Chapter 59 - Improvised Plan

❖ ❖ ❖

[Midnight]

That night, just before Rei hit the ground and completely lost consciousness, he was quickly taken away by the strangers who had attacked him, heading toward a more secluded location. And although the sudden blow hadn't been particularly strong, it was still enough to make him fall and only regain his senses minutes later.

Due to Rei's natural resistance, boosted by his increasing Strength attribute, which influenced all aspects of his physical state, his Super Regeneration ability had been activated the moment he hit the ground, helping him regain consciousness faster than expected.

With his eyes closed, his awareness gradually returned, his mind racing to piece together what had happened and where he was. The only thing he could feel at that moment was a burning sensation on his face, as if something was trickling down from his head.

Suddenly, a rough hand shook him rudely before stepping away and walking in the opposite direction.

— Tsk…

— You know we can't… So… Should we just… — one of the men muttered, his voice low and irritated, making it hard for Rei to catch everything.

— We've come this far already… We're not stopping now. I think we should just… — the other responded briefly, his voice dripping with cold anger.

"Huh? What?"

Rei's heartbeat quickened as he realized they were talking about him, planning something involving him. Nothing about this situation made sense, but even in his confusion, Rei focused his attention as much as possible on their conversation.

— Damn it… I told you not to hit him so hard. But it looks like he still hasn't woken up — one of the voices muttered, glancing toward Rei, who was slumped on the ground with his hands tied.

From their perspective, the student appeared dazed, still unable to fully regain his senses. But in reality, Rei was merely pretending to be unconscious while carefully listening to everything, trying to piece together what had happened and who these people really were.

It didn't take long for him to finally recognize them, —the same guys from the hallway earlier that morning. The ones who harassed him, spewing rude comments with clear malicious intent.

"These bastards… so it was you, huh?"

"Seriously, after the beating you took, you're still trying this shit? Fucking unbelievable…"

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I guess I underestimated how people like them think, but kidnapping me? That's crossing the damn line. Where did they even get the guts for this? I thought they were just a bunch of cowards."

"…Shit, that actually hurt."

With his head full of thoughts about the situation, Rei slowly opened his eyes, focusing his gaze on the two men in front of him, still engrossed in their seemingly endless conversation. Forcing his body to move despite the pounding pain in his head and his torn shirt, he analyzed the surroundings.

"They haven't noticed I'm awake? Idiots."

"Shit, looks like I'm under a tree. They didn't take me too far from the refuge. Judging by the surroundings, I haven't been out for long… maybe 30 or 40 minutes at most."

"I need to get out of here, but I can't loosen these ropes. They're too tight, no way I'm getting them off. How the hell did they tie them like this? Ah, screw it. I just need to escape—some ability of mine has to work somehow…"

With that thought, he focused on finding an immediate solution, scanning his status and abilities within the system. His gaze then locked onto a power he had received early on but had never used, unsure of how it functioned.

"Hemomancy…? Alright, this should work. Let's test it. If it doesn't, I still have Telekinesis. You messed with the wrong guy, assholes."

With an improvised plan forming in his mind, Rei lifted his head and raised his voice toward his captors.

— Hey, you sons of bitches. Feeling brave now, huh? — As soon as he said that, the two men immediately snapped their attention toward him. They hadn't expected him to regain consciousness so quickly, and his sudden outburst startled them.

— Is that the best you can do? Only attacking from behind? Fucking cowards. — His voice dripped with sarcasm, barely containing his irritation.

They started laughing at his comments.

— Well, well, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up — the first man sneered, crouching down to speak at Rei's eye level.

Right after, the second man spoke, his tone rising with barely contained rage as his expression twisted with fury.

— You… you're going to pay for what you did to me, you bastard. Look at what you did to my face! It's completely ruined!

— Pffft… Hahaha! You look like a damn monster — Rei chuckled, unable to hold back his laughter at the man's disfigured face.

— Honestly, it matches your personality perfectly. Well deserved. — And with that, Rei made sure to spit right in his face.

The moment he felt the spit land on him, the man's patience snapped, and he lunged at Rei. However, his companion quickly held him back, stopping him from attacking outright.

— I think you still don't understand your situation — the calmer one declared, placing a firm hand on Rei's shoulder after restraining his raging partner.

— You'd better do everything we say… if you still want to live.