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World: MSS - Loading...
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
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I tried to sleep but continued to toss and turn.
It could have been any number of things. It could have been the fact that the floor of the cage was a cesspool of human waste and only gods know what else. I could have blamed it on nerves too. But really, when it came right down to it, I could only blame myself and my old enemy: fear. Being in this cage reminded me of how I first entered this world: helpless.
These weren’t just regular cages either, they were reinforced somehow. I was betting that anyone without a specific Core ability or a significant physical stat couldn’t escape these. So I spent the night, trying all sorts of things. I tried sleeping standing up which didn’t work out too well. I tried to sleep on the floor but my stomach kept tying itself in knots. I even tried to lean my head on the bars, hoping that I'd fall asleep eventually.
So I spent the night testing and experimenting my Core abilities instead. The last thing I remembered before passing out at the dungeon was touching the Unjo’s Core. I had no idea what color it had been, it was up to trial and error to figure out its abilities. Luckily for me, I had the perfect ability to test it with: Coin Toss. Everytime my Coin Toss landed on tails, I should receive a debuff.
Except that the Core I received had the passive: [Arcane Masochism].
Oung really pulled through on that one.
But Arcane Masochism should turn every debuff into a buff for Attack, Defense or Speed. With my first Coin Toss. from before, I was able to figure out that Arcane Masochism was indeed the passive I had inherited. So the active ability would be Hateful Wound, instead of Dive Bomb. I spent the night using Coin Toss every 60 seconds and testing out my abilities. Namely, I tried to get a feel for which stat I was receiving a buff for. It would be a bad idea to use this in combat and not know which stat got boosted.
Eventually I was able to get a feel for which buff I received through dozens of trial and error.
When my attack stat was buffed it felt like my blood was pumping faster and I felt full of energy. It’s hard to describe the feeling when I got a defense buff, it was like I was wearing a really heavy coat in a storm while naked, rain pressing down on me from all sides. I thought the feeling for a rise in speed would be weightlessness, but it was something different altogether. My feet felt super heavy but there was a sense of freedom to my movements, like I could grip the ground and fling myself to wherever I Wanted. Since I was locked in a cage, I couldn’t test them out too much.
I debated using the rise in attack stat to try and break apart the cage but it might worsen my wounded arm. Another crazy thought was spending the night punching the cage, hoping for a [Jackspot], like that scene I saw of a blonde samurai who was buried alive. I threw out the idea altogether, deciding to stick to my plan with Scarlet; it had a much higher chance of success.
I wanted to save my strength for the escape.
My only worry was the sleeping gas.
If it acted like a debuff, I should be ok… if not, welp that’d be it. Scarlet didn’t have a spell for getting me through the gas either, it seemed like he had a naturally high resistance to magic-based status effects thanks to being a mage. Me on the other hand… I’d have to think about what to do.
Then before I knew it, the slam of a metal door opening echoed through the cavern. The morning patrol was here.
It was followed by footsteps and I could tell that it only belonged to a single person. This was definitely the morning patrol that Scarlet talked about, inducing the tranquilizer on the slaves. From what I could see in the darkness, all the slaves were still passed out or in a hallucinatory state. The guard didn’t even come down the stairs all the way.
Click
Psssssss
A minute passed and then another. Soon, a mild and sweet scent reached my nose. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was the incapacitating agent that Scarlet had been talking about. I acted on instinct, holding my breath, praying that this was a debuff-based gas and not a status-inflicting one.
In MSS, you could be put to sleep through magical means in one of two ways. One was through a status change, spells that instantly put you to sleep, like [Forced Sleep] for example. The second way was through a series of stacking debuffs that lowered your stats like [Alertness], [Energy] and so on. If it was the latter, my passive should counteract it.
I instantly felt drowsy and I knew that it must’ve been the former. This reaction from just taking a whiff must’ve meant even a small dosage was enough, they just chose to overdose the prisoners to keep them sleeping the entire time.
Smart.
Well, at least Scarlet would wake in a few hours. The only concern was that we'd be losing valuable time and anything could happen within those hours.
Just as I closed my eyes thinking that it might not be so bad to finally fall asleep, someone stuck their hand inside my stab wound.
I think what you just heard is that someone grabbed my stab wound and squeezed.
But no, what I meant is that I felt someone’s hand rip apart the scab and stick their entire hand inside. Then they stretched that hand open, their fingers spreading the wound open even wider. Against my will, my mouth opened up to scream but my assailant was quicker than my voice, they clamped a wet rag over my mouth and pulled hard, slamming the back of my head against the bars. That was twice in one day I had been gagged by a dirty cloth.
“Pain is a necessity in times of war, only through blood can we learn how to survive.”
If there was ever a time I was both horrified and happy at the same time, this was one of them.
But hearing Arrosh’s voice didn’t lessen the pain, it only snapped my mind out of the stupor that the gas had been inducing. With my mind wide awake, I felt each of Arrosh’s fingers spread the wound open from the inside, tearing it open. I heard myself gurgle but Arrosh pulled tighter, choking the air out of me. Trying to kick out, I lifted my legs but Arrosh forced my weight downwards, getting me to sit on my butt and my back against the bars.
“You must remain vigilant, young tree.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
We stayed like that for what felt like hours. Me, with tears rolling down my face and Arrosh whispering his cryptic messages. I didn’t fight through the pain voluntarily; I took in large gulps of air through my nose, a part of me just thinking it might be easier to falll asleep from the gas and have Arrosh wake me up. But the blind orc’s grip on my shoulder kept me awake. Finally, he released my shoulder but kept the gag over my mouth.
“Do not scream, for the shadows around us possess ears and tongues, all too eager to report to their masters.”
Pop
I heard the sound of a cork being unstoppered and bit down harder on the rag around my mouth. The sound was one I’d heard often enough in the dungeon to recognize It for what it was.
Arrosh poured the healing potion over my head and shoulders.
It hurt like a bitch.
Once I was done convulsing and whimpering from underneath the rag, Arrosh carefully untagged me. I turned around, searching for the old orc. He was standing behind my cage, the rags on his body even filthier than normal and seeming to look abnormally worn. In the last half-day I hadn’t seen him, he seemed to have aged another dozen years. Wrinkles dominated most of his skin and the hunch he had was more pronounced than before.
But the heavy manacles around his wrist and ankles were gone.
And he was bleeding from dozens of wound.
“You… Arrosh? I mean, Master... what happened-”
He smiled, his teeth stained with blood. "It took me a while to find you, my disciple."
Did he get those wounds from looking for me?
That perked me right up. He didn’t call me ‘young tree’ or ‘young blade’. He didn’t use any cryptic descriptive words involving war, nature and the sword. The blind orc had spoken straight and true: He wanted me to listen. I initially wanted to lash out at him for the pain he caused me but now I knew it was for my own good. I sat back and listened to him speak.
“I had thought we would have more time, but I fear that after the moon tonight, nothing will be the same.” He continued. “Fear not, for it is not the end of our road. Merely a forked path that will merge in the distant future.”
“The Great Houses of the Empire moves. Agents clad in shadow, from the beastman country seek their way in. The elves and dwarves overlook our shoulders, trying to catch a glimpse of weakness.”
“Then get me out of here.” I interrupted. “I know you can.”
“I cannot, my disciple.” The elderly orc deflated. “My oath binds me.”
I clenched my teeth because I had no idea what oath he was talking about.
Just what circumstances was he under? Why did he ask me to learn the Sword Saint's teachings? What kind of things did he go through to get to me here?
I wasn't blind and dumb. I knew that he was an outcast from orc society. Blind and old, he had no place among the warriors. I could see it clearl as day, he must have had stayed in that alleyway corner day after day waiting for me. Just waiting... hoping that I'd show back up. For all he knew I could have been dead. Yet he went out of his way to look for me.
Again, I was filled with regrets. I wished I had spoken more with the orc and gotten to know him. Why did it take me so long to see Clover, L’teya and Arrosh as friends and not just tools to be used? If I had just changed my mind earlier, I would have known so much more about them. Then perhaps I would know more about his circumstances and his oath... and just been able to care for him. I could have gotten stronger with their help and pulled them up beside me.
But it was too late for regrets. I just had to do better from now.
“I saw visions of the future. This city will fall.”
I lookied at Arrosh’s milky eyes. Something clicked in my head between all his talk about the future and his blindness.
“Kudan (件).” I muttered.
Kudan, a grade-4 monster that could see the future. It possessed a Core Ability which let you predict the moves your opponents were about to make inside the game version of MSS. However, the side-effect was severe: it reduced your [Sight] stat to 0, meaning you became blind. It seemed that here, in the real world, predicting the future wasn’t limited to just seeing your opponents moves but prophetic visions... if I was right.
Arrosh smiled. “One day, I hope that you will trust me enough as your master to tell me your story, young one. If that day ever comes."
My heart pounded. He was talking about how I surmised that he had the ability from the Kudan monster. But that last part, did he just say what I think he did?
“Arrosh, I-”
He reached inside the bars and put a hand over my heart. “There are many branching futures, with your death in many of them. Even your companions may fall. But there is a path to salvation.”
The orc put his face close to the bars and whispered. “The path towards the heavens leads to death, but the descent into darkness offers life. You must choose, whether to be bathed in light and lose all you hold dear or cover yourself in shadow and live to fight another day.”
“Avoid the scions of the Great Houses and the Wizard whose wings invite Death. For even catching a glimpse of them will catch you in a tempest between giants. If you wish to keep your life and those of your companions, you must have nothing to do with them.” Arrosh muttered.
The way Arrosh spoke about it scared me. I was just thinking of this event as a slave auction, something that was bound to happen. But the orc made it sound like there were bigger things at play here. It also sounded like I wouldn't see him ever again.
“You shouldn’t be helping me.” I mustered, the words spilling out of me. “I was just using you, I never took you seriously. You barely know me. I never did anything for you. I was just… I was such a fool, Arrosh. My friends, if I acted earlier we could have avoided all this. This happened all because I was only looking out for myself. I didn’t trust anyone, even you. God, I only got this far because of you guys. You even got hurt while trying to find me. What’s going to happen, Arrosh? Will I see you again?”
“You are still learning.” Arrosh’s hand tousled my hair and I felt like a boy again, eating lunch next to the teacher in the cafeteria. “And I do not blame you for the choices you have made, young human. I realize that it was tough. And to me, you will always be my disciple.”
“I too approached my master with ill-intentions. But he took pity on a young orc with no family and no friends. He taught me how to trust, to grow and to know warmth.”
I had nothing to say.
“Now, I leave you with my teachings.” Arrosh bent down and handed me a shortsword through the bars. “Take the sword and swing sideways.”
The sword was just the right length for me to swing from the center of the cage without hitting the bars. I obeyed Arrosh and performed a two-handed swing.
“Now, in your hand lies a sword. But within your mind, also lies a sword. The two are one, yet right now, they are two. You must make them one. As your hand begins, your mind must also move. Only when your body and mind are one, will you achieve the first step towards mastering the sword.” Arrosh explained.
He stepped back. “Again.”
I understood what he wanted me to do. Summoning the image of a sword in my mind, I focused on its edge. In my mind’s eye, I zoomed in to the blade’s edge, making it sharper and sharper.
“Now… swing.” Arrosh whispered after a moment.
Slowly, I changed the angle of the sword in my hand so that it would cut left. At the same time, the sword in my mind paralleled its movement. Arrosh had said this was the most important part, that the sword in my mind and the one in my hand was in sync. It was painstakingly difficult-
“Focus!” He snapped so loud that I thought he would wake Scarlet.
The sword in my hand shifted, correcting itself to mirror the mind-sword. The two were at slightly different angles. Relaxing my wrist a bit, the two finally matched in angle, axis and form. Even more slowly, I began to move the blade in my mind sideways, cutting empty space. My sword-arm moved with the vision in conjunction
“No, it needs to be more perfect.”
I zoomed in closer to the sword in my mind, closer and closer and closer, imagining that if an ant was crawling on the tip of the point, I could count the hair follicles on its legs. No, that wasn’t enough, it needed to be closer so I could detect any minute differences between the one in my hand and
A bead of sweat dropped from my chin.
It could’ve been my imagination but there seemed to be a thin layer of blue on top of the wooden sword. It was so thin that I could practically see through it and if I weren’t moving so slowly, I would never have caught sight of it. Regardless, I knew it was mana because I felt myself growing more and more tired.
“The butcher’s knife is covered in blood. A swordsman's sword cuts only what the swordsman wishes to cut, nothing else. The battlefield is one of corpses and death, yet the sword must still move. When the warrior’s arm grows tired, his mind takes over.” Arrosh muttered as I continued the movement.
My shoulders started to burn and the imaginary shield I was holding lowered.
“Do not lower your shield, lest your heart become skewered by the rain of arrows.” Arrosh whispered, barely audible.
I wanted to move my mind-sword as fast as I could. It was just imaginary. I could do anything with it, yet the point of this training was to have it be lined up perfectly with my actions in the real world. The faster I did this, the greater the chances of error. Arrosh was so adamant about building the perfect foundation that it had me half-convinced that this might lead to a secret skill.
Finally, both swords completed the movement at exactly the same time.
“Again.”
I obeyed.
“Again.”
“Again.”
“Again.”
“Again.”
“Again.”
It wasn’t Arrosh’s voice commanding me to repeat the movement anymore, but my own. I hadn’t realized it, but the orc – no, he wasn’t just an orc anymore – my master had left. I gritted my teeth thinking of my companions.
“Again.”
The next time I saw Arrosh, I swore that I’d listen to his story.
Not because he was a key figure in a quest related to the [Sword Saint].
But because he was one of the few people that I now had to protect.
And perhaps, just perhaps if I became worthy enough, I’d share mine.
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