Price had mixed feelings.
Two weeks ago he was wandering through the desert, struggling to survive with his friends.
Two weeks later he was in a futuristic base with armed soldiers, scientists and a cruel dictator as a teacher.
Ironically, at least he wasn't starving or thirsty.
Not only that, but now his strength grew day by day along with the other students of the organization that he came to discover was called "Hell", imagine his surprise when he discovered that Hell was actually Germinal with a new leader.
As soon as he arrived, he was cleaned, fed and given a private room with a shower and bathtub! He could bathe whenever he wanted! Water would come out of the tap at any time!
It seemed unreal to him, but the surprises were only beginning.
Bane and Oscar, his friends, also received potions to awaken Esper.
The result? They both succeeded.
Oscar possesses simple electrokinesis, but it seems very cool. He can only deliver weak shocks currently, but according to the dictator, he could create lightning storms in the future! That seems very cool.
Bane, on the other hand, has a strange power, he can cause pain.
That's it, one simple touch and that's it, the worst pain Price had ever felt in his life.
It seemed a bit silly, but to be honest, he never wanted to feel that way again, it was as if every nerve in his body was bathed in acid.
Bane seemed pleased with his power, then... good for him.
Price, on the other hand, discovered a bit about his own ability, he called it Linked Enhancement.
Basically, the stronger the bond between him and his friends, the stronger he becomes. Not only him, but there's also feedback for the people connected.
It sounds silly, but he realized that the stronger Bane and Oscar got, the stronger he became.
Previously, the power of the bond was quite weak, but now that they've become Supers, even if only Grade F, the enhancement has improved significantly.
Hell's leader, Ringo, seems to take his ability very seriously, even if he doesn't quite understand why.
Compared to Oscar and Bane's power, his power seems a bit underwhelming.
But the dictator seems to take Ringo's interest seriously, so she comes down harder on him.
Today he arrived early at the training area with Oscar and Bane, but that wasn't something to brag about, nobody wanted to be late and risk becoming a target of the dictator, better known as Instructor Eva.
As soon as he arrived, he saw his new colleagues surrounding the little girl Aurora, as always.
He can't blame them, the aura the girl gives off is... comfortable, even though Price sometimes gets close to her.
But he refrained from approaching, he had already seen her sister and she looked at him as if he were a walking corpse. Since then, he hasn't had the courage to approach her.
It was when the dictator arrived that he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, his still isolated group only had Eva as a support point in that horrifying place.
Don't get him wrong, the organization didn't do anything to them, but when you're placed in a giant structure with thousands of people who could easily kill you, you end up getting attached to your sadistic instructor. At least she doesn't seem to want to kill them.
He was already stretching, ready for the usual exhausting day.
But Price's day didn't look like it was going to be so easy.
-Price, stay after training.- Eva said, looking at him, Price groaned inwardly.
He was soon back in the spotlight, there it was, jealousy, the reason his group was still isolated.
He didn't understand what was so special about him, but the leader's clear interest caused Price to suffer ostracism, at least he still had Oscar and Bane.
Oscar pursed his lips at Eva, electricity crackling softly across her skin, he's a impulsive fellow, the type who attacks first and asks questions later.
Bane, on the other hand, seemed indifferent, but he always looked a bit dim-witted. However, Price knew that Bane was simply a man of few words, but loyal and unafraid of pain. Which is why Price always trusts Bane to restrain the impulsive Oscar.
The class was simply physical training that consisted of going through obstacle courses, long runs, calisthenics and weight training, followed by fighting!
Of course, for Price, Oscar and Bane there was still more to come, general knowledge classes: history, geography, math and grammar.
Because apparently, to become a skilled jack-of-all-trades assassin, you need knowledge about... well, about many things.
It wasn't his fault that there were no schools in the desert.
He could barely read anything, let alone Bane and Oscar, they hated those classes even more than he did.
Even more so after spending hours being tortured by Eva.
But in any case, today's lesson was no different, except perhaps that the use of firearms was added, yes, they gave them guns and taught them how to shoot at fixed targets.
That part was actually fun.
Eva's screams were frequent, apparently they were awful, but aside from his sore shoulder and wrist, he had still enjoyed himself more today than on all the days of the past week.
Finally, class is over.
Eva called him, Oscar and Bane wanted to follow him, but Eva told them off with precise words. -Fuck off!.
Well, he needed to say that he respected their loyalty for resisting the woman's aura for 3 seconds before running away as if there was fire in their butts.
Well, he didn't blame them, he wanted to run too.
Eva scoffed and took him to an open field on the base, a vacant lot used for outdoor training, where Eva presented him with a box.
Confused, he opened the box and saw something that surprised him.
A dozen... puppies? They were whimpering, their eyes barely open, they were so cute, with short, violet fur just growing in.
-Is that it?- Price looked at Eva, confused.
-Ringo thinks your power is tied to the bond, this is a way to test it. Don't underestimate these little ones, they're amethyst wolves. When they're adults, their fur is so tough that even I would have difficulty hurting them.- Eva shrugged.
Price swallowed hard and looked at the puppies in surprise. He'd seen this dinosaur woman send a thick tree flying with a single punch, yet she still lacked the confidence to face these guys?
-Of course, their best feature is defense, other than that, they're quite average. They just needed a little sleeping gas to get the adults to sleep.- The woman shrugged.
Price rolled his eyes, but he was still excited. He'd always thought his power was a bit too boring, after all, without Oscar or Bane, he couldn't do anything. But he hadn't thought of using animals before.
If those little guys grew up, how strong would he become?
He was very excited for a while, but then he looked at the empty field, confused. -Why did we have to come here?
After all, if it was just to deliver the puppies, there was no need to come to this vacant lot.
-You're going to raise them here, these little guys grow up really fast. When they're adults, they're the size of trucks.- Eva shrugged before leaving. -I just thought I'd show you the place beforehand.
-Besides, you'd better grow up fast. Their food will come out of your own pocket. For now, you can pay on credit, but if you don't want to take on debt you won't be able to pay off until old age, you'd better grow up faster.- Eva laughed heartily as she left. Price blinked several times, staring wide-eyed at the puppies in the box.
Then he looked around at the large field and imagined a dozen giant wolves running around, chasing him with their tongues hanging out.
Wouldn't he have to bathe in saliva every day?!
Price trembled for a moment, but in the end his face was sour.
He couldn't refuse this, these guys would be the foundation of his future strength.
Sighing, he found a booklet inside the box, sat down on the floor without caring about getting dirty, and began to read.
It was a book detailing the Amethyst Wolves, their habits, diet, precautions... he read it for quite some time.
These little guys were taken from their parents too early, but unfortunately they are wild animals. If they were left with their parents until they were older, it would be even more difficult to train them. For now, he needs milk to feed them.
And from a baby bottle.
It couldn't be regular cow's milk, that could cause diarrhea.
Conveniently, the booklet stated that food would be provided during the wolve's infancy, after which it would be up to him.
Letting out a final, tired sigh, but looking at the wolves with bright eyes, he picked up the box and left quickly, returning to his own room.
He spent a few hours reviewing the care and arranging a place for the puppies in his room, then he had to go to his theory classes.
Price seemed unhappy walking through the corridors of Hell, but inside he was still hopeful and determined. The future looks promising.