Chapter 26 - Trapped in enemy territory… Or not?

Adam's surprise and confusion brought a laugh to Kazue's lips. She couldn't help but find it incredibly amusing to see one of the classic tropes from her beloved stories play out in real life—having a special power and not even realizing it.

“Alright, alright, calm down, and let me tell you everything that happened from then on, because it’s clear you have no idea.”

The girl then proceeded to recount everything they had witnessed after the clash between Adam and Commodore Kathlene, whom she referred to by name for some reason. She emphasized the part where three heads of what she remembered were called "Feral-Type" emerged from his left arm, attacking the soldier and even destroying one of her mechanical arms in the process.

Kazue continued describing the scene, detailing the countless phantom arms that emerged and managed to restrain the woman without giving her a chance to resist. From her fortunate vantage point after rolling to safety, Kazue could clearly see it, something she described as truly incredible. She emphasized a fact that Adam had never really considered before, if he remembered correctly, the only reason they had been able to deal with the ghosts during the first scenario was because Teo’s pistols were “blessed,” while the other survivors had coated their weapons with salt before engaging in combat. Did this mean that the rules of one scenario could still apply to others if they somehow interacted?

“By the way, can you explain again how you managed to move like that? You mentioned that the skills they used to stop us were curses, and if I remember right, you said one of your abilities as a Demi-Lich reverses its effects. I even asked a couple of the shield guys what kind of curses they were using, but they looked at me like I was crazy, were those really hexes? Maybe you can revert buffs and debuffs in general”

Kazue’s question snapped the boy out of his thoughts, bringing the conversation back to another point that was perhaps even more important for the moment. It caught him off guard, especially as he realized just how much attention and memory to detail his companion truly had.

"That's right... They’re definitely hexes, but when I saw the one that slows down speed and reflexes the second time, my [Cursed Vision] resonated with the information and identified it as a skill called [Speed Restriction]. If the soldiers you asked weren’t just dodging the question, it means they don’t even know they’re using curses, which is something that should be... Wait a second, you asked the soldiers? How?! Better yet... Where are we?!”

Adam jolted, suddenly realizing the obvious—he had gotten so caught up in Kazue’s account and the intriguing new information that he momentarily forgot the most important thing: where they were and how they got there after being surrounded with no way out.

Kazue couldn’t help but laugh heartily at the boy’s sudden outburst, fully understanding why he reacted that way. She reassured him that there was no need to panic—they weren’t in any danger, nor were they prisoners like they had been, albeit briefly, on the pirate ship.

When Adam finally managed to calm down and refocus, Kazue explained what had happened after he lost consciousness. She recounted how the rest of the group regained their strength, the tense exchange between Mr. Li and the Commodore, how the city was besieged by a group of giant robots that tore through everything in their path, and how they barely escaped with their lives, narrowly avoiding the destruction.

"Did you say they were called 'Thunderstrike Dreadnoughts'?"

“Yes, that was the name that Kathlene said before leaving”

Although it was weird for Kazue to refer to the Commodore by her first name so casually, Adam chose to focus more on the mention of the 'Thunderstrike Dreadnoughts'. According to the information in the book he had read, they were the last and most powerful of the seven pirate guilds. They were responsible for operating the most formidable weapons available in the "Free Kingdoms", known as 'Sea Titans' and 'Sea Destroyers.' These were immense war and siege machines capable of devastating entire cities. The only reason they weren’t used more frequently was their constant conflict with their counterparts in the Armada, the 'Sea Knights.' Therefore, it was highly unusual for a squadron of these machines to reach Ironwave Anchorage, and even more so without being detected beforehand.

In fact, that squadron must have been the reinforcements Captain Magnus had mentioned and the reason he insisted on everyone evacuating as soon as possible. He knew that the siege machines would end up destroying the entire place... Wait a minute.

“Wait, what happened with Mr. Sebastian and Nikolai? Were they evacuated along the pirates?”

A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered that those two had stayed behind before the massive arrival of the Armada soldiers. Although he felt it would have been logical for them to be evacuated along with the 'Mechanica Medics' they had been helping, he had a very bad feeling about it.

“Oh, don’t worry. In fact, they’re here with us. It’s quite a story, see, Mr. Sebastian stayed behind as long as he could to fix some machines and was captured when the camp was overrun by Armada soldiers. They didn’t harm him, thinking he was just a medic. Although Nikolai tried to escape, leaving him behind, Mr. Sebastian pleaded for Nikolai’s safety, so he wasn’t treated like a pirate. We eventually found them here and told everyone they were part of our group, so everything turned out fine.”

That sounded almost surreal. Was it really possible for so many coincidences and strokes of luck to align? It certainly seemed like they were in a story just as the system had described, but what mattered now was something Adam had been eager to ask, which hadn’t been addressed until this moment.

“Where is “here”? Where are we?”

With a smug expression, Kazue smiled and answered.

"Welcome to the Armada's 5th regiment central base, Titan’s Reach!”

———————————

Hours passed, and many things happened around Adam. After talking with Kazue for several minutes, some of the other members of the group arrived. Everyone was in good condition, with Drake and Mr. Sebastian expressing concern for his health, even the mechanical bird flew over his head a few times while chirping happily. They were relieved to find out that not only was Adam fine, but he had also recovered unusually quickly.

During this time, Adam got up to speed on how they ended up in an Armada base with so much freedom. It seemed that initially, they were evacuated as witnesses to be interrogated to verify if they were truly pirates or not. However, after Li was the first to leave the interrogation room, everyone was released and attended to. It was quite unusual but appreciated; after all, the man only mentioned that he had "made them see reason."

Adam also discovered that he had been unconscious for an entire day, during which the rest of the group had explored the surroundings and interacted with some of the characters in the scenario. The reason he felt a stomach ache from hunger became clear. It was strange to think that his body didn’t need sleep but did need to eat. He even felt hungrier than usual since his transformation, and despite eating, he still experienced a lingering sense of emptiness he couldn’t quite identify.

After finishing two trays of food that one of the nurses had brought him, Adam felt ready to get up and get moving. He had a lot to do and was having trouble deciding what to focus on first. He needed to explore the area to get to know the place, investigate the false skills the soldiers were using, and consult with the Commodore about the confrontation they had, in order to gather more information about the curse. He was sure all this would take a couple of days, but he figured there wasn’t much urgency, right?

“Actually... We need to meet someone named Thaddeus in a few hours, and then we'll be leaving this place for somewhere else. We don’t know exactly where.”

Drake said calmly, watching his companion get up and guessing what he intended to do by trying to leave the infirmary, which made Adam stop in his tracks and look at them in terror.

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"How? A few hours?? I barely have time to check out a few places or talk to anyone. What should I do? Do you know where I can find Commodore Kathlene? If I don’t have much time, I’d like to speak with her first."

After saying this, the blonde turned his gaze towards Kazue and raised an eyebrow, while she just nervously laughed and looked away.

"I'm afraid the Commodore is no longer at the base. Someone kept bothering her for hours, and she ended up staying longer than she should have without properly tending to her wounds. As a result, she had to go somewhere else to get treated."

Adam looked defeated by the revelation, unsure how to make the most of the little time he had left in the place. However, it was Drake who approached him and gave him a few reassuring pats on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, we’ve been exploring this place for a whole day without rest. We can take you to any important spot you want to see so you don’t waste time searching."

Well, at least it was something, Adam agreed gratefully to his companion's offer, and, with Kazue also in tow, they headed towards the training fields, where they knew the Armada soldiers carrying the cursed shields he wanted to examine were located.

They arrived quickly, observing the base's vast outdoor area, as large as a regulation football field. It was filled with various structures and equipment, where a large number of soldiers—who, notably, were not wearing any armor—were exercising and practicing.

"The ones authorized to carry those shields are soldiers who are above the rank of Major. They're the muscular guys over there supervising the rest."

Kazue quickly pointed to a group of three individuals who were indeed giving instructions to the rest. Adam was visibly nervous, unsure of how to approach or even start a conversation with such imposing figures. However, sensing his unease, Drake grabbed him by the arm and led him forward while shouting loudly.

“Hey, Gideon!”

One of the men turned his head at the mention of his name. He was tall and muscular, with a bald head and a scowl that suggested extreme displeasure. However, when he saw Drake approaching, his scowl turned into a smile that, while far from friendly, wasn't overtly hostile either.

“Ho! Drake, you bastard! What are you doing here? Wanna go another sparring match?”

It seemed they knew each other, and from what was said, it looked like the blonde had gained the respect of some soldiers through his fists once again. Good grief, who was this guy really? At this point, Adam doubted that he was just a young man who "practiced boxing," as he had claimed. However, it certainly wasn’t the time to be pondering such things.

"Hey! Not now, but I have a friend here who wants to ask you a few questions."

“A friend?”

Gideon's face shifted to one of disgust. Despite his respect for Drake after their one-on-one fight, he had no interest in entertaining any other poor soul who wanted to talk to him. However, after a moment, his eyes widened as he recognized the "friend" Drake had brought. It was none other than the same guy who had made a fool of them inside the factory, the one who had been unaffected by the skill restriction and had climbed onto their armor like a damn spider.

“Hey, it’s you! That slippery-as-hell kid, you sure did a number out of myself the last time, but this time I have no heavy armor to burden me, come on, let’s have a sparring match!”

Adam was taken aback by the response, so much so that he was momentarily at a loss for words. However, Drake didn’t seem to try to intervene; instead, he just stood there smiling, not offering any assistance.

“Uh, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just want to ask if…”

“Wants to ask if you have the guts to face him the same way as before!”

Kazue interrupted, jumping forward and raising her voice with great energy.

“What?! No, I…”

“And he wants to do it exactly the same way as before, with the Speed Restriction skill on top to show you that even then, they still can’t beat him!”

Adam shut his mouth upon hearing that, realizing the plan and being surprised again by how easily both of them seemed to come up with it. Although part of him thought it might just be Kazue getting excited and speaking out of turn. Regardless of the case, it seemed the provocation had the desired effect. Not only did Gideon begin to grit his teeth with a smile that contained his frustration, but the other two men beside him also started laughing at him.

"It’s on! You better prepare for your funeral, runt!"

After some preparations, the lieutenant set up a section of the field for the showdown, gathering a crowd of soldiers and their companions around to watch from the front row. The two combatants stood in the middle, armed with nothing but their fists and the massive lion-adorned shield the soldier carried.

“You better not regret this later!”

Gideon shouted, as the lion emblem on his shield roared and the debuff skill was activated, seemingly focused solely on Adam.

[Skill: Golden Hex of Sloth Lv3] [A curse from the “Golden Pavilion”, it casts a dark enchantment that dramatically slows the target's movements and dulls their reactions and speed, making them sluggish and clumsy.] [Skill [Cursed Vision] is seeing through the deception of this curse.] [Hidden: Skill is being used under the false name [Speed Restriction Lv3] by the caster.] [Warning: [Mark of the Damned LV10] is trembling.]

[Your speed has been greatly increased] [Your agility has been greatly increased] [Your reflexes have been greatly increased]

“...!”

A new alert appeared on the screens, warning that, unlike last time, the Lv10 curse affecting him was reacting slightly. This concerned Adam quite a bit, but after a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Instead, the soldier immediately charged toward him with the clear intention of tackling him—something Adam managed to notice just in time.

Unlike last time when he had stacked two, and then four, of the curse buffs, this time he only had one, so his senses weren’t as sharp. Still, he felt lighter and had more freedom of movement. The important thing right now wasn’t really to engage the soldier in a direct fight, but to get as close as possible to the shield to study it, even if just for a moment.

Thinking quickly, Adam sidestepped Gideon's charge with a precise lateral movement. Even though it hadn’t been his intention to make it look so deliberate, the dodge gave the impression that he had purposefully avoided the attack by mere millimeters.

Gideon quickly spun around, trying to regain momentum and strike his target. However, Adam seized the opportunity, using his enhanced vision to pinpoint the exact moment when the man was balancing on one leg. With a swift low kick, Adam swept the soldier's leg out from under him, causing Gideon to stumble and roll across the ground due to the speed of his charge.

The jeers and laughter from the onlookers quickly filled the air, fueling Gideon’s growing frustration. But that brief moment was all Adam needed. He sprinted with all his might toward the shield that had been left behind, determined to examine it as closely as possible in the few seconds he had before the man could get back on his feet and come after him again.

The shield was a hefty metal plate, and the familiar information about it quickly appeared before his eyes, exactly as he’d seen the last time.

[Lion’s Pride Aegis - Rank C ] ⌠Additional Information⌡ ⌠An imposing rectangular shield, forged from heavy steel with a golden lion’s head in its center as a mark of the 10th Regiment of the Ironclad Armada. It gives the user the skills [Cogwheel Bastion Lv3] and [Golden Hex of Sloth Lv3].⌡ ⌠Cursed Vision Knowledge⌡ ⌠Warning: It greatly reduces the user’s speed and agility.⌡ ⌠Hidden: It has an artificial “Soul fragment”⌡

Without realizing it, as he tried to quickly read the information presented to him, he accidentally touched the golden lion's head with his left hand. This action caused a sudden, sharp pain without any apparent reason.

⌠Notice: [Mark of the Damned LV10] is beginning to absorb artificial “Soul fragment”.⌡