Chapter 85: The Next Fragments II

  Leo’s eyebrows rose. He poked the fragments in disbelief, half convinced it was an illusion, but they were very real. It looked like Darius had been a lot more successful with his fragment hunting than he’d thought.

  “Is that…?” Allan sounded just as surprised, and Leo nodded, holding them out for the [Healer] to get a better look.

  “Looks like Darius managed to find a lot,” he murmured. Allan’s gaze shifted back to Leo. He frowned, brows furrowing.

  “Will you be able to absorb them all at once?”

  Leo paused at that. “Shit, you’ve got a point.” He squinted down at the shards again. “I think I should be able to? It might hurt a lot though.” He cringed, remembering the last two instances. “Actually, if it gets worse the more fragments you have, I might go unconscious for a bit.”

  “You might want to hold off on that, then,” Spade interrupted. When Leo turned to face her, he found the [Executioner] standing by one of the windows, peering out into the night. She jerked her head outside.

  “Guards. They’ll be here soon.”

  Leo’s eyes widened, and he immediately scrambled to grab his bag while Allan did the same. He briefly glanced down at the shards, and after some consideration, he stuffed them into the pouch on his belt and tied it securely. They needed to get out before the guards arrived—then he’d absorb the fragments and deal with whatever consequences came afterwards.

  Hazel eyes darted around the ruined entryway. “Where’re they coming from?” he asked.

  “The main road. If we leave from the back, we should be able to circle around to the southern gates before they arrive.”

  Leo nodded. He turned and quickly made his way down the hallway while Allan and Spade followed behind. They had to take a bit of a detour due to rubble blocking the most direct route, instead cutting through the east wing. His feet pounded against the manor floors, mentally thinking back to the floor plans.

  He turned the corner, only to nearly trip over something. He stumbled and spun around, hazel eyes landing on the guard patrol he’d seen earlier. They lay motionless on the ground, limbs sprawled out in crooked angles. Their heads had been bashed in, the bloody wounds already starting to dry, and their skin was pale and lifeless. He stared at the bodies.

  “Leo?”

  Allan’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He quickly shook his head and continued running. Right now, they needed to get out of here.

  Leo continued down the corridors, finally spotting the back door. They’d left it unlocked, and it was easy to swing open. A blast of cold night air hit him on the face, and he gulped down the fresh breeze, glad to finally be rid of the smell of smoke.

  He glanced around, scanning their surroundings, and saw the guards and the gardener they’d knocked out were still unconscious. He couldn’t hear anyone else nearby, so he hurried outside and turned towards the forest.

  Branches snapped and leaves rustled above them. Between the trees, he could just barely make out distant torchlight as the guards Spade had spoken of approached the manor. He directed his attention back to the path ahead. As soon as they exited the forest, they would be just by Alnwick’s southern gates.

  Up ahead, the trees began to thin, the wall of light glowing softly down on them. Leo’s pace slowed. Here at the southern gates, the massive stone walls gave way to thick metal doors chained and locked tightly together. He could see two guards standing at the gate sides, helmets down as they peered ahead of them.

  Leo cursed under his breath. His eyes flitted back to the manor. The group of guards were approaching the front lawns and would see the unconscious guards soon. They’d have to move quickly.

  He bent down, hiding within the trees, and preemptively pulled out his lockpick. With the element of surprise, they could knock the guards out and he’d hopefully be able to pick the lock and get the gates open before the next group arrived.

  He nodded at Allan and Spade, gesturing towards the two guards. With a final inhale, he jumped out of the trees, readying to lunge at the closest one.

  Just before his hit could land, however, the guard yelped and jumped back in a decidedly undignified manner. Leo paused. That voice sounded familiar.

  The guard reached up and raised his helmet, and Leo was suddenly face to face with Kai. His eyes widened.

  “What the—”

  “Shh!” the [Receptionist] hissed, looking frantically around, but it was just them. The second guard chuckled from her position, and Leo easily recognized the voice as Lenore’s.

  “No time to dawdle. You’d better leave while you still can,” the woman drawled. Leo’s gaze shifted over to the side. Sure enough, hidden in the shadows of the wall, two guards had been knocked unconscious, stripped of their armor, and tied up. Leo let out a disbelieving laugh.

  “No need to thank us,” Lenore said in an amused voice. “Go on now. Shoo.”

  She made a waving gesture, and after another huff of laughter, Leo turned and carefully pushed open the gates. They’d already been unlocked and were easy to move, though the metal did squeak more loudly than he’d like. The [Fragmentholder] hurriedly stepped through, but paused at the last moment, hesitant. He glanced back at Kai and Lenore, then at the distant group of guards approaching.

  “Are you two gonna be okay?” Clearly they were good enough to knock out the guards, but he couldn’t help but worry a bit.

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  “Don’t worry, we know what we’re doing,” Lenore said. Her eyes briefly shifted over to Spade, an unspoken conversation passing between them. She reached over and shoved something into the [Executioner]’s hands before turning back to Leo.

  “You can pay me back the next time you stop by Alnwick. I expect 500 gamils as compensation,” she joked.

  Leo snorted at that, but gave the woman a grateful nod. She smiled and put her helmet back on.

  With one final glance back at the city, Leo turned and ran down the dirt path, Allan and Spade following. They kept running, not stopping until Alnwick was nothing more than a shadowy silhouette behind them.

  —

  After what felt like hours, Leo finally stopped. He hunched over to catch his breath. His stamina had already been low after the fight in the manor, and this certainly hadn’t done it any favors.

  Still, when he straightened again, he couldn’t see anyone following them. The road was empty as usual in the night, and they’d stopped in a patch of trees bordered by tall boulders that further hid them from view. Leo allowed himself to slump back against one of the tree trunks, a wave of exhaustion crashing over him.

  “Okay, I think we’re clear,” he said. Allan nodded, but he was looking over at Spade curiously.

  “What did Lenore give you?” he asked.

  In response, the [Executioner] unfurled her hand, holding up a dried flower. It looked like the ones they’d seen on the Pearl’s wreath. There wasn’t anything else on it that Leo could see—no note or anything. Spade, however, smiled at it before setting it in her bag. Whatever message had been there had clearly come across to its intended recipient.

  A cool breeze blew past, rustling some of the leaves. It was fairly deep into the night, and Leo was glad the Silence hadn’t shown up. If it had, tonight would’ve been even more chaotic than it already was.

  After checking again to make sure no one was on the road, he carefully removed the three shards from his pouch. They looked exactly the same as before, and after closing his fist around them, they easily merged back into one larger shard that shone under the moonlight.

  “Are you going to absorb all three at once?” Allan frowned. “Is that a good idea?”

  “Probably not,” Leo admitted. “But it shouldn’t kill me or anything, and I’d rather get it over with.” If Darius had three shards while remaining largely stationary in Avel, there were definitely those with far more who were alive and well. He wouldn’t be surprised if people like Sol, Zelyra’s Sovereign, or the Empire’s High General had well over a hundred at this point.

  Leo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the shard, letting it sink into his palm.

  [ALERT: New class crests detected]

  [ERROR: Duplicate class crests found]

  [Combining class crests]

  [ERROR: Class crest incomplete]

  [Customizing class features and skills]

  [Adjusting class options]

  [You have gained 900 bonus points! You can now select how to distribute your bonus points among your party]

  Leo had already mentally prepared himself for pain, but it was somehow even worse than he’d thought. If the last two times had felt like something being drilled into his skull, this was like someone ripping his head into two.

  He lurched forward, almost crashing into the ground before a hand grabbed onto his arm and steadied him. An ultramarine light glowed in the corner of his eye, and almost immediately the pain dulled some.

  [Allan has activated the [Pain] spell]

  He must’ve learned that after their last level up, Leo thought, though the name of the spell was a little misleading given its apparent effect.

  His breaths evened a bit as the pain faded to a more manageable ache. He shot the [Healer] a grateful look, but kept most of his attention on the notifications currently flooding his vision.

  [Select an existing spell or skill, excluding your personal skill, to upgrade]

  [Select a spell from the previously discarded options below]

  [Message - Mana cost: Low. Enables the user to project a simple message telepathically to anyone within sight. The distance is unlimited for party members. At higher levels, the recipient is able to respond, the target distance increases, and the user is able to project a different voice than their own.]

  [Firebolt - Mana cost: High. An offensive spell that shoots a focused stream of fire. The spell excels in precise attacks against a single or a few targets. At higher levels, it gains distance, speed, power, and the flames become hotter and capable of burning objects within the stream’s general vicinity.]

  [Auditory Illusion - Mana cost: Low. Enables the user to project a small auditory illusion onto a singular target. The illusion is intangible, audible only to the target, and the target must be within the user’s line of sight. The illusion must be shorter than 5 seconds in duration and contain sounds that the user is naturally able to produce without assistance. The maximum and minimum volume of the sound is the same as that of the user’s unassisted voice. At higher levels, the illusion gains duration, can target more creatures at once, and can project different types of sounds.]

  [Shockwave - Mana cost: Medium. An offensive close range spell that shoots out a minor electric shockwave originating from the user. This spell does minor damage to anyone within its range excluding the user and temporarily inflicts the [Stunned] condition. The amount of damage and effectiveness of the [Stunned] condition is dependent on the target’s resistance stat. At higher levels, the spell increases range, damage, and the [Stunned] condition lasts longer.]

  Leo expected it to stop there, but the messages kept flooding in.

  [Select two additional spells from the options below]

  [Air Walk - Mana cost: Medium. Enables user to step on air as though it is a hard surface. At its initial level, the spell is only active for one second. At higher levels, the activation length of the spell increases and spell cooldown decreases.]

  [Veil - Mana cost: High. Enables user to create an illusory shroud up to five feet around them on all sides. The veil moves with the user. While within the veil, all sound is silenced. Living beings inside the veil and objects carried by those beings become invisible to those outside the veil’s range. After leaving the veil, they become visible again. The veil has a limited duration and immediately vanishes as soon as the user casts another spell. At higher levels, the range and duration of the spell increases.]

  [Distant Eyes - Mana cost: Low. Enables user to see through the eyes of a target. While the spell is active, the target’s vision completely replaces the user’s own. At its initial level, the spell can only be used on willing targets who the user has previously touched. At higher levels, the range and duration of the spell increases and the user gains the ability to select unwilling individuals as targets.]

  [Inflict Condition - Mana cost: Medium. Enables user to inflict one of the following status conditions on one target the user touches: [Stunned], [Blinded], [Deafened], [Dazed]. The conditions are listed in order from shortest to longest duration. The effectiveness of the condition is dependent on the higher of the target’s resistance or constitution stats. Spell duration and effectiveness increases at higher levels.]

  Leo waited, but it seemed the notifications had finally stopped. For now.

  He exhaled. By then, the pain had fully dulled to a distant ache, and the light from Allan’s magic disappeared. Now with a clear-head, Leo carefully read through the options again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  Now, he thought. What to pick?