Curse the Mainframe! 103 Solitary Confinement Peak II

Reaching the mission board, which his master had explained to him briefly yesterday, Alec wondered if there was anything that would allow him to have closer contact with the solitary confinement area.

Since that lazy disciple had been there, it couldn't be a job that many people wanted or fought over.

There were recurring missions, one-time missions, long duration missions… anything that needed help was up there.

From S to D rank difficulty, the points were awarded according to the ranking level. Money was not used within the sect, which was why the disciples were all desperate for points.

Today was no exception in that respect.

Disregarding outer sect disciples, who had their own mission board, the inner sect disciples had a separate board.

While outer sect disciples had things like chopping wood or feeding livestock, inner sect disciples had missions along the line of tending medicinal plants or going on short trips out of the sect to take care of missions.

Outer sect disciples weren't allowed to leave the sect at all, and less leeway within the sect altogether, which was why they worked harder to be admitted as an inner disciple.

Once again, Alec was relieved that he had accepted his master's offer, though he had wavered slightly upon forming the (completely) unexpected bond with the man.
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If he could, he would rather skip the tedious process of collecting a small amount of points then taking part in the once a year competition that would allow them a chance to elevate. While he wouldn't have complained if he did have to do that, since he was able to skip it, he would have been a fool not to.

Alec stared seriously at the mission board, ignoring the rest of the disciples that were coming and going.

In fact, he was so engrossed that he never noticed the fingers and whispers that were pointed at him.

Word had already spread quickly about Elder Nathan's direct disciple – as it was bound to within a sect. While some were jealous about his good luck, others wanted to get on his good side to reap a few benefits.

Even though the array division was the peak with the least number of disciples, they were an integral part of the sect that could not be disregarded. Just like the medicinal division, these disciples couldn't be offended lightly.

The array division disciples were only let out to do missions once they had a certain proficiency in their craft, which meant that they had saved numerous lives, numerous times.

Thus, the disciples that wanted to take advantage all waited to see what his temperament was like.

Coincidentally, Melanie, who was here with her two long-time followers, Austin, the blue-haired boy, and Reuben, the blond, glanced lightly at Alec, who was seriously staring at the board.

She turned her head and concentrated on the board as well.

She would work her way up to be a direct disciple as well, if it was the last thing she did. The elders of the Citrine Clan would regret throwing them away.

Alec finally spotted it; his eyes gleaming.

Taking note of the number, Alec lodged the number in his sect token.

The sect token was terribly convenient.

It could send messages between other sect tokens, locate, and register mission numbers as well. It also served as a life-token, where a barrier would appear should a possible killing blow be struck upon them.

Like he said, terribly convenient.

Not only that, it was made with a complex array that had been shrunk down to fit onto the token himself. Alec already itched to take the array apart, but his master said that he wasn't able to handle it just yet and had to work his way up.

Then, Alec reported to the mission hall, which had approved of his mission request.

Usually he didn't need to do this, but because it was a long term mission within the sect, there were more directions that were required.

An older disciple took him aside to brief him on what was expected for the mission, shooting him sympathising looks the whole time. There was hardly anyone who ever wanted to do this mission, even if the points were decent. Mainly because of the people who were stuck inside.

Only the new disciples ever took it, but they always gave up soon enough. The only disciple who consistently took the job was Marc, who liked to laze off.

"All you have to do is go in at least two times a day to deliver meals to those who are in solitary confinement. If they threaten you, just ignore it. Get the meals from the medicinal division's dining hall. If you talk to the chef, they'll prepare the food for you. You can start today or tomorrow." The elder disciple paused. "If you want to stop, you have to give at least a week's advanced notice."

Alec nodded and thanked him politely, leaving.

The elder disciple waved him off and shed a tear in his heart for the gentle-looking disciple. He wondered just how long this one would last.

Alec headed back to Solitary Confinement Peak, which, was a fair enough description of the peak, he supposed, but still –

Marc was still sleeping there by the time he got back, and Alec felt a tic form from his annoyance at how easily the other was taking his job. The other disciple that briefed him told him that Marc was guarding the place practically on his own.

"Senior disciple Marc," Alec said, making sure to keep his voice uniform.

Marc stirred lightly, rubbing his eyes. He swiped at the side of his mouth and looked blearily at Alec. "Hey, hey. Wait, why are you here again?"

"I took the mission to provide food."

"Oh," the lazy teen said, before blinking as his brain filtered the words. "Another poor soul. Listen, if they give you any problems, you tell me, alright?" he said seriously, placing a hand on Alec's shoulder.

Alec was taken by such surprise that the elder disciple was more decent than he thought that he forgot to dodge the hand that landed on his shoulder – the same hand that he swiped at his mouth with – ugh.

Don't get Alec wrong. He still hated the slacking off that the disciple did with a burning passion, but he supposed that he wasn't all that unredeemable.

Marc finally stood up properly, stretching. The yawn that leaked out of his mouth was unintentional, but he didn't do anything to stop it, unabashed.

Alec's brow twitched.

"Come on. I'll take you on a tour, then."

The two disciples headed deeper into the cave.

Alec's brows furrowed lightly. The smell in here was musty and mouldy smell that gave the overall feeling of uncleanliness. The state of this place was utterly unacceptable.

If it was this dirty on the outside already, then what was it like on the inside?

The hallway continued down, only lit by dim lights in the ceiling. The floor was covered with dirt and mud, and the walls were dusty.

"There are a lot of 'rooms' inside, but not all of them are used. Currently, about twelve are being used. The rest are just in case we need them. Since they're in here for long stretches of time, sometimes they go a little crazy."

Alec really wanted to frown now, but he didn't because regardless of how many points he had now, they would deplete quickly if he kept breaking character.

The 'doors' were some sort of black-grey metal that were built from top to bottom, no signs of a gap anywhere. There was a small, barred window that were laden with tags on them to prevent the prisoners from escaping.

The [Main Character Radar] showed that he was nearing one of the potential Main Characters, and screens popped up the nearer they got.

Alec dismissed them, eyeing the door that he was at now.

Marc led them back out. "And, that's about it."

The elder disciple scrutinised Alec's face. "Huh. You're tougher than I thought, if you're still smiling."

Alec immediately felt annoyed at the presumption about his apparent 'weakness' but stayed silent. He repeatedly told himself not to lash out. The other was just a teen. He was still a kid. A kid.

Marc waved him off and slumped back down, once again going back to his sleep.

The tic that Alec felt developing was growing, and Alec clenched his fist. Just one punch… he would whip the other into shape. Just… one punch. That was all he needed.

Chapter end

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