I slowly open my eyes.

  “. . .”

  And the first thing I see is a woman in front of me. I look to my left and right, and I see Diva next to me.

  *CRING CRING*

  *?*

  I tried to move my body and stand up, but I couldn’t. I inspect my own body and realize that my hands and legs are handcuffed to the armrest and leg chairs of a chair that I am sitting on.

  “W-What is this? Where am I?”

  I look to my surroundings once again. I see that we are inside a 4x6m empty white room with occasional small and thin blue lines all over the room that make the room look very futuristic.

  I looked to my front once again, and a woman was sitting behind a desk, located a meter away from us. The desk is all white, and there is a white monitor to her right, positioned diagonally to her. There are also other minuscule stuff like a flower vase, an ashtray, a half-full water bottle, an opened bag of potato chips, a lipstick, a glasses case, a handbag, and some items that I have clues about. This desk seems like this woman’s personal workspace.

  The woman is currently staring at the monitor intensely without paying attention to me, who has just woken up. She seems to be in her thirties.

  She has dark brown, long hair that she ties into a messy ponytail, held by a purple hair clip. She has a pair of beautiful pink eyes behind a pair of glasses, and she has fair skin. She wears a black T-shirt with square patterns where the squares are all rainbow-colored, with a collar that she leaves open, layered by a white, long lab coat, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of white socks, and a pair of pale brown women's shoes. There is a nametag on her lab coat that says Anna.

  “Who are you?”

  *!*

  “OH, YOU’RE AWAKE!! THANK GOODNESS!! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ASLEEP AGAIN?” asked the woman enthusiastically.

  “Shouldn’t you be the one telling me that? I don’t know anything. First off, where am I?”

  “WELCOME, WELCOME!! You are currently inside an underground private laboratory!! Even though compared to other labs in the world, it’s considered small, it’s still such a big place for all of us who work here!!”

  “. . .Lab? What kinda lab is this?”

  “Hmm, I just realized how calm and collected you are right now. Aren’t you only nine years old?”

  “That doesn’t matter right now. Please tell me!”

  “In this lab, we are researching Faith powers and the factors that affect a Believer’s Faith power output!!”

  “Faith power output can be affected?”

  “Yup, yup!”

  “So, why are we here specifically?”

  “Ah! You two have been sold to this place, so you two belong to me!!” said the woman with a smile.

  “. . .”

  It takes me a second to process what I just heard.

  “I see.”

  “Well, to be more accurate, you were sold to an illegal auction in the Underworld. And there were so many buyers willing to pay millions of dollars to acquire you both. Luckily, I was at the auction, so I blew most of my money to buy you two, and I won!!”

  “How much did you pay for us both?”

  “Around 45 million dollars each.”

  “. . .I apologize, I cannot even comprehend how much money that is.”

  “Oh, c’mon! You’re nine years old! You shouldn’t even be!! You know what the most dangerous part was?”

  “Huh?”

  “There was a specific buyer who wanted to buy ONLY the girl, and he was ready to pay 30 million dollars. To top it off, everyone in the auction recognizes that man as one of the biggest brands of the prostitution business in the Underworld. I couldn’t bear to see such a young and innocent girl being subjected to that kinda cruelty, so I bought you two, no matter the cost!!”

  “P-prostitu—what? What is that?”

  “Oh, right, you’re still a nine-year-old after all! Your demeanour really confused me. . .”

  Whatever that was, it seems like he has saved both of us. I was. . . surprised at her kindness. I was expecting something worse than this in my honest mind.

  “I thank you for buying us then!!”

  “Well then seems like you understand. Can you promise me not to try to leave this place? I also promised to never do you wrong! I’ll give you two separate, private, comfy rooms! I’ll also give you the key to your room so you can freely enter and exit, fully up to you!”

  “. . .That sounds too good to be true.”

  “Well, I guess it is, huh? I’ve seen the report about you. It seems like you’ve been through a lot. The prison that kept you keeps beating you senselessly, even though you’re a child, just because of their pride and shame. You poor boy. . .” said the woman as she looked at me with pitiful eyes.

  “. . .”

  I. . . don’t know why, but her eyes looked so kind and endearing to me. There is a slight doubt in my heart that this is just an act to keep me bound to this place. She is trying to confine me non-physically. But at the same time, I don’t have any evidence against it, so only time will tell. And it’s not like I know where to go or what to do with my life, even if I tried to escape from here, so for now, I’ll just play along.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “I understand. I would not try to escape! I promise!”

  “Well, good!”

  *CLANK CLANK*

  *!*

  The woman suddenly pulls out two metal collars from under her desk that she had just placed on top of it.

  “*SIGH* I’m glad I don’t have to use this! It is not my style to threaten and put a collar on a child’s neck.” said the woman, letting out a sigh of relief.

  She also pulls out a remote from her lab coat’s pocket, points it at me, and presses a certain button on it.

  *CSSHHH*

  *!*

  The bindings of my hands and legs are gone. I stand up from the chair.

  “The report also tells me that you’re a Believer, right, Eissen-kun?”

  “Yes, correct!”

  “What is your Faith power?”

  I summon my gun to demonstrate it.

  “I can do this!”

  *BANG*

  I shot my gun towards the west wall of the room and immediately swapped places with it before it hit the wall. The bullet fell to the floor freely at the spot where I was, losing all of its previous momentum.

  *!!!*

  “EEEHHH?? THAT IS SO COOL, QUICK, AND VERY USEFUL ALMOST IN ANY SITUATION!!” said the woman in high tension as she also stood up from her chair.

  “Y-you think so??”

  “Of course!! That means you can kinda move between places really quickly. Is there a limit to how far you can swap with the bullet?”

  I didn’t realize it, but seeing her asking me about my Faith power with such enthusiasm brings a smile to my face.

  “About 10 meters, I think. Or at least that’s what the thought that suddenly popped into my mind tells me.”

  “Wooooooo!!”

  *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*

  The woman claps her hands for me, and I feel a little bit embarrassed.

  “So, what should I do from now on?”

  “I’ll give you a detailed explanation later once the girl wakes up, alright!”

  “Uurrghh. . .”

  *!*

  “Oh my, speak of the devil!”

  Diva slowly opens her eyes and regains her full consciousness.

  “H-Huh? Where am I?”

  “Well then!!”

  And so, the woman explains everything, and I assist the woman in convincing Diva.

  .

  .

  .

  Long story short, I am now tasked to do a simple battle simulation.

  “Woooohhh! This room is so big!!”

  I am currently inside an empty circular gray room, 20 meters in diameter and 10 meters tall, with a dome-shaped ceiling above. There is some kinda lone console at the very center of the room with some kinda headset placed on a stand on it. At seven meters tall of the wall on the south, there is a giant and long glass window through which the woman and her other co-workers are looking inside the room. There are also multiple speakers placed all around the room.

  I looked back towards the window.

  “So, what exactly am I doing here?”

  I spoke with my normal indoor voice, but every scientist was able to hear me just fine.

  “So basically, this is a battle simulation room where you get to fight anything or anyone of our own choice.”

  “Simulation?”

  “Yes! Please wear that VR headset and inform us if you’re ready to start. Don’t worry! Since it’s a simulation, it won’t harm you at all, even if you get hit!!”

  “What exactly am I fighting?”

  “You’ll see once you wear the headset!”

  I ask no further questions, take off the VR headset from the stand, and wear it on my head.

  “I’ll turn on the simulation, alright?”

  *!!!*

  As soon as she finishes her sentence, the entire gray, empty room changes into a vast, beautiful grassland, spread as far as my eyes can see, with a bright, blue, clear sky above.

  “. . .”

  I was in awe seeing how pretty the scenery is. I’ve never seen such a display of nature before in my life. All I knew previously was the gray and ruined city and the bleak sky above, with occasional missiles heading towards somewhere in the city. What a contrast.

  *!!*

  I look to my front and see a bunch of men in black suits, 20 in total, wearing sunglasses, and holding a firearm each. They all appear surrounding me in a large circle, four meters away from where I stand. They all have blond hair, and all of their faces, stature, physical appearance, clothing, weapons, heights, and weights are all the same.

  “These are the enemies I should fight, huh?”

  “ALRIGHT, EISSEN-KUN!! BATTLE SIMULATION ONE, BEGINS!!”

  SIMULATION START!

  A loud voice suddenly rings throughout the grassland, signalling the beginning of the simulation.

  *BANG BANG BANG BANG*

  And immediately, they all fired their guns at the same time at me.

  *BANG*

  I point my gun at the person to my north, slightly above him, and swap places with the bullet. I appear directly above his head, and I swing my leg down.

  *BAAMM*

  *GRAAHKK*

  I kicked his head down, and his face was planted into the grass below. The man doesn’t groan in pain, nor does he make any kind of sound.

  *!*

  *ZRRTTSS PSHEW*

  But he suddenly turns into a noise and disappears completely.

  *THUD*

  I land on the grassland below.

  “Wow! That looks so weird.”

  There really is no trace of the man whatsoever.

  *BANG BANG*

  But then the other men shot their guns again towards me. I rush towards the man next to me.

  *CTANG*

  And let his bullet bounce off my forearm with my Vein armor activated.

  “(Wow! It can even recreate a scenario where the bullet deflects off my sturdy skin!)”

  *BAAAAMM*

  I quickly punch the man in the jaw, and he drops to the grass field below from the impact.

  *ZRRRT PSHEW*

  And he, too, disappears from the ground.

  I quickly make a succession of finishing blows towards the rest of the men.

  I kick one man in the head, I punch one man in his belly, I shot one man in his head, I shot one man in his nuts, I summon my baton and hit one man in the neck, I grab and slam one man into the grass field, I choke one man and shove my gun into his mouth and shot it, I shot one man in his kneecap and kick him in his neck, etc.

  I did various things to keep killing all the men and disposing of them in quick succession, though there was no blood at all, no matter which fashion I killed them with.

  When there is only one man left, I shot my gun above his head and swapped places with the bullet. I appeared above him about two meters in the air, just as he shot his gun towards me. I descend towards him, spinning myself vertically and swinging my leg in the air towards the top of his head.

  *BAAAAMM*

  And I did a spinning axe kick, sending his head planted into the soil below, and he immediately disappeared. I land on the grass field safely and stand up.

  *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP*

  A loud buzzing noise suddenly rings throughout the entire room, but it’s not loud enough to hurt my ears. The entire scenery suddenly disappears, and I am back into the large circular, gray, empty room.

  “Yay, Eissen-kun! You finished your first-ever battle simulation!! You are now free to do as you please!! You can explore this entire lab or go rest in your room!! If I need something from you or Diva-chan, I’ll inform you via the prompter, alright?”

  I take off my headset and place it back on the lone console at the center of the room.

  “Alright! By the way, where is Diva-chan?”

  “Ah, she was watching you the entire time next to me, but now she is just outside the exit to the simulation room!!”

  “Okay!”

  I exited the room, and Diva really was outside.

  “Good job, Eissen-kun!”

  “Thanks, Diva-chan! It’s your turn now. Good luck!”

  I was about to leave, but Diva grabbed my hand and stopped me.

  “What’s wrong, Diva-chan?”

  “At this rate, will we ever accomplish our goal if we stay here, Eissen-kun?”

  Ah, so it’s about that. I turn around to her and grab both of her shoulders.

  “Diva-chan! Don’t worry about that! Think of it for a second, realistically, we are not strong enough currently to actually take down an entire country anyway. Let’s stay with them and do these simulations! I feel like it’s going to make us stronger! We’re still young anyway, so we have a lot of time to mature and get stronger!! Let’s do our best in this lab from now on, alright?”

  I assured Diva that we are not abandoning our dreams, but trying to realistically grasp them within our own hands.

  “I. . . did not think that you’re being serious and already thinking that far ahead! I underestimated you, Eissen-kun! I apologize! I understand! Let us grow stronger for now! For the sake of our dreams!”

  “That’s the spirit, Diva-chan!!”

  Both of us smile at one another. It felt like our dreams are actually within the realm of possibilities now, instead of something that we will never truly achieve.