My Cell Prison - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 – The Three Divine Tiers

“Due to the cemetery’s influence, normal humans would be physically weakened and their dreams at night would be affected by the Higher lifeforms from beyond the city walls, This causes them to degenerate and transform into ghouls… It turns out that they are still able to affect the dreams of humans even through such a tall and huge city wall! Just what exactly are these higher lifeforms?”

Han Dong had initially thought that the origin of these ghouls was due to some plague that spread among humans, but he did not expect that it was actually something from beyond the walls.

“Furthermore, this also means that the nature of these ghouls has a certain connection with those things outside… This is the reason humans need to wear those protective goggles in a bid to reduce visual corruption. So why was I fine? Is it because the Faceless One’s Head itself is immune toward it?”

Han Dong wrote down his guesses into his notebook, planning to slowly find proof of this in the future.

He had also jotted down the unique characteristics of the ghoul, including its immense strength, agile movement speed, fungal properties as well as its limited regeneration.

A single elastic Ghoul arm was placed upon the table.

In the next second, Han Dong had taken the arm directly into his Portable Prison.

Before entering the sterile laboratory, he used a sterile bag stocked in the buffer room to isolate the arm separately so as to prevent the fungus from spreading and contaminating the room.

Han Dong now had to contemplate over what to do with the arm.

He needed to find a way to solve his weak physical body… and the best solution he could think of was to utilize his Load Value.

He had shot the Cell Essence into his mass of cells and increased his Load Value by 2 points with the Ghoul sample.

The value he had gotten was lower than what he had first expected… As a result, Han Dong only had 27 points in excess right now.

“How do I check the relevant stat value of this arm? I’ve previously done this by touching it with my mass of cells… So how about now?”

Just as Han Dong was asking himself this question, the voice in his head could be heard speaking inside the Sterile Laboratory.

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Please place the parts you would like to use on the test bench.

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“Test bench?”

When Han Dong turned around, he actually saw that there was an extra clean countertop beside him. Aside from a single, slender tubular scanner, there was no other equipment in sight.

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Foreign object detected on top of the test bench.

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A paper report appeared not one minute after the scanning began.

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[Matured Ghoul’s arm] (Author’s note: The name is shown in green)

Quality: Superior

Load requirement: 22 points

Basis: Possesses strength far greater than normal humans.

Characteristics:

Sharp Claws – able to shred hardwood as well as loosely structured stone.

Grave Fungus – Able to infect targets when attack deals damage.

Note: Arm can be assimilated and upgraded/modified. Viral injections, Mystic Enhancements, and other such methods can increase the quality of the arm, gaining additional attributes in the process.

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“Basically, the Load Value will also increase if all the characteristics are inherited over… Will my arm look like that if I accept it all?”

As Han Dong worried about the look of his body changing, the system’s voice could be heard once more:

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Parts that have been assimilated can be disguised in accordance with the subject’s desire, a function that the Faceless One’s Head will provide.

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Han Dong no longer had any misgivings after hearing this, and his weak body could finally be changed. With the arm assimilated, his Load Limit was now at 122/127.

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For the next two days, Nicholas’ family experienced an upheaval change in the household.

His accommodations in the Academy had been assigned to him a day before, and it was a Victorian styled free-standing house, with two floors and a basement beneath. Located across the street from the National Royal Knights’ Academy, his house had a view of the river and the interior was tastefully decorated in marble and metallic art.

As the whole family brought their luggage and belongings and departed from Samuel Commoner’s District… Nina and her mother both were crying as they sat in the carriage.

Han Dong looked completely unperturbed, merely focusing on taking in the riverside view on the ride.

“Thank you, big brother.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They had been able to procure a full set of furniture using just shy of 10 copper coins out of their purse.

Furthermore, at Han Dong’s suggestion, they spent an additional 25 copper coins to purchase a common horse that had been modified to provide improved stability and controllability. This would make Nina’s daily commute to the workshop that she was apprenticing in that much more convenient.

After all, this house with the view of the river also had a stable that came with it, as middle-class families owned at least one metal horse much like theirs as a mode of transportation for easy travel.

Considering how his studies in the Academy would be mostly on campus and he would most likely find himself sealed from the outside world during this, Han Dong proceeded to wonder if he should hire a nanny for Nicholas’ mother, seeing as he would only return back home during the study break…

However, she insisted on not having someone wait on her, claiming that she would not be able to get used to a life of having someone service her, so Han Dong did not demand it.

Besides, Nina would return home from the mechanical workshop to accompany mother before nightfall.

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With everything settled on the homefront, the third day that was set aside for registrations had arrived.

At 0700 in the morning, Han Dong received a ‘phone call’, and it came from the clockwork device that was on his wrist.

“Nicholas Valen, please follow the instructions on your device and arrive at the Academy’s Trainee Knight Registration Office before 0830. Use your Knight Card and retrieve your freshman handbook.”

Having spent the past few days studying the clockwork device, he watched as it changed into its ‘compass’ mode once the call ended.

Han Dong called for a carriage and it galloped along the exterior walls of the Academy that did not seem to have an end to it. It took approximately 30 minutes before he finally saw the entrance to the National Royal Knights Academy, demonstrating just how large the Academy was.

The copper gates built with advanced mechanical technology were in front of him, and right in the center was a huge Knight insignia- Two swords crisscrossed above a white horse head.

Han Dong quickly inserted his Trainee Knight golden card into the slot beside the door.

The deafeningly loud sound of grinding gears started to work, as steam power pushed the door inward, slowly opening them for Han Dong.

The scene that greeted him within was not the view of lush grass and flowers he had come to expect from a campus. Instead, in front of him was a flight of stairs, pure white in color, that was almost 100 meters high, with walls on both sides of the stairs, leaving him just one path ahead; up.

This flight of stairs was named – Ares’ Stairway

When speaking of these stairs, it was necessary to talk about the basic structure of the Holy City of Newtonia.

As a nation level city state, the Holy City occupied an area that covered half of Italy.

The nation had adopted a constitutional monarchy. With humanity facing extinction, a clear hierarchy in the Holy City was evidently established, using the method of selecting talented men and women via the Space of Destiny, as well as the parliament of lords that was in charge of city management.

It was not merely an economical disparity between the tiers, but it was more a matter of ‘strength’.

As such, when the Holy City of Newtonia was constructed in its early days, the parliament made the decision to completely transform the layout of the city within.

The project was called The Three Divine Tiers.

The first tier had a total of three paths, separately known as Ares’ Stairway, Hermes’ Stairway, and Artemis’ Stairway.

The second tier had a total of two paths, known as Poseidon’s Stairway and Apollo’s Stairway

The third tier only had a single path – Zeus’ Stairway.

(There were rumors about a secret stairway that lead from the surface down underground, and this fourth tier was hidden deep below – Hades’ Stairway.)

The construction of the Three Divine Tiers divided the Holy City into four major urban areas.

The different urban areas were all at different altitudes, with a height of at least 50 meters from each other.

If the outermost ring of the city fell, the ones suffering would only be the outer Commoners’ District.

At the same time, there was a second row of metallic city walls that rose from the bottom of the Mosrabi River up by a full 100 meters, ensuring the safety of those above this first tier.

Han Dong was presently facing Ares’ Stairway, one of the paths that were found on the first tier!

It was also one of the most unique paths because only Trainee Knights were allowed to use this flight of stairs through their identity as a Knight.

It was a direct path to the National Royal Knights’ Academy on the second level of the Holy City.