The Idle System Box Set

by Pegaz

  Like Adam said, it took nineteen days to reach the maximum security prison’s location.

  A prison guard pushed Jonathan through the prison doors as he explained how the prison had ten floors. One floor for each rank, and the basement’s tenth floor only had one prisoner until Jonathan’s arrival. He was the second person to have a permanent residence on the B10 floor.

  Jonathan smiled.

  “Lucky me.”

  Chapter 50

  Prison

  As soon as he passed through the doors, the system went off. Opening the system, he found Maximum Workers had levelled up, so he placed all Idlers into Maximum Idlers with a time of 1mo 25d showing.

  The guard pushed him towards a giant, black coloured, metal round door with a round handle in the middle. Another guard walked up a ramp towards the round handle, turned it to the left and then the right in a precise order, then hit a button in the middle of the handle. The guard then ran down the ramp while other guards moved out of the way. That was when Jonathan saw the door opening.

  It was like a bank vault, only much bigger. It was at least 40 feet in diameter and as it swung open, he could see it was at least 10 feet thick. Across the vault door were ten giant metal poles, and when the door was locked, the poles would stab into the walls on both sides.

  All the guards escorted Jonathan inside the vault. To Jonathan’s surprise, it was an elevator.

  “Does this take us to the tenth basement floor?”

  “No,” the guard who pushed him answered. “This only goes to the B9 floor. To get to the B10 floor, you need to pass through a door like the one we passed, but they made that door from a special metal. You then walk down a ramp rather than another elevator. Along the ramp, we have even more guards to make sure you’re not getting out.”

  The elevator moved as they descended further into the earth.

  After a few minutes of silence, the man pushing Jonathan spoke again.

  “They assigned a guard to watch over you. His name is Miles Homolka.” The escort had a peculiar look of interest on his face. “He’s a Rank 9 Level 9 guard who’s worked for the Adventurers Guild even when he was a mortal. My name is Orvo Anttila, a Rank 8 guard who’s worked for the Adventurers Guild for less than a hundred years.”

  “Oh?” Jonathan smiled charmingly. “Nice to meet you, Orvo. My name is Jonathan.”

  DING.

  “Uh…” Jonathan frowned at the iron maiden. “Is there a way to turn the noise off? I’m not in court and I already confessed to my crimes so…”

  “Sorry, there isn’t,” Orvo said with a shrug. “Even if there was a way, I wouldn’t be able to do it without breaking any rules.”

  The rest of the elevator ride switched between either silence or casual chit-chat.

  When the elevator stopped, the doors opened and Jonathan could finally see the prison. There were big metal doors with metal bars all around it that reached the walls. The walls were a light blue colour with monster core powered lamps and other light sources trailing along.

  Orvo pushed Jonathan up to the metal door and hit a button to the side. A guard came out from around the corner and opened the door.

  “This a checkpoint?” Jonathan asked.

  “Yes,” Orvo replied. “Anybody coming or going from here needs to be checked for any weapons, storage bags, runes on their body, or anything else that could help a prisoner escape. Guards are no exception either.”

  “Damn.” Jonathan laughed. “At least the Adventurers Guild takes prisoners seriously.”

  It took over thirty minutes for the guards to go through the checkpoint. No guard would touch Jonathan in his iron maiden. Orvo was standing next to Jonathan and explained.

  “This prison has millions of runes installed all over the place,” he said. “One of the main functions of the prison is to stop Life Power and runes from being activated. However, it can only do so much. A Rank 9 can overpower the prison runes alone. That’s why the prison, iron maiden, and life cuffs boost each other’s powers on the prisoners.”

  But the prison, iron maiden, and life cuffs put together can’t overpower my nano helmet. It’s no wonder the transcendents use it for their armour.

  Orvo pushed Jonathan again. They went through the entirety of the ninth floor, which was all made from the same light blue coloured material. There was more than one checkpoint along the way, too, and each time they had to be searched.

  It took over three hours before they came to a door similar to the bank vault door on the surface—only this door was much thicker. As it opened, Jonathan could see it was at least 70 feet thick. The door’s surface was a dark copper colour, but the middle of the door was purple.

  “So, what metal is this made from?” Jonathan stared wonder-eyed at the door. “It’s much thicker than the first door, but I can’t tell the difference other than the colour.”

  “They call the material Osmium,” Orvo replied. “It is one of the densest and strongest metals we know of. Even a Rank 9 punching it with everything he has won’t put a dent on it. But that’s only if the door is over 30 feet thick. The Rank 9 could put a small dent on it if it’s between 8 feet and 30 feet thick.”

  Before Jonathan replied, he saw a man walking towards him from the ramp behind the giant door. The man looked to be in his late fifties with thinning black hair. He was clean-shaven, tall, and brawny. Jonathan could see a few scars on his face. This person had been through his share of life and death matches.

  Jonathan looked at him with his Immortal Eye.

  Miles Homolka

  Rank:9

  Level: 9

  Sin: 29

  Miles walked up and stood in front of Jonathan, but looked at Orvo and spoke.

  “Thank you for your service. I’ll take it from here.”

  Orvo nodded.

  Jonathan knew he was leaving so he called out to him. “Thanks for talking with me!”

  He didn’t get a reply, though.

  Miles walked around Jonathan and pushed him down the ramp. Jonathan saw Rank 9 guards standing with their backs to the wall. There was a guard posted every 200 feet, which Jonathan calculated with precision. The ramp was made of the same light blue coloured material as the walls, but there wasn’t as much lighting leading down.

  “So, I’ve heard I’m the second person to gain residence on this floor.” John broke the silence. “Since you’ll be guarding me for eternity, let’s start off on the right foot, shall we?”

  A few seconds passed but Miles didn’t reply. He was about to say something else when Miles finally opened his mouth.

  “I don’t talk to criminals.”

  Jonathan smiled. “You just did.”

  “No,” Miles said. “That was to tell you I don’t talk to criminals.”

  “Oh?” Jonathan replied. “Then what was that second sentence?”

  “To explain to you that I don’t talk to criminals.”

  Jonathan thought it was funny so he kept going, but he didn’t hear any more replies.

  At the bottom of the ramp, Miles pushed him to the right and through another metal door checkpoint, but the door was over 30 feet thick, too, making Jonathan believe it was made of the same metal as the giant vault door.

  Miles pushed him into a room which was about 900 square feet. As he was pushed through the door, Jonathan took note of many things. The most important detail was that there were two guards stationed outside the door and the door was too thick for any noise from inside to be heard. The second most important detail was a couple of small monster cores inside the room, one in each corner.

  When his chair was pushed to the middle of the floor, Miles spun him around. Jonathan spotted another set of monster cores in the other two corners of the room.

  They must be like surveillance cameras inside the prison cells.

  Looking at the walls and floor, they were the same light blue colour as the floors above him.

  Miles walked around the iron maiden wheelchair and walked towards the do
or. He stood in front of the door and turned around to face Jonathan.

  “So, for eternity, this is where I’m staying? And, for eternity, I’ve got to see your ugly mug staring at me?”

  Miles didn’t reply to him; he only stared unblinkingly.

  After a day of silence and complete boredom, Jonathan had had enough.

  “Hey!” Jonathan cheerfully started the conversation off. “Do you know about stories people make? The ones you heard growing up? There are loads of them that teach different lessons to children and even adults. But I’ve got a question for you.”

  He paused for a few seconds. Miles continued to stare, but Jonathan could sense his longing for an answer.

  Jonathan then spoke again.

  “What do you think makes a great villain in a story?”

  Chapter 51

  Explanation

  Miles looked at Jonathan a bit differently. He was interested in listening to Jonathan, but that didn’t mean he was going to answer back.

  However, this question did stump him somewhat. What did make a great villain in a story? He’d seen villains inside this prison for years, but that was real life and not a made-up tale. You wouldn’t want to tell children about their deeds, and adults could only learn by example.

  Did being a great villain mean getting away with their crimes? Was it a reference to their actions before getting caught? Or something else?

  After more than ten minutes of thinking, Miles looked at Jonathan and spoke for the first time since closing the doors.

  “What’s the answer?”

  “I knew you’d bite.” Jonathan’s smile seemed innocent enough. “There’s more than one answer and different people think one answer is more important than another. Some people in a country I know called America think they need a British accent to be a villain. Others think the villain’s gadgets or clothing styles make them a great villain.”

  Miles was slowly losing interest, so Jonathan picked up the pace.

  “But if a villain has the right aesthetics but not the right substance, the audience won’t be pulled in, right?” It was a rhetorical question, as he knew Miles wouldn’t answer. “I believe they need an extraordinary plot with a twist to make a great villain. Even if they have all the gadgets in the world but they waste all their time away sitting inside an office doing paperwork, the story won’t be interesting.”

  BANG!

  The four monster cores in the four corners of the ceiling exploded at the same time. Miles swung into action, mostly by reflex. He drew his weapon, ready to charge at any intruders. However, he soon froze.

  The iron maiden before him was melting from the neck down the middle. As it melted, he could see more of Jonathan’s body underneath. Jonathan was smiling enough to show the whites of his teeth.

  That smile sent shivers all over his body.

  Jonathan got out of the iron maiden and stood up.

  There were no life cuffs on his wrists.

  “Before you say anything,” Jonathan began, taking his time as he stretched his limbs, “the cuffs were put on me and I really couldn’t use Life Power at all. Unfortunately for you, the guards, and the prisoners here, I don’t use Life Power as my main source of strength.”

  A single thread touched Miles. He used his Memory Manipulation skill on him.

  As the technique completed, Jonathan made his mask change back to an earring. For the first time in so long, he revealed his original appearance.

  “Close your eyes and mouth.” John used his Memory Manipulation’s Voice skill. “Don’t move. Don’t make a noise. Don’t alert anybody in any way or use Life Power at all.”

  Miles stood there, paralysed and terrified as he witnessed Jonathan’s transformation into John. The guard’s body forced him to close his eyes, following the command.

  “I remember a talk with my wife about how in stories, the villains brag about how they did things,” John continued casually as if nothing of significance had occurred. “I didn’t understand it back then. But right now, I understand it as I have a huge desire to explain to you how it all worked out for me.”

  Miles stood in the dark, horrified. John chuckled.

  “Otherwise, how will people listening to the story know what happened?”

  John took out some nano metal from his Storage Space and made a helmet. He had five spare shapeshift runes he had purchased back in the Sword Sect, and this was the time to use them. He placed one shapeshift rune inside the new helmet, tinkering with it for a moment.

  He made his threads lift Miles up and settle him in the iron maiden wheelchair. With ease, Jonathan placed his right hand onto the cool iron maiden and used his metal element to return it to its undamaged appearance.

  Once Miles was strapped into the chair, John placed the new nano helmet onto Miles’ head. He placed his index finger onto the forehead and pushed Toxin Power inside. The helmet changed shape and when it finished, Miles looked exactly like Jonathan.

  And now, it was his turn. Grinning like a mad man, he made his nano helmet change his appearance into Miles. The new Miles smiled—something that the real Miles never did.

  “Where to begin this story?”

  The reason the Adventurers Guild even found out that John had destroyed the Anti-Assassin Sect’s planet was simple. He’d written a letter telling them he did it.

  He signed it with the name Jonathan, detailed it with his appearance, and topped it off by telling them he would be at the next annual auction. Since he couldn’t walk in and hand the letter as himself, though, he had to get somebody to do that for him. That was where Patrick’s spy came in handy. He was right, too; the spy was promoted right after delivering the letter.

  But one of the hardest parts of John’s plan was acting. He had to act like killing only eleven of those enforcers was his limit. He even had to stop a part of his cultivation technique called ‘merging’ so he could spit out blood. Twice. It took that much effort to make the coward he was fighting use the Life Cuffs on him.

  Then he had to act like he’d been knocked out for a long time, which was boring as hell. He didn’t sleep to pass the time because his wife said he snored; if he snored, then the plan would fail.

  “Life cuffs, I admit, stopped some of my techniques from working.” John-disguised-as-Miles snickered. “So just in case I got in trouble in court, I destroyed the cuffs before I entered the courthouse. How, you ask? Simple.”

  He explained how he’d used his metal element with his Toxin Power to destroy the cuffs. He did it in the most discreet way he could; he didn’t want to melt the cuffs because it would leave a nasty smell and alert the guards. With his metal element, he was able to warp the metal away from his skin with no trace. Even with the cuffs gone, though, he still had to act like the cuffs were on. He avoided using any techniques that could potentially give him away.

  During the trial, he wanted the people to side with him, but he still wanted to be sentenced to prison. His goal was for the Adventurers Guild to hunt down any of the Anti-Assassin Sect members left alive. When the judge said that he was a special class and would be under the guard of a Rank 9 person, he altered the plan last second and confessed.

  The original plan was to abduct a prisoner and make him take his place. This way, nobody would know if he escaped the prison since Jonathan was still there and locked up. However, when he heard that there would be a scapegoat in the same room, he confessed since he didn’t want them releasing the prisoner in a mere hundred years.

  There were a few scares in the plan. He didn’t know the Adventurers Guild had something like a mask detector, but luckily his nano metal mask could not be detected. He managed to slip through, which saved the lives of millions of people on the headquarters’ planet because he didn’t have to escape by fighting.

  “You might be thinking, ‘Why did you go through all this trouble to break into a prison?’ Right?” ‘Miles’ was all too excited to continue his speech. “Well, that’s simple, too! I’m here to kill all the p
risoners!”

  John-as-Miles laughed darkly, voice echoing around the room.

  “What better way to earn sin points than to kill all the criminals of the universe being kept in a single prison!” He couldn’t stop laughing. “The only problem was that no matter where I looked, I could not find any information about the location of this prison. But with the Adventurers Guild transporting me, I didn’t have to ask for directions anymore.”

  Miles-disguised-as-Jonathan was as pale as a sheet.

  “Killing prisoners is like a feast for me. This is an all-I-can-eat buffet and I’m starving!”

  The new Miles who stood before Jonathan had a horrifying expression of demonic greed on his face.

  “I’m also interested in the other special prisoner on this floor.” He chortled. “If he destroyed a planet as I did, and if I could kill him, then I might get the same benefits I got when I blew up the Anti-Assassin Sect’s planet. That in itself would make this plan worthwhile.”

  The new Miles made the nano mask change his voice to how the original Miles sounded. He waited patiently for any guard to come down to check on what happened. Destroying four monster cores with his threads before would definitely draw their attention. Only three minutes had passed before somebody knocked on the door.

  “All clear!” Miles shouted out at them.

  The door opened and Miles could see over twenty people were outside with weapons drawn.

  “I don’t know what happened but all four of them were destroyed at the same time.” Miles pointed at the corner of the ceiling. “I made sure the prisoner was still locked up and waited for backup to see what happened.”

  He let the guards come into the room to inspect everything; they even lifted Jonathan’s face up to make sure it was the same person. Once everything checked out, they all left to report the incident.

  Miles smiled as he walked away from Jonathan.

  “Time to eat.”