A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 100 : Darkest Dungeon (6)

Punishnt.

It is a word that encompasses a wide range of areas, so explaining its aning in modern society would require nurous footnotes.

But to put it in a single phrase, punishnt could be summarized as the ‘suppression of given rights’.

Ti, freedom, labor, and so on.

It was the act of penalizing criminal behavior by imposing sanctions on the rights that humans enjoy from birth, or will co to enjoy in the future.

That was the basic concept that constituted the word punishnt.

For this reason, many people in the world could not understand the punishnt known as the ‘Underground Prison Sentence’.

Other punishnts took away ti, freedom, or labor.

If not that, they took away honor, property, or even state-guaranteed qualifications.

In contrast, this Underground Prison Sentence, aside from the fact that the duration of stay in the isolated place called the ‘Darkest Dungeon’ was fixed, seed to have no obligations or restrictions whatsoever.

…Of course, such talk didn't co from nowhere.

Except for the fixed term of punishnt, the Darkest Dungeon was certainly a much larger space, to the point where it was embarrassing to compare it with other prisons, and it seed to have no forced labor.

…I was once one of those who thought so.

Clank-.

‘What is this…?’

‘Mana Restraints. You dumb bastard, kekek.’

‘…….’

‘Ha! I thought you’d be different since you’re Hero-class, but you’re nothing special.’

But that.

That was sothing one could only say if they had never personally entered this Underground Prison, the ‘Darkest Dungeon’.

If soone had actually been inside the Darkest Dungeon, they would never say such a thing.

Because here, a human’s ‘most important right’, one that takes precedence over those other three, was not guaranteed.

‘…What was that? Sothing about the Suicide Squad’s base camp?’

‘…….’

‘Go fuck yourself, Mr. Fucking Hero.’

The Right to Survive.

The most basic and primary right of a human being to live out their given life was not exercised as a matter of course within this place.

‘Cooperation? What are you talking about, when our own throats are on the line? Who are we supposed to help?’

‘…….’

‘Be grateful we didn't kill you on the spot, you punk. This is a place where it wouldn't be strange for soone to drop dead at any mont.’

It was only natural.

Ti, labor, whatever it was—those belonged to the living, not sothing the dead could possess.

After all, the Order was well aware of this, which is why the highest legal punishnt they currently carried out was the ‘Death Penalty’, which deprived one of the right to survive.

…The significance of the Darkest Dungeon as a punishnt lay right there.

In principle, no existing punishnt other than the death penalty could limit the right to survive.

But aside from the death penalty, only the ‘Underground Prison Sentence’ was directly connected to the right to survive, which was considered an inviolable domain.

‘…I understand. I won’t ask for help, so please let go. I’ll look elsewhere.’

‘Huh? What kind of bullshit is this now?’

‘…….’

‘Hero, can’t you grasp the situation? You’ve been caught by us. Don’t you get it?’

Not only that.

When I first experienced the Darkest Dungeon, I had a sudden thought.

Perhaps.

The ‘Underground Prison Sentence’ might be a more cruel and more horrifying punishnt than the ‘Death Penalty’ that brings imdiate death.

…No, to be blunt, I still thought so now.

Considering that the rate of completing the full term of the ‘Underground Prison Sentence’ and being released was less than 0.1%.

For most people, the Underground Prison Sentence was virtually no different from a death sentence.

The death penalty didn't even allow for a sliver of hope that could create despair.

But simply because their death wasn't set in stone, people here couldn't help but hold on to hope.

‘…Let go while I’m asking nicely. You’ll be sorry if you trust this thing too much.’

‘Aigoo, what a load of crap… What a bluff. And with Mana Restraints on, too.’

‘…….’

‘…Look here, Hero.’

A state of war of all against all.

A place where the primordial law of the jungle was the only rule, and survival of the fittest was the only principle of existence.

A place where taking another's life for a single sip of water was not just nonchalant, but considered natural.

‘This is the wild, you idiot.’

…Even in that desperate wilderness that makes you hate humanity itself.

* * *

“Good work, Gilbert.”

With the Village Chief's praise, the man who had guided turned and stood beside the Village Chief.

“You haven’t been in the ruling class for long, yet you’ve done a great thing.”

“Ugh… I thought I was going to die from the tension, Village Chief.”

“Right. You said he was definitely a Special Newcor, didn’t you?”

Nod-

“I'm certain. I saw it with my own two eyes. He used mana to take down a Mutant Monster Tree right after he arrived.”

I wasn't sure of the specifics, but based on the fact that he cited catching a Mutant as evidence, ‘Special Newcor’ seed to be their secret code for Hero-class.

After getting confirmation from Gilbert one more ti, the Village Chief turned his gaze back to .

“I’m truly sorry about this, young man.”

“……”

“If it were up to us, we’d love to share our food and throw a party.”

Shrug-

“But as you can see, we’re in a tough spot just trying to feed ourselves… and especially since a Hero-class laborer like you is extrely valuable here.”

The Village Chief, whose eyes and tone had changed so drastically it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was a 180-degree turn, inford as if he had no choice.

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. You have no idea how pitiful I felt every ti I saw the Hero-class slaves from other Camps who could easily venture outside the forest.”

“……”

“Wouldn't you feel the sa? Huh?”

With a disgusting, chuckling laugh, the Village Chief, looking pleased, licked his lips and muttered.

“Let’s see… where should I put this one to use first?”

Hearing this, one of the people in the crowd shouted.

“at! Let’s catch a pig from the Spring of Purification for the first ti in a while, Village Chief. I can’t even rember… the last ti I had proper at.”

“Hoh. That’s not a bad idea.”

“Or have him fetch a ton of water, which we’re short on right now…”

The people, full of expectation, excitedly listed their demands, and the Village Chief nodded along to their requests with a satisfied smile.

Then, a thought occurred to him, and his smile widened as he looked at and exclaid.

“Ah.”

“……”

“It seems you need a bit more explanation. About what the slave class and the ruling class are.”

The way he emphasized the word ‘slave’ while pointing his finger at suggested it wasn't so much an explanation out of necessity as it was a tone laced with ridicule.

“I did ntion it briefly earlier, but our Camp is divided into two groups. The slave class, for those who have been here for less than three years, and the ruling class, for those who have survived here for more than three years.”

“……”

“Well, it’s only natural, but since you’ve just arrived, you’ll have to be classified as the slave class. It hasn’t even been a day, has it?”

Guffaw-

“It doesn’t matter if you were a Hero or whatever on the outside. To survive in this wilderness, you have to follow the laws of this place.”

“……”

“Just like those friends over there.”

Continuing his mocking explanation, the Village Chief pointed to a distant spot beyond the fence. There, several terror-stricken people were running as if fleeing for their lives, their arms full of sothing.

- Ugh, uwaaack!!!

- Run, run, run, run!!

The ruling class and the slave class.

It was an intuitive classification that hardly needed an explanation.

It wasn't much different from what I had experienced in my first life.

I didn't know the exact details, but whatever they were carrying in their arms with such fear was unlikely to be for themselves.

“Well, don’t be too disappointed. Just because you’re staying in the Camp as part of the slave class doesn’t an you have to stay that way forever.”

“……”

“If you build up your years comndably like Gilbert here, you too might be able to rise to the ruling class soday. In fact, since the Hero class is rare, the period might even be a little shorter…”

Ssk-

Turning my head to check on the mbers of the slave class in the distance, I shrugged and asked the Village Chief.

“What happens if I don’t follow?”

“What do you think happens?”

Tap, tap-

“No matter who you are, you can’t take all of us on with this thing on, can you?”

“……”

“I don’t know if you were so amazing Hero on the outside, but without mana, you’re just a young man who knows how to fight a little, aren't you?”

Shrug-

“If you don't like it, you should have co here earlier.”

“……”

The Village Chief, who had been taunting while tapping the Mana Restraints with his staff, muttered in a low voice and turned away.

“Hohoho… Judging by the look in your eyes, it seems you need a good beating to co to your senses. Do you think this is the first ti we’ve done this?”

“……”

“Tsk, even after all that, he still thinks this is the outside world.”

Was that so kind of signal?

As if they had been waiting, the people of the Camp surrounding took out various hidden weapons.

“…Go easy on him. We need to put him to work right away.”

Filling the space left by the Village Chief, the people slowly closed in the encirclent.

- He’s Hero-class, so he won’t die even if we beat him with all our might, right?

- Of course. You think he’d die? He’s Hero-class, after all.

From my perspective, the scene was nothing short of laughable.

Pfft-

I had been quietly watching to see how far they would go, and except for the fact that their lines seed a bit milder this ti, the synchronization rate was close to 100%.

“……”

Especially.

Even down to the part where they completely trusted these Mana Restraints.

Woooong-

…Of course.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand their position of trusting the Mana Restraints.

The technology that ford the basis of the Mana Restraints, ‘Magic Engineering’, was a new technology showing unparalleled growth among the new technical fields recently established by the Order to diversify combat in the modern era.

Among them, these Mana Restraints were a kind of essence created by concentrating the accumulated Magic Engineering technology.

Furthermore, considering that the Order had directly participated in the process to increase its perfection, it was undoubtedly a masterpiece of Magic Engineering.

…Well, even without this background or any other explanation.

The re fact that the Order itself used this item on Hero-class prisoners was enough to pass any questions of reliability.

Anyway, anyhow, whatever.

Woooong-

[ is activating.]

Clank-

[Warning! The operation of the Mana Circuit is being suppressed by the effect of an unknown device.]

Woooong-

[ is activating.]

Clank-

[Warning! The operation of the Mana Circuit is being suppressed by the effect of an unknown device.]

Woooong-

[ is activating.]

Chik- Kak- Pshiiii…

Tiring-!

[The suppression has been lifted.]

[Mana Circuit operation detected.]

[Analyzing Mana Circuit pattern…]

Smiiirk-

…I was just saying I understood.

.

.

.

[ is being forcibly realized.]