“Hang in there, I’ll be right back.” The familiar chill of the cold mountains settled on Tailyn, and the dark office disappeared for just a few moments. But Valia’s statue was damaged far more seriously than the boy had thought — the wound in her hip wasn’t the only one. Another bolt had pierced her chest, creating an enormous cavity that was growing wider and wider with each passing moment. Realizing with horror that his hands weren’t going to be enough, Tailyn jumped to get a regeneration potion. The mountains disappeared, and a flask materialized out of his inventory. Yanking the cork out, the boy dumped the contents into the girl’s lifeless body. Her heart was beating so weakly that he could barely feel it. Only her status told him she was still alive. And that was all that mattered.
The door was knocked open with a powerful blow, and the assassin appeared. The fire hadn’t touched him — Tailyn wasn’t the only one who’d picked up a salamander potion. Glancing at the flask just before it evaporated in the boy’s hand, the gray chuckled.
“That’s even better. I need her alive.”
A powerful kick sent Tailyn flying back against the wall. Ribs crunched in his chest, and his consciousness flickered for a few moments, but the boy forced himself to come back. His girl needed help. Concentrating with an effort, Tailyn saw an intercom in the assassin’s hands.
“I’m ready. Activate the portal.”
“Got it. Give me five seconds.”
The shimmering ball disappeared, and the gray looked down at the girl. The wound in her chest was already closing up — the potion was working quickly. Still, her leg was in bad shape. She wasn’t going to be able to walk, which meant he’d have to carry her, and a rope appeared in his hands. He was going to need to tie her up before they went anywhere. Imprisoned mages could be a pain in the neck.
Tailyn looked over at the rope and realized Valia would soon be gone if he didn’t do anything. Possibly, forever. He wanted to howl in frustration, his magic having proven ineffective against the gray. Even the acid had done no visible damage. Neither had the panthers. It looked like the monster was impossible to kill.
But he was going to take Valia.
And that was more important than the understanding that there was nothing Tailyn could do.
Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths to regain a sense of calm. And when his eyes opened, there wasn’t the slightest hint of weakness or panic in them. All they showed was confidence. If the monster from Crobar couldn’t be beaten with any of the boy’s usual weapons, he needed to kill him with something new.
Tailyn thought back to when he’d cleaned the moss out of Valia’s choreography hall. Back then, he’d called on the snow from the mountain peaks, and it had responded. The usual smithy appeared around the boy. Something had changed that time, however. Part of his consciousness remained there in the dark room; the other part flew off into virtual reality. And it all happened with such synchronicity that Tailyn didn’t even have to switch back and forth between the two parts. Suddenly, he realized what was going on. A while back, Valanil had told him he needed to learn how to split his consciousness, and there it was. He’d learned.
Valia was there, seated motionless in the middle of her hall with her head resting on her knees. And while she didn’t react in the slightest to the boy’s appearance, he needed her to pull off what he had in mind.
Valia, I need you.
The girl opened tearful eyes.
It’s pointless, Tailyn. He’s stronger than we are. He’s going to kill us!
He won’t kill us if you help me. Come here — I need you.
Valia let out a sob and melted away in her hall only to reappear next to Tailyn. There were no tears, no urge to find a crevice to hide away in. A tough daughter of the north had shown up in the smithy.
What do you need?
Harmony. Make it happen!
Tailyn reached out to the snow with his mind, and it responded. An extraordinary storm kicked up around the smithy that was so big it covered the tops of the mountains. Back in reality, Tailyn reached out in the direction of the assassin. The latter had already activated his portal and was stepping over to the girl, rope in hand.
“Now!” Tailyn yelled, and Valia threw her arms to the sides, giving in to the power of the elements. And while there wasn’t much space in the smithy, it was enough for her to spin into a dance. Tailyn could see that the girl had synchronized with the snow. He didn’t know how, but she had. They’d become one. And that was when the boy pulled his hand out of the snow-white vortex only to absorb it into himself and pass it on to the Tailyn crumpled against the wall out in the real world. There was a crack, the connection with virtual reality was lost, and the boy’s palms began to glow an incredibly bright blue color.
“What the — ” the assassin started to say, though he was immediately interrupted. Tailyn raised his hands, materializing all the snow he’d absorbed. And while the assassin nearly got his hand high enough to shoot at the boy, “nearly” was as close as he got. He suddenly found himself frozen with one arm raised halfway. Most of the room as well as the hallway had been turned into a giant block of ice encasing someone’s desk, their chair, and the hierarch who’d left Crobar. As some dull blows rang out, Tailyn realized the investigators had gotten to the barrier that had suddenly appeared and were trying to break through it.
“Valia?” Tailyn murmured as he found the strength to crawl over to the girl. It felt like all the strength had been drained out of him. His body was unbearable heavy, and he wanted to lie down and go to sleep, but instead he fought to stay conscious. Shaking the girl, all he got in reply was a faint groan. Valia was alive, only her consciousness was still off in virtual reality. Tailyn looked up. The assassin from Crobar was still alive. He couldn’t move, and he was surrounded on all sides by ice, but the bastard was still alive and keeping Tailyn from regaining control of his equipment.
It was suddenly cold in the room. And even though Tailyn’s teeth were chattering, he couldn’t put Vargot on, otherwise his opponent would have regained control of the situation. The investigators had only gotten as far as the door. They were melting the ice with fireballs, though they had to wait for the temperature to get warm enough for them to keep going without their standard outfits. It wasn’t just the ice they were fighting; the enemy hacked into anything he could, not letting anyone get close. But despite the difficulty, they were starting to move faster. Their commander pushed them to keep breaking through the snow — he wanted to get into the room as fast as possible. Sadil’s Raptor showed three red dots, and he had questions for all of them.
The portal opened at exactly midnight. Valia was still unconscious, forcing Tailyn to carry her in his arms. After glancing back one more time at the frozen assassin, the boy took another step forward and was swept away from the academy. It looked like his studies were over.
“What happened to Valia?” Valanil asked anxiously as soon as the space around them began to take form. The woman had assumed she wouldn’t be sleeping that night, so she’d decided to activate the portal herself.
“There was an attack on the academy. A nameless, as Sadil called him, wanted to kill Valia. And he almost pulled it off, only we were able to get away.”
You helped kill a player in the emperor’s personal guard.
Level +3 (30).
All your attributes and skills increased by 1.
Named equipment level +1 (7).
You used your free attribute points.
Marksmanship +3 (7).
“They got him,” Valia said in a weak voice. She was awake.
“Him? Who is him?” Valanil asked, still not understanding. “What’s a nameless? What are you talking about?”
“The nameless are top-level Crobar hierarchs who joined the emperor’s service. They say there are five of them. Well, four now.”
“You killed a hierarch?” The shock plastered across Valanil’s face was unfeigned. She knew very well what those monsters were capable of.
“We didn’t; Sadil and his investigators did. We just helped a little,” Tailyn replied. “But we did get a reward. Ronan let the hierarch into the academy, we ran and told Sadil, and that’s when the hierarch tried to kill us. I hit him with ice and froze him. We were hacked.”
Valanil couldn’t pick a single cogent thought out of the stream of words the boy had just let out. He’d been looking to get it off his chest, so he just blurted it all out, mixing phrases and facts up at random. Suddenly, quick footfalls rang out as someone ran up.
“Get your things together! We’re leaving the city right now!” Forian, who was breathing heavily, reached the terrace. He didn’t look great — his face was singed and covered in soot.
“Are you hurt?” Valanil asked. She wanted to place her hands on her man, but he waved her off.
“Later! The investigators will be here any minute. Is the wagon ready?”
“Everything’s ready, but where can we go? The gates are all closed.”
“We just have to get out of this house. Hurry! Valia, why are you still lying there? Tired of living? Looking to go see the keeper?”
The girl leaped to her feet — her mentor had found the right words to get her going.
“Patrick!” Forian yelled, and his servant appeared as if out of midair next to his master. “Get in the cart and head for the temple on the other side of the city. Don’t put up a fight, but don’t stop even if someone orders you to. Once you get to the temple, come back. Go!”
“Understood, Master. Should I take three more servants with me? That will make sure the numbers match.”
“Good idea. Do it.”
“Okay, let’s say you pulled their attention away. What next?” Valanil asked. “We need to get out of the city, too.”
“We do. And that’s why we’re heading for the god’s central temple. There are portal arches there. Everyone change your mage outfits into something less recognizable, maybe hunting clothes.”
“And where do you want to jump to?” Valanil asked as she sadly traded her snow-white outfit in for an OGM-I. She’d gotten used to the look.
“Culmart. We’ll find a wagon there and head into the Gray Lands. We need to get away from people and figure out the red acid, but that’s enough talk. Let’s go! We’re going to have to run.”
The imperial capital had turned into a beehive despite the late hour. The red alert hadn’t just woken up the academy; the blocks all around it were buzzing, too. As people poured out into the streets, they tried to figure out what was going on — it was the first time they could remember the academy being in such an uproar. No matter where they looked, there were guards, mages in their snow-white robes, and even some yellow student robes, all of them running out into the night from the academy institution. Nobody knew what was happening, and the commotion meant nobody paid any attention to the four gray and inconspicuous figures. Having made it to the temple without being stopped, Forian pulled out a card he’d made by force of habit the first time he’d visited Culmart. It was a portal card leading to the town’s temple.
“Everybody be quiet, and nobody come over here,” Forian said suddenly as he shoved his back against a wall. A shimmering call circle appeared in front of him, and even Tailyn knew who was calling. Forian couldn’t not answer.
“Where are you?” Sadil asked, his voice a menacing growl.
“I was wounded, so I’m heading home. Valanil will heal me.”
“Don’t lie to me!” the head of security barked. “Valanil isn’t home, and Patrick ran off to the other end of the city. Trying to confuse me? Let me ask you again, Forian Tarn. Where are you? And where are your students?”
“They’re off where the nameless won’t be able to find them when they come to avenge their fallen brother,” Forian replied just as sharply. “I’m not bringing my students back to the academy until you find the hole that nameless got in through. The fourth level, Sadil! He was on your level! You, with all the pride you take in your security, just got your face dragged through the mud. If it weren’t for my students, who knows how many of the academy’s secrets he would have made off with?”
“How did they do it? What kind of card makes ice like that? I need to know!”
“Only after you find the hole. You said Tailyn sent you his logs — have you been through them? Did you get your hands on the viceroy’s son?”
“He got away,” Sadil said darkly. “I don’t know how. We already submitted a request to have him turned over to us.”
“A request? He’s a student at the academy! You have every right to attack the viceroy’s residence and arrest him!”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Sadil spluttered. “Echoes. A dark wall. Statues. You’re in a temple! Decided to leave the city? You won’t find a safe haven in any of the empires.”
“In that case, I’ll find somewhere the empire doesn’t hold sway. The god is leading me, and I’m following its will. You’re not getting my students! If I have to leave the academy, that’s what I’ll do, and nobody can stop me. Find the hole, Sadil. We’ll come back then.”
There was a pause. Tailyn would have given anything to see the expression on the security chief’s face. Not many people had the strength and willpower to stand up to him, and Forian turned out to be one of them.
“I accept your position, grandson,” Sadil said suddenly. “Take care of yourself and your family. Once I find the hole, I’ll let you know. And figure out your problem. Over and out.”
For the first time Tailyn could remember, Sadil had called Forian his grandson. Picking his jaw up off the ground, the boy followed his mentor as the mage went over to the portal arch and activated his card. What Sadil had said could only mean that his grandfather was scared and doing his best not to show it. He knew very well that the nameless were going to try to get their revenge. And they were going to strike where it hurt the most — his family. But if that day had shown anything, it was that nobody could feel safe even in the depths of the academy.
“Let’s go!”
A couple moments later, there were four fewer people in the city, and somewhere in the heart of the System a verification process completed that set off an ancient trigger. The System once more made sure all the conditions were met before finding a spot in its database for the enormous piece of functionality that hadn’t been used on the planet for more than three thousand years. Not since the moment when the Absorber, Mark Derwin, had kidnapped the dragon’s blood and robbed the mages of their strength had it seen action. The virtual gears kicked into action, and real magic once more found a home in release M-774-OP of World of the Changed, a game that had been left without its owner. It was the kind of magic that didn’t need cards as an intermediary. Of course, only two children had the right to use it, though neither of them had any clue they’d been given such a gift. The System didn’t send out notifications for that kind of thing.
Chapter 18
The team of healers from the magic card department’s first year was disqualified for failing to appear at the competition and finished 7th.
All team members receive +1 to a random attribute.
Anatomy Master +1 (15).
THE MESSAGE THAT popped up just about knocked Tailyn off rhythm, and it was a miracle he didn’t trip over a rock he came across at exactly the wrong time.
“Careful!” Valanil was running next to the boy and noticed him catch himself awkwardly.
“Okay, time for a break!” Forian said, almost as if he’d been waiting for someone to make a noise. Stopping, the mage bent over and began gulping down air. Of the four runners, he was the first to throw in the towel — Valanil and the kids were used to long runs.
“Tailyn, set up the tent and turn on the protection. Valia, pull out the firewood and get a fire going.” Valanil had taken stock of the situation instantly and began giving orders as she did her best to hide the smile spreading across her face when she saw the graying mage. How he’d kept running the previous hour, she didn’t know — he’d
obviously been completely out of energy. Her man was used to travelling in comfortable wagons, which made their four-hour run a challenging assignment. But that was fine. He would keep going after he caught his breath. She was planning on turning him into a real warrior, not an effeminate monstrosity capable of little more than blowing on cards.
As Tailyn began setting the tent up, he thought back to the events of the previous night. Culmart had greeted them with chaos. As it turned out, Valia had been right — the emperor’s intelligence services were on the ball, and everyone was already aware of the coming war with the lixes. The townspeople had all been evacuated deep into the empire, leaving only Baron Equire’s guards in their place. And nobody paid any attention to the mages, all of whom had switched back to their snow-white robes. The academy took care of its own business. With that said, the group hadn’t been able to get their hands on a wagon — every animal with more than three legs was worth its weight in gold. Not even talking to the garrison commander had helped. After hearing out the mages, the weary soldier had simply sighed and shaken his head. There was no way he could help. All he’d done was advise them to avoid the Gray Lands, as things were already beginning to pick up. Lix patrols and crystal fences were venturing just about to the city walls in hopes of snatching up a human or two.
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 25