Kaleb stared at the opposite wall as he waited and listened. Roy’s plan was for the young Nova to recon the mansion. With the mask he almost had free run of the mansion. Once Roy understood the basic layout of the mansion, then they would look for Wulkun. Kaleb agreed with the plan, somewhat but it required him to stay put for a few minutes.
Once Roy left Kaleb immediately worried about the different things that could go wrong. If they caught Roy somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be in the mansion, then things would get loud quick. So Kaleb sat near the door, staring at the wall, and listening for any sounds of commotion. But the house remained quiet and Kaleb stared at the wall.
Kaleb sighed loudly as he stretched out one leg then another. He was getting antsy. He was about to explore the cellar area he was in when he heard footsteps approach the door. Kaleb stood and placed his back next to the door and waited. As the footsteps drew closer Kaleb pulled his Sun Gun and pointed it around chest height of the door.
Someone pushed the door open slowly and Kaleb heard a familiar but unfriendly voice.
“Porvath, Jakarl! The Master wants to see the priso…” Said Kaleb’s kick-happy Jailer.
Kaleb didn’t hesitate, he pulled the trigger twice sending two blasts of yellow energy into the Faceless jailer’s chest. The energy hit full force sending the tall jailer into the door. But, to Kaleb’s surprise, the guy seemed to shrug off the blast sent a powerful kick at Kaleb’s gun hand.
Kaleb held tight to his gun as the Faceless Jailer tried to kick it aside, jerking his arm harshly. His jailer followed up his kick with a flying knee that slammed into Kaleb’s side and sent them both into the guard’s desk. Kaleb tried to bring his gun back up, but the Jailer grabbed hold of his wrist and kept the gun away. As he maintained gun control with one hand, the Faceless jailer sent an elbow into Kaleb’s face.
The elbow slammed into the side of his face and bent Kaleb over the desk sideways. Kaleb decided that he needed to gain ground so he broke the jailer’s hold on his wrist and jumped the desk, shoulder-rolling and coming up with his gun aimed at where the guy was.
“Was it… something… I said?” Kaleb panted out as he shuffled backward further into the narrow hallway.
His Faceless jailer stalked forward expressionless mask staring at Kaleb. “How did you get free?”
Kaleb inhaled deeply before he responded. “Well, you know, I am wily.”
Kaleb thought he could hear the Jailer sigh behind his mask. “It doesn’t matter, the Master commands your presence.”
Kaleb was about the throw out another quip but his Jailer leaped forward closing the gap between them. Kaleb got off a shot into the Jailer’s shoulder, but it did little more than piss the guy off. Kaleb used Shocky to deflect the Faceless’ flying punch before jabbing forward with the barrel of his gun. Kaleb had been aiming for the guy’s throat but hit his shoulder again as the Jailer dodge.
Deciding that the Jailer was far more skilled than him in Hand-to-Hand combat, Kaleb went for a tried-and-true plan. He let the Jailer pummel him for a while until he was in close then aimed his Rail Launcher. Once he was sure the guy was too close to dodge Kaleb fired a rail spike straight at the Jailer’s chest. And for the second time, the Faceless Jailer surprised the shit out of Kaleb.
The man’s hand seemed to glow blue and as he bent backward away from the spike, his hand reached out and grabbed it from the air. Kaleb stared in shock for a while before he sent a blind punch and jumped back to get away. But the Jailer followed, throwing the spike aside and jumping in with a straight kick. Kaleb saw another blue glow wrap around the jailer’s leg before it collided with his stomach, sending him flying down the hallway between the cells.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Fuuuuuck.” Kaleb groaned as he picked himself up.
The kick felt like getting hit by a damn truck. He could hear the Faceless Jailer approaching again as he tried to think of something. The guy was increasing his speed and strength somehow. Kaleb wracked his brain for a way to counter that when the Jailer spoke, sounding smug.
“Just give it up, lizard. You are out of your league.”
Kaleb smiled as an idea came to him, He crouched down and put his hands on the floor. “Jokes on you, jackass. I’m always out of my league.”
Kaleb focused hard as the Jailer’s steps grew closer. He pictured a frozen floor the entire length of the hallway. Kaleb held that image as he poured his yellow Mana down into the floor. Soon he felt a headache start at the sides of his head. When the steps grew louder, and the headache made his eyes hurt, Kaleb released his Mana.
A cold wind blew as ice cracked the stone floor. Unfortunately Kaleb didn’t have enough Mana for the entire hallway. But he iced over 30 feet. The Jailer had been around 10 feet from Kaleb when the magic took effect and immediately he lost his footing. Kaleb backed up and watched as he rubbed his temples.
The spell he had cast had cost him 75 Mana to freeze the ground. The headache that came with it wasn’t exactly fun. Kaleb glared at the Jailer that was still trying to get his legs under him. Eventually he gripped the nearby bars of a cell and glared at Kaleb angrily. Kaleb just smiled and reached into his pocket grabbing a Taser Egg.
Still smiling he lobbed the egg into the iron bars the Jailer was holding onto to help him stand. The plastic egg broke against the metal bars and the wires sprung free snapping with electricity. Kaleb was a little disappointing he couldn’t see the look on the Jailer’s face. But he settled for watching the Faceless man writhe around before collapsing in a heap on the icy floor.
Kaleb quickly holstered his Sun Gun and slid over on the ice. He was sure the guy wasn’t dead, so he needed to hurry and end things before the Stun wore off. Careful not to touch the still electric bars, Kaleb crouched down near his Jailer and removed his mask. Behind the mask was the face of what Kaleb would call a typical High-Fantasy Elf.
The man had blond hair, pointy ears, and dark piercing blue eyes that were staring up at Kaleb in hatred. Every few seconds a jolt would go through the Jailer, tensing all of his muscles in his body. Kaleb was trying to decide what to do when he noticed the man’s arms glowing blue and drifting upward. Kaleb gawped in surprise for a second, the guy was forcing himself out of the Stun state he was in. Feeling like he had no other choice Kaleb aimed his Rail Launcher at the man’s face a fired.
Blood sprayed upward briefly as the spike jammed itself into the elf man’s forehead. Kaleb sighed and tried to think if he could have done something else. In the middle of a fight was one thing, but this felt dirty. Kaleb shook it off as several notifications popped up all at once and he smiled.
*Conditioning Skill Level Up*
Health increased by 11%
Stamina increased by 11%
Incoming physical damage decreased by 6%
*Hand-To-Hand Combat Skill Level Up*
Hand-to-Hand Damage increased by 8
*Gadget Mastery Skill Level up*
Current Gadget Failure Rate decreased by 2%
Current Blueprint Drop Rate Increased by 4%
Blueprints. Kaleb thought as he stared down at the Elf he had killed. Those hate-filled blue eyes still stared up at Kaleb. He wondered what kind of blueprint he could get from a guy like this. Plus, it had the added benefit of getting rid of the body. Shrugging his shoulders he reached out and placed a hand on the man’s chest, trying to start a loot drop.
There was the standard flash of light and the body disappeared. In its place was a silver necklace with a weird symbol Kaleb didn’t recognize and a folded piece of paper. Oh, look at that. Got one. Kaleb thought as he took his loot and stood up carefully. The bars had lost their charge so Kaleb used them to slide along the frozen ground. After he collected his ever-useful Taser Egg.
He was about to look at his new blueprint when he heard the far door open again. Sighing, he hid in a nearby cell and waited. He heard the door close and a voice call out softly.
“Doc?”
Kaleb sighed again and moved out of the cell to see Roy standing at the end of the hallway. Roy seemed to sigh in relief as Kaleb walked over to him. Kaleb smiled and waved, but before he could say anything Roy asked.
“What happened?” The boy’s eyes were firmly fixed on the patch of ice Kaleb had created.
Kaleb scratched his head. “Uhh, Hallway fight?”
Roy gave him a weird look but shook it off. “Well, whatever. Something is going on upstairs. A few minutes ago some people ran in and out of the mansion.”
“What about Wulkun?”
“There’s a locked door on the second floor to the left of the main stairs. They have a guard on it and they restrict entry to a few people. So I’m guessing that’s it.” Roy explained.
Kaleb nodded with the assessment before he asked. “So what’s the next part of the plan, Boy Wonder.”
Roy put on a disapproving look before he smiled wickedly. “Next I escort a prisoner.”