Chapter 90: Room Eighty Meets Again

The apostles of Room Eighty gathered in the grand common area of the seventh floor, each adorned in the sleek black robes and silver badges that marked their new titles. The enchanted walls displayed sweeping views of the Bask region beyond the Tower. Still, the four barely noticed, too wrapped in recounting their recent experiences and the scars, both visible and hidden, they now bore from them.

Nando started, a wry grin tugging at his lips, his eyes flickering with both pride and frustration. "That gargoyle wasn’t just some mindless hunk of rock," he muttered, shaking his head. "It was smarter than we gave it credit for, reforming smaller and stronger every time we shattered it. That beast led us on a merry chase and cost us… more than we expected." His voice dipped, remembering the losses they’d suffered, an unspoken weight settling in the room. He shook off the memory, shooting a quick look at his friends. "But, hey, made us apostles, didn’t it?"

Sena nodded, his face hardened by the memories of the crystalline mine. “We were neck-deep in those crystal creatures, the caves within the mines were riddled with them,” he said, his jaw clenching briefly. “I thought we were finished more than once. But Apostle Wolf…” He shook his head in awe, the shadows casting sharp lines across his face. “That guy's on another level. Cut through those monsters like he was born for it. Without him, we’d be done.”

Isabella’s calm voice broke through next, tinged with gratitude and a trace of exhaustion. "I agree, the mines nearly got us,” she murmured, her eyes distant. “Wolf saved us countless times. I thought I’d had it, too, until I saw him turn those creatures to dust like it was nothing." She drew a steady breath, and her gaze softened as she looked at the others. "But now that it’s over, I hope I’ll be stationed somewhere near home, closer to my family. It’s been so long.” Her words hung in the air, a reminder that beneath their newfound power, they were still bound to those they’d left behind.

Sena grunted in response. "Home’s not for me. I want to be where the action is. I’ll pick a town where the fighting never stops. That’s the only way to grow."

"Is fighting all you care about?" Abel asked, his tone curious but not mocking. He’d seen Sena's thirst for battle before, but now they were apostles—there had to be more to it than just fighting.

"Fighting’s how I survive," Sena replied simply. "And how I get stronger."

Abel glanced around the room. It was a far cry from their old dormitories. The lush carpets, the enchanting views, and the vastness of the space felt almost too much after the intense challenges they'd just survived. But his thoughts kept circling back to one thing: his village.

"I want to go back," Abel said quietly. The others turned to him. "To my old village. I need to see if they’re okay—if my family is still there." His voice had an edge of vulnerability that hadn't been there before.

"Do you even know what’s waiting for you there?" Ronald asked, his voice steady as he looked at Abel. "These places aren’t the same as when you left. Not after what we’ve been through. The world is constantly changing and so are the supernatural phenomena."

"I know that," Abel replied, determination hardening his voice. "But I have to know. I have to see."

Ronald nodded slightly. "I get it. But it won’t be easy. We don’t know what kind of threats are lurking out there, especially in the south. And let’s be honest, we still don’t understand everything about these... runes."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

A weighted silence settled over the room, each member of Room Eighty caught in their own thoughts about the complexity of the path ahead. Runes were a mystery that lay at the heart of their advancement, guiding apostles toward new heights of power. Yet, only Ronald seemed to have a grasp on their nuances, having delved into gifted classes on mana and its deeper laws.

“For most of us, the rune system is still a mystery,” Nando muttered, breaking the silence. His expression was uncharacteristically serious. “Being gifted makes things any easier, and for non-gifted like me... Well, figuring out how to make this work with our affinities isn’t exactly straightforward. We might have our badges now, but there’s a long way to go if we want to stand a chance against real threats.”

Abel glanced at his own badge, the dragon emblem gleaming in the low, enchanted light. The image was bold, and it reminded him of the long line of apostles who had once stood where he now stood. "We’ll figure it out," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "There has to be information on affinities beyond the main six. I mean, there must have been Magians in the past who were non-gifted, right?"

Ronald nodded, his gaze contemplative. “The human continent has a longer history than we’re sometimes given credit for. It’s true, our recent years might not match the great powers of the world, but even so, we’ve discovered things—lost them, maybe—but they’re waiting to be found again.”

The room collectively fell into thought. The dim light of the laboratory cast shadows across the walls, and the faint hum of magic was like a quiet, ever-present heartbeat in the room, a reminder of the power they sought to master.

“Sometimes I wonder what was lost along the way,” Abel said softly, staring into the distance as though he could see those ancient days for himself. "Power and knowledge that faded. But they left pieces behind. We’ve just got to find them.”

Nando shrugged, his signature smirk returning to soften the somber tone. “Well, I’m all for finding hidden power, just as long as we don’t end up like those legends who got too close to it and… well, you know.”

Everyone chuckled, but there was an unspoken resolve in each of them. The mysteries of the Tower and the runes might be shrouded in history, but they were ready to face them, to uncover the truths that had been forgotten for too long.

The conversation dwindled as each of them sat in their own quiet thoughts, the tension stretching through the room like a coiled spring. Then, the quiet was broken by a soft vibration from Nando’s badge. He glanced down, his gaze sharpening as he read the message, and without a word, he rose from his seat.

“Looks like it’s my turn,” he murmured, his usual smirk absent, replaced by an expression of calm resolve. He left the room, the door closing quietly behind him, leaving the others in a thick silence that seemed to amplify the pressure they all felt.

Abel’s eyes drifted to his own badge, the engraved dragon insignia shining in the dim light, a reminder of what awaited each of them. His thoughts tangled as he considered the weight of this new responsibility and the paths that lay ahead. The magnitude of their journey felt real now, a burden that had settled over them like an unshakable shadow.

Ronald finally broke the silence, his voice a soft murmur. “This is only the start. There are a few things that I want to research, something that might allow me to become more attuned to the ghastly world and allow it to complement his water technique better.”

Isabella gave a faint nod. “True. We’ve already crossed a line we can’t go back from. And I am the same way, the knowledge book that I had when we first joined the tower, might allow my affinity towards serpents and crystals to work together more seamlessly.”

Abel inwardly nodded as he recalled the knowledge book he used to have and how much he wanted to expand his understanding of enchantments and inscriptions through the blood of magical beasts and their uniqueness. It could truly aid him in the future and add an extra edge to his techniques.

They shared a glance, a silent acknowledgment of the bond they had forged through their trials. Whatever the coming days held, they would face it together, bound by purpose and the weight of the journey they had chosen.