章 2: Chapter 2: Lab

Perseus POV

Hmm, I really thought that the reincarnation would be a bit more of a bittersweet moment, I really did. After all, all isekai characters are born into some loving family or something like that.

I can't really remember seeing anything when I was born, but waking up to this sterile, white ceiling isn't exactly what I had in mind. Where am I? This place looks like a lab. I looked around and could see other babies locked inside this plastic box along with me.

I squinted through the brightness, feeling a bit disoriented. The lab seemed vast, rows of these clear boxes neatly lined up like a peculiar nursery. Each box held a tiny occupant, resembling a bizarre assembly line of newborns in their transparent cradles. It was oddly quiet, except for the faint hum of machinery in the background.

I then checked the system just to try and make sense of the situation.

[Name: Have not been assigned]

[Level 1]

[Rank: Novice]

[Role: Assistant Hero]

[Status: Normal]

[Quest: None]

No stats, where's the stats? I then interacted with the system further and I found a 'customer support service.

I clicked on it and a window popped up.

[Loading...]

[Connected.]

[You are now talking with a live support Agent.]

Wait...live? This is new.

[A: How may I help you?]

[A?]

[A: That is my code name, how may I be of assistance?]

[OK, I'll be straight to the point, where am I, what's my job, and where are my stats?]

[A: You are in Terra, where you will carry out your role of the Assistant hero. As for your stats, they are directly correlated to your level and rank. You rank up every 20 levels, which will give you a significant boost in your 'stats'.]

[I see, so it's like my strength, agility, and stuff are 1 when my level is one and it becomes 2, 3, 4 as I level up, right?]

[A: Yes, though as I've mentioned above, your strength will be boosted significantly every 20 levels.]

[By the way, where am I? I know that I'm in Terra, but where specifically? It looks to be a lab.]

[A: I unfortunately am not allowed to answer that question.]

[Alright. That's quite unhelpful.]

[A: Keep up with the attitude, it's no wonder why you got no bitches.]

What?

*****

For the next couple of days, I never met my parents, the only ones I saw were people in lab coats, only confirming my suspicions of being born into a lab. We were fed some random formulas and were then whisked off one by one.

Eventually, it was my turn, and well...it was to a surgical room. What exactly were they doing to me? Why am I in a lab and not some medical center?

This world's technological equipment is well...doesn't look too advanced either, but I'm not the one to judge, I don't know anything tech-related. They tried to put me in this box which I saw connected to an anesthesia gas tank. I tried to resist, but what the hell can a baby do against an adult?

*****

A couple of years went by, about 6 to be exact. It was strange. During this stretch, I found myself in the lab, surrounded by other kids my age.

Our days were filled with lessons about the empire, its ways, its rules, and its version of the truth. We absorbed basic information, but what lingered in the air often felt like a mix of facts and stories that painted a picture, perhaps a bit too rosy, of the world outside.

What exactly awaited us beyond the familiar walls of the lab remained shrouded in uncertainty. It was a peculiar mix of anticipation and unease since we'd be told by 'the others' that we'd be working with them.

None of the kids knew any better, so no one questioned it, so I did. I asked why are we working and what for.

"Because you're told to do so, so shut it or I'll give you confinement for going against the empire." she retorted, "Just know that you all have the potential to contribute to the empire's prosperity."

Wow, it was a response that left me with more questions than answers. The others accepted it without a second thought, but this felt weird. I wasted 6 years in a fucking lab with barely any information about the outside world.

I know of magic at least, but well, I'm being monitored 24/7 and I noticed that any kids who showed signs of magic are whisked away and never return, so I hid that since they will need a 3rd or 4th confirmation before they proceed with what they do.

I don't have any friends, we were all crammed into really crammed individual rooms. It got one bed, one sink and that's about it, if we want to bathe or pee, we will have to go to a shared one.

The system doesn't really help much, I unlocked an ability tab after I leveled up to level 4, but that's pretty much empty as it says, 'Have not acquired'.

*****

The day of our release arrived and I was assigned to the whale team, I do not know what that meant. We had our 'graduation' and then our release. There were about only 24 kids in total and my team had about 5 people, I don't know about the other teams as we were all separated and not allowed to interact.

We were then handed off to an old man right outside the lab, who was called Harold by the staff.

On the way, there were no roads as we were walking on unpaved rocks, and the outside...it was dirty, nothing was nice, the only nice and somewhat modern thing was the lab building which was located in the center of this large opening where there are tall hills surrounding us.

We saw people doing backbreaking labor and mining for minerals, most of them were shirtless and their bodies were dirty, even the women weren't spared. Just where was I born? Why was I in a lab?

6 years and I got nothing.

Our short trip ended when we arrived at this cliff where I saw some machinery lead people down to the very tumultuous waters below. The old man then directed us to this cave.

"Come on kids, this will be your new home now." Harold said, "You have a lot to learn."