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Triple Orb Academy V1 – Ch 9, Golems, Fairy, Ritual
| You are currently viewing a revision titled "Triple Orb Academy V1 – Ch 9, Golems, Fairy, Ritual", saved on January 23, 2017 at 6:04 am by Strovist | |
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| Title | Triple Orb Academy V1 – Ch 9, Golems, Fairy, Ritual |
| Content | “Master. The Enforcers are at the eighth level. It’s only a matter of time before they breached the ninth.”
“Already?”
Fremin turned to his apprentice in surprise.
“What about the sixth and seventh level?”
“Unknown… but we believe that it’s compromised as well.”
“How?! I thought there’s a giant Arthropod colony there? What about the golems?!”
The apprentice could only shake his head due to the uncertainty.
“Speed up the procedure! Start outlining the Procona powder on the critical spots! I want that ritual circle to be complete within the next five minutes!!!”
“Relax Fremin, it’s not like the Enforcers will be here yet.”
“Shut up Viper! I don’t want to hear that from someone as laid back as you! Wait… is that a piece of meat sandwiched between two pieces of bread? Why are you eating so leisurely when everybody else is so busy?!!!!!”
“Like I said Fremin, relax. It’s not the end of everything. Besides, did you know that this special arrangement of meat and bread was referred to as a burger? I hear it’s quite a delicate cuisine people from the other world enjoy. Apparently they pan fry the bread, deep fry the meat, top it up with seasoning sauces and place sesame seeds on the top.”
“I DON’T CARE!!! Well… maybe I’m a little interested but that’s not the point!!!! Can’t you sense the severity of the situation?!”
Viper leisurely munched off a piece of meat from his burger.
“The Enforcers are always short on manpower especially when the department is filled with Dark Mages. If the Enforcers have reached the eighth level, they must have skipped the sixth and seventh.”
“They can’t have skipped levels! Even if they have the means to teleport themselves there, the timing is too soon! Besides, won’t they be busy with the chimeras and the golems?”
“Golems? There are golems here?”
“Of course? They are sentries assigned to prevent the Chimeras from roaming to the wrong places. They may fall under the category of the standard models but they still can be a major threat if a mage is not careful. I tweaked some of those who are in key locations to be irresponsive to anyone and attack.”
“Is there some sort of password to negate the tweaked golems?”
“There is, but only me and my close friends know!”
“Close friends? Ah… the four other Masters that will come to help you with the ritual. Speaking of which, when will they be arriving?”
“Soon, very soon. By the time they arrive we will be ready to start the ritual procession. Which is why it is so odd that the Enforcers would breach the eight level so quickly!”
“Hm… I’m not familiar with the landscape of the catacombs. But what if there are warp gates stationed throughout the various points of the labyrinth?”
Fremin shook his head.
“There’s no such thing.”
“Ah… I see…”
“We need to improve our defences! Hey you! Get a team back up the levels and manually seal the corridors! I want the corridors collapsed! Collapsed! You hear me?!”
While watching Fremin yell instructions at an unfortunate Apprentice, Viper could only take another bite.
Since Fremin was too stressed to listen, Viper soon lost interest talking to him.
While busy munching and savouring the taste of the burger, Viper soon thought of something.
“What if they got outside help?”
“What?”
“What if the Enforcers had somehow acquired the help of Pure Blooded Dark Mages? It should not be strange for Pure Bloods to easily clear the levels with the help of their Blood Gifts, nor would it be that strange for one or two Pure Bloods to work within the Enforcers. Plus, the environmental energies of this place is full of Dark Magic. Won’t the presence of Dark Pure Bloods be extremely beneficial for the Enforcers?”
“… Impossible. We are talking about the extremely rare Pure Blooded Dark Mages. Even if it’s one of them, how could the Enforcers gather the help of Pure Bloods in such a short time?”
“Well… if I remember my intelligence correctly, there are quite a few students enrolling that are members of the Greater Noble Houses. There ought to be a couple of Dark Pure Bloods… Oh… there are also two Progenitor kids here as well.”
“Impossible.”
Fremin shook his head.
“As powerful as those kids can be, they are still children. I doubt that the Enforcers would risk brining them into such a dangerous place.”
“Ah… that might be true, but you see. As nobles, those children are entitled to help the Enforcers should the situation call for it. They might have been forced to help them out.”
“And what? Risk getting the ire of the most powerful families in this society? If anything were to happen to those children, I bet that even the High Council will abstain themselves to cover for the Enforcers. Not to mention the fact that the bulk of the High Councilors are made up of the Greater Noble Families!”
“Hm… well, there’s no point wasting energy pondering about all this. Besides, didn’t we set up twelve barriers in the ninth level in case the Enforcers break through? We already have the means to stall them. Besides, we are speeding up the ritual after all. The sooner we are done with this ritual, the faster we can explore the eleventh level.”
Fremin looked behind Viper’s shoulder.
“Your subordinates look tough. Could you send them to deal with the Enforcers?”
“I could, and I can. However, that’s not part of my instructions.”
“Do you want to see this ritual succeed or not?”
“Oh I do. Believe me, I do. But my boss told me to strictly keep a low profile. Trust me, I did bring this up to the boss on numerous occasions, but my boss is still affirmed that we should not stick out.”
“Does your boss not care about this ritual?”
“I think my boss should. But unfortunately, what the boss exactly had in mind is not for me to divulge. I’m merely following instructions.”
“Tch!”
Frustrated that Viper would not be of any help, Fremin turned and redirected his attention to the ritual circle.
“Speed up the ritual outline!”
Even with his back turned, Viper kept his smile. But once Viper turned and started walking away, the smile disappeared from his face completely.
“Do we want to see this ritual succeed? Well… not exactly.”
Viper signaled for one of the masked characters.
“Patch us to the boss. We need to report about this unexpected development.”
The masked character moved up closely to give his report.
“Already done sir. The boss said not to worry. The increase in the Enforcers movements was part of the plan.”
“Part of the plan? That’s strange… I was not told about this. Was there some strange development back at base?”
“We don’t know sir.”
Viper scratched his hair.
The fact that the Enforcers could easily clear two levels this quickly was already an unusual feat. Even if they had the help of Pure Bloods, it was still unusual for them to be able to move this quickly.
It was too unusual to the point of being unnatural. Viper suspected something else might have a hand in this, and for some reason, his suspicions were soon directed to his boss.
If it was within the boss’s calculations to speed up the Enforcers, the situation was just too convenient. The boss must have somehow provided the enforcers some tips here and there on how to move quickly within the catacombs.
“Has the boss somehow gotten impatient? Or is this one of the cases where cleaning up must be absolutely perfect?”
In any case, it was not in Viper’s position to know the entity of the boss’s plan.
“Ah well… whatever. We already got what we came here for anyway.”
One of Fremin’s apprentices came running to Viper.
“Excuse me sir?”
“Ya?”
“We finished drawing the outline of the ritual circle. Our master wants your White Mages to draw in the protective seals.”
“Oh… ok. Yes, yes. Don’t worry. We know where to draw up the protective seals, the ritual circumference and the center. We’ll be along soon.”
The apprentice nodded and soon returned to the ritual circle.
“I almost completely forgot about that.” Viper added.
“So what now?”
The masked character stood there waiting for further instructions.
“Hm… let’s prepare to leave. Oh, tell our White friends to ‘change’ their protective seals. I want them to converse their Cast Limit in case things don’t go as planned.”
There was never such a thing as a safe plan when it comes to Corruption Research.
Even if the protective seals were to work, the highly destructive energies of Dark Magic would overrun the weak White Magic.
All these alchemists were doomed from the start anyway, and that was precisely what Viper wanted.
TOA
When she came to, Claire was at a loss.
Everything was dark, and she was lying down on her back.
At first she thought she was in her dormitory room. However, the unnatural hardness of the material she was lying on suggested otherwise.
As she soon got up, the first thing that came to her mind was the fight with the Arthropod queen.
“Oh right… we fell. Damn you and your muscle brain Acriscius.”
Checking her body, Claire found that she was not hurt. After pondering for a few more seconds, she then remembered that she covered herself with a protective layer of [Repulsive Act] as they fell.
Putting her attention away to her surroundings, Claire soon sensed the presences of her nearby crystallized chimeras. They were all still intact, and they were just standing still waiting for further instructions.
“Light… I need some light…”
Wanting some light, Claire casted three [Fire Balls] with her left hand and she left them hovering around her.
Claire soon found herself in a large quiet hall different from the chambers in the upper levels. There was a huge vastness of space, which suggested that this level of the labyrinth might be larger than the one above.
Looking up above, Claire could not see the ceiling. But she was confident that there would be a hole somewhere up there.
The general colour of this hall was a lot darker and the air was more humid. Even the temperature was gotten considerably colder.
With a thought in mind, Claire took a deep breath in and out.
When she sucked in the air, she felt elated and rejuvenated with an overpowering energy.
When she breathed out, white misty vapours exited her mouth.
“I see… so the deeper we go, the more concentrated Dark Magic is in the environment.”
That counts as good news.
Since she’s a Dark Pure Blood, drawing the concentrated energy from the environment should not be a problem.
Looking at her side, Claire saw the Arthropod Queen.
She became startled, but when she saw that the queen was not moving, she realized that it’s dead.
“Now how did this thing die? I thought this thing had quite the endurance?”
Moving up to the chimera queen, Claire saw a concentrated spot of translucent fluids and tissues near the head.
“Did she squash her head?”
A closer examination suggested otherwise.
Snapping her fingers, her three crystal birds soon grabbed the queen’s head and tilted it up only to reveal a fine cut across the queen’s throat.
“Ah… that imposter was underneath that queen’s head earlier. I guess this was what he did back then. Speaking of the imposter…”
It then occurred to Claire that she, Acriscius and the imposter fell together.
If they all landed in this area, they ought to be somewhere nearby.
“Now where exactly could they be?”
Snapping her fingers again, the three [Fire Balls] hovering around her expanded their size and they moved further up into the ceiling. Claire also shrunk her crystallized chimeras into their figurine forms so that they would not block her view.
With the area fully illuminated, the Arthropod queen’s carcass came into full view.
Claire saw no sign of Acriscius. In fact, when she observed the Arthropod queen a little closer, a part of her thorax was incinerated. Although it was rather easy to deduce that Acriscius was the culprit, Claire certainly did not remember this inflicted damage before they fell.
“That muscle brain must have done this to vent his anger when he regained conscious. From the look of things, I guess he must have moved on without even considering the fact that I am close by… what a jerk.”
The next time Acricius owes her, Claire would definitely maximize the debt.
With a wave of her hand, Claire brought the small chimera figurines to her hand and kept them into her sling bag,
Circling to the side, Claire finally saw Cadeus lying at the side of the dead Arthropod queen.
“There he is… Hey, get up. Huh?”
Claire saw that Cadeus was unconscious, and his head was bleeding at the side.
“What?”
Did he suffer a concussion from a blow to the head? Was he dead?
“Oh no… you still owe me. You are not going to die.”
Bending down at his side, Claire pressed her hand against his head to arrest the hemorrhage. While she did so, she checked his vitals. His pulse was stable, and he’s breathing.
When she saw that his condition was stable, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Cadeus’s life was not in a critical condition, but that might change if he did not get medical attention.
Using her free hand, Claire reached for her sling bag behind her. She took out a set of packed sterilized bandages. Tearing the plastic with her teeth, she began wrapping the bandage around his head.
With that, Claire was successful in giving first aid treatment. The rest would have to wait for the Apothecary.
Resting his head on his own sling bag, Claire spent a moment to look at her blood stained hand.
When she saw how red and wet her hand became, she finally realized something.
Blood was a natural resource of magic, and the blood of Pure Bloods were said to possess powerful magic.
Cadeus was a Pure Blood.
Since he was here lying unconscious, Claire thought about doing a blood test.
Now in case you start off wondering, this was not the typical blood tests the hospitals on Earth conduct to check on drug allergies and the other degrading whatnots.
Blood tests on Zeffernon were conducted differently. These tests were primary used to determine the strength of magic within a person’s blood in accordance to the mage’s colour concentrations.
A mage could be a Pure Blood or a Mixed Blood, and inheriting one or two colours of magic could greatly affect their performance as a mage. In order to assess the strengths of the varying colours of magic within the person’s blood, blood tests were conducted to determine the blood potency of each colour of magic.
The proper term for this colour potency was called Blood Strength.
There were four categories to determine the Blood Strength of a person’s blood. They were diluted, filled, concentrated and highly concentrated.
Obviously with a more concentrated Blood Strength, the presence of the colour of magic is stronger and the easier it was for the mage to be able to cast spells belonging to said colour of magic.
This was a great opportunity for Claire to figure out how strong Cadeus could be as a Pure Blood.
Even though it was obvious that Cadeus only possess one colour of magic, the Blood Strengths of Pure Bloods would be either concentrated or highly concentrated. What Claire wanted to find out was how Cadeus would be as a Pure Blood. The reason was because ever since the day she knew him, Claire had always failed to discern his potential as a Mage.
When she first met him, she was applauded to see him rescue Susan from the Armugorus. When she found out that he was a Pure Blood, Claire had high expectations from him to perform greatly as a Mage of the highest caliber. But the more she observed, the more Claire felt that Cadeus was a mage that falls amongst the category of the least impressive.
His constant failure to grasp lessons and his ignorance of magical knowledge only served to irritate her. He was slow, messy, and on top of all that, extremely rude. He could not even take the effort to learn the basic manners required to address someone of her social status. On top of everything, there’s the issue of the family name, but that’s a separate issue.
The only thing that caught her attention was the remarkable improvement rate he had achieved these past three months.
When he first started the curriculum, Cadeus failed to grasp even the most fundamental modules in the curriculum. However, once he was able to fully understand the lesson, he was able to pick up the learning and master the spells required of him to learn in a short period of time. He might have started out poorly but in the end, Cadeus managed to attain the standard level required to qualify as a mage. Sometimes, he even surpasses that expectation.
Such vast gap of improvement was rarely heard of, and that resulted in numerous haters accusing the imposter of cheating using special artifacts.
But Claire knew better. She knew that the imposter had no knowledge of such artifacts. Instead, what she saw was the accumulative result of hard work and effort. By her own estimates, Cadeus would be on the right track to make it for the trials.
But how did this imposter accomplish this?
This had greatly aroused her curiosity, and the answer should lie in his blood.
Claire may not have the necessary equipment to get an accurate reading. However, there was an off-handed method. It’s not entirely accurate, but it could provide a general assessment. That is, by tasting the blood sample in question.
From what Claire knew, blood tasting would trigger a spontaneous influx of energy due to the sensitivity mages had towards magic. The more concentrated the Blood Strength, the higher the influx of energy. Since magic begins from the blood, any direct contacts with blood itself could sometimes trigger sensitive reactions.
This was not the first time she had attempted such a thing.
As a noble of her standing, Claire had been educated to differentiate Blood Strengths prior to her enrollment. Differentiating Blood Strengths was important due to the benefits of blood tasting. In times of emergency, magic within the blood could be used to replenish lost energy. If one was experienced enough to manipulate the energy within the blood, he could even draw the magical energies out from foreign blood and reuse them to his needs. Blood tasting was one such method to replenish lost energy, and the stronger the Blood Strength, the more the energy was recovered.
Claire was given some training for that purpose. As such, blood tasting was not a strange thing to her.
Claire brought her blood stained hand close to her face. After staring at the blood for a few seconds, she opened her mouth slowly brought it to her tongue.
“…”
Cadeus’s blood had a murky texture with a strong taste of iron. However, with that high concentration of Dark Magic, it had a very sweet energetic flavour. Looking forward to the influx of energy, Claire gulped down the blood and waited for the effects.
The wait only lasted for several seconds before Claire experienced a slight seizure.
It felt like a bang.
Her entire body became hot.
The magical energies within her began bubbling crazily like a corrosive solution. Grasping her throat, Claire thought that she was going to suffocate. However, this intensive exchange of sensations was only temporary. Once the worst had past, all sense of fatigue and physical stress was wiped out from her body.
Her mind became clear, and she felt greatly rejuvenated. But what was more surprising was the fact that her Cast Limit was thoroughly reset to a fresh start.
This was unprecedented.
None of her previous blood tastings had an effect of this standing, not even when she tasted her own blood. Cadeus’s Blood Strength was highly concentrated. Perhaps even more concentrated as compared to hers.
This mere thought of the imposter having a much stronger Blood Strength than hers was more than enough to make her feel uncomfortable.
“How…?”
Claire had inherited a strong Blood Strength due to her blood lineage since she belonged to one of the fifteen Greater Noble families. If the blood she inherited was weaker than that of the imposter, this meant that Cadeus somehow had a superior lineage.
But by what lineage did this imposter came from?
The only lineage Claire could think of that could be superior to hers would be that of the Progenitor family Pride ve Lu. However, everybody knows that the line had long died out.
“Just… who in the world are you?”
That was the very question Cadeus asked himself countless time. It’s just that Claire didn’t know.
TOA
Cadeus opened his eyes.
After looking at the ceiling for a couple of seconds, he turned his head to the left and saw Claire right next to him.
“…”
“…”
“…Claire?!”
Cadeus instantly shot up his back.
“What are you – Ouch!”
Cadeus instantly brought his back down and raised his right hand to the side of his head.
“Relax. There’s a laceration on the side of your head. I already wrapped a bandage over it. You should be fine, as long as you don’t move around too often.”
“Argh…”
Cadeus sat up straight. When his thoughts gathered together, he soon recalled the most recent events.
“We fell…”
“Yes, thanks to that muscle head.”
“Acriscius?”
Come to think of it, he fell together with them right?
“Where’s Acriscius?”
“Gone. He was not present when I regained conscious.”
Now that was a surprise.
“You mean to say that he just left without checking on you?”
“You think?”
The venom in her voice confirmed Cadeus’s suspicions.
Cadeus turned his gaze upwards. He could not see the ceiling, and this hall appears to be considerably larger compared to the chambers on the upper level. This level might be much more spacious as compared to the previous one.
“Well… given the fact that we fell considerably long, there might be a chance that Acriscius might have winded up in a distant part of this hall.”
“That’s still no excuse to not explore every inch of this hall before you leave. That muscle head is so going to get it once I see him again.”
“I see…”
Although he did not care what plans Claire had in stall Acriscius, Cadeus really hoped that she punch it in. Screw Acriscius. In fact, Cadeus wished Claire did her worst. Cadeus would give anything to see that red headed noble suffer.
With his fingers feeling the bandage over the wound site… Wait… what?
Cadeus instantly shot Claire a dubious look.
“What?”
Cadeus pointed to the bandage on his head
“You did this?”
“Do you see any other person around?”
“You can actually use a bandage?”
“I find that question to be very insulting.”
“Shit… now you are going to make me owe you more than what I can handle.”
When she heard that, Claire twitched her left eyebrow.
“Now hold on a minute. I cannot ignore what you just said. What is with that self imposed image of me being some vile vixen that never lacks ulterior motives?”
“Whenever you do something for me, you make me owe you. How is that not an ulterior motive?”
Anger was soon reflected on Claire’s face.
“After all I did to make sure that you’re not dead, this is the thanks I get?”
“What thanks? Everyone knows that the reason why you would bother saving someone, is because that someone owes you and you want to make sure that that someone repays all his debts before that someone is allowed to die. Am I wrong?”
“You should just die. Just die!”
“Not happening. I prefer to live.”
Turning his gaze to his arm, Cadeus checked the enchantments on his arm.
The rune ‘Nilth’ was still glowing brightly in full effect. [Heroic Might] and [Glyph of Precision] were a little weak, but it should still be manageable. [Aura Shift] however, was in a sorry state. Cadeus suspected that the fall from the previous level must have taken the most out of it. In fact, he was surprised that the enchantment was still in effect after all of that.
Knowing Sing, Cadeus was confident that she would rejuvenate her own enchantments from time to time. When that happens, Cadeus’s enchantments would also rejuvenate themselves through the link they shared via ‘Nilth’.
However, should his enchantments wear out first, Sing’s rejuvenation effects would fail to have any effect.
As Cadeus was thinking more on this subject, Claire stomped off in anger.
“Hey, are you going to proceed further all by yourself?”
“Silence. I refuse to work further with the likes of you.”
Cadeus got up and followed her from behind regardless.
“You know that is impossible given our current situation.”
“I have familiars to do all the fighting for me.”
“Even if you rely on your Blood Gift, you still have a Cast Limit.”
Claire stopped short before turning around with her short sword in her hand.
Before he could react further, Claire placed the sword’s cutting edge at the tip of his Adam’s apple.
“Another word form you, and I’ll cut your throat.”
Her reaction totally confirmed that Cadeus had nailed the harsh truth. But if he said anything more than he should, Cadeus was confident that Claire would not forgive him for it. As such, Cadeus responded by keeping silent and by raising his arms in a gesture of surrender.
Knowing that her message got through, Claire brought her blade away and resumed walking to the nearest exit.
“…”
Cadeus could only sigh inwardly and resume following her. He also made a mental note to keep a fixed distance of at least seven feet away from her.
TOA
They never spoke to each other for the next couple of minutes. Claire was entirely focused on what’s in front of her without sparing a thought to look behind. It seems as though she refuses to acknowledge Cadeus’s presence for the moment.
With her crystal bird scouting ahead along with that palm-sized crystal in her hand, navigating through this level was not difficult at all.
As they walked, Cadeus also noted that one of Claire’s crystal birds was continuously staring at him while resting its legs on its master’s shoulders.
It’s as if the bird was saying ‘try anything stupid and I’ll inform my master’.
Seriously… was Claire that angry with him for stating the obvious?
As he was having these thoughts, Claire stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?”
“…”
Claire was continuously staring at her crystal.
Curious as to what kind of development would stop Claire in her tracks, Cadeus brought his attention to the crystal. Looking within the crystal, Cadeus soon saw that the crystal bird up ahead was staring at an all too familiar artificial construct.
“A Golem? I guess there are still artificial constructs in here.”
“Hm… for this thing to be in good condition, the catacomb’s security must still be functioning well.”
Golems were amongst the most common artificial constructs in the world of the magi. They vary in sizes and functions, and their simplicity in construction and mind programming made them popular servants. If you think about the saying ‘dogs are man’s best friend’ on Earth, then ‘golems are mage’s best companion’ on Zeffernon. After all, a golem only exists to serve its master in the most conventional way possible.
Looking at this golem, it’s a towering structure made out of rock and steel. Other than that, it did not appear to have any special features. Despite it’s simplicity, a golem of that size could still be a major threat to any mage should it turn hostile.
Based on the Golem’s glowing white eyes, it’s probably still functional. But the question of how much it’s thoroughly maintained was a different thing altogether. As he continued observing the golem, Cadeus noticed it was looking straight at them.
“If it’s staring at us, does that mean that it’s staring at your crystal bird?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m wondering what to do next.”
“Could your bird fly over it?”
“It could. But it does that, the golem’s programming might treat the next visitor as an enemy.”
In this scenario, the golem was acting as a sentry guard against the chimeras. Taking that into account, it must have the programming to recognize and differentiate threats.
“Claire, what are the chances of that thing not recognizing us as a target?”
“If you want me to guess, I’d say we have a fifty-fifty chance of being safe. If that golem just has the basic programming, it should not attack any human. But if the golem has the advanced programming to attack unauthorized personal, then we got a problem on our hands.”
“Is there a chance to reason with it?”
“Only if our reasoning falls within it’s programming.”
“I see. Remind me again. When this becomes a violent encounter, what’s the strategy to deal with a golem?”
“That would be to break its armour and destroy the Essence of Magic within.”
“…That sounds pretty straight forward enough, but it actually sounds like something that’s easier said than done.”
And thus, the two Pure Bloods entered the hall where the golem awaits them. As soon as they entered the room, the crystal bird that Claire sent ahead soon rested its claws onto her shoulder.
When the golem registered their presence, it simply stared at them with its cold white eyes without moving an inch.
“Hey… if this thing is not going to move, is there a chance where we can just encircle around it?”
“You idiot. That thing already has its eyes on us. Are you so quick to instigate him to attack?”
Once they were a few feet away from the golem, it finally reacted. There was no mouth on the golem’s face. However, a metallic hollow voice soon resonated across the room.
“|Mage identified. Not amongst registered list. Identify self.|”
“Ok… this thing does not even have a mouth and yet it’s speaking fluently. Nice…”
“Imposter, we must do this very carefully. Artificial constructs are only as smart as they are programmed to be. Sometimes common sense will not apply to them. They will only act just as they are programmed to.”
“But they can think can they?”
“They could.”
“Can we trick it?”
“You are not the first with that line of thought. If this is one of the general constructs, you only have three chances to confuse it.”
“Only three chances? What happens if I failed three times?”
“Then the golem will go berserk and kill everything movable within a fixed period of time. Unless of course, we say the right words.”
“Right, then let’s save that as a last option. Now then… how should we start this?”
Saying ‘we are students, please let us through’, was definitely out of the question. If this was a golem stationed in the Academy then yes, it just might work. However, dealing with a golem stationed within the catacombs demands a different approach.
“Ask it if it will attack us.” Claire said.
“All right. But if you think the conversation is going the wrong way, you better stop me.”
Cadeus projected his voice.
“Will you attack us?”
“|Mage not amongst registered list. Identify self.|”
Cadeus tilted his head towards Claire.
“I think this golem will not react until we tell it who we are.”
“Then you better, before it registers us as a threat.”
Cadeus resumed his dialogue.
“We are not on the list, but we are guests.”
“|Correspondence. Mage identify self as a guest. Identify guide.|”
“Guide?” Cadeus uttered.
Claire brought her hand to her chin.
“I see… that golem must have a protocol installed that demands guests to have a staff escort.”
“Shit… we do not know anyone now do we? What now? Do we try to ask it which staff personal he’s referring to?”
“Hm…”
Claire spent the next few minutes in deep thought.
“Tell it that we are lost and that we do not know which staff to look out for.”
Cadeus continued.
“We are guests, but we were separated from the main group. We are unsure of who to look for now.”
“|Recalculating. Mage has not announced guide. Identify guide.|”
“I guess that does not work. We need to mention someone.” Cadeus uttered.
“All right. Before we start shooting out names on a whim let’s think about this closely. Who do you think does this golem answers too?”
“Let’s see… it has a registered list of staff members, which means that it probably had a list of names belong to the Dark Mutators who used this place. Do we know any Dark Mutators that could be of use to us?”
Claire shook her head.
“I may know some names and faces, but from as far as what I could recall, they are not Academy staff. I doubt that using their names might work.”
“For a moment there I thought you would have some useful names given your influence as a Greater Noble.”
“Is that meant to be an insult?”
“No. I’m just curious because I always have the impression that knowing names is an important commodity amongst the nobility.”
“It is, and that will never change.”
Cadeus waved his hands to the side to make the gesture of ‘so what?’.
“And it never cease to trouble you that you do not know any Dark Mutators that are part of the Academy staff?”
Claire placed her hands on her hips in an elegant manner and gave him a glare full of annoyance.
“According to the rules of Tenebris Vacuum, no one is allowed to approach the Dark Mutators nor interfere with their work unless it’s about lessons or about their apprenticeship. Given the fact that we are students, we will not start learning about the basics of Dark Mutation until we become Acolytes, and since we are not yet acolytes, we have no right to start thinking about apprenticeship. In addition, the Dark Mutators always seclude themselves within the Dark Laboratory, which is somewhere in an isolated section within the Academia building. Their identities are mostly ambiguous guesses until we get to meet them. So what makes you think that I can get the right names?”
“I see…”
It took every muscle in Cadeus’s face to help him not to make a smirk.
“Come to think of it, before you met me, you mentioned that you came across a research room.” Claire mentioned.
“Don’t expect any names out of me. The research notes were all scattered and filled with various terminologies that I could not understand. The last thing that I will pay attention to is names.”
“How wasted. Who are you then to criticize me for having the lack of names?”
Cadeus chose to ignore her.
Whilst thinking about names and list, Cadeus soon came up with an idea.
“Wait… I got it.”
“You have a name?”
“No. But I know someone who can provide us with a name list.”
“?”
Cadeus reached for his sling bag and took out the Caller.
“Oh… you are referring to the Enforcers. That’s not entirely a bad idea. But that Caller directly links us to that woman right?”
“Yes. Miss Allis can either give us a name or maybe she could even help us convince this golem.”
“Of all people, you want to ask that woman? I wouldn’t want to count on the likes of her.”
“I agree that Miss Allis may not be entirely reliable, but it’s not like we have a choice. Do you remember? This thing only connects us to Miss Allis. If I can call someone else, I would be doing just that.”
“…”
Cadeus held the caller in his hand and activated the call. He sincerely hoped that he would not regret this.
After a few seconds of waiting, Miss Alli’s small 3d figure materialized.
“Hello~ Need something?”
Her carefree personality totally did not fit with the background noises of spell castings and the violent cries of commands.
Cadeus did not know exactly what was going at the other side, but he knew that this might not be the best moment to interrupt an Enforcer at work.
“Um… should we call again at another time?” Cadeus said.
Her first few words were said without paying any attention to the caller’s identity. That was why when Miss Allis finally registered Cadeus’s face, her expression soon brightened and her tone changed for the better.
“Cadeus! My cute little brother~!”
“I am going to say this again. Please throw out that self imposed image of an older sister.”
“Oh my! What am I seeing? You are currently with Lady Rrogust ve Chroma? My dear lady, pardon the lack of proper manners. As you can see, I’m not in a situation where I can bow.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“So what brings you two to give this caring big sister a call?”
“We ran into a golem sentry. It’s demanding us to provide a name belonging to a registered staff member in order to let us pass.”
“A golem? Oh right! Just try to confuse it’s programming, or just go ahead and kick it’s rocky ass.”
“Um… are we so quick to resort to violence?”
“Don’t worry!! In such an emergency, we can turn a blind eye towards destruction of property!”
“That’s definitely not an answer an Enforcer of the law ought to be saying.”
Seriously, is Miss Allis on steroids? Does she really watch her words whenever she speaks to someone? Cadeus thought.
“Isn’t there a better way? Look, the golem has a registered list of names. If we can provide one, it’ll let us pass. Do you know any Dark Mutators that have been using the catacombs from two months ago?”
“Sorry! Can't help! Things are getting very rowdy on my end.”
“Is there at least someone you can patch us through to go through the list?”
“No can do! If it’s paper work you want, you are asking the wrong person!”
“You are not very helpful at all, do you know that?”
Miss Allis chose to ignore him.
At that very instance, a call from the other side demanded Miss Allis’s attention.
“Miss Allis! What are you doing?!”
“Oh dear. That’s the cue that I need to go. All right! This big sister needs to go now. Feel free to call me back if you are still alive~.”
Miss Allis closed the call the very instance she finished that sentence.
“Feel free to call her back if we are still alive? I can’t believe she said that when it’s her job to make sure that does not happen to us.” Cadeus said.
Cold silence followed for the next couple of seconds. Although Cadeus did not see it, he could strongly tell that Claire’s shoulders were shaking in anger.
“Hey… don’t get mad over this. It’s Miss Allis. She always has a loose screw in her head.”
“Does she know her place? It’s not like we owe her anything. That woman requested the help of us nobles! Who is she to scrub off her responsibility when we are in need of some aid?! How could the Enforcers employ someone so irresponsible when they are an organization of professional distinctions?!”
Ouch…
Claire soon took in a deep breath before venting all her anger in one loud breath. In an attempt to help her calm down, Cadeus quickly pocketed the useless Caller. It did not take that long for Claire to return her attention to the matter at hand. But when she opened her mouth, it was clear that she was getting impatient with the stalling situation.
“Let’s put aside the matter of Dark Mutators and think about the other possible people this golem would answer to.”
Cadeus could only comply. He did not want to get in the way of an angry lady.
“All right, what about the Educators?”
“No good. Those that we are familiar with have nothing to do with the Catacombs. Educator Garth is a conjurer, Educator Norex is an Intellectual who specializes in Magical Theory, and Educator Cecilia is a Dark Apothecary. None of these names will be of any use to us.”
“What about the Archmage and Master Morgan?”
“I don’t think the Archmage frequents himself down here. As for Master Morgan, well… it’s worth a try. Since Master Morgan is in charge of Tenebris Vacuum, she’s typically in charge of the catacomb security. If this golem was part of security detail it should recognize Master Morgan’s name. Besides, it should also be part of the norm for Master Morgan to deal with the various Dark Mutators who wished to use the catacomb levels as an observation platform for their chimera experiments.”
“Speaking of Master Morgan, why is she not here? Is she away for something?”
“…”
Cadeus brought up a question that suddenly caught Claire off guard. Now that he mentioned it, Claire thought that it was extremely unusual for her to not see the Master who’s in charge of Tenebris Vacuum.
Bringing this to mind, Claire could already guess a few possible reasons. But now was not the time for such thoughts. They had a much more pressing issue at hand.
“Let’s think about this later. For now, the golem.”
“All right. Master Morgan it is.”
Cadeus returned his attention to the golem.
“Our guide is the Master in charge of Tenebris Vacuum. Morgan ve Fortzen.”
“|Analyzing. Name: Morgan ve Fortzen. Rank: Master.|”
The golem took a few moments to process the name.
“This golem is not that smart now isn’t it?” Cadeus said.
Well, that’s the basic programming for you. This golem’s function is to act as a sentry after all. It’s not expected to have a quick mind when it comes to dealing with strangers.
On the other hand, Claire’s growing impatience was becoming more evident. With her arms folded her right fingers were consistently tapping against her left elbow, while her left feet began tapping consistently on the ground at the same frequency.
Cadeus could not help but quietly hope that the golem would quickly let them pass.
The golem soon responded.
“|Guide mentioned identified. Name matches registered list. Master Morgan of the Academy.|”
Cadeus silently breathed a sigh of relief.
That’s good. It looks like using Master Morgan’s name worked.
“Can you let us pass?”
“|Error. Identified name failed to match specific parameters. Any further attempts to intrude will result in fatality.|”
“………………What?”
It did not work?
Cadeus raised his eyebrow. In all circumstances, using Master Morgan’s name would work. Since she’s the Master of this Colour Sector, every security detail within the sector falls under her jurisdiction.
So how could her name fail to trigger any effect?
With her growing impatience, Claire took a step forward.
“We are students of the Academy under the guidance of Master Morgan. Let us pass this very instance.”
Was that an order?
Cadeus quickly shot her a warning glare.
I know you are impatient, but are you so quick to provoke a sentry who may instantly register you as a threat? He thought but dare not say out loud.
“|Warning. Error in identification. Any further attempts to intrude will result in fatality.|”
“Error again?”
Cadeus raised his eyebrow.
The golem managed to register Master Morgan’s name, but it somehow failed to discern the meaning of it. This should not be so. If they had missed something essential like a pass code of the sort, the golem would have demanded for it upon recognizing Master Morgan’s name. Instead, it was as if the golem’s programming automatically resets itself whenever it was trying to process information.
This could not be good, and Cadeus was not referring to the fact that Master Morgan’s name failed to work. Even if Master Morgan’s name did not work, they could just resolve into tricking the golem. But if they were to trick this thing, how could this thing be tricked if its thought processes continuously resets itself?
Wait… resets itself?
Cadeus soon had a brainwave.
What if Fremin had tampered with the golem’s programming on his way down?
According to Miss Allis’s words previously, she stated that Fremin was currently at the tenth level. If he managed to penetrate this deep into the catacombs, what were the odds of him tampering with the golem’s programming on his way down?
Despite his current notoriety, Fremin was a capable Master. It should not be strange for him to be familiar with the workings of a golem. Even though he’s a specialized Alchemist, it should be in the norm for Fremin to have advanced knowledge of a different field.
Wait… but this did not make any sense. Even if it’s just one golem, reprogramming it’s mind would take a lot of time and effort. Unless Fremin had planned his ritual for years, in which Cadeus highly doubt, he couldn’t have reprogrammed every golem sentry in here especially when someone as strong as Master Morgan would be around.
Cadeus shook his head.
This line of thoughts fell under Enforcers work. It was not in his place to think about this.
But if it was true that Fremin had somehow hacked the golem’s programming, it looks like they would have to have to fight with all the golems in this level.
Thinking about this possibility, Cadeus turned to share his thoughts with Claire.
“Claire. Is it simple for a Master like Fremin to reprogram a golem’s mind?”
At that very instance, Cadeus could not tell how he knew, but he knew. Something within Claire snapped.
With one loud stomp with the heel of her boot, she soon unfolded her arms and passed her sling bag to Cadeus. Once Cadeus got her sling bag, Claire proceeded to walk towards the golem. With those quick heavy steps, only an idiot would fail to see that her intentions were clearly hostile.
“Hey… what exactly are you – ”
“Imposter. I’m warning you. Do not get in my way.”
“…”
Experience taught Cadeus that nothing would be achieved by debating or arguing with Claire. Sighing, Cadeus resigned himself and watched as Claire proceeded to walk towards the golem.
“|Warning. Identification unverified. Any further attempts to intrude will result in fatality.|”
Claire continuously walked forward without having a care, as if she intends to dare the golem into attacking her.
“Please don’t tell me… Is she seriously going to walk straight up to it in order to engage it?” Cadeus said.
Knowing Claire, she’s definitely the type who was more comfortable fighting from a distance. What did she hope to gain by being so up close? Did she intent to crystallize that golem?
From the moment Claire was just several feet away, the golem stomped it’s feet and took a stance showing hostility.
But Claire did not care.
A few more seconds, and the golem soon acted.
The golem slowly raised one of its clenched fists and made an attempt to swing a punch. In the face of this new threat, Claire just merely waved an arm full of purple mist and corrupted the golem’s arm before it could swing an arc. With the golem’s arm crystallized, manipulating it was not an issue. The golem soon found itself struggling to take a swing.
Registering the error in its functions, the golem raised the other arm and made an attempt to replicate the process. But Cadeus knew that it was already too late.
By the time the golem registered its next course of actions, Claire was already a few inches away from the golem’s body. She raised a hand near the hard armour and activated her Blood Gift.
From the moment the purple mist came into contact with the golem’s exterior, the golem’s exterior around her hand started crystallizing. But like a budding flower, the crystallization spread all around the golem’s structure at an extremely fast rate. Once the corruption extended throughout the lower half of the golem’s structure, all Claire ever needed was to clench her hand.
With sounds resembling glass shatter, the entity of the golem’s crystallized exterior shattered. With the numerous crystal fragments flying in all directions, Claire merely stood tall and firm while her hair fluttered around her.
Needless to say, the golem soon lost its balance and it’s upper body collapsed onto the floor with a huge bang.
From what Cadeus had seen, there was no need for Claire to use any powerful spells or advanced procedures. All she ever needed was just her Blood Gift, quick, simple and extremely deadly. It was extremely one sided to the point where it’s very convincing that Claire was just merely venting her frustration.
Due to its limited programming, the golem failed to register its current dilemma and it could only struggle to get up.
With the golem lying against the floor, the crystal fragments of the armour slowly chipped away until Cadeus saw an interesting sight. At the very center within the layers of rock and steel, there was a small oval object glowing in green. With those paranormal green mists surrounding it, it was rather obvious that that oval object was the essence of magic.
Taking three steps forward, Claire bent her waist and reached out for the Essence before tearing it out.
If it weren’t for the paranormal presence of magic, Cadeus would have thought that she was tearing out a piece of hardware away from multiple wires.
Without it’s essence, the golem could no longer function. The waving arms soon collapsed, and the golem ceased to move.
Now that the battle was over, Cadeus moved up to the defeated golem. Looking at the way Claire was gripping the Essence, it did not look like she planned to destroy it.
That’s rather odd.
Claire soon gestured for her sling bag and Cadeus passed it back to her.
In seeing the curiosity in his face, Claire opened her mouth.
“What is it?”
“…Are you not going to destroy the essence?”
“Why should I?”
“I thought you mentioned that destroying the Essence was a necessity to defeat the golem?”
“That’s a strategy best suited for you. In case you haven’t noticed.”
“Ah…”
Of course, how could he have not seen that?
Claire brought up about destroying the Essence because she initially assumed that Cadeus would be doing all the fighting.
Since she personally saw to the golem’s defeat, there was no need for her to conform to that strategy.
“So what are you planning to do with that Essence? Use it’s magical reserves to cast spells?”
“?”
Claire gave a look that told Cadeus she was confused. After she rewinds the conversation in her head, she understood what he was referring to.
“Ah… you thought that Essences are sources of magical energy. You idiot. Essences are not energy sources, they are magical regulators meant to aid magical processes and install paranormal procedures. You could say that they are the things that are behind the golem’s programming.”
What? Did you mean that it’s like a computer processor? Cadeus thought.
“So… they do not provide magic?”
“They don’t. If you are talking about energy sources, that would refer to this.”
With a snap of her fingers, her crystal birds flew straight into the gap within the golem and tore out what seemed to be a large crystal shard the size of an oval American football. Flapping their wings, the crystal birds clasped the crystal shard and brought it to their master’s hand.
Claire then brought up the crystal shard to Cadeus’s face.
“Can you sense the magic within?” Claire asked.
Althought it was faint, Cadeus felt it.
“Yes. It’s weak.”
“Very weak.”
Claire tossed the crystal shard to the side.
“If this shard is not replaced, the golem would soon run out of power.”
“I see…”
Claire played around the essence by continuously tossing it up and catching it.
“If that Essence is not a energy source, then what exactly do you need it for?”
“This thing can fetch a price of at least 90 Duches at the forest entrance.”
“Of all things it’s for the money?”
Cadeus sighed.
Rather than selling it, won’t a tampered Essence help the Enforcers in their investigations?
Cadeus gave a thought about asking Claire to let him have the Essence.
She might not agree to it, but it’s worth asking.
“May I have the Essence?”
Claire gave him a calculating look.
“Why?”
“When this golem was still functioning a minute ago it recognizes Master Morgan’s name but failed to register the meaning of it. I have a thought that perhaps, Fremin might have tampered with it’s programming when he was on his way down. I’m thinking of giving it to the Enforcers so that they could analyze it.”
Cadeus almost said the word ‘hacked’, but he refrained himself and replaced the word with tampered because he knew that Claire would not understand him.
Claire continued to play around with the Essence by tossing it up and catching it.
“Save yourself the trouble imposter. If an imposter like yourself could think of that possibility, the Enforcers would have long gotten the wind of it. This is not the only golem in this level, nor should this level be the only one to station them. The Enforcers will have plenty of opportunities to analyze all the essences that they need. If you are still insistent on getting this Essence, I’ll charge you 90 Duches to take this off my hands.”
“Then forget it.”
Claire made one final catch with the Essence before she made an announcement.
“I’m done. I’m heading back up to the surface.”
“…What?”
For a second there Cadeus thought he misheard her.
“You’re done? What is that? Are you saying that you can just quit in the middle of a crisis?”
“I can, and I will.”
“Are you just pulling my leg?”
“I’m not.”
Claire pocketed the Essence within one of her waist pockets.
“The Enforcers are currently in the eight level, or perhaps they have even penetrated the ninth. Fremin is at the tenth level. It will not take that long for the Enforcers to immobilize him.”
“Fremin is a Master with powerful connections. I would not be surprised if there were multiple Masters backing him up from the shadows. What if they are down there helping Fremin?”
“Unlikely. No one will ever get in the way of the Enforcers in the middle of the crime scene. Even if Fremin had powerful friends it’s not like they are going to intervene. If his ‘powerful connections’ are smart enough, they will do all they can to erase any traces linking them to Fremin to avoid getting arrested. Besides, do you honestly think the Enforcers need us to apprehend Fremin?”
“…”
There’s some element of logic in Claire’s words.
As if willing to discuss this topic, Claire pushed the conversation further.
“Why do you think the Enforcers called us in?”
“It’s not because of your Blood Gifts, am I correct?”
Claire’s disapproving gaze confirmed his suspicions, so Cadeus gave his best answer.
“Politics.”
“Correct.”
Claire brushed her hair to the side.
“If the situation is that urgent, and if the Enforcers truly needed us to arrest Fremin in the first place, then they would have included us in their party when they invaded the lower levels. Instead, Miss Allis told us to help them clear the sixth and seventh level. On the outside, this may seem to be strategy; help the Enforcers cover their backs while they storm the front. But underneath that façade, the Enforcers are indirectly pushing us to keep to the side lines.”
“…I think I can see where you are getting at. But I still don’t understand. Can you please elaborate?”
Claire sighed.
“Firstly, do you honestly think that the chimeras from our level is capable of attacking the Enforcers from behind? You saw the state of the golem. Given the surviving integrity of the security within this catacomb, do you believe that the chimeras could overcome the various restrictions and cross between levels?”
“Not entirely.”
“Good. Now secondly, if the Enforcers could penetrate the eight level so easily, what makes you think that the sixth and seventh levels are a concern?”
“…If they managed to apprehend Fremin, what use would it be if they could not get out?”
“Point taken, but if the Enforcers could instantly transport themselves from the fifth level to the eighth, what could prevent them from achieving the opposite? Or rather, transport the entire party directly back to the surface?”
“…True.”
“Thirdly, clearing the entity of the levels from the sixth to the ninth is something that’s easily doable for Mages of their caliber. Given the fact that the Enforcers teleported themselves directly to the eighth level, the sixth and the seventh level were already condemned as irrelevant obstacles that was avoided at first opportunity. So my question is this, why are we assigned to deal with unrelated areas when time is of the essence?”
“…”
“To be an Enforcer is to declare that you are a Mage of the highest caliber. For a noble of my standing I already bore witness to plenty of situations similar to this current crisis, and in nine out of ten cases the Enforcers never fail.”
“All right, I understand. The Enforcers just need you and Acriscius because you guys are Greater Nobles. So if you and Acriscius are here just for the sake of providing political support, then why did they bother to drag you all the way down here to help them out? If political backing is all that’s needed, couldn't they have just simply asked you to sign an agreeing statement?”
“It’s not that simple as you think.”
Claire sighed again.
“We don’t sign an agreeing statement saying that we support the Enforcers. It’s not right, for such a document can be easily used against us when accountability becomes an issue.”
“What do you mean?”
“In times of crisis such as this particular case, things can get very chaotic. In order to ensure that the criminals are all apprehended, the Enforcers might be pushed to use drastic measures. In the case where it does happen, some of their actions might cause more damage than resolution. When that happens, the Enforcers must have something to fall back on to justify their actions. That’s where we nobles come in. As nobles, we have a similar responsibility with the Enforcers to ensure that the laws established by the High Council are properly obeyed. But unlike the Enforcers, we follow a different set of rules. Our duty as nobles is to manage the land and protect the people that lived under the High Council’s jurisdiction. Sometimes the actions of the Enforcers might compromise that responsibility. That is why, like what Miss Allis said earlier, nobles are obliged to help the Enforcers in times of crisis to ensure that they don’t overstep their boundaries. As such, we must be present at the scenes of the crime to make sure that the Enforcers do not go too far in their pursuit for justice. We may not like to be involved at times, but our sense of responsibility prevents us from pulling out.”
“But you are clearly pulling out now…”
“Don’t get smart imposter. I’m pulling out now because there’s nothing left for me to do. So coming back at where we left off, since we are obliged to help them regardless of how we feel, the Enforcers always end up hiring the free hands instead. After all, having a Pure Blooded Greater Noble with a Blood Gift is a big boon to the combat frontier.”
“I see… and how does that lead to something about keeping to the side lines?”
Claire brushed the back of her hair to the side again.
“Whatever the Enforcers deal with, not everything is for us to see. There are often cases where the Enforcers stumbled upon an extremely sensitive issue that had political links. Although they could get the support from us Greater Nobles, some things could get out of hand when the wrong people see it. In order to avoid this problem, we are usually assigned to unrelated areas. If you want a real time example, look at where we are right now. Are the sixth and seventh level of any significance to the current case?”
“So… the Enforcers pulled you in for political support and then just throw you guys at the sidelines so you don't see anything that’s case class sensitive?”
“Yes, and the most annoying thing is that we don’t even get paid for going through this crap.”
Cadeus decided to keep quiet about the fact that Miss Allis agreed to pay him 1200 Duches for his assistance.
“Even if what you say is true, what valid cause would still allow you to leave in the middle of their work? Wouldn’t that affect poorly for your relationship with the Enforcers?”
“Our relationship with the Enforcers is already bad enough. I don't even trust them.”
“You don't trust them?”
“After all that I told you, why do you sound so surprised?”
“…”
“To make things even more questioning, I have not heard anything from Master Morgan.”
“Master Morgan?”
“Yes. All registered Dark Mage students of the nobility have a direct Caller to Master Morgan in case situations like these pop up. It’s a way for Master Morgan to keep trace of our safety and if needed be, interfere with our activities to make sure we don't do anything stupid. The funny thing, is that I have not heard anything from her from the very start. Now that’s unusual.
“I see… Now that you mention it, where is Master Morgan?”
“I can think of two possibilities. It’s either Master Morgan is currently not reachable, or the Enforcers started all this without letting her in the know.”
“Without letting her in the know? I understand that this is an emergency but is this possible? This is Tenebris Vacuum. It’s right in the middle of her turf.”
“Which is probably the reason why the Enforcers bypassed the normal procedures. Given the severity of the situation, time is an extremely decisive factor. Once the whole situation is cleared up, the Enforcers will come back to the paper work.”
“I see… does that mean that Master Morgan could join us in the middle of all this?”
“Who knows? That’s something for you to find out.”
It looks like Claire was seriously going to leave. As much as he hated her, Cadeus found it difficult to accept that she would just leave like that so easily.
“Do you even care about the corruption ritual at all?”
“I have the confidence that the Enforcers are well trained enough to deal with the situation.”
“What if Fremin were to succeed?”
“Then all the more reason for me to leave. As one of the very few Pure Blooded nobles, I have a responsibility to protect myself.”
“…Even though I sort of know your character, I am finding it extremely hard to believe that you’ll leave just like that.”
“Imposter, don’t forget your place. You don’t know me. I’d prefer things are kept that way between us.”
“…”
“But don’t worry. Knowing you, you’ll definitely continue your way down to give a Fremin the punch he so deserves. Since it’s unlikely that you’ll survive on your own, I’ll grant you one token of generousity.”
“Hell no.”
Cadeus could instantly smell more favours coming his way. He already owed Claire this much. He refused to owe her more.
“Don’t be an idiot. You’ll never survive here in your current state.”
“On the contrary, I have a high confidence in my capability to survive.”
“If you were to die here, you’ll never repay the favours you owe me. Do you honestly think I will let that off?”
“Does it matter? You’ll probably make me owe you another one for this.”
“You’ll owe me only when I say so. This is different.”
“…”
Under normal circumstances, Cadeus still would have refused Claire even though such favours come for free. This was highly due to his negative opinion of her and the fact that he’d prefer to have less contact with her.
“Sigh… so what’s going to happen? Are you going to loan me one of your crystal birds?”
“Let me see your enchantments.”
Ok… that was rather unexpected.
“…Why?”
“Just show it to me.”
“…”
Although he was reluctant, Cadeus folded up his sleeve.
Staring at the enchantments growing weary, Claire helped herself with a smirk.
“Ha! Look at the state of your enchantments. Do you seriously think you can survive the catacombs with your enchantments in this state?”
“Not that I could do anything about it. I don’t know any enchantments.”
“I see… Then as a token of my generousity, I shall grant you a new set of enchantments.”
“…”
“What? What’s with that look?”
“You are not going to cast something weird on me are you?”
“How rude.”
Claire brushed the back of her hair to the side.
“Remember, you have a debt to owe me. If you were to die by some lucky chance, I would have wasted my favours. As much as I wished you would just conveniently die someday, now is not the time.”
“Do you know that you sound so unlady-like when you keep using the word ‘die’?”
Claire chose to ignore him.
Reaching for her own sling bag, Claire took out a blood vial and a syringe pack.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Your White friend used her blood to cast enchantments am I right?”
“Yes that’s true, but using your own blood? I thought there are other methods to enchant something.”
“There are, but using blood was by far the most long lasting medium.”
“…”
“What exactly is on your mind?”
“Well… I was considering that a noble of such high stature wouldn’t bother to use her blood for someone easily labeled as an imposter.”
“That’s right. You are very accurate. Now get on your hands and knees and bow your head to show your gratitude.”
“If I were to do that, I will be the dumbest person to exist on both worlds. Why don’t you use my blood?”
“Do you honestly think that I want to touch the blood of an imposter?”
“Ah… true.”
Before she began her procedure, Claire placed the tip of her index and middle finger on the ‘Nilth’ rune on Cadeus’s arm.
“Un!”
Cadeus sensed Claire swelling her magic within her fingertips before unleashing them with a bang. In that very instance, Sing’s ‘Nilth’ rune was banished from his arm, along with all the other enchantments.
“Hey… those enchantments still could be of use regardless of their durability.”
“I got rid of them because they’ll be in the way. White Enchantments have a tendency to interfere with Dark Enchantments when they are applied within close proximity.”
“Is that so?”
Due to his own ignorance, Cadeus was unsure of the credibility of such a claim. Perhaps he could ask Sing later when he sees her again.
“Just to be clear, what is your combat preference?”
“Combat preference?”
“Be it Arcane Warfare or the usual fights, I noticed that you always love to move up close to hit your enemies. Are you just practicing close combat? Or are you in actuality more comfortable firing spells from the back?”
“Hm… well if I am allowed to be greedy I’d prefer to be at the back. But if you want honesty, I prefer my opponent to be right in front of me.”
“Then close combat it is.”
Claire used the syringe to make a blood withdrawal and deposited the amount to her fingertips. She then placed her two fingers just below Cadeus’s wrist and swapped her blood downwards. Applying her magic, the blood below Cadeus’s wrist solidified and latched itself onto Cadeus’s skin, molding itself into a different mark that looked like a general ‘Q’. Like Sing’s rune ‘Nilth’, it glowed in a bright deep red.
“So what is with this rune?”
“The base rune I used on you is called ‘Quith’. Unlike ‘Nilth’ that allows the caster to share enchantments with multiple parties, ‘Quith’ focuses more on the self.”
That sounds rather self-centered, but Cadeus chose to ignore it. The enchantments were meant for him alone anyway.
“What are the benefits and trade offs?”
“Incantation effects will be magnified to enhance the enchanted. The trade off is that the Incantations supplied will only be tied to the enchanted. Any attempts to link the incantations to other parties will result in the base rune’s utter termination.”
“I see…”
“I’ll give you two enchantments. Let’s see… Let’s go with [Environmental Leech], [Consumption] and a hex would be good.”
As she said that, the glowing blood mark below his wrist soon extended and formed three different incantation marks that glowed in a dark gloomy colour. As the incantations were thoroughly established, Cadeus soon felt his body being covered in an aura of Dark Magic.
Whilst hearing all the dubious terms, Cadeus could not help but open his mouth for clarification.
“…Just what exactly are you giving me?”
“[Environmental Leech] and [Consumption] are a passive combination that will help you stabilize your energy expenditure. [Environmental Leech] is an enchanted aura that slowly corrupts the environment to produce Dark magical energies before absorbing it in passively to help the body replace lost energy. This effect increases or decreases in accordance to the density of Dark Magic present in the environment. Since the environmental energies of the catacombs are naturally Dark Magic, this should help you draw in the environmental energies by a significant degree. One good thing about this aura is that you don’t have to be consciously active to use this ability, as your body will automatically leech on the environment whenever it’s in need of energy replenishment. [Consumption] on the other hand, passively taxes the body’s magical reserves to produce a stronger input into spell casting. Whether you like it or not, your body will now automatically use more magical energies to cast stronger spells. This means that you might probably hit your Cast Limit faster. But with [Environmental Leech], that will soon be an unnecessary worry since your body will automatically recuperate and replenish the magical energies needed to avoid hitting your Cast Limit. Think of it as a continuous cycle between exhaustion and replenishment.”
“Hm… I can see the difference between your set of enchantments as compared to my White friend’s. But what’s the theory involved?”
“Typical of White Magic, the enchantments your White friend uses fall more under the category of [Shared Charms] due to its equal distribution of passive effects. Obviously my enchantments differ because Dark Magic is never about equal distribution.”
“Right… I heard you mentioning a hex.”
“Are you familiar with Hexes?”
“Yes. If I remember my lessons correctly, hexes are a form of phenomenal curses that are inflicted through the usage of invocations or incantations. Since enchantments are a form of incantations, hexing can also be achieved by enchanting the victim.”
“Good. Now, have you casted a hex before?”
“If you are asking if I had cursed anyone, the answer is a no.”
“I see. Then I’ll explain it to you. [Nerve Hex] is a Dark Enchantment that targets the victim’s nervous system to magnify the sensation of pain. The hex can only be activated manually. Once you succeed in establishing a hex, the target that got hexed will develop a hex mark. Once the target has the hex mark, the hex will be consistently active until the caster frees the target, or until the hex mark was removed.”
“How do you remove a hex mark?”
“The same treatment anyone would do with curses. If you are a Grey or White, you expel the mark. Of you are a Dark, you curb it.”
“I see. Are there any guarding techniques against hexes?”
“The most common methods I know are Enchantment Auras.”
Cadeus took a good look at the glowing symbol that represents the hex.
“You mentioned that the hex has to be activated manually, so how do I use it?”
“Do you feel the magic within the hex symbol?”
“Yes.”
“Draw that magic into your bloodstream and unleash it upon your target.”
“…That sounds simple enough.”
“It sounds simple because this is the simplified technique using prepared hexes. Proper hexes are often casted directly from the mind just like any [Point Spells]. It just takes advanced training to pull something like that off.”
“I see… wait a minute, [Nerve Hex] only works on biological organisms that have the capability to feel pain. How exactly is [Nerve Hex] going to help me against an artificial construct that can never feel?”
“Who ever said that [Nerve Hex] is for the golems?”
“Oh…”
The golems were not the only threat in this catacomb. There were far more vicious chimeras, and then there’s Fremin and his subordinates. Besides, [Environmental Leech] and [Consumption] should more than enough to help him stand his ground against the golems.
Thinking about the fact that enchantments can get exhausted over time, Cadeus soon noticed that Claire was not going to create her own set of enchantments.
“Let me confirm something. If I happen to exhaust these enchantments on my arm, can I supplement them on my own?”
“The answer should be obvious.”
“I see… thank you.”
And that confirms the fact that as long as the Enchantments are Dark Magic, Cadeus should be able to rejuvenate them on his own.
That’s good news. At least Cadeus did not have to rely on another party to maintain his enchantments.
“But what happens if the enchantments were casted by a Mixed Blood?”
“As long as the overall nature of the enchantment aligns to Dark Magic, there should not be a problem.”
Claire flipped her wrist upwards and looked at the part of her bracelet that was directly over her pulse. Magic circles and paranormal lines soon manifested in the shape of a clock, revealing the current time.
“It’s coming to 7:42 pm. I’m leaving. Sigh…I want to be back by 8:15 pm. I really need a shower.”
“How exactly are you going to get back up?”
“I have my ways.”
“Please don’t tell me… you know some spells related to flight magic?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination. The enchantments I give you should be sufficient enough to help you on the way down. As a Pure Blood, you should not face any difficulty. Make sure you survive imposter. You still owe me.”
Claire turned her back and started walking back towards the place they landed earlier.
TOA
With Claire’s unexpected departure, Cadeus was at a loss in regards to how he ought to respond to this sudden change. One part of him felt grateful that Claire was no longer around. If he had stuck with her for the remainder of this event, he would somehow owe her more favours. However, another part of him felt that it was a shame for her to go. Without her crystal abilities, Cadeus could only navigate blindly.
He could still use the classic method of writing directions on paper. However, paper was currently an extremely limited recourse. If he were to keep relying on it, Cadeus would be out of paper at a very fast rate.
“Sigh… what should I do now?”
Searching within his bag for a possible answer, Cadeus soon stumbled upon the Black Book that Claire returned him earlier; The Book of Spirits, written by the long deceased Zelnarius Pride ve Lu.
“…”
Using the collapsed golem as a chair, Cadeus sat down and flipped to the page depicting the table of contents hoping to find some alternatives.
As his eyes fell upon the page, the coded symbols and letters soon glowed in bright silver.
Dismissing the top few lines, Cadeus slowly glanced downwards until he saw a particular section that caught his attention.
Chapter 2 – A Magi’s Spirit and his surroundings
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