The child only looks at him.

The child had black hair caked with mud and bright glowing red eyes. The stare he gave Lucien was blank and devoid of emotion.

Staring into the child’s eyes made Lucien uncomfortable.

He asked again. “Do you know where we are?”

But the child did not speak. No matter how long he waited, the child did not respond. He only stared at Lucien.

Lucien decisively looked away. This kid didn’t want to speak to him. Or was simply mute.

Because of the chains, he could not stand or move from his current spot. The chains only allowed minimal movement.

Finding the silence eerie and the child’s stare prickling, Lucien looked at the child and asked.

“What’s your name?”

Still, no response. Lucien shrugged and went on. “Do you know my name?”

“How old are you? How about me? Do you know what my age is?”

In his barrage of questions, the child did not react. Lucien knew the child could hear him. He would blink every time Lucien spoke after he paused.

As silence fell, the sound of metal scraping against each other came from Lucien’s left. This made the two of them glance to see what caused it. At the same time, the blue screen from the system appeared.

Hello, host. This is I, your system. Your side missions start now. In the next few minutes, all test subjects will undergo the daily physical exam required to monitor your magic stats.

“Physical exam?” Lucien was puzzled.

Of course, he knew what a physical exam was. But the child’s reaction in front of him told him it wasn’t as simple as he thought.

The child crouched down and hugged his knees. His small frail shoulders shivered in fright. His red eyes lost their earlier luster and were full of fear.

Lucien struggled against his chains to approach the child.

“Kid, do you know what they will do to us?”

The metal bars imprisoning them inside this tiny room slid open. And five guards wearing silver armor on their chests, with swords at their waists came in.

“Take them.” The soldier in the middle seemed to be the leader. He wore red silk right underneath the silver armor. His helmet also had a red cloth tied to the side.

Four soldiers seized Lucien and the child in their arms. The chains were unlocked using the keys tied on their waistbands.

Lucien opened his mouth to protest and struggle against from their rough treatment. But the soldier shoved a black cloth over Lucien’s mouth before tying another one around his mouth.

“Hmm! Hmm!!! Hmmph!!!!” His struggle seemed fruitless. Unlike him, the child did not fight back. He obediently let the soldiers take him.

As Lucien and the child were ushered outside, many children were also dragged out from their prisons. They were led into the hallway, until the dark tunnel opened to reveal the familiar sunlight.

Once outside, the soldiers shoved them into a wide open arena. There were huge trees, boulders and cliffs in the open arena. Surrounding it was a stadium devoid of people.

Behind Lucien, there were people. These people wore long robes and witch hats. There were at least twenty of them. In their hands, they held big crystals that seemed to change the images they reflected at the surface.

“Who are they?” Lucien couldn’t help but murmur.

No one answered him. Even the child whom he shared the prison with didn’t answer him. In total, there were at least thirty children. Ages should ranged from six to twelve years old. Since Lucien was relatively taller among the others, he figured he should be older.

This child’s body should be that of a ten- to twelve-year-old.

Everyone’s reaction was the same. They were all scared. Girls were sobbing and crouching on the ground in fear. Boys were also crying. Some went to the closed double doors, begging to be let out as they banged on them with their small fists.

“Let’s begin!” An elderly voice echoed from behind. Opposite them, another set of metal doors opened. Everyone shrieked and went hysterical.

Behind the metal double doors, a head appeared. The head itself was as big as a boulder. Then the neck extended and its full body came out from the shadows.

Only one word came to Lucien as he saw the monster.

Dragon?

It wasn’t exaggeratedly huge like in the movies. Its height was that of a two-story building. But laying eyes upon it, everyone can’t help but shudder and feel extreme disgust.

Because its body had human children faces. And these faces were dried up. It still has eyes, but the eye sockets almost bulged out. Once the mouth was opened, it spilled black poisonous liquid.

Even from here, Lucien could hear the cries of children from the faces that made up the creature’s body. Seeing it was revolting.

Host, please do your best to protect the male lead and survive.

“He’s here?” Lucien whispered in disbelief.

He was the child standing next to you.

Lucien glanced at the child. The very child with glowing red eyes was staring at the monster with a blank expression.

As if he noticed Lucien staring, he glanced at him.

“No way…”

Now that Lucien looked closely, it was indeed him. He was that handsome young man. The black hair, the red eyes. Lucien could now get a good look at the child’s face because of the sunlight. His side profile really did resemble that young man.

Your mission this time is to kill that monster. Since this is the first side mission, I can’t grant any rewards yet. But to help you, here’s a clue. The monster can be defeated using the flowers of a wisteria tree.

Flowers of a wisteria tree?

Lucien looked around. There were multiple huge trees surrounded him. But none of them was a wisteria tree.

Looks like he has to get inside the forest to search.

Without any hesitation, Lucien grabbed the child’s hand and dragged him towards the forest.