Became a stagnant person in a squalid prison cell
Chapter 14 –
Tears and Training
Mint found herself staring at his face without realizing it.
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising she reached out her hand.
This prison was the kind of place where people easily gave in to impulses.
All day, it was full of mad prisoners, guards who hated those prisoners, and staff who abused or used them.
If you didn’t let out your emotions somehow, you’d lose your mind.
Mint had learned to live and survive in this place.
“You’re sweating a lot. Is it that hard?”
She gently wiped Helios’s cheek.
Helios looked at her, totally dumbfounded.
She looked completely serious, like she really didn’t understand why he was so tired.
“I went easy on you, but I guess you’re still weak. You’ve got a long way to go.”
“…What are you saying? Are you seriously crazy?”
Even the brutal trainers his father hired to awaken his powers in childhood weren’t this intense.
At least they hadn’t looked like they actually wanted to kill him.
“This is ridiculous…”
Still, when he thought about removing her hand, he hesitated.
Something about it felt oddly comforting.
Why does this guy feel so delicate all over?
He felt a bit resentful—how could someone so skinny beat him?
But honestly, the warmth of her hand wasn’t bad… at least for now.
Even if he didn’t know what kind of person she was, he decided to accept her strange kindness.
“That’s not sweat. It’s tears.”
Helios leaned slightly on Mint’s hand and let out a tired breath.
He’d tried to keep his pride, but he was completely worn out.
“Congratulations, Sir Garrett.”
He gave a faint, crooked smile.
His fierce eyes softened, strangely gentle.
“You’re the first person to make me cry since I became an adult.”
His tone was rebellious, but to Mint… it sounded strangely seductive.
“So… shouldn’t you take responsibility?”
Meanwhile, on the 96th Floor…
“Yaaaawn.”
A woman named Ramona sat lazily, yawning.
Underneath her, a huge man lay unconscious, foaming at the mouth and eyes rolled back.
She was casually sitting on top of him.
He had been the master of the 96th floor.
Correction—he was the master until three minutes ago.
After the 90th floor, if someone beat the floor’s master, the ownership transferred.
Ramona had been stuck in the high 80s for a long time, but now she was climbing steadily.
It seemed like she finally had a reason to move up.
“The Boss is late.”
Her messy hair fell over her scarred face.
It had been two months since Mint, the king of prisoners and master of the 100th floor, disappeared.
But Ramona never doubted Mint would return.
Still, this time it was taking quite a while.
She thought back to the pattern she’d noticed from being around him so long.
“Two months, huh…”
She raised her hand, and a dark green drop fell from her fingertip.
Hissss—! It hit the floor and sizzled, burning through the stone.
It was poison.
Ramona didn’t care and tilted her head slightly, speaking in a calm, amused tone:
“Didn’t our Boss always do something crazy every two months?”
This was probably one of those times.
Back with Helios and Mint…
“Jump.”
Helios looked down at Mint like she was out of her mind.
He was used to her by now, so he wasn’t even surprised.
“I’m a patient teacher. Just jump. Trust me.”
“You’re insane. If you’re really my teacher, why don’t you clear what’s under there first?”
Three more weeks had passed.
Helios had reached the 7th floor and was currently in a resting area.
“Hey newbie, I heard you’re being assigned as a full-time personal guard now?”
“Did you mess up? Or fail a test? Why are they giving you that order?”
Apparently, higher-ups had ordered Mint to stay as Helios’s personal guard longer.
It made sense. She was specifically chosen to help him rise.
Sergeant Steven seemed confused, but most guards weren’t surprised.
“Strange.”
“What’s strange? It makes sense to me.”
Steven kindly explained that the others assumed Mint was so useless, she wasn’t even trusted with real duties.
But Mint didn’t understand why.
I haven’t done anything wrong…
Almost two months in, Mint had been a perfect guard.
She showed respect to senior guards, like in any strict hierarchy.
She made tea as asked…
“Aaaagh! It’s boiling hot!”
“My tongue! You psycho!”
“Who brews tea at full boil!?”
“It steeps best at 100 degrees.”
“Cool it first, for god’s sake!”
She followed orders exactly.
“Hey rookie, this is the weapons storage. Don’t let anyone in.”
“Got it.”
Then she blocked even the sergeant from entering.
“You crazy idiot! Why did you block the sergeant!?”
“You said not to let anyone in.”
Again, she followed instructions to the letter.
And that seemed to annoy the senior guards even more.
“Ugh, this is so frustrating! Can’t you use common sense!?”
“If you’re gonna act like that, throw everything away!”
“Yes, sir.”
“YOU REALLY THREW IT AWAY!? Are you nuts!?”
Still, Mint concluded she was doing fine.
The more upset the seniors got, the more she was probably doing a great job.
She even told Helios her thoughts.
“I thought the prison guard exam didn’t care about social skills.”
He looked at her like she was hopeless.
Mint looked up at him—he was standing on top of a tree.
She’d told him to climb it, so this was part of her plan.
“So… you want me to jump down onto this insane trap?”
She looked at the ground.
Beneath him was a pit full of sharp white spikes.
Mint had created them with her object-type power.
They were real enough to cut skin like hunting traps.
“It’s safe.”
“You once tried to kill me in the name of training! How can I trust that!?”
“Tsk tsk. You lack trust in your teacher.”
Helios frowned, mocking her.
“This is good training. You want to master your ability, right? These powers grow best under extreme pressure.”
“So you’re just going to drop me into danger!?”
“Better than dying in the Tower later, right?”
Helios turned pale but didn’t argue—he knew she was right.
“As you fall, try to create something that can save your life.”
“This is insane, cruel, and just—HEY!”
Mint calmly cut down the tree Helios was standing on.
His handsome face twisted in panic as he fell.
She smiled.
“Good luck.”
“I’ll KILL YOUUUU—!”
She walked over and peeked into the pit.
Her smile grew deeper.
“See? You can do it.”
Inside the pit, a shimmering net had appeared—like the kind used under tightropes at a circus.
Oh? Has he seen a circus before?
Helios sat in the glowing net, stunned, with his hands covering his face.
