Smaller then before, just 6.5K
But hey, I did it.
Also, since we're already halfway to 400 Power Stones, I'll make this a little simpler... for me.
650 Power Stones. Pretty much the same thing, we get 300 more Power Stones from what we have now, I post another chapter.
It took us about uh... a day to get 300, so I expect the same... either way, I'm working here with my notes to get things released.
Thankfully though, as we've ended with a lot of recently crafted chapters, I can work with old chapters and release them faster, albeit I'm admit that I wouldn't have done it this fast had it not been for this goal.
Anyhow, thank you for reading! Peace.
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—
/Drip…/
/Drip…/
Droplets of water dripped before him, creating a small puddle.
Philip raised his hand, letting a few of them fall on his hand.
The water was icy, bone-chilling... so he shook his hand.
"How comfy." Philip joked as he looked around, sizing up his surroundings
Around two meters wide and tall, and about three deep.
No windows, no airflow. He felt as if he were to breathe too quickly, he'd end up suffocating in the long run.
He scanned his surroundings once more, finding a small opening behind him clogged by dark filth…
'There's barely any space to sleep… Nor is there a toilet for me to use.'
'What a great place.'
Getting up from his seat, Philip first started by wiping out some of the blood on his lips.
"They surely didn't hold back."
'They dirtied all my clothes. How am I going to explain this to Sebastiano and the other maids?…'
'That said, their hands were quite soft, I had to bite my tongue to shed some blood… multiple times since it kept regenerating.'
He closed his eyes, putting his hand on the wall, "Hum…"
The echoes, sounds, and smells spread throughout his body as they mixed with his memories.
Soon enough, he had a decent idea of his surroundings.
'From what I scouted, there are seventeen more cages like mine lying around this corridor. But of those, only eight are occupied.'
'Two people at the end of the hallway, their breathing is irregular, their blood flow is weak, and their steps are disorderly and faint.'
'I took a glance at them as I was dragged here, and their equipment is subpar. These people aren't anything special, just thugs… perhaps 2nd Tier at their strongest.'
'Even the first-year kids in the Academy started at 3rd tier at the very least, and they were no older than sixteen.'
'The people who struck me down were a little stronger, but they seem to have left.'
/Thud/
Philip sat down on the dirty ground again, thinking.
"At least I've gotten inside."
'But what to do now?'
"First... How about some light?"
He raised his left hand, half-closing it as a small ball of white light formed within, illuminating the room.
(Image?)
/Fwoosh…/
/Clink!/
With little thought, Philip threw the pristine ball of light into the ceiling as if it were a piece of trash.
And the poor ball stuck there like glue, working as a small lamp.
"Guess it works just fine... unsurprisingly."
'I haven't had a lot of time to test these out. I suppose its only a matter of time before the System starts reacting to my actions.'
'Magelight is quite a simple spell, but the complexity of a spell does not…'
[DING!]
"Hm?"
The moment he cast the magic, his system was quick to interfere with a notification of its own.
"... That was fast."
After he read the notification, he smiled, 'I'll leave this aside for now. Further testing is needed… but not now. Once I'm back home, I'll finish this matter once and for all.'
"Anyhow… with or without a light, this place is a dump." He muttered in displeasure as he looked around
It was filthy! Philip even saw a big ugly ass spider in the corner. He already knew it was there, but seeing it clearly made his tongue click.
Dirty and lime were prominent on the ground, moss grew on the walls… insects and other roaches moved around his feet from time to time, consuming whatever the previous inhabitants "left" lying around…
Philip crossed his arms, "I've seen worse."
He wiped his fingers on his pants before pulling his messy hair back, 'Although this doesn't make me any happier. I'm long past my days of being in the mud like this.'
"Now… let's find the person I'm looking for." He said with a small smile as his palm crackled with invisible energy
"This won't blow back in my face, will it?... I'll just have to figure it out on the fly." He said as his fingers danced in the air
The air distorted, and purple mist began to form.
His fingers crossed and gestured in the air, weaving the purple cloud of energy into an abstract shape.
/Sha!/
The purple cloud flashed, and with it, small shapes formed on the surrounding walls…
Or, better put, they were beyond those walls.
'No issues so far. Albeit I feel that the casting process slightly differs from what I'm used to… no matter.'
He gazed around, identifying the people in each cell and around him. Most of them did not conform to the features he was searching, so he ignored them…
But one of them… seemed to turn in his direction.
"Hm?"
'That guy…'
He quickly interrupted his spell… because he saw something rather unusual, 'Interesting, so people can still react to my magic. I had an inkling that was going to happen eventually, just not this soon.' He thought as his fingers oozed with magic.
"I wonder how it must feel from his perspective. What did he sense when I used my magic?"
'The curiosity is killing me!… But there's little need to rush things.'
/Gleam…/
/Poof!/
Philip looked at his hands. A cloud of bluish-white energy burst into a thousand pieces, scattering in the wind under his frustrated gaze.
"It failed again… just what's wrong this time?"
'Clairvoyance is by no means an all-powerful spell, but it shouldn't have failed in guiding me towards someone… are there other conditions I'm missing, or is this a consequence of traveling world?'
'Perhaps not all is as transparent as it seems…'
"I can check the other Schools later."
'The original reason I let them detain me was to breach their defenses… but honestly, this is embarrassing.'
'From what I gathered in the Dead Cold bar, I assumed the Conjecture to be some mafia level super power. But all I see here is a bunch of organized thugs with minimal skills… is the problem me? Have my skills risen too far, too quickly?'
'Or have I grown to assume the worst of things?'
"Maybe I should've just dealt with them…"
{I told you that was the better option. Now look at you, all dirty and ragged…}
"Shut up." He replied with some frustration as he scratched the back of his head, "You never know when a strong dude might appear."
{The way you are right now, it'd take something nearing the power of an Arch-Mage level threat to take you down. And even if something like that came, can't you just run away?}
{If anything bad happens, I'm here, and so is the Golden Orb}
"Let's not rely on those things anytime soon… now let me finish things."
{Your call. I'm fairly entertained by this current string of events. Perhaps after this is over, we can return to the bar to bet more? I was fairly entertained by your conjectures on who was going to win on the underground ring}
"… Ahem… gambling isn't good for your mental health."
{Compared to you, that's more like therapy… Also, can you hurry up? They threw me on a dusty shelf and I hate it here}
Philip brushed Laplabe's words aside and walked to the door.
"With everything out of the way... let's take care of the guards."
'The reason I'm here is that I have a gut feeling. This place ticks all the boxes on my list, but above all… I feel a connection with it.'
'One way or another, I'll turn this place upside down if I have to.'
So he focused his senses… outside.
...
/Mumbling…/
"... Again?"
"... mess down there, those two bastards."
Faint whispers echoed in the hallway, carried by the wind, they reached his ears.
Despite his room's sound insulation, Philip could perfectly hear their conversation.
Before he broke free, he stopped and listened, "They've been there for the entire day, and the problem is, we can not really do much about them."
"Is it because…?"
"Yes, they've brought some pretty annoying people with them, some of whom we can not really touch right now… smart rascals."
"We're already at a loss dealing with the Street Palace, if we touch them and cause more trouble with other forces, things won't end well."
"That is true... but its not like they can touch us either, right?" The other guard asked
"That is true. They might've brought some friends, but they aren't powerful enough to make the Boss change his decision."
The guard then let out a grunt, "But the problem is, they just will not rest. When will they give up?"
The other guard was quick to follow:
"There is just one thing I don't understand about all of this… Why capture this lady in the first place?"
"Yeah, she did cause some trouble for that boy, but that could've been resolved simply on the spot. I don't see the point in dragging her here… it's not their style."
The other guard scoffed, replying in a casual manner, "Ah, that? You know how that kid is, he's probably waiting for the opportunity to torture her or something." He added as he waved his hand in the air, "Not that he could've done so in the open at their gates either."
"She beat him up quite thoroughly… For now, he's resting in his room, but the moment he recovers and those Dwarf helpers leave, if they don't shove off while they have the chance... they'll be done."
"It's either that or the Director will put an end to this mess… do you have a smoke?"
"I have nothing… anyhow, how do you know so much?"
The guard shrugged, "I just listen... people talk a bit too much while drunk. You should do the same, instead of spending everything you have on that shithole."
"Where else would I spent my heard earned money if not there?"
"Look bud, no matter how good they are…"
From there, the two guards just started talking about other nonsensical things.
Philip did listen for a little longer, but their conversation was eventually brought to a sudden halt when two other guards entered the corridor to do a shift change.
And that was the end of this.
Raising an eyebrow, Philip crossed his arms, a strange feeling rising in his stomach, "Two people causing trouble? Now that seems like the kind of thing I'm looking for."
/Pop!/
With a small pop, the Magelight vanished, casting his room into darkness again.
"Hm? That was fast."
'Was I too conservative? It barely lasted a minute and a half… either way, its time to leave.'
With a basic plan forming in his mind, his hand reached the metallic door…
/Shine…/
Orange light shone on his palm as he played with magical energies, infusing them onto the door…
One rotation at a time, the inner lock twisted and turned…
/Click…/
The faint sound of metal clicking was heard not long after.
/Crunk!/
As he pushed the door forward, it scraped against the ground, alerting everyone in the hallway…
"Huh?!"
"Why is the door opening?!"
The guards immediately reacted, but they only saw the door opening slightly…
Right at the next moment, darkness.
...
"Escape plan complete." Philip mumbled as he held the two guards' faces, one in each hand
/THUD.../
He threw their unconscious bodies to the side before casting another spell…
"Urg…"
"Stiff…"
The two guards rose from the ground, but their eyes were a bit out of focus, their posture a bit more lackluster… like dolls being pulled by strings.
"Just stay there for now." He said as he gave them a quick glance
/Crack…/
Philip cracked his fingers, looking around…
"You there?"
/Fwoosh…/
A dark shadow jumped from the ground with immense speed, clinging to his pants before turning into a pocket watch.
"I've been waiting for a while. Took you long enough… this place is super dirty." Laplabe replied with some displeasure as he moved around his body
It was the mimic, of course, previously taken by someone else when the guards captured him.
Apart from him, Philip had nothing of value on his body apart from a small pouch with some documents and money. It was part of his... "Costume".
His other items were inside the Golden Orb, but that wasn't easy to be found, much less if Philip wanted it to remain hidden.
Of course, despite acting so carefree, Philip only had one copy of those documents, and he wanted very much to have them back… he wasn't quite keen on having the Chains make another set for him.
"Sorry about that. I didn't plan that far."
After apologizing with an awkward smile, Philip vanished from sight, leaving a faint gray mist behind...
/Shaa.../
And not so long after, the mist dissipated.
…
/At the same time, back at the Manor…/
[Processing... twelve incongruences found]
[Miss, please redo the drawing]
/Thud.../
"Huh? What did I do wrong this time?" Viera asked in confusion, and visible frustration as she looked at the magical lights floating around her
In front of her was the handy Multi Toll, projecting a large hologram screen full of different things...
From a drawing board with many colorful runes in it to several books open at the same time, allowing Viera to source from each of them at the same time…
"You drew "Kh" wrong, please refer to the source material." MT replied in its mechanical voice
As it said that, the books in the hologram shifted, and a large rune was displayed in it, with many texts near it going into full detail about the nature and specifics of this character.
"I… I did?"
'It's the 13th time Ive made a mistake...'
She read the book again and compared, and she then realized her mistake.
She reached for her head, scratching it in annoyance, "Urg! This is so frustrating."
'6th Class Magic is far more complex.'
She looked at the controler, 'Even though I spent the last few hours learning how to use this, it still took me an hour, even with its help, to draw the glyphs required for a fraction of this spell…'
'And this isn't even an active Spell, its just an outline. If it's like this… It'll take me a week to learn even a single Spell.'
She slumped back on her chair, 'But even that is fast… I shouldn't be complaining at all.'
'During my entire time in the Academy, I only managed to learn two, 6th Class Spells, and even so, they were almost impossible for me to cast...'
'Things have changed since then, of course… I can't help but wonder how long it'll take before I can advance again. I know its wrong to think like this, but I can't help it.'
'Previously, it took me around two and a half years to gather enough of an understanding to advance from 5th Class to the 6th, and most of that time was spent besides master.'
'She helped me stabilize my Circle, appeared at the end to help me solidify everything and advance, and even helped me solidify the 6th circle as well.'
'I wonder how long it'll take now… I have a feeling it will not take that long at all…'
"Perhaps… I can really become an Arch-mage before I'm twenty…" She thought as she started dreaming about it
[Miss Viera, please focus. I've detected severe fluctuations in your attention]
"Ah! Apologies… I'll resume it right away."
[Understood]
[But upon the conclusion of this exercise, you should take some time to relax and calm your mind]
The hologram changed once more, this time, displaying many activities from taking a nap to just swimming beside a moving depiction of a brain...
[Taking a time off can improve learning efficiency, making it easier for the brain to absorb knowledge]
[Even if what you're doing is something that entertains you, rest is of utmost importance]
[Considering the time, it wouldn't be a bad idea to end the day with a shower prior to a light lunch before sleeping]
"I… Sure!" She said eagerly
She looked at the upper corner of the hologram, seeing a small clock ticking.
'The day's still long…'
"Where is that guy, anyway?" She mumbled to herself as she looked outside
[Processing...]
[From the data within me, there's a high likelihood the Admin is causing trouble]
It seemed mildly amused by this, albeit Viera wasn't smiling in the least.
If anything, she sighed out loud.
Viera let out a sigh, resting her head on her hands as she looked out the window.
'You think so too?'
With a dry chuckle, Viera turned her focus back onto the floating runes around her.
She was determined to finish this today.
…
/Back underground…/
/Fondle…/
/Flip flip…/
"Hum…"
Sitting atop a chair inside a decorated room, Philip patiently read a stack of papers in his hands.
It was a report regarding their most recent incident, how it happened, why it happened, and what would happen afterward.
The truth revealed with utmost detail.
"MHM!"
Besides his chair was a man with his mouth gagged, trembling non-stop, not in fear, but in anger.
/SMACK!/
To his display of silent displeasure, Philip kicked his face without moving from his seat, making a few teeth fly as blood stained his gag...
"I told you to shut it."
'Regardless...'
Philip raised an eyebrow at the report.
"For all their brutality, these thugs are quite thorough in their reports."
'Everything from time, location, clothes, and even what they said to each other is here, including even some bystanders perspectives.'
'I do question the necessity of such details, but the more the better. You can't complain of there being something missing if you do need it later.'
"Most of these are a bust…"
'They aren't what I'm looking for. That said, there's a lot here still for me to look at. If we go by everything in the past few months, there are several file drawers worth of papers.'
His expression sharpened greatly, 'However, what's this?'
He held the papers with some frustration.
'From how this is organized, it gives me the impression that their latest "encounter" wasn't merely accidental.'
'More organized... expected... even planned for. As if they had some sort of prior knowledge that these things would happen.'
'Why would they go that far for a random woman?'
"Hm… Alicred arrived at the auction half an hour prior to him being beaten up, but he stood outside of it, waiting."
'It doesn't say that he was there waiting exactly, but the lack of details is rather uncharacteristic of their standard.'
'What could he be doing if not nothing? He was waiting, of course, and hidden from sight… but why? Was he waiting to meet the mother and son pair?'
'Why are they special?…'
He sighed, 'This doesn't have much to do with me. I feel a little pity for them, but I'm more interested in the underlying reasons… although the feeling I was getting before is getting faint.'
'I'm wasting too much time here. I need to get myself back on track.'
Philip was about to lie down the files…
[Skill, Eyes of Premonition Lv??? reach out towards a yet undefined Fate]
Before he left, however, his eyes inadvertently ended up falling on the woman's papers again…
"… It could've been a coincidence." He mumbled as he tapped the table
'Alicred could've been waiting for someone else, but something bothered him, and he decided to cause trouble for whatever reason... maybe it was just to alleviate his boredom.'
'That said, if he were there, his reason for staying there should be written here… yet it isn't. Is this the so-called favoritism from a superior to their son?'
'Also... What's with the guy that wrote this report? The way this is written almost makes me feel the guy was right there watching all of it. Was he waiting for something to happen as well?'
'But why?... Why is this situation so odd? Was he incited to pick on that mother-and-son pair?'
'If so, by whom?'
Frustrated, Philip turned to his captive, "Would you happen to know anything about this? The guy who wrote this report?"
"…"
The man merely looked at him in disgust.
"You bore me." Philip muttered as he put his feet over the man's head
/Grunt…/
'I've yet to refine my mental powers so I can read his mind. In this state, if I try to unravel his head all I'll do is cook it before turning it to mush.'
'Magic won't work either… not directly at least…'
As he considered his options, Philip couldn't help but laugh.
"Heh..."
"I guess there is a reason Sherlock Holmes was so popular..."
'Investigating can be interesting.'
He flipped through the pages, seeing a small portfolio with an image.
A young boy, no beard, trimmed hair, and his eyes were soft.
The image was particularly hypnotic to him… "Now that I think about it..."
'Aren't these people all... Dwarves?'
"Hum... Gert Junior Jas Zu..."
'Very… uhh… Dwarfy…'
He continued, "Quite young… 27 years old male Dwarf, nothing outstanding about him, not strong, not weak either."
'He's quite young by Dwarven standards, the equivalent of a 14-year-old Human at best, but of course, that would be a pretty insulting comparison.'
'Even if he's comparable to a 14-year-old, he still has lived for 27 years... and he looks like one too.'
Philip scoffed, 'At least its not like some High Elves that live for a few decades and still look and act like children... They live very long, but they take just as long to mature.'
'Now that I think about it… just how old was the princess? She looked to be in her late teens… wouldn't a high elf need to be several decades old to mature that much?'
With a perplexed face, Philip shook his head before he continued to read the paper.
Most of the text after the introduction was useless details, but some parts caught his eyes…
"Works at… Hm? Assisting his father in… His research labora… tory?"
Something inside his head seemed to click, however, he didn't quite accept his conjecture… or rather, he didn't consciously realize it yet.
"Next, his mother."
He looked at her profile image… and the first thing he thought was, rough.
She was tall and rather muscular, nothing absurd, but still pretty chiseled.
Her hair was tied, making her that more imposing and mature. If that wasn't enough, she had a scar running down her right arm from her shoulder to her hand.
It was a pretty bizarre one as it was spiral, going all the way to her hand.
"Palimo Zu, guess this is where his surname comes from… do Dwarves take the name of their spouse when they marry? Do they have marriage?" He asked as he turned to the gagged man
Philip put his legs aside so the man could raise his head… but all he did was stare at him as if he were an idiot.
/Thud…/
In the end, Philip put his legs over his face again without any degree of apology… and stomped it, knocking him out cold.
"So… 82-year-old, middle-aged dwarven woman... God damn… Dwarven woman sure age well..."
/Cough.../
Philip cleared his throat, "Veteran mercenary, retired after a severe injury to her right arm..."
"I can see that, if despite all the ways this world has to heal a scar, she still kept it, that thing must've been pretty serious… or a sign of pride for her."
'Or am I misunderstanding things? In the first place, all I've seen of this world is the side of absolute luxury. Palaces and Academies, the greatest cities… how do ordinary people fare in this magical world?'
'Perhaps healing injuries is a luxury in itself…'
"Moving on… she settled down and eventually met her current husband. That was over thirty-five years ago, so they met around their mid-to late 40s? Well... From their standards, that's like two young adults in their early 20s meeting..."
"They moved to this city some odd twenty years ago when their son was really small. That was also about the time her husband started his own research on…"
Philip's eyes narrowed, "Ancient Dwarven Artifacts… Huh…"
'Pretty interesting, but honestly, many in here study Ancient Dwarven technology. Most are Dwarves, which is one of the many problems I'm faced with.'
'How am I supposed to find the singular Dwarven man amidst a sea of Dwarven men…'
"Let's see the rest..."
"Her rank as a mercenary was about the same as the Purple-Gold Adventurer Rank… that's about the rank of a Tier 5, not bad per se."
'Pretty much, she was a decent mercenary. Because of the way I came into this world, interacting only with high society, my views became a bit distorted.'
'If you were to divide those in power, probably 70% of everyone is beneath Tier 3.'
/Flip flip…/
As he moved on, his interest began to dwindle, 'Aside from that, nothing important comes to my eyes. She seems like a hardworking mother, always on the lookout for extra income in the ruins…'
'Given the fact that she took down Alicred and his guards, she's probably still in the game. From the documents, one of his guards is an ex-mercenary about the same rank as her.'
"There's a bit more… the father…"
Philip flipped the pages into what would likely be the climax of this small investigation.
"Hm…?"
His eyes stopped on a single line, finding it rather funny before he brushed it off…
"Huh?"
Then, he found it rather odd...
"Wait a minute…"
Then he re-read the whole thing at once!
/Slap.../
He put his hand on his face, looking at the ceiling with a stupid expression.
"Of course... Haa... haha..."
And then he smiled widely, showing all his teeth.
"So it was beside me all along?…"
…
/A little while later…/
After he finished reading, he crouched down on the ground, touching the head of the unconscious man he threw on the side.
"I need you to wake up… You have a great task…"
Also... Have your teeth back, just in case.
"This will hurt a little though... Not like you can reply..."
With a devilish smile, he jolted the man awake.
…
/Back at the cells…/
/CRUNK!/
Philip closed the metal door, controlling the two thugs outside to lock it for him.
And he pulled it with such strength that it made some noise!
…
/Tremble…/
"Hm?"
In the room next to his, a woman opened her eyes tiredly.
It took her most of her strength to do so, to where if it wasn't for that sound, she would've likely fallen prey to her weakness, falling into a never-ending spiral of trying to keep herself awake and losing consciousness.
Because each minute that passed, she felt her strength being drained away…
It didn't help she hadn't eaten anything in the past 24 hours… or even… better not talk about it.
'Did they throw someone in the cell next to mine?'
'Bastards, all of them! Just what are they doing?...'
"Urg…"
'I can not move my toes anymore, my legs feel like they're chained.'
'Just what did they feed me?'
Her eyelids oppened and closed, 'I can't sleep… not now. My family is out there, and they'll come eventually.'
'I need to be… ready.'
She closed her eyes.
/Chatter… Chatter…/
"Huh?"
She started hearing whispers coming from outside… The soldiers seemed to be holding a conversation right before her cell!
'I thought I had gotten too dull to hear what was going on outside anymore…'
She tried her best to move closer to the door, resting her head on it as she tried to listen…
…
/A minute or two later…/
/Smack…/
"D-Dammit…"
'They're planning to… I can not let them!'
However, reality was cruel. No matter how much she tried to move, her body could barely stand, much less move.
Trying would just be a waste of the little energy she had left, and if she were to collapse now, then who would stop these foul people?
"What to do…"
Slowly drowning in sorrow and helplessness, she tried her best to think of a solution…
Until her eyes fell on the wall.
'That's right...'
If she couldn't do so on her own, then perhaps someone else could in her stead?
It was a gamble, likely the biggest she ever did, but right now, if she didn't move, there would be no way she would be getting out of here intact.
If she didn't move, nothing would change.
/Thud…/
"Haa… Shh… It…"
Breathing heavily, she finally moved her body to the wall.
'Now what? Think…'
She thought and thought, but the only part of her body that still had energy was…
her neck…
"Hupp!"
/SMACK!/
/Crack…/
She hit her head against the wall with unwavering eyes! Making a small dent in it.
She had a silly smile on her face as her hair fell on her bloody face.
'Please…'
/SMACK!/
/Crack…/
/Smack!/
Again and again, she hit her head against the stony, hard wall.
But it wasn't like she was made of metal. It was clear, she was in pain… very much so.
Hot blood flowed down from the back of her head, and it seemed like she could get a concussion at any time…
However, the determination to continue took over her, she had to return, she needed help.
She wasn't willing to let her family die… at least not as long as she was alive.
When she had no other choice, betting on someone else became her only option.
There was no room for failure here!
/Fwoosh!/
"That's enough." A voice echoed from behind her
"...?"
She barely had time to say anything before something soft enveloped her head.
It gave her a warm feeling… It was better than the fluffiest pillow she had ever had.
But she wouldn't be there to experience it.
"Hm?"
Because someone caught her head… or at least, something did.
Palimo fell unconscious, leaving Philip speechless from the other side of the wall.
He had been watching her movements from the start with magic... all of this had been part of his plans.
Their entire conversation was naught but a stage he set for them to perform in...
Albeit… her actions were beyond his predictions.
"How brutal! A mother's desperation is indeed quite strong."
/CRACK!/
Those were the only words Philip uttered as he used his left hand to carve a hole in the wall.
As he did so, a tentacle shot from amidst the rubble, wrapping itself around his arm as his fingers shone with light.
It had been Laplabe who had held her all this time!
/Crack.../
And as the wall crumbled into ash, her current status was revealed to him.
It was that of a terribly mistreated woman, with her head shining in faint golden light as Philip's healing spell stitched the wounds on her forehead.
'Hopefully, this will be enough for now.'
'Rest easy, we still have some time.'
"Once you're up, though…"
Philip smiled. For once, things seemed to be going his way without an issue.
…
/The minutes passed.../
"Mmnn…"
Palimo opened her eyes tiredly. But to her utmost surprise, she wasn't in pain, nor was her body tired.
On the contrary, she felt well-rested, brimming with energy.
"You're up…"
/SMACK!/
The moment Philip spoke, she grabbed a stone on the ground and threw it behind her!
But of course, Philip easily grabbed the stone, looking at her with neither surprise or emotion, already expecting this reaction to some degree.
Even though her eyes were used to it, because of the darkness, Palimo had difficulty discerning Philip's image with detail.
She could only barely see his outline… and a pair of eerie gray eyes staring at her from the corner. Like lamp lights in the distance…
"What a way to greet the one who saved you."
"Saved… me?" She asked, touching her arms and legs with renewed strength
Albeit her gaze never left him, she didn't trust him yet.
Nevertheless, as time passed, she began to connect the dots, understanding very well he had helped her, as she knew very well the state her body had been in.
It also made her a bit embarrassed, since despite her savior not saying anything, she knew, more than anyone, her current state...
She had been trapped here for a day, if not longer... and not even for a moment had she left...
"Thank you."
Philip merely smiled as he put the rock aside, clapping his hands in the process.
"How long..."
"Around an hour."
"!"
'An hour!'
"You were in a pretty awful state… I mended some of your wounds, but you'll need rest, regardless."
"Whatever they fed you didn't go well with you at all… Had you slept before meeting me, you wouldn't have awakened after. You were… severely poisoned."
That was true, at least for a while.
While she was asleep, Philip went slightly desperate, casting all kinds of healing spells until her condition stabilized. Even with Great Scholar Vision, he was unable to properly discern what she had been fed.
Between his available options, the only other one was a potent Elixir, but Laplabe warned him against using it… for the consequences of doing so wouldn't bode well in a body holding another life.
It made him slightly helpless, for this was the first time he had felt so useless. He was good at taking care of things himself, but this situation made him realize he wasn't that good at preventing others from kicking the bucket.
If he had had the ingredients and stations, he would've concocted her a potion, but that was the extent of his medical abilities aside from magic.
"..."
She didn't say much, she had some suspicious, but now it was confirmed.
For a trained warrior like her, how could she not realize the condition of her weakened self? Thinking about it, her actions before were not quite rational either, perhaps she had been delirious to top it all off.
After giving her some time to think, Philip was the first to speak, "Regardless, nothing will happen if we stay here staring at each other."
"I agree… Still… What should we do?"
'I have no time to ask who he is or what he wants...'
'I need to leave this place! I've slept long enough! Anymore than this… and it might be too late.'
She was thinking very hard, but no matter how much she did, she couldn't figure out what to do next.
Now that she was mostly recovered, fleeing wouldn't be a problem. These walls weren't solid enough to stop her from leaving; she was only trapped previously because of her extreme state of weakness.
But that would create a commotion.
The main reason she surrendered herself was that she understood the fact that, had she resisted, the chance of the Conjunction counterattacking with a greater force was nearly inevitable.
She could only see one way to survive this: escaping and bringing her family as far away from this place as they could.
This would definitely make them many enemies and, in a sense, criminals… but was that worthy of their current situation?
All of this hails from her husband's employers. She does not blame him for this, but if she can not trust their employers to protect them, then what worth was there in continuing to work with them?
She knew something was wrong, that this attack might not be a whole product of chance… and she blamed herself for biting such obvious bait…
But was she supposed to let those thugs beat up her son?
Perhaps even if she left, not retaliating, they would've just created another excuse, and everything would repeat...
Or had she not bought the material for her husband, then he would've been unable to finish his project on time, and the contract would've been breached, creating a whole other heap of trouble.
If only she could remove them all from the situation altogether, then perhaps, they could return to their normal lives…
But she shook her head, there was no way that was possible.
'Money… how much money can we pull together?'
'How should we leave the city?...'
'What about…'
So many things to do and think about… But so little time to act.
"I can hear you thinking from here." Philip proclaimed as he got up from his seat
"Uh? I'm…"
But she stopped, no point in telling a stranger what she was going to do.
"Do you have a plan?" She asked
"Do you?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a no."
Philip raised his hand, creating a Magelight, having it stick to the ceiling.
"!"
The sudden brightness startled her, making her squint her eyes.
"...?"
It had been an entire day since she saw light after all…
But after she got used to it, she looked at Philip, surprise written on her face.
"What is it?"
Philip was wearing his traditional hunter clothes, his pointy and trusty hat on top of his head, and the black leathery bandana covering his face.
She didn't really know why, but Palimo felt the urge to make some distance from him. That was what her senses, having lived as a mercenary for close to three decades, told her.
But she couldn't… for the wall was behind her.
"Dont worry, miss, I don't bite. If anything, I'm already engaged." He added with a chuckle as he noticed her expression
"So instead of worrying about me, worry about leaving this place."
"!... You're right."
But as she looked at her empty hands, frustration overtook her.
Seeing this, Philip continued, "You do seem very eager to leave."
"I…"
"No… I don't care." Philip replied bluntly as he reached for her hand, pulling her from the ground
Even then, she barely reached his chest's height.
"..."
'Human male… balanced breathing… an assassin? A contractor from another company?… Perhaps the Street Palace has mobilized its assets to deal with the Conjunction?'
"Instead, how about we strike a deal?"
"A… deal?"
"Yes."
"We are in equally shitty positions, so why don't we cooperate?"
"... How? There isn't really much I can offer… and you seem pretty able yourself."
'I'm nothing but a piss-stained old woman now...'
'How awful! At least they aren't here to see my current state.'
Philip smiled beneath the mask.
"I came here with a simple objective… but you got my attention first, you see." He said with some amusement as he pointed at the wall
"You're quite tough, and your strength is enough…"
"So Im giving you an opportunity… of course, you can stay here and wait if you want, I'll take care of everything in due time."
Philip raised his right hand…
/CLANG!/
Several metallic weapons fell to the ground between them from seemingly nowhere.
"Why don't we…"
"Just deal with them the old-fashioned way?"
She swore she saw faint blue flames come from his eyes…
"What do you say?"
…
.
.
.
Notes