Chapter 201 - Run
Run. Run. Run.
“Release my arm,” Valela demanded while Lou coolly asked. “What’s going on? Why do we need to run?”
This can’t be happening again.
He stopped at an intersection of two corridors. Kai had lost count of the twists and turns they had taken to get here. Should he climb the nearest tower for an exit? It was slower to move in the dense vegetation outside.
I should have never come here.
The tunnels were narrow and dark, the flow of mana growing stronger like when the sea serpent appeared. Could the ruins have another reason to gather mana? He’d rather find out from a distance.
Why now? Where do I go?
Lou and Valela were speaking again. He couldn’t hear them. The only sound was blood pumping in his ears. “We need to run.”
What beast is it going to be this time? What if we can’t outrun it?
Heart raced, shallow breathing. His eyes darted between the corridors covered in slick moss. Mana sped into a chaotic vortex all around. Where was the summoning chamber? If he picked the wrong direction he might run into the gaping maws of a beast. Panic set in.
A slap woke him from his stupor. Kai held his cheek, more from shock than pain. “You slapped me.” He said accusingly.
Valela blushed but didn’t avert her gaze. “You weren’t making any sense. What’s going on? Is this a prank for not telling you everything? I need to head back.”
“Kai, you’re safe.” Lou gently guided his eyes on him, voice deep and soothing. “Tell us what’s wrong. Why did you start running all of a sudden?”
Hmm… He should be a radio host. No, focus. Run.
“We’re not safe. Can’t you feel the mana gathering?”
Lou scrunched his brows, a gruff Mana Sense swept around him, but it was Valela who spoke up first. “The mana density is increasing.” Her voice was lined with delight. She pirouetted following the streams of essence. “We need to follow it. This is our chance to figure out what’s going on.”
Kai grabbed her before she could wander off. She stared icily at his hand, but he didn’t loosen his grasp. His instincts screamed to run fueled by Hallowed Intuition and his last experience. He clung to his veneer of clarity. “This is how the ruins summon yellow-grade beasts. We need to get out now.”
Valela stopped yanking her arm, blood drained from her face. She lightly shook her head, eyes narrowing. “How can you be sure? This could be our only chance to figure out what's going on.”
Kai held her suspicious gaze. “You need to trust me on this. There is no time to explain, we need to leave the mana anomaly.”
The princess was about to object when Lou stepped between them. “Ma’am, I can vouch for him. We need to move.” The teen didn’t wait for her response, deep eyes peering at Kai. “Where’s the beast going to appear? I can’t find the source.”
Kai put aside the odd bout of trust. “Give me a moment.” He extended his Mana Sense as far as he could, but there was no end to the chaotic flow. “I can’t tell either. It should be in one of the larger chambers.”
What if the Vastaire who lived here decided to put the summoning chamber in a tower? Or in a room at random. We need to run.
Lou’s grip tightened on his shoulder. “Kai, focus. How much longer do we have?”
“Hmm…” How long did it take for the sea serpent? He hadn’t thought much about that day, or at all really. One experience didn’t make a rule, he only had guesswork. “About five minutes. Sorry, I’m not sure.”
“It’s fine.” Despite his even tone and reassuring smile, Lou was tense like a bowstring. “I know an exit near the edge of the ruins. This way.”
“Wait!” Valela threw worried looks at the murky tunnels. “If Kai’s right, we need to warn the others. There are people digging and mapping the underground and more outside.”
Damn.
“The scholars are here too.” Kai rubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if they went underground.” He didn’t want to see them ripped apart—not even Darlo.
Lou spoke with forceful calm. “Remember every group has guards. They’ll notice something is happening and get to safety. We have no idea where they are.”
Or they’ll run straight for it like the princess. Shit, it was better when I was alone.
Valela raised her chin. “Can those guards fight a yellow beast?”
“Better than we can, ma’am. You can’t die here. We’ll warn them when we are safe.”
Kai observed the exchange of glances. Curiosity almost burned through his urgency. Almost. He could pester them after they got out.
Valela looked between the corridors, ready to dash. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Lead the way, cadet.”
“This way.” Lou moved from jogging to all-out running. He held the scabbard at his side to keep it from rattling. They chased his back through the maze of dark and damp tunnels. Boots stomped the ground with labored breaths—Kai cursed his inadequate clothes and shoes. In Higharbor he didn’t need sturdy clothing and quickly outgrew the old ones.
If they had given me more than an hour to pack…
Not every tunnel and chamber had been cleared. Some had a layer of earth and bluish moss, others were barred by a wall of rocks. They passed a patch of pale mushrooms infused with Shadow mana. If he didn’t get eaten, he might come back to collect a sample.
The whirlwind of mana swelled, stronger and vaster. Spirits willing, it was just a byproduct of the size of the ruins with no other effect.
No matter how far they ran, Hallowed Intuition didn’t quieten, if anything the whispers grew more frenzied. Lou had the lowest grade at Orange ★★ but made up with his physique and profession. He checked on them over his shoulder with breath to spare.
Kai kept up with Empower, a precise trickle to conserve his mana, and Valela’s strained breaths closed the line. She was months away from her Second Seal and running must not be one of her hobbies. She slowed, muttering under her breath. Before they could think of stopping, mana revolved around her, and she closed the distance.
I must ask her how that works if we survive.
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They stopped in a wide chamber with a single door and an opening in the ceiling four meters above. “Climbing is too slow. We need to jump.” Lou crossed his hands to make a foothold. “You first, ma’am.”
Valela was catching her breath. Her eyes burned with protest. “I—”
“Go. I can handle it.” Kai stopped her from overthinking it.
Her lips pressed in an annoyed line. “I’m going to jump back down if you’re lying.” With a stiff look, she took a run-up and jumped on Lou’s hold. Her leap was graceful but lacked Strength. She would have missed the opening if Lou hadn’t pushed her.
Valela flew into the room above with a scream at an unexpected speed. A string of bloody curses when she landed.
“Are you fine, ma’am?”
“Yes,” she answered curtly. Constitution was the most unassuming attribute, making bones and muscles sturdier among other things.
Kai set himself across from Lou, making a foothold for him. “You’re next. No arguing. You know I can jump by myself.”
The teen read the stubborn determination on his face and followed the order like a good boy. “We’re going to talk about this later.”
We sure are.
He got a flash of concern when Lou’s towering form charged towards him. Kai gritted his teeth and braced. The boot hit his hands with the weight of a bull. Empower wove through his body. He held firm with a grunt, though he had no Strength to push him.
Lou leaped over him. He gripped the edge of the passage with both hands and pulled himself up in the same motion as if he had done it a million times before. His arms extended down the opening. “I’ll catch you. No arguing.”
Damn punk.
Kai estimated the distance. If he missed, the fall would hurt quite a bit. He sprinted, and a push from Empower sent him gliding through the air. Getting grabbed by Lou and lifted like a child was less elegant. Emergencies called for heavy sacrifices.
Sunlight fell from above together with a wisp of fresh air. There were two more floors to cross, the ceiling slightly lower. Valela and Lou were ready for another jump when the streams of mana stopped. Everyone’s attention snapped to the phenomenon below.
Damn, this wasn’t five minutes.
The anomaly reached its peak. The whisper that had quietened after the jump surged, Hallowed Intuition begged him to run. “Don’t stop! We’re out of time,” Kai urged.
Fuck.
A series of shocks crossed the cloud of mana. A piercing screech echoed from the tunnels below. Restricted by walls and ground, Mana Sense couldn’t reach the beast, but Kai didn’t doubt it was there. Hungry.
We didn’t run in the wrong direction.
Valela unfroze, eyes wide, the reality of the situation sunk in. She almost tripped in the run-up. Her leap had no grace but more than enough Strength. Lou helped her adjust the trajectory so she didn’t crash into the ivory stone.
She should work on her jumps.
Lou looked at him like he was taking measures to throw him up.
“Don’t even think about it. My Mana Sense is better to keep an eye on the underground. Hurry.”
A low threatening growl resounded from the tunnels, and Lou acquiesced with a disgruntled look. “Get ready. I can jump this distance by myself.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” Kai dragged a few large rocks together. He had only gathered a small reserve of Earth mana to experiment with the camp barracks, and it would be little use in a fight.
While Lou leaped behind him, Kai closed his eyes to visualize the spell. He ignored the yells to hurry. The dark brown motes flowed into the pile of rock and dirt, fusing them into an ugly slab. Veins of lighter crumbly earth crossed the half-melted rock.
You won’t win any beauty pageants, but it’s a decent first try.
He pushed the malformed plate over the floor aperture, praying it wouldn’t immediately crack. For once, spirits were merciful. The slab wouldn’t stop a yellow beast, but it might delay or make it choose a different path.
“Kai, hurry.”
Crossing the last two floors was a blur. The muffled growls were followed by a stronger clamor that made the tower shake. Kai caught a fleeting presence at the edge of his range in the tunnels below, gone too fast to determine who or what it was. Each second they feared a beast would burst from the floor.
When the windows showed light instead of a wall of roots, they threw themselves on the weeds outside. Valela landed with a wince of pain, holding her left ankle. “It’s just a bruise, I can walk.” Her pristine appearance was marked by tears and scraps. She drank a blue vial before Kai could offer one of his.
We’re out.
Relief flooded his veins. Yells echoed in the distance. They stood at the edge of the ruins with only two pillars behind them. He didn’t recognize the area. After the mad rush, they took a few seconds to rest.
“I didn’t know you also had an affinity for Earth,” Lou mused.
“You mean he has more?” Valela quipped in. “Uh… I remember you could use Water.”
Does anyone else want to mind my own business? No one?
“It’s not like you’ve told me yours either.” Kai huffed.
“Sorry. I was just surprised.” Lou hung his head guilty.
Valela stood up with a grimace. “I noticed you fusing the rocks if that helps.”
“It’s fine. We better move further to be safe.” An enraged roar crossed through the jungle to prove his point. Not the faded echo they heard in the tower, it was coming from outside. Crashing trees joined by distinctly human screams of pain.
Damn. That beast sounds stupidly large too. Why can’t the ruins summon a magic hamster for once?
Valela headed straight for the commotions, limping on one leg. “We need to help them.”
Hmm… she must really care.
“We’ll only get in the way.” Lou used his reasonable tone. “The yellow guards will deal with it. The best we can do is get to safety and not give them more people to rescue.”
Kinda boring, but it makes an awful lot of sense. Maybe we can watch from a distance.
“The safest place is with the group.” Valela continued marching undeterred. “The guards can protect us there, and I can help from a safe distance.”
“Ma’am—”
“Remember who’s in charge. I’m going, you can do what you prefer.”
She’s a whole other level of stubbornness.
“Let’s go.” Kai followed her—not like it was a real choice, Lou wasn’t going to leave her. It wouldn’t be terrible to observe the battle and see how yellow grades fought. “Let me go ahead, my Mana Sense has the longest range. I don’t want us to stumble in the path of the beast.”
“I can do it too.” Valela somehow managed to walk elegantly despite her limp. “I’m studying to enroll in a mana academy, Mana Sense is my highest skill.”
“Oh, is your skill at level 90 too?”
The princess missed a step, Lou caught her before she could kiss the ground.
“As I thought.” Kai waved imperiously to make way. “Behind me, peasants.” After enduring their bullshit secrecy, it felt nice to show off. His Mana Sense was at level 96 to be precise, but it would be a problem if the princess fainted.
No longer restricted by the cramped corridors and ground, he could stretch his perception almost a hundred meters. A colossal, blinding presence thrashed circled by a dozen fireflies of different brightness.
Yells to surround and strike the beast reached them clearly. Climbing over a fallen tree, the battle came into view. He might also use someone to catch him too.
That shouldn’t be possible.
One of the immaculate towers had been smashed to pieces with a single ivory spike still standing. Chunks of stone were strewn over the devastated jungle floor. The large crater where the pillar had stood left no doubt of the culprit.
A colossal lizard growled on large squat legs, a dozen meters of brown armored skin covered in black spikes. Crouched in the burrow, the tail whipped to keep the soldiers at bay. Its long snout was filled with jagged teeth like that of a crocodile.
It didn’t look as agile or long as the sea serpent, but Kai would have picked the snake every time. Its jaws snapped forward crushing the arm of a man too slow to retreat. His companions pulled him back in time, but the excruciating screams didn’t stop.
A black spear split the air in retaliation. It stuck behind the joint of a leg drawing dark-red blood faster than his eyes could follow. The armored lizard let out a guttural roar. Standing at the brink of Mana Sense, Kai noticed the wave of brownish mana gathering too late.
Shards of rock exploded in every direction around the beast. Kai hastily conjured a layer of ice. A piece of stone larger than his head flew on their right, narrowly missing the shield and felling a tree. He didn’t want to know if it would have blocked the attack.
A lizard built like a tank that can also use stone magic, because why not, right? Let’s give it a rocket launcher too. And I complained about a little snake.
Thankfully, the soldiers had reacted faster than them and were mostly unscathed. Recognizing the attack, they took shelter behind nearby towers.
“Maybe it’s better if we leave it to the experts. I think they have it handled.” Kai proposed. If they kept away from the jaws and barbed tail, they should be able to chip its defenses away till it died.
Valela stared at the ongoing battle, unresponsive.
Lou heartily nodded. “Yeah, we—”
A rumbling croak filled the jungle. Kai turned to see the world's fattest toad squeeze out of a tower on their left with a triumphant squeak. Tons of bluish flesh covered in purple warts crashed into the jungle.
Kai might have laughed if the beast didn’t shine with a burning yellow presence.