in her own hands, and Arlott felt the pains he never knew was possible to be experienced.
His lips stayed sealed shut, but his body was on the verge of breaking, covered in cuts and burns.
***
[ You have completed the quest: Laziness Is Virtue.
500 IP has been added to balance.
5 Attribute points has been added to Physique.
You have levelled up. ]
Arlott's eye fluttered open as he blinked his left eye lash, as the right one was torn apart and his eye was gouged out.
"It… has been 2 days… Ha Ha…" a dry chuckle left his lips as the system screen, the blue rectangle, continued to fill up with further information.
[ Marketplace has been unlocked! ]
[ Sub tasks has been unlocked! ]
[ Mini Map has been unlocked! ]
Arlott moved his head sideways, looking at the expanded interface of the marketplace.
[ Market Place- Balance: 700 IP
Regeneration Potion: 500 (Capable of healing most flesh wounds under 4th magic circle. Ineffective against magic wounds and mental damages. Can regrow limbs but more than one potion may be required.)
Purified Potion: 500 (Capable of purifying most mental and magic wounds under the 5th magic circle. Ineffective against the flesh wounds.)
Strength Potion: 200 (Doubles the physique for 1 minute.)
.
.
. ]
Arlott zoned out the remaining items as his eyes narrowed to the item on the top,
Regeneration Potion.
'More than one…' Arlott read the screen with a manic grin plastered on his face as he dipped his head lower and tears began to flood out of his only remaining eye.
He had to stay here for more days.
'Just a few more days…'