Zorian lamented that he was not easy to get along with. He is withdrawn, has a bad temper, and always thinks the worst about people. He's always known this, and even before he died and was trapped in a mysterious time loop, he always felt justified in his actions.
In fact, if someone were foolish enough to criticize him before the time loop, his response would be as subtle and graceful as a disturbed rattlesnake.
The time loop has changed him. Making him calmer and more considerate of those around him. He hasn't had an argument with his family in years, his financial independence is all but guaranteed once the time loop ends, and his growing magical abilities have done wonders for his confidence, making setbacks pale in comparison.
So when Kiriel kicked him in the knee for the third time in as many minutes, he deliberately didn't snap at her. He didn't even sigh in annoyance. He just continued to stare out the window, watching the fields fly by as the train came closer and closer to Xhosa.
"I'm bored," El complained.
Zorian gave her a curious look. While the guards protecting the train disrupted the mana-shaping, they had only an initial impact on his empathy, and what he felt from Kiriel was not boredom—but a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and apprehension. As far as Zorian knew, this complex mixture of emotions seemed to be the most common "emotions" experienced by people, and they were almost completely undecipherable at Zorian's current level of skill.
"What's really bothering you?" he tried. There was a sudden commotion in her mind, and she opened her mouth to say something, then lost her courage and lamely disguised her words as a particularly deep breath. Oh, it turns out she's not just upset...
"Nothing," she whispered, looking away and tugging at the hem of her shirt in frustration.
Zorian rolled his eyes and kicked her knee lightly. She gave him a hard look even though she had done the same thing to him just minutes before. Predictably, her attempts at intimidation fail miserably - she's as scary as an angry kitten.
"Tell me," he insisted.
She gave him a confused look before relenting.
"Can you teach me some magic?" she asked hopefully.
What a hassle. The smart, reasonable answer is "no" - there's no way she's going to make any progress in just a month, this particular reboot is going to be very hectic, and she's going to forget everything she's learned by the time it's over. Anyway, this month.
"...I'll see what I can do," Zorian said after a few tense seconds of silence. Well, Kiriel was nervous - he was pretty sure she actually stopped breathing while waiting for an answer.
"Yes!" she cheered, pumping her fists in victory.
"But in exchange, I need your help with something," he added.
"Okay." She agreed quickly, without even asking him what he wanted to do. "Hey, can you-"
"No," Zorian said immediately. "This train is blocked to disrupt mana-shaping. No one can cast spells here."
"Oh," El deflated.
To be honest, Zorian was twisting the truth a bit. The Disruption Magic on the Train was designed to deter overeager students and random acts of vandalism, and to a regular mage like Zorian, it was nothing more than an annoyance.
He could easily overwhelm the guard, but he had analyzed it in detail during his last reboot and knew it would report any significant spellcasting to some remote location.
Kiriel opened his mouth to say something else, but was quickly interrupted by a sharp crackling sound, the voice of the radio announcer.
"Stop in Xhosa now," a disembodied voice said. "I repeat, now parked in Xhosa. Thank you."
"So many people," Kiri said, looking through the window at the crowd at the train station. "I didn't know there were so many people attending your school."
Zorian, who was amusing himself by counting the number of people in the train station, absentmindedly made a sound of agreement. While he no longer completely ignores the world when using his mind, it still takes most of his attention to get anything useful from it. However, after half a minute of trying to break the huddle into discrete individuals that could be counted, he decided the task was impossible with his current skill level and refocused his attention on Kiriel.
"If there are so many people studying to become mages, why are there so few mages?" she asked.
"They're not very rare," Zorian said. “It’s just that most mages from rural areas will not stay there after completing their studies.
"What!? Why!?" Kiriel protested.
Zorian raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I have to answer this question?"
Kiriel snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly annoyed. "I guess not. But it means I'll be alone with my parents then. Too bad."
"Just pester Mom to come visit me more often," Zorian shrugged. "She's going to give in eventually, especially since you'll be their only way to stay in touch with me. Dad doesn't care about us, so he'll listen to Mom."
Kyriel gave him a strange look. "Can I come see you?"
"Anytime you want," Zorian confirmed.
"Don't you think I'm annoying?" she asked.
"Oh no, you are indeed annoying," Zorian said, smiling at her rebellious expression. "But you're still the only person in our family that I actually like. I bet you find me annoying, too."
"Damn it," Kiriel huffed, kicking his knee again.
They watched in silence as people boarded trains, searching for empty carriages for themselves and their groups. But soon the number of such empty carriages dwindled, and their carriages were soon filled with more passengers: Ibery, Byrne, and two other girls whom he had never met until this restart. It was a bit unexpected - he really just expected Ibery to be there. But that's okay, maybe it's better this way. The bigger his audience, the better. Now all he needs is an opening.
"I almost decided not to take her with me, the whole Baishilong thing," Zorian interjected. "But then I thought maybe they were just a bunch of crazy idiots. I mean, if summoning an army of demons was that easy, all of Altazia would be a burning ruin by now, right?"
All conversation stopped and everyone turned to stare at him like he had grown another head. Zorian pretended to be confused and looked at them blankly.
"What?" he asked finally.
"You...what are you talking about?" Bourne asked carefully.
"Didn't you hear that?" Zorian frowned and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "The World Dragon Cult issued a threat... well, technically it was an announcement of intent, but anyway... they intend to summon an army of demons on the day of the Summer Festival. The convergence of planes planned to take place on that day will be the first time in centuries. The strongest ever, so this is obviously a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.”
"Are you serious," Ibery half asked, half answered.
"That's what they say," Zorian shrugged. "Cyo
ia There are a lot of these lunatics running around, so I guess I'm justified in being a little concerned. "
"Cyo
There are many Dragon Worship Cults in ia? Bourne asked in disbelief.
“That’s the hole,” Ibery said with a sigh. "It is a sacred place to them, a huge hole in the ground of uncertain depth that constantly spews mana into the air. They believe it is a direct passage to the center of the world.
- rest
The difference from last time was that Zorian now had a guardian necklace that he had made while waiting for departure time in Xilin, so keeping the rain barrier around the team didn't deplete his magic reserves at all. So when Kiriel insisted on accompanying Bourne to the academy, he decided to be nice and not argue at all.
The important thing he had to do was talk to the spiders to restore their memories, but this time he also brought an extra gift - five stone disks that acted as telepathic repeaters, greatly improving the ability of the spiders to coordinate their actions over long distances. Ability. Of course, the sixth disk was still in Zorian's possession, so he didn't have to go down into the sewers every time he wanted to talk to the matriarch.
[You know, when I told you to contact me as soon as possible, I didn't really mean for you to call me in the middle of the night,] Zorian sent the matriarch to express his annoyance and temper as much as possible. He can manage to get the message across. He was still not very good at incorporating emotion and imagery into his communications, but he trusted that she would get a rough idea of what he was trying to convey. [I'm not sure about spiders, but we humans actually have to sleep at night to function properly. ]
[I'm sorry,] the matriarch sent back. There was nothing apologetic about her tone. [This is a fascinating device you gave me. Most impressive. ]
[Not really. As far as magic items go, it's pretty shoddy. I took a lot of shortcuts in order to make this much, and it shows. It's a fairly large, heavy disc, made of solid stone, so it's not too inconspicuous or portable, and it only has a lifespan of two and a half months. ]
[That's still a month and a half longer than it needs to be,] the matriarch said.
[Yes,] Zorian agreed.
[I thought you could make a lasting version? ]
[Yes, of course,] Zorian said.
[Can other craftsmen copy your work? ] she asked. [Or did you come up with it yourself? 】
Zorian frowned. Now that she has him, does she need any other technicians? Was she planning to abandon him once they broke out of the time loop?
[I figured it out,] Zorian said. [Other craftsmen must design the drawings first. This may take a while. ]
[I see,] she said. [Well, I guess I shouldn't let you fall asleep again. I just wanted to let you know that I've looked at the memory pack and am confident that it is genuine. ]
He sighed. There was no way he was going back to sleep now. He quickly cast a Silence Ward on the room, then slowly climbed out of bed, being careful not to wake Kiriel. Yes, she was annoying, but it wasn't her fault that his sleep was ruined.
"Note to self: Next generation relays need an off button."
- rest -
Imaya wakes up, much to her surprise, and Zorian goes into town to go to the store. The plan he and the Matriarch had in the last reboot involved him creating a lot of magic items himself, which meant buying material components and specialized tools. Not to mention, if he wanted to seriously start teaching Kyriel how to be a mage, he'd have to buy something.
He really hoped Kiriel could charm Kana in this reboot like he did last time - and Zorian himself was skilled in alchemy and could manage it on his own if need be, with Kyle's help in his plans Some of the projects will be priceless. This restart...
"Zorian! This way!"
Zorian snapped out of his thoughts and quickly made way for the man who called him. Benicek was exactly what he was looking for. He quickly sat down next to the chubby boy, exchanged a few words, and then revealed the reason for following the boy today.
"Ben, my friend, you won't believe what I found out during the school holidays," Zorian said. "I still don't understand what they were thinking when they came up with this stuff. It's like something out of a bad adventure novel."
"Please tell me," Benicek leaned forward.
"Well..." Zorian said, suddenly pretending to be reluctant. "You know, it's kind of a secret. I'm telling you this in absolute confidentiality because we're friends, so don't spread it around, okay?"
Noting that he was about to tell him some confidential information and warning him to keep it a secret was crucial - meaning Benicek would spread the story twice as fast as usual.
"Of course," Benicek said cheerfully. "You know me, Zorian. I would never betray your trust like this."
Zorian couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Ben. I know I can count on you."
- rest -
After telling Benicek about all the dastardly plots of the enemy to bombard Kooria during the Summer Festival, Zorian returned to Imaya's quarters to await Taiven and her offer to join the sewers. For fun, he created an Xvim practice card that let him hone his sculpting skills. He had planned to simply buy a bunch from a store he visited this morning, but they were much more expensive than he thought - and his respect for Xvim rose slightly when he realized how much it actually cost About him Training during restart.
He was just putting the finishing touches on the card when Taivin burst into the kitchen and locked onto his spot.
"Hey, Roach, what a great place you're here," she said, plopping down into the seat next to him and peering carefully at his work. "Oh, I know what that is. I've been meaning to buy some these days, but I always end up spending the money elsewhere. How many did you buy?"
"No," Zorian said. "They were too expensive for my taste, so I decided to make my own. It's the only one I've made so far."
Taivin raised an eyebrow at him, amused by his statement. Zorian frowned, not liking the expression - she didn't believe he could make such a card? This is nothing! He frowned and pushed the finished card into her face.
"Try it," he told her.
Taiwen sighed deeply, and then... frowned. Zorian was surprised and dismayed when she realized that she had tried and failed to burn the circles he had drawn on the card.
"You can't, can you?" Zorian grinned.
"You're mistaken!" she said angrily.
"No!" Zorian protested. "You're just terrible!"
"No!" she shot back. "If you're so special, why don't you do this?"
"Hmph." Zorian sneered and took the card back. He set the card aside and expertly flashed the mana into it.
The circle—and only the circle—glowed red for a moment in the heat, then turned to ash. Zorian blew into the hole, scattered the remains on the table, and handed the used card to Taiwen triumphantly. He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer.
"Ahem." A mature female voice interrupted the scene from behind. "Of course you're going to clean up the mess on my desk, aren't you, Mr. Kaczynski? Oh, and I want to warn you that if your...experiments cause any property damage to my material possessions, I will charge you a fee .”
Zorian turned around and gave Imaya a big friendly smile. She rolled her eyes at him and pointed to the ashes on the table. Zorian lowered his head in defeat and went to the bathroom to get a rag, ignoring Taivin's soft laughter behind him.
briefly. In fact, he had to go with her this time.
"So what exactly do you need from me?" Zorian asked, sitting next to Taiwen again.
"Ah, well, I was wondering if you'd like to go on a little adventure with me..."
"Since you obviously think you're good enough to walk around a dungeon on your own, encountering sentient monsters and god knows what else, I wanted to test your skills," Taiven told him. "Also, if you're going to accompany me and my team into a potentially dangerous situation, it wouldn't hurt to know your actual combat skills. You do know some combat skills, don't you?"
"A lot," Zorian assured her.
"Okay, come to my place tomorrow at noon and I will test you." Taiwen said. "Are you sure they would give us the clock if we asked nicely?"
"If they had," Zorian said. "The guy who gave you the job doesn't sound trustworthy to me. I don't believe at all that he didn't know what a spider was, but he sent you to them to get the pocket watch anyway. Either that or he wanted to kill you all , or...hell, I don’t know what kind of trick he’s playing.”
"If the watch is something very valuable or very illegal, he probably doesn't want to send someone who can recognize what they're holding," Tevin frowned. "How dangerous are you spiders exactly? I mean, even if they're sentient, they're still vulnerable to burns and such. Maybe he thinks we're going to bulldoze them without saying a word?"
"Aranea are mages," Zorian said. This is not entirely true, as only a small percentage of Alanians possess an actual spellcasting system, but psychic powers are versatile enough to count as a specialized spellcasting system. "They're particularly fond of mind magic, illusions, and stealth. They have a telepathic link with each other, so if you massacre some of their outposts, they'll recognize and remember you. Then, the next time you enter a dungeon, just There will be a swarm of spiteful magical spiders looking to ambush you
"Damn," Taiwen said. He felt anger welling up in her, but she controlled herself and forced herself to calm down. "That bastard better not know the danger or I'm going to report him to the nearest police station I can find. This was actually an attempted murder!"
"Let's talk to the spiders first and see what they have to say." Zorian said quickly. He didn't want Taivin to confront this guy and call the whole thing off. "I promise, as long as I'm around, they won't attack you."
Taiwen gave him a long, unreadable look.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Taiwen said. "It's just... I thought I knew you, but now it turns out you have a whole secret life that I never knew about. It's kind of unreal."
"Yes!" Kyriel suddenly intervened. She had remained silent throughout their discussion, but it was clear that she had been listening to everything with rapt attention. "Why do you never tell your own sister these things!?"
"Oh, that's easy." Zorian replied smoothly. "I didn't want my parents to know, so it would be stupid to tell you. Do you know how many times you've gotten me in trouble for revealing my secrets in front of our parents?"
"Oh, come on!" Kirill wailed. "I'm still a baby! I don't know anything! Are you still angry about this?"
"No, of course not," Zorian muttered uneasily. "I did tell Taiwen about the spider in front of you, didn't I?"
"Wait," Zorian said. "Actually... yes, I have something to tell you. All of you. Miss Heishka, I know you've been eavesdropping on us for a while, so you might as well sit down."
Imaya turned around from where he was playing with the utensils, put his hands on his hips, and looked at him angrily.
"I didn't do any such thing," she told him, "I was just minding my own business, and in my own kitchen. If you don't want me to overhear your conversation, you should bring it Go somewhere else.”
"My bad," Zorian agreed easily. He was pretty sure she had done everything she had to do in the kitchen, just hanging out and listening to them talk, but whatever. "Kili, do you remember how I promised to teach you how to cast spells in exchange for a favor on the train?"
"Yes?" Kiriel confirmed hesitantly.
"Okay, first a little background. I'm what's commonly known as an empath - someone who can sense the emotions of others. Unfortunately, until recently, my powers have been a little out of control. I can't turn to anyone for help...at least not That’s the human aspect.”
"Spider." Imaya guessed.
"Yes," Zorian agreed. "Aranea people are all empathic, it's an innate part of who they are. Thanks to them, I now have more or less control over my empathic abilities, although it took years of practice to really refine them Become a reliable thing. And you followed me this far?"
"How do I feel now?" Kirill asked.
"I actually don't know," Zorian admitted. "People's feelings are rarely simple, and unless they feel an emotion very strongly, I make an educated guess based on my previous interactions with the person. The more time I spend with someone, the more I The easier it is to read them.”
"But isn't she your sister?" Imaya asked. "You might think that if there's one person you know well enough to be able to work with, it's family."
"Our family is..." Zorian hesitated, searching for the right word. "A bit dysfunctional, I guess. I try to stay away from them most of the time, so my interaction with Kiriel isn't that frequent. I'm not the only one here who keeps secrets - Kiriel is also secretive about a lot of things Keep it secret. I guess despite the sibling relationship, we didn't know each other very well."
There was a brief silence as everyone digested the admission, but Imaya quickly broke the awkward atmosphere by clearing his throat.
"Okay," she said. "I guess it's a good thing that you're all reconnecting here now."
"Yes!" Kiriel immediately agreed. "Hey, do you think I could be an empath too?"
"Sorry, Kili, but I'm pretty sure you're not," Zorian said. "If you were, I could feel it."
"Can you sense other empaths?" Tevin asked.
“I feel what everyone around me is thinking, whether it’s empathy or otherwise,” Zorian said. "I also get some basic information about each person - how complex their thoughts are, their species, their gender, that kind of stuff. The empath shines like a little sun in my telepathy, so... …I’m sorry, Kiri.”
"It doesn't matter," she said ruefully.
"Can you feel the people around you regardless of the obstacles?" Taiwen asked. Zorian nodded. "The scope of that ability is...?"
"What if I'm busy with something else and just running my mind in the background? About ten meters," Zorian said. "What if I focus exclusively on scanning the environment? Ten times easier. However, if there are a lot of ideas around me, I have a hard time processing the information and they start to blend together into a confusing, headache-inducing mess .I mostly turn off my empathy when I’m in a crowd.”
"Roach, I'm recruiting you to join my team," Tevin said. "I've been trying to find a tracker for my team! Now all we need is to teach you some divination spells and—"
"It's done, thank you," Zorian said. "I'm quite proficient in divination."
"Even better!" Taiwen said. "You're accepted."
"We'll see," Zorian sighed.
"It's fascinating," Imaya said. "I've never heard of the aspect of empathy, although I suppose it makes sense that someone who can sense emotions could use it to orient other people. But that's not what you want to talk about, is it?"
"No, it's not," Zorian nodded. "It's not common knowledge, but empathy is just the first expression of a more...dangerous ability. A sufficiently skilled empath can bridge the gap between minds and connect with anyone within range in order to pass through the mind Speak to them, read their thoughts, fool their senses or mess with their memories. Alanya has been teaching me how to do this."
He paused to observe their reactions. Well, none of them are quietly panicking or angry, so that's encouraging.
"I have no intention of doing this to any of you without permission," Zorian said. "But at the same time I need someone to practice with. Spiders are not very suitable for this - their minds are too foreign to a beginner like me. I need a human volunteer and I hope you can help me, oh my little sister."
"Do you want to read my mind?" Kirill asked.
"Frankly, yes," Zorian said.
"If I refuse, will you still teach me magic?"
"Of course," Zorian said. "This is a request, not blackmail. If you won't, I'll have to find someone else to help me."
"Okay," she said. "I think I'll help you. But you can't talk to anyone about...what's going on in my head. In exchange, you have to tell me all your secrets!"
"Of course," Zorian smiled. "A fair deal."
- rest -
The entire confrontation went surprisingly smoothly, Zorian reflected. Of course, Imaya had been avoiding him ever since, and Kiriel had looked at him strangely, but neither of them were afraid of him or anything - just a little uncomfortable.
And, of course, there's Taiven, who clearly isn't bothered by his admission that he's learning how to read people's minds.
"Are you ready, Roach?" she asked, twirling her battle staff.
"I'm ready, yes," Zorian said, tightening his grip on the spell rod.
If he knew what Taiwen was thinking—and he did—she would immediately attack. Her fighting philosophy basically boils down to "attack hard and don't have to defend in the first place"... although she can also defend if pressed. In a protracted battle with her, even if his mage skills are higher than hers, he has no way to win, so if he wants to win here, he can only use trickery.
If only he could just barely win against her - her face will be so bright when she loses to little old "Cockroach".
In the blink of an eye, five magic missiles suddenly hit him. He let them crash uselessly against his shield and responded with a somewhat bizarre electric spell. A beam of lightning shot towards Taiwen, who put up his basic shield to block it.
On the way to its target, the beam split into three smaller beams - one spinning to the left of Tevin, another to the right, and a third directly above it. Then they all changed paths again, crashing into her from three different directions, completely bypassing the shield in front of her.
This is not enough. Somehow, Taiwen managed to smoothly transition from one-way shielding to full protection before the beam reached her. Zorian threw several smoke objects around the training grounds to blind her, relying on his mind to tell him where she was, and began to cast a complex spell that wasn't etched in the air as his position was obscured by the smoke. on his spell stick
Taiven responded by blowing out a few gusts of wind to disperse the smoke, hoping to catch him within the area of effect. She had just peeled off his smokescreen as he finished the spell, feeling his mana reserves almost completely depleted.
"If this doesn't work, this is the end of the battle," he thought.
A bright beam of concentrated power shot from his hand, slamming into Taiwen's shield. The shield burned at the point of impact, shattering almost immediately, and Taivin was lifted off his feet by the impact and slammed to the floor.
"Ouch," Zorian said quietly. "I think I went a little too far - she could have easily died if the guards weren't working properly."
- rest -
"Come on, Roach," Tevin growled. "Find those spiders of yours so we can complete this mission. I'm tired of this place."
Zorian sighed and refocused on scanning his surroundings. Things would go a lot faster if Tavin stopped snapping at him every now and then - talk about being a sore loser.
"Hey," a male voice whispered in Zorian's ear, interrupting his thoughts. "What happened between you and Taiwen that bothered her so much?"
Zorian glanced at Grant and thought about how to answer. He decided to be candid and honest.
"I beat her in a boxing match," he said. "She thinks I cheated."
Grant gave him a thoughtful look. "You defeated Taiwen in a duel? Aren't you in third grade?"
"Of course," Zorian agreed, then noticed a familiar figure appear on the map in his mind. "Oh hey, there they are."
Zorian knew it was all a load of nonsense. The watch was indeed somewhere else—specifically at one of the outposts used by the invaders to launch attacks on Aranea—but it was there because Aranea had placed it there. The idea is for Tevin and her team to stumble upon the outpost, realize they've stumbled upon something big - more than they can handle - and then report it to the authorities.
Zorian's job is to ensure that Taven and her team survive their encounter with the invaders.
"How convenient," Zorian scoffed, "getting the watch means getting rid of one of your enemies in the process."
"What a happy coincidence," the matriarch said easily. "After all, we both get something out of it - you get the location of the watch for free, and I get to solve one of my problems without risking the network. Now... do you want the location of the base?"
"Who is your enemy?" Taiwen asked.
"I'm not sure," the matriarch said. "The attacker is a mage controlling two war trolls, but the base must have more troops than that."
"War troll!?" Taiwen's face turned pale. “Oh my gosh, this is way more than we signed up for!”
"This guy is definitely not paying us enough to fight a few war trolls with the support of mages," Mumble said calmly.
"Maybe check it out anyway?" Zorian tried. "For example, looking from a distance? I might be able to know how many forces there are here."
"Yes," Taiwen said after considering it for a moment. "Yeah, we should at least check it out. No offense to the matriarch here, but a bunch of people running around in the sewers with tame war trolls sounds a little... unbelievable. Maybe she saw something else. .”
"I suppose it's possible," the matriarch admitted. "I haven't actually seen a troll before, nor was I personally present when the incident occurred, but they sound a lot like what humans would call a troll."
"Okay." Taiwen nodded. "Where did you say this base is?"
- rest -
The base is not actually in the city sewers. That part of the dungeon was patrolled and monitored to a certain degree, and it would be impossible to hide a large number of soldiers there for any considerable period of time. For that matter, spiders don't actually live in sewers either, although they consider them part of their territory. Instead, the Alanian base and various invader outposts are located in what the Koorian authorities refer to as the "middle layer."
It's not particularly uncommon for mages to drop to mid-level, but it's not a common occurrence either. The middle levels are too dangerous for unarmed civilians and mostly contain nothing of value that would appeal to dungeon crawlers and other adventurers. The city hires mercenaries every few years to sweep the area away from any obvious threats that have established settlements, and they usually clear out anything of value, leaving a large area of little value. For those who want to challenge themselves against the denizens of Hell and find riches, there's a hole that leads directly to deeper levels that haven't been excavated in decades.
The invaders timed their invasion well. The city was so focused on the Summer Festival and its related issues that it paid no attention to what was going on in the dungeon. This wouldn't normally be a problem, as it's rare for problems to materialize out of nowhere in just a few months - especially when there's little to no sign that something big is happening - but now...
"Oh my God," Taiven whispered, peering back into the camp from behind their cover. "They have a terrible army there!"
"Get down, you idiot," Gollum growled at her, pulling her behind the rock they were using for cover. "Do you want them to see you? If they notice us, we're dead. There are at least a hundred trolls and at least twenty manipulators out there."
"Sorry," Taiwen said. "It's just... so unreal."
"Well, I want to know..."
Silently he ran his fingers along the walls of the tunnel that had brought them here. The journey has been bumpy but smooth. It's too smooth and unnatural. The rocks they were hiding behind were the same.
"Obviously, this is more complicated than I thought," Zorian thought. "I bet one of the Arab mages built this tunnel specifically so we could find it. That would explain why no one seemed to notice this particular entrance, even though the other two entrances were guarded - they even Didn't know it existed.'
Well, anyway – it’s time to do your part in this guessing game. He took out a mirror from his backpack and silently cast a divination spell on it. The base certainly has a divination area, but its purpose is to prevent people from becoming aware of the base's existence. Since Zorian knew the existence and location of the camp, and was in fact right next to it, the entire ward was almost useless to him.
After five minutes of observing the camp through the mirror, Tevin decided she had seen enough and motioned for him to cancel the spell.
"Let's go," she said. "I want to get out of here before our luck runs out."
As the four of them approach a seal between the sewers and deeper into the dungeon, they are suddenly confronted by two hooded mages flanked by four trolls. For a moment, both groups stopped and tried to understand everything they saw, but neither of them really expected to hit each other.
When a mage ordered the giant to charge, the deadlock was broken.
Facing the charge of the four war giants, Thai and her two teammates did not hesitate. They raised their wands and bombarded it before the attacker broke. Zorian decided to let the mage busy and fired a small missile group composed of four puncture bombs, each of which each mage.
Several things happened at the same time. A mage let go of any spell he was performing, and raised the shield to successfully block the missiles attacked by him. The other person's technology was poor, and his shield was lost -the two punctures directly hit his chest, and he fell into the blood rain. Guru and Manbul used the fast flames to stop the dragons from the dragons, but when the three of them really retreated from the flames, the largest, armored boulder tilted forward, a bit blank but not injured.
Thailand knocked all of them with a violent siege hammer, intending to knock down the entire team, leaving them some space, and it was generally successful -three of the triads and surviving mage were thrown into the tunnel deeper. Here, far away from them, but the giant monster in front insisted on the position.
It raised a huge hammer to attack the top of the head, and screamed to launch a challenge. Its screaming was like a physical blow, which made them stingy, almost like the narrow version of the siege hammer just exhibited by Thai.
But he had too late to think about it, and the troll immediately rushed forward while this distraction.
Zorian crazyly set up a huge shield in front of everyone, trying to fight for time. Sadly, the troll is too smart to hit the shield directly. It smashed the shield violently with a wolf stick -once, twice, and three times. The shield broke down, the troll kicked his chest, ejected him backwards, collided with Gu Langte and Manbul, and interrupted any moves they were about to exhibit.
On the other hand, Thailand successfully completed her task. A flame vortex surged forward, killing the surviving mage and the other three other trolls who were going to help their companions, but the leader of the giant was just burned.
And very very angry.
"Damn," Thai said softly, and the troll raised a wolf tooth stick to start a fatal blow.
Although he knew that her death would not be permanent, although he knew that when he agreed to participate in this plan, this would happen, and Zorian was completely shocked by finding that he had thought about the idea of watching Thai being pressed to death. He was killed because of his conspiracy ...
He stretched his hand to the soul of the troll and found that it was no longer mute -although the Thai mantra failed to burn the troll, it seemed to have burned anything to protect it from the infringement of the spiritual magic. He did not try any complicated attacks, but simply drowned it with meaningless nonsense and impacted its thoughts with a random mind.
The troll shrank and spasm, stopped attacking and threw the wolf's teeth stick in his hand. Zalianli threw two explosive blocks under its feet.
"Thai, come back soon!"
She did not need to be told twice, and immediately woke up from the blank, climbing out of the giant devil backward. As soon as Zerian judged that she couldn't get enough, she started the bomb, and the troll was surrounded by the deafening explosion.
Somehow, it still survived. It was kneeling on the ground, covering his legs in pain, and his body was bleeding, but Zorian could already see that its flesh was sticking together.
Damn, what's going on with this giant! ? Is this a super troll or what?
Then the two ice -blue beams directly hit the giant's chest. The benefit of Gulang and Manbul. The creature immediately stiffened and motionless.
"Are you finally dead?" He asked.
"I don't know, I don't care," Thai said. "Before we meet another person, let's disappear."
Zorian shivered and took a deep breath, nodded and agreed. Then he tried to take a step, and the pain on his legs frowned. He can walk, but he knows that he will be injured in the rest of the week.
"It's best to be worth it, your damn spider," he thought.
- rest -
[So are all done? ] asked the matriarch.
Zorian held the stone plate in his hand tighter. [Yes. I just said that, isn't it? Fortunately, although the number of casualties is close, it does not cause actual casualties. In many ways, our close contact with death is beneficial to your plan, because Thai is really angry with these people and is determined to make them. She will report to the municipal government tomorrow. I sincerely hope that you will not arrange for us to enter the group of people, Miss Missing Miss, otherwise I will be angry with you. ]
[Don't worry, I have nothing to do with this matter,] The female chief promised him.
[Well,] Zori sighed. Maybe he was a bit paranoid, but in the past few restarts, the behavior of the female leader became more and more mysterious, and he would not let her do such a thing. [And you? Is your mission accomplished? ]
[Yes,] The female chief confirmed. [I have contacted Zach and told him that the spider knows the time cycle. ]
