Finn met their gaze, flames dancing excitedly in his eyes. “Okay, then let’s get to work. We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.”
Chapter 32 - Breached
Bilel’s Journal – Entry 133
It has been more than a week since my last entry, and the discovery of the strange ward etched into my scalp. Needless to say, this period has been eventful.
I had resolved to journey to the undead kingdom through the use of the waypoint system – a costly way to travel, but time is of the essence. Strangely, upon arriving at the waypoint in Lahab, I noticed acolytes accosting the travelers, and asking after a mage of my description. This raised several obvious questions.
Why was the temple searching for me? Were they somehow involved with the ward? If so, that might indicate a leak among the librarians, as only Renquist and several of the senior library staff knew of its existence. Or perhaps I was simply overthinking things – reading into a coincidence. It’s possible the temple merely wants to address more of the complaints lodged by my fellow mages.
Either way, I decided not to risk an encounter – not until I have determined the purpose and nature of this strange ward. Instead, I resolved to travel by caravan through the mountains to the south. I have now ventured several hundred miles and am nearing the domain of the undead. Unnatural dark clouds are already looming on the horizon.
Despite my travels and suspicions, I have continued my research. Each day, I absorb more and more mana from my stockpile of crystals, and my non-dominant affinities all continue to increase. In fact, only yesterday, I was able to cast a simple water mana spell… much to my own delight. Imagine what the guild leadership will say when I return and show them my accomplishment!
***
Finn inspected the room that lingered just a few short yards away with his enhanced sight, green and ruddy orange blending together in a chaotic symphony of color. He shifted his perspective, the few feet of stone and rock in his way abruptly disappearing and revealing the chamber in its full glory. The cavern was a rough circle with a vaulted ceiling that stretched upward at least fifty feet in the center before curving back down toward the room’s rim, creating a dome of rock and stone.
And in the center?
A creature that glowed like the sun. This ant was like a living flame itself, painted in bright orange and red hues that blended into faint blue-ish spots where the heat spiked to extreme temperatures. He could see that the fire ant queen was sitting in a pool of what appeared to be magma, her bulbous abdomen resting directly in the lava. Even more oddly, there were vents in her side, the ports occasionally flaring with heat. Finn’s guess was that she was absorbing the heat from the pool. Only the queen’s thorax and head remained free of the magma, yet even those parts of her body were still superheated compared to her smaller workers and soldiers, glowing brightly in Finn’s vision.
It’s going to be really hot within a few feet of her, he thought.
A flash of yellow jutted from crude holes carved around the rim of the room. Air rushed through those passages and into the chamber, hitting the queen and the magma like a blast furnace. The temperature spiked, the queen’s body heating even further, and the superheated air condensed before jetting upward in a column that stretched for as far as Finn could see. And this was only what Finn had started to call a “mini-blast.” The air mana seemed to be released in a pattern. Two mini-blasts, followed by a hurricane-level gust of air that melted the walls of the chamber and completely obscured the room from sight.
Finn gestured at Daniel where the AI floated beside him, updating his data to record this most recent mini-blast. He’d been timing them for the last hour while Julia and Kyyle handled the remainder of their preparations. Which was also how Finn knew he had about two minutes before the next one.
With a sigh, Finn dropped his sight, rubbing at his aching temples.
“It’s not going to change, no matter how long you keep staring,” Julia said softly, coming up behind him and dropping a pack on the floor of their small hidey-hole.
Kyyle had suggested that they drill this narrow tunnel directly adjacent to the queen’s chamber, bypassing the other tunnels to avoid running into stray ants before they managed to get inside. Once they were ready to attack, he would dissolve the intervening rock, and they would charge inside…
Then all hell would break loose.
“I just want to make sure the pattern of the air mana blasts is consistent,” Finn grunted in response. “It looks like we have about two minutes between mini-blasts, then about five minutes before the main blast.”
“The same as it was thirty minutes ago,” Julia observed with a sour expression. She shook her head, taking a seat on a small boulder nearby and side-eying Finn. His daughter looked like she wanted to say something but was unsure how to proceed.
“Just spit it out. We’re probably going to die within the hour, anyway. Might as well get it off your chest,” Finn offered with a small smile.
Julia snorted. “You’re just a ray of sunshine…”
Finn chuckled. “In my defense, not a whole lot of that down here.”
A brief pause as Julia tried to collect her thoughts.
“You… you never told me why you’re trying to win this competition so badly,” Julia said softly. “I mean, I told you my story. It’s clear that this so-called game has taken elements of my life and twisted them. It’s created something like a parallel narrative.”
“I’ve noticed,” Finn replied, glancing at her. That thought had definitely occurred to him as he had listened to her story. It was like the game was giving her the chance to redeem her past actions or find some way to make peace with them. Or maybe the developers and AI were just trying to fuck with them. It was hard to say.
“I take it that’s part of why you started playing? And pulled me into this thing?” he asked, watching her expression carefully.
“You’re deflecting,” she muttered.
“And you’re spending too much time with Kyyle,” Finn grumbled. The psych major had clearly started rubbing off on Julia.
A frown and arched eyebrow were all he got from his daughter. “Well, I’ll answer your question. You’re right. I had been hearing rumors about how the game’s AI tailored the game world and content to an individual player. It knows far, far more about the players than it should. It’s not picking up this information from the net or our trimmed-down account profiles. The only conclusion is that the game is accessing both our short term and long-term memories…” She trailed off, as though unable to believe what she was saying.
“No, I agree with you,” Finn said. He’d noticed that within the first five minutes in this world, rolling his not-so-crippled ass across the Seer’s tent.
She glanced up at him sharply. “Okay,” Julia began hesitantly. “So, if we assume I’m right – if this world built a story around my own history – what did it create for you?”
Finn winced, squeezing his eyes shut. Why did his daughter have to be so damned perceptive? He knew he owed her an explanation, especially after being such a dickhead for so long. Except he didn’t even know where to start. And his thoughts were preoccupied with the fight they were about to face – although, that felt like an excuse…
“Hey,” Julia said, and Finn’s eyes popped open, observing the concern on her face. “I’m not pushing you to tell me. And I know this is a shitty time. I just want you to know that I’m here when you decide you want to talk about it.”
Finn looked at her – really looked at her – seeing the compassion in her eyes. Despite his mistakes and her own loss and hardship, Julia had ended up a genuinely good person. Maybe a bit of a smartass. But a good person. “That’s supposed to be my line,” he grunted, trying to keep his voice even and his eyes dry.
There was that shit-eating grin again and a shrug. “Well, what can I say? I’ve had to do a lot of parenting lately,” she quipped, kicking at his leg.
“Hey, so I think we’re ready—”
Kyyle said, stumbling into the room. He cut himself off as he saw the expressions on Finn’s and Julia’s faces and noted the tension in the air. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked, wiping the mixture of sweat and dirt from his forehead.
“Nah. Just preparing to meet the queen,” Julia said with a regal wave in the direction of the fire ant queen’s chamber. Although, despite her carefree tone, she spared a final glance at Finn, meeting his eyes. He doubted this conversation was really over – just paused for now.
Kyyle grimaced. “Well, the main cache of explosives is all prepped and ready, and the sequential charges are all in place. I was conservative, so the blast radius of the charges should overlap quite a bit. I wanted to make sure our fireworks detonate on time – otherwise, this is going to go south fast.”
“Good job,” Finn grunted, glancing toward the queen’s chamber.
“Anything else we need to do before we go inside?” Kyyle asked. “Last words? Silent prayer to your gods?” He glanced at Julia with a grin, a matching smile on her face.
“I’ve actually been meaning to declare my undying love for you,” Finn said, snapping his fingers in mock disappointment. “But, you know, it never really seemed like the right moment. I know it could just be the adrenaline, but I think we have something real here… you mining metals for me, me melting them down…”
“Har har… shut up,” Kyyle grumbled good-naturedly while Julia laughed at him. It seemed that a week spent underground fighting for his life had made Kyyle a little less self-conscious. Go figure. The earth mage tossed a bag to Finn. “I bet you’re going to need this. Julia went back to grab some of our old supplies.”
Finn pulled the bag open, seeing that it was filled with a considerable number of the smaller fire mana crystals. He supposed Kyyle was right, he probably was going to need the extra juice once they got inside the queen’s chamber.
A tense silence now hung over the narrow passage.
“Okay,” Finn said. “We’ve got another minute until the next main blast, and the rotation resets. Daniel, you want to set a timer for us?”
“Of course, sir,” the AI replied, although his voice sounded nervous.
“Alright, let’s saddle up,” Finn urged them, and the group began to collect their equipment and ready themselves to make the breach into the queen’s chamber. He started casting, his fingers twitching, and his Magma Armor soon slid across his shoulders and down his arms. “While we’re waiting, let’s go through the plan one more time.”
“I’m going to dissolve the wall, then we’ll break through,” Kyyle said, his hand gripping his staff tightly. Tendrils of green energy curled around the weapon as he pre-cast Dissolve, preparing to enter the chamber.
“Once we’ve breached, I lead the charge. Kill priority is workers and soldiers – if any – then I head straight for the queen,” Julia chimed in. “I need to get her attention and hold it while we get a rough assessment of her abilities.”
Finn nodded. “After staring at this room for an hour, it looks like the air blasts force the ants out of the chamber – they can’t seem to handle the heat. There shouldn’t be anything in there except for the queen after the major blast. Fingers crossed, anyway.
“I follow in the second position, spinning up Julia’s shield, providing cover for Kyyle, and letting Daniel conduct a full-body scan of the queen.” Unfortunately, the fire mana wrapped around the queen’s body was so dense that it was difficult to inspect from a distance. They were going to need to rely on the AI to identify possible weak points once they made it inside the chamber.
“Thirty seconds,” Daniel piped up, his fiery form flashing.
Finn’s fists clenched, and he felt a surge of adrenaline and fire mana course through his veins. They didn’t have long. “My guess is that the weak points are going to be located along the queen’s abdomen,” he said. “There appear to be large vents along her stomach that flare with fire mana. Also, maybe her mouth and face. Her neck and joints all appear to be reinforced. They’re much thicker than the workers and soldiers we’ve encountered.” That was the best he could manage from this vantage point – just guesswork really.
Kyyle and Julia both nodded.
The earth mage spoke up again. “I move in last, staying in the tunnel entrance initially. My first priority is detonating the explosives and sealing off the tunnels. Once that’s done, I need to build a fortification around the back part of the cave near the breach point. Keep it low and keep it curved to reduce the surface area affected by the heat wave. That should help get us through the first mini-blast. Hopefully.”
“Good,” Finn said with a nod.
“Ten seconds,” Daniel announced.
The group all drifted off into silence. There was nothing more to say.
They took up their positions near the end of the tunnel, Julia taking the lead. Her shield was already in hand, a dagger in the other, and her shoulders tense.
Finn glanced behind him and saw that Kyyle’s hand was moving rapidly, and tendrils of green energy spiraled around his staff as he prepared to complete his spell. The wall in front of them was already beginning to crumble away into streamers of liquid stone, just waiting for them to burst through.
“Five seconds,” Daniel reported.
Julia was bouncing from foot to foot in front of Finn, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. “We got this,” he said quietly, and with more confidence than he felt. His daughter stilled and shot him a grin over her shoulder.
“Oh, I know. We’re about to kill some ant royalty.”
“Two seconds,” Daniel said, his voice sounding strained.
Finn finally gave in entirely to his mana, the fiery energy insistent and demanding. He let out a soft hiss as it surged through his body, the sensation leaving a tingling ache in its wake. Yet the crackling mana also ate away at his fear, doubt, and hesitation – replacing it with a boundless, energetic hunger. His eyes glowed brightly in the dark tunnel, and his gaze fixed on the tunnel wall as it continued to break apart.
Those last few seconds seemed to stretch on forever, the world slowing to an anxious crawl as they all stood restlessly in the dark. Then he felt it. The telltale rumble of the mini-blast searing through the queen’s chamber. He could visualize what was happening inside that cave, and he took one last long breath – knowing that the chamber on the other side of the wall was going to be sweltering.
“Go, go, go!” Daniel shouted, his voice echoing through the tunnel.
The stone in front of them broke apart as Kyyle finally let his spell complete, the rock flowing away in a river of gray and brown. Julia didn’t wait, launching into a dead sprint, her feet splintering the ground as she kicked off. She charged through what remained of the wall. Her shield hit the fragmented rock, literally blasting it out of the tunnel and into the room on the other side.
And then the group was charging through the breach and into the mouth of hell…
Chapter 33 - Royal
Bilel’s Journal – Entry 134
We are scheduled to arrive in the undead capital tomorrow. Although, I’ve noticed something unusual as we approach the dark city. The river of mana in the sky has grown thicker the closer we get to our destination. Even more curious, the composition of the current has changed – it is murkier now, the colors almost washed out by the dark energy. It is as though the undead city is pulling the dark mana towards itself…
I have also been feeling unwell. Perhaps it is the dead, dry air of the undead kingdom or the lack of sunlight. I have been suffering flu-like symptoms for days now – alternating between too hot and too cold and experiencing occasional bouts of dizziness. The other merchants have even remarked that I look pale.
I suspect I may have been pushing myself too hard of late. I have been conducting my research at night after we make camp and so have missed considerable sleep. Today, I almost fell from my mount – only half-awake in the saddle. If not for one of the merchants warning me, I might have injured myself.
The only silver lining is that my proficiency with water mana has continued to grow. I was even able to cast an illusion today – the first journeyman-ranked spell cast by a mage with a non-dominant affinity! Despite my fatigue, I simply cannot stop. Especially not when my research has produced such remarkable results.
***
Their group blasted through the wall in a rush, sending shards of rock hurtling through the room. The first thing Finn noticed was the temperature. It was oppressive – even compared to most of the hub caverns. The heat was an almost-palpable thing, slamming into his body and making every pore scream in protest. His body desperately tried to coat itself in sweat – a futile attempt to cool him down. Even breathing hurt, each lungful of air singeing his throat and burning in his chest.
They wouldn’t last long inside the chamber, but that had already been obvious from Finn’s earlier inspection. The good news was that they’d likely die from the ambient air mana blasts long before they suffered a heat stroke or asphyxiated from lack of oxygen.
Julia hadn’t slowed as she barreled through the wall, using the debris as cover to scan the room and noting that there were no workers or soldiers inside. Following their plan, she quickly closed with the queen – Finn’s fingers already moving as he cast Imbue Fire on her shield. Yet his attention was captured by the creature before them. That was his priority in all of this. He needed to gather information quickly.
“Daniel, begin the scan and then give us a count on the first mini-blast!” Finn shouted. The AI gave a faint flash of acknowledgment before speeding toward the queen.
Finn immediately realized that his Mana Sight hadn’t done her justice.
The fire ant queen was at least thirty feet long. Her massive, bulbous body stretched into the pool of lava, and her abdomen was partially submerged in the molten metal. Her back was coated in an especially thick layer of the dark ore, the metal stretching the entirety of her body and painting her black against the glowing orange of the magma. The other fire ants had been covered in a thin layer of flame, but the queen put them to shame. She was ablaze – every inch of her covered in a fierce fire, the tips of which glowed a soft blue.
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