Chapter 29 Adaptation
"Was this the option you chose among all the others?"
[Me? Do you think I made any changes in the world? It has always been like this because the writers never developed anything about illegal activities, so the world adapted to cover up that hole in the story.]
"I see, so I think it's great that in the story, they were completely devastated and could never recover again."
Around me, there were several cells, all completely frozen, with the floor covered in broken handcuffs and chains. If you paid attention to some parts of the floor, ceiling, and walls, the surface of the ice had a reddish hue. It was clear that it was blood. Fiona really had fun.
"I have two days to finalize the preparations while I let her clean up my city."
[Are you going to fight her? Are you sure?]
"Fight? I won't need to. I know her well and I know how to stop her."
[Don't let yourself be swayed by what I remember. You were only supposed to face her in chapter three.]
"I've already defeated the boss of this part, so I'll have to deal with the change in the script."
I looked around. I had walked a lot through the corridor, but I didn't find anything that could help me.
I started to think whether I should continue exploring the area or not.
[Are you really going to leave without exploring 100% of the map? That's not like you.]
"Hahaha, I used to do that because there was no risk to my life. In this place, as I said, I had no information, so it's dangerous to walk around carelessly."
[That's boring.]
I sighed. Does this person's persistence mean that they know something?
"Okay, let's continue."
[That's what I like to hear.]
I kept walking straight ahead. It seemed to be the only option in this corridor, but there should be some variation in the path. Could there be a hidden passage? I activated the divine hand, allowing energy to cover my eyes. Looking at the walls, I couldn't see any energy that differed from the norm.
"Why did you insist on this? There's nothing here."
[Are you sure about that? What about that hole in the wall, a hundred meters away?]
"What?"
I focused my vision on the area the entity pointed out. Indeed, there was a hole in the wall, and Fiona's energy was still emanating from it, although now it was so weak that it was almost transparent. If it weren't for the brown color of the wall, it would be impossible to see the white energy.
"Don't get excited about it. Keep looking for something better."
"You're finally being useful, huh?"
[You should shut up. I'm only doing this so you'll stop annoying me every time I appear.]
"Alright, alright. You get annoyed too easily."
I ran to the location. Undoubtedly, this was where Fiona had activated her ability. The temperature here was so low that it would be better to find what the entity mentioned and leave before getting hypothermia. I covered my entire body with golden energy so that I could endure at least half an hour before the golden energy couldn't contain the cold anymore, as renewing it would be a pointless waste of mana.
Walking around the area, searching for something different, seven minutes passed until I sat on a frozen chair that was there. I noticed something strange in front of me due to the golden energy in my eyes.
Fiona's faint energy was present throughout the room. Looking at the floor, some parts seemed darker than others. Without the golden energy in my eyes, I realized they were paper sheets. Since they didn't emit any energy they appeared as dark stains on the floor.
I stood up and when I tried to pick up one of the paper sheets, I was stopped by a thin layer of ice, about two centimeters thick, covering it.
I sighed.
"I'll need to spend a lot of mana."
Placing my hand on the ice, I slowly increased the temperature. Due to Fiona's weak energy, it wasn't difficult at all. It only required a significant amount of mana. After a few minutes, I managed to remove the paper sheet from the ice. When I looked at it, I saw the image of a catwoman.
Using the bonus, I could discover what had happened to this character. She had been sold, so unfortunately, she didn't have the same luck as everyone else who was here.
"I understand what you want, but why would I do that?"
Looking around, I could see at least twenty-eight paper sheets on the floor.
"I know I'm the protagonist, the hero, but I can't go searching for all of them. It would deviate too much from my path."
[I just think it would be useful to record their faces. Who knows, you might encounter some of them.]
"What are you plotting?"
[I'm not plotting anything. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I'm just an observer. I won't do anything.]
I smiled, thinking about what the entity had just said as if it hadn't already done anything.
"Well, let's see if I can enhance my vision without using it to see energies."
My eyes were covered by golden energy, and by directly touching the ice, I focused on one paper sheet at a time, going from place to place. Except for the ones facing down, I managed to see all of them.
"That was good. I need more practice."
I looked at the four remaining sheets.
"It's good that you're saying something useful. The characters may be attractive, but it will be annoying to deal with them, assuming Fiona hasn't already killed them."
[Don't worry, if I fail, it's just to make it more interesting. And don't worry, all the buyers were women too.]
"For someone who wasn't going to help me, you're talking a lot."
[Don't get used to it. I'm only doing this for my own interest.]
"Of course, what else should I expect?" I said, rolling my eyes.
I stood up, looking at the last sheet, a monkey boy, and threw it behind.
"He can fend for himself."
[I'm surprised you looked at the others.]
"It was good training after all. They seem to be able to take care of themselves. It's strange that most of the boys were human."
[Maybe they were the easiest to capture.]
"Anyway, it's done."
After taking one last look at the place, I left and walked all the way back to the frozen house.