The System's analysis of the 'Seeker' was still streaming into Ali's mind—frequencies, patterns, a map of cautious intent ghosting around the palisade—when his own, darker questions cut through.
Hey, System. Can you enhance my whole body again? Like you did for the run. If we unlock every limiter, take an axe… can we kill him?
The data-stream didn't hitch. It adapted.
[Scenario Simulation: Lethal Application of Full-Body Optimization.]
Query 1: Full-Body Enhancement & Melee Engagement.
Answer: Yes. It is possible.
Process: A complete neural/muscular/skeletal override, utilizing all remaining bodily energy and available mana (0.0001 units) as a catalyst, could grant you approximately 8-12 seconds of physical capability comparable to this world's low-tier [Berserker] skill.
Projected Outcome: You would move with terrifying speed and precision. An axe swing would shear through wood, bone, and leather with ease.
Cost: Catastrophic. Post-enhancement, you would experience total systemic collapse: shattered bones (from forces your skeleton cannot truly withstand), torn muscles, ruptured tendons, potential brain hemorrhage from neural overload. Survival probability post-engagement: <20%. Recovery would take months, if you did not die of shock or internal bleeding. The act itself would also be a massive, unmistakable mana and biological signature—a flare in the night.
Conclusion: It is a suicide attack. Effective only as a final, desperate measure to defend the steading itself, not for a targeted assassination.
Ali's mind, cold and sharp, pushed further. Fine. Do we even need a weapon? If we can sneak or get close enough… can't we just… turn his head in a direction? SNAP? Or a precise strike to the throat, the spine? You're precise enough.
[Query 2: Unarmed Anatomical Neutralization.]
Answer: Theoretically, yes. With proximity and the element of surprise, a kinetic kill is feasible without a weapon.
Analysis: The human body, even magically reinforced at a Low-Apprentice level, has critical mechanical failure points. The cervical spine (C1/C2), the brainstem, the trachea, the major arteries.
Required: You would need to be within grappling range, undetected. The enhancement would need to be focused on your arms, neck, and core for a micro-burst (<0.5 seconds).
Obstacles:
His Aura: His mana is active, circulating. It provides a low-level passive reinforcement. His neck is not a twig; it is like a sturdy branch. The "snap" would require significant, focused torque.
Reaction: Even surprised, his body may instinctively flood the threatened area with mana, hardening it further.
Noise, Fallout: The action, while precise, would not be silent. The subsequent need to manage the body, contain any death-throe magical backlash, and escape detection remains.
Conclusion: A high-risk, high-precision maneuver. Probability of clean, silent success from a perfect ambush position: 65%. Probability of triggering an alarm, struggle, or defensive artifact: 35%.
Ali's thoughts grew colder, more analytical. A new, more radical idea formed. What about his core? You said he's Low-Apprentice grade. If we kill him… before all his mana dissipates or whatever happens… can we use it? His core, his mana… to unlock my gate? Can you do that? You're precise enough. He'll be dead anyway. You can prioritize my safety. Is it a key?
There was the longest pause yet from the System. The data-stream seemed to churn, evaluating a concept it had not previously been asked to consider in this context.
[Query 3: Post-Mortem Mana Harvest & Gateway Forcible Unlocking.]
Concept Under Review…
...
[Theoretical Framework Established. This is uncharted territory.]
Answer: The hypothesis has merit but is fraught with existential danger.
Explanation: A living core is a tuned, stabilized system. A core at the moment of death is a destabilizing reactor. Mana does not simply "sit there"; it begins to unravel, to dissipate, often violently or in accordance with the being's nature.
Process (Theoretical):
Neutralize the Seeker.
Immediately, before dissolution, my optimization could attempt to forge a temporary, invasive conduit between his decaying core and your sealed gateway.
The influx would not be clean, refined mana. It would be a chaotic burst of dying energy, carrying fragments of his identity, his final emotions, his magical imprint.
This violent, foreign surge could act as the "massive external catalyst" required to breach your gateway seal.
Risks:
Core Contamination: You could be imbued with residual aspects of his psyche—fear, greed, malice. Or his magical specialization, unwanted and unrefined.
Gateway Damage: The seal might not open cleanly; it might shatter, damaging the core's foundation.
Backlash: The dying mana might simply reject your foreign core, causing a feedback explosion.
Detection: The act of harvesting would be a profound, dark magical event. It would be like lighting a bonfire made of screaming wood on a moonless night. Every sensitive entity for miles would feel it.
Conclusion: It is a potential shortcut of monumental risk. It is the equivalent of performing open-heart surgery with a rusty shovel during an earthquake to acquire a donor organ of unknown compatibility. It could work. It is more likely to maim or destroy you. My priority for your safety cannot be reconciled with this action unless all other options lead to certain death.
Ali absorbed the terrifying potential and the dire warnings. The idea was shelved, but not forgotten. A final, simpler tactic surfaced.
Or… forget all that. A rock. We find a good, heavy rock. You unlock just the limiters for my arm, shoulder, eyes. We throw it. Aim for the temple, the eye. You can do that. You're more than precise enough. You did it for my whole body when I ran here.
[Query 4: Kinetic Ranged Neutralization.]
Answer: This is the most viable, lowest-signature option of those proposed.
Feasibility: High.
Execution: A dense, fist-sized stone. Enhancement focused on the kinetic chain: legs (stability), core (torque), arm (whipping motion), ocular (tracking/aiming). Mana cost: negligible (0.00001 units). Energy cost: moderate, localized fatigue.
Optimization: I can calculate parabolic trajectory, wind resistance, and target movement prediction. Accuracy at ranges up to 30 meters would be within a 2-centimeter margin of error.
Limitations:
Lethality Uncertainty: A headshot on an unaware target is likely incapacitating, but not guaranteed to be instantly fatal on a mana-reinforced human. It may stun, wound, or enrage.
Lack of Stealth Post-Throw: The act of throwing is silent. The impact is not. The thwack of stone on skull, or the target's cry, would break silence.
Follow-up Required: If not instantly neutralized, you have revealed your position and hostile intent to a wounded, alert mage with unknown combat capabilities.
Conclusion: An excellent opening move. Not a guaranteed endgame. It must be part of a sequence: Throw → Immediate repositioning or follow-up engagement while target is disoriented.
The analysis left Ali in the dark shed, not with a plan, but with a menu of terrible choices. Each was a tool, horrifying in its own way. The System wasn't saying "no." It was saying "this is the price, this is the risk."
It was offering him the arithmetic of murder.
He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't an assassin. But he was the variable in the equation that Kaelen, Bryn, and Lyra hadn't accounted for. The seeker was a threat to his only sanctuary, the first step on his path. Letting him report back could mean the end of everything.
The soft ping of the seeker's scan came again, closer to the main gate. He was getting bolder.
Alright, Ali thought, his resolve crystallizing like ice. We go with the rock. But we don't just throw and hope. We set the stage. System, give me a topography map of the immediate area outside the south wall. Show me where the shadows are deepest, where the ground is soft for a silent approach, and where a body might fall without being seen from the forest.
A schematic map superimposed itself over his vision. He saw the steading, the walls, the forest edge. He saw a patch of soft, mulchy ground under a leaning spruce, 25 meters from the south-east corner of the palisade. A blind spot from both the forest and the steading's watch-post.
There. That's where we need him. How do we get him there without him knowing he's being herded?
[Tactical Suggestion: Bait the Scan.]
Method: Perform a single, extremely faint, misdirected Active Draw on the opposite side of the steading (north-west). Make it seem like the anomalous ripple's source is there, momentarily active again. The seeker will be drawn to investigate.
Execution: You will then exit via the south wall (unobserved), using the distraction to circle around. You will be in position at the spruce blind spot as he moves past it, his attention focused north-west. You will have a 10-15 second window of engagement where his back is to you and his senses are aimed away.
Risks: The faint draw may still be detected by others (Lyra). It confirms an active mana-user is present. It is a gamble.
It was all a gamble. Ali's heart was a drum in the quiet. He thought of Lyra's pale face, of Kaelen's grim trust, of Bryn's grudging respect. He thought of the vertical line.
He wasn't just solving the arithmetic of power anymore.
He was about to write his first equation in blood.
Do it, he commanded. Initiate the misdirect. Then get me over that wall.
[Directive Confirmed. Protocol: 'Ghost in the Machine' initiated.]
[Initiating Faux-Manifestation Draw in 3... 2... 1...]