Soon, Yoichi and Gorou were taken into a dilapidated estate, looking abandoned with broken windows, leaking ceilings all over the hallways, and cracked wooden floors beneath them.
The bizarre and eerie atmosphere around the forsaken manor made Yoichi feel uneasy in this unknown territory.
After the adrenaline rush decreased, Yoichi felt sore all over his body. With a toddler's body, he managed to defeat a brute like Gorou convincingly.
As for his body, it was constantly healing due to the effects of Old Skin and Self Healing Constitution using his kept Qi-Blood. Now, he clearly understood the effects of his passive abilities.
These passive abilities were greatly decreased when Qi-Blood wasn't used. Meanwhile, using Qi-Blood with passive was tremendously effective.
The revelation wasn't shocking for him, Yoichi was just trying to detect a confirmation from his earlier battle.
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Entry) 48/100]
Seeing the prompt, Yoichi was overjoyed and smiled like a fool. 10 points of proficiency were equal to his 5 days of tireless practice which meant that fighting with others was a convenient way to gain mastery points.
"What is this guy smiling for?" One of the guards noticed a stupid smile and glanced at his comrade.
"I don't know. Perhaps he became an idiot due to the earlier fight..." the guard simply commented.
Subsequently, Yoichi and Gorou arrived at their destination as the guards separated them since the confinement room was not one but three rooms.
As the doors were opened, a strong scent of absolute putridity and whirring sounds permeated, shocking Yoichi to the maximum degree.
"Get in!" Violently pushed by the guard, Yoichi tumbled to the ground.
"Is this blood? Fuck, it's a puddle of blood! Also, the flies were constantly buzzing which means..."
After analyzing the room quickly, he was certain that the space was a torture chamber rather than a solitary confinement room.
A room filled with darkness like an abyss, flies continuously perched on him, and countless rubbish on the ground as puddles of blood were all over the place.
Moreover, there were a few little holes in the walls through which the flies and the winds came, making the intense rotten stench worse over time.
"Fuck, I thought it was only complete darkness but it is much nastier than I expected!"
With misery all around the place, Yoichi frowned and contemplated deeply about the situation.
As a NEET, he was extremely familiar with darkness like a nocturnal animal in its habitat. Although being in the "Clusterfuck" place felt annoying, it was at a tolerable range.
However, he couldn't say the same for an average child since the parameters around no social interaction for 3 days were completely undefined.
Every person was unique and Yoichi could endure the darkness through Martial Arts or his system prompt, entertaining himself in a lonely spot.
"Help! Please, help me! I won't do anything from now on! Please, help!" A hurried voice rang filled with helplessness.
'Oh well, I should use the time to cultivate technique here... Ah right! It's time to unleash my divine ability.'
A brilliant light on his thought bulb appeared as Yoichi immediately touched the puddle of blood on the ground with excitement in his eyes.
'Goredrinker!'
Suddenly, the blood underneath him slowly enveloped his arm until it spread throughout his body. As if alive, the pores in his skin widened, absorbing the blood into the organs and muscles, gradually nourishing him at an alarming rate.
[Goredrinker: 7/100]
"Shit, it consumes too much mental strength when fully manipulated! Still, the method was extremely demonic and against all life itself! I wonder what will happen if I max out this broken ability..."
As for the puddle of blood, it was completely gone and erased, giving Yoichi a spot to rest due to his mental exhaustion but his pale face was filled with excitement and thrill.
"I hope Genji and others will be fine for a couple of days... Nah, I should think for myself first before thinking of others. With food in my purse not confiscated, this might be my only chance to improve further!"
After a few moments, Yoichi began practicing Martial Arts even with flies and rotten stink assaulting his mind, fully focusing on the massive gains.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
...
In the mines.
"Oops, sorry about that Genji!" A sneer curled up in Tadao's expression before he hid his disdain and apologized for his inconvenience.
"Are you taking me as a fucking joke, Tadao?!"
Looking at Sabito and Hikari, who were splashed by the puddle of water in the mine, Genji couldn't help but strongly hold Tadao's clothes in sheer anger.
After Yoichi was imprisoned, Tadao and his group harassed Genji and his two friends like pesky cockroaches. From splashing water, increasing the load in their sacks, and throwing dust in their faces in an accidental manner.
However, the three knew it was on purpose.
"You know it was only an accident, Genji and I apologized for my mistake so please, don't worry, I won't do it again, alright?" Tadao's smile felt nauseating yet Genji gritted his teeth and released him.
"Genji, don't be too hasty. It will only worsen when you fight back against these idiots. Please, calm down." Patting his back, Hikari simply consoled Genji's anger.
Although the situation was relatively nasty, the current circumstances weren't so bad compared to Yoichi's dilemma. The thought of Yoichi's suffering surfaced in Genji's mind, calming him down.
'Shit, what should I do? Masaru and his lackeys are now on the offensive! I should wait for Yoichi—No! It's our life we're talking about, what if somebody killed us in our sleep?!
On the side, Sabito trembled as the conclusion formed deeply inside his mind. Due to overthinking and physical fatigue, his face went ashen.
"What's wrong? Are you thinking about solving this problem? Don't worry, we can definitely pass this through!" Looking at Sabito, Genji was optimistic unlike Sabito's overreacting mindset.
"Are you really sure?" Sabito asked.
"I hope so. If not, then fight it out. We practiced for far too long and it's time to reveal our progress. Perhaps we should find a chance to beat these guys inside the mine! Those who are Gorou's victims will definitely not snitch on us since we helped them after all!" Hearing Genji's plan, Hikari and Sabito's eyes shone.
"The plan is certainly feasible!" Hikari replied.
"...Then, let's do it tomorrow. We don't have enough strength to fight them right now." Genji nodded.
Therefore, the plan was formed without any sliver of hesitation. Being bullied wasn't a good way to stay out of trouble, instead, the three took it into their own hands.
After the tiresome work, the night went uneventfully plain as the children ate and slept including Yoichi, who was tired from practicing inside the confinement room.
_______________
(Current Progress)
[Realm: Initiation(Ungraded)]
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Entry) 48/100]
[Goredrinker: 7/100]
______________
After this arc, it's gonna be the training arc then the Hundred Poison Jar Arc. I hope you all will like it when it comes out. For now, it's about building the MC's progression and his connection to the named characters. If slow progression isn't your cup of tea, then I hope you will find a novel in this sea of Naruto fanfics out there.
Please, can someone comment? I feel a bit schizo out here talking in the Author's Note like something.
Oh right, I changed the Sanguine Extract to Goredrinker. It's simply a name change.
Thanks for reading the chapter and collecting the fanfic. See ya! XDD!