51 Captured

'What just happened?'

'Did I pass out? How many times has it been?'

'More importantly, where the hell am I?'

Aster woke up confused in a fully closed room.  There was no window or door, just mossy stone walls.

His outfit had been changed to a comfy, smooth, silken attire that consisted of a white shirt and pants.

One could tell it was made out of very high-quality fabric.

The bed was extremely comfortable but Aster resisted its call. 

'I was treated by that demoness and then passed out. That creepy dude said something about sending me a settlement?'

'Don't tell me I'm in a demon's den right now.'

He got up and inspected his current status.

[Hp: 6,190/6,190]

[Mp: 6,100/6,100]

[Energy: 6,190/6,190]

[Status: Confused, normal]

'Whew. Glad to know I won't die in one hit or keel over from fatigue.'

Scenes of him being forced to kneel resurfaced.

'... Or not. That thing could reduce me to a meat paste with a sneeze.'

A wave of nausea swallowed him and a seed of uncertainty found its wave into his heart.

He covered his scarred face with his blanket.

'How long will it take to be able to beat that thing?

How much effort would it require?

Can I persevere through it? Do I have what it takes to keep fighting until I'm not threatened by it?

Just when I think I'm getting stronger, the universe always makes sure to humble and crumble my self-esteem.'

"ARGH"

'Complaining won't do anything! This is a new world so I need to change and adapt.

New world, new me.

I can't keep falling into despair every time I meet a slightly stronger opponent.

I need to get up and grind till my ass falls off.'

With newfound determination and will to fight, Aster jumped off his bed and analyzed the walls of the room.

'I will pluck this seed of hesitance within me by escaping from this place successfully. 

I will enjoy my life in this world no matter what.

I will even develop masochism if need be.'

As if responding to his will, something stirred awake in his soul.

[A Quest has arrived]

[Main Quest: Escape]

[Quest description: Successfully escape from the place where you have been shipped to and return to any human settlement]

[Quest difficulty: S]

[Quest danger: Unrankable]

[Rewards: ???]

'Haha, so you finally decided to give me a quest. It feels like I received my last quest ages ago.'

'I don't know what are the criteria for receiving a quest but I don't care.'

Although he acted self-confident, something was bugging him.

'What do you mean by 'Unrankable'? Is it so high that it can't be measured?'

He ran a couple of possible theories on what it could mean in his head.

'What am I doing, I need to find a way to escape!'

Aster ran up to a wall and ran his hands on it. He was checking for any secret trap doors that might reveal the path to freedom.

But his innate curiosity got the better of him and his thoughts raced in a different direction.

'Quest difficulty is straightforward. It represents how hard I have to struggle to get the quest done but what about the quest danger tho? 

Is it possible to have a quest difficulty of F but a quest danger of SSS? How does that work?

Maybe it could work vice versa as well. A quest difficulty of SSS but a quest danger of F.'

'If the words 'Quest danger' are to be taken at face value then it literally means how dangerous a quest can be.

If so then those would be directly proportional to each other but in this case, the quest danger is much higher.

Something isn't adding up. If the quest danger is that high then wouldn't that naturally mean the quest is unable to be completed?

I remember how some systems in novels that I read back on earth gave the main character some kind of penalty if they can't or won't complete a quest. Maybe it's a penalty of some sort.

It might be basically saying 'Hey! If you don't complete this quest then this is how fucked up you are in this scenario'

Actually, that makes quite a lot of sense. It means I don't have to worry about the danger level as long as I don't mess up.

The danger level finally makes sense now. 

If I can't escape from here and get stuck here in one way or another then there is no telling what might happen to me.

That demon called this place 'settlement' after all. There's a good chance that it's here.'

The very thought of crossing paths with the Lord of Gluttony so soon sent shivers throughout his entire body and spirit.

'It's fine. I have to escape no matter what.'

He inspected the walls, the ceiling, and the floor and he found nothing except some suspicious runes. He checked the bed which he had woken up on.

It was a lazily prepared bed. A soft mattress is placed on top of a flat stone similar to an altar alongside a squishy pillow and a soft blanket.

'Hmm. what are the chances of a hidden path existing under the bed?'

He was tempted to destroy the bed but there is a good reason why he did not bust through the walls yet.

He didn't want to make noise and alert his captors.

Without any leads to follow, he ended up sitting on the bed once more.

'What do I do? Should I risk making some noise?'

After much contemplating, he decided it was best for him to leave the room by any means necessary.

He took a  deep breath and created a mini wind drill.

Aster had made it as small and quiet as possible. He made multiple of them.

Vroom

The drills pierced through the walls like a hot knife through butter.

He crouched down and made a mouse hole so it wasn't big by any means. He went through the hole and found himself in a dimly lit corridor.

"What are you doing outside of your cell!?"