https://a.co/d/iCY7Yno
https://a.co/d/hzoMq1x
Embercore (a cultivation-lite story like this with psychic abilities): https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/81192/embercore-cultivation-psychic-magic-underdog
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Chapter 12: Extraction [Volume 2]
As the Luna Wrath shot through hyperspace, Jace and Lessa brought the damaged technique card to the engine room, where it was the brightest, and they had a free source of heat. (Of course, only once they had the first aid kyborg tend to the injuries they¡¯d received on Braka.)
Jace pulled down a small workbench on the fore wall, and Lessa dropped the technique card down on it. It had melted and deformed, and the runes were misshapen¡ªor filled with all sorts of black char.
But Jace pulled out one of the blank template cards and the soldering wire spool. ¡°So¡if we¡¯re using the fancy wire spool, what do you say we modify the card? What if you give it a hyperspace aspect as well?¡±
¡°Then it wouldn¡¯t work without you fuelling the coupling.¡± She tilted her head, as if considering, but she didn¡¯t need to say aloud that it wasn¡¯t a perfect idea.
Jace scrunched his eyebrows. ¡°A lot of my cards started off with two aspects before you narrowed it. Could you broaden it beyond just pure Aes, and allow it to accept the power of hyperspace if needed¡ªwithout breaking apart?¡±
¡°I could do that.¡±
¡°How¡how do you know the runes?¡±
¡°For this one?¡± She tapped the old card. ¡°I¡¯ll just copy it, then I¡¯ll copy the runes your old cards had on them for the central engraving ring, where the aspect can change. For your other cards, I¡¯d use the skill tree that a Wielder projects when they have a card socketed in their core. It¡¯d illuminate it well enough in the Split, and I could read it.¡±
¡°I¡I see.¡± Jace nodded. ¡°For the cards I currently have, can we enhance them more? Like, beyond what we¡¯ve currently done?¡±
¡°I could pass a few intermediary steps, yeah,¡± she said. ¡°But remember, I need you to be active and working hard. And at a certain point, that Vault Core won¡¯t be strong enough to push you hard enough, and I won¡¯t be able to see the runes and enhancements available. You¡¯ll need something better. Like, the hyperdash. I don¡¯t think I can enhance it any further without you getting a better Vault Core, or putting yourself into a worse situation.¡±
¡°And for that, I pretty much need to keep advancing.¡±
¡°Yep.¡±
She pulled out her soldering needle and started copying the old card¡¯s runes onto the old template. Jace broke off a chunk of the copper spool and fed it into a slot at the back of the needle, and when it ate through all its older metal, the newer, shinier, coppery material flowed out onto the card. It bled seamlessly into the old runes, and matched with Lessa¡¯s runic calligraphy almost perfectly.
¡°The base card expelled excess plasma Aes,¡± Lessa explained. ¡°Plasma on stray vectors, I¡¯m assuming, judging by these runes. It wouldn¡¯t be useful to the main bolt.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why we get a bigger venting flash with each shot from the turret?¡± he asked.
¡°Exactly.¡±
¡°But if all this card does is vent, and I just fuel it with hyperspace Aes, it won¡¯t enhanced the actual shots at all.¡±
¡°Also exactly.¡±
Jace scratched his chin. ¡°So we¡¯re stuck?¡±
¡°I guess. I can always just put the card back to normal, and you can choose to not overload it.¡±
¡°Could you give it a second set of runes that purposely redirected some of the card¡¯s Aes into the barrel, so it mixed with the plasma?¡±
¡°Sure, but that¡¯d be like adding a single dried pepper flake to a sur-chili goulash. It would add some power, but so little it barely makes a difference.¡±
¡°Unless it was specifically hyperspace Aes,¡± Jace reminded her. ¡°Then it¡¯d have the same effect as before.¡±
She nodded. ¡°Alright, then, next problem. I need a card that draws stuff in to copy from. I don¡¯t have all those runes memorized.¡±
Jace turned back toward the main hold of the starship, then leaned out the door and looked up at the ceiling panels. ¡°How about the jumpstart accumulator? That should have a similar effect, right? Just, instead of drawing the Aes out of the auras around us, it¡¯s drawing it out of a tube.¡±
¡°And projecting it into the barrel as an aura.¡± Lessa nodded. ¡°I can just reverse the rune circle and add it as an additional effect that only attaches to the hyperspace aspect setting.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
¡°Perfect!¡±
Jace and Lessa both scrambled out of the engine room, then climbed onto the couch and pulled open a panel on the ceiling. It was right beneath the jumpstart accumulator. All they needed was access to its main function card which, conveniently, was accessible beneath a small hatch.
Thankfully, Kinfild was too busy up at the front, fiddling with the transmitter, to notice Jace and Lessa. And if his fancy senses picked up on them standing on the couch, he didn¡¯t say anything.
Lessa soldered a circle of runes on the bottom half of the new card, then dragged a line up to the central plate. She switched to engraving, and fed a notch into the main aspect circle of the card.
¡°There we go!¡± she proclaimed. ¡°Should be good to go.¡± She handed it to Jace, and he waved it in the air a few times to cool it, then stared at it until the card description appeared.
[Technique Card: Sort Excess Aes (Common) (Utility) (Compatible Class: All) (Compatible Aspects: Hyperspace, Pure)]
[Technique description: Once every one (1) second, allows the weapon to draw in hyperspace-aspect Aes from the feeder channel and vent stray-vector plasma Aes.]
¡°Let¡¯s see if it works,¡± he said, then cycled Aes to his core, preparing to activate the card. ¡°Should just be¡¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to activate it?¡±
¡°Why not?¡±
¡°Well¡¡± She stroked her chin. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s not a problem. It should still work.¡±
He took a wide stance, just to be safe, then triggered the card. Lessa stepped back and sheltered behind the couch, as if somehow he was going to destroy them.
The card triggered, and at first, he felt nothing. He had no plasma Aes in his body to vent. But then, after a few seconds, a faint tug on his surroundings tried to pull Aes in toward him. There was hyperspace Aes all around¡ªafter all, they were travelling through hyperspace.
He didn¡¯t activate the technique again. Clearly, it worked. If they were in hyperspace, though, it clearly considered their surroundings a viable target to draw inward¡ªand that was the last thing they needed.
But it left him with a new idea. As Lessa closed up the ceiling panel and sealed away the jumpstart accumulator, and as Jace replaced the new card where they¡¯d left the old one, he said, ¡°Lessa, what if we made a card like that, like we just did with the hyperspace part, but for pure Aes? To draw it in? Perhaps that¡¯s the pull I need to get the Aes out of the accumulator nodes.¡±
¡°Do you want to waste our resources on that?¡±
He pursed his lips, considering, then ran back to the engine room and assessed their stock. They still had nine card templates left, and had only used up a small fraction of the soldering wire.
¡°I think it¡¯s worth it,¡± he said. If his core continued to degrade, or decay, it wouldn¡¯t bode well for any of them. He needed to keep drawing Aes into it. ¡°Plus, it shouldn¡¯t use much more wire, right?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t. I only have to remake a small mechanism of the card. Here, come feed more wire, and I should be able to whip something up quickly.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡±
¡°You¡do?¡±
¡°Sorry. Was¡sorta an expression where I came from. Like, I¡¯ll help.¡± He scratched the back of his head. No more letting slip informal phrases. Understood. ¡°I won¡¯t¡ª¡±
¡°I mean, it¡¯s kinda funny, I guess. Kinda cute.¡±
¡°Right¡¡± Jace gulped. ¡°Work on the card instead of talking?¡±
¡°Good idea.¡±
They both ran back to the engine room, and he fed Lessa¡¯s soldering needle wire as she engraved and soldered the next card, melting more rune patterns onto it. ¡°So¡the aspect is pure, right? For drawing out pure Aes?¡±
¡°Yeah. Though, can you modify it later? I do have a few other ideas¡¡±
¡°Pure aspect is just the base of giving a card an aspect alignment. It¡¯s a phrase that tells it to look for Aes, but it doesn¡¯t know what alignment to look for, so it just takes the most base form. If I elaborate on the phrase and give it a second ring, it gives it a specific alignment.¡± She stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth as she added a second set of runes. ¡°What other ideas do you have?¡±
¡°Well¡if the starship vents hyperspace Aes after exiting hyperspace¡ªthe Aes it accumulates over the journey and taints the accumulator node¡¯s load with¡ªthen I¡¯d assume we could draw on it. What if I used the card with a hyperspace aspect to draw out Aes as we were travelling through hyperspace?¡±
Lessa raised her eyebrows. ¡°That could work.¡±
¡°But one step at a time. I need to drain those accumulator nodes, and I need to form up a bunch of foundation pillars.¡±
Once she finished adding the new runes, she dropped the soldering needle down on the workbench and shook out her hand. ¡°Split, though, I¡¯m cramping. The card¡¯s done, but no more new ones for the day.¡±
¡°Sorry, Less,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose drinking milk is good for candlefolk cramps.¡±
Besides, he hadn¡¯t ever even seen her drinking milk. She probably didn¡¯t need it, having bones made of that braided, hard wick.
But her nerves? Did she still need calcium to make them work, or was it some other kind of substance?
Or perhaps his high school-level biology knowledge was failing him, and he didn¡¯t even need it.
¡°I¡¯ll just¡go have some honey or something. If we have any more in the fridge.¡± She massaged the side of her hand.
¡°I¡¯ll clean up here,¡± Jace said. ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±
¡°Glad to be of use, and any time!¡± She scampered out of the engine room.
Jace cleaned up the tools and put the excess card templates and soldering wire back in his backpack, then withdrew the accumulator nodes.
¡°Alright,¡± he whispered. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t get anything out of you guys¡¡±
Chapter 13: Node Draining [Volume 2]
As soon as the new card had dried and cooled, Jace socketed it. Like the previous card, it had a concise description with a quick activation frequency:
[Technique Card: Extract Aes (Common) (Utility) (Compatible Class: All) (Compatible Aspects: Pure)]
[Technique description: Once every one (1) second, allows the user to draw in Aes from the feeder channel.]
As soon as he had it slotted in his core, he grabbed hold of an accumulator node and located the Aes, then triggered the card. The Aes, previously reluctant, poured through the channels within the orb and flowed into his hand.
When the second was up, though, the Aes fell back into the core. Like sucking liquid up a straw, and he¡¯d just run out of breath.
Not good enough.
However, the card had a low cooldown period. It didn¡¯t need anything longer, with how simple the effect of the card was, but it would require constant activation.
So he did.
Instead of just activating the card once, he cycled his Aes in the rapid, quick manner he¡¯d practiced many times before, maintaining a second-long interval between each pulse of energy that passed through his core.
Still, while with each pulse, the energy within refused to budge any farther than an invisible nozzle on the pole of the accumulator node. There was something within him. Either the card still wasn¡¯t strong enough, or there was something restricting him.
¡°At first, I was going to tell you that wouldn¡¯t work,¡± Kinfild said, approaching from the cockpit. ¡°The nodes are too resistant to cards. You would need a higher level of will, cultivated over time to do it.¡±
¡°So then why did you let me go after the nodes at all?¡±
¡°Because it would be good practice.¡±
Jace let his shoulders deflate. He was so close, but¡he just needed weeks to draw out the power of the cores? That felt so long, now that he was so close.
But¡
¡°But you said ¡®at first¡¯,¡± Jace said.
¡°Correct. I think there''s a chance you could make it work.¡±
¡°How?¡± Jace scrunched his eyebrows, then thought back to his earlier attempts at emptying the accumulator nodes.
He¡¯d made the Aes within them push and pull, sway, with the fluctuations of his core.
He didn¡¯t need the will of a Wielder with months¡¯ more practice than him. He just needed better timing with his own imperfect core.
¡°I see that look in your eyes,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°Something¡¯s clicking. Tell me, see if we reached the same conclusion.¡±
¡°The fluctuations of my core?¡±
¡°Precisely.¡±
When Jace¡¯s Aes peaked, it latched onto the pure Aes in the accumulator node, and when it pulled back in, it drew out Aes with it.
First, he tried activating his card and timing the one second interval with the peak of his own core fluctuation, but it had the same effect. He needed to improve his process to reduce how much the Aes dropped back into the core. If he could make it so long as he took two steps forward, and only one backward, he could effectively draw out the Aes from the core, not matter how long it took him.
So instead, in the interval that the card was inactive, he timed the dip of his core fluctuation, and the Aes only retreated about a quarter of the distance the card pulled it.
Progress.
He continued the process until the Aes illuminated the surface of the sphere, lighting up golden runic patterns and swooping, arcing lines that divided it up into segments. Almost there¡just one more pull¡
The Aes bled out of the core.
Pure Aes, shining gold, poured into his hand, and swirled around in lines of dust. A sheet leaked out of his chest and swirled in the air in front of him, reading: [Warning: You are about to draw in two hundred and fifty (250) units of foreign Aes from an unknown object. Please ensure you trust the object you are harvesting from and have checked for Splitlings. Do you wish to proceed?]Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
More respectful than it had been before. Perhaps because he¡¯d gotten closer to it, using his quest-making hunting technique. And he appreciated the warning; he hadn¡¯t even thought to check.
¡°Any¡any problems with the accumulator nodes?¡± Jace asked. ¡°I can take that amount of Aes, but it¡¯s warning me¡¡±
¡°Oh, Split¡¯s just being grouchy.¡± Kinfild shook his head. ¡°A channel parasite couldn¡¯t survive inside an accumulator node.¡±
So there wasn¡¯t any reason to distrust the accumulator nodes. Perfect.
He smiled at the sheet, then said with intent, ¡°Yes.¡±
The sheet dispersed, and the Aes flowed into his channels. Once inside, it was like a clot of debris had just been pulled out of a gutter. The Aes moved freely, obeying his will, and he integrated it with the other Aes within him. He still needed the card to drain the node, but once the Aes was inside him, he could move it like any other source of power.
He integrated it and let it merge with his own power in his channels, all while using the card repeatedly to draw every last dribble of Aes out from the core. His chest heated up, and the channels in his hand bulged as more energy flowed in.
As he neared the end of the accumulator node¡¯s supply, it slowed down. The golden runes faded, then finally, the last of the Aes poured into Jace¡¯s hand. He pulled it into his body, then cycled it down to his core and stored it. He could convert more to a hyperspace aspect later.
But it made his core swell with power. In his perception, the two orbs¡ªthe original core and the foundation pillar¡ªhovered amidst a cloud of blue and gold Aes. They bunched together, deforming as they pressed up against each other. They were too large, now, and they needed to split.
He was ready to make another foundation pillar. He¡¯d been practicing his Aes movements, practicing his compression and willpower exertion, he hoped he could compress a pillar of higher quality.
Nothing less than legendary-grade would do.
He concentrated his Aes into a wedge, then drove it straight through the center of both orbs. They split in two, giving off a stream of loose Aes and core material both. Jace gathered it up with his will and pressed it together, then, like how he¡¯d disintegrated his original core seed, pressed it back into a pillar-sized orb.
His hands trembled, but he kept his breaths steady, and pressed the Aes together until a boom of force rattled off his body, shaking the floorboards and rattling the folded-up kitchenette at the side of the main hold.
The new pillar itself only had a few tiny cracks around the outside, but they didn¡¯t even penetrate a tenth of the way through the pillar-orb. It shifted into place, slotting nicely next to the other two pillars at the edge of the cloud.
Just for confirmation, he opened his eyes and requested, ¡°Assess foundation pillars.¡±
The Split swirled up in front of him, forming a message in golden dust: [Pillars Formed: 3/5. Pillar 1 quality: common-grade. Pillar 2 quality: rare-grade. Pillar 3 quality: legendary-grade.]
Not perfect, but he still had time to improve. He¡¯d have two more chances to hit five pillars, but clearly, it was possible to gain more than five¡ªStenol had six pillars.
Jace wasn¡¯t going to settle for any less than six, and certainly no more low-grade pillars. He needed at least three mythic-grade pillars to match Stenol.
¡°How do I form more pillars, beyond the original five?¡± Jace asked.
¡°You will need to resist the advancement to the Soul-Circle Opening tiers as long as you can,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°It requires constant maintenance of willpower, and for you, you¡¯ll have to resist the Split¡¯s nagging.¡±
¡°I should be able to do that,¡± Jace said. ¡°Been doing it this far.¡±
Still, he drew in his third main technique card¡ªhis cooldown resetting card¡ªand activated his main status sheet.
At first it warned him [6 Attribute Shards to distribute], then displayed the full sheet.
[Gathered Analytics]
Name: Jace Scott Baldwin
Worldjumper #: 5
Class: Core Hunter
Advancement Progress: Foundation 2 (55.2%)
Standard Level Rating: 24
[Attributes]
Strength: 14
Vital: 44
Resistance: 36
Agility: 16
Potency: 1
[Technique Cards]
Trigger Hyperjump
Wanderer¡¯s Banishment
Cleanse Buildups
[Significant Items]
Unnamed Whistling Blade, spirit-enhanced clothing, spirit-enhanced vambraces, spirit-enhanced plastoid cuirass.
[Titles]
Worldjumper #5 (no effect) (cannot be removed)
Witness of the Ancients (+1 Agility) (cannot be removed)
Before absorbing the accumulator node¡¯s Aes, he¡¯d had about thirty-five percent advancement progress, but now, it had jumped about twenty percent. If each node awarded him a similar amount of Aes¡ªtwo hundred and fifty units¡ªthen he¡¯d have more than enough right here to form up more pillars.
He¡¯d make his fourth pillar (third if he didn¡¯t count the original core) at seventy-five percent, and the fifth at a hundred percent. Any more, and he¡¯d be going over.
Holding up the Aes extraction card, he waved it in the air. The runes were glowing red-hot and the plastic around them smoked.
¡°You were pushing the triggering interval slightly too close together,¡± Kinfild warned. ¡°And with how stripped-down that card is, it doesn¡¯t have timing safeguards. Use it too quickly, and you¡¯ll destroy it.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll let it cool off before using it again.¡±
¡°Let your channels rest, too,¡± Kinfild suggested. We have all-flight. I suggest pushing yourself as close to the brink as you can before you advance, however, and then trying to absorb all the Aes at once.¡±
Jace nodded. If his reasoning was correct, he¡¯d have just enough Aes to get himself seven pillars, if all held steady.
And he had ten more hours. Plenty of time.
But while he was letting his channels rest, he could always distribute attribute shards.
Chapter 14: Ifskar [Volume 2]
Jace drew himself into the dreamspace plane with ease. He simply sat cross-legged on the shaking floor of the Luna Wrath and shut his eyes, then, with intent, pulled himself into the vacant swath of dirt.
With concentration, he found himself immediately in front of the sapling¡ªinstead of having to walk all the way across the plane.
The sapling, however, was hardly a sapling anymore. It was a head taller than him, though its trunk was still only thick as a toonie. Its buds were beginning to split apart into glowing yellow leaves.
As usual, the roots formed into a map of his body, and attribute shards¡ªgolden crystals of condensed Aes¡ªemerged from the soil beside it. Where he put them would determine where his body distributed all his attributes. Of course, when he strained the muscles needed to achieve each attribute.
He was becoming stronger and more durable, and his Vital rating still sat at a high level. His Resistance was respectably high, too, but it was his other attributes that were lacking. He couldn¡¯t let them get left behind. So that left Strength, Agility, and Potency.
But Potency was only useful for curse-heavy Wielders, and he had no cards that applied curses.
So upgrading Potency was off the table. It wouldn¡¯t help him.
He placed four attribute shards into Strength, and two into Agility, raising them both to a rating of eighteen. Nearly twice the power of a regular, maximum ability human.
But that was only if he directed his body and directed the advancement properly.
He pulled himself out of the dreamspace plane with the same coordination of will and intent that he used to pull himself in, then stood up and brushed off his pants. By now, the card he¡¯d used to draw in the Aes had cooled off, and when he tapped it, the plastic still felt like a laminated sheet of paper¡ªdurable, but not like it¡¯d had been exposed to too much heat. The runes were legible, and he could still use the card.
It was time to work. If he could get this to work, he¡¯d advance faster than ever before¡ªat least, until the nodes ran out of juice.
Over the last eight hours of their journey through hyperspace, he used the same strategy of timing the drainage card with the fluctuation of his unstable core to drain two more accumulator nodes and form one more foundation pillar when he reached seventy-five advancement percent progress.
As soon as he had enough Aes to begin forming his next foundation pillar, he took a break and cleared his mind. He sorted boxes for Kinfild to help advance his true strength rating, so his body knew to catch up with where it was supposed to be. Then, he practiced agility with Lessa.
She handed him her rifle¡ªwith its magazine detached¡ªand had him run through different shooting positions and exercises, helped him practice reciprocating the bolt (or simulating it) and moving from different positions of cover.
Though his main weapon would always be the Whistling Blade, he needed to learn the other weapons of the world, too. If he picked up a plasma rifle, he needed to know how to use it efficiently.
Once his mind had cleared, he sat back down in the center of the cargo hold and split the Aes in his three pillars.
With all his will, he compacted it into a fourth sphere, and imagined it in his mind as smooth on the outside as possible. A billiard ball, or a ball bearing.
When his will began gliding off its surface, striking and deflecting tangent to the surface, he knew he¡¯d made it smooth. It was smaller than the others, too.
A shockwave blasted off his body. It toppled all the crates he¡¯d just stacked up, and even the heavy table with the holoprojector shifted. That had to be good.
The tiny pillar shifted in place, moving to join the other spheres, and adjusted to the same size and shape in the ring. There were four now, but there was room for a fifth in the last open spot of the ring of pillars.
The fourth pillar adjusted to the same size as the others, but even as it grew¡it was perfect. No cracks, not even a filament of damage to its surface.
When he activated his sheets and assessed the core, it was mythic grade. It was perfect.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Now, to do that at least two more times. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
He absorbed one more accumulator node¡¯s power, bringing him to ninety-five percent advancement progress, but stopped there. For one thing, the card was overheating again, and he needed to give it a break. For another, his channels were bulging from such extensive use, and if he wasn¡¯t careful, he¡¯d strain them beyond an easy repair.
But, as well, if he wanted more than five pillars, he¡¯d have to go about it strategically. Drain all the nodes, and he¡¯d push himself well above the advancement threshold. He¡¯d need to form as many pillars as he could as fast as he could as soon as he drained the nodes, and there just wasn¡¯t time for that. They were getting close to Ifskar.
But, in case they encountered trouble, he distributed his next four attribute shards. He placed them in Resistance, and with his Path bonus doubling his Resistance, they counted for two rating points each. It left his overall attributes at:
Strength: 18
Vital: 44
Resistance: 44
Agility: 18
Potency: 1
Still, it¡¯d take a little time to get his body to adjust to the new power of all his new attributes. It didn¡¯t change him instantly.
He pulled himself out of the dreamspace plane, then tucked the empty accumulator nodes into a bin beneath the bottom bunk. The three nodes that still had Aes in them, he returned to his backpack, along with the card for draining them. It¡¯d come in handy. There was no need to keep his load too light, though, and with his enhanced strength rating, the pack barely pressed down on his shoulders at all.
He dropped the rest of the soldering coil back in his bag, then the rest of the card templates. Finally, he pulled his black overshirt back on, then his gauntlets and plastoid cuirass. It wasn¡¯t perfect armour, but from the past few months, it was the best he could find¡ªregardless of how formal or cohesive it looked.
Slinging his backpack up onto his shoulder, he walked to the cockpit. He was the last to arrive. Lessa had already strapped down in the radioman¡¯s chair, and Kinfild¡¯s hands hovered above the transmitter in anticipation.
Jace dropped down in the copilot¡¯s seat and said, ¡°Alright, then. Let¡¯s see how this bypass card works.¡±
¡°If it does,¡± Lessa said.
¡°If?¡± he exclaimed.
¡°Uh¡well, Kinfild said something about telesignals¡¡±
¡°Kinfild?¡± Jace demanded.
¡°It¡¯s possible that they registered the stolen card ahead of time and changed the clearance codes,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Possible, but not likely. It¡¯s a good thing you two stole as many templates as you did, not to mention the soldering wire. That way, they¡¯ll assume it was a hit and run, and not look any deeper for missing cards.¡±
¡°How would they even know to change the hyperspace net codes in time?¡±
¡°Telesignals,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°They travel through the Split faster than most starships, though they¡¯re often slower when they¡¯re wireless. You¡¯ve never seen a telesignal wire, have you?¡±
Jace shook his head.
¡°Ah, fascinating things. Generally, the Starrealm has a few crossing its space, as do the Koedor-Ter¡ª¡±
A blaring alarm cut him off. The scanners, currently in Split-lane scanning mode, detected a disturbance in the lane, and demanded that they exit hyperspace immediately. Jace tapped it. ¡°Ten seconds until impact,¡± he said.
¡°More than enough time.¡± Kinfild pressed a button on the transmitter¡¯s side, and it blared out a high-pitched tone. Its Aes cells fired, triggering the technique card Kinfild had loaded, and a set of golden runes flared into the air above the transmitter. They were made of golden Split-dust, pure Aes, though they weren¡¯t as cohesive or tight-knit as his own sheets.
They vibrated in turn with the frequency, sending resonance along the Split channel ahead of them.
The alarm stopped blaring as soon as the card triggered, and Jace melted into his seat with relief.
A millisecond later, a bar of orange flashed across the edge of the golden Split channel, before fading away behind them and allowing them to pass undisturbed.
Jace grinned, then glanced at Kinfild. ¡°It worked.¡±
¡°Thank the Split¡¡± Lessa muttered.
¡°Now, we must land. I figure that¡¯ll be the harder part.¡±
Again, the alarm blared, warning of a collision course, and Kinfild pulled back on the silver lever on the dashboard. The Split peeled away from the edges of the viewscreen, and the Luna Wrath dropped out into realspace with a boom.
On one side was a mesh of neon orange¡ªthe hyperspace net they¡¯d just passed through. On the other side was the surface of Ifskar. Aside from its poles, which were a deep green with a slight misty white, the majority of the planet was made up of turquoise ocean, vast sandy shoals, and tropical forests. The equator seemed mostly uninhabited, except for a few glowing, heat-shielded mining facilities under domes of blue Aes.
¡°We need a place to land,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°I tried getting a little information about where the dungeon entrance was back on Braka, but the scavengers were being awfully tight-lipped about that.¡±
¡°I wonder why,¡± Jace muttered. He leaned forward in his seat until the crash harness pressed against his shoulder and dug in. ¡°Look.¡± He pointed ahead, where a cluster of starships orbited, slowly descending toward the planet¡¯s surface. Most were dropship-sized, though they escorted a larger frigate¡ªnearly three-hundred feet long. ¡°Scavenger ships. If we go where they go, we might at least find someone who can tell us where to head.¡±
¡°Just¡don¡¯t follow too close,¡± Lessa said. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to be here.¡±
¡°Good news is that the Wrath can fit in with scavengers,¡± Jace said, then motioned around, as if pointing at the rough outer hull. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t hail us, we shouldn¡¯t stand out too much. Right?¡±
¡°She is a freighter,¡± Kinfild said, then gripped the control yoke and adjusted the thrusters. ¡°To the surface we go, then.¡±
Chapter 15: Scouting [Volume 2]
¡°Are they gonna pick us up on the scanners?¡± Jace asked. The Luna Wrath¡¯s own scanners were still recalibrating after the hyperspace jump, but the other starships travelling to the surface had arrived well before. Their scanners might be active.
¡°Perhaps,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°The better question is: will they do anything about it?¡±
¡°If they¡¯re Brakamen scavengers, they might,¡± Jace said.
Lessa leaned out the side of her seat and stuck her head out into the cockpit. ¡°Should I get on the guns? We can test out the new card Jace and I made?¡±
¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°The Brakamen have starships from all over the galaxy, and they¡¯ll be summoning sect members from all hundreds of different sectors. Even if they pick up on us, they won¡¯t do anything about it. If we got through the torpedo net, that should be proof enough of our permission to be here.¡±
¡°So they think,¡± Jace said. But it was sound logic.
The small scavenger fleet began descending through the atmosphere of Ifskar. They headed toward an island that probably would¡¯ve been about the size of England, but with massive swaths of tide-pool land along its coasts. As the planet spun, the island sank into the mild lighting of the evening boundary, and a few lit-up stilt cities shone to life along the coast.
The stilt cities were vast complexes of wood and steel. When the Luna Wrath burst through a layer of clouds, only a few kilometers behind the scavenger fleet, they approached the largest stilt-city on the island. Its core was a mountain of steel and glass towers with rounded peaks, but overall, it was more like a fried egg¡ªif the white was a vast expanse of cobbled-together wood and scrap houses with walkways between them.
Neon signs shone in every alleyway and every crevice, and a swarm of repeller-cars hovered overhead, zipping from place-to-place. Smoke and smog turned yellow in the setting sun, before disappearing altogether as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Waves sloshed over the beach. What had previously been a many-mile wide band of tidal pools and sandbars became deep ocean, with only a distant bar of coast in the distance.
¡°Big tidal shift,¡± Jace remarked.
¡°Big moon,¡± said Lessa, pointing to the southern horizon, where an orb of reddish-orange stone rose over the horizon. It wasn¡¯t exactly the shade of the sun, nor as bright, but it was much bigger than the sun, and nearly occupied half the sky when it rose. It doused everything in a faint orange glow, like it was all torchlit.
The scavenger fleet descended toward a large landing platform near the northern edge of the city. The frigate settled down on massive landing struts, and its weight shook the entire city. A boom rattled through the Luna Wrath¡¯s cockpit glass as the frigate¡¯s repellers shut off and its thrusters flared out. Its two smokestacks were enough to double the pollution over the city, and the cloud of ash turned the rest of its escort ships into glowing halos as they settled down around it.
¡°I don¡¯t suppose we can land there,¡± Jace muttered.
¡°Not unless you want to explain to a bunch of angry scavengers why we took up valuable room on their landing platform,¡± said Kinfild.
¡°There has to be another spaceport somewhere,¡± Lessa said. ¡°This is a big city, and it clearly existed before the scavengers got here.¡±
¡°But if we land at a civilian spaceport, the scavengers will be suspicious,¡± Jace warned. ¡°If they¡¯ve shut off the system, civilians shouldn¡¯t be leaving or arriving.¡± He leaned forward in his seat. ¡°Where would a freighter land? We¡¯ll have to bluff our way in.¡±
¡°If this was a mining planet, there would be a larger cargo port,¡± Kinfild explained. ¡°I¡¯d bet any money that the scavengers have taken it over.¡±
¡°Not a great place to land either, then.¡±
¡°Like you said,¡± Lessa chirped, ¡°we¡¯ll bluff our way in.¡±
Jace leaned back in his seat and tried to think of a cover story. They¡¯d need scavengers¡¯ ponchos to truly blend in, and he kicked himself for not thinking to pick one up from Braka, when there¡¯d been plenty of dead scavengers to grab ponchos from, but he¡¯d been too busy running and trying to stay alive.
¡°Kinfild,¡± Jace said, ¡°you can¡¯t go in with Crimson Table robes. I¡¯ll go out first and investigate, see if I can steal some uniforms, and then we can come up with a plan.¡±
The Luna Wrath approached the northern side of the city, and, near the frigate¡¯s massive landing platform, approached a separate spaceport. It was a massive, stilt-suspended wharf with steel piers reaching out across the waves. Individual landing pads, each about the size of a light freighter like the Wrath, hung beneath each of the piers. Perfect for offloading mining debris and unprocessed ore into hopper ships, but not great for accommodating the Wrath¡¯s tall tail fin or smokestack.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
But it was just far enough away from the massive landing platform, and it was still at the edge of the city. They shouldn¡¯t attract too much attention.
The Wrath skimmed over the waves, then pulled up and settled down on one of the landing platforms, its tail fin nearly brushing the pier above. It just fit in.
¡°What were they mining on a planet whose surface is mostly water?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Must¡¯ve been pretty valuable, ¡®cause I doubt it¡¯d have been easy.¡±
¡°Not valuable enough for the Starrealm or anyone else to step in,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°If it was critical to the war effort, no one would¡¯ve let the scavengers take it over.¡±
¡°Stoutsteel?¡± Jace asked.
¡°Too important for starships,¡± said Kinfild.
¡°Plus, you rarely find it in the ground like that,¡± Lessa said. ¡°Back home, if we ever forged anything out of metal, we¡¯d have to make the stoutsteel ourselves with Aes-infused char. It¡¯s rare to find it in the ground.¡±
¡°Probably some sort of luxury item, like Aes-infused depth-truffles or fossilized anachrondrites,¡± Kinfild muttered. He shut off the starship¡¯s thrusters. ¡°But now¡¯s not the time. They¡¯ll be sending ground crew to check on us soon, and without convincing scavenger garb, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±
Jace unbuckled his crash harness and jumped up, then hoisted up his Whistling Blade and backpack. ¡°Be back in a flash. Hopefully not literally.¡± But, knowing hyperspace, he might actually end up flashing back onto the platform.
He ran back through the starship and pulled a lever on the wall. The door folded outward with a hiss and clunked onto the landing platform. Keeping a hand on the hilt of his Whistling Blade, he stepped out onto the pad.
It was still empty. The entire pad had no room for anyone to stand, really, save for a few feet on either side of the starship for him to walk around. He slipped around the Wrath¡¯s bow, then ran to a ladder. It led up to the pier above.
He climbed the ladder most of the way, then stopped just high enough that his head poked out above the walkway. The pier was entirely empty, except for a stack of crates and a worker kyborg with a broom, sweeping the walkway clean with broad brushstrokes.
Jace hauled himself all the way up and swung his legs over, then ran down the pier until he reached the stack of crates, where he ducked down and hid. The kyborg didn¡¯t mind him¡ªit wasn¡¯t temperamental like Aur-Six had been.
Now that he had four Foundation Pillars, he could host four technique cards, but he only had three main combat cards. Still, he kept the node-draining card inside his pillars in case he needed it. The accumulator nodes were in his backpack, as well, and he could pick them out and drain them in an emergency.
Nothing was on cooldown. If he needed, he could use both techniques, reset, then use both techniques again with the buff the reset card granted him. Deploying five cards in a row. Almost like he was a proper Wielder.
He peered out around the side of the stack of crates. At the end of the pier was the enormous steel wharf, then the rest of the cargo port beyond. It was a complex of concrete and glass, with large doorways out onto each pier. Inside them were dark, vacant warehouses with unused repeller-carts of stone and dirt in them. Whatever they were mining here, it hadn¡¯t been processed yet.
Steady yellow light shone from within a bay two piers to the left, though. If there was anyone guarding the port, they¡¯d be there.
Jace ran along the pier, keeping his steps as soft as he could while moving quickly. A few clangs rang out across the spaceport, but the crashing waves of the rising tide were louder. They drowned his steps out.
When he reached the main complex of the cargo port, he pressed his back against the wall, keeping out of view, then inched along the wharf toward the open cargo port door. The light spilled out in a stable, steady beam, and he didn¡¯t dare step into it without a plan.
But first, he stopped and observed.
Leaning back, he caught slices of the scene within the warehouse. A cluster of five or six [Level 10 Scavengers] sat around a glowing heat-lamp, holding bowls of food and talking softly amongst themselves. It looked to be some sort of rice with steamed vegetables and braised meat shredded overtop. They ate with a pair of knives each, which was only effective when they used them like chopsticks.
They were the closest to the entrance. Beyond them was a procession of [Level 4] or [Level 5] workers, who carried crates around. They wore plain beige overalls, and most had some state of facial hair growth, whether it was a beard or mustache. There were a few gray-skinned men, each a few heads taller than Jace, and a couple of skinny men with fox ears and bushy tails.
A pair of scavengers oversaw them, snapping orders and commands. One was a regular [Level 11 Scavenger] but the other was a [Level 42 Aes Wielder ¨C Soul-Circle Opening ¨C Twelfth Stage].
The Wielder was well-built, but he was young¡ªhe only looked about twenty, no older than Jace. He wore a teal poncho with rune-lines down its back, and he carried a Whistling Blade at his hip. His long brown black flowed down his back, and his skin was a shade of pale magenta.
¡°Snap to it!¡± he clapped his hands at one of the lowly workers, and the force let off a shockwave that made Jace¡¯s skin prickle from all the way back at the doorway. ¡°We need these containers cleared out by the end of the week! Dungeon loot is coming up, and my father will have my head if we don¡¯t have room to store it!¡±
The workers hauled the boxes off to a shelf near the edge and stacked them up into an unmanageable heap.
¡°Young Master Neikir¡¡± a worker panted. ¡°We¡¯re working as fast as we can, but sir¡with all due respect, we cannot move the entire fossilstock overnight.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care if you have to dump them in the sea,¡± the Wielder snapped. ¡°If they¡¯re in the way, we can¡¯t have them.¡±
¡°If we dump them, we¡¯ll lose an entire years¡¯ worth of mining produce.¡± The worker put his box down, then wiped sweat off his brow and leaned against it, panting. ¡°The entire city will lose out on a season¡¯s worth of income¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s not the Brakamen¡¯s problem, now is it?¡± the Wielder¡ªNeikir¡ªsnapped. ¡°You¡¯re not questioning the authority of the Brakamen sect heir, are you? Shall I call my father and tell him you¡¯ve been misbehaving, or¡perhaps I shall punish the lowly workers myself? No one would know.¡±
¡°Sir¡¡± The worker bowed his head submissively, then picked up his crate and continued working.
Jace ducked back into cover and pressed his back against the wall.
¡°Well,¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°You found the uniforms.¡±
Chapter 16: Just a Talk [Volume 2]
Jace needed a plan. He couldn¡¯t just walk in there and take their clothes. They¡¯d see him. A hyperdash was also off the table. This young master Neikir would sense it, for one, and that was if the scavengers didn¡¯t see it first.
He needed to be fast, but there were still no scavengers on the pier out to the Luna Wrath. He still had a bit of time before he needed a solution.
Neikir continued to shout at the workers, urging them to hurry and carry the boxes away. They must¡¯ve been dock workers who were here well before the Brakamen sect took over the planet.
All of this was happening because of the war. There was no other way to put it. If the Starrealm had been able to stop these petty sects from taking what little power they had, the workers wouldn¡¯t be suffering under this Neikir.
He clenched his fists. He was supposed to be wandering the galaxy, helping where he could. So far, they¡¯d kicked out little despots from villages, helped fix utilities, and dealt with abusive officers, but in four months, they hadn¡¯t made much of difference.
There were only three of them.
And even if he did go after Neikir¡ªwhich would help, he was certain¡ªthere were millions more situations like this all over the galaxy.
It wasn¡¯t good enough. He had to do more. There had to be a way to do more to help everyone.
End the war. That was the way.
Jace scratched the back of his head, then stared down at the metal wharf. The man at the meeting on Maehn. The¡the Generous Hand in the Shadows. He seemed to be orchestrating the Alliance¡¯s movements.
Jace had to stop him. It was the only way.
And to do that, he needed to be stronger. He needed the resources of the dungeon on Ifskar.
And for that, it brought him back to the uniforms. They had to blend in.
When the workers ran out of room inside the warehouse, in the designated corner Neikir left them for their wares, he demanded that they dumped the extra crates into the ocean to make room for dungeon wares and loot.
The workers hauled boxes out to the wharf with two scavengers watching over them, but Neikir stayed inside to keep complaining to the workers¡ªand to his own scavengers. Telling them to move faster, or to eat faster and stop being so lazy. The scavengers dumped their crates down into the sea, nearly a hundred feet below. Months of work, lost. Thrown away because these scavengers had to come and meddle with affairs.
¡°Father put you under my charge, so prove your worth,¡± he snapped at the scavengers. ¡°This is our chance to move our sect up in the world, and I won¡¯t have you ruining it because you¡¯re lazy. The rewards will trickle down to us all!¡±
One scavenger scoffed. ¡°...Right. We¡¯ll be up when we¡¯re done our meals. Your father would¡¯ve let us have that dignity, at least.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk back to me,¡± Neikir snapped. Jace heard a crack as the man backhanded his underling across his cheek. ¡°I am heir to this sect, and you will respect me and my authority. Or would you rather I settle this with a corporeal punishment?¡±
¡°Apologies, sir,¡± the scavenger said, then put down his bowl. ¡°What do you need?¡±
¡°Lend me a hand in here. We¡¯ll sweep the shelves, then head out to the wharf and see what that new starship was about.¡±
Jace¡¯s stomach plummeted, but he held his composure. He had to engage his plan, and now. When the next pair of scavengers stepped out the warehouse, they followed the workers to the edge of the wharf, stepping out the light and out of the view of those inside the warehouse. Now was the chance.
Jace used a hyperdash and zipped up behind them, then drew his Whistling Blade and struck them both on the back of the head. The blade whistled a little, and the workers whirled around, but Jace held his finger over his mouth and pleaded with his eyes. The workers stayed silent and went about their jobs.
As Jace hauled the two scavengers¡¯ bodies to the side, he heard Neikir shout, ¡°What was that? Did anyone hear that?¡±
¡°Shit,¡± Jace hissed. He pulled the bodies to the edge of the wall of the warehouse, out of sight once more, then worked as quickly as he could to peel off their ponchos and armour. With the used accumulator nodes out of his backpack, he had more room in his bag to work with. The armour and ponchos fit in neatly. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
¡°I dunno!¡± one of the workers shouted back.
¡°Your guys went off to look,¡± a different worker said, covering for Jace. Jace shot him a nod of thanks.
Neikir grunted, then said, ¡°They¡¯d better be back soon, or they won¡¯t have a place in the Brakamen sect much longer.¡±
Jace sealed up his backpack, then darted back to the wall and pressed his back against it. Just needed an opening to sprint back to the Luna Wrath, then¡ª
A crash rang out from the warehouse behind. Jace cringed and tucked his head. It could be the perfect opportunity to flee, but¡
¡°Oh, confound it all, on the Split!¡± Neikir shouted. ¡°Useless, the lot of you! Useless! That¡¯s it, ten lashes for each worker. Tallos, Miken, get over here. You have the shield-whips? Hand them to me, now!¡±
Jace leaned forward and peered around the edge of the warehouse doors. The workers had dropped a crate, and its contents¡ªfossilized discs of iridescent, shelled creatures that bore a tag [Anachrondrite Fossil ¨C Rare Grade] spilled across the floor.
Neikir kicked one, and it shattered into sparks of multicoloured Aes, but it dissipated quickly.
Like Kinfild said. A luxury item at best. A collectable for non-wielders to keep in their apartments, or maybe they turned it into some kind of fancy drink. Whatever the case, they didn¡¯t look too useful to Jace. Just enough to warrant a description tag, but not enough to make him stop and try to take some.
But he did stop. Or, at the very least, he didn¡¯t move.
Neikir was going to punish these overworked, tired men¡for what? For failing to dump their own harvest into the sea. One of the scavengers tossed him a cylinder, and when Neikir pressed a button on its side, a whip of shimmering blue shield-aspect Aes burst from its tip. He flicked it down to his side, and the energy cracked.
In his months here, he¡¯d seen farmers use them on wildstock, and rarely, on enemies. Never on vassals.
Jace could help both on the small scale and the large scale. He wasn¡¯t just going to turn his back here.
But if he was supposed to blend in?
There were only two uniforms, though. One for Kinfild, one for Lessa. He could hide.
He slung his backpack up onto his shoulder and stepped out into the light. ¡°Stop this. I don¡¯t care who you are. You¡¯ve got time, and no reason to treat your underlings like this.¡±
¡°Hah!¡± Neikir spun around and flicked his whip toward Jace. ¡°What? Who are you?¡± He flipped around the hilt, cracking his whip in the air above him. ¡°Scratch that. Do you know who I am?¡±
¡°Exalted Young Master Neikir, or something like that, yeah,¡± Jace muttered. ¡°I just remembered the Neikir part. Never really been good with remembering titles.¡±
¡°Yeah, stuff it, smart guy,¡± one of the scavengers spat. ¡°This is¡ª¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, the heir to the Brakamen sect, that,¡± Jace said. ¡°I caught that too, at some point.¡±
All the workers stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Some with confusion, others with shock. No admiration, only concern.
It was possible that they¡¯d punish him more for this.
¡°You¡¯ll suffer for this,¡± Neikir said. ¡°Him first, boys. Double the punishment, whoever he is, and let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside that bag.¡±
Jace raised a finger and shook his head. ¡°Wait a minute. Now, I¡¯ve a loose grasp on the rules around here, but is it really befitting of your station as an heir, and more importantly, a Wielder at the¡Twelth stage of Soul-Circle Opening? Yeah, that.¡± Jace checked Neikir¡¯s tag just to be sure. ¡°Befitting of a man of your station to be butting heads with the likes of me? I mean, roughing me up?¡±
The scavengers glanced at Neikir, and he groaned. ¡°Yeah. Yeah. Someone else do it, then I¡¯ll whip him, for this insult.¡±
¡°How¡¯d he know your stage, sir?¡± a scavenger asked.
¡°Don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t sense a ton of spiritual pressure from him. If he¡¯s a wielder, he¡¯s weak. Around your abilities.¡±
Either Neikir¡¯s senses were bad or Jace¡¯s core was truly that much weaker.
Or, perhaps, it was just quieter. Less pressure-y. However they said it, and however it worked.
Today, it worked in his favour.
Two of the scavengers raised their rifles, then turned them over to the rifle-butts pointed forward. The man in the lead, a broad, bulky man, said, ¡°Right, boy. Give it up now and make this easier for yourself.¡±
Mmm¡no. Jace laid his hand on the hilt of his Whistling Blade, but these guys weren¡¯t here to kill him. Killing them for their master¡¯s orders seemed a little unfair.
No, he had to demonstrate his power some other way. With his Strength rating nearly twice that of an ordinary man, he could prove himself quite easily.
But what then? He couldn¡¯t fight Neikir; that¡¯d be suicide. He needed a way out of this. A way that didn¡¯t involve him fighting Neikir right now.
There was no time to think. The bulky scavenger marched forward, then jabbed with the butt of his rifle. Jace leaned to the side, but the other scavenger approached from the other direction and jabbed with his rifle. Jace concentrated his Resistance, widening his stance, and took the blow with barely a flinch.
¡°I guess that counts as a warning,¡± he said, then made a fist. ¡°Now, how about this?¡±
He delivered an uppercut to the bulkier scavenger, catching the man square under the chin.
The man would¡¯ve had a Strength rating of ten, at best. Resistance and Vital? Pretty high too.
But Jace¡¯s was higher.
The man flew off his feet and skidded across the warehouse floor, chin busted and bleeding, and fell still.
¡°Now,¡± Jace said. ¡°How about we talk about this a little more?¡±
Chapter 17: Dealmaking [Volume 2]
¡°How about we don¡¯t,¡± Neikir snarled. ¡°How about I kill you for this offence, right here, right now? Whoever you are, it doesn¡¯t matter. You speaking to me like this is a disgrace to the entire sect.¡±
¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Jace nodded. ¡°But you think you¡¯re fit to duel a¡mortal?¡± He motioned to the other scavengers. ¡°You¡¯re lowly enough to have to hurt me with your own hands? Not a good look for an heir to a sect, right?¡±
Neikir sighed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
¡°Word will get out. Unless you kill all your workers here, then you¡¯ll have to explain to your father how something came in and killed them all, and you couldn¡¯t stop it.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not a duel. It¡¯s a beating. Apologize, save yourself.¡±
¡°Or what?¡±
¡°What do you want?¡± the young master sneered.
¡°I want you to stop abusing your workers, for one,¡± Jace said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯d like it too, if they could speak up about it.¡±
Neikir threw down his shield-whip, then flicked his hand out to the floor. He activated a technique card and drew up a swath of metal chips and filings from the floor. They wrapped around his wrist and gauntleted his hand.
¡°Apologize,¡± he demanded, ¡°and I¡¯ll let you off with just a warning.¡±
¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a Wielder like the other guys?¡± Jace said, purposely trying to hint that he¡¯d defeated other scavengers before.
He, of course, hadn¡¯t. Not alone. And certainly no one as strong as Neikir. His fingers wanted to tremble, but he forced them to stay still.
No place to show weakness.
¡°Fine,¡± Neikir snapped. He deactivated his technique card, or its use ran out, and the metal shavings fell to the ground. ¡°In a month. You have a month. Find me and apologize, whoever you are, or I¡¯ll be justified in enacting violence upon you, and it won¡¯t reflect poorly on the sect. You hear? Or just apologize now and be done with it.¡±
Jace exhaled. Dealing with this guy was going to be more painful than he thought. He¡¯d caused enough of an interruption, though, that the scavengers were dropping their shield-whips and picking their rifles back up. With any luck, he¡¯d caused enough of a disturbance that they¡¯d be too focussed on him, and the workers would get out without a scratch.
The workers were already cleaning up the mess they¡¯d made with the boxes and retreating into the shadows of the warehouse. There, they hid, backs against the wall.
Jace had bought them time. Now, he needed to get himself out of this.
¡°So, anyway¡¡± He scratched the back of his head. ¡°I¡¯ll, uh, I¡¯ll be going.¡±
¡°Not so fast,¡± Neikir snapped. ¡°You have a month. Either you duel me, or you apologize. If you don¡¯t meet me, then I¡¯ll kill all of the workers here. If you care about them so much.¡±
Jace blinked a few times. He wasn¡¯t sure if Neikir was bluffing, and he didn¡¯t really want to find out.
But, he needed to escape. ¡°Sure. Fine,¡± he said. Then, keeping himself in control, he said, ¡°Meet me at¡at the center of the dungeon here. On the tenth level down.¡±
Neikir burst out in laughter. ¡°You? You won¡¯t make it past the fourth level, and that¡¯s even if you could find where it is¡ª¡±
¡°In the dungeon, tenth level,¡± Jace insisted. ¡°Meet me there, or don¡¯t meet me at all. If you want your duel-apology so badly.¡± He couldn¡¯t afford to waste precious time on the surface waiting for a duel, and certainly not a month.
¡°You better show,¡± Neikir insisted, then straightened out his fingers and pointed at the workers in the wings of the warehouse. ¡°If you don¡¯t, you know the consequences.¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯ll be on my way, now.¡±
He backed away, keeping them in his sight, then walked along the wharf in the opposite direction of the Luna Wrath. No sense in leading them right to his ship, especially when they needed to convince the harbour staff to let the ship stay.
Then, as soon as he couldn¡¯t hear the scavengers or workers anymore, he turned his back and ran down the wharf. When he couldn¡¯t see any more workers, and the light of their warehouse was barely a glimmer on the steel wharf, he swung down over the edge, and dropped down to a maintenance walkway a storey beneath the wharf.
He ran back in the direction of the Wrath, hoping Neikir wasn¡¯t paying too close attention with his senses, until he reached their pier. He climbed back, then slunk along the pier. When he returned to the Wrath¡¯s landing platform, he descended down to the pad and stepped over to the boarding ramp and ran aboard.
Lessa and Kinfild both stood in the main hold, staring at him. ¡°That took you a while,¡± Lessa remarked. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Jace unzipped his backpack and plucked out the stolen scavenger outfits, then tossed them to Kinfild and Lessa. ¡°Yeah, and I only got two. Bad news is that I have a duel in a month¡¯s time.¡±
¡°What?¡± Lessa and Kinfild both exclaimed in unison.
¡°There was this Neikir guy. Don¡¯t worry, I told him to find me in the dungeon.¡± He passed them the uniforms. ¡°Now, cargo inspectors will probably be coming soon. Or whoever they¡¯re going to send. You guys have to be ready to convince them we belong.¡±
Dirtmaster had always been the title given to the head of the scavenger sects. It had never been less fitting than now.
Dirtmaster Seik Tar¡¯s audience hall aboard the Scraphawk¡¯s Talon had polished copper walls and luxurious holographic banners hanging from each wall. A central walkway ran down its center, and on either side was a pool of crystal-clear water. Fountains sprayed mist into the hall, countering the dehumidifying effect of artificial air circulation aboard a battleship.
At the end of the walkway was a marble dais¡ªstone shipped directly from the Ossel Quarries¡ªwith an angular stoutsteel chair atop it and Aes-lanterns burning in a circle around it, almost like a runic formation.
It was more luxury than any other Dirtmaster had achieved in their lives. But Seik Tar had earned it. Years of hard work had finally paid off, and why shouldn¡¯t he enjoy the results of his effort.
He¡¯d pulled himself up from nothing. He¡¯d ascended the ranks of the Brakamen sect, and with his abilities as a Wielder, had proven himself capable of taking charge.
So, when a messenger announced that an envoy from the Eastern Alliance was arriving, Seik Tar had risen to the opportunity. A chance to sign a formal scrap-management contract with a major military power? It could skyrocket their influence in the galaxy. The Brakamen could soon become a household name.
When the doors on the opposite side of his audience chamber hissed open with a puff of steam, he pretended not to have been expecting any visitors or guests¡ªinstead, he held up a glass of Aes-infused wine and took a sip, then whirled around in fake surprise.
Important figures¡ªespecially non-wielder politicians¡ªliked to assert dominance through position and rank, and to establish it early in a conversation. If he were one of them, such pretend surprise would¡¯ve left him on the backfoot.
But he preferred they underestimate him. At only Level 43, it was likely that some Wielders would underestimate him. A normal human wouldn¡¯t know.
At first, though, he thought he acted too early. No one passed through the doorway.
Then came a wheezing breath, and a metallic foot clanked against the perforated steel deck outside the audience hall.
A single figure stepped through the steam. It was humanoid, but with a hunched back that poked up higher than its masked face. It was spindly and slender, with limbs made entirely of stoutsteel and kyborg joints. A smokestack stuck out its back, chuffing black smoke, and a spherical starcoal furnace-and-boiler setup burned away where a core would¡¯ve otherwise been on a man.
With each step, it swung its arms. On its wrists were shards of orange Whistling Glass, which lit up and screeched with each swing of his arms. Like gauntlets with gemstone inlays, only these inlays released concentrated plasma Aes with each movement.
Seik Tar dreaded what would happen if he was on the receiving end of one of those punches.
He also dreaded to know where this¡kyborg got the gems from.
But it couldn¡¯t just be a kyborg. A faint pressure pushed against him, weighing him down. It was¡stronger? He sensed channels flowing around its form, carrying Aes to the reaches of its body and fuelling¡were those real organs within its metal ribcage.
Seik Tar nearly gagged at the sight of it, but he held his composure, then said, ¡°Greetings, exalted envoy. How may I serve you this evening?¡±
The Scraphawk¡¯s Talon hovered steadily above Ifskar¡¯s capital city¡ªa stilt city near the equator, where all the administration of the city took place. It was the perfect location for an occupation, and there was no better threat than a battleship blotting out your sun for weeks on end. It wouldn¡¯t have been hard to find, and he hoped he hadn¡¯t wasted too much of this envoy¡¯s time by insisting that they meet here.
¡°Seik Tar,¡± said the envoy in a scratchy, half-human half-mechanical voice. ¡°You are the leader of the Brakamen sect?¡±
¡°I¡am. Who am I in the company of?¡±
¡°You may call me Rallemnon.¡± The kyborg marched down the central walkway of the throne room, drawing close enough that Seik Tar could see his bloodshot eyes through the slit in his mask. ¡°I have been sent by the Generous Hand to retrieve a treasure from this world, and you will not stand in our way. In return, we will sponsor your sect and allow you a pick of the top scrap contracts in Koedor-Terginia.¡±
He reached into a pouch on the inside of his robe and produced a scroll of parchment. When unrolled, it displayed a contract with full terms and a wax seal in the bottom corner.
¡°Are these terms acceptable?¡±
Jumping straight to the point? Seik Tar liked this¡Rallemnon. But he didn¡¯t exactly like the terms.
¡°What treasure do you speak of?¡± Seik Tar asked. ¡°We laid claim to this dungeon planet, and by all logic, the prize at the bottom should be ours.¡±
¡°Do you know what it is?¡± Rallemnon asked, circling around Seik Tar. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would. It is a weapon, which scavengers have no need of¡ªand certainly not the likes of you. The Halcyon Spear.¡±
¡°We would sell it.¡±
¡°Our contracts are worth ten times what you¡¯d earn from that spear on the black market.¡±
¡°The Watchmen might pay more.¡± Seik Tar didn¡¯t exactly know what a Halcyon Spear was, and he didn¡¯t particularly care about its function. But it was clearly valuable if the Alliance wanted it so badly.
¡°If you do not willingly assist me, I will venture down into the dungeons of this world alone and retrieve the spear, and then I will kill you. If you try to break the terms of this deal in any way, I will kill you. Do you understand?¡±
¡°Not a choice at all, then.¡±
¡°Not a choice.¡± Rallemnon flicked the sheet with a metallic talon. ¡°Sign it. Now.¡±
Seik Tar reached into the pocket of his robe for a pen, but before he could produce one, the other pocket buzzed. A small wireless transmitter whirred, and he plucked it up then activated it. ¡°Yes? Be quick. I am in an important meeting.¡±
¡°Father!¡± a voice whined through the transmitter¡¯s speaker. ¡°Father, your scavengers are useless. They¡ª¡±
Seik Tar shut the transmitter off, ending his son¡¯s voice. Neikir would deal with it, or he wouldn¡¯t, but this meeting was more important. He turned to Rallemnon and said, ¡°Very well. You have a deal.¡±
Chapter 18: Veiling [Volume 2]
As soon as Jace heard bootsteps pounding on the rungs of the ladder above, he knew the scavengers were coming.
Kinfild, pulling the scavenger¡¯s poncho over his head, said, ¡°I sense a Wielder. A Soul Circle-Forming Wielder, too. You will need to veil yourself.¡±
¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know what that means,¡± Jace said.
¡°The Wielder will sense us,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°He¡¯ll sense the movement of Aes in your channels.¡±
¡°So¡I have to stop it from moving? But what about my core? You can detect that, right.¡±
¡°He¡¯ll only sense that if he gets really close,¡± Lessa said. She fastened a turquoise shoulder pauldron on, then tucked her burning tail beneath her poncho. Unless anyone looked too closely, they wouldn¡¯t notice. ¡°Or if he¡¯s really powerful.¡±
¡°Helmet on,¡± Kinfild reminded her. ¡°Candlefolk aren¡¯t common here, and I doubt a scavenger sect like theirs would have female guards.¡±
She mimed a zipper across her lips, then flashed Jace a grin and pulled on the scavenger¡¯s visored helmet.
¡°So I just¡don¡¯t let my Aes move at all?¡± Jace asked.
¡°You push the Aes with willpower,¡± Kinfild explained, ¡°and your breathing techniques. Cut them off, stop them, and your Aes will no longer flow.¡±
Jace started by holding his breath. Moving Aes had become natural, and he¡¯d gotten used to it over the past few months, so that now, it was very difficult to visualize it not moving at all. He ended up willing it to stay in place. He drew it all back to his core cloud and pushed it in, then held it in place. It shivered, but it barely moved.
¡°There you go,¡± Lessa said, the helmet muffling her voice. ¡°Can¡¯t sense you at all.¡±
¡°I only sense dribbles of Aes,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But if I wasn¡¯t paying attention, I wouldn¡¯t notice it at all.¡±
But Jace had been holding his breath. He drew in a whisper, then exhaled, and tried to keep it erratic and pattern-less. It was patterns that helped concentrate willpower and push Aes through the body.
He couldn¡¯t talk. He nodded, then, as the outside scavengers¡¯ footsteps clanked on the landing platform outside, he retreated to the engine room, where he could watch, but was out of sight. And if they wanted to do a full inspection, he could climb up to the ceiling and hide among the piping.
When he leaned back against the wall, Err-Seventeen rolled up to his side and chittered in his kyborg-speak.
¡°I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Jace whispered.
But he hadn¡¯t exactly done that yet today. He¡¯d just gotten himself into a duel with a Wielder of some kind. Not immediately, but only with a month to spare. A month to catch up even slightly to Neikir¡¯s level.
Not exactly a good start. And the tenth level of the dungeon?If what Neikir said was right, he¡¯d kill himself just trying to get down there.
Or it¡¯d be really good training.
He didn¡¯t exactly know if Neikir was bluffing, but Jace wouldn¡¯t put it past the guy to just kill all his workers out of spite. Jace had to show up to the duel, or he¡¯d be signing the death warrant of a handful of innocents.
He rubbed his forehead. ¡°Oh¡what am I doing?¡±
He was pushing himself. He was finally doing something with his life, that¡¯s what. He just had to keep pushing, and he¡¯d given himself the perfect kick.
Perhaps if he got out of this alive, he could say it worked like a charm.
Heavy bootsteps thudded up the boarding ramp, and Jace leaned out around the side of the engine room doorway to look at the approaching guests. Neikir and a trio of scavenger guards marched up the ship¡¯s boarding ramp.
¡°Good evening, sirs,¡± Kinfild said. He¡¯d picked up an old clipboard and tapped it with his finger, as if waiting for someone¡ªall while standing firmly in the center of the main hold. Lessa stood in the cockpit doorway, arms crossed to make her frame look a little bulkier.
¡°Who are you?¡± Neikir demanded. ¡°Why¡¯ve you docked at this pier? This isn¡¯t a test from my father, is it?¡±
Kinfild shook his head. ¡°No, sir, not at all. We¡¯re contractors from the Karrasa system, brought in to help out with the offloading of goods.¡±
Neikir leaned into the hold and glanced around. ¡°Plants?¡±
¡°We got the job because of our expertise with hauling flora,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Looking for some dungeon shrubs for the old man¡¯s menagerie.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
¡°So father did send you,¡± Neikir grumbled.
¡°Well¡indirectly,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We never spoke to the honoured Seik Tar, sir. Just received the job.¡±
¡°Well, you¡¯re a day early,¡± Neikir said. ¡°Delving teams don¡¯t come up until tomorrow evening.¡±
¡°We prefer to be early,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°It¡¯s why we get jobs like this.¡±
¡°We won¡¯t pay you extra for it.¡± Neikir took another step deeper into the Wrath¡¯s main hold, then peered around the corner and stared at the engine room. Jace tucked back into cover and held his breath. Had he accidentally moved Aes and given himself away?
But Neikir said nothing. Err-Seventeen chittered softly, then trundled across the floor and picked up a trowel with his mechanical hand and scooped a shovelful of starcoals out from the bunker in the wall, then carried them over to the furnace and tossed them in. They blazed bright, but also let off a wave of spiritual power that Jace was only barely starting to detect.
Neikir would sense that instead of Jace, even if Jace had let his veil slip slightly. Hopefully, the flame aspect of the burning coals wasn¡¯t any different than the hyperspace aspect of his Aes and core.
¡°Is there a problem?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°It¡¯s just our stoker kyborg, keeping the furnace hot.¡±
¡°You can idle on starcoals?¡± Neikir asked.
¡°We get paid well, and we¡¯d like to keep the inside of our ship temperate.¡±
It seemed counter intuitive, but as Jace had learned when they visited warm planets, the Wrath had built-in air conditioning. Or something like it. But it required the furnace to burn and the turbines to spin, generating electricity for some of the extra systems.
¡°Maybe seal off the door to your furnace, then,¡± Neikir grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re leaking furnace heat into your main hold.¡± He turned around and motioned to a pair of scavenger guards who still stood on the landing platform.
Before they left, though, Neikir asked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have seen a boy running along this way? Nineteen, maybe twenty years old. He was a Wielder, best I can tell, though not a very strong one.¡±
Jace tilted his head, then leaned back out around the corner of the engine room. Why was he asking? If there was a duel, Neikir would surely be honourable about it? He had no need to hunt Jace down.
What was Jace thinking? Of course Neikir wouldn¡¯t be honourable about it. He was a scavenger, and a young master living under the shadow and security of his father¡¯s reign. There was no need for honour, except for what would be seen by the public. If Neikir chose to send an assassin after Jace, then he would.
Yet another complication, but Jace would deal with it. It just meant he had to get into the dungeon sooner than later. And start killing stronger beasts and advancing. He rubbed the straps of his backpack and considered the rest of the accumulator nodes.
They¡¯d be an asset, but alone, they wouldn¡¯t get him to Neikir¡¯s level.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything,¡± Kinfild finally answered Neikir after a few seconds of feigned thought. ¡°But I¡¯ll keep an eye out, sir.¡±
¡°And¡whatever your name is,¡± Neikir sneered, ¡°you don¡¯t refer to me as sir. It¡¯s ¡®young master¡¯ or ¡®my lord¡¯.¡±
¡°Apologies,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of the sect¡¯s newfound decorum rules, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡±
Neikir rolled his eyes and walked down the boarding ramp. ¡°Outer stars scum. Keep it in mind. Others may not be so forgiving. By the split, I might not be so forgiving next time, old man.¡±
As Neikir stopped at the end of the boarding ramp, Jace chewed his bottom lip. He still didn¡¯t know where or how to get into the dungeon, and they couldn¡¯t just sit around waiting for someone to tell them¡ªlet alone bring plants to them, or whatever else Kinfild had gotten them into.
Jace, keeping out of direct sight of Neikir, stepped into the doorway of the engine room, then caught Lessa¡¯s eye. Beneath her helmet¡¯s visor, the outlines of her eyes widened.
It¡¯s fine! Jace mouthed. It¡¯s fine!
She shrugged and spread her arms slightly, as if to say, What is it?
Where? he mouthed. Where do we go?
She tilted her head.
Scrunching his face, Jace pointed at the table with the holographic map, then again mouthed, Where do we go?
Finally, she nodded, then reached up and flicked a switch on the back of her helmet. The fabric of the helmet tightened around her neck. She flinched, then said, ¡°Young master, where should we retrieve the cargo?¡±
At first, Jace winced. Female scavengers would¡¯ve been rare, if not completely uncommon, but she¡¯d activated some sort of voice modulator, and it turned her voice genderless and mechanical. Probably for the benefit of some kind of alien species, but Jace couldn¡¯t explain it. For now, it worked in their favour.
Neikir stopped a few steps away from the Wrath¡¯s boarding ramp. ¡°Where?¡± He shook his head. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell you?¡±
¡°No one told us,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°It was a relatively last minute contract.¡±
¡°Yet you still got here early.¡± Neikir paused, then pointed away from the piers and off to the ocean. ¡°They found an entrance few miles inland, just past the strips of beach that stay dry even in high tide. You won¡¯t miss it. They¡¯re setting up a telesignal beacon right outside the entrance.¡±
¡°Thank you,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We¡¯ll be there tomorrow morning.¡±
¡°They¡¯ll bring the loot back here on skiffs,¡± Neikir said. ¡°For cargo pilots like you, you don¡¯t need to venture out.¡±
¡°You trust your men to handle delicate dungeon flora with care? Those are thousand-year-old plants, and they¡¯re very picky. Move them too fast, and you¡¯ll destroy them.¡± Kinfild shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll go there ourselves, if you don¡¯t mind, and collect your father¡¯s cargo ourselves.¡±
Neikir narrowed his eyes, but didn¡¯t protest. ¡°Fine. Just don¡¯t get in the way. Plants are hardly the most valuable cargo we¡¯ll be pulling out.¡± With that, he stormed across the landing platform and climbed back up the ladder to the main pier.
Jace grinned. Now, they had everything they needed. Tomorrow morning, they just had to sneak into the dungeon, and they¡¯d be set.
Chapter 19: Supply Run [Volume 2]
As soon as Kinfild took a deep breath and unveiled himself, Jace did as well. Neikir was far enough away that he didn¡¯t have to stay veiled.
¡°Alright,¡± Jace said, stepping out of the engine room. ¡°We know where to go, and how to get into this dungeon, but¡just have to wait until tomorrow?¡±
¡°You must¡¯ve really made that guy mad,¡± Lessa commented, pulling off her helmet and deactivating the voice modulator. ¡°He came looking for you, at least. Not going to be so much of an honour duel if he kills you beforehand.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t¡I didn¡¯t do anything too horrible. Just distracted him a bit.¡± He could explain everything once they were more relaxed. ¡°He took it poorly, though.¡± Jace sat down on the back of the couch. ¡°Didn¡¯t think he would. Most other Wielders we¡¯ve met haven¡¯t.¡±
¡°We also haven¡¯t met many Wielders from the inner sects,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Not that the Brakamen are, but it seems like they¡¯re making a push up the ranks.¡±
¡°By inner sects, I don¡¯t suppose you mean¡center of the galaxy,¡± Jace said. The star-nations¡¯ capitals and important worlds were rarely even in the perfect centers of their territory, let alone the galactic core.
¡°Sort of,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°The central zone, once the core of the galaxy and the home of the ancient Luminians and their galactic empire¡is still occupied, and¡¡± He walked over to the table and activated the holographic map. ¡°The planets are rich in Aes and other advancement resources, so the truly powerful Wielders maintain their sects in the ruins of the old empire. But no nation truly controls them.¡±
¡°The galactic core is still technically Starrealm territory,¡± Lessa said, pointing at the holographic border markers.
¡°But the Starrealm lets its sects coexist, and in exchange they send a tribute of their highest-potential Wielders to the Wall.¡±
¡°That¡¯s where the Watchmen come from?¡± Jace asked.
¡°Indeed.¡±
Jace chewed his lip. ¡°So, the most powerful sects are the inner sects, the ones that the Starrealm allows to exist in the galactic core?¡±
¡°Less of ¡®allowing¡¯ and more that the sects have agreements with the non-Wielder politicians of the Starrealm. They benefit from the Wall, too, and they deign to honour the agreement.¡± Kinfild grimaced. ¡°But make no mistake: the inner sects are the true power of the galaxy, and they¡¯re the major partner in any alliance, the ones who dictate the terms, the ones who can cut off an agreement at any time.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t suppose all the inner sects are dark-aspect, then,¡± Lessa asked.
Jace shrugged. ¡°All the Watchmen are.¡±
¡°There are foul forces at play.¡± Kinfild shut off the map and leaned against the table. ¡°But she is correct: there are many aspects of Wielders within the inner sects. Someone has been careful to only send dark-aspect Wielders to the wall, to corrupt and put the Watchmen out of balance.¡±
¡°The Generous Hand,¡± Jace said. ¡°Knowing what we know? He¡¯s a person with great influence, and the Watchmen seem to be doing his bidding.¡±
Kinfild nodded. ¡°It¡¯s likely, though I imagine there¡¯s more to it that we don¡¯t know. We¡¯re up against the galaxy¡¯s wisest and most powerful, and we cannot assume anything is an oversight. If we¡¯ve thought it, then so have they. Do not think for one moment that you are smarter than them.¡±
Jace nodded. ¡°One step at a time. Dungeon delving.¡± He pushed off the couch and walked to the pantry, then pulled it open.
They had some supplies¡ªcanned vegetables, dried meat, nuts, flour and grains, but not in large quantities. In the cooler, they had more, but they couldn¡¯t exactly go lugging a fridge around with them, especially if this dungeon was anything like the dungeon on Maehn.
¡°We¡¯re going to need better supplies for delving,¡± Jace said. ¡°We only have enough non-perishable food for a few days¡¯, and we don¡¯t want to use up all our supplies.¡±
¡°There wasn¡¯t much notice,¡± Kinfild mumbled. ¡°But yes, we will need more supplies.¡±
Jace tapped his foot within his boot. After the excitement of landing, he wasn¡¯t exactly feeling in the mood to sleep, and a resource gathering mission couldn¡¯t hurt. A little walk to calm himself down.
¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± He pulled open his backpack. Without the armour and scavenger garb, there was enough room inside for condensed ration packs. Someone had to be selling them in the city. ¡°Got room.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not going out alone this time,¡± Lessa said. ¡°By the Split, perhaps I can keep you from getting yourself in trouble.¡±
¡°Then lose the armour,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Once you get into the city, you¡¯ll blend in with regular civilians, and we don¡¯t need the scavengers mistaking you for one of their own. Or worse, realizing that you stole it.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
¡°Are you coming?¡± Jace asked.
¡°I figure I should stay back and hold down the ship,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Just in case those scavengers return.¡±
¡°But tomorrow, we¡¯re all going into the dungeon, right?¡± Lessa asked. ¡°Or does someone have to stay behind?¡±
¡°Once all the other small freighters start coming and going? There¡¯ll be too much chaos, and no one will pay mind to a light freighter who¡¯s under orders from Seik Tar himself.¡± Kinfild walked back to the boarding ramp and hoisted up his staff. ¡°But until tomorrow, you two are on your own for gathering resources.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll manage,¡± Jace said. ¡°Right?¡±
Lessa shrugged, then began unbuckling the stolen scavengers¡¯ armour and dropping the plates on the floor. ¡°I can still carry stuff. We¡¯ll be good.¡±
¡°Then you¡¯ll need money,¡± said Kinfild.
Jace pulled open the front pouch of his backpack, where he¡¯d been keeping a few copper coins within an inner pouch. They each had a hole in their center so they could easily be put on a string or a stick, but he didn¡¯t trust that method yet. Strings broke easily, and where was he supposed to keep a stick of coins? No, better to just use the earth method of dropping them in whatever pocket suited them.
He wasn¡¯t the only one who did that, right?
Either way, he pulled out a handful of copper coins and a single silver. ¡°These should be good, right? Unmarked, useful on a world like this, where there¡¯s no Starrealm influence?¡±
¡°They¡¯ll work,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Now go, before it gets too late and the vendors close down for the night.¡±
Once Lessa had her armour off and returned to her plain tank top and trousers, they set off. She and Jace crept across the landing platform, then climbed up the ladder to the pier above. Jace paid close attention to his senses, so that if Neikir was anywhere nearby, he¡¯d maybe notice something, but he wasn¡¯t at the soul-circle opening stage yet, so there was no reason he¡¯d notice anything. Except maybe spiritual pressure.
But either way, as they ducked from crate to crate, moving in and out of cover, they approached the warehouses on the wharf, and the city beyond. Though it had to be midnight, neon lights still glowed in the streets, and holographic signs blazed on the rooftops or in alcoves.
When they reached the end of the pier, they looked both ways to make sure the wharf was clear, then darted across to the gaps between the warehouses. They slipped through an alleyway, dodging debris and broken crates, then emerged on a walkway beyond.
Most of the city¡¯s walkways were stoutsteel, but old wooden remnants remained below, spanning between buildings like a crane¡¯s trellis tower had been tipped on its side. Near the docks, the walkways were nearly empty so late at night, save for shadows in the alleyways. A cat with reptilian scales darted across the street, and a wild gysalemeer perched on the rooftops, sniffing them. When a patrol of non-Wielder scavengers marched down the street in the opposite direction, Jace and Lessa ducked into an alcove, and the scavengers paid them no attention.
They continued along the walkways until the glow of the signs grew brighter, and until streetlights shone on the walkways, bathing everything in a warm yellow glow. Here, the walkways grew more crowded. Men and women of all sorts of species dipped between stores or took rickety stairways up to establishments on the buildings¡¯ second or third storeys.
The houses here were all wood and steel, with sparse windows and curved roofs, but at least they were clean, and nothing on the main thoroughfare was falling apart. Restaurants¡¯ signs blazed neon, and holographic statues of dancing figures signalled the entrances to clubs. With everything on stilts, the only way the city could grow was up, and most of the buildings were at least four or five levels tall, with new attachments built on top of them, or on their sides, or hanging off the upper walkways.
¡°Where would we find supplies?¡± Jace asked softly. ¡°I think we¡¯ve ended up in a restaurant district¡of sorts.¡±
Here, it didn¡¯t seem like the scavengers¡¯ occupation had changed much about the city¡ªexcept for their presences. Well-dressed men on street corners handed out pamphlets to off-duty scavengers, and women sat on patios, wearing dresses with plunging necklines and lavish jewelry. They beckoned to any scavengers they saw.
But to the residents of the city, the scavengers must have just been customers, like the miners before them. Less-shady establishments projected tiny posters on their walls, displaying advertisements for distant resorts near the equator, and a species of two-foot-tall mouse-human hybrids scampered across the walkways, shouting out prices for the restaurants they worked at.
Ground-floor establishments still fried seafood in woks or grilled meat and baked bread, and the scents all wafted out across the street. His stomach gurgled, but they needed to save their money for supplies. They could eat something when they got back to the Wrath.
Jace glanced back at Lessa. She picked up her pace and walked directly beside him. ¡°The good news is that there¡¯ll be food here. We can still find a supply store somewhere.¡±
¡°Bad news?¡±
¡°Lots of scavengers.¡±
¡°Chances are, none of them will recognize us. Or me. The guys I pissed off are still at the wharf.¡±
¡°You¡¯d better be right,¡± she said. ¡°By the Split, it smells good.¡±
She glanced around, wide-eyed, taking in everything, and Jace figured he probably looked the same¡ªthough he hoped he was a little more reserved than her. And, he kept to the mission. Finding supplies.
Finally, when they¡¯d walked ten minutes through the restaurant district and still found no signs of a basic supply store. Jace pulled aside one of the mouse creatures. The little man wore a dark red waistcoat, and his pointed nose trembled¡ªalong with his round ears.
¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt you,¡± Jace said. ¡°Just need to find a supply shop. There are some, right?¡±
¡°Or some must have opened recently,¡± Lessa said. ¡°With all the hubbub and dungeon stuff going on.¡±
The mouse-creature¡¯s eyes widened, and he pointed down the street, then to the left along a steep walkway.
¡°Thank you,¡± Jace said, but the creature was already scrambling away, running back to the restaurant he¡¯d come from.
Turning to Lessa, Jace said, ¡°I think we have our¡uh, destination.¡±
¡°What?¡± she asked. She was staring off across the street at a rooftop patio, where a bunch of scavengers stood, leaning on the railing, staring back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just keep moving,¡± Jace said. ¡°I don¡¯t get the impression we¡¯re welcome here.¡±
Chapter 20: Making a Scene [Volume 2]
When Jace and Lessa reached the supply shop, they ducked inside immediately and shut the door behind them as fast as they could.
It was a small shop off the main thoroughfare, with metal slats hanging over its windows and a flickering sign above its door. Tiny holoprojectors clung to the wall, wedging into the cracks in the stone, and they displayed faintly glowing blue graffiti near the base of the shop¡¯s walls.
The inside of the shop was tight, with shelves running up and down a low-ceilinged hall. Dim lights hung from the ceiling, and it eerily reminded him of the convenience stores you¡¯d find attached to remote gas stations in the prairies. But, instead of potato chips and chocolate bars on the shelves, there were rows upon rows of paper-wrapped packets.
At the far end of the store, a clerk sat at the desk. He was a dwarf in a stained tunic, and a plasma rifle rested against the wall behind him. ¡°Be quick,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re almost closed. If you aren¡¯t outta here in five minutes, I¡¯ll kick you out, and you¡¯ll leave empty-handed.¡±
¡°Nice folk,¡± Lessa muttered.
¡°Your candleshire wasn¡¯t super welcoming, either,¡± Jace whispered back to her. ¡°It was just you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m an exception indeed.¡± She cast him a grin, then marched off down an aisle.
Jace turned back toward the door and glanced over his shoulder at the streets outside. Being a side street, only a few civilians walked past at such a late hour, but the group of scavengers who¡¯d been watching them from the main street restaurant now prowled along down the side street.
¡°I get the feeling this¡¯ll be shorter than five minutes,¡± Jace grumbled, then jogged to catch up to Lessa.
They picked out the cheapest paper packets. Within them were hearty, dry groats that wouldn¡¯t go bad for decades, or dehydrated nutrient squares. Add a little boiling water, and they¡¯d puff up about the size of a loaf of bread.
Once they both had an armful of the supplies, they dragged them to the clerk¡¯s desk, and Jace pulled out his copper coins and placed them on the table. They¡¯d earned some money from doing odd jobs across the past four months, and they¡¯d used it to buy supplies for the Luna Wrath, but with this, Jace would be out.
Didn¡¯t really matter. Inside the dungeon, they¡¯d hopefully pick up enough loot to pay for future expenses.
He dropped the coins down on the counter, then filled his backpack with the ration packets and condensed supplies.
¡°Happy delving,¡± the clerk muttered. ¡°I assume you¡¯re heading to the depths, hm?¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡± Lessa exclaimed. She leaned on the counter as Jace organized his bag to fit the contents. ¡°We¡¯re heading out tomorrow.¡±
¡°You two don¡¯t look like those scavengers,¡± the clerk said. ¡°I won¡¯t complain, but watch yourselves. Those scavengers are nowhere near as passive as the miner-likes. They¡¯ve got a stick up their asses, each and every one of them.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll be careful, sir,¡± Jace said. ¡°And, if we¡¯re lucky, we might clear it out before them.¡± He put on a confident grin, though it didn¡¯t really feel right, so he tucked it away again.
¡°You two are after the Halcyon Spear?¡± the clerk asked.
Lessa asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°As soon as the miners found the dungeon, that¡¯s all anyone¡¯s been talking about here. They think this is an old Luminian facility, and they forged a great spear here. Don¡¯t know much about it, but it¡¯s strong. Scavengers want its central function card, probably gonna sell it to the highest bidder. Starrealm or Alliance.¡±
Jace tilted his head. ¡°It¡¯s that powerful?¡±
¡°If they want it, it¡¯s a mythic-grade card. If I had to guess, it¡¯d be for a weapon of some sort. Depends what aspect the card is. Don¡¯t ask me, I don¡¯t know.¡± He shook his head, then grumbled, ¡°Kids don¡¯t even know what the dungeon¡¯s for. Like hels they¡¯re gonna clear it out before the scavengers.¡±
Jace dipped his head in thanks, ignoring the dwarf¡¯s last comment, then zipped up his backpack and hoisted it up onto his shoulders. By now, lugging it around had probably assisted his practical strength to catch up with his attributes rating.
As he was turning back toward the door, it swung open, and a pair of [Level 10] scavengers walked in.
¡°You two,¡± one scavenger demanded. ¡°What are you doing buying delving supplies? We haven¡¯t seen you around here before, and if you¡¯re from a different stilt-city, thinking you can get access to our dungeon entrance, you¡¯re sorely mistaken.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The dwarven clerk reached for his plasma rifle and flicked the lever back-and-forth, priming it. ¡°Whatever your issue with these two is, take it outside.¡±
With a glare, the scavengers both turned to the clerk. ¡°Don¡¯t tell us what to do, old man. You should address the Brakamen with respect.¡±
¡°If you just let us go, we¡¯ll be on our¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk to us, girl. We¡¯ll deal with you later.¡±
Jace glanced over at Lessa. She hung her head and grimaced. These scavengers were being meaner, more pushy than most people Jace had encountered here. Guess with a world to yourselves, completely under your control, and some powerful leaders backing you, you could do whatever you wanted.
But Jace and Lessa still had to get out of here.
¡°We¡¯re a long haul freight crew, contracted to help bring your loot out to the outposts,¡± Jace said. ¡°They let us through the torpedo net.¡±
¡°What outpost?¡±
¡°Uhh¡¡±
¡°Yeah. Grab them.¡±
Jace and Lessa shared a look, then both in unison, said, ¡°Run.¡±
They sprinted down the central aisle of the store. Jace rammed his shoulder into one scavenger¡¯s chest, and Lessa ducked under the other¡¯s outstretched arms. They pushed open the door and sprinted outside.
Only to find an arc of bayonets and plasma rifle muzzles pointing at their faces. Ten more scavengers stood outside, holding their rifles ready.
¡°Now, now,¡± came a man¡¯s voice from behind them. It was older, gravelly, like someone had been smoking all his life. The front two scavengers parted, allowing a thin, bald man with pointed ears and veins popping out his neck to push forward.
[Level 30 Wielder - Soul-Circle Opening ¨C First Stage]
Technically, Jace was only slightly weaker than this man. But Jace didn¡¯t have a patrol of scavengers with him, and he didn¡¯t have many technique cards.
¡°You¡¯re the one Neikir was looking for,¡± the scavenger Wielder said. ¡°Good news for you, boy, is that I¡¯ll make it quick. I have no qualms about killing those weaker than me. Not much face to lose at this age, is there?¡± He didn¡¯t carry a rifle, but he activated a fortification technique card, and metal filings rose up from the dirty street, whirling around his fists. ¡°And I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have plenty of fun with your burny friend here.¡±
¡°Jace¡¡± Lessa warned.
No time to make a plan. ¡°Duck,¡± he whispered, then activated his hyperdash.
He flashed just to the other side of the scavengers, then punched the Wielder in the back of the head.
As the man staggered, Jace drew his Whistling Blade and slashed. He cut through one scavenger in a broad sweep, but the Wielder deflected the blow with his filing-covered forearms. Molten metal flecks scattered in the air, but the man¡¯s arms were unharmed.
The rest of the scavengers fired their rifles, still aiming where Jace was. Their shots seared over Lessa¡¯s head and smashed into the wall behind her. She darted forward and snatched up the fallen scavenger¡¯s rifle, then blasted another of the non-Wielder scavengers in the chest. The man skidded back along the walkway, armour loose, dead.
Jace ripped off the scavenger¡¯s shoulder pauldron and held it in his hand. With all his technique cards socketed at the same time in his four slots, he executed his standard combination. Expulsion¡ªflinging the pauldron through hyperspace at the Wielder¡ªthen the Cleanse. A ring of blue light appeared behind him temporarily, signalling the slight boost the cleanse gave him, and his cards reset.
He chased the pauldron through hyperspace, but he targeted the space behind the Wielder.
As the Wielder staggered back, a shard of the pauldron lodged in his shoulder, having pierced straight through his armour, Jace appeared behind him and slashed down his back with the Whistling Blade.
He¡¯d hoped it would pass right through the Wielder, but it only sliced a centimeter into his skin. It was tough like leather, and the flesh below was like rock. Harder, even. The Wielder must¡¯ve focussed more on Vital than anything else. Probably why he¡¯d been able to withstand the pauldron flying through hyperspace.
He wheeled around, and, with his arm still fortified by writing veins of metal filings, struck Jace in the arm and flung him across the walkway. Jace crashed through a wooden crate, then smashed into the building on the other side, the impact taking his breath away. The Wielder activated a second card, and the building¡¯s metal plating ripped free from the wall and wrapped around Jace¡¯s arm.
The man activated a third card only moments later, and the nails of the crate lifted up, then shot toward Jace. He flicked his head to the side, and a nail struck the wall where his head had been, piercing through the steel. Another blasted into his bicep, and a third into his hand, pinning him down.
He gasped and clenched his teeth. This man was going for the kill, and though he was low in the Soul-Circle Opening stages, he was still stronger than Jace.
Behind, on the other side of the walkway, the scavengers were closing in on Lessa. She¡¯d shot two more of them, but one jumped her from behind. There were just too many..
Jace needed to empty the accumulator nodes, and he needed to do it now.
Crushing his fourth utility card in his grasp, he flooded the pillar that stored it with as much Aes as he could muster. Then, screaming, he ripped his hand free. The nail had almost gone all the way through anyway, and he barely had to do any work¡ªexcept overcome the pain. Adrenaline poured through his muscles, now, though, and it was pure adrenaline. There was a difference between the adrenaline you got when writing a test, and when you were fighting for your life, and this was the latter.
He ripped open his backpack with his free arm, plunged his arm in, then spread his fingers out and contacted all of the remaining accumulator nodes and once. The Extract Aes card¡¯s runes and wires melted, and he felt it disintegrating, but it only needed to work once¡ªand quickly.
The Aes flowed out the nodes and into his body.
Enough to form three pillars with. It swirled around his core.
He began compressing it.
Chapter 21: Hunter [Volume 2]
Jace wouldn¡¯t have long. Where usually it took minutes to compress his Aes into foundation pillars, he only had seconds. The scavenger-Wielder was approaching, and he¡¯d finish Jace off.
That¡¯s it, Jace though. No more options. All three pillars at once?
He¡¯d never finish it in time otherwise. Pressure made diamonds, but it¡¯d also make foundation pillars if he had anything to say about it.
He locked onto the feeling, the exertion he¡¯d applied when he had formed his perfect-grade pillar. There was no time to prepare, like he had before, or clear his mind, but now, all he could do was flush all the excess thoughts out.
Besides, what was there to think about? He was gone from his home, and no more of his stresses and worries from there could bother him. It was only this new world, but he didn¡¯t know enough about it to fill his mind with deep thoughts.
There was only keeping himself and his friends alive and safe.
He exhaled, concentrated his will, then condensed three individual packets of extracted Aes down to the size of a marble each. There was only room in his core ring for one more pillar, as it was. Five was natural. Five was common.
But he was going to do better than five.
As he compressed the Aes down, drawing on the pure will to protect, he pushed the two extra pillars into the ring, expanding it ever so slightly. They popped into place, glueing together.
But the harder he pushed, the more they cracked. Filaments of darkness crept in front the edges, and the pillars quivered. A shard of darkness speared across the half-formed spheres, blasting through all three. Was¡was he going to end up with three¡what, common-grade pillars?
The thought made his heart beat faster. And how could he explain that? He¡¯d pushed himself, thinking he could get seven pillars¡ªthe hubris. But it¡¯d resulted in him stunting his ability to use powerful cards?
No. He wouldn¡¯t allow it. It wasn¡¯t hubris if he could back it up.
Nothing less than mythic. Nothing less than mythic.
Still, the cores were painfully indifferent to his renewed surge of will. It just wasn¡¯t good enough.
He was a hunter, not a tank. But he was acting like he had to protect them, and it made enough sense with his build. High Resistance, high Vital. His heart told him otherwise. His class had been possible with the help of a soul-inclination. But he was aiming for the job of a tank? To soak up damage and resist hits while his friends did all the work?
No. He¡¯d protect them by hunting down their enemies, by destroying them before they could destroy his friends.
With one last renewed surge, he poured willpower through the last of the pillars, smoothing over the cracks and mending them, like he was packing a mound of clay together. He¡¯d just poured water on dry mud, and the cracks filled in.
Three perfectly smooth pillars joined the ring, then solidified and strengthened, becoming part of him. A wave of force rolled off his flesh, and a shockwave emanated from his core as the pillars became a permanent part of his body.
Jace opened his eyes. The shockwave made the scavenger Wielder stagger back. He opened his mouth.
Such an advancement didn¡¯t really do Jace much good without any extra cards to socket, but if he understood correctly, advancements meant his Aes was of a higher quality¡ªhigher purity.
That meant his cards should work slightly better. Better yet, the Expulsion was off-cooldown.
The scavenger-Wielder manifested another technique card above the palm of his hand, but before he could activate it, Jace ripped a nail out of the wall and used the Wanderer¡¯s Expulsion one last time, reset and empowered by the passive buff his reset had granted him.
The nail flashed through the air, skewering the card and moving faster than Jace¡¯s eyes could track, then pierced through a regular [Level 10 Scavenger] and stabbed into the wall of the supply store¡ªembedded three feet into the concrete wall. The Wielder¡¯s technique card was mangled, and it hadn¡¯t gone off.
The Wielder glanced back at the trail of carnage the nail had left, then back at Jace, his mouth gaping.
¡°Yeah,¡± Jace said. ¡°You wanna rethink this?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
He had no time to check his status, but he had not be around level thirty, and those pillars looked the exact same in his mental perception as the previous mythic-grade pillar.
But in truth, it was a bluff. He had no more technique cards ready, and still about a minute until the hyperdash came off cooldown. His siphon card was all but ruined, not that it would¡¯ve done much in a fight anyway.
The Wielder scoffed. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this, boy. What sect do you belong to? Some inner core sect?¡±
¡°Yeah? So you¡¯re okay with pissing them off?¡±
¡°How¡¯d you even get through the torpedo net?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you win?¡±
The Wielder snarled and threw a set of punches, his scrap-gauntleted hands slicing through the air fast enough to create currents of wind, even when Jace backed away and dodged. A fist collided with the building on the side of the alleyway, taking a chunk out from its corner and sending a scatter of concrete and pebbles out onto the main walkway.
Civilians scattered, keeping their heads down while picking up their pace and running to the edges of the street, or crossing other walkways and running inside buildings. They were eerily silent.
Only other scavengers turned to look on, confused expressions on their faces. From Jace¡¯s brief glimpse, he didn¡¯t identify any other Wielders, but he didn¡¯t exactly have time to survey the crowd perfectly.
Jace jumped out onto the main street, landing on the walkway, and the Wielder followed a moment later. He held up his hand and said, ¡°This one¡¯s mine! Advancement or not, boy, you¡¯re dead. Stay where you are, no more teleporting around, no more popping up wherever you please! Fight me!¡±
His scrap fortification technique sputtered out, and the metal chips and filings tumbled to the ground, but immediately, before Jace could even feel a surge of hope, he activated a second copy of the card. The scrap immediately leapt up and swirled around his fist once more.
Jace dodged one more punch, then slashed at the other with his Whistling Blade. It was hot plasma, it should have cut through, but it was also Aes. It pushed up against the light gray metal-aspect Aes of the scavenger¡¯s fortification technique, the veins beneath the metal, and ate through at a much slower rate.
He really needed to enhance the sword.
But not now. He just needed to hit the scavenger somewhere where he wasn¡¯t fortifying his body.
Trying to duck down and cut the Wielder across the stomach, he took an uppercut straight to the chest. A rib cracked, and his entire upper body screamed out in blazing pain, but had it not been for his Vital enhancements, he¡¯d be dead.
Still, he hadn¡¯t widened his stance or concentrated his Resistance, and he flew off his feet, skidding along the walkway. He coughed, half expecting blood, but none came. At least, not yet.
He couldn¡¯t even land another hit on this scavenger, let alone kill him.
Hit what he isn¡¯t protecting. A hunter didn¡¯t always approach prey straight on, and certainly didn¡¯t just charge in.
He shut his eyes and concentrated on his pillars. The four pillars hosting his cards were usually just spheres of light, but now, they were translucent. A technique card hovered in all three of them.
It had to be the new spiritual senses afforded by the Soul-Circle Opening phase. He¡¯d need to improve his ability to see and sense, but it was a first step.
He observed the cards as they sat in their storage pillars. The runes of the Expulsion and the Cleanse were both glowing hot. They were still on cooldown after extensive use. The Extract Aes card had melted completely, and its runes and wires were severed. He¡¯d have to get them out later, but it¡¯d done its job.
The hyperdash, however, had cooled down. No hot runes, no glowing wires, just a plastic sheet with metal lines. It was ready to use again.
He widened his stance, then triggered the card. This time, he aimed above the Wielder¡¯s head. The man would be ready to turn around as soon as he recognized Jace triggering a technique card, but he didn¡¯t know Jace could choose whatever direction he wanted. If he just thought it was a teleportation technique, and if Jace had only used it from a point on the ground to another point on the ground¡
A hunter had to catch his prey by surprise.
Jace launched himself in a line upward, passing through the air and emerging a foot above the Wielder¡¯s head. With all his strength, he drove the Whistling Blade downward as fast as he could, with as much strength as he could muster.
The tip pierced through the man¡¯s skull, slipping in a few inches, before Jace¡¯s weight and momentum dragged them both to the ground. He rammed the blade in farther, to make sure the scavenger was done for, then ripped it out and ducked down behind a set of wooden crates to hide from the inevitable barrage of plasmafire.
Five shots thudded into the crate, searing through one side of the box and sending charred wood chips flying. They collided with the contents and let out a burst of steam. Something started hissing, like a kettle, and Jace¡¯s eyes widened. He dove and rolled back into the alleyway, toward the scavengers.
The crate exploded, high-pressure cannisters of something bursting into a column of flame behind him.
The closest scavengers charged him with their whirring, vibrating bayonets, while the groups behind them pulled their bolts back and readied another volley.
Jace didn¡¯t have much time. With a sweeping strike, he cut two bayonets off, then slashed back the other direction and dispatched two scavengers. The third charged him, aiming for his wounded shoulder, and though he turned to face the man, he wouldn¡¯t be fast enough. Wincing, he braced for impact.
A plasma blast seared through the scavenger¡¯s head, and the man crumpled at Jace¡¯s feet.
He turned in the direction of the blast.
Lessa stood farther down the alley, tucked into an alcove. A few scavengers lay dead around her. Jace had drawn enough of them off, and she¡¯d dealt with the rest.
Then in turn, leant him a hand. He nodded at her, and she nodded back, before tossing aside her rifle, picking up another one, and firing it at the nearest scavenger. He collapsed as he turned toward her.
Jace sprinted forward, and before the last scavenger could fire, he impaled the man through the chest, then jumped over to the alley wall and pressed his back against it.
More scavengers approached from the main walkways, drawing weapons. Jace glanced at Lessa. ¡°No sense fighting them all. We¡¯ve gotta run.¡±
Chapter 22: The High Road [Volume 2]
¡°Where?¡± Lessa exclaimed.
They both scampered along the wall, moving to the side until they reached a sheltered alcove. A bolt of plasma seared past Jace¡¯s nose, leaving stains in his eyes, and he pushed his head back. ¡°It¡¯s a dead end.¡±
At the end of the alley was a brick wall with pipes running up it. They couldn¡¯t pass through it.
Well, Jace could, but Lessa couldn¡¯t come with him. He wasn¡¯t leaving her behind.
He leaned out past the alcove edge for a few seconds, but two more plasma blasts chased him back into cover immediately, kicking up stone, brick, and concrete dust. Sparks flashed, and molten holes simmered.
Worse, Jace didn¡¯t know how long he could keep going without medical intervention. Blood dripped down his arm and beaded under his fingernails, and his muscles were getting weaker. He needed to relax and heal. Every time he moved his arm and hand, his bicep cried out in pain, and his wounded hand sent bolts of screaming, white-hot pressure through his arm.
¡°You know¡¡± Jace whispered, ¡°I was starting to think it was going to have to be a Wielder who¡¯d take me down.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s the kinda power that modern weapons put into the hands of average people,¡± Lessa whispered back. ¡°Not like the old days. Wizards and mages and stuff, getting by on their strength and strength alone. But we¡¯re not dead yet.¡±
Jace sucked in a deep breath and clenched his eyes, trying to focus his mind. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±
Across the alley was a ladder, but it had no cover. If they climbed it, the soldiers would be free to fire on them at will.
But if they did climb, they could take the rooftops, and get a lead on the scavengers that way.
¡°We¡¯ll need cover to climb,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll distract them. The hyperdash should be off cooldown by now.¡± But he remembered he could check easily, and he did¡ªsure enough, the image of it inside his foundation ring was crystal clear. ¡°Once you get up, start shooting and clear the way for me.¡±
¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± She pulled back the bolt of her rifle, opening the chamber. It still had plenty of shots left.
Without waiting for a signal, Jace used the hyperdash, flashing out of cover, passing diagonally through a wall, and appearing in front of the nearest soldier. He impaled the startled man, then hid behind his body and used him as a shield. Shots pelted the corpse, and stinking, searing flesh filled Jace¡¯s nostrils. He winced, hating the weight of the extra dead body, but in equal measure not wanting to die him.
Then, the blasts stopped. Jace pushed aside the corpse.
By now, at least ten more scavengers with plasma rifles had gathered in front of the alley, all pointing their weapons. And Jace had just emerged right in front of them.
As they pulled back their rifles¡¯ bolts and their aim, he darted to one side, holding out his sword and cutting through one more along his way.
One charged with a bayonet pointing straight forward, but before he could impale Jace, a bolt of plasma flashed down from the rooftops, four storeys above, and struck the scavenger in the shoulder. He fell to the side. Jace dove between the scrambling men, cut down one more, then sprinted to the ladder.
The scavengers let him, instead interested in the rooftop shooter¡ªwho was more dangerous than a swordsman running away from them.
When he reached the ladder, he scaled it, ignoring the blazing pain in his hand. Plasma blasts flared and flashed in his periphery, and their whine was almost deafening, but it wasn¡¯t aimed at him. Chunks of the flat rooftop ridges flew up in the air, amidst clouds of smoke and sparks. The scavengers were aiming for Lessa.
But she¡¯d have enough sense to find cover. Jace knew it.
And when the barrage slowed, Lessa peered up once more to take another shot, keeping their attention focussed on her as Jace climbed.
He needed it, too. His injured hand barely let him close his fingers anymore, and each time, it took a direct concentration of willpower. Fingers slipped and slid on blood, and he barely had any grip.
When he made it to the top, he swung his legs over and flopped down over the ridge, landing hard on the gravel-stucco rooftop, panting. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Up here, everything was flat, though at different levels. The rooftops were concrete or ballasted rubber, with railings or ridges all around them, and machinery he couldn¡¯t name. Chimneys huffed starcoal smoke, boilers sent up columns of steam, and neon signs spilled some of their light back onto the rooftops. There was no other source of light.
But Jace couldn¡¯t just stay on his back forever. He pushed himself up and ran to Lessa, keeping low, and said, ¡°We need to get back to the Wrath.¡±
¡°If we just go straight back, they¡¯ll follow us.¡± She crawled away from the edge of the building, flat on her stomach, holding her rifle in front of her.
¡°We¡¯ll have to take a long route, lose them, then circle back.¡±
The ladder clanged and shook. Someone was climbing, and it was probably another scavenger.
Lessa slung her rifle over her shoulder and crawled away from the edge of the building, then, when out of the angle of fire, stood upright and sprinted along the rooftop. Jace followed, first a few paces behind, but he caught up before the reached the opposite side of the rooftop. They turned sideways to slip between a pair of smokestacks, then jumped up onto the ridge around the edge of the rooftop.
Another alleyway waited ahead. This time, the walkway was five storeys below, with lattices and sharp debris crowding its bottom street. Faint green eyes glimmered in the darkness, waiting to pounce. Neither of them would survive a fall like that.
¡°Can you make the jump?¡± Jace asked Lessa.
¡°Give me a running start, and I can. You?¡±
¡°I¡should.¡±
Jace hadn¡¯t tested his jumping ability recently, but he didn¡¯t have a hyperdash available, and they didn¡¯t have time to let it charge back up.
But he should have been able to jump farther, with how he¡¯d enhanced his strength.
He pressed his back up against the smokestack, then jumped off. His legs instinctively wheeled beneath him, but he wrenched them under control. He sailed through the air in a slight arc and landed with a thud, the impact leaving tiny cracks on the surface of the concrete ridge on the other side. To stop himself from falling back, he kept sprinting forward until he reached a metal box shielding a clump of machinery.
Lessa jumped right behind him, reaching forward with her arms. She lost height quickly, but reached out and gripped the edge with her hands and hauled herself up to the rooftop. There, she swung a leg up and jumped back to her full height.
¡°Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d try to tread air like that.¡± She smirked.
Jace rolled his eyes. ¡°Would you like me to stay at the edge next time to catch you?¡±
She stared at him, eyes flicking up and down, then said, ¡°Hey, I wouldn¡¯t hate it.¡±
¡°I¡ª¡±
Before he could finish, a plasma blast whined out from across the street, and they both ducked. It smashed into the box of machinery behind them with a thud, letting out an explosion of sparks.
A scavenger had reached the top of the ladder the building over.
Lessa pulled her rifle off her shoulder and aimed it, then fired. The bolt seared a hole in his chest, and he fell backward off the ladder.
¡°Come on,¡± Jace said. ¡°If we pick up speed, it¡¯ll get easier.¡±
They sprinted along the rooftops, first navigating away from the cargo harbour. Smokestacks and steam columns whirled by, and neon lights flashed in his periphery. Signs, holograms, billboards, all advertising products or establishments. He dodged sparking clumps of wires or ducked under rain-catching tarps and clotheslines.
With each jump, traversing the alleyways became easier. He understood how his body would react to each leap, how he had to position his legs for impact, how¡ªfor the longest jumps¡ªhe had to tuck his chin and roll when he landed. Lessa improved too, especially when she had a long run-up to build speed over, and Jace only made good on his joking offer once¡ªover an especially wide alley that even his enhanced strength struggled to get him across.
Upon landing, he immediately turned around, reached out, and grabbed Lessa¡¯s wrist before she plummeted into the alley, then helped her climb up to the top. ¡°You good?¡±
¡°Would¡¯ve been better if you caught me with both arms.¡± She grinned. ¡°You know, cradle¡ª¡±
¡°I can¡¯t carry you!¡±
He actually wasn¡¯t certain about that. She was pretty scrawny, and he wasn¡¯t sure how he stacked up in a pure carrying capacity anymore. But now wasn¡¯t the time to find that out.
They left the restaurant district and neared an administrative district. The buildings here had sloped, shingled roofs, and instead of neon signs to light their way, they had to rely on the pale blue glow of the streetlights below. They ran along gutters and jumped from eave to eave, or crossed between buildings on stretched-out maintenance scaffolding.
Finally, they stopped on a rooftop with a shallow slope. They¡¯d weaved in and out of enough rooftop equipment, and taken a tortuous enough route over the rooftops of the stilt city, that the scavengers were nowhere to be seen.
Panting, Jace leaned back against the shingles and stared up at the night sky. The giant anti-hyperspace net around the planet glowed brighter in the night¡ªan enormous, neon orange mesh. It drowned out the stars, and cast the entire surface in a sickly orange glow.
As soon as he and Lessa had caught their breath, he said, ¡°If we go down to the streets and head generally¡¡± He pointed back toward the harbour. ¡°Generally that way, we should find our way back.¡±
It¡¯d be easy to get lost and turned around in a city like this, but at the same time, what they needed was easy enough to find.
She nodded, then said, ¡°But keep a low profile, this time? We don¡¯t need to get into any more trouble tonight.¡±
¡°Will do.¡±
Chapter 23: Returning || Setting Off [Volume 2]
By the time Jace and Lessa made it back to the wharf, his arm was starting to feel numb. He held it across his body to keep it stable, and had bandaged the worst of the wounds with shreds from the bottom of his shirt, but he needed to get medical attention.
They scampered down the wharf, ducking behind boxes and keeping out of sight, but most of the workers and scavengers stayed over by their warehouse, and didn¡¯t pay any attention to the pier the Luna Wrath hung from.
When they slid down the ladder and ran up the boarding ramp, Kinfild said, ¡°I was getting ready to look for you two. Hard time finding¡the supplies?¡± He took one look at Jace then groaned. ¡°Sit down. I¡¯ll get the medpack.¡±
¡°Now, let¡¯s be fair to him,¡± Lessa said, ¡°this time it wasn¡¯t his fault. Not directly.¡±
¡°Wouldn¡¯t have been so bad if I had been more powerful,¡± he said. He tightened his bandages and sat down on the couch around the holoprojector, then held his injured arm out. ¡°I¡¯m a worldjumper, right? I¡¯m supposed to be stronger?¡±
Lessa sat on the couch adjacent and tucked her knees up to her chest. ¡°Well, you¡¯re just a guy who can see the Split as sheets.¡±
¡°Special?¡±
¡°You¡¯ve just seen the Split and gotten closer to it, which is a lot more than most Wielders.¡±
He hung his head. ¡°Either way¡you almost got hurt because of me, and we¡¯ve got¡we¡¯ve gotta end this war. I need to make a concentrated push to¡level up. Advance.¡±
¡°That is what the dungeons are for, Mr. Baldwin,¡± said Kinfild, marching back into the main hold from the engine room, carrying a tin box with peeling paint. He set it down on the table and activated the first aid kyborg. The little ball of spinning gears and wires activated repellers and hovered above the table, then whirred over to Jace. It scanned his arm with a checkerboard projection of light, then beeped.
First, it sprayed his wounds with a cold disinfectant, and he hissed in pain. Then, while his mind was still reeling, it injected him with a stim shot, which would help him heal faster.
Exactly what he needed if they were going to delve tomorrow.
¡°Those scavengers almost messed up our plans,¡± Jace said. ¡°If they¡¯d broken anything¡ªbones, I mean¡ªit¡¯d be much harder to delve.¡±
¡°As it is, you should rest,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We can take another day.¡±
¡°No.¡± Jace shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready. I¡¯m level thirty, now.¡±
Kinfild glanced at Lessa for confirmation, and she nodded. ¡°Seven pillars.¡±
While the first aid kyborg worked, Jace manifested his sheets and analyzed the three new pillars he¡¯d formed.
Having formed them under pressure, he feared the worst, but they were all perfect¡ªlike he needed. Three mythic-grade pillars.
¡°I¡¯ll need to get the full story later,¡± Kinfild grumbled. ¡°But that is an excellent foundation.¡±
¡°Why¡why is it so rare to have such a good foundation?¡± Jace asked. Maybe he was missing something, but if a Wielder focussed on their magic, if that was their whole life, then why wouldn¡¯t they ensure they had the best foundation possible?
¡°Do you think everyone has access to Aes-filled accumulator nodes that they can draw on for a burst of Aes before advancing?¡± Kinfild shook his head. ¡°Much less actually has the ability to do so¡ªconsider the fluctuations of your core.¡±
Jace nodded slowly. ¡°Even then, though, they¡¯d be able to make five perfect pillars with the instruction of powerful Wielders, or books, or something, right?¡±
¡°And some of them do,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°If you¡¯re basing your expectations of the best of the best off Stenol, you¡¯re sorely mistaken. But there are many who don¡¯t. It requires concentration, purity of vision, and most times, novice Wielders don¡¯t have true combat experience by the time they form their pillars. I assure you, having the push of¡a true life or death experience helps your will, and your subconscious, perceived necessity to form foundation pillars.¡±
Jace exhaled. The first aid kyborg injected him with a painkiller, and his whole arm went numb, before it began suturing his wounds shut.
¡°I also need to get more cards to fill them,¡± he said. Simply put, in the fight with that scavenger Wielder, his arsenal had run out in seconds. He could reset his cards, allowing him to get by with less, but that ability would only improve if he could get more cards. ¡°First off¡ª¡± He cut himself off with a gasp when the kyborg tied a tight knot with suturing wire. It wasn¡¯t painful, but there was a numb tug. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
¡°First off, I need to try to get that¡well, quest tracking ability into card-form. It¡¯ll be much easier to use.¡± He glanced at Lessa. ¡°Would you be willing to help with that?¡±
¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°But tomorrow. After you sleep.¡±
He nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±
¡°And once we get to the dungeon,¡± Kinfild added. ¡°We need to be at the entrance early in the morning, as I guarantee that¡¯s when there will be the most bustle, and we can slip in unnoticed.¡±
¡°Got it,¡± Jace said. ¡°Will¡will there be resources for card-making inside the dungeon?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what the scavengers will have taken yet,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But this was a tomb of an ancient Luminian king and his retinue, courtiers, and advisors. They all would¡¯ve been buried with their cards, if they had any.¡±
Jace tried to suppress a grin. The idea of robbing graves still made him shudder a little, but they were long dead, and he was trying to stop a war. There was no better reason.
And there¡¯d be plenty of cards inside to choose from.
The next morning, Jace woke up before Lessa and Kinfild. He felt rested, but the painkillers had worn off, and his arm blazed with pain. That was probably why he¡¯d woken up so early.
Out the Wrath¡¯s main door, down the boarding ramp and across the waves, the sun was just starting to peek up above the surface of the ocean.
With a soft groan, Jace rolled off the bottom bunk, winced, then stumbled over to the boarding ramp. Leaning against the doorframe, he stared out across the waves. They¡¯d left the ramp open; it didn¡¯t cool down at night, or really¡at all. For the first time since they¡¯d landed, he stopped to take a breath, and found it hot, sticky, and humid enough to make him want to cough the air right back up. Either it was worse today, or he¡¯d been too busy last night to notice. Probably the latter.
All that in one night, huh?
He glanced down at his arm. The stim shot had healed it nicely, and barely any blood was seeping through the bandages and the stitches. No swelling, no inflammation. It¡¯d probably have been worse without his Vital rating, he figured. But survival was survival.
Though, with how much Aes he¡¯d taken in, he¡¯d definitely have more attribute shards to distribute. No better time to deal with them.
So, while he waited for Kinfild and Lessa to wake up, he sat down on the boarding ramp, legs crossed, and drew himself into the dreamspace.
Eight more attribute shards awaited him, and he distributed them evenly across the four attributes he was working on. Two for Strength, two for Vital and Resistance, which both doubled into four, and two for Agility.
Then, he drew his mind back to the outside world and leaned back. The Soul-Circle opening Wielders hadn¡¯t been able to sense his stage or level, even when he wasn¡¯t veiling himself. Neikir had assumed he was much weaker.
He scratched the back of his head. His ratings were, in theory, much higher than an equivalent Wielder at level thirty, with his Path providing a significant boost to his durability, which let him invest in other areas. But he still should¡¯ve registered as around the same level, right?
Perhaps it was a fault of his core, then. Starships¡¯ hypercores couldn¡¯t have started out very powerful, and although Jace had advanced, perhaps it still had some ability to mask his true power.
He hadn¡¯t yet checked his main sheet since advancing, though. It¡¯d been too chaotic. But now there was time. He mustered the golden sheet of Aes with a push of intent, and it appeared in the air ahead of him:
[Gathered Analytics]
Name: Jace Scott Baldwin
Worldjumper #: 5
Class: Core Hunter
Advancement Progress: Soul-Circle Opening ¨C Stage One (20.1%)
Standard Level Rating: 30
[Attributes]
Strength: 20
Vital: 48
Resistance: 48
Agility: 20
Potency: 1
[Technique Cards]
Trigger Hyperjump
Wanderer¡¯s Banishment
Cleanse Buildups
Unknown Card - CRITICAL DAMAGE
[Significant Items]
Unnamed Whistling Blade, spirit-enhanced clothing, spirit-enhanced vambraces, spirit-enhanced plastoid cuirass.
[Titles]
Worldjumper #5 (no effect) (cannot be removed)
Witness of the Ancients (+1 Agility) (cannot be removed)
That unknown, critically damaged card had to be the debris of his Aes-extraction card. He deactivated the sheet, then ejected the damaged card. Sure enough, as it had appeared in his mind¡¯s eye, its physical form in his hand was a crumpled, melted chunk of plastic. The wires were tangled, charred, and black, and the runes were more unintelligible than usual.
Still, he wasn¡¯t sure if it would be completely useless. He tucked it into his backpack, along with all the other cards and the empty accumulator nodes.
He was about to pull out all the empty nodes and drop them back into the storage bin beneath the bottom bunk, but he stopped. They might need them later. Whatever they were, they stored Aes excellently, and they had to be some sort of rare material. There was a reason he hadn¡¯t thrown them out the garbage chute when he¡¯d finished with them.
Plus, they were heavy. They¡¯d help his body adjust to his new strength rating.
So, instead, he took the nodes he¡¯d previously stored away, and tucked them back into his pack, weighing it down. If they needed them in the dungeon, for whatever reason, he¡¯d be kicking himself for leaving them behind.
As soon as he placed the last node in the back, a faint beep blared out from the cabin¡ªKinfild¡¯s alarm. He jerked up from the reclined captain¡¯s seat and slapped the transmitter, which was making the noise, then hoisted himself to his feet with a groan. ¡°Ah¡Mr. Baldwin¡already awake.¡±
Jace tilted his head toward Lessa, who still lay on the upper bunk, one arm off the side, tail dangling. ¡°Am I waking her up, or are you?¡±
¡°You do it,¡± Kinfild grumbled. ¡°And I¡¯ll find us a cargo skiff.¡±
Chapter 24: Tracking Card [Volume 2]
Just act normal, Jace silently begged from his sheltered hiding place.
He crouched behind a set of crates, watching the pier from a position of safety. He maintained a veil, keeping his core quiet, and the restrained breathing was making his head light with the effort.
Today, the pier bustled with activity. Scavengers milled about, most of them having ditched their upper body armour and helmets, and only wore their identifying ponchos as cloaks. It was too warm to wear full armour, especially in the direct sunlight, while they offloaded crates of cargo from the repeller-skiffs.
The vehicles were long, open-top repeller-cars with spindly steering vanes at their stern and a sharp, pointed prow. A vent chuffed back starcoal smoke out the side, and a tiny furnace-boiler array powered the vehicle¡¯s two thrusters. They carried crates across the sea from a point off toward the center of the island.
Now morning, the tide had retreated, leaving a giant swath of sandy beach, rocky shoals, and tidal pools with bright coral and sea life still thriving within. When the skiffs skimmed over the beach, they kicked up trails of sand and mist.
Farther down the pier, Lessa and Kinfild negotiated with a skiff pilot. They both wore their full scavenger armour, the disguises Jace had gathered for them last night, and Lessa shifted back and forth, clearly uncomfortable.
Jace would¡¯ve been too, if he had to hide a tail beneath a poncho, all while wearing a full suit of space armour, and try to survive the blazing sun. He just hoped her wax wouldn¡¯t melt too easily.
Finally, the skiff pilot bowed his head and backed away, and once the scavengers had opened the skiff¡¯s cargo crates and retrieved an angular, golden metal object from inside¡ªtreasure from the dungeon, whatever sort it was¡ªhe allowed Kinfild and Lessa to step aboard.
Kinfild took the skiff¡¯s controls¡ªa set of levers at the bow, with a control console in between. With a lurching start, the vehicle lifted up above the pier and hovered.
Now was Jace¡¯s chance. He had to get aboard.
When a cargo starship roared overhead, everyone on the pier looked up at it. There had been light-freighters approaching the pier all morning, docking at the hanging landing pads and depositing their cargo, before disgorging a swathes of scavengers and soaking up some of the treasures.
Now was his chance. As acrid exhaust smoke washed over the pier, Jace charged through the dark mist and vaulted over the skiff¡¯s gunwale, then crouched down at the stern, hidden behind the bulwarks.
¡°Kinfild!¡± Lessa hissed, her helmet¡¯s voice modulator active. ¡°Jace is aboard! Let¡¯s go!¡±
Kinfild rammed both the levers forward, and the skiff¡¯s thrusters roared. It shot off the side of the pier and dipped, until it hovered only ten feet above the beach and tide-pool expanse.
Jace peered over the gunwale, looking back at the wharf and pier. The Wrath still sat on its landing pad, its boarding ramp sealed, with Err-Seventeen to look after it. To preserve their coals, they¡¯d shut the furnace down completely.
The skiff kept accelerating, and Jace had to grip the gunwale just to keep standing. It was faster than he¡¯d been expecting. The stilt city whisked away, shooting back toward the horizon until it disappeared.
When Jace adjusted to the speed of the skiff, he turned around to face Lessa and Kinfild. ¡°Everyone alright?¡±
¡°I think you¡¯re the only one with space-legs.¡± Lessa grinned.
¡°Yeah, you knew what I meant.¡±
Kinfild didn¡¯t look back, but he said, ¡°These controls are awkward, but I will manage. Don¡¯t expect brimming conversation with me, though.¡±
¡°Do you know where we¡¯re going?¡± Jace asked.
¡°It¡¯s marked on the control console,¡± Lessa said. ¡°The scanner will guide him. The other scavengers said it¡¯d be about ten minutes until we reached the mine entrance.¡±
¡°How¡¯d you get them to give you the skiff?¡±
¡°We told the same story we gave to Neikir. Well, Kinfild told the same story. I stood there and looked scary.¡±
Jace chuckled. ¡°Real scary.¡±
¡°Hey! Do you want me to make you your next card or not?¡± She hoisted her pouch with the engraving needle and soldering equipment. While Jace had made breakfast and Kinfild had locked down the Wrath, she¡¯d gathered up her equipment¡ªincluding her rifle. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing to not be scary, Less. I hope I¡¯m not scary.¡± He pulled open his backpack, then retrieved a coil of soldering wire and a blank technique card, then set them down on the skiff¡¯s metal deck. Jace was expecting it to be vibrating and shaking, but the flight was awfully smooth.
¡°By the Split, I need to come up with a nickname for you.¡± She activated the engraving needle. ¡°Can¡¯t just take off the err at the end, make it Jac. Jay? Does that work?¡±
Jace laughed softly again. ¡°If you want.¡±
¡°Ehhh¡I don¡¯t hate calling you Jace either.¡±
Jace pressed the card flat against the skiff¡¯s deck, and held it in place. ¡°So¡out of curiosity, how is this going to work? Before, I needed your help to even manifest the quest-making ability. I needed you to help illuminate the Split for me, I guess.¡±
¡°The first time, yes,¡± she said. ¡°But now you know what the link feels like, right?¡±
¡°I¡I know the impression the quest-making technique left, yeah,¡± he said. ¡°I hunt for an object in the Split, using the mesh, and as long as I can envision the object, I should be able to find it.¡±
¡°And the card will automate the process,¡± Lessa said. ¡°First, I¡¯ll try to make it do what I did. It¡¯ll be a utility card, sensing your surroundings, and bringing you just a little closer to the Split. Then, your hyperspace Aes will do the rest, but the card will control your will and channel-opening processes for you.¡±
Jace nodded in understanding. ¡°That way, I can use the seeking technique and not worry about concentrating my will. Like other cards?¡±
¡°Exactly.¡± Lessa activated her engraving needle and bent down over the card. ¡°Most techniques, especially high-level ones, require such complex channel opening patterns that they¡¯re difficult to use in battle¡ªunless you have a card for them.¡±
¡°Now, you¡¯ll need something to script, right? A template?¡±
¡°Ah¡yeah. Something a little strenuous on your will, getting your channels open and your Aes moving, so it¡¯ll illuminate the right runes and scripts for me. If I remember the right runes.¡±
¡°Well, before, you were looking at my skill tree, right? The thing in the dreamspace plane, which had my card socketed in the roots?¡±
¡°But you have no card to socket.¡±
¡°Yeah, but¡¡± Jace scratched the back of his head, then chewed the inside of his lips. ¡°What if I used the technique again and held it? It¡¯d show you the right runes and script patterns, right?¡±
¡°That should work.¡±
They used the same process as before, in the scavenger headquarters on Braka¡ªwith Lessa concentrating on him, sensing him, and viewing his abilities through the Split¡ªand with him focussing his will on an object and pushing Aes out of his body.
He concentrated on this next target: the dungeon entrance. If it was anything like the corrupted dungeon on Maehn, the split would¡¯ve registered it, and known exactly where it was. He could form a quest.
Sure enough, a sheet of pale blue hyperspace Aes manifested in the air ahead of him, swirling up into a sheet of particles and light. [Subquest available: Find nearby dungeon entrance. Reward: None].
The sheet dispersed in seconds, and when he passed his hand through the dust, it swirled around his hand, striking with a physical presence like a sleet storm, or dust in the wind. He kept pushing, willing it to show him the destination, and a two-foot long compass needle of blue Aes erupted out in front of him, pointing directly ahead.
At least Kinfild was going the right way.
As he concentrated his Aes, he had to cycle, forcing Aes in patterns through his channels, and illuminating the process for Lessa.
She pressed her engraving needle and soldering needle down, carving runes in the card¡¯s central tab or drawing new patterns of enhanced, rare copper wire down on the plastic. He fed lengths of the wire into the needle, lending her a hand as she worked.
As they prepared the card, the skiff climbed slightly as the shore¡¯s elevation rose. The tide pools faded, a sandy beach replacing them. Ahead, a tropical coast rose like a wall of mountains. Green slopes reached abruptly up toward the sickly blue-orange sky, and faint clouds hovered above it. Palm trees and tropical shrubs lined the coast, shrouding the paths and any settlements.
¡°Kinfild,¡± Jace said between concentrated breaths, ¡°I think you need to turn left a little bit.¡± His Aes arrow pointed to the side, angling ever so slightly. The dungeon entrance wasn¡¯t straight ahead anymore.
¡°Stop talking,¡± Lessa said. ¡°You¡¯re making the runes dim.¡±
¡°Sorry¡¡± He glanced down at her again and kept feeding her soldering needle wire.
When they rose up over the hills, Kinfild adjusted the levers, and the skiff turned slightly, its thrusters whooping and steering vanes straining.
Ahead, the tropical hills formed a valley. Trees shrouded the slopes, rising up the sides and blanketing the slopes until they reached abrupt, rocky peaks with blunt juts.
The skiff travelled straight down the center of the valley, and the Aes needle kept pointing straight ahead. In a matter of seconds, the hills widened and expanded, leaving an open swath of jungle-covered land with a river down its center.
A complex of ladders and metal trellises stood at the valley¡¯s center. It reminded him of an oil rig, and was about the same size, too¡ªas best as he could tell from pictures; he¡¯d never actually been to one. Smokestacks chuffed black ash into the air, floodlights blazed even in the bright morning daylight, and workers scampered around the levels of the rig.
Hundreds of skiffs descended down to landing platforms all around the structure, then picked up cargo and took off again. Jace couldn¡¯t see the entrance beneath all the extra metal, but it had to be there.
¡°And done!¡± Lessa exclaimed, hopping to her feet and holding up the card. She shook it to cool it off. ¡°There you go!¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± Jace said with a smile. ¡°And just in time. We¡¯re here.¡±
Chapter 25: The Shield Generator [Volume 2]
Kinfild steered the skiff down to a landing platform on the side of the dungeon entrance complex. It sprouted out the side of a girder, and a set of wires supported it.
Jace watched from inside an empty cargo crate.
They¡¯d needed a way to get him into the dungeon without scavenger armour and a disguise, and this was what they¡¯d settled on. His back contorted, and the box pressed up against the back of his neck or restricted his shoulders, but he just barely fit, and had a slight gap where the hand-holds were to see through.
Scavenger guards approached the landing pad, inspected the skiff, then asked, ¡°What do you have in the crates?¡±
Jace held his breath, just in case there was another mage around to sense him, willing Kinfild to give the explanation they¡¯d come up with.
¡°Ration packs,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We can bring them down to the entrance if you¡¯d lend us a repeller-cart, but they¡¯re a little too heavy to lift on our own.¡±
Lessa, leaning against the skiff¡¯s railing with her helmet on and poncho hiding her tail, only nodded in agreement.
¡°Take one, and be quick,¡± said the guard. ¡°We¡¯ll need this landing pad empty in five minutes.¡±
It only took them one. Kinfild and Lessa gathered a cart from the edge of the landing pad and hauled it over, then, with Jace rocking side to side to help them, shifted the two crates onto the repeller-cart.
He could barely see the inside of the structure as they hovered him down toward the entrance. They entered a hallway with dim, incandescent lighting and patchwork steel walls. Hordes of scavengers ran in all directions, and few paid any mind to Jace and the repeller-cart. Still, he held his breath.
Every so often, maybe one in a hundred scavengers, there was a Wielder. They were [Level 30], or close to it¡ªsometimes a little lower or a little higher. Seemed to be the average.
¡°Kinfild,¡± Jace whispered, ¡°how far could the level thirties get into the dungeon?¡±
Kinfild kept his gaze forward and barely flinched as he towed the cart down the hall. ¡°If what you heard about the dungeon is true, and it does hold an ancient Luminian weapon, then it¡¯s a powerful dungeon. I doubt they would¡¯ve have made it past the fifth level.¡±
¡°So¡we¡¯re in trouble, then,¡± Jace whispered.
¡°Not necessarily.¡±
¡°How? I¡¯m only thirty, and you¡¯re¡¡±
¡°Thirty-one, though I¡¯m verging on thirty-two.¡± Kinfild stayed quiet for a moment. ¡°I am average, Jace, and though the Wielders of the Crimson Table learned to siphon their Aes directly into their life essence, it tends to stunt our advancement. Not to mention, I am still getting old, much like Stenol. But with age comes experience. I have more technique cards, skill, and stronger senses than many of these young upstarts.¡±
¡°That¡¯s still not going to get us very deep,¡± Jace said. But as soon as he spoke, he winced. That¡¯s why he was here.
He¡¯d almost reached the stage Kinfild had taken years to get to in a matter of months. He was a worldjumper; this was his job. Fast advancement, summoned to destroy the Enemy¡or at least, save the galaxy from whatever might be happening.
¡°What is it about me that lets me harvest Aes faster?¡± Jace asked. ¡°How did I reach this point so quickly?¡±
¡°A multitude of reasons,¡± Kinfild muttered. ¡°For one, the Split chooses the most ideal candidates. Those with the greatest devotion, loyalty, and drive.¡±
Jace narrowed his eyes. Those didn¡¯t exactly describe him. He¡¯d felt more lost than anything. ¡°I¡I dunno¡ª¡±
¡°The desire for purpose is still drive, Jace,¡± Lessa said.
¡°I suppose.¡±
¡°But aside from that, the Split allowed you to set your class (having been new to this world and without a life here to inform the class it gave you), and your high soul-inclination toward the class allowed you to pick it up quickly,¡± Kinfild continued. ¡°And, atop it all, you¡¯ve had four months of direct, hard work.¡±
Jace tried to scratch the back of his head, but his hand bumped up against the inside of the box. He winced. ¡°But there are others who could do that.¡±
¡°There are. There are also many Wielders who are born into lower families in the outer reaches, who need to work two jobs to feed their families, and who don¡¯t have time to hunt darklings and can¡¯t afford elixirs.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Jace swallowed. ¡°I¡suppose. Then what about the extremely powerful mages from the inner-core sects?¡±
¡°That¡¯s where you see the true prodigies, much like yourself. Be thankful you haven¡¯t encountered one yet.¡±
¡°Neikir,¡± Jace said. ¡°What about him? He¡¯d have all the opportunities possible.¡±
Kinfild snorted. ¡°Middle-sects and guilds like the Brakamen don¡¯t understand one important factor: struggle. A Wielder must find the perfect balance between personal struggle, drive, and luck and circumstance. But without struggle, there can be no drive to do the extreme. Neikir may have had all the elixirs possible, not to mention access to fancy Aes cycling techniques, but he¡¯s never struggled once in his life.¡±
Jace was about to respond, but Lessa tapped the top of the box. ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Keep quiet, now.¡±
They pulled the repeller-cart through an archway. The floor of the hallway blended with bare, smooth concrete, and the hallway fanned out into a massive cylindrical hall. Floodlights beamed down on the floor, and tubes and clumps of wires criss-crossed over the sky. Puffs of steam chuffed out of machinery, before funnelling toward a central beacon.
At the very center of the hall was an enormous device¡ªa stack of wires and tubes in the general shape of an hourglass, nearly two storeys tall, which all the other tubes and wires fed into.
He didn¡¯t know precisely what it was, and for a second, he contemplated using a technique card to examine it. He had socketed his new card, and it was ready to use¡ªperhaps it could tell him a little more about what the device at the center of the hall did.
He activated and snatched the card out of the air. [Technique Card: Questforger (Legendary) (Curse) (Compatible Class: Hyperspace Hunter) (Compatible Aspects: Hyperspace)]
It was legendary. With a combination of the high quality materials stolen from the scavengers and the perfect carvings Lessa had made, the card was very powerful. And, as Kinfild had explained, it was technically a Curse card, in that it interacted with the world around it and manipulated the Split around a different object. It marked the object as a target, cursing it.
Jace wondered precisely how he could enhance the card and what other kinds of Curses he could place, but that would also require him to put attribute shards into Potency. With how many he¡¯d already distributed, he¡¯d need a title or something else like the Path-boost to help him catch up his Potency.
But that was a problem for later. The card functioned relatively simply: [Technique description: Once every thirty (30) minutes, seeks out a desired target within ten (10) miles and creates a subquest. Forges a guiding needle for five (5) minutes. Technique range scales with Resistance.]
Lessa had to add a scale to the range, as the format of the card dictated, and since they¡¯d been making the card from scratch, it hadn¡¯t been difficult at all to adjust the attribute required to Resistance.
He concentrated on his target¡ªthe device at the center of the chamber. The technique activated, lighting up the box with a quest sheet: [Subquest available: Find one (1) previously unpossessed mythic quality shield-aspect technique card. Reward: None]
He hadn¡¯t actually wanted to find the card, but now that he saw it, his eyes widened. There was a mythic card within that device, and it was shield-aspect.
He wanted desperately to ask Kinfild what the device was, but before he could even open his mouth and whisper something, a pulse of energy rolled up from the earth itself¡ªfrom the dungeon below.
At first, it only applied a steadily growing pressure to his channels and core, but the pipes and tubes in the ground began glowing. Runes lit up along their rubber housings, and streaks of gaseous Aes flowed past their plastic-y windows. It was raw, aspectless, and gold. When it flowed into the machine at the center of the hall, columns of steam chugged out the machine¡¯s vents, and it began rattling, threatening to topple off its support struts.
Then it steadied, and everything went quiet. The nearby scavengers covered their eyes, and a beacon of orange Aes blasted out the machine¡¯s center, up through a hole in the roof, and into the sky. It was advanced shield-aspect Aes, for the anti-hyperspace torpedo net. Shimmering hexagon patterns lingered in the air, forming a column around the beam of raw Aes. It let out a shriek that created goosebumps all over Jace¡¯s arms and made his stomach churn.
He swallowed, then deactivated his tracking card. The dungeon itself was fuelling the blockade around the planet.
The beam lasted for about thirty seconds before fading away, and the scavengers went back to their business. Kinfild and Lessa walked faster, then, when they reached the machine at the center of the hall, stopped the cart.
The plan had been to take the cart into the dungeon entrance, but when they¡¯d come up with the plan, they hadn¡¯t known what the entrance looked like.
The enormous dungeon-powered shield generator stood on a set of struts, looming over a pit in the earth. It descended deeper than Jace could see from his meagre viewport, but there had to be hundreds of ladders descending down into the ground, and cargo cranes lowered crates into the depths with jerky movements. Hard enough to jostle the contents around and injure the human cargo, no matter how much Jace¡¯s Vital rating had improved.
¡°We¡¯ll take that crate from here,¡± called a crane operator, holding up his hand. ¡°You guards can go back to your post.¡±
Guards? Jace had stolen the armour of scavenger guards, and none of the workers here were wearing armour.
As soon as the crane operator finished speaking, a golden glow formed in the air in front of Jace, forming a warning: [Advanced Luminian tomb ahead. Recommended party level rating: Thirty-five (35).]
¡°Go away!¡± Jace hissed, passing his hand through the sheet in the tight space. It didn¡¯t budge.
¡°Is that crate glowing?¡± a different worker asked.
¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± the crane operator called.
Lessa stammered, her voice modulator making it sound even choppier than normal. Kinfild opened his mouth, probably about to conjure some other excuse, but it wouldn¡¯t work.
They were close to the entrance. It was time to make a run for it.
Jace pressed his hands up against the container¡¯s lid, and, without waiting for a signal from Kinfild or Lessa, he sprang upright. ¡°Run!¡± he shouted, then jumped out the crate and sprinted toward the nearest ladder.
Chapter 26: Into the Depths... [Volume 2]
As soon as Jace began sprinting, Kinfild and Lessa did too. Lessa ripped off her helmet immediately and gulped in the air, and Kinfild cast aside his baggy poncho, revealing his staff. He pulled it off his back and swatted a worker who ran toward them with a heavy shovel.
¡°Jace, duck!¡± Lessa yelled.
Just before he reached a ladder down into the pit, he dropped flat on his stomach, and a blast of magenta plasma seared overhead. It smashed into a support strut of the shield generator, and while it didn¡¯t do any major damage, it showered him in sparks.
For a moment, he flinched, half expecting his body to respond like it had when he¡¯d first arrived here¡ªdisintegrating and burning.
But the sparks merely pattered against his skin, and though they melted holes in his shirt, it barely felt warm on his skin.
Vitality and Resistance doing their job. He grinned, then jumped back to his feet. A scavenger guard, a regular [Level 9] soldier, jabbed at him with his rifle¡¯s bayonet, but Jace gripped the rifle¡¯s barrel and pushed it away then kicked the guard into the pit.
Lessa fired two shots back into the hall, aiming at armed scavengers near the edge, but Jace shouted, ¡°Come on! Go down!¡±
He took the lead, gripping the edges of the ladder and sliding down into the cavern. He¡¯d gotten much better at that lately, having practiced enough in the past four months, descending ladders quickly while running from local authorities. It didn¡¯t seem like an important skill, but when your life depended on it, and when the people of this galaxy used so many ladders¡
Lessa followed close behind, and Kinfild took up the rear, waving his staff and conjuring a plume of flame at its tip to dispel an incoming plasma blast.
Jace descended down the pit, perhaps falling a hundred feet before the ladder ended. He slowed himself and leapt out of the way, letting Lessa land, and in turn she dove out of the way for Kinfild.
As soon as they landed, Jace drew his Whistling Blade. They¡¯d landed on a floor of enormous, van-sized stone bricks. It was a plaza of sorts, with circular walls and eight different tunnels. They reached out in all directions, evenly spaced.
But there were also guards. A party of scavengers stood in the center, armed with plasma rifles and Aes-shielded sabers. Lessa blasted one of them, and Kinfild struck another with a pulse of flame.
The other three took aim, but Jace closed the distance with a hyperdash and cut through two of them. The last swung his shielded saber, knocking Jace¡¯s blade aside, then slashed back the other direction, but Jace ducked, then rammed his shoulder into the scavenger¡¯s gut and sent him staggering back. As the scavenger fell, he slashed with the Whistling Blade, cutting the man in half.
Panting, Jace turned back to face Kinfild and Lessa. ¡°We can¡¯t just keep fighting them! Sooner than later, their Wielders are going to turn up!¡±
¡°Which way?¡± Lessa asked.
¡°I sense Wielders from behind,¡± Kinfild said, pointing to half the hallways on his side of the room.
¡°We¡¯ll pick one on the other side and run, then!¡± Jace called. ¡°We can find our way when we¡¯re not immediately in danger.¡±
He sprinted across the room to the hallway straight ahead. It had an angular archway with brass statues flanking it on either side. They wore robes and wielded staffs, and Jace half expected their patchwork panels to shift when he passed, moving to attack him. But so close to the entrance, the scavengers had hopefully dealt with the biggest threats already¡ªunless anything else had come up from below.
But, unlike the dungeon on Maehn, there were no black veins or tarry vines hanging from the ceiling. No distant, chittering kobolds.
Jace kept running. The hallway was smaller, and it had a roof that slightly narrowed from the bottom, giving the hallway a trapezoidal shape. After a half minute, he slowed, letting Kinfild and Lessa catch up, then continued down the hall.
They had no lights of their own, but the scavengers set up rudimentary lamps all around the hallway. The shone pale yellow with some sort of filament, and needed no wire. It wasn¡¯t bright, and there were still deep shadows near the edge of the hall, but it was better than trying to make their way with no light.
When the hallway branched, Kinfild sensed a Wielder to the left, so instead they ran to the right. He¡¯d seemed pretty certain the Wielder was only [Level 30], but Jace still didn¡¯t need to fight one when he had the chance not to. It¡¯d just waste time.
Finally, after nearly ten minutes of sprinting, they stopped in an open chamber. There weren¡¯t even the echoes of scavengers¡¯ footsteps, and Kinfild said he couldn¡¯t sense any nearby Wielders. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Jace leaned against the wall, panting, and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know where to go, do you?¡±
¡°No idea,¡± said Lessa. She pulled her rifle¡¯s bolt back, then slotted in a few more loose plasma shells to keep it topped up. Then, she began pulling off the scavenger armour. It¡¯d be heavy and warm, and they¡¯d already blown their cover. ¡°You want to carry this around? You know, work on pushing your true stats to match the attributes?¡±
¡°My bag¡¯s already full,¡± Jace said. ¡°And I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find it very useful anymore. It¡¯s not special, and the scavengers already know who we are.¡±
Kinfild also began taking off his armour. ¡°I did not have a chance to find a map of the dungeon, but our priority should be delving deeper. You need to hit the tenth level within a month, so that¡¯s what we must do.¡±
¡°A map would be helpful,¡± Jace said.
¡°Where we¡¯re heading, I find it unlikely they have explored yet,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°The chances of a map helping us are slim. We need to find a stairway and descend.¡±
¡°Why would it get stronger the deeper we go?¡± Jace asked. Sure, that was just what instinct told him, but when he thought of it for a moment, he couldn¡¯t explain it. This was supposed to be a tomb.
¡°The tomb has natural defences to prevent people like us from entering,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Armed traps, which we should avoid easily enough once we work on your senses, but more concerningly, tomb guardians. They use power from the dungeon¡¯s central control core, which we should find on the fifteenth level. The closer you get to the core, the more power it exerts.¡±
¡°Like the kobold queen-core?¡± Lessa asked.
¡°Similar, but the control core cannot move,¡± Kinfild explained. ¡°I do not know where it will be, but I can say for certain that the closer you get to it, the stronger the defences¡ªfor that is where the true treasure of the tomb is.¡±
¡°The Halcyon Spear?¡± Jace asked.
¡°Perhaps.¡±
¡°Why would they put a weapon in a tomb?¡±
Kinfild tilted his head. ¡°Your people¡don¡¯t bury their dead with the weapons they used in life?¡±
Jace scrunched his lips. ¡°Not recently, no.¡±
¡°It was common practice for the Luminians, and for many other modern cultures as well,¡± Kinfild said.
¡°Are we¡above the control core right now, then?¡± Jace asked. ¡°That round room we entered into seemed pretty central.¡± But the scavengers had locked off the entire planet, and this clearly wasn¡¯t the only outpost they¡¯d set up.
¡°Considering they found a tap of Aes, they likely set up above a crust-lift. But the entire structure extends all throughout the crust and mantle of this planet.¡±
¡°The dungeon on Maehn didn¡¯t go nearly as deep,¡± Jace said.
¡°Oh, yes it did,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We only explored the uppermost level. To descend to a deeper level, you would need to find a crust-lift. In the dungeon on Maehn, they¡¯d likely lost their power long ago, but in a dungeon with a functional control-core, we won¡¯t have that issue.¡±
Jace nodded. ¡°So¡it¡¯s like a big elevator?¡±
¡°Elevator?¡± Lessa asked. ¡°Like, thing that goes up and down? Sure, a crust-lift is like that. Sometimes, on the big city-worlds, they have crust lifts that go all the way through the planet. Never seen one, ¡®course, but I will one day. You¡you don¡¯t suppose there was one on Kinath-Aertes?¡±
¡°Kinath-Aertes is hardly the most populous world in the Starrealm, Lessa,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But no, there wasn¡¯t one.¡±
¡°My point,¡± Kinfild said, ¡°is that the crust-lift does not necessarily mean we¡¯re over the center of the dungeon. The spear could be a half-world away from us.¡±
¡°Neikir said the center of the dungeon,¡± Jace commented. ¡°He didn¡¯t mean the center of the world, right? If there are fifteen levels.¡±
¡°He¡just said center?¡± asked Kinfild.
¡°He just said center,¡± Jace confirmed.
¡°Perhaps he meant that you should meet him above the central chamber?¡± Lessa suggested. ¡°This dungeon doesn¡¯t go all the way to Ifskar¡¯s core, does it?¡±
¡°The Luminians were somewhat practical,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°They didn¡¯t go any deeper than the mantle, because even their most powerful lords didn¡¯t see the point in trying to build a tomb in the planet¡¯s core.¡±
¡°Well¡that¡¯s good for us, then, I suppose?¡± Jace said. ¡°So we need to find our way above this core, which could be anywhere across the planet¡¯s surface. We won¡¯t make it on foot.¡±
¡°No, but the crust-lifts also move horizontally,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°If we find one, we can travel to different sections of the dungeon.¡±
¡°I can help with that, then. With the tracking card, we shouldn¡¯t need a map to find this crust-lift.¡± Jace held his hand out, but then pulled it back right away. ¡°Or¡uh, after fifteen minutes, when it¡¯s off cooldown. I¡¯d rather not burn the reset card right now.¡±
They set off at a brisk walk, keeping moving. Eventually, the scavengers might catch up, but at least if they kept moving, they could expand their lead, or at least have less risk of being caught.
Kinfild led, tapping the ground with his staff. The scavengers had disabled or triggered most of the traps so high up already, but there were a few that Kinfild instructed them to avoid. A set of blunt metal rods launched from holes in the wall, fast enough to crush a human skull, or invisible gas seeped up from the floor, which they sprinted to avoid.
When they reached a stairwell, they descended. Like the hallways, the stairwells had angular walls with rudimentary lanterns set up in them. A party of scavengers climbed up the stairs, lugging a crate-laden repeller-cart behind them, but Jace Kinfild and Lessa ducked into an alcove to let them pass before continuing on.
At the bottom of the stairwell, Jace paused. They were still on the first level, of course, but it felt deeper here. There were less lanterns to light the way, for one.
¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s been fifteen minutes, I hope. Or close enough. I should be able to get the tracking technique working.¡±
Chapter 27: Soul-Circle [Volume 2]
Jace took a few steps down the hall, then activated the questforger card. He concentrated deeply on his target, thinking about what he imagined a massive, crust-delving elevator would look like, and desperately begging his Aes to mark it as a target.
After a few seconds, it locked on.
[Subquest available: Find abandoned Luminian Aes-Lift. Reward: None]
A needle of blue hyperspace-aspect Aes projected from his chest, reaching forward down the hall, and slightly to the left. From his vantage, it was hard to tell, but it also had a slight downward angle to it.
He followed it, taking a few steps down the hall, before Kinfild pushed in front and said, ¡°Let me lead, please. You don¡¯t have powerful senses yet.¡±
¡°He doesn¡¯t have senses at all,¡± Lessa chirped.
¡°I¡I¡¯ve got five,¡± Jace muttered.
¡°Well, Kinfild has six.¡±
¡°How can I learn them?¡± Jace asked. ¡°I¡¯ll need to learn eventually, right? I can¡¯t have you being the only person able to sense traps and Aes.¡±
¡°Once your guiding light fades, then we can work on it,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°How long does your tracking technique last?¡±
¡°Five minutes,¡± Jace said.
¡°Only five minutes?¡± Kinfild glanced at Lessa.
¡°Well, don¡¯t look at me,¡± she exclaimed, spreading her arms. ¡°I followed the runes. If I pushed it for any longer, the technique would probably tear apart his Aes channels. At least, as it stands now.¡±
Jace grimaced. ¡°I can just use it in half-hour intervals, and we can hunt until we find it. As long as we keep a somewhat steady course, we¡¯ll still be getting closer to the crust-lift, or Aes-lift, or whatever it¡¯s being called.¡± The Split probably had a different name for the lift than Kinfild or Lessa.
They followed the line as best they could for five minutes, but the hallway ran straight, and they couldn¡¯t take the slight left turn that they needed. By the time it sputtered out and faded, Jace still had no idea how close they were. Within ten miles, sure, but it had to be.
Still, they kept walking, maintaining the course slightly. Lessa held her tail out in front of her, lighting the hallway more fully, and Kinfild conjured a small sphere of flame on the tip of his staff. He swapped in a common, weak technique card to achieve it.
And then, when they reached the first trap, Kinfild stopped. He tapped a set of holes in the stone floor with his staff. ¡°Here is your first candidate,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have you sense it.¡±
¡°But¡I know it¡¯s there,¡± Jace said. ¡°How is that a challenge?¡±
¡°That¡¯s precisely why it will be a challenge.¡± Kinfild tapped it with his staff again. ¡°Everyone has a sixth sense, though it¡¯s hard to describe. For candlefolk like Lessa, it is codified and rigid, something they¡¯re born with and can use immediately, though it will never be as strong as a Wielder¡¯s.¡±
Jace inhaled slowly. ¡°I¡I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt¡ª¡±
¡°Yes, you have. What¡¯s the feeling you get when you know someone is watching you, or when you just know that something is off, that you¡¯re in danger?¡±
¡°So it¡¯s the same thing?¡±
¡°Yes, but now you must control it. At the soul-circle opening stages, such a thing is now possible.¡±
Lessa shrugged, then yawned and leaned against the wall behind. The walls weren¡¯t even dusty, and Jace had half-expected some sort of spiderweb or other debris, but there was nothing even remotely close.
¡°Keep watch,¡± Kinfild told her. ¡°We may be a little distracted, so if you see any scavengers, shout.¡±
¡°What¡¯s up with the whole¡soul-circle thing, anyway?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Foundation was easy, but now what?¡±
Kinfild snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll explain once you use your senses. It will start making more sense.¡±
¡°But¡how?¡±
¡°You see the trap. Close your eyes and sense it. Without dragging your finger along the ground, tap each hole.¡±
Jace knelt down in front of the trap. ¡°Is it active?¡± But then he glanced up immediately. A set of metal rods stuck into the ceiling, having smashed through a couple feet of stone. It didn¡¯t look like any scavengers had been trapped in it, but they¡¯d triggered it, at least. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°How do you know he won¡¯t cheat?¡± Lessa asked lightheartedly. ¡°He could just open his eyes a crack.¡±
¡°He could,¡± Kinfild said.
¡°But that wouldn¡¯t help me,¡± Jace said. ¡°Lying about this isn¡¯t going to make me stronger.¡±
¡°Precisely,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°So try.¡±
Jace shut his eyes. Just sense it. Really helpful. How exactly was he just supposed to do that?
But like Kinfild said, he had gotten the feeling before. In fact¡there was a little bit of it right now. He knew Lessa was watching him, even though he¡¯d shut his eyes. But was that his mind telling him, or something deeper?
An evolutionary instinct. The ability of humans to detect Aes, even if they didn¡¯t know it. Maybe earth had the ability to detect Aes, the ability to use the Split, but no one had even tried or learned. No one had taken the first steps without guidance.
It was the ability to sense another being¡¯s Aes? Or to sense the fabric of the universe itself?
He mulled over the questions for a few more seconds, trying to recreate that subtle sense of warning radiating from Lessa¡¯s direction¡ªexcept from in front of himself.
¡°You can sense dangerous objects much better than you can sense your surroundings,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But the source of the danger often comes from something moving through the world, interacting with the Split.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t sense you,¡± Jace said. ¡°Even when you¡¯re watching me.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t view me as dangerous.¡±
¡°And Lessa?¡± His stomach dropped. He thought Lessa was dangerous?
¡°She elicits a certain fear in you,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Subconscious or not.¡±
¡°I tend to have the opposite effect on people,¡± Lessa commented.
¡°Fine. It¡¯s kinda¡I dunno.¡± Jace sighed. He took a deep breath, then blurted out, ¡°Alright, I want to prove myself. You¡¯re different. Whether you hate me or like me¡it doesn¡¯t feel like a huge difference, not that I wouldn¡¯t prefer to be liked. But for Lessa, it¡¯s different.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not judging,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯d feel like to have to learn an entirely new sense.¡±
¡°No, no, I¡¯m not accusing you of judging. But ever since I got here, I¡¯ve sorta been stuck in a loop of looking for purpose,¡± Jace said. ¡°Hell, before I even got here. Probably moreso. But you guys gave me the purpose, of something to protect and care about. If I can¡¯t be strong enough to even sense a trap, can I really help protect you guys?¡±
¡°Not me?¡± Kinfild said.
¡°Well, you¡¯re more powerful than me,¡± he said. He swallowed. ¡°Sorry, Lessa, I know that sounds kinda bad, but¡ª¡±
¡°I get it,¡± she said. ¡°Really. The marksman can¡¯t do her job without the front-liner. And you¡¯ve made me feel useful too, you know. With you, I know I¡¯m needed, if it¡¯s just for my calligraphy and shooting.¡±
Jace smiled a little, and the sense of warning radiating off her faded. ¡°You are important, Lessa.¡±
He directed his focus again, and now, in a void, empty of personal sources of danger, he became distinctly aware of the trap in front of him. At first, there was just a little well of dangerous strength embedded in the floor. Some sort of mechanism with wires and conductors reaching into the depths of the dungeon, conducting Aes into a machine. It seemed to be¡force-aspect? He wasn¡¯t sure what to dub it, but the Aes wasn¡¯t pure.
The machine didn¡¯t have a technique card. Or at least, nothing that he could sense. Only a container of tiny filaments, each with a little glob of Aes on their tip.
¡°Are you picking up on the presence detector?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°It¡¯s a simple rendition of the Green Call Systems¡¯ Aes detector,¡± he said. ¡°Though Green Call likely developed their detector well after the Luminians did, for the express purpose of hunting Aes Wielders. Light-aspect Wielders, too.¡±
¡°I think I¡¯m detecting it,¡± Jace said.
¡°Follow the wires up to the launch tubes,¡± Kinfild instructed. ¡°It¡¯s similar to pushing your presence within and viewing your channels and core.¡±
Jace did. Thin tubes extended from the launcher, reaching up to the launch holes, and a sudden warning of danger erupted in Jace¡¯s mind. It stemmed from the top of his neck, spreading out through his head, and racing through his body, as if following his Aes channels.
He tapped each tube with his finger, in sequence, proving to Kinfild that he could sense them, then stood up and opened his eyes. ¡°What was that¡explosion of danger?¡±
¡°That was your soul screaming out in warning. A much more refined reaction to danger. But the more you practice with your senses, and the more you progress through the Soul-Circle opening stages, the stronger your senses will be.¡±
¡°So¡can you tell me what the Soul-Circle opening stage is?¡± Jace asked.
¡°I can,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But first, I need you to try to sense the trap again, however, this time focus on the starting location of the flare of danger.¡±
¡°Alright¡¡± said Jace. He knelt down and went through the same process, until his soul cried out in warning, like Kinfild had suggested.
But he focussed on the point it erupted from, on the locus at the top of his neck, and instead of following the pulses of warning, held his attention steady. Intertwined in his Aes channels floated another void of emptiness, and at the very center of the void was a ring of gray material. Or immaterial. It probably wasn¡¯t physical.
It was smooth, markless, and seemed only as thin as a noodle you¡¯d get from Chinese takeout.
¡°Your Soul-Circle,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Do you see it?¡±
¡°I think so?¡±
¡°You will be learning to support it and build it up with Aes throughout the stage,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Then, you will advance into the realm of the Nascent Heart, where you will use the Soul-Circle¡¯s resonance to solidify your foundation pillars, melding soul and core. There will plenty of other benefits that come with it, like condensing your titles, and improving your deck storage, but those will come later, and only if you strengthen your soul-circle properly.¡±
Jace nodded, but he only half understood. ¡°I¡¯ll keep working on it.¡±
¡°Very good,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Now I want you to lead. If there is a trap, you must sense it.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think¡ª¡±
¡°I think you¡¯ll learn best under pressure. Onward.¡±
Chapter 28: Guardian [Volume 2]
For a few more hours, Jace led the way through the hallways of the dungeon. He held his Whistling Blade out in front of him, in case anything attacked, but kept his attention keen for any glimmers of danger. He paid attention to the little ring of a soul, concentrating on where the potential dangers came from.
He illuminated most of the traps in his senses, almost like how he imaged a bat¡¯s echolocation would be, but without being able to perceive the true shape of his surroundings. At least, not yet.
It took such direct concentration that he could barely keep track of his cards on cooldown. Sometimes, he even forgot to reactivate the Questforger card when it was available, and they drifted off-course ever so slightly.
When the needle of Aes was pointing ninety degrees to their current trajectory, they turned left, and now, it was straight ahead. Whenever they found a stairway, they descended.
¡°Are you looking for people as well?¡± Kinfild asked when the needle of Aes floated directly ahead, instead of angling downward.
¡°Looking for¡people?¡± Jace tilted his head.
¡°Trying to sense scavengers.¡±
¡°Uh¡no,¡± Jace replied. ¡°I can do that?¡± Stupid question. Of course he could. They were alive, they had Aes.
So far, they¡¯d been avoiding scavenger parties with Kinfild¡¯s guidance, but they were lucky that most teams were heading to the surface to deliver their goods to the facility above, and weren¡¯t looking for him.
But it wouldn¡¯t last. Soon, more would be coming down, and they had to find that crust-lift before then.
So Jace expanded his senses hunting for even a twinge of that dangerous feeling. The feeling he got when he knew something was wrong, but just couldn¡¯t explain it. Two cycles of using his tracking card later, he finally picked up on one¡ªbetween the sense of danger that signalled traps.
This sense was coming from the right, down a branching hallway. He whispered, ¡°Kinfild, there¡¯s something coming from that direction,¡± and pointed the same way.
¡°Very good,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°How close?¡±
¡°Uh¡yeah, I¡¯ve got no clue.¡± Jace swallowed. ¡°Couldn¡¯t say.¡±
¡°It will come in time,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Remember this feeling. They are about three-hundred yards away. Plenty of room to evade them.
Ahead was a stairway, and they descended, following a trail of scavengers¡¯ lanterns. Here, there were more lanterns, placed closer together, and the hallway was brighter. Kinfild deactivated the ball of flame at the tip of his staff.
After a few more paces, the Questforger card came off cooldown, and Jace activated it. Now, the needle pointed directly ahead. ¡°It should¡should be directly down this hallway,¡± he said. ¡°If I¡¯ve locked onto the right thing.¡±
¡°You must¡¯ve,¡± Lessa said. ¡°The ground is humming. We¡¯re getting close to something.¡±
Jace knelt down and pressed his knuckles against the floor. Indeed, it was vibrating, almost like the deck of a starship. The ceiling was higher than before, and metal bulkheads lined the walls, matching the trapezoidal shape of the hallway. If this didn¡¯t lead to some kind of fancy elevator, Jace didn¡¯t know what would.
By the time he felt the scavengers¡¯ presences behind him, he, Kinfild, and Lessa had ventured down the hall far enough to be out of sight, and the scavengers didn¡¯t follow. After a few more steps, a set of traps lit up Jace¡¯s senses, but they¡¯d already triggered.
And he didn¡¯t need special senses to tell that the scavenger who¡¯d been impaled on spikes from the floor was the victim of a trap. The man had died probably days ago, and they navigated carefully around his body.
¡°I suppose we should be thankful they triggered the traps for us,¡± said Jace. Still, he drew his Whistling Blade.
Something felt wrong up ahead, now, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint it like the other traps. It felt like it was coming from all over the edges of the hallway. No choice but to tuck his head and walk straight into danger, then, but kept his eyes out for mosses and any other creatures clinging to the walls.
Nothing.
A pale blue light seeped down the hallway, and a deep whir interspersed with thrumming machinery came from ahead. The hallway ended. It deposited them on a ledge with a thin, angular railing that overlooked a vast chamber. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The chamber was cylindrical, and the walls were bare stone¡ªthe material of the crust itself. Almost like someone had carved a soda-can-shaped hole in the earth. The only light came from a machine at the center. A set of vertical glass tubes filled with glowing blue liquid, wires, and concentric, rune-covered rings. They spun in a circle, nothing suspending them, and unleashed a spiritual pressure that made Jace¡¯s stomach churn. Kinfild didn¡¯t flinch, and Lessa put on a brave face, but the pressure couldn¡¯t have been comfortable to someone who was only officially [Level 5].
Spars of metal anchored the device¡¯s body to the walls, and a long metal tube ran to the bottom of the cylinder, where it penetrated deep into the stone below.
¡°And there it is,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°The crust-lift.¡±
Jace ran to the edge of the ledge and leaned on the railing. ¡°How do we get over?¡± He didn¡¯t want to put too much weight on it, lest the old metal collapse under his weight, but he still peered out as far as he could into the cavern. The machine, aside from its rings, wasn¡¯t free-floating. Giant spars of steel reached across from the edges of the cavern to support the main body of the crust-lift, which they could climb across if they had to.
But they still had to get down.
¡°I¡¯ve got no idea,¡± Lessa provided. ¡°In case¡you were wondering.¡±
They followed the ledge around the side of the cavern, taking it as far as it would go, until they reached a stone stairway that wound down around the edge of the cavern. The scavengers who¡¯d passed through before them had left a trail of lanterns lighting the edge, and as Jace¡¯s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized they weren¡¯t just elements of machinery, but a vast network of marked out pathways.
It was difficult to tell scale in such a massive cavern, but he was starting to realize how much larger such a device was, and how deep they¡¯d have to go.
¡°I hope the ventilation is good,¡± he muttered. ¡°Or we¡¯re going to have problems.¡±
¡°We shouldn¡¯t have to worry about air in the depths,¡± Kinfild provided. ¡°To my understanding, the Luminians¡¯ modified their bodies in a such a way that atmosphere slowed their decomposition, and so it became an imperative to mimic a standard atmospheric composition in the depths.¡±
¡°How?¡± Lessa asked.
¡°A combination of porous stones and runic structures,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We may eventually see one, but I doubt up here.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just find ourselves a way into the machine,¡± Jace said. He took the lead again, practicing his senses.
¡°Hey, hey, having air to breathe is important!¡± Lessa exclaimed.
¡°I¡¯m not complaining,¡± Jace replied. ¡°But these scavengers made a mess of the place, and they didn¡¯t just mark out a single route.¡±
They¡¯d lit every differing path, whether it was a stairway up or a flight down, or just a straight ledge, with a slew of lanterns.
Jace, Kinfild, and Lessa descended until they reached the same level as the crust-lift¡¯s main body. By now, they¡¯d circled almost a quarter way around the entire cavern, and if they went any lower, they¡¯d reach a main support strut. But the struts had to be a last resort. Hard to climb, and they didn¡¯t connect with any human-compatible openings.
But, as they rounded the edge of the last quarter, a thin walkway came into view on the other side of the cavern. No railings, simple perforated steel, but it reached from one side to the other and pierced into the side of the crust-lift¡¯s main body.
Jace pointed at it. ¡°There. Now we just need to¡ª¡±
He cut himself off halfway through his sentence and blinked. A new sense erupted to his left, and he couldn¡¯t explain it. It was similar to the sense of danger, foreboding and warning of a trap, but it approached much faster than they were moving.
Kinfild¡¯s eyes widened, and he shouted, ¡°Get back!¡±
Jace and Lessa both stumbled back along the pathway. Lessa pulled her rifle off her shoulder and flicked the safety off.
The wall exploded right where Jace had been standing. Shards of stone blasted out into the cavern, and a cloud of dust wafted out across the walkway. ¡°A trap?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I sense it the same?¡±
¡°Because it¡¯s not a trap,¡± Kinfild said. He backed away from the cloud of dust as well, tapping his staff on the ground and swapping in a different technique card to replace his low-tier light-making card.
Two halos of blue light lit up in the cloud of dust, then a network of glowing cerulean lines and runic patterns. The dust settled, revealing a metal man twice Jace¡¯s height. He wanted to call it a kyborg, but it didn¡¯t chug any smoke and it didn¡¯t chitter. It whirred, more like an electric motor.
It had a broad, disc-shaped head with a line of light running around it and two glowing eyes. There was no discernable neck; smooth panels of coppery metal ran down from the disc and formed a mantle at its neck, which flowed down in a set of plates, as if it was wearing a robe.
It carried no weapons, but in the center of its chest was a metal sphere, almost like an eye, but its pupil yawned and created an entirely hollow center in the creature¡¯s body.
¡°Grave guardian,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Natural dungeon defences.¡±
[Level 35 Shield-aspect Guardian Automaton] read the tag above its head, when Jace looked up that high.
That would explain the blue mana.
¡°We need to get around it,¡± Jace said. ¡°Can we destroy it?¡±
¡°These are ancient Luminian machines,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But it should be possible, no matter how skilled their makers were.¡±
¡°Is it a kyborg?¡± Lessa asked.
¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Jace whispered back. ¡°It¡¯s something else.¡±
The machine whirred and shrugged its broad shoulders, shaking off a cloud of dust. Then it took a lumbering step forward and made a fighting pose with its hands.
The cavity at the center of its chest sparked with electricity, and Aes glimmered around the aperture.
It was preparing to attack.
Chapter 29: Fuelling [Volume 2]
Jace and Lessa leapt aside. A heartbeat later, a beam of charged shield-Aes rippled out from the guardian¡¯s chest.
It seemed counter-intuitive. Shields shouldn¡¯t be ranged weapons. But the Aes chewed through the stone ledge, parting it in a cylindrical pattern, like the beam was repelling it away. He¡¯d hate to see what that would do to a human body.
Worse, Kinfild didn¡¯t move. The beam screeched up toward him, and he activated a defensive technique of his own. He fortified his forearms with tendrils of flame, then held them up against the approaching beam of energy.
It seared up along the ground and clashed against his flaming bracers, and he skidded back a few feet. Hexagonal sparks burst out from the impact point as it tried to push his arms apart and repel his technique.
¡°Kinfild!¡± Jace yelled. He almost ran forward and pulled the man out of the way, but the beam sputtered out.
With a hiss and a shudder, the automaton¡¯s chest-beam faded, and with it, the glowing lights all along its body and form dimmed. Jace could barely see it behind the new swath of dust it had kicked up.
¡°Kinfild, what was that?¡± Lessa asked. ¡°Are you trying to die?¡±
¡°Shield-Aes,¡± Kinfild replied. ¡°Listen well, Jace. The best defense against a ranged attack is a forging technique, in which you create solid objects out of Aes. But Wielders like us don¡¯t have useful forging techniques. Not yet, at least.¡±
The automaton lunged forward, pulling back its forearms, and swatted at Kinfild. It moved fast for a lumbering creature twice Jace¡¯s height, but not so fast he could track its movements.
Kinfild ducked under the blow. His joints probably creaked louder than the creature¡¯s mechanical limbs. Despite being a device many thousands of years old, it didn¡¯t seem hindered. Its age hadn¡¯t caught up to it.
¡°The best way to block a ranged attack for us is a fortification technique.¡± Kinfild held up his forearms and clutched the staff in both hands, then blocked the automaton¡¯s downward fist-smash with the haft of his staff. His arms strained against the blow, but his strengthened, enhanced limbs didn¡¯t buckle. ¡°My Flame Brace card temporarily converts all Potency into Strength and doubles it.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have a fortification technique!¡± Jace exclaimed. ¡°Watch out!¡±
The automaton widened its stance again and leaned back. The edges of its core cannon sparked and glowed again, and the lines along its body began to blare brightly through the hall again.
And it pointed its shield-laser directly at Kinfild. It¡¯d hit him for the whole time, and that would surely break through the fortification technique.
¡°Lessa, see any weak spots?¡± he asked.
¡°I¡¯ll look and probe it,¡± she said, stepping back down the walkway. Then, with a wink, she added, ¡°And I¡¯ll try not to hit you.¡±
Jace activated a hyperdash immediately, flashing through Kinfild and appearing behind the automaton¡¯s leg. He raised the Whistling Blade, then slashed down at its calf. The blade whooshed through the air, trailing sparks and plasma, and it bit into the metal coating.
It only sank in a few centimeters. Jace pushed, but the metal resisted, and the automaton barely buckled, even with his strength. The glowing hot edge melted whatever the substance was, but at a much slower rate.
Was the blade already running out of stored plasma-Aes? Or was the automaton just that much tougher?
Still, it bent backward slightly from the impact, shifting its beam, and blasted up over Kinfild¡¯s head. It tried to drag its beam downward, but Kinfild blocked it. He only had to hold his defence for a few seconds before the beam sputtered out again.
¡°What¡¯s this thing made of?¡± Jace exclaimed, jumping back. Immediately, the automaton registered him as a new threat, and it wheeled around, shifting its upper body on a swivel without moving its legs, like its entire upper body was an owl. Then, it made a fist and punched at Jace.
He stepped back again, avoiding the strike, then slashed at its hand. The blade still lit up bright white as he swung, and the tip cleaved a gash along the automaton¡¯s inner wrist. The plates blocked it.
¡°Some sort of arcane alloy, likely!¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Steel bathed in shield-Aes, giving it defensive properties.¡±
At the same time, he launched a column of flame at the back of its head, and Lessa fired a bolt of plasma at its chest. The fire glanced off harmlessly, barely making the creature¡¯s armour glow red, but Lessa¡¯s shot left a dent and a black char with a glowing hot center. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Concentrated attacks worked better on it, then.
Still, as Jace stumbled along the ledge, he realized that this Whistling Blade wouldn¡¯t be enough. Not on its own. He needed to enhance it with his own power.
And the chances of him finding a card for that were slim. He needed it now.
He could manipulate Aes without a card as a base. He knew he could. It just took more effort and wasn¡¯t as instantaneous.
¡°Lessa!¡± Jace yelled. ¡°Keep hunting for a weak spot!¡±
¡°On it!¡± she called.
¡°And can you read its stats?¡±
¡°Give me a minute!¡±
¡°Kinfild!¡± Jace called. ¡°Can you keep its attention?¡±
¡°My speciality, it seems,¡± said the Wielder. ¡°Yes, I can.¡±
Jace backed away from the automaton, but it matched him stride for stride. And, worse, it kept up with ease, despite its size. Its stride was twice as far as Jace¡¯s. Jace tucked away his Whistling Blade, hiding it behind his back. Perhaps if he wasn¡¯t so bright and shiny, the automaton wouldn¡¯t be attracted to him so much.
But the automaton prowled forward. Energy sparked around its core again, and Jace leapt aside in-time to avoid a beam of shield-aspect Aes. It tore up a cloud of dust and debris, which pelted and stung his shins, but he ignored it.
Then Kinfild blasted the back of its head with another burst of flame, and Lessa fired at its shoulder. The beast groaned in a mechanical, warbling tone, then spun around to face the next perceived threats.
¡°I¡¯m seeing a high Vital rating,¡± Lessa said, pulling her rifle¡¯s bolt back. ¡°Around sixty. It¡¯s tough, and it has a high Strength rating, too¡ªabout fifty. Low Agility, low Potency, medium Resistance.¡±
¡°Luminian steel was very strong,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°And it has been basking in the energies of this world for thousands of years. Certainly, this beast¡¡± He trailed off and stepped back to avoid a heavy punch. ¡°...Has grown more powerful than when it¡¯s creators originally built it.¡±
Jace kept his back pressed against the wall, then held his Whistling Blade out in front of him. He needed to transmit his own Aes into the blade. That was what it was for. Such weapons were designed with Wielders in mind.
He cycled his Aes up to his hands, then, with a deep breath, tried to thrust the blue, hyperspace-aspect energy into the blade¡¯s hilt. He imagined he was fuelling the Vault Core.
Nothing happened. Nothing.
Jace grimaced.
¡°Jace, what are you doing?¡± Lessa asked.
¡°Is the sword working?¡± Kinfild added.
¡°I¡¯m¡give me a second!¡± Jace shouted. He looked down at the blade¡¯s crescent-shaped hilt with frustration. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll come help! I¡¯ve got an idea! I just need¡thirty seconds!¡±
On Celacor VIII, when he¡¯d fought Stenol, the blade had a song. It had resonated with him, like it had been his and always his, even if he¡¯d only held it for a few weeks. The sword¡¯s song had helped him defeat Stenol.
It had a name. Arbiter. It had a purpose, and that was to cut. It was for him.
But it wasn¡¯t as easy as just fuelling a Vault Core. For one, it was a Whistling Blade. It only released Aes when it was moving. That had to help. But he also had to listen to its song, to its vibrations.
He wedged his fingernail in between the leather bindings just beneath the crossguard, then lifted the weapon. It warbled slightly, and the glass tang vibrated in tune with it.
Feel the song. It wasn¡¯t really a melody, but the blade itself had a rhythm to it, and it wanted to be listened to. When Jace lifted the sword, it wanted to slice down again, to finish the cut, and a vacuum of power rolled down the blade, both as it drew leftover plasma from the forging process, and as it tried to draw Aes from him.
He let it.
[Whistling Blade bonded. Funneling three hundred (300) units of hyperspace-aspect Aes into glass?]
Jace mentally accepted.
A surge of blue Aes rippled down the blade. Lightning shot through the filaments in the glass, heating up and glowing white-hot. It looked almost no different than before, except now, the blade trailed blue sparks as he swung it.
And the sword itself had a hyperspace aspect. His aspect, his strength.
He sprinted forward, charging at the automaton with a shout, and slashed at the back of its leg once more.
His sword sliced the air with almost no resistance. It wanted to move quickly, to use the hyperspace aspects of his Aes, but his body could only swing so fast. The Aes wanted to move faster than light. It built up, trilling in the sword, and then with a Whistle, it sent white-hot spears lancing through the entire glass fuller.
The blade left a blue crescent in the air as he swung it, its speed drawing out its shape. He slammed it into the automaton¡¯s calf, and the metal no longer resisted. It was like when he first picked up the blade and used it on low-level beasts. It slashed through with ease, and he had to exert almost no pressure.
With a metallic screech, the automaton tumbled forward and crashed to a heap in the center of the walkway. It tried to pull itself up with its hands, to stand again. It wasn¡¯t done just yet.
¡°Jace!¡± Lessa exclaimed. ¡°Hit it beside the weapon core! It was protecting that area from plasma blasts!¡±
¡°On it!¡± Jace jumped over a slow-moving mechanical leg, then jumped onto its flank and held the Whistling Blade in a reverse grip. After a second, he drove it downward into its body, striking just beside the core.
The automaton bellowed and screeched, then shuddered.
¡°Jace, get back!¡± Kinfild called. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be beside it when its internals fail!¡±
Chapter 30: Inside the Lift [Volume 2]
Jace jumped to the side. He wheeled his arms, nearly tumbling off the edge of the ledge, then ran back to the center of the walkway, where Kinfild and Lessa stood. The automaton¡¯s body began whirring. It shuddered, and though it didn¡¯t exactly writhe, it had the same effect in Jace¡¯s mind.
He took a few more steps back. The metal casing around its core dimpled, then imploded with a boom. A shockwave of white energy expanded from the shield-beam emitting core, and shards of the automaton scattered along the walkway.
An influx of Aes poured into Jace¡¯s chest. The golden dust appeared from nowhere and flooded in, a reward for defeating the guardian. He estimated it was about as much as he got for killing the Watchmen.
The remains didn¡¯t shift. After a few seconds of staring in silence and watching the remains, nothing happened. Jace stepped forward and brushed his boot through it, clearing away the debris and shards and searching for any sign of life. Nothing.
¡°What¡¯s an automaton?¡± he asked. ¡°Aside from a tomb guardian, I mean.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not a kyborg, I can tell you that,¡± Lessa whispered. She poked a metal plate with the muzzle of her rifle. ¡°No chuffing smoke, no machine speak. Lots of Aes.¡±
¡°Automatons are ancient constructs,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°Today¡¯s engineers have studied them, but if someone has figured out their secrets, he hasn¡¯t shared. They seem to run on some form of Aes.¡±
¡°Were the Luminians¡more advanced than the galaxy currently is?¡± Jace asked.
¡°In some ways,¡± Kinfild answered. He prowled through the remains of the automaton, pushing aside debris with the tip of his staff. ¡°And in some ways, they were less advanced. But we lost a great many things over the millenia, and not just technologically speaking.¡±
Jace nodded slowly, then flicked off the Whistling Blade. A few hints of grease burned off. He slid it back into the sheath. ¡°We need to get to the crust-lift before anyone catches us. We probably caused a bit of a scene.¡±
¡°I think there¡¯s another party of scavengers on the other side of the chamber,¡± said Lessa, pointing her rifle at a distant ledge higher up on the other side of the cavern. They¡¯ll have seen us.¡±
Jace squinted. A few black flecks moved on the other side of the cave, dipping in front of behind the lights. Maybe the scavengers would think he was just another one of them, ambushed in a trap, and in need of assistance, but the moment they got close, that¡¯d fall apart. The effect was the same.
¡°Can you hit them from this far?¡± Jace asked Lessa.
¡°I¡¯m good, but not that good.¡±
¡°If we keep going along the ledge, we should reach the walkway,¡± Jace said. ¡°Just a little farther.¡±
They ran past the remains of the automaton, and circled around the ledge until they reached the steel walkway over to the crust-lift. Jace slowed down, then held out his arms. It was a few feet wide, but one slip-up, and they¡¯d plummet to the bottom of the cavern. No need to take any chances.
He crossed the walkway at a brisk walk. It clanked beneath his feet, but it didn¡¯t even shift, let alone sway. There was no rust, no sign of decay. Whoever these Luminians were, they knew how to build things that lasted.
As they crossed, Jace asked, ¡°Kinfild, what was the automaton made out of?¡±
¡°Aside from Aes-soaked steel?¡±
¡°It couldn¡¯t just have been regular steel,¡± said Jace. ¡°I can cut through regular steel sheets with the Whistling Blade, especially when they¡¯re that thin¡ªcomparatively.¡± They¡¯d been about three centimeters thick. ¡°And Lessa¡¯s rifle could¡¯ve shot through them with ease, any other time.¡±
¡°They used certain alloys,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Alchemists have studied their composition, and it seems to be very similar to the bone of steel-wyrms. But simply, they call it Luminian steel. I can guarantee the scavengers will strip this place of it once they gather up all the treasures and crack open all the graves.¡±
¡°What are we looking for?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Aside from simply¡acquiring Aes from defeating automatons, I suppose.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a question for yourself.¡±
¡°I need new cards,¡± he asserted. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough to keep up with other Wielders in battle, and I can¡¯t just rely on resetting.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
¡°That¡¯s a start,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°We need to get you a fortification card and a forging card.¡±
¡°Fortification to enhance my body, forging to shape objects out of Aes?¡±
¡°Precisely.¡±
¡°What does¡fuelling my blade with Aes count as?¡± Jace asked.
¡°Fortification.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°It will fall into the same class as bodily enhancement, because it is the same process. You will take on an aspect similar to your Aes, giving it different effects.¡±
¡°I¡I did sorta just fuel my sword with Aes,¡± said Jace. ¡°Didn¡¯t need a card, though it took concentration, and a card would be pretty helpful.¡±
¡°You resonated with the blade, yes,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Enhancing your body will require different processes, and it will be much more complex. If you try to convert the process of resonating with the sword into a card, you could, but it would be a very simple, limited card. If you found a fortification card to modify and use as a base, you would end up with a much more powerful card.¡±
Jace nodded. ¡°I want a more powerful card.¡± He didn¡¯t half-ass things when there was a chance to do better than that.
¡°Precisely.¡±
¡°Lessa?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Are you able to make a base fortification technique card?¡±
¡°I can modify and copy,¡± she said. ¡°But making a card that complex from scratch is a bit too much for me.¡±
Then they¡¯d have to find one. ¡°Did the Luminians use technique cards?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Did they bury themselves with their cards, like they did with their other weapons.¡±
¡°They used cards for combat, though not for machinery,¡± Kinfild answered. ¡°I do not know why, though you¡¯ll note that we found no function cards in the automaton¡¯s corpse, nor in any of the traps.¡±
He lifted his chin, motioning subtly toward the crust-lift ahead. ¡°Then I don¡¯t suppose this guy uses cards, either.¡±
¡°Correct.¡±
They crossed the rest of the distance to the lift and arrived at a round doorway. It was about two storeys tall, large enough to fit an automaton through, and fed into the rest of the crust-lift¡¯s body.
Jace monitored his senses, hunting for any sort of trap, but he felt nothing. Nothing except the pull of Aes-powere machinery, and the intense pressure they put on his Aes channels and core. Lessa held her head, like she had a massive migraine, and Jace paused for a moment. ¡°The¡deeper we go, the stronger the pressure, right?¡±
¡°Correct,¡± Kinfild said again.
¡°How deep will Lessa make it? And we can¡¯t just leave anyone behind on, say, the third level. That¡¯d be a death sentence.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± she said. ¡°I can ignore the pressure. It¡¯s just spiritual.¡±
Jace glanced at her, at first skeptically, but she firmed up her face and grinned in determination. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°But please, don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡±
¡°This is about more than just you¡¡± Lessa said.
¡°I¡¯ll find another way to help the workers. Hell, all of the people on this planet.¡±
¡°Not just here,¡± she whispered. ¡°You¡¯re a worldjumper, Jace. A herald of doom, and the only one who can prevent it. That means earning your strength.¡±
Jace considered her words for a moment, then glanced at Kinfild.
¡°Dungeons are the best way to gain strength,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Gain it quickly, that is. She¡¯s right. The worldjumpers are critical to the survival of the galaxy. Your strength is paramount, and you will not gain it on the surface.¡±
Jace swallowed. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I have to. Can¡¯t be much good as a wandering knight if there¡¯s nothing left to help. But you count as people as well, and you¡¯re my friends. Both of you. I¡¯m not going to let either of you fall behind.¡± Jace narrowed his eyes. ¡°If the strain of the depths and the spiritual pressure becomes too much, Lessa, we¡¯ll find a way to deal with it.¡±
She clasped her hands together. ¡°Excellent! Mortal scavengers made it about five levels down, though, far as we know, so the same has to go for us¡ªus non-Wielders. I¡¯d bet I can get about six levels, though.¡± She grinned. ¡°Or farther. I¡¯m not average.¡±
Jace nodded, then continued down the hall. It was a simple, utilitarian passageway with tubes along the wall. They glowed blue with flowing Aes, lighting the way and funnelling him toward the center of the device.
The three wound around hallways and descended flights of stairs. Metal clanked underfoot, and the entire facility smelled metallic. Maybe with a little grease and combustion mixed in, like a car¡¯s cold weather exhaust.
Finally, they arrived at a central chamber. The walls rose high on all sides, and a nest of tubes and wires hung from the ceiling. The floor was a ring of thin triangles, each made of perforated steel, and an orange glow emanated from below. On the wall stood a control panel, and Jace descended toward it.
The panel had no labels, and it was at eye level for him. It had been designed with somebody much taller in mind. He rose up on his tip-toes to see it.
¡°If this isn¡¯t the way down, I don¡¯t know what is,¡± he said, then reached up to the panel. ¡°Any idea how to make it work?¡±
The buttons were round, and filigree ornaments surrounded them. He ran his fingers through the grooves, but there were no hints of how to use it.
¡°They only descend one level at a time,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Press a button and see what happens. I doubt they¡¯d build a self-destruct feature into the panel.¡±
Jace chuckled. In that case, chances were, the largest button in the center would be the right button. He reached over, and his fingers hovered over it for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, he made a fist, then slammed the central button before he could talk himself out of it.
His stomach rose to his throat, and the floor dropped out from beneath him.
Chapter 31: Second Level [Volume 2]
Jace widened his stance and reached out to the side. He nearly dropped his blade, but his grip just barely held. Air rushed past his face, and the ceiling retreated. The blazing blue lines in the floor shone brighter.
¡°I think I hit the right button!¡± Jace called. He had to raise his voice over the rushing electric whir and grinding steel. Wind swirled in his ears.
When Lessa shouted back, ¡°Some warning would have been nice!¡± he barely heard her. She reached out to the side just the same, trying to keep her balance.
Kinfild planted his staff down, holding his balance. ¡°I, for one, could tell he was about to press the button!¡±
¡°How would you have known?¡± Jace called. ¡°I barely even knew what I was doing!¡±
¡°Just a hunch!¡±
Jace rolled his eyes, but they had more important things to worry about. They were descending at a rapid rate, and already, they were probably deeper than the deepest tunnel miners had dug back on earth. (Though, the more he thought about that, the less it seemed difficult to surpass.)
The walls of the chamber rushed past. For the most part, they were smooth metal¡ªLuminian steel¡ªbut every so often, they passed a grate that gave him a view of the stone outside. It was a pale beige stone at this depth, with the occasional vein of a granite-like pink.
A pressure pushed down on his shoulders, both from the strength of the crust-lift, and from something else. At first, he couldn¡¯t pinpoint it, until he realized that for them to descend so quickly without the floor leaving their feet, something had to keep them attached.
In the tube, artificial gravity had doubled, holding him tight to the descending platform.
¡°Kinfild,¡± Jace asked on a curious impulse, ¡°how does gravity work?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Well, back home, no one knew, but since you guys can manipulate it, I thought¡ª¡±
¡°We don¡¯t know, either!¡± Kinfild said. ¡°But gravity-aspect Wielders can sense it, much like a field, like the Split but of a different make, and less arcane. They can manipulate it, but they don¡¯t understand the fundamentals of why it works.¡±
Gravity-aspect. Jace nodded. He didn¡¯t exactly know what that entailed, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to meet one. Seemed rather dangerous. But then again, maybe they¡¯d be kind.
¡°You¡don¡¯t know?¡±
¡°There are many mysteries to the galaxy, Jace, and we may never uncover them all. But I am no scientist, nor are you.¡±
A moment later, the platform stopped descending. It came to a halt with a lurch, and Jace fell to his knees. His hands smacked the steel floor below, but the enhanced gravity faded a moment later, and he rose to his feet again.
A doorway stood off to one side of the chamber, leading into the second level of the dungeon. Jace grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving, then.¡±
They stepped off the platform and emerged in a hallway much like the interior of the structure at the top of the crust-lift. Here, however, the veins and tubes along the walls glowed orange instead of blue. A different aspect of Aes? ¡°This is Aes, right?¡± Jace asked, tapping the tube.
¡°Highly refined shield-Aes is my guess,¡± Kinfild answered. ¡°As the crust-lift descends, the Aes that powers it refines into advanced shield-aspects and takes on the distinct orange hue of the anti-hyperspace shield.¡±
Jace swallowed. ¡°Does everything here run on a shield-aspect, then? Weapons, crust-lifts¡that sounds counter-intuitive.¡±
¡°You saw how effective the shield-beam was,¡± said Lessa.
¡°A shield repels,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°And thus, it can be used to propel a platform downward. But, while this dungeon seems to focus on shield-Aes, it can use other aspects. It was able to manipulate gravity.¡±
They followed the hallway to its end, taking a similar route to the top of the facility, then emerged on a walkway, where they traversed out into yet another massive cavern¡ªalmost identical to the one at the top of the lift, except darker. Less light seeped in from wall lanterns, and the stone itself just seemed to absorb more light.
¡°Second level, huh,¡± Jace said halfway across the walkway. He placed his hands on his hips and glanced around. ¡°So, next course of action? I suppose we need to find another Aes lift?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
¡°Unless you want to wander aimlessly in a set of tunnels the scavengers already explored,¡± Kinfild replied.
Jace activated the Questforger card and let the bright blue sheet flash into existence ahead of him. Again, it said, [Subquest available: Find abandoned Luminian Aes-Lift. Reward: None].
¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± he said, then set off toward the hallways on the other side.
They descended through the second level of the dungeon much like the first. Jace practiced sensing traps, with Kinfild and Lessa close behind, and he used the questforger card to locate the next crust-lift. They walked through the hallways and took stairways down wherever they could.
Here, there were some routes that the scavengers hadn¡¯t lit up, though there was no obvious benefit to travelling those ways, and not to mention a whole slew of un-triggered traps. Jace was getting better at picking them out already¡ªfrom ten paces away, he could sense a trap now. Fifteen paces if it hadn¡¯t yet been triggered.
So they stayed in the light. Much safer, and much faster.
He had no gauge of time, but it had to be getting close to evening. Though Jace¡¯s legs didn¡¯t feel tired, there was a dull ache building in his ankles, and the others had to be getting tired too.
When they reached the third level, they¡¯d stop and rest. He promised himself that.
Scavenger patrols were fewer here, but whenever Jace and Kinfild sensed them, they stayed clear. No sense creating problems when they didn¡¯t have to.
They passed the machine corpse of another automaton. Plasma blast holes dotted its armour, scorching it, and dark ash tumbled out the joints between its limbs. A few dead non-Wielder scavengers laid in a ring around it, but whichever companions had survived had taken the rifles and supplies with them.
Still, it must have taken a good number of scavengers to bring the automaton down.
After a few hours, they arrived at another crust-lift. Aside from the frequency of automaton corpses, it didn¡¯t seem too different. Trapezoidal hallways, scavenger lanterns, the odd statue at junctions.
But painfully empty.
As they approached the crust-lift, they stayed on-guard and wound down around the walkways of the cavern. Everything about it looked much like the first, except once more, it delved deeper into the ground.
No automatons attacked as they approached, however two of the destroyed machines lay prone on the walkway across from the stone outer wall to the inner chamber.
When they reached the inner sanctum of the lift, they took the crust-lift down to the third level. Jace pressed the same central button on a remarkably similar control panel, gravity doubled, and the floor shot downward.
As they descended, Jace asked, ¡°Why bother with the crust-lifts at all? I mean, if the Luminians wanted their tombs secure, just bury them entirely.¡±
¡°What good would a tomb be if no one could bask in your glory?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°No, the tombs were designed to allow other Luminians in to view the dead of generations past. You see, they were mortal, and though they lived slightly longer than men, they were intensely jealous of the elves¡¯ immortality. Hence their penchant for megastructures and galactic monuments. They sought to preserve their legacy.¡±
¡°I guess the key word is other Luminians,¡± Jace said. ¡°Not other humans. Or men.¡±
¡°Precisely,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°The moment the scavengers stepped inside, they triggered the defenses.¡±
The crust-lift came to a halt and the tug of gravity lessened once more. They stepped out and navigated through the device¡¯s hallways, until they reached another walkway that stretched across the enormous hall surrounding the lift¡¯s base. But on the other side stood a troop of scavengers. There had to be about fifteen footmen, and one [Level 31] Wielder. Two pulled repeller-carts with crates atop them, but the rest tugged rifles off their shoulders.
Not good.
There was barely time to think, but as soon as the muzzles flashed, Jace was in the middle of conjuring a card and snapping it up out of the air. He crushed the hyperdash in his grip and shot off through the air. In a flash, he passed through a bolt of plasma and launched along the walkway, then appeared in the midst of the scavengers.
They leapt away in shock. One wobbled on the edge of the walkway, and Jace helped the man off with a light push. The rest turned on him, trying to get better aim or slice with their bayonets, but on such a narrow walkway, Jace had the advantage. He stayed low and kept in the middle of the group.
With wide, sweeping swings of the Whistling Blade, he pushed back swaths of scavengers and knocked others off the walkway until only the Wielder was left.
The man drove a fist into the walkway and ripped up a chunk of Luminian steel. The entire bridge creaked and groaned, threatening to collapse. If he didn¡¯t take this Wielder down quickly, the man would get them all killed.
The Wielder stomped hard, then punched, and with his movement, thrust the sheet of metal forward. Jace sliced through it twice. Once to split the sheet down the middle and protect himself, and twice to cleave off a small corner.
He caught the corner before it fell off the edge of the walkway, then held it up and used the Wanderer¡¯s Expulsion.
The Wielder wasn¡¯t ready. Still reeling from the initial onslaught, the shard of steel zipping forward faster than light skewered a hole right through his chest, and he fell dead in a near instant.
Jace shook off the Whistling Blade, then held up his hand and flexed his fingers. ¡°Good¡good to know it¡¯s getting easier.¡±
Or he was getting better at this. Either way, facing someone around his same level was almost¡inconsequential.
He glanced back at Kinfild and Lessa, who still stood nearly fifty paces away, then shouted, ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we rested for the day!¡±
Chapter 32: Reagent [Volume 2]
The three ran through the hallways of the third level until they reached a small atrium. It was about fifty paces wide, and hexagonal, with a hallway stretching out off every face of the structure. A metal column stood at the center, and occasionally, cracks along its sides pulsed with blue.
Two automaton corpses laid up against the column¡¯s side, having been destroyed by scavengers a few days ago, and a ring of water ran around the atrium about a third of the way across.
At first, Jace had opposed camping here. Too many hallways intersecting meant more people could come from all directions and attack them at once, and there would be too many hallways to guard, but the chances of scavengers coming from all six directions was slim. This way, they had plenty of routes to escape along.
It wasn¡¯t cool down here, like he had been expecting, and there was no need for a fire. He pulled off his cloak and bunched it up under his head for a pillow. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable, but now that he was laying down, his body didn¡¯t want to get up, and the day¡¯s exhaustion caught up with him.
Not to mention that he¡¯d not really slept properly the night before, either.
Kinfild kept the first watch while he and Lessa slept. About two thirds of the way through the night, Kinfild woke Jace up, and Jace watched their surroundings until morning.
Alone, with nothing else to do but watch, he practiced fuelling his Whistling Blade with hyperspace Aes. It took intense concentration, and he could barely cycle Aes while doing it¡ªcertainly not maintain a strict, combat-focussed pattern. Moreover, with the willpower it took, he could only hold it for a few seconds before it sputtered out, returning the blade just to its regular stored-up plasma Aes.
He desperately needed a card for it. It¡¯d make the technique so much faster and combat effective.
Finally, when Kinfild and Lessa woke up, they ate a small breakfast of dungeon rations. They split it into enough rations for two months (earth months), and though they wouldn¡¯t be feasting, it¡¯d be enough sustenance to keep them going.
After eating, they continued on into the depths.
Over the next three days, they located crust-lifts and descended levels. There was no point lingering in the levels that the scavengers had already cleared out. Moving as quickly as possible was of utmost priority, but even on the higher levels, they encountered minor difficulties that slowed them.
For one, a few more guardian automatons. They looked the same as the first, and were all about [Level 30], except for one which was [Level 36] and chased them for a few minutes, before they toppled a statue on it and trapped it.
The strategy for destroying automatons was almost always the same: Kinfild and Lessa would distract it, allowing Jace to go for the kill. With an enhanced slash, he cut through the plating of the creatures¡¯ legs and brought them low, then speared their vulnerable chests and caused catastrophic failures.
The vast majority had a shield aspect, like the first, but one had an ice aspect, and its core weapon generated a beam of frosty air that froze everything it touched. It¡¯d caught Kinfild across the shoulder with its beam, and they had to recover a stim-shot from a dimly-lit and poorly explored hallway to help his body recover from acute frostbite.
But, aside from that, no problems!
On the sixth level, there were almost no lanterns. The scavengers had only just begun exploring, and it was perfect. Lessa lit the way with her flaming tail, though it guttered much dimmer than usual. No doubt a result of the intense spiritual pressure and weight of the cavern, but she kept a firm face, and Kinfild supplemented it with his own light from his staff.
But, disappointingly, no obvious treasure.
¡°How do we know where the tombs are?¡± Jace asked. In the Maehn dungeon, the loot had been inside tombs, and though there hadn¡¯t been much there, it had only been the first level.
¡°Where there are more guardian automatons,¡± Kinfild replied. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
But Jace didn¡¯t need tricks like that. He simply changed the target of his Questforger card and focussed on the idea of technique cards.
However, the sheet read: [Subquest unavailable: no nearby unsocketed technique cards. Assess socketed cards?]
Jace declined with a push of intent, then explained exactly what it said to Kinfild and Lessa.
¡°You¡¯d think there¡¯d be something good on the sixth level,¡± Lessa grumbled.
¡°You¡¯d think,¡± Jace agreed.
¡°It simply means there are none in the nearby vicinity,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°But we must keep delving.¡±
¡°There will be something good eventually, right?¡± Jace asked. ¡°The deeper we go?¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°The deeper you travel, the more important the buried Luminians were, and the greater their burial goods will be.¡±
¡°We also need to find a crust-lift to move ourselves horizontally,¡± Lessa pointed out. ¡°Or latitudinally. Wait¡longitudinally?¡±
¡°I suppose both?¡± Jace shrugged. ¡°We need to get above the dungeon-core, which probably means we need to head both a little ways. Any idea where the core would be, Kinfild? Aside from, well, on the fifteenth level.¡±
¡°My suspicion is that we¡¯ll find it in an area of geographic significance. Like the equator or the ecliptic. But that is still a very large ring.¡±
¡°So he doesn¡¯t know.¡± Jace stopped walking and scratched the back of his head. ¡°My Questforger card doesn¡¯t have enough range to track the core, either. Unless, miraculously, it¡¯s within ten kilom¡ªmiles of us.¡±
¡°Kilomiles?¡± Lessa nudged him teasingly.
¡°You knew what I meant¡¡± Jace crossed his arms. ¡°The only solution is to enhance the card¡¯s range, and for that¡well, how difficult would it be to enhance the card¡¯s runes?¡± He looked directly at Lessa.
¡°I could enhance it about five times,¡± she said. ¡°As it stands now. And then we¡¯d have to reforge the card altogether, which I might be able to do if I had the right resources and setup.¡±
Jace nodded slowly, but he understood little. ¡°Reforging? I¡¯m gonna need that one explained. And¡what resources would we need specifically?¡±
Kinfild held out his hand and manifested his Hollow Dragon¡¯s Bite card. The plastic-y sheet hovered over his palm. He snapped it out of the air with his fingers and held it out to Jace. Gingerly, Jace took the card and held it up.
It shimmered in the light. At first, he thought it was a by-product of the shifting fire-light, but that couldn¡¯t be. It had an iridescent, faintly-purple shimmer to it. Every few seconds, a wave of power ran over the card, making his fingers tingle. His hand shook. ¡°This card has been reforged?¡±
¡°Precisely,¡± Kinfild said.
¡°It allows more complex functions,¡± Lessa explained, ¡°but it also bakes in all lower-tier advancement runes into the card¡¯s substance. They¡¯re a part of the plastic, a part of the card itself now, and it can control them much more efficiently.¡±
¡°And it allows card-smiths to add new runes on top,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°Usually, when you don¡¯t have a card-smith travelling with you, you use credits to buy the services of a smith, which can be expensive and time-consuming. But we¡¯re lucky to have Lessa with us.¡±
At that, Lessa beamed, then said, ¡°We¡¯d need an emulsifying liquid. And¡something almost like quenching oil, though it has a specific name, but¡in essence, you get it from melting down old technique cards. Old, weaker ones. You take their power. Reforging almost always improves the grade of a card, too.¡±
¡°So,¡± Jace said, ¡°is it actually possible to enhance the range of the Questforger card enough to¡to scan the whole planet?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Lessa shut her eyes, but stared at him intently and intensely until golden dust appeared on the backs of her eyelids and wafted out onto her eyelashes. She blinked it away and said, ¡°I see two clear paths for enhancing the card. One makes it more precise and focuses the senses directly, and the other expands the range and allows the user to¡effectively enhance the range of their spiritual senses as well.¡±
Jace rubbed his chin. For a moment, the idea of precise focus on a target sounded appealing, but he had to think of the long term. Being able to sense things farther away was just a better trade, not to mention more necessary right now.
¡°Let¡¯s aim for that one, then,¡± he said.
¡°Given a week, I can get it about five enhancements,¡± Lessa said. ¡°But it¡¯ll use up about half of our soldering wire, and you¡¯ll get about a thousand miles of range. At some point, it starts increasing in larger amounts.¡±
But nowhere near the circumference of the earth. Jace did the calculations in his mind, and even though his conversions between imperial and metric weren¡¯t perfect, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. This planet had to have about the same gravitational pull as earth, so about the same size.
¡°So reforging the card is absolutely necessary,¡± he said.
He was about to pivot to a different idea, but he stopped his thoughts and dragged them back to the first conundrum. ¡°When we find useless cards in the tombs, we can just keep them.¡± Jace grinned. ¡°Then, use them as reforging material when we have enough.¡±
¡°You¡¯d need about fifty spare cards, but yes,¡± Kinfild said.
¡°And we¡¯ll only find fifty spare cards the deeper we go,¡± Jace replied. ¡°So, onto the next crust-lift.¡±
That felt much better now. Moving through with a way forward, with the path illuminated to him.
And with an idea of how to get to the center of the dungeon.
Chapter 33: Magnets [Volume 2]
When they reached the seventh level, they had to slow down.
There were no lights whatsoever, and Jace hadn¡¯t sensed a scavenger in two days. The traps were coming at a greater frequency, and he and Kinfild walked side-by-side to both detect, in case Jace missed anything.
The traps seemed to be scattered randomly all throughout the hallway, whether they were spikes that shot up from the floor or toxic gasses that would pour from invisible pores in the surrounding stone. They identified the bricks to avoid, then stepped around them.
There were no scavengers to clear the way for them, but it also meant they hadn¡¯t stripped the hallways clean. Veins of Luminian Steel and Luminian Gold ran throughout the walls, and sometimes, they formed runic shapes. The scavengers hadn¡¯t cleared it out yet.
Every so often, and Jace figured it matched the overall resonance period of the entire tomb, a pulse of Shield Aes ran through the runes, conducting upward to the surface and fuelling the shield generators.
The guardian automatons also appeared at a greater frequency. They plowed through the walls, emerging from the stone seemingly as a last resort to prevent intruders who¡¯d passed certain sections of traps.
The automatons were all rated [Level 35], and they only seemed to be getting stronger the deeper Jace, Kinfild, and Lessa delved.
From destroying automatons, though, Jace was absorbing more Aes at an increased rate. He got at least one kill every day, which fuelled his ingestions.
Already, he¡¯d advanced to level thirty-one, and he distributed three attribute shards. One in Resistance, which counted for two, and two in Vital, bringing both ratings to fifty.
But still no individual coffins.
On the third day after reaching the seventh level, when they had descended to the same elevation as the next crust-lift, the ceiling exploded.
Jace and Kinfild leapt back from the shower of rocks. Dust choked the air, and he waved his hand in front of his face to clear his vision. An automaton descended through the cloud, hovering down slowly, green lights accenting its curves.
But it wasn¡¯t human-shaped, not like the other. It was more like an albatross, but with four wings and symmetrical along both axes. It didn¡¯t flap. The air beneath each wing thrummed, like repeller-cars did, making the dust swirl.
In the center of its body was a hollow core, and a head sprouted directly up from its Luminian steel back¡ªshaped exactly like the regular automaton¡¯s head had been.
¡°Not good¡¡± Kinfild muttered.
The tag [Level 42 Magnet-Aspect Automaton] hovered above its head.
¡°Not good,¡± Jace echoed.
The automaton¡¯s core illuminated. The hollow tube at the center swivelled toward them, and its edges glowed green.
Jace jumped to the side, and Kinfild and Lessa jumped the other direction. Their backs pressed up against the sloping walls of the dungeon hallway. It was a regular hallway, about two storeys tall, with room for two people to stretch their arms across it, but the hunter automaton made it feel tiny.
Its wingspan was Jace¡¯s height. If hovered like a drone would back on earth, but it was eerily silent.
And then a beam of green-Aes spiralled out from its core. It was lime-green and bright enough to leave stains in Jace¡¯s eyes. Electricity crackled along the buckles of his armour, and his blood tingled. Static built on the surface of his skin.
The beam didn¡¯t damage the floor, but electricity sparked out from the impact point.
Jace didn¡¯t remember much from high school physics, but they¡¯d talked about electromagnetism a few times. It was affecting the metals in the floors and walls, and inducing currents in them?
¡°Don¡¯t touch the walls!¡± he shouted. None of their boots were metal, and unless the electricity arced to them, they¡¯d be fine¡ªas long as they didn¡¯t touch the metal.
The beam of spiralling magnet Aes swept out to the side, racing toward Jace. He¡¯d been making the most noise. It scoured the wall behind him. Currents of electricity played along the metal wall inlays and arced over the stone, but Jace ducked and leapt away. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
He drew the Whistling Blade and held it up, then slashed at the hunter automaton, but it hovered out of the way in an instant, adjusting its position.
¡°It has incredibly high Agility and Potency,¡± Lessa shouted. ¡°I¡¯d bet if you get hit by that beam, it puts a curse on you!¡±
¡°What¡¯s the specific level?¡± Jace said. ¡°Do you know the number? If it¡¯s higher than fifty, I can¡¯t take a hit from it!¡± A curse was a challenge between the user¡¯s Potency and the target¡¯s Resistance.
¡°Give me a moment!¡±
Jace inhaled with half-annoyed acceptance. He couldn¡¯t just stand around, but he also had strategies to get close to it. Its agility didn¡¯t matter when he could move faster than light. Resistance-Potency clashes meant nothing if it didn¡¯t have a chance to hit him¡with whatever that beam did.
It wasn¡¯t an electric shock, that much was certain, but electric shocks weren¡¯t curses. It was probably something much worse.
He activated his hyperdash and flashed through the hunter automaton, targeting the open space above it. When it¡¯d crashed through the roof, it left a hole in the bricks where it smashed through. A separate channel for movement ran through the stone, allowing it to traverse the bulk of the dungeon with ease and attack targets.
Jace emerged in the area above it with a flash, then fell onto its back. He flipped his blade over and held it in a reverse grip, then drove it down toward the automaton¡¯s core¡ªor the area just beside it.
Before his blade could pierce, the automaton bucked and shook. It tilted to the side abruptly, throwing Jace¡¯s aim off. The blade whistled through the air but struck nothing.
Then, the drone-shape automaton rose. Abruptly, it raced toward the ceiling, trying to crush him. He had no choice but to jump off.
He struck the ground, but tucked his head and rolled to keep the damage low. As soon as he stood up, Kinfild pulled him aside¡ªout of the way of a spiralling beam of magnet-Aes. If he hadn¡¯t moved, it would¡¯ve blasted him straight in the chest.
After firing a beam, it shuddered and dropped lower, and it barely moved anymore, as if it was tired.
¡°Its Potency is sixty-four,¡± Lessa said. ¡°With ninety percent certainty. Plus or minus one.¡±
Jace almost rolled his eyes at the uncertainty, but it was much better than before, and given limited time, he accepted it. Plus or minus one point made no difference to the calculus.
¡°Kinfild, I have an idea,¡± Jace said. ¡°Can you use the Hollow Dragon¡¯s Bite on it and lower its Potency?¡±
¡°I can.¡±
¡°Then I can take a hit and resist it,¡± Jace said. ¡°Once it hits me, I¡¯ll be right in position to dash to it, and it¡¯ll be too tired to throw me off or crush me.¡±
Kinfild nodded, then pointed his staff at it. He spun the staff and triggered the card, but it dipped to the side, and the bar of whirling orange flame smashed into the ceiling and sputtered along the runes, conducting through their shapes in lines before fading away.
Jace grimaced. The automaton turned toward them, pointed its core, then fired, scraping its beam along the wall.
Jace pushed Kinfild and Lessa to the other side of the hall, then jumped along with them himself, but the beam clipped his shoulder. Just a glancing blow, but it made his skin tingle. For a few seconds, the curse fought with his Resistance, then eventually, overcame it and penetrated an inch into his muscle.
It wasn¡¯t a physical attack, but it felt like thousands of tiny ants chewing away at his flesh, blackening it and making it peel. It was almost like his skin had been magnetized, like little strands of it had been forced to align. Already, a faint force pulled him toward the automaton. It¡¯d turned him into a metal, and it was pulling him closer, activating the curse.
Jace gritted his teeth, but he couldn¡¯t delay. They had to destroy it before it drew him in.
¡°Kinfild, lead your shot!¡± Jace called. ¡°Lessa, aim right at it! Fire off to its left side, and it¡¯ll move to the right¡ªright into Kinfild¡¯s technique!¡±
¡°Got it!¡± she shouted, then pointed her rifle and fired without warning. Sure enough, the automaton dodged¡ªand flew right into Kinfild¡¯s attack.
Swirls of orange flame coursed around the automaton in rings, eating away at its Potency and trying to get inside it. It was a curse of Kinfild¡¯s own, which diminished the target¡¯s Potency.
The automaton fired another beam of magnet-Aes at Jace, but this time, Jace held his ground. The beam blasted against his raised forearms and washed over the ground below, sending up sparks, but this time, his body resisted the curse.
Jace grinned. As soon as the beam ended, he activated his reset card, then, with the buff it gave him, used his hyperdash. He flashed through the air and appeared overtop the automaton.
Sure enough, it barely flinched, and didn¡¯t try to throw him off.
He stabbed his blade down, concentrating solely on fuelling it with hyperspace Aes. Like a filament in a lightbulb, the fast-moving Aes heated up the glass cutting edge, regardless of whether it was plasma or not, and the blade moved faster through the air.
He rammed it down beside the automaton¡¯s core, piercing armour and mechanical innards. He struck twice more before it fell out of the air and clattered to the ground, then fell still.
¡°Get back!¡± Kinfild called.
Jace scrambled back along the hallway as the automaton¡¯s innards exploded, his arms still vibrating from the intense impact of the automaton against the ground. A shard of shrapnel pierced the stone just beside his foot.
As soon as the automaton exploded, the pull on the faint curse it¡¯d applied faded, but Jace glanced down at it anyway. Whether the curse was gone or not, it¡¯d still done slight damage to the flesh. He rubbed his muscle. It felt like jello, and his whole arm felt weaker than usual.
But as soon as he glanced farther down the hallway, through the dust, a tomb lay at the end of the hallway.
They¡¯d better have more stim shots.
Chapter 34: Storage [Volume 2]
As they approached the coffin, Jace¡¯s senses lit up with warning for a brief second before falling dark once more.
¡°Did you feel that?¡± he asked Kinfild.
¡°I did,¡± Kinfild replied, his voice soft.
¡°What?¡± Lessa whispered. ¡°What did you feel? It wasn¡¯t just a gust of wind, was it? Ugh, the air here is so stale.¡±
¡°We haven¡¯t passed a ventilation chute in a few hours,¡± Jace reminded her. ¡°Probably why.¡±
¡°Would you two stop getting sidetracked?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°A brief flare of warning like that, before abruptly cutting off? It means someone¡ªa conscious Wielder, not monster or beast¡ªthought to veil themselves and dropped out of our field of perception.¡±
Jace slowed to a halt, and his eyes widened. ¡°Is a scavenger catching up to us?¡±
¡°I cannot tell that much,¡± said Kinfild. ¡°Although my senses may be more developed than yours, I still cannot determine such fine details.¡±
Jace grimaced. ¡°What do we do?¡±
¡°Keep walking, and we make sure that one of us is always looking, keeping our eyes out for trouble.¡±
Reluctantly, Jace continued onward, holding his hands up like he was ready to strike, making fists and approaching the coffin. Kinfild walked backward, keeping watch on the hallway behind, and Lessa flicked her rifle¡¯s safety catch off.
But they reached the stone coffin unassailed. It was a stone box, but its sides curved inward slightly, almost giving it the shape of an altar. It was about twice as wide and tall as a regular coffin, perfect for the size he imagined the Luminians to be. Runes ran up its side, joining with lines on the floor, and a single face-shaped carving protruded from the lid where the head would¡¯ve been.
It had a similar head shape to the guardian automatons, with almost flaring wings at the top, and it almost reminded him of a hammerhead shark¡ªif the shark otherwise had a human expression.
As soon as he placed his hands on the stone lid of the coffin, he expected a trap to go off, or some sort of guardian automaton to burst from the walls.
But they¡¯d already passed this hallway¡¯s trials.
With a single heave, working alone, Jace leveraged his enhanced strength to push the coffin¡¯s lid off, revealing the inside.
A detail-less silver sarcophagus filled the interior of the coffin, but a monotone blue hologram flickered overtop, giving it the illusion of depth and volume¡ªand the shape of an Ancient Luminian.
A man twice as tall as a regular human, with the same head shape as the carving outside. He wore robes that made Jace think of an Asian monk of some kind¡ªhe didn¡¯t really know the proper term¡ªand folded his hands over his chest.
How the hologram was powered, Jace couldn¡¯t say, but after a few seconds, it flickered, then shut off.
¡°Running on reserve power, then,¡± he muttered. ¡°Lessa, could I get a little light over here?¡±
¡°A little light, coming right up!¡± She ran over to the edge of the coffin and leaned over, then held her tail over the sarcophagus. ¡°Oh. I was kinda expecting something a little more¡grim.¡±
¡°So was I, given what we saw in the Maehn dungeon,¡± Jace said. Along the sides of the sarcophagus were smaller wooden canisters. Some were rectangular boxes, and some were cylinders with screw-on caps. ¡°Surprised nothing decayed,¡± he muttered.
¡°It was sealed,¡± Lessa whispered back.
¡°Do you two see anything?¡± Kinfild asked. His back was still toward them, and he held his staff in a ready position. A technique card still floated above his hand, though at this distance, Jace couldn¡¯t tell what the card was.
Jace cleared his throat, then leaned down and cracked open the containers. The lids had been sealed with some sort of glue, but he could break them open easily enough with his bare hands.
Inside the rectangular containers lay weapons. A few daggers, a curved sword nearly Jace¡¯s entire height, and a plasma weapon that reminded him more of a tuning fork than a rifle. At first, he had no way of carrying it all, and was going to leave them behind, until he looked down at the sarcophagus¡¯ fingers¡ªone of the only elements that had been truly carved.
A brass ring clung to the finger, and empty, unfuelled runes ran all around its edges. He slid the ring off the sarcophagus¡¯ finger. It was much too large to fit on his finger, but too small to be a bracelet. However, when Lessa tried, it fit around her wrist nearly perfectly like a bangle. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
¡°But you should use it,¡± Lessa said. ¡°First, then I can carry it if you want.¡±
¡°Use it?¡± Jace raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh, this seems like a terrible idea. No way am I using some magic ancient ring with runes on the side. What are the chances that it¡¯ll glow orange if we throw it in the fire, and we¡¯ll get some nasty guys in black cloaks coming after us?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a storage ring, Jace,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°Fuel the runes and see.¡±
¡°Not a dark lord¡¯s soul-carrying trinket?¡±
¡°You have that where you come from?¡± Lessa exclaimed.
¡°Well¡no, but¡ª¡± Jace shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that there¡¯s nothing like that here?¡±
¡°If someone was going to bind the Enemy¡¯s soul to a mere trinket, he would have to be very powerful,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°It is more likely that he would destroy the Enemy.¡±
¡°Okay, alright.¡± Jace flooded the storage ring¡¯s runes with Aes, like he was using a vault core, and the flared blue.
A sheet whirled up in front of him, reading, [Open middle-grade storage bangle?]
¡°Yes,¡± Jace confirmed, also pushing with intent.
The ring expanded to the size of a hoola-hoop in a matter of seconds, and its interior became a window through space. Instead of the hallway beyond, he could only see a metal container, trapezoidal, in standard Luminian fashion it seemed, large enough to fit a small car. There was nothing inside, and dim light came from somewhere.
When he reached inside, it felt the exact same as the air of the hallway. A little musty, but otherwise, there was air, and it was safe. He tossed a dagger in just to be safe, and it clattered unceremoniously to the storage space¡¯s ground.
¡°I guess that¡¯s why it¡¯s called a storage ring,¡± he muttered. But it meant room to store all their extra trinkets and cards.
He placed the weapons inside as he cracked open the cannisters. ¡°We can sell these for more fuel and supplies when we get out,¡± Jace said. ¡°And materials, in case we need to repair the Wrath, of course.¡±
On the right side of the sarcophagus, all the canisters were the same size. They were individual cube-shaped wooden containers. When Jace opened them, they each contained a technique card and a pair of elixirs. One stim-shot, and one plain Aes elixir, for gathering Aes and advancing.
He used one of the stim-shots immediately and began healing himself, then places the rest in the storage ring and analyzed the new technique cards.
Nothing useful. He was on a water-based Path. The Wielder must¡¯ve had five pillars, because he only had five canisters, and each was for a different technique¡ªone utility, one fortification, one for forging, one for cursing, and one for ranged attacks. The highest quality card was a legendary forging technique.
Though Jace couldn¡¯t use them directly, though, they could melt down the cards and enhance them. Nothing here would be a waste.
¡°What would be a good base for a fortification card?¡± Jace asked.
¡°Preferably something close to your aspect,¡± Lessa answered. ¡°Something slippery, maybe light-based, seeing as these guys called themselves the Luminians. And hopefully Legendary quality or better.¡±
¡°Then we¡¯d better get looking for more.¡± Jace glanced back into the coffin once more to make sure he hadn¡¯t left anything behind, then picked up the still-open storage ring. ¡°Now how do I get this guy to¡close?¡±
He¡¯d damaged the Aes extraction card beyond repair, but his core still had an innate fluctuation to it, which seemed perfect for pulling Aes. Especially when the target wasn¡¯t an accumulator node, purposely resistant to having the power drawn out of it.
When the pressure of his core subsided, he imagined he was pulling, almost using that hyperspace movement to drain the ring.
[Close storage ring?] asked the sheet, and he mentally confirmed. The runes faded, and the ring shrank back down to its previous bangle-sized armband. He passed it back to Lessa, and she slipped it onto her wrist.
¡°If you¡¯re done,¡± Kinfild said, ¡°we should keep moving.¡±
They set off down the hall, Lessa holding her tail in front of her. Jace walked beside her, and he drew his Whistling Blade, in case the source of the previous warning¡ªand then prompt veiling¡ªreturned.
They dodged three more traps as they continued on in the general direction of the next crust-lift, but the fourth trap had been disabled already. Not triggered, but damaged. Someone had melted a hold directly in its center.
Jace stopped. ¡°More scavengers? Do you think a party made it this deep before us?¡±
Kinfild bent over the trap, then tapped the gash. It was a standard spike-raising trap, triggered by proximity sensors. ¡°This incision was made by a Whistling Blade. It¡¯s too thin and deep to be anything else.¡±
¡°Watchmen?¡± Jace asked. ¡°Unless a scavenger also got their hands on a Whistling Blade.¡±
Kinfild narrowed his eyes, then stood straight up and fired a bolt of flame down the hallway off the tip of his staff. The orange bolt seared down the hall, illuminating its way, but it didn¡¯t trigger any traps.
There were three more points where someone had melted holes in the ground.
Finally, about fifty meters down the hallway, the flame stopped abruptly. The pulse burst apart, tendrils writhing to the edge of the hall, and for a brief second, the silhouette of a man appeared in the center of the hall.
Jace swallowed, then pointed his Whistling Blade out at the silhouette¡ªor where the silhouette had been. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he called.
A normal sized man, not a Luminian. He¡¯d probably been wearing a cloak, and the interwoven strands of his leather robe had glimmered in the faint light.
Finally, after a few seconds of staring, a faint tag appeared down the hallway, reading, [Level 57 Aes Wielder ¨C Soul-Circle Blending ¨C 9th Stage].
Jace glanced back at Kinfild. ¡°You saw that, right?¡±
¡°I did.¡± Kinfild gripped his staff with both hands.
¡°Then¡ª¡±
¡°Greetings, worldjumper,¡± said the man. ¡°I can¡¯t say I was expecting to see you here, but it¡¯s a welcome surprise, and I won¡¯t waste the opportunity.¡±
Chapter 35: Ash [Volume 2]
Jace couldn¡¯t decide if the man sounded threatening or not. With that level, though?
The amount of Aes it was taking to advance a level was getting greater and greater, and that meant higher levels would have almost exponentially more Aes. On paper, Jace and Kinfild combined could both stack up against this man, but Jace doubted it would ever turn out like that.
¡°I know that voice,¡± Kinfild whispered. ¡°Show yourself!¡±
¡°Can your fancy¡better-attuned senses tell you who he is?¡± Lessa asked. ¡°If everyone leaves a different impression or something with their core?¡±
Kinfild shook his head. ¡°Only for people whose signatures I¡¯ve been in the presence of for a long while.¡±
Footsteps sounded down the hall as the man approached. ¡°I should clarify, I mean you no harm, though you have been entertaining to observe.¡±
Yeah. Because Jace could trust that so easily.
¡°I am known as The Ashen, and I was sent here by my mistress Lady Fairynor,¡± said the man. ¡°I believe you are acquainted, yes?¡±
Jace glanced at Lessa, then back at Kinfild. ¡°Yeah¡kinda?¡± Jace said. Lady Fairynor had mentioned something about a warrior in her service named The Ashen, and the name certainly lent credence to this man¡¯s claims. But Jace stayed on-guard. ¡°What are you doing here? How even are you here?¡±
The Ashen snorted. ¡°You¡¯re not the first person to enter the dungeon, and neither were the scavengers. Lady Fairynor¡¯s contacts in the Parliament heard about the miners¡¯ discovery through their insider channels, and I travelled here well before the Brakamen even caught wind of it.¡±
Jace narrowed his eyes, then turned to Kinfild. ¡°Insider channels?¡±
¡°Parliamentarians often hear about corporate achievements before the news goes public,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°In addition to their considerable pay, it allows them to make investments well in advance and pad their pockets.¡±
¡°Wonderful¡¡± Jace muttered.
¡°As for what I¡¯m doing here,¡± said The Ashen, ¡°I seek to eliminate enemies of the state. There is a party of Watchmen delving deep in the caverns, who arrived before me as well, and I must eliminate them while I have a chance¡ªno one will think twice about their disappearance, and it will be chalked up as an accident.¡±
¡°Why follow us?¡± Lessa asked. She raised her rifle and pressed the stock against her shoulder, resting it under her clavicle.
¡°Because you intrigued me, and the Worldjumper¡¯s rise has been most impressive since I last sensed him.¡±
¡°You¡sensed me before?¡± Jace asked.
¡°On Celacor, yes, I investigated a little.¡± The Ashen continued walking. He flicked his fingers, conjured a technique card, and a glowing turquoise sphere of Aes appeared above his hand. It tugged on Jace¡¯s skin, and the edges of his vision blurred, and if the orb was drawing all matter toward it.
¡°A repeller-aspect¡¡± Lessa breathed.
Repellers didn¡¯t draw objects in. Jace scrunched his eyebrows, then raised his sword. The tug wasn¡¯t intense, and it wasn¡¯t going to pull him off his feet any time soon¡ªespecially not with his Resistance¡ªbut it was undeniable. ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s not gravity manipulation?¡± he asked.
¡°My Path is a subset of repeller-Aes, but I have crafted a distinct tractor-beam Path,¡± said the Ashen. ¡°Using the same Aes manipulation that a starship-borne tractor-beam would employ. Not gravity manipulation, boy, but a distinct function of repellers¡ªforce manipulation.¡±
The orb of light, however, fully illuminated the Ashen. He still wore his Watchman¡¯s cloak, and beneath it, his base Watchman attire¡ªwoven leather strands, overlapping like a wicker basket. At his hip hung a Whistling Blade, and a sliver of orange glass peered out from the crossguard.
He pulled down his hood, revealing shoulder-length brown hair, greasy and unclean. Angular gray tattoos covered his face, tracing thick paths over his cheeks or around his eyes, and paving a straight line down the middle of his face, all the way down to his thin beard.
That was probably where he got his name.
Maybe he was human, maybe he wasn¡¯t. Jace couldn¡¯t tell, but other than the tattoos, there was nothing alien about him. At Jace¡¯s estimate, he was in his late thirties, early forties.
¡°What is your purpose in revealing yourself to us now?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°I am grateful for your past assistance, of course, but this seems¡arbitrary.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°I¡¯m in need of guidance. Even my senses cannot detect the main core of the dungeon.¡± The Ashen crossed his arms. ¡°But the Worldjumper¡¯s abilities are of great use to me, now, and I need to find the crust-lifts just the same as you.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll be making detours,¡± Jace said. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta stop at the tenth level, at the very center¡.for, well, it¡¯s hard to explain.¡± He lowered his Whistling Blade slightly. If Kinfild had had past dealings with this man, then he couldn¡¯t have been too dangerous. Or, hopefully, held no ill will against them.
¡°That is fine by me,¡± said the Ashen.
¡°So¡uh, Mr. The Ashen,¡± Lessa said, ¡°are you a Watchman or aren¡¯t you? Why do you wear their clothes?¡±
¡°If you please, you may call me Ash,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯d be easier.¡±
¡°Alright, Ash. But¡I don¡¯t want to be putting him¡±¡ªLessa motioned at Jace¡ª¡°up close with a devoted Watchman.¡±
¡°I¡¯m hardly devoted to their new order,¡± said the man¡ªAsh. ¡°But they were not always a corrupt, dark institution. I joined them many years ago as an outcast young boy with nothing left to lose, and they trained me. When they purged the light-aspect Watchmen and Wielders, I modified my Path. They wanted me to bend my core and roots to a dark aspect, but I took on this new aspect as a compromise. Now, I thwart their corruptive efforts from within.¡±
¡°Why purge the light Wielders?¡± Jace asked.
Ash chuckled. He approached, drawing closer, then knelt down before them. ¡°That will take many days of explaining, and I¡¯m not sure I have all the answers either. But I can say with certainty that I will not harm you, and I will protect you from the Watchmen. You are a Worldjumper, and I¡¯m certain Lady Fairynor would request it of me regardless.¡±
Jace raised his eyebrows. ¡°She¡¯s that important?¡±
¡°She is like a mother to me, and that I say freely.¡±
¡°Then¡¡± Jace glanced at Kinfild. ¡°I guess we keep moving?¡±
¡°If no one has any objections to him coming,¡± Kinfild said.
¡°No objections, but¡¡± Lessa mimed the watching you signal with two fingers, pointing at her eyes then at Ash. ¡°You hurt Jace, we¡¯ll have problems.¡±
Jace nodded. ¡°Likewise, for both of those two. But I have no objections at the moment, as long as I get to gather any technique cards we find, and get a chance to destroy most of the automatons¡ªthey¡¯re an excellent source of Aes for me.¡±
¡°Excellent,¡± said Ash. ¡°For the Worldjumper, I¡¯d expect no less. Now¡I have been curious to see that quest-making technique up close¡¡±
Jace stayed near the back of their group as they navigated the halls, keeping an eye on Ash. Really, they didn¡¯t have much choice. He expected the Wielder¡ªor Watchman or whatever he was¡ªwould follow them anyway, so better that they knew what he was doing.
And, Jace told himself, if Ash chose to hurt them, he could¡¯ve easily attacked whenever he chose. He was more powerful and could destroy them all.
Unless it was true that he needed the card, and was using them to get to this Halcyon Spear at the core of the dungeon. But that meant they had time, and Jace could use it to catch up to Ash¡¯s level¡ªif it ever came to a fight. Ash couldn¡¯t use the card without Jace; he wasn¡¯t a hyperspace Wielder.
So they continued onward, Kinfild at the front, Ash behind him, then Lessa, and finally Jace. Jace used the stim-shot immediately, and as they walked, he allowed it to work to fix the remaining damage from his fight with the hunter automaton. If it hadn¡¯t been for his high Vitality, the hunter¡¯s attacks would¡¯ve killed him.
But he was supposed to be a hunter himself. Was¡well, tanky stats what he thought of when he considered when he thought of a hunter?
He would¡¯ve considered stealth and high damage, but there wasn¡¯t really a stat for damage, and he had plenty of that with the Whistling Blade, but perhaps he could use a little more strength. His hyperdash allowed him to move quickly, though it certainly wasn¡¯t a complete substitute for agility. Still, it had caught plenty of opponents off guard, and passing through object unhindered was helpful.
So strength. Which meant, in their card hunting endeavors, they needed to find a fortification card. It¡¯d allow him to deal more damage in a fight, and not be so reliant on Lessa and Kinfild to seek out vulnerabilities and do damage.
Perhaps there was more than one sort of hunter. His own hunting ability worked more like a bounty hunting system¡if his targets were criminals who¡¯d offended a mysterious intergalactic system, that was.
Perhaps that was what it meant. Or what he could make it mean, if he tried hard enough. His path and abilities were malleable enough, and he could choose.
They walked for a few more hours, disabling traps, and they dispatched two more automatons¡ªJace got the final blow on both of them, registering the kill and absorbing the Aes. After each, they investigated for tombs and coffins, and found three more large stone coffins, each with a host of cards within them.
After the third coffin, they paused and rested. That night, they didn¡¯t let Ash take a watch, which he seemed more than alright with. None of them trusted him enough to let him watch over them as they slept.
It was hard to tell when morning was, but Jace had taken the first watch, and it meant someone else had to wake him up when they decided it was morning, which was fine by him.
The next few days continued on much the same, with them descending through the seventh level, defeating automatons, disarming traps, and opening coffins. They had to be drawing close to the next crust-lift, Jace was certain of it. The questforger sheet pointed directly ahead, and vibrations were starting to pour up from the ground.
But, instead of arriving at the next open chamber, on the fourth day since they¡¯d found Ash, they arrived at a door. It spanned the entire hallway from width to two-storey height, blocking their way with thick Luminian steel and golden runic engravings.
Jace rubbed his forehead. ¡°I¡I think the lift is on the other side of there. Problem is getting us all through.¡±
Chapter 36: Architect [Volume 4]
Yet another obstacle. There had better be something good on the other side, because if they continued on like this¡they were going to run out of supplies before they made it to the final core.
Jace scratched the side of his head in irritation, then walked to the front and placed his hands on the door. He knocked, and though he wasn¡¯t expecting a response, it let out a faint clank. It wasn¡¯t too thick, maybe only a foot.
¡°I can phase through here,¡± he said.
¡°Do you sense any danger on the other side?¡± Kinfild asked. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to charge into a deadly room all alone.¡±
Jace shut his eyes and analyzed his senses, hunting for any sign of immediate danger. He picked out a few traps, and no active automatons, but there might be one or two when he opened the door.
¡°I¡¯ll get through,¡± Jace said after reporting his findings¡ªwhich didn¡¯t really matter when both Kinfild and Ash could probably sense the exact same things he could, if not more, but at least Lessa wouldn¡¯t be worrying. ¡°Then¡I figure there¡¯s a way to open it on the other side. There has to be a way to open the door.¡±
¡°It¡¯s as good of a chance as any,¡± Kinfild said. ¡°If you can¡¯t find anything, you know the way back. And if there is danger, reset your cards and pass back through the opposite direction.¡±
Jace nodded, then, before any of them could protest, used a hyperdash through the door.
He emerged in a tall, cylindrical chamber on the other side. It had an arched roof, nearly ten storeys above the floor, with a domed top divided into sections by buttresses. In each segment was a different fresco, each made with glowing paint, which cast rainbow light down into the main chamber. Wherever Jace stepped, a different colour washed across his face.
Most of the paintings seemed rather innocent. Ancient battles, starships clashing, but painted in the same style he¡¯d expect a Napoleonic War painting at a museum. Or armies of Luminians with plasma rifles facing down dragons. But one, at the very center, drew his attention.
It was the Wall. A great gate of steel and girders, surrounded on all sides by a nebula, with a statue-flanked central opening to let starships through.
But in the painting, the wall was crumbling. Not exploding, but decaying, as if someone had just poured water on a pile of sugarcubes.
Jace gulped, then drew his Whistling Blade for a little extra light. But he wasn¡¯t here to sight see. He had to get the door open.
And, worse, on the other side of the cylindrical chamber was a separate door, much like the one he¡¯d just passed through, which he¡¯d have to open as well. He turned in a circle, taking in the rest of the chamber, and trying to see if there was a way to open the gates. Something obvious, preferably. A cog, a winch maybe, or just a control panel.
Nothing, save for the coffin at the very center of the room.
Jace tilted his head, then approached the coffin, keeping wary of traps. He was on his own in here.
Unlike the other coffins, this one was made almost entirely of golden Luminian¡metal. Whether it was actually steel was another story. Carvings ran all along its sides, some runic, and others that reminded him of holograms. They weren¡¯t; they were only two dimensional, but they had markings that looked like interference lines, and they had been drawn to depict a three dimensional object.
Immediately, Jace¡¯s heart began racing. Holograms were light-based, and if there was a card in there¡
He darted across the cavern as fast as he dared, but in here, he sensed no traps.
Until he placed a hand on the edge of the coffin. His senses flared up in warning, alerting him to a ring of metal inlaid in the stone floor all around.
It shifted, then spun. Where previously, it had been flush with the floor, it now rose up a few inches. There were distinct segments in it.
Then it sprang up out of the floor and whistled past Jace¡¯s face, still spinning. It flew up over his head, and eight legs sprang out from the main body at even intervals. A Luminian head, like the other automatons, rose out of a section of the ring facing the door.
Jace¡¯s eyes widened. He looked up, trying to take in the beast. Its ring-shaped body still stood a few feet above his head, but he couldn¡¯t identify a core like any of the other automatons had.
The automaton scampered back, running a few of its enormous paces¡ªabout ten meters¡ªto put distance between itself and Jace. Jace ducked away from one of its legs as it scrambled past, but the blow didn¡¯t seem poised to hit him. At least, not yet.
At that distance, now that Jace could take it all in, a tag appeared above its head: [Level 43 Architect Guardian Automaton].Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Jace stared at it for a few seconds, and it stared back with glowing white line-shaped eyes.
¡°Hey?¡± he whispered. ¡°I was just taking a look to see if¡ª¡±
The automaton dropped lower, bending the knees of its spindly legs simultaneously, and preparing to attack.
¡°Not good,¡± Jace whispered. He placed a hand on the edge of the coffin¡¯s cover and gripped it, then, leveraging his enhanced strength, flung the top off at the automaton. It slid through the air, like he¡¯d just kicked a table at its knees.
Except the cover only collided harmlessly with the shins of two of its legs.
¡°Ah,¡± Jace said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that?¡±
The automaton leapt overtop of him and landed on the other side, standing only a meter away. From beneath the mounting of its head sprouted a small arm of brassy steel with an eye-like sphere at its tip. The eye¡¯s opening reminded him of a miniature core-weapon, like the other automatons bore, and its rim glittered with white light.
Jace jumped to the side, and it launched a beam of holographic Aes straight at him. He jumped to the side, covering his head, and dove over the coffin to use it as cover. Didn¡¯t even know holograms were a type of Aes.
The beam sliced across the floor, barely etching the stone. It didn¡¯t do any damage to the stone itself, but it left sparks in Jace¡¯s eyes, an azure stain like if someone had their high beams on too bright.
But the sparks and specks left in his vision didn¡¯t just stay. They swirled, manipulated as if by the Aes, temporarily covering half of his vision with an ink-patch.
An area of effect Curse?
Jace narrowed his eyes. This automaton must¡¯ve had high Potency, and without Kinfild, they couldn¡¯t reduce its Potency enough for Jace to resist the effect.
But it didn¡¯t hurt him physically, and¡his Resistance must¡¯ve been having some effect, because it cleared up quickly.
The automaton, however, didn¡¯t let him rest. It leapt at him, charging, leading with its two foremost legs like it was going to trample him. Jace triggered his hyperdash once more, zipping back to the other side of the coffin and dodging the charge.
Alright, he thought. One attack pattern down. It blinds then charges.
As it charged past, he sliced at its hind legs, slashing along the armour, but he hadn¡¯t had time to concentrate his Aes and bleed it into the Whistling Blade. It only left a thin glowing slice along the creature¡¯s back.
Jace grimaced. He had the pattern down, assuming it didn¡¯t change. But if he couldn¡¯t hurt it¡
As the automaton charged past and scampered around in a circle, Jace bent over the coffin and looked inside. He targeted the cube-shaped wooden canisters that he knew would have technique cards inside them. Hopefully, they were something useful.
He pulled out each cube as quickly as he could and stomped them, crushing their shells and unveiling the cards within. Scanning over them quickly, he simply searched their tags, hoping to see anything that immediately screamed ¡®useful.¡¯
If it was even possible. He didn¡¯t exactly have hologram Aes.
[Technique Card: Undercut (Rare) (Attack) (Compatible Class: All) (Compatible Aspects: Hologram, Light)]
[Technique Card: Holocube Purges the Unseen (Legendary) (Forging) (Compatible Class: Architect) (Compatible Aspects: Hologram)]
[Technique Card: Blind (Common) (Curse) (Compatible Class: All) (Compatible Aspects: Light, Pure)]
[Technique Card: Architect Illuminates the Wall (Mythic) (Utility) (Compatible Class: Architect) (Compatible Aspects: Hologram)]
[Technique Card: Lightvein Braces the Virtuous (Legendary) (Fortification) (Compatible Class: All) (Compatible Aspects: Hologram, Light)]
Jace¡¯s eyes widened on the last card. It wasn¡¯t perfect, and it wasn¡¯t tuned to him, but it was a hologram card he could use, and light-aspect at that. He snatched it up. It was a thin sheet of plastic, like his own cards, except the wires and runes were golden, and the plastic had a slightly yellow tint. It floated above his hand without him even requesting it.
There was no time to check its function or even think about what it would do. Only time to feel its effect and use it. He socketed it in one of his perfect pillars and immediately triggered it.
At first, golden light flashed over his body, but it quickly shifted blue to match his hyperspace aspect. Being a subset of light, it could fuel a light-compatible card, but the card would use his hyperspace Aes.
The fortification effect overtook his whole body, strengthening his limbs, turning his bones to steel, and making his muscles into pistons. He placed his thumb on the hilt of his sword, wedging it through the leather binding and contacting the glass tang. Aes fed into the blade without him thinking, without him concentrating.
The Blade lit up twice as bright. The filament along its cutting edge still shone bright white, but the rest of the blade glowed blue.
Jace whirled it into an upright position, then sprang back. His legs pushed off with twice their regular force, maybe thrice, and he shot back across the room. His back smashed into the wall, but he took no damage, even when his spine cracked through a pilaster.
¡°Woah,¡± he muttered. That was fast.
But the automaton still turned toward him. He didn¡¯t know how much time he had left with the technique, so he¡¯d better make it count.
As soon as the beast charged toward him, he sprang diagonally to the side, leveraging the strength of his enhanced body, then spun around the creature¡¯s back and slashed through its back legs. Two didn¡¯t topple it, though he cut clean through, leaving only sparking stumps.
He darted to the side as the automaton tried to adjust for him, hacking off two more of its legs. His blade flashed faster than ever before, as if there was no air resistance¡or resistance whatsoever, and it barely looked like he¡¯d moved it¡ªexcept for the streak it left in the air.
As the automaton collapsed to the ground with a clank, he cut through the ring, then jumped to its head and drove the Whistling Blade straight down through its skull. Its mechanical legs stopped writhing, and it fell completely still.
Jace flourished the blade back into an upright position. ¡°Alright¡¡± he muttered. ¡°That felt pretty good.¡±
Now to get it to¡stop working. How was he supposed to turn a card off?