Shallowly Through Several Nights

In the dark little house, only a single candle was lit.

By the flickering firelight, cobwebs and mildew could be seen in the corners.

As well as some long-lasting food and drinking water.

Vivian was tied to a sturdy chair, her hands pressed against the armrests and her ankles tight against the chair legs.

Ahab sat directly opposite her.

They had been sitting like this for half the night already.

Vivian was growing increasingly agitated.

What exactly was this Nascent going to do to her?!

At first, Vivian had thought she would be fine.

Ahab wanted to know where the item was hidden, so he would most likely torture her severely.

That would activate the Warning Badge inside her. Even if Ahab was not afraid of paying a fine, the Enforcement Squad would come save her.

But Ahab did nothing.

He merely tied her to the chair, then sat in another chair across from her.

No, she could not just sit here and wait to die!

Vivian closed her eyes, preparing to restore her magic power through meditation.

An apprentice like her, who had only just entered the ranks, did not yet possess the ability to recover magic power through spontaneous meditation.

Once magic power was exhausted, unless one absorbed Magic Stones, one could only meditate actively.

The moment Vivian closed her eyes, she felt someone pinch her nose shut.

And there was still tape stuck over her mouth...

"Mmph, mmph!"

Vivian opened her eyes with a muffled whimper.

This level of bullying was precisely enough to avoid triggering a warning while still preventing meditation and rest.

After all, if even the slightest bump or scrape triggered a warning, the Enforcement Squad would have no time for anything else all day.

Ahab extended a finger and waved it back and forth before Vivian's eyes.

"Don't close your eyes."

With her mouth covered, Vivian's voice came out unclear.

"Can't I even blink?"

"You can blink, but only blink."

After saying that, Ahab returned to his seat.

Tch, what are you acting so high and mighty for? Let's see what you can do to me!

Vivian turned her head to one side.

Then the two continued sitting across from each other, and who knew how much more time passed.

"Mmph, mmph..."

Vivian's eyelids began to droop.

Her fight with Ahab had taken place at night. Then she had been brought here and made to sit for so long...

It was probably almost dawn already.

Vivian was drowsy.

But Ahab was still seated across from her. The moment she showed any sign of closing her eyes, he would come over and stop her.

Damn it, wasn't this Nascent sleepy? He just kept staring at me.

Vivian lightly shook her head.

I refuse to believe you can stay awake forever.

"Looks like you're still unwilling to admit defeat."

Ahab secretly glanced at Vivian, then lowered his gaze.

He had not been sitting idly. He had been reading the Future Diary the whole time.

[February 18. It has been nearly a year since I came to the academy.]

[Halfway through class today, several First-Rank Apprentices suddenly barged in.]

[I thought something major had happened, but they merely took away the most inconspicuous apprentice.]

[From my current Eight-Ring perspective, the one who was taken away was most likely a believer of The Void.]

[There are countless planes in the vast universe, and our Wizard World occupies only a small part of it.]

[Most planes have been conquered and plundered by wizards, until they encountered—the Abyss, or rather, the Ancient Gods.]

[Of course, those are merely popular names. Wizards do not use the word "god" to refer to living beings. A more academic designation for Ancient Gods is "Old Ones" or "Higher Existences."]

[To be fair, their followers' abilities are quite interesting. For instance, they can tell at a glance how many people someone has killed in their life, or how many people they have deceived...]

It was said that Formal Wizards could leap between planes and travel the universe, but that was still far too early for him... Ahab slowly memorized what he had read.

He deliberately raised his head to check whether Vivian was dozing off.

After a long while, dusty shafts of light were already visible through the gaps in the window seals.

The beams gradually shifted, from morning to noon.

Then they slowly slanted westward. Dusk came, followed by night once more.

"D-Damn it..."

"Ahab Gul, you Nascent, do something already! Don't just sit there!"

Vivian had now been tied to the chair, sitting across from Ahab like this for a full day.

In other words, she had gone an entire twenty-four hours without sleep.

So had Ahab.

At last, Ahab Gul stood up!

He tore off the tape over Vivian's mouth, forced several large gulps of water down her throat, then stuck the tape back on.

The night was incomparably long.

Dawn came again.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!"

Vivian shook her head like a rattle drum.

Forty-eight hours without sleep! Her skin—what state would her skin be in?!

Bloodshot veins had appeared in Vivian's eyes.

She felt lightheaded, as though her feet were floating. Though she was clearly sitting still, it felt as if her body were spinning three hundred and sixty degrees.

All she had to do was close her eyes and tilt her head.

She could fall asleep in less than a minute!

Ahab sat opposite her, calmly watching.

The instant Vivian closed her eyes, Ahab would step forward and use all manner of methods to stop her.

The sunlight entering through the window crack slanted westward once again, and night fell again.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph, mmph!"

Tears streamed from Vivian's eyes as she struggled desperately.

At this point, how could she not understand what Ahab was trying to do?

He wanted to outlast an old man... no, outlast a young woman!

Ahab Gul would not sleep, and he would not let her sleep either. He was determined to wear her down.

Once she could no longer endure it, she would have no choice but to obediently reveal where Three-Headed Hound's Fang was hidden.

And this method would not trigger the Alert Badge!

No one could save her now!

"Huff—huff—huff—"

Vivian panted heavily, glaring furiously at Ahab Gul.

This was truly the cruelest, most ruthless person Vivian had ever seen!

He was ruthless not only toward others, but toward himself as well.

Someone like Ahab naturally could not find helpers to take turns wearing someone down.

So he simply did it himself!

He would not let her sleep, and he would not sleep either.

This was a contest of willpower, to see who would break first!

Dawn came again, then night fell again.

Three days and four nights, three days and four nights already...

Vivian felt that she stank terribly.

Ahab only fed her water and food, but he had never dealt with her need to use the toilet.

"If I'd known, if I'd known this guy was so ruthless."

"I should have used that!"

Vivian regretted it to death.

During the previous battle, she had still held back a powerful trump card.

Once she used it, let alone Ahab Gul, even a veteran Second-Rank Apprentice would not be her match.

But the problem was that the trump card only had one final use left.

Moreover, she had already received word from above. The Wizard Alliance was going to form Demon Hunter Wizard squads on a large scale.

They were specifically meant to hunt evil god believers like her, hiding within the Wizard World.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, she could not use abilities outside those of wizards.

Originally, Vivian had thought Ahab could not do anything to her.

Torture? She had an Alert Badge on her.

If he did not lay a hand on her, then she would never talk. Sooner or later, someone would notice her disappearance and come looking for her.

But Ahab Gul's methods were far more devious than Vivian had ever expected.

And now, that trump card was useless.

It was only useful when she still had magic power and her opponent also had magic power.

"I can't take it anymore, I can't..."

"Let me sleep. I want to sleep!"