Having realized my captured state, I quickly assessed my surroundings. The only light I could see was a few lit candles. There didn’t seem to be only brick walls with the only exit being a locked metal door in a wall of iron bars. I noticed that all that I was wearing was some tattered rags, they must have confiscated my gear and what’s worse my claws were handcuffed. No matter, it should be easy for me to escape if I just use [Material Forge] I can simply resh-

  “I wouldn’t bother trying that if I were you. It’s not going to work. Those handcuffs you have on are enchanted with negating their wearer’s [Skills].”

  Hearing a familiar voice, I saw that the Knight Commander was standing on the other side. It seems he was waiting for me to wake up, as well as giving me time to try to attempt to escape.

  “You should feel honor little monster; those things aren’t exactly easy to make. To waste it on the likes of you is laughable really. But his Majesty seems insisted in making use out of you.”

  He inched closer to let the light better illuminate him and I can see that there are several noticeable dents in his armor. It seemed his fight with Mordred did not go so easily for him. He took a moment to admire the scars on his armor as he continued “That Minotaur is quite strong, stronger than most Minotaurs I have faced. Why it obeys the likes of a weak creature like you baffles me. His majesty concluded that the only way that would be possible is if you manipulated it somehow.”

  I could only click my tongue out of annoyance from that comment as he then turned his head, as if it’s too much effort to even give me any real attention as he starts to talk to himself. “Seems his majesty plans to find a way to break you into submission. Like he has done with others.”

  That last statement sent a cold chill down my spine, as I recalled the way my liberated human soldiers that had previously served this kingdom. Their fears of what they would do with them seemed to have merit; I was glad to recruit them when I did.

  Tobias started to walk away from my cell but not before giving me a warning. “Your submission will start tomorrow. Pray try not to do anything to upset his majesty, else we may have to be more ‘forceful’ with you.”

  With that I was left alone in my single cell. I struggled against my handcuffs, uselessly trying to break free from them. Even tried to use [Material Forge] to remove them, but to no avail. Out of desperation I tried [Basic Elemental Magic] only to be met with the same results. It seems he was telling the truth; I can’t use any of my [Skills] with these damn cuffs on me!

  I fell to my knees, as I think back before I was knocked out. Worry filled my head as I pondered on how my followers were doing right now. It’s hard to picture the look on young V’s face, they must be worried sick. I imagine Damian must be trying to comfort them…. I just hope he isn’t giving them his infamous bear hug to do so…. as for Mordre-

  I jumped up, suddenly remembering the state I last saw him in. Was he ok?! That Knight Commander looked pretty banged up based on the dents to his armor, he didn’t inform me whether or not he’s alive but…. He’s my henchman after all, no way someone of mine will fall that easily.

  I fell back on my knees as I considered my options. But with no equipment and no access to my skills, they were very limited. I looked at my handcuffs, wishing that I could do something about these. If I could, that would make things easier for me. As if on instinct I started to think to Inspect them when suddenly.

  …. Huh that was strange, how was I able to see a notification? Shouldn’t these things prevent me from having access to [Game Screen]? Unless….

  Hoping to see if I was right, I tried to access my stats and sure enough.

  Seems I was right, I’m still able to use [Game Screen] freely despite my predicament. And as I checked my stats it seemed my [Health], [Spirit], and [Material Forge] had ranked up to Rank D, D+ and E in that order.

  It’s easy to tell why my [Health] ranked up, remembering that excruciating pain I felt from Tobias’ boot... As for [Spirit] it must have been pushed to its limits after that surprise attack. And I was glad to see [Material Forge] ranked up as well, there was an upgrade I had in mind for when it did, so I immediately applied it.

  After going through my inspection on my growth, I then contemplated with this revelation. I had to wonder why despite these handcuffs I was able to still use [Game Screen] and nothing else.

  I continued to think through this as I blankly stared at my status screen. It was only then that I noticed something peculiar. [Material] and [Basic Elemental Magic] were greyed out!! This must be its way of informing me that these skills were locked! And that’s when I realized, both of them were listed under [Skills]! That’s right, these [Anti-Magic Handcuffs] only describe blocking out the use of [Skills] and [Game Screen] is listed under [Abilities] instead!!

  With this revelation I quickly began going through my new options. Considering the possibility of someone checking up on me I’d have to be subtle about this. Luckily the notification that appears from [Game Screen] wouldn’t appear to anyone else but me, so it gave me time to go over my [Abilities].

  First off, I’d have to cross off [Game Screen] as while useful doesn’t have any tangible effects that I could use which also crosses off [Kobold Adaptability] for the same reason. That just left me with [Dimensional Box], [Sword Mastery] and [Mining Mastery]. But without any tools I doubt I could do any mining or swordplay so all that’s left is…

  Trying it out I managed to pull out my [Copper Short Sword], at least this way if it came to a fight, I could at least defend myself, though I have a hard time picturing myself fighting with my claws all tied up….

  I immediately stored it back inside; I didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to me right now. But as I returned it, I suddenly had an idea. Though I wasn’t quite sure if it would work, I didn’t really have many options so opted to try it anyway.

  Pulling out my [Dimensional Box] I motioned the box below my claws, I usually stored my item through an empty space and have never tried to store it while I had it currently equipped. I just hope it didn’t try to store my hands as well….

  As it inched closer, my body winced a little in preparation for what would happen while in my mind I tried to focus on storing just the handcuffs. Soon enough, I didn’t have to worry as the translucent box started to phase through my claws while the handcuffs started to disappear. A second later my claws were finally free, I quickly tried to test it out by conjuring up a small ball of water in my hands and sure enough I was able to do it!

  I wanted to cheer and just barely managed to stop myself as I remembered my situation. I quickly composed myself and tried to re-equip the handcuffs. Luckily for me I found that I could have [Dimensional Box] phase through my claws, essentially having the handcuffs lock them up once more.

  Now that I know I can just simply store them, it was smarter for me to keep them on until I figured out a plan on how to escape. I don’t know the layout at all and if I make a mistake, they may make it even harder. For now, it’s best to let them think they have the advantage that will give me more of an edge. I’ll need to come up with something quick though, I doubt I want to find out how exactly they plan to put me into ‘submission’ and I the sooner I get back to my minions the better. I could only imagine what they would do if I don’t return soon…

  Out of curiosity I decided to pull up the [Follower List] and see if there were any changes I would notice. No sooner did I do that than I noticed something that only made me worried. I as I looked into the henchman section of the list, I noticed that Mordred’s name had a different color than the rest, orange….

  Just what is going on with them…