Well, this is……more than a little unexpected. I had almost completely forgotten about him. But here he was, still alive. Hm, this changes things……I may have to change the mission plan depending on how this pans out.

  For now, though, all I can do is observe.

  They injected the serum into him, and then began questioning him. He resisted for a while, refusing to speak. But after a couple of minutes passed……

  "Tell me, how does your Light Magic work?"

  "……it works by……ngh, no-! It works by……by absorbing natural Mana in the air, I……I cannot……internally replenish my Mana……like those with Elemental Magic can……I absorb natural Mana around me……to use my……Light Magic," He replied, straining to try and stop himself, to no avail, his voice sounding weak and hoarse.

  "Interesting……that would certainly explain why we haven't been able to extract any Mana from him," Remarked Hacte with a look of intrigue.

  "Excellent work, Dr Reel. For nearly a year now, all manner of interrogation on this man has failed, physical torture and mutilation, psychological torture, attempted brainwashing……nothing could get him to talk, but with this serum, he finally responded! Truly impressive, and as you requested, your next assignment will involve Spell Cards. You may take the rest of the day off, you have earned it, doctor," Sicario said with a look of satisfaction.

  "O-oh, I'm grateful, Sir Sicario," He bowed in reply.

  A day off, huh……I can use that to do some light snooping around, and maybe.

  "You there, I believe you said your name was……Imsret?"

  "Er, yes, sir. How may I assist you?"……

  why was I talking like a waiter?

  "Are you new here?"

  Crap, did I do or say something I shouldn't have? I need to answer quickly or he'll get suspicious.

  "No, sir. I joined about four years ago, when I was around nine or ten," I replied.

  Good thing I had gotten this guy's backstory before stealing his appearance.

  "Ah, you're quite young, perhaps that's why I have not noticed you before……Dr Reel, has he been your assistant for long?"

  Huh, based on the way he was asking……I don't think he's suspicious. So, what then?

  "Not long, sir, about half a year or so now. I believe he was a pawn before that," Came the answer.

  "Hm, you appear to have some talent, is there a reason you have not auditioned for the Lapdog Elite Squad?"

  The what?

  "Oh, uh……no, sir, I do not believe I am ready yet, I planned to audition as soon as I am satisfied with the level my skills are at," I responded, hoping that answer would work.

  "Ah, I like that, patience is an important virtue to have. As you know, we hold auditions every Saturday, which is today……I would like you to audition today, do not worry, I simply wish to see the extent of your current abilities, if you fail today you may audition again at a later date of your choosing."……

  I probably shouldn't refuse, huh?

  "If you insist, sir. Just to make sure, the time and place where the auditions are taking place are……?"

  "The same as always, of course. 6 PM in the Retribution Tier area, do not be late."……

  So, this was an interesting development.

  I was back in my room right now, having my lunch. Steamed vegetables again, ugh. I had a lot to process right now.

  First off, the mystery of Arg's disappearance was finally solved……he must have left the Rustlands in order to become a member of the Magic Research Group, before it became The Valaque Empire. And he was a member of the Research Tier.

  King Aurich Goldway was still alive, though he was in pretty awful condition. And it looks like he had resisted all their interrogation methods till now, but it looks like resisting a truth serum was too much for him. And that Sicario was sharp……as soon as he found out that the serum works, he dismissed everyone except Hacte……it looks like the Retribution Tier liked to keep information confidential, that must be how they had prevented major intel leaks till this point.

  Oh, and speaking of the truth serum, Dr Reel sent me to Lab 7 to clear it up……and I stole one of the vials. It should come in handy, and having a sample to take back certainly wouldn't hurt.

  And then there was Sicario……I had a strong feeling that I knew exactly who he was, but if that really does turn out to be the case, The Empire had a seriously dangerous person on their side. This audition thing in a few hours……I think I should be able to confirm his identity then. But I need to be careful not to give away my identity in the process.

  On that note, this Lapdog Elite Squad could pose a threat, infiltrating them and learning of their abilities and identities will be useful. I had planned to do some snooping around today, but I changed my mind. Since I have that audition, there's no need to do too much today.

  "Sh-shall I dispose of that, master?"

  I was snapped out of my thoughts by the voice of the slave woman in my room, as I finished eating.

  "Huh? Oh, sure, thanks," I replied absent-mindedly, handing her the empty pack as I continued pondering……

  wait, I totally broke character just now!

  I had been maintaining my cover pretty well in the Research Tier building, but I kept slipping up with her. She looked pretty confused, this must be quite a drastic change from what she was used to with this guy. I hadn't physically abused her at all, I just couldn't bring myself to do so even to maintain my cover, but lately, I even kept forgetting to speak harshly every now and then.

  I guess my undercover skills are pretty rusty, plus I was on much higher alert in the labs and outside, my guard kept slipping while in this room. In the past, I could keep myself on high alert almost indefinitely, but lately, my focus and concentration had definitely diminished a bit, it wasn't nearly as sharp as it had been when I was a loner assassin in my old world.

  Maybe it was because, as a person, I was less……cold that I used to be. Well, I guess there's no point worrying about it, all I can do is use my skills to the best of my abilities. Because I have absolutely no regrets about the current state of my life.

  The slave woman returned and meekly headed to her room. She was flinching less when I looked at her now, but she definitely seemed a bit confused and uneasy about it. Maybe I should address it before it gets worse……

  "Hey, pawn……what's with that look, are you confused about something?" I inquired, putting on that arrogant tone of voice.

  "N-no, master, it is nothing, I swear!"

  "I do not appreciate being lied to……you may speak freely."

  She looked extremely hesitant, before speaking.

  "W-well, it is just that……you have been rather, um……docile, recently. And I-I am unsure of how to act now," She answered timidly, before cowering like she was expecting me to hit her.

  Well……I had messed up. But I doubt I would have done things differently if I had another chance, there are some lines that even I'm not willing to cross. This situation is still salvageable, I just need to choose my words carefully.

  "Hm, I suppose you are right. Well, I have been in a good mood as of late, my results while carrying out my tasks as a lapdog have improved, I was even requested to audition for the Lapdog Elite Squad today, by Sir Sicario himself!" I laughed, putting on a cocky tone, "As a result, I suppose I have had less frustrations, and therefore less need to take out my frustrations on someone. And besides, if I move up in rank I shall receive more attention, so there is no better reason for me to make some changes for the better. After all, if I am to grow, I must accept my flaws and make changes where necessary. What is that look for, do you have a problem with that?"

  I added that last bit in a harsh tone, just to be safe. Okay, I think I worded that well, would she buy it?

  "N-no sir, no problem at all. I suppose……I am just relieved," She responded, before panicking and backtracking, "I-I didn't mean that, I am not implying anything when I say I am relieved."

  "Calm yourself, this annoys me……I already said you may speak freely, hesitating to do so would be the same as accusing me of lying. Is that what you are doing?"

  "No, m-master, of course not!"

  "Good."

  "……"

  "……"……

  well, this is awkward.

  "By the way, uh……what's your name?" I blurted out, unable to stop myself as the awkward silence got worse.

  She looked surprised again, before answering.

  "I-it's Clari Ramigoll, master."

  "Clari, huh……so, how did you end up in The Empire anyway?"

  I didn't really know why I was asking her this……maybe I'm just bored.

  "W-well, I used to be a Goldway noble……I managed to survive the Zombie incident since my family and I had been away when it happened, but after we came back we were captured, my parents were killed, and after that I didn't have a choice but to become a pawn of The Empire. Um, i-if you don't mind me asking, why do you ask?"

  She had been a noble? That explained why she was so timid, she had been through an extremely drastic change in her way of life.

  "Hm? No reason, just curious I suppose……anyway, I'm going to get some rest before my audition thing, so feel free to do whatever you want in the meantime," I said with a stifled yawn, laying down on the bed.

  "V-very well, master, thank you!" She replied with a bow, her expression easing just a little for the first time since I arrived here.

  Man, I'm kinda stating the obvious here, but……slavery is messed up……

  A few hours later, I made my way to the Retribution Tier, feeling both anticipation and dread at the same time. I arrived at around 5:30 PM, giving the place a quick look around as I entered through the gates. The Retribution Tier area had seven structures evenly spread out through it, six were mansions and one was a large training ground.

  I made my way to the training ground and walked in through the gate, which was open. Sicario was there, along with a couple dozen lapdogs, presumably the so-called Lapdog Elite Squad, along with a handful of other lapdogs with nervous expressions, probably others that were auditioning like me.

  "Ah, you're early. I appreciate punctuality," Greeted Sicario, as I approached them.

  "Well, I was told that I should always arrive half an hour before the scheduled time, so……here I am. Strike while the iron's hot or whatever, right?"

  "Indeed, well said. Now, then, I know it is a bit early, but there is no time like the present……let us begin your audition."

  The way he spoke, that slight Italian accent, and his overall demeanor……I couldn't ignore the facts anymore, there was no doubt about it, he was……

  "Alright, I'm ready to begin anytime. What must I do to pass this audition?" I inquired.

  "It is quite simple……engage in a hand to hand combat bout with me, you shall pass the audition if you impress me. The rules are that you must only use your natural physical abilities, no Elemental Magic or weapons," He explained, unhooking a gun and two daggers from his belt and setting them aside.

  I took off my gun and set it aside as well, taking a deep breath to compose myself. Something told me that I shouldn't use my normal fighting technique, if he was who I thought he was, he would definitely recognize it.

  This'll be tricky if I'm holding back, but then again, I didn't want to appear too skilled, it'll be hard to pull off my mission if I attract too much attention.

  "I shall start on the defensive……come at me."

  Guess that's my cue. I shot forward and kept low, unleashing a sweep kick with my right leg aimed at his ankles, he effortlessly jumped over it, and as my right leg landed, I shifted my weight onto it and drove my left foot up towards his chest. He crossed his forearms in front of his chest and blocked my kick.

  He reacted almost instantly, guess that was to be expected of a Karma user. I planted my hands on the ground and shifted my weight onto them, swinging both my legs up at his head, and as he blocked my strike, I kicked off his forearms and used the momentum to jump up off my hands, landing on my feet and springing away to get some distance.

  He hadn't even budged when I struck him, it felt like I was an ant striking an elephant. Unlike me, who stored my Karma in a Mana Orb when I wasn't using it, the members of the Retribution Tier actively had Karma in their bodies, so I couldn't really compare to them in my normal state, especially without Lightning Boost.

  "Not bad……now I shall attack, defend yourself!"

  He shot forward rapidly, closing the gap in the blink of an eye. He's way too fast, I won't be able to react, unless……I predict his attack pattern. If I was right……

  I quickly moved my right foot back as he neared me, and then as he vanished from my sight, I immediately drove my left elbow back as hard as I could. It slammed into his side as he slipped behind me. Oof, that nearly broke my bone, his body was seriously tough.

  But it looks like that caught him off guard. Now's my chance. I opened my right palm, and rapidly pivoted on my left foot, turning till I was facing him, and began to drive an open-palmed strike at his throat, when……I tripped on my robes and fell down.

  Uhh……

  that was so not cool.

  "Hm, quite a careless mistake, one that could cost you your life in a real fight," He remarked, helping me up to my feet.

  "If I may make a suggestion, these robes are rather ill-suited for combat, sir," I replied with a sigh.

  That attack pattern, tripping his opponent's right leg and then skipping behind them to finish them off……that was the favorite attack pattern of my old master, Arturo Lagusa, in my old world during training. And his codename as an assassin was……Sicario.

  I really didn't want to believe it, so I had kept ignoring the facts in front of me, but there was no way I could deny it anymore……this guy was the same person as the assassin who took me in, there was absolutely no doubt about it.

  This was not good……him as an enemy, and a Karma user at that, was seriously bad news. Unlike me, he wasn't just skilled in combat and assassination techniques, he also had a ton of technical knowledge. He had been able to recreate guns in this world, using magic to make up for factors such as the non-existence of gunpowder.

  And he was an expert coder in our old world, so there was a good chance that he had a significant role in creation of spells……these Spell Cards I've repeatedly heard brought up since coming here might be his doing too.

  I was snapped out of my line of thought as he answered my suggestion……

  "Yes, I quite agree, but as you know, our leader likes the uniformity," He responded with a shrug.

  Seriously, that's why they wore these robes? Talk about impractical.

  "Yes, of course! I didn't mean any disrespect."

  "No, no, it's fine. I can hardly criticize valid feedback, after all. In fact, I myself have brought up this issue, but Lord Valaque is rather, er……stubborn about it. Now, then……let us discuss your audition, shall we? Your speed and reflexes are impressive, but your strength is lacking."

  Well, yeah, compared to someone who was constantly benefiting from the effects of Karma, of course my natural strength was going to pale in comparison. And besides, since I'd been restricting my fighting style, I was far from firing on all cylinders.

  "Oh, uh……understood, sir, I shall work on it."

  "What caught my attention the most was……your reaction time. I could see that you were barely following my movements, and yet you were not only able to react, but you even got close to landing a counterattack if not for your slip up at the end there. Tell me, how did you know to react in the way you did?"

  Is he suspicious that I predicted his move……no, not exactly, it seemed more like he was curious and intrigued.

  "Well, um……I'm not quite sure, I suppose it was an instinctive reaction, when you were no longer in my line of sight I just had a feeling that you were going to be behind me," I answered with a straight face.

  "Hm, is that so……well, then, I think I've seen and heard enough, I believe you will make a fine addition to the Lapdog Elite Squad, I shall make my final decision soon. Although, after I do, it will take a couple of weeks to get that sorted, so in the meantime you will continue to focus on your duties as a lab assistant, is that understood?"

  Okay, looks like I managed to avoid provoking his suspicion.

  "Yes, sir, loud and clear."

  After he asked me to show him my card to see how my name was spelt or something like that, I headed back, letting out a sigh of relief as I got out of sight. That was seriously stressful, I had almost lost my cool a couple of times……I was still having a hard time processing it, what were the chances of him ending up in this world too?

  For that matter, had he died within the same time frame as I did? No, not necessarily, the concept of time wasn't a factor when it came to reincarnation, so two people from different time periods in one world could conceivably reincarnate in the same time period in another world……I think.

  "Damn it, what the hell are you doing here, Lagusa?" I groaned to myself in frustration, rapidly brainstorming while heading back to the Lapdog Tier area.

  I then stopped and paused in the Research Tier area, an idea hitting me. This was a golden opportunity to snoop around the building……even if I'm caught, I could say that I was looking for Dr Reel in order to inform him of my potential 'promotion' and that I might not be his assistant for more than a couple of weeks longer from now.

  There were a total of twenty-five labs in the Research Tier building, and each one was used for a different task. Lab 7 was for serum or potion concocting, while Lab 13 had been for human testing. I guess I'll start from Lab 1 and work my way up. I softened my footsteps and carefully made my way past each of the labs in order, making sure to act natural, like I was supposed to be there.

  I couldn't do much about the first ten labs, they were all occupied by multiple researchers and lapdog lab assistants, so there was no way I'd be able to sneak in. Don't forget that these labs have a glass wall in front, so anyone walking past could easily see inside unless those who were inside had drawn the curtains. Lab 7 was unoccupied, but locked.

  The next few labs were empty, I tried sneaking in, but the doors were all locked. Looks like I'll need to steal the respective keys if I wanted to sneak into a particular lab.

  I could try picking the locks, but that was too risky, this was an open hallway where anyone could walk by at any given time.

  Damn it, all these labs were either occupied or locked, I can't snoop around inside any of them like this. Looks like I'll need to get copies of the keys to some of them, but how do I go about doing that? For all I know, there could be just the one key per door, and it's not like I could sneak in at night and try picking the locks, I had already found out that a number of the researchers did their work at night and slept during the day, so this building was never empty.

  That's when I got to Lab 19.

  It was occupied, but there was just one researcher inside, and more importantly……he was asleep. By the way his shoulders were rising and falling……he was in a fairly deep sleep. Let's sneak in.

  After subtly glancing around me to make sure no one was nearby, I twisted the handle and opened the door, sneaking inside. Should I draw the curtains? Hm, no, better not. This hallway does echo a bit unless your footsteps are deliberately quiet, so if someone walked near this place, I'd have time to react.

  I scanned the lab as I entered it and shut the door. It wasn't very big, and didn't have a lot of equipment or tools. There was just the one large desk in the front of the room, where the researcher had fallen asleep over a few sheets of paper.

  I quietly walked over to him and peered at the writings on the sheets.

  Huh?

  Wait, were those……command lines? As in, the command lines entered into Spell Scrolls in order to create spells? I picked up one of the sheets and felt it……yeah, this was same type of special parchment that was used to make Spell Scrolls. These command lines were written in much smaller text since there was less space on a single sheet than there would be on a scroll.

  I spotted a pile of metal squares in the corner of the desk, and grabbed one of them, inspecting it.

  It had a label on it that said 'basic barrier'. It was kinda shaped like a floppy disk, though it was smaller, each side was about seven centimeters long, and in terms of thickness, it was about a centimeter. And one of the sides had a slit in it, with a folded piece of paper inserted. I took it out and unfolded it……it was the same type of parchment, and had command lines on it. I folded it back up and inserted it back into the metal square.

  So, these must be the Spell Cards I'd heard being mentioned.

  I gave a quick glance outside……the coast is still clear, good. I then ran my Mana through the metal card while pointing it in front of me, and……a round defensive barrier wall appeared in front of me. I quickly deactivated it.

  Guess that proves it, this is a Spell Card……it was way more portable than Spell Scrolls were, you'd be able to carry a lot more spells on you in this form without being weighed down. I should definitely take one of these back with me, but should I do it right now? The pile of Spell Cards on the desk was pretty big, and there were multiple copies of the 'basis barrier' card I had just used.

  I slipped the card into a hidden pocket in my armor, and began to inspect the desk more, when I heard footsteps approaching.

  Crap, gotta hide!

  There wasn't anywhere I could hide in, there was a cleaning supply closet, but it was too narrow to fit in. Damn it!

  I slipped next to the closet and flattened myself against the wall as much as possible. Stay calm, I doubt anyone outside this room could see me, the researcher didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon, so unless someone else actually comes into this room, I should be fine- the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps……well, looks like someone else had come in here.

  This is really bad, I have absolutely no explanation that would justify me hiding behind this closet. In that case……

  I took a deep breath and rapped my knuckles against the closet, the footsteps stopped right before they passed the closet. I then heard them walking towards the closet. Almost……

  Not yet……

  Now!

  As soon as he was within my reach, I sprang out from the side of the closet, covering my face using the hood, grabbed the top of his face so that his eyes were covered, and before he could react, I unleashed a quick chop to his neck, knocking him out and letting out a sigh of relief. Good, I had been able to get that done without making too much noise, and hopefully fast enough that this guy wouldn't remember what happened when he wakes up. Better not push my luck any further today, time to go.

  I propped him against the wall so that it looked like he had fallen asleep after sitting with his back to the wall, and then hurried out of the lab. I didn't hear any footsteps outside, so it's clear, time to make a run for it-!

  As I opened the door and left the room, starting to sneak away from it, I crashed into someone who was standing next to the door, I tried to get out of the way but I was too late, causing me to lose my balance and instinctively grab out at the person I had bumped into, pulling them down with me as I fell.

  They landed on top of me, their knee slamming into my stomach and knocking the wind out of me. Damn it, I got a bit careless, but even so, how did I not hear any footsteps? How long had they been there? They might have seen everything! This was really bad.

  Just……just who exactly did I crash into?

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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