"Speak with the king," Tarah instructs, connecting him to Krovath.
"Keep it concise," Krovath commands.
The general shares the images of missing tiles around the castle and a video of Tetsu digging before he entered. "He's proficient at digging and has left several poorly covered holes around the castle. I... I'm..."
"Out with it, General."
"I fear he may have planted bombs inside the castle."
"WHAT!"
"This is mere speculation, but..."
Krovath zones out, recalling Tetsu stripping his chambers clean, in the name of science, but now, with ample time in his hands, the artifact computers intricate scenarios. Krovath infuses the artifact with more mana and contemplates the absurdities.
Who collects tiles during a life-or-death situation?
The human feigned ignorance, spouting nonsense to conceal his true intentions.
'it's all a facade,' the artifact concludes.
"Target the human. He's allied with the undead," Krovath asserts. "Did he really believe he could deceive me forever...? The greatest Krantz to have ever lived." He cackles like a madman. "Strip the castle down to every tile."
Tarah's directives get declined and overridden. Unable to confront her king, her frustration redirected toward the General. "What in the FRECK is going on?" She curses in a foreign tongue.
"Following the king's orders," the General responds while saluting. "We're facing a greater threat within the castle, one left behind by that human. We must divide our forces further if we hope to survive." He rushes to divulge the information, leaving Tarah bewildered, before darting into the castle.
"What are the rest of you staring at? Fire!" Tarah commands.
"We're awaiting ammunition," the cannoneer replies.
"Get your asses down there and assist the ones hauling it up here. If you can't see, we just split our troops thinner," Tarah barks orders, turning her attention back to the battle map.
With each passing moment, more of her pieces vanish from the board, and amidst the overwhelming chaos, she overlooks a minor disturbance at the map's edge—a ripple noticed by Tetsu.
"This is going to be interesting," he murmurs between blinks.
"Quit blinking around like a fool and face me," Val growls, his voice choked as if submerged in liquid.
Tetsu locks eyes with Val, a Rune shimmering to life on his chest.
Val plucks the Rune, crushing it into wisps of light. His aura expands, enveloping him in a thick layer of mucus formed from ethereal spores, rendering any runes useless against him.
With no other option, Tetsu moves in closer to try etched runes.
Tetsu noted how Val's protective, viscous layer hindered his movements. Despite being an initiate like himself, Val displayed remarkable control over his aura, and to make matters worse, the repercussions of such a complex skill seemed negligible.
"What if he can still move?" The thought unsettled Tetsu, slowing his actions.
Given their disparity in levels, only Tetsu's full power, coupled with the sneaker's agility and axes power did he pose a threat to the monstrosity in front. And one slight error was enough to end his journey.
YOU ARE READING
The System
حركة (أكشن)Tetsü & kilə were odd ducks amongst the oddest ducks-Never to fit in, never to be found among the crowd that blindly followed the ways of this world... Or the next... 14 years of crazy experiments later they, finally found a way to break out of this...
