Ed headed back into the encampment and traded his manullium coins for raw manullium ore and some steel tools. He loaded the ore onto a crude wooden cart and pulled it towards his shack on the outskirts of the settlement. Fortunately, manullium ore was extremely light, making its transportation easy and convenient.

He restarted his fire and began melting the raw ore. He didn't purify it completely, choosing instead to only partially purify it. Soon, he had created a completely solid door. 'I guess this will have to do for now.' He sighed. All of the manullium ore had already been used up. He took a crude steel shovel and began to dig beneath his shack.

Hours passed. Ed groaned as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Digging an underground base was not an easy task for a one-armed man. Especially since the cave floor was unusually hard. It was unlikely that an ordinary man could even scratch it.

The shack now consisted of a tunnel that led to a small underground room. It was barely big enough for a few people to lay down inside. The manullium door was installed at the front of the tunnel, embedded within the tunnel walls. A small lock was installed on the door. A key was required to lift the proper pins within the lock to unlock it. 'Good.' Ed nodded to himself. 'That should take care of my sleepwalking and protect me while I sleep.' He laid down on the hard floor and slowly drifted off to sleep, once again encountering strange dreams.

...

'Hungry.' A small three-limbed crocodile whined as it scratched against a large rock. It was trapped within a small cave, and the rock was blocking the only exit. 'Let me out!' It growled. Slowly, its hunger turned to rage. It began slamming into the door repeatedly.

'I WANT TO EAT!' Sharp claws formed on its legs. It furiously clawed at the rock. It sounded like a chalkboard being scratched each time a new mark was embedded on the rock's surface. The croc's claws grew bloody, but this only angered it even further. It started slamming its body into the door again, even harder than previously. Its scales cracked, and blood dripped to the floor.

...

"Huff! Huff!" Ed awoke with a startle as he breathed heavily. His eyes widened as they quickly adjusted to the darkness. The manullium door was covered in engravings of claw slashes. He looked down at his trembling hands. They were covered in blood. More importantly, they were sharp and claw-like. 'How far have I progressed to develop claws already?! I've definitely gone over the 50 percent limit for mutant flesh. No tail yet, so I must be under 80 percent.'

He took a step back and examined his body. His missing arm had healed even further, recovering all the way up to the elbow. Bloody wounds and bruises covered his body, but the wounds were superficial at best. 'I need to find a more permanent solution for this as fast as possible.' He ground his teeth in frustration.

Suddenly, a knocking sound rang from the door. Ed hesitated to answer as he glanced at the pool of blood on the floor and his own bloody scales. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on controlling his transformation. The scales and claws slowly receded, returning him back to a normal-looking esper. "Who is it?" He shouted towards the door.

"I've got a message from Mr. Long." A voice replied.

Ed opened the door cautiously, prepared for any ambush that may be waiting for him.

A chubby middle-aged Asian man stood outside. He gave a slight bow. "Mr. Long has invited you to join his dinner party tonight. The guards will come to collect the quotas today. The Fire Dragon Clan likes to unite during the collections so that our members can't be abused."

"Tonight?" Ed questioned. "Isn't the collection supposed to happen tomorrow?"

"Hmm?" The man lifted his head while frowning. "Today's the last day of the month. Of course, the quotas are due tonight. You should really pay attention to these things if you value your life."

'I slept for that long?!' Ed's heart beat rapidly as panic set in. 'I need to understand how to counteract the purple smoke as soon as possible. It's only a matter of time before I completely lose control!' He nodded towards the man outside. "I'll be there. There are some things I wish to discuss with Mr. Long anyways."

"I'll let him know." The man nodded as he turned to leave.

Ed cleaned up the blood on the floor with a rag and then headed outside. He started the fire once again and cooked some mutant flesh. He didn't wish to eat it, for he knew that it was likely contributing to the problem. But he was so hungry that he couldn't stand it. His stomach was in so much pain that it was a struggle to not hunch over and cry. It was only a few minutes before he finished the last of his stock of mutant flesh. His stomach felt bloated from eating so much meat, but he still hungered for more.

Ed closed his eyes and sat in meditation by the fire. He couldn't train in the Mortal Dragon Technique due to the manullium interference, but it still helped calm his mental state slightly. After finally calming down, he opened his eyes and stared at the cuffs covering his arm and legs. 'What's the point of restricting us with manullium ore cuffs when we're surrounded by manullium down here anyways? Hell, we've even got fire to melt them off.' He raised his hand towards the fire, preparing to melt the cuff. He could use the extra manullium anyways.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice interrupted.

Ed glanced behind him and saw a thin Latino man walking towards the fire.

The Latino man had long hair and a thin mustache. Deep wrinkles covered his face, showing his old age. The purple leather armor made him look a bit comical, but it was overshadowed by the purple sombrero on his head. The man nonchalantly sat down and pulled out a sharp stick. He stuck a piece of meat on the end and began roasting it over the fire. "You don't mind, do you? Wood ain't cheap down here. Us non-gang members gotta save a buck wherever we can."

Ed looked the man in the eyes. "Why shouldn't I melt the cuffs off?" He questioned.

The Latino man pulled the meat off the stick and took a bite, slowly chewing it before swallowing. He titled his sombrero up and looked at Ed. "Well, for one, the Warden will punish you. Plenty of newcomers have the same idea and regret it real fast. For two, the cuffs are lined with sealed mana-powder inside. You start melting those cuffs, that seal's gonna break. Then the cuffs will explode and send shrapnel everywhere."

"I see." Ed nodded as he pulled his hand back from the fire. "I owe you one. I just about blew off my only hand."

"No thanks needed." The man shook his head while biting into the meat again. "Just help out the other freemen when you can. We're usually stronger than the conformers, but we're badly outnumbered and lack unity. A hand here and there helps a lot." The man stood up to leave.

"What's your name?" Ed called out as the man walked away.

"Carlos." He waved without turning back. "It was a nice chat, Forge."

'He knows I'm Forge?!' Ed's eyes widened in surprise. Most of the espers had been here a long time. Only some of the newer prisoners might know who he is, but he hadn't exactly been advertising it.

Ed meditated by the fire, waiting for evening to arrive. Time felt distorted within the cage. There was no night or day. Only the brightness of the purple flames existed, and it never ceased. The screwed-up sense of time irritated him even further, making it hard to remain calm. The heightened chimera emotions only made the problem worse. He started shaking his leg up and down as he impatiently waited. The hours felt like days as time dragged on. Finally, it was time for the dinner party.

He travelled into the core of the settlement. Against the wall dividing the two sections was a large mansion built of steel and manullium. It would be more accurate to describe it as an impenetrable fortress. He walked past the Fire Dragon Clan guards stationed by the gate and entered inside.

'Such overkill.' He sighed as he looked around the entrance. Polished tiles made up the floor. Brilliant chandeliers of gold and crystal hung from the ceiling. Fine mahogany furniture decorated each room. There were even red curtains and carpets made of high-quality silk and gilded with gold leaf. He quickly got lost within the maze of a mansion. 'This place must have at least 30 rooms.' He thought to himself.

It took him nearly 15 minutes to find the dining room. A long mahogany table was covered with lavish food. The food wasn't even in the form of mutant flesh. Chicken, steak, pasta, salad, and more were available. There were even delicacies such as lobster and truffles. The table was being treated as a buffet. Various Fire Dragon Clan members filled their plates up with as much food as they could carry. Many of them had female slaves following behind them, their mouths watering at the sight of the food.

"Ed!" Mr. Long waved as he entered the room. "I'm so glad you could make it. Please." He gestured towards the table. "Help yourself. You must allow me to show my hospitality."

Ed glanced at the table. "Is this really even a prison?" He questioned.

"Of course it is!" Mr. Long laughed. "The warden will sell us just about anything if we provide enough manullium or purple mana-cores. It's much more efficient for them to provide us with these incentives. After all, we're risking our lives down here and living in misery. These goods may be valuable down here, but they're basically worthless up above. Why wouldn't they want to increase their yields by selling us these luxury goods?"

"You actually traded purple mana-cores for all this?" His eyes widened in shock. "Seems like a waste to me."

"Well, the large gangs have a lot of income from our members." Mr. Long admitted. "Besides, we only go this luxurious once a month. It's a bit of a celebration of surviving yet another month of hunting and meeting our quotas. Normally we only purchase ordinary goods such as firewood, bread, and chicken."

"I see." Ed nodded while staring longingly at the food. He licked his lips as his stomach rumbled loudly. "I'll help myself then." He went and grabbed a plate and began filling it with food. He wasn't the least bit shy as he stacked it with steak, baked potato, and lobster, piling it nearly half a meter high. Some other diners stared in shock at his shamelessness as he left the room.

Ed looked around the new room he entered. It was covered with many small tables and chairs. He quickly found a free spot and sat down to begin devouring the food. At first, he was somewhat polite, properly using the fork and knife provided to him. However, he soon lost his rationality in the face of his ever-growing hunger. He directly grabbed the steak and potatoes, biting them down as fast as he could. Next came the lobsters. He marveled at the taste as he soaked them in butter. But he again lost his inhibitions and started biting directly into the lobster, shell and all. It was only a brief moment before all the food on the plate was gone.

"That's quite the appetite." Mr. Long smiled as he sat down across from Ed.

Ed sighed while shaking his head. "I don't know what the hell the purple smoke is doing to me. I'm always hungry and tired, and I'm losing control of my chimera transformations." His eyes sharpened as he looked Mr. Long in the eyes. "I need to get this under control as soon as I can. Please give me a hunting squad for tomorrow so I can gather research materials."

"I'll provide you the squad, but you're not going to ask me to directly provide the materials instead?" Mr. Long laughingly questioned.

"No." He shook his head. "I already know you wouldn't give them to me."

"You're good at reading people." Mr. Long nodded. He pulled out his fan and began waving it towards himself. "I don't know how the purple smoke effects your chimera powers, but I can give you some general information about it. The things you're experiencing aren't all that unique. The smoke makes all of the newer espers unusually tired and hungry. It makes sense really, as we're being denied access to mana down here. Think about how much energy our bodies must use to support our powers. There's no way we gather that energy through eating and sleeping like ordinary humans. Instead, we directly convert the mana in the atmosphere into our own natural mana. The smoke is blocking this natural process, and so our bodies are falling back on our primitive instincts of food and sleep. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near enough. Hence, the side effects."

Ed lowered his head in thought while rubbing his chin. "That would certainly explain my problems. The chimera flesh is just stimulating the issue more than usual. What do you do to deal with the problem?" He questioned.

"Me?" Mr. Long grinned. "I purchase mana potions from the Warden. They're extremely expensive and use a secret manufacturing process that was stolen from Europe. I'd quite like to get my hands on the manufacturing method to be honest."

Ed's eyes lit up as he excitedly stood up and leaned over the table. "How much does a mana potion cost?!"

"They're quite expensive unfortunately." Mr. Long sighed. "I spend two purple mana-cores each day on a single potion."

"Two a day?" Ed's eyes darkened as he slumped back into his chair, depression emanating from his body.

"Mm." Mr. Long nodded. "It's quite expensive. As far as I'm aware, only the bosses of each gang can afford it."

Suddenly, several armed prison guards entered the room. They wore hazard suits to block the purple smoke. A tall man amongst them stepped forward. "Tai, we're here to collect the quota."