Ali tried struggling but the rope was too tight. The more struggled, the tighter his bind became. He was asleep one moment and found himself tied up the next. Something was placed over his head so he didn’t have any clue where he was. Whoever captured him must have been really good if he wasn’t aware of the kidnapping until he was tied up and helpless.

I gotta stay calm.

Ali wanted to summon Tian to scout around but he quickly realized that wasn’t possible. To make matters worse, he couldn’t even communicate with his summonee. After he tried all of his abilities, panic started to settle in as he realized the situation he was in. Whoever captured him had the ability to render him completely helpless. Being at the mercy of an enemy was the thing he tried to avoid but, even after he got slightly stronger, he got a quick dose of reality. There were always people so powerful he couldn't hope to rival them in his current state.

“Ah, I see you have woken up. Good. Good!”

The sound was very metallic, as though the speaker was using some voice modifying device or ability. For the time being, Ali didn’t care about the gender of his captor. He would rather know what his captor had in store for him. Generally, it wasn't something good if he was kept alive.

“I don’t know your name and, frankly, I couldn’t care less.” The person leaned closer. “I’m here for a business deal.”

“A business deal?”

“Yes, I have a very good proposal for you. I’m certain you won’t turn it down.”

The unknown individual started mentioning that, through observation, it was able to determine Ali as the caster of a trap ability. The individual expressed interest as trap abilities were rare and someone with his level of mastery was even rarer.

“I believe your ability will be of great use to us due to its rarity. No one can prepare for all scenarios, especially ones that have an extremely low chance of taking place. You wipe out a common enemy and I’ll let you keep an ability that will make you even deadlier.”

“If you can kidnap me so easily, then you are already far above what I’m capable of. Why would you be interested in someone weaker?”

“I’ve already lost to this foe once and he wounded me. I doubt I can defeat this monster.” There was a brief pause. “As soon as you receive my gift, you will possess what’s needed to kill him off. Since you get the kill, you will also get a lot stronger too. Not a bad tradeoff, is it?”

“Then my throat is slit and that ties up all the loose ends?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“No, you will walk free because you will be of use to my clan in the future. We take good care of our assets.”

After a few more exchanges of words, Ali reluctantly agreed. To refuse outright would result in his death. Going along would extend his life, giving him a chance to escape. He could always hope for a chaotic moment during the heat of the moment to flee for his life. With his head covered and his hands tied up, this was the worst time for him to refuse cooperation.

“How do I know you won’t make me turn against those in my own organization?”

“Even I’m not foolish enough to outright antagonize the Dark Cult. People like me don't live long if we don't know who to avoid.”

Satisfied with the answer, Ali went with what the individual had planned. For the next hour or so, he was allowed to walk on his own two feet but he wasn't allowed to see where he was going. Once his hands were untied, he took off the sack over his head and found himself in a small room with a single chair in the center.

“Please sit in the chair.”

The voice came through one of the openings on the walls. Ali did as he was told and, before he could ask for clarification, he felt like his head was about to burst. As his hands held his head, he fell out of the chair and started rolling on the ground. Eventually, the pain dissipated. As he stared at the ceiling, the prompt popped up.

<

Congratulations! You just acquired a new ability!

[

Ability: Indirect Fire

Level: 1

Level Up Requirements: Ability cannot level up.

Type: Support (Other)

Description:

Remove the clear line of sight limitation of abilities as long as one can see the target through an ability or through the eyes of a summonee.

Cost: None

Cooldown: None

Defense: 0 (0)

]

>

That…that’s incredible! With this, I’d be able to stay in the shadows while Tian serves as my eyes. The person wasn't kidding about this being a gift.

“I know what you’re thinking and that’s why I picked you. Between your air serpent, trap ability and the gift, you will be the perfect weapon against my most hated foe.”

A door opened and Ali walked through it. He followed the guide down winding passages with dull gray walls. Except for what appeared to be air ducts every few meters apart near the ceiling, he had no other features to work with in orientating himself. After what seemed like forever, they arrived before a dead end. The guide pointed at an air duct in the top corner.

“Your air serpent can go through there. You will find the target and you are to exterminate that foe. You’ll be free once you achieve it.”

Ali summoned Tian as ordered and his air serpent went through the air duct. Meanwhile, he looked around and noted that he had no chance of escape. The place was like a labyrinth and he had no supplies. His captor only had to assign dangerous foes at the exit or exits and he would be dead from either starvation or be killed by his captors. The chaos he needed wouldn’t exist because he would be attacking from a safe distance out of reach of wherever he was targeting.

I guess I have no choice. The individual either keeps its word or I’m dead…