NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Nothing special happened during the prayer, other than meeting that minor villain again. And, of course, not knowing the words to the prayer. What would you expect from someone who just transmigrated into this world? Apparently, everyone knew the words, even the newly inducted test subjects. I was a bit amazed. Was there some kind of secret orientation I'd missed?
Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I bowed my head lower. But let's get one thing straight—I wasn't bowing out of shame. Nah, my skin is thicker than anyone else's here. While pretending to be devout, I slyly mimicked the lip movements of those around me. My prayers were complete nonsense, but no one seemed to notice.
I couldn't help but wonder—why was this religion so widespread? Even in the slums? It didn't seem to fit. I sighed, deciding not to dwell on it too much.
When the prayer ended, we shuffled back to the room in silence. Once inside, I resolved to tackle my biggest hurdle yet: learning how to read and write. The realization that I was illiterate in this world stung more than I'd like to admit. I needed to fix that, or progressing further—especially with the system—would be near impossible.
Determined, I grabbed a mana crystal and scavenged some old notebooks from the corner shelf. Climbing up to the top bunk, I sat cross-legged and began studying diligently. The blondie, meanwhile, had claimed the lower bunk and was already dozing off.
As I struggled to grasp the basics, a troubling thought crept into my mind. Why did the lab encourage us to study? It wasn't out of generosity, that's for sure. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became—this place wasn't just a lab. It was more like an orphanage. Or no...maybe a farm.
I shuddered at the thought. Food, clothing, shelter, and education—it all sounded noble on the surface. But if you stripped it down, wasn't it all just preparation? They were raising us, nurturing us, only to harvest the results through their experiments.
The chill that ran down my spine snapped me out of my thoughts. No use speculating further without any concrete evidence. I forced myself to refocus on the notebook in front of me.
I studied diligently until lunchtime, memorizing the alphabet and basic sounds. Thankfully, knowing how to speak the language made the process a bit easier. By the time lunch rolled around, I could at least write my name, though I wasn't anywhere near fluent yet. I sighed, frustrated by my slow progress, and climbed down to wake Blondie.
"Oi, get up. Lunch," I said, shaking him gently.
He groaned, turning over with a sleepy pout. "Five more minutes…"
"Nope. If I have to suffer through that blob of nutrients, so do you," I retorted, dragging him out of bed.
Reluctantly, he got up, and we headed to the cafeteria together. Lunch was, as expected, the same mysterious blob. Nutrient-packed, they called it. Palatable? Definitely not.
After lunch, I went right back to studying. Blondie returned to his nap, leaving me to my books. By dinner, I'd made significant progress. I still wasn't at the level of effortless reading and writing, but at least I could string together simple sentences.
Dinner, however, brought an unpleasant surprise. Halfway through, I started feeling dizzy. My head spun, my vision blurred, and then it hit me—I'd completely forgotten about the drug.
Isa had warned us about it earlier. A special drug was mixed into our food every night, supposedly to prevent test subjects from escaping. But I doubted that was its only purpose.
By the time we returned to our room, the drug's effects had fully kicked in. My legs felt like jelly as I stumbled to my bed. Climbing onto the top bunk was an ordeal in itself, and I barely managed to collapse onto the mattress before the darkness swallowed me whole.
With a soft plop, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
End of Chapter 15