Is it a selfishm to help someone when you're incapable of doing so?
———
I weakly opened my eyes, suppressing the surging pain from all over my body.
Is this hell?
I looked around and saw scenery unbefitting of hell.
A lingering aura of luxury filled the air—a grand bed surrounded by transparent curtains.
Pulling them aside, white spread across my vision, with gold decorations here and there. This was certainly not the school nurse's office, nor my dorm room.
Searching through my memory, I realized where this was.
The place you're sent to if you're caught in the first scenario.
So I swapped places with her and got myself captured instead. It wasn't a bad situation. At least, she wouldn't be brainwashed anymore.
As a veteran player, I had experienced this scenario before.
In some playthroughs, instead of returning to the academy, I stayed here on a whim. In the end, what happened? The kingdom fell.
There were too many problems the protagonists had to solve, or everything would collapse like dominoes
Crap... what should I do... I don't want to return home brainwashed.
Suddenly, the door opened revealing a handsome man with monocle and a pair of horns on his head.
"Greetings. Did you have a good sleep?" With a calm voice, he spoke.
Shit. Mad Scientist.
In contrast to the title that popped into my mind, the man in front of me wore tidy attire, his confident hairstyle neat as he adjusted his gloves.
If I didn't know him better, I'd expect him to show up at parties, holding wine in one hand while smiling confidently—and calculating.
"That expression tells me you know something about me? Strange. I haven't revealed myself to humanity for years," the Mad Scientist said calmly.
I'd always prided myself on having the ultimate poker face—mainly because I hadn't interacted with anyone for so long that I forgot how to move my facial muscles—but too many things had happened recently, and I failed to conceal my emotions.
Why did I have to deal with this guy… I'd rather talk to the Demon King becase he rarely spoke in the game.
"Anyway, I care not why my face seems familiar to you. Do you have any questions? For… your day is looking grim."
The Mad Scientist's smile curved coldly.
The luxurious interior did nothing to help as the pressure he released made me hallucinate the coldest torture chamber imaginable. It was nothing like the virtual reality game.
Barely holding under the pressure, I mustered my courage, gulped, and forced the words out.
"W-what are you planning to do? Why did you catch me…?"
I was setting a flag out of reflex.
While nervous, I also knew that once the headmaster rescued me, she would conduct a memory search.
That way, I could indirectly inform her of the Demon King's plan to advance onto our continent—Alyssia.
If it weren't for this instinct, I doubted I could've even opened my mouth.
The Mad Scientist merely stared at me with his crimson-dark eyes. I felt naked—to the point it seemed that he could see the rhythm of my heartbeat.
After a long, excruciating silence—the worst enemy of introverts—the Mad Scientist finally spoke, calming my heartbeat that had been racing three times faster than usual.
"Nothing too complicated. My boss tasked me with capturing one classmate of what you humans call a 'Heaven's Chosen.' And you—unmonitored, commanding two princesses to defeat a Tier 1 demon—piqued my interest."
"So I made the most rational and interesting decision: to invest in the unknown and bring you here."
He placed his hands behind his back as he walked, gesturing for me to follow.
"How is this place—familiar?" he asked without turning around.
Even so, I didn't dare use Blink to escape. Desperately erasing emotion from my face, I answered, "No…"
"Again with your lies." The Mad Scientist's insight mercilessly unveiled me.
This damned person—what cheat was he using? It wasn't this unreasonable in the game.
Haiyaah… I'd be more excited if it was a girl. I tried joking away the nervousness.
Thud. Thud.
His white loafers tapped lightly against the floor before stopping.
"Since it seems you're misunderstanding something, allow me to clarify. Although I hate my boss's unreasonable orders, I am thorough when I move, you know?"
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Then, he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the glamorous hallway vanished, replaced by a chair that restrained my movement and a dim room with no light entering.
I… I… no words formed as panic overwhelmed me.
Despite the humid air, a chill crawled down my back as sweat poured from my skin.
I struggled in vain, the sound of chains echoing through the empty darkness.
"Let's begin. I'm about to perform surgery on your Mana Circuits—tweak them for our convenience. Do tell me if it hurts, okay?"
The Mad Scientist spoke in the gentlest voice.
A moment later, he gestured, and a warm blue light washed over my body.
With practiced ease, his fingertips glowed as well.
In his other hand, he picked up a needle.
His glowing index finger traced down my body, slicing my uniform apart and undressing me.
I didn't feel embarrassed. I was under too much stress—like someone crossing a worn rope bridge—to feel anything like that.
He examined my body with his finger.
"Hmm. Well-maintained muscles, protein-rich. A bit malnourished—you should eat more. You are what you eat."
With machine-like precision, he finished his inspection and moved on.
The glowing fingertips entered me.
No… this feels weird…
My muscles parted instinctively wherever his finger traced, as if my body was no longer mine.
As my discomfort reached its peak, the Mad Scientist furrowed his brows.
"This… this shouldn't be possible…" He tilted his head.
He tapped my Mana Circuits, felt their texture, then pulled to test their elasticity.
No…
Stop touching it…
"It hurts…" My voice trembled.
I couldn't stop shivering as a foreign presence searched inside me.
It wasn't discomfort in a vulgar sense—more like being stabbed, as the blade twisted inside me, slowly.
It burns…!!
If Mana Circuits functioned like a nervous system, then mine were especially sensitive.
It was like being stripped of skin—until the scorching sensation became something worse.
Yet the Mad Scientist ignored my cries, fully immersed in his world.
"This is impossible," he muttered, rare loss of control slipping through.
"Your Mana Circuits… they're shattered."
He applied more pressure.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Tears spilled as I begged him to stop.
Amid his muttering, his mouth curved into a crescent smile, sealing my fate with a single word.
"Interesting."
Only screams remained as the mad scientist submerged himself in unraveling the mystery before him.
His eyes burned with obsessive curiosity.
What remained was endless shadow, swallowing even the sound of my voice.
At that moment, I understood.
No one was coming to save me—no matter how much it hurt.