Even in his peripherals, Tilly recognized her as Mochizuki, the female lapin servant they had met a couple of days ago upon entry to the city. But this time she was not dressed as a simple servant. Layers of black cloth cinched tight around her waist and the beginning and end of her extremities. The gear was reminiscent of a classic ninja outfit, but something about the looser clothing around her torso and extremities made it hard to tell exactly where her body was within the shifting fabric of the flared-out cloth. She padded up behind the guard, completely silent, focused on her opponent.
“I don't think your friend is going to answer,” Tilly shouted, stalling for a few more seconds. Oddly he felt the Blessing tug at his arm, and he took it to mean it was encouraging him to attack. It hadn’t given him anything useful since the fight, and he thought it might have burned through all of its available energy keeping him alive back in the side street.
“Shut your Gob! Att-”
Tilly cut off the response by throwing his hatchet with his good hand, which the guard easily batted aside, and then smiled. They both knew Tilly didn't have time to recall and block with the weapon at his current skill level, and the guard squatted slightly, the muscles on his hairy goat legs bunching for a lunge.
Just before he sprung forward, his eyes widened slightly and his head jerked around suddenly sensing something.
It was too little too late.
Kunai had appeared as if from thin air in Mochizuki’s hands and the guard moved too slowly to avoid the double critical strike, as one plunged into his neck and the other was thrust up into his armpit, above the protection of his cuirass.
The guard let out a choking gasp and his legs gave out, as Mochizuki led him to the ground almost gently, before ripping out her knives and wiping them on his armor padding. She gracefully rose to her feet, and flicked the blades out, making them disappear into the folds of her robes.
His Identify insistently confirmed her previous class tag over her head.
Level 13 Household Servant
At this point, it seemed more like a joke, than helpful information. Clearly, his level 17 Skill was far from infallible.
“Gaijin.” She said in greeting, meeting his eyes with a serious expression only allowing a hint of satisfaction to dance in her eyes.
"I sure as hell am glad you are on my side. That was intense.” Tilly breathed in relief, before recalling his other hatchet and looping both of them on his belt.
“Yes, well things are going very poorly for the city, and by extension Lord Hiro's plans. They are here too early and our escape will be contested every step of the way.” She said, gesturing towards the wall. As if her motion somehow turned up the volume on the battle in the distance, the roar of the fighting and dying washed over Tilly’s senses. In the rush of his personal danger, he hadn't yet taken in the view that this vantage provided.
Tilly could not see the battle happening on the other side of the wall, but he saw the battlements flanking either side of the gates crowded with soldier-like figures. Flashes of some sort of large-scale magics were occasionally bursting forth like beacons from over the wall, but there were no signs of enemies in the city yet.
“Look closely at those atop the wall...” Mochizuki instructed as she moved up to his side and took in the view. He squinted, just barely able to make out that most directly over the gate wore the matching uniforms of the city guard, while the rest of the force on the walls was formed from different units wearing all sorts of armor. This was true for the whole rest of the wall actually, but the forces were especially crowded near the front gate.
“What will happen to the forces outside the wall?” Tilly asked quietly, fairly sure he already understood the answer.
“They are the last two Phalanxes of the august, ‘Thousand Phalanx Empire.’ One of which had to be bolstered by any veterans in the city guard. They will all assuredly die. They went knowingly to buy us time... Unfortunately, not as much time as they had hoped.” She said with a deep frown.
“What makes you say-”
Then before his eyes, he watched as the unified guard standing watch on the wall suddenly collapsed in on itself in infighting, Satyr against Satyr. The private forces on both sides suddenly attacked the last few hundred guards manning battlements above the gate.
“Those sons of bitches!... Wait, you knew this was going to happen? Why aren’t you doing anything?!” He whipped his head around in mounting fury at the betrayal of the people those guards were supposed to be protecting.
She returned his freshly stoked anger with cold, hard eyes, and some of the heat drained from his expression.
“I paid a heavy price to obtain this intelligence. I passed it off to my superiors, who shared it with their counterparts last night. What follows is their best attempt to salvage an unsalvageable situation.” Then she looked him up and down before reaching into the folds of her flowing robe and pulling out a familiar red potion.
“We have precious few of these left for the coming battle, but you will need it.” She said, calmly handing it over to him.
He took it and knocked it back quickly, scowling at the feeling of sinew and muscle knitting back together at a hyper-accelerated rate. He eyed the battlements again and saw that the guards were holding remarkably well for a group that had been ‘surprised’. They had almost instantly formed disciplined ranks against the bilateral attack.
"Didn't you say all the veterans had joined the phalanxes?" Tilly asked in confusion.
"I did, that was the official line anyway. It seems there might have been a mix-up. The private forces of the houses will use their position to force open the gates, ending the siege before it begins, but not so easily as they had planned." She said, a sad smile tugging at the edge of her mouth.
He looked back towards the road where refugees were still rushing towards the center of the city.
“How long until the Honu can get a stable portal up?”
“That entirely depends on if they are able to proceed uninterrupted. Without interference, they will be done in the next hour. But you can be sure the bones of our plan have also been discovered, and the enemy would be foolish to allow us a back door. There are contingencies we hold in reserve that have been kept from me for operational security. But I have a part to play, as do you if you choose to take it. In essence, we must do all we can to delay the enemy and safeguard our escape.”
Tilly took in his HUD as he swung his arms back and forth, not quite trusting the numbers.
Health: 100%
Mana: 34%
Corruptions Influence: 22%
“Yeah, I'm willing to do whatever I can to help, although I don't see how much of a difference I can make…” Tillys said, trying not to let his low Mana and growing Corruption drown any remaining hope he had for the situation in the city.
She nodded as if expecting the answer, before pulling out a small metal sphere covered in arcane writings, “This arrived from the palace along with a few other treasures from the imperial vault. It looks like the Ancient Sovereign is planning some sort of last stand, and he wants to bleed the enemy as much as possible before that occurs.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Tilly took the item and looked down at it in curiosity. Under his gaze, he felt some of the fire in his chest kindle, and the symbols marking the sphere started to take on a blue glow.
Artificial Endless Path Microcosm - ???
As his Identify pinged, the warmth from his center reached down through his outstretched arm to touch the item and he felt it begin to… resonate.
“Not yet!” She said snatching the sphere out of his hand, she then juggled it back and forth between her hands like a hot potato.
“If you channel any mana-based ability while holding this sphere, it will cause a multiplicable feedback loop… that is what Shuji said anyway.” She answered before handing it back to him gingerly, the arcane glow having diminished as soon as it left his hand.
“So with this, I empower one of my Abilities?” Tilly said as he tucked it carefully into his fantasy fanny pack.
“Not exactly. I am told it had no upper limit of input and is extremely dangerous to use. Lord Hiro seemed to think you were suited for such an item. Something about having unusually resistant pathways. It will continue to recirculate the Mana back through your channels increasing every cycle until you lose control of the circuit. Then it will release the Ability at whatever multiple you are able to achieve.”
“So, like a magical bomb or something?”
“Yes. The Empire’s Bastions will reveal themselves when the gates are breached in a counter strike and you are to join up with them and deploy your ability at the optimum moment to disrupt the enemy's momentum. It seems that they are content to sit back and throw their fodder at us, so we will not risk escalating the fight any earlier than we have to. We will meet each threat with our bare minimum of force so we can delay the deployment of their Aces for as long as possible. Once the real fight begins, very few of us will make it out unscathed.”
“So, magical bomb, but not until we absolutely have to. Got it. What will you do?” Tilly asked, a self-deprecating grin on his face.
“They have been infiltrating the city for hours with advanced units to destabilize our escape plan. I am to search and destroy any of these elements I can find before they reach our base of operations or our people.” She said, moving casually back a few steps from the ledge.
Then she looked at him, and he felt a previously unnoticed pressure release on his mind. His Identify pinged, and the words over her head shifted to an entirely new level and class.
Level 32 Ninja Infiltrator
She winked at him, and before he could say anything at the awesome reveal, she sprang forward and leaped the twenty-foot gap between buildings, before blurring away across the rooftop. Her form startlingly difficult to track, even in broad daylight.
'That was one hell of an exit. If I live through the day, I have got to get one of those.'
He looked around lamely, finding the trap door and heading down to the street the old-fashioned way. He didn't bother with the body of the guard, he doubted the man had anything Tilly could use besides the Healing Potion he had probably used to cure his wounds early in the chase.
Tilly followed the trail of destruction back down through the building and emerged to find the second guard dead on his knees with a shocked expression forever frozen on his features…
“Yeah, really glad she is on my side.” He muttered to himself before heading toward the exit of the alley at a jog. The street was entirely clear at this point, everyone had gotten the word that some sort of last-ditch escape effort was being made at the center of the city. He hesitated for a moment at the entrance to the street and pulled up his notification log to see what he had to work with.
He scrolled backward, confirming that he had not gained an actual level from the fights he had participated in, although he had picked up a couple of Skill levels.
Congratulations! Your skill Beginner Hatchet has leveled up. Now Level 11.
Congratulations! Your skill Dual-Wielding (Hatchets) has leveled up. Now Level 3.
Congratulations! Your skill Ax Throwing has leveled up. Now Level 10.
He continued to scroll up and… 'Shit, how did I miss this?"
He had lost [Resolute] due to the stat gains in the Temple, and he had gained another title called [Scarred Heart] but it didn't seem like it would be much help in the next hour. The same was true for the sweet improvement he had gotten to his Flame’s Renewal Ability, although that did explain how it was able to ruin Titus’ day so thoroughly. No, the only real choice for Operation Magical Bomb was his Flame Expulsion.
He had begun chewing on a truly stupid idea. One that, if it worked, would be a legendary cheat on the game mechanics of this world. But he absolutely needed that [title] back. Which meant he had to gain at least one level before activating the Microcosm. All while somehow getting up to the required 50% Mana he needed to activate his Ability. He double-checked his Character Sheet to make sure he wasn't missing anything.
Jonathan Luke Tillman
Level: 12 (2000 Exp to next level)
Display Name: Tilly
Race: Human
Class: Son of Flame
Stats:
Constitution: 13
Endurance: 71 (78.1)
Dexterity: 29 (31.9)
Strength: 11(12.1)
Wisdom: 16(13.6)
Intelligence: 13
Status Effects:
Minor Corruption [Hidden] -15% wisdom +10% strength, Potion Toxicity: 3 hours remaining All alchemical items are 50% less effective, Mana Exhaustion: 7 hours ({Partially Resisted}, {Localized}) remaining
Titles: [Harbinger], [Resolute], [Origin’s Champion], [Corruption’s Host],[Trusted Gaijin],[Hostile Environment],[Scarred Heart].
Equipment
Origin’s primitive stone hatchets: +10% to Dexterity. (Legendary, growth type)
+Imbued Ability Recall.
Origin’s primitive leather armor: +10% to Endurance. (Legendary, growth type)
+Imbued Form Sun Salamander leather.
Skills:
-Forestcraft level 12. -Identify level 17 -Cooking level 12. -Beginner Hatchet level 11. -Animal Processing level 9
-Stealth level 7 -Herb Lore Level 1 -Ax Throwing Level 10 -Dual-Wielding (Hatchets) Level 3
Abilities:
-[Blue] Flame Strike, [Blue] Flame Expulsion, [Blue] Flame’s Renewal+.
Tilly cursed inwardly as he recounted his total non-Endurance stats. They were sitting at 82 to his Endurance’s 71! That meant he actually had to gain two freaking levels before he could gain the title back. This was going to suck…
A dark thought caused him to chuckle to himself as he started to jog toward the main gates of the city. He felt like a ticking time bomb with this Seed inside of him, and now they were sending him to be a literal bomb against the enemy.
Alanis Morissette would be so proud.