...
"Why are you here so early?"
"Some guys broke into my house. I didn't want to go inside because if I looked at my room, I'd end up smashing the whole place to pieces."
"? Meaning you hate thieves?"
"Something like that."
Moris sat in an empty room surrounded by four stone walls, with only a single iron door left for entry and exit.
He wore a black officer's cap tied with a red cloth strip and decorated with a vibrant, eye-catching bright red feather.
He was also dressed in a black T-shirt paired with a brown leather jacket and used black chains as accessories—honestly, a complete fashion disaster.
"Whatever. So, how is Quân doing?"
"Didn't you just go look for him a few hours ago?"
Ron replied to Moris's question. After all, a guy who crawled out of a coffin and constantly claimed to be from another world was pretty bizarre.
In fact, every Level 1 in One Line had either previously eyed him or was currently keeping tabs on him. If it weren't for Ron, who knows if they would have treated Quân like a biological weapon and run all sorts of experiments on him.
After all, this was a world of magic; the fact that Ron had managed to bluff everyone was already impressive enough.
"Ha, nothing impressive other than the total absence of magic," the masked Moris said.
"...Have you—"
"Yeah, yeah! Don't let it slip."
Moris cut Ron off. He stood up and stamped his foot five times against the stone floor, causing it to crack wide open and collapse.
This sent both him and Ron plummeting down into a deep, bottomless pit, yet neither of their expressions showed even a flicker of change.
...
"So you are Lusk?"
Ron asked. He was currently down in a deep pit used to hold a prisoner of war. Beside him stood Moris, who had served as the elevator.
"..."
Before Ron sat a man at a wooden table. His sitting posture and towering height already held a somewhat overwhelming presence over Ron.
He had a thick, coarse mane of hair that looked as though it hadn't been washed in a decade. He also wore an outfit consisting of multiple layers of clothing stacked on top of each other to conceal every single part of his body that could be hidden.
"Are you deaf?"
Ron asked, prompting the bizarre man to open his mouth, pointing at his tongue which was still dripping with fresh blood.
"...Biting his own tongue? Refusing to confess?"
Moris noted, observing that this guy seemed rather calm, showing no signs of pain whatsoever. This was strange, considering the tongue is one of the toughest and most resilient muscle groups, making it incredibly difficult to bite off without causing oneself to pass out from the agony.
"Body-possession magic? Just like the rumors say, you are one of the few individuals who have elevated human body-possession magic to a higher level."
Ron stroked his chin, thinking about body-possession magic. It was a deeply unpleasant type of magic for both the user and the victim.
For the target of this magic, they would naturally have their body stolen. But even for the user, they would sometimes suffer an incredibly nasty backlash—such as paralysis, ending up in a vegetative state, or countless other consequences.
Ron observed the man before him. Although he appeared harmless, according to the information Ron possessed, this man would possess the body of whoever killed him.
Even so, both he and the possessed victim would suffer horrendous torture afterward.
"Sorry about this."
Ron said in a low voice, just quiet enough so that the sound wouldn't echo through the space.
He pulled a small axe from his coat. The axe was the type used for wood carving, so it was extremely sharp and compact—just right for carrying around flexibly.
The man named Lusk stared blankly at Ron, a dark abyss dwelling within his eyes, resembling the bottom of the ocean.
He exhaled steadily but with great difficulty, a slow respiration that seemed like the breath of a dying man.
"Hold on... I want to ask first. After all, you're about to get possessed."
Moris spoke in a low voice, stopping Ron from making his move.
"Why do you need a guy like him to take over your body? I mean, you're only a Level 3, while his core has already reached Level 10. This is like rolling a thirty-sided die when you only get a single turn to play."
"Choose your words more clearly next time."
Ron first reminded Moris before adding:
"Anyway, I need to carry out a mission tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I'll complete it easily, but if not, things will turn out even worse.
As for the possession, I'll have my own ways."
Ron added, appearing to have known a way out long ago.
Instinctively, Moris fell silent. He looked toward Lusk, who, for some reason, was smiling—a faint grin that carried a strange sense of twisted delight.
SLASH!!!
Without giving him a chance to harbor any intentions, Ron swung straight at his neck, causing his blood to dye the small axe crimson.
"Moris, where is Quân?"