by Aaron Oster
Cost – 1,800 RP
AOE - 20 Ft
Duration - 30 seconds
Cooldown - 24 hours
Morgan was momentarily taken aback when he noticed some small alterations to his skills. The most notable among them being the reduced RP cost for many of his skills. Now that he thought about his, his core had been using his reiki a lot more efficiently since he’d advanced his ability earlier that day.
Even now, he could feel that his core was once again ready to heal him, should the need arise, despite the heavy fighting earlier that day. Something which had taken a full twenty-four hours before his advancement to the Intermediate stage, took way less time now. If he thought about it that way, then in made perfect sense for his skills to cost less. He also noted that his newly bestowed trait was already improving, bringing him one step closer to gaining the Perfect Body that Dabu had spoken about.
Closing his status, Morgan took a few deep breaths, feeling his core’s increased activity as it began pulsing more rapidly. Revitalizing energy washed through him, cleansing his body and mind from any lingering fatigue and giving him the feeling of having a good night’s rest. Activating Aura sense, Morgan could feel people all around him, but none close enough to spot him, should he sneak out.
Extending his senses, Morgan could vaguely feel another large gathering of people roughly ten miles to the north. The distance was too great for him to make out any detail at all, but he knew that Sarah would be there.
Moving silently, Morgan slipped out through the door of the small cabin, and took a quick look around. It was quite dark out, with only torches lighting the camp around him. However, he found that he could still see quite well, despite the surrounding darkness.
Was this another perk of advancing his ability?
Morgan shook himself, dispelling those thoughts. He had a mission to complete and couldn’t allow himself any more distractions. Taking one last look around to make sure no one was watching, Morgan lifted slowly into the air. Once he reached his maximum height, he took off at full speed, racing for the North Kingdom’s war camp. He’d decided to put all his remaining attribute points into Agility, because while he was strong, speed had always been his greatest strength. If he might have to fight an army, he would need all the speed he could get.
51
Sarah came to with a pounding headache. Groaning, she slowly cracked her eyes open and winced as the pain in her head intensified.
“I apologize for my men being so rough,” a deep voice said from off to her right. “You can be rest assured that they were appropriately punished for their rash actions. We can’t have the future Queen of the Kingdom be treated so badly without severe repercussions.”
Sarah turned her head to the side, hiding a wince as her head throbbed once more. Her eyes came to rest on a man who appeared to be in his early forties. He bore a striking resemblance to Katherine, sharing her same violet eyes and general facial features. Where they differed the most was how they carried themselves.
While Katherine had always had an air of smug assurance about her, this man radiated violence. His face was hard and lined, and his eyes burned with an intensity that made Sarah feel very uncomfortable. She tried shifting in her chair, but found that she was unable to. Looking down, she could see metal bands wrapping her wrists and ankles, keeping her locked to the chair she was sitting in.
“I must apologize about that as well, but seeing as you were so uncooperative when your father tried to bring you back, we felt it prudent to take a few precautions.”
Sarah glared at the man and tried reaching for her power, but found herself blocked from accessing it.
Of course they’d have a suppresser nearby, she thought bitterly.
“You know that you won’t be able to keep me here. Someone will come for me,” she said, trying to inject as much confidence as she could into her voice.
“Oh, we know. But don’t you worry. When Morgan shows his face this time, we’ll be more than ready.”
Sarah’s head turned as her father entered the small tent, looking quite pleased with himself.
“Indeed. Your father has told me of your abduction and subsequent brainwashing by that hooligan boy. There is no need for you to worry, as he has supplied me with extensive information on his abilities. And while he seems to be a formidable opponent, there will be nothing he can do once my specialized unit gets ahold of him.”
Sarah felt her heart sinking with each word the King spoke. What he said was true. Her father had seen every one of Morgan’s skills. Well, all but one, but they would have accounted for that if Edmund was as intelligent as he seemed.
“There’s no need to look so crestfallen, my dear. A life of luxury awaits you, one that that boy could never have provided you. Your father was absolutely right in his attempts to keep you from that boy and, I for one, am grateful that he was so dedicated to seeing you back here with us. You are a lovely young woman and quite beautiful. You will make a fine queen.”
Sarah could see her father’s face growing more and more pleased as the King spoke. She didn’t share the sentiment at all, and she felt herself beginning to despair. She was trapped in her worst nightmare. Helpless and alone, unable to do anything for herself. Morgan was undoubtedly on his way here right now, but he was walking straight into a trap.
She could feel tears of helpless rage building at the corners of her eyes, but she would not allow them to fall.
“I am not your property, nor some object for you to attach to a Prince for your personal gain,” Sarah said, glaring at her father. “I swear that I’ll kill you for this. No matter how long it takes.”
“She’s got some fire in her, good,” Edmund said, nodding in approval. “You really have raised a fine daughter, Simon. Now come. My forces have already begun their attack on Herald’s flanks. Now we prepare for a frontal assault. Tonight, we finally crush that stubborn bastard and take the damn Kingdom for ourselves.”
Simon bowed, following the King out of the tent. He couldn’t help throwing one last jab in before he left.
“Once your little friend is dead, I’ll make sure to bring you his head on a platter.”
He laughed then, pushing his way through the tent flap, leaving Sarah alone to stew in her misery.
***
Morgan tried to increase his speed even more as he rocketed towards the North Kingdom’s camp. He could see the lines of troops stretching out below him, and knew that this attack on the Central Kingdom wouldn’t be some small skirmish. This was an all-out attack in an attempt to overwhelm the Central Kingdom’s position.
As he flew, Morgan finally began picking out recognizable landmarks, though it had been hard in the beginning. King Herald’s troops were holed up right near the far wall of the destroyed Capital city, while Edmund’s forces seemed to have set up inside the old academy. This worked just fine for Morgan, as he knew the layout of the area quite well, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the disadvantage of fighting in an unknown landscape.
He saw the walls of the academy rapidly approaching, and he pushed his Aura sense to the limit, straining for any sign of Sarah. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t pinpoint her yet. As he’d feared, there were just too many people, with too many conflicting auras for him to make out any one individual.
Flying over the wall in a blatant gap in their defenses, Morgan began scanning the area below. He could feel a cluster of people moving around near the western end of the academy, and changed his flight trajectory.
He was surprised at the number of people still in the camp. Seeing as such a large force had been committed on tonight’s attack, he’d been expecting the camp to be somewhat empty. Apparently, Edmund didn’t want to leave the place undefended, should the Central Kingdom launch an attack of their own.
Approaching the area where he’d sensed a large gathering of people, Morgan slowed his flight until he was merely floating in midair. A massive city of tents sprawled out before him. There were so many there, that
he couldn’t even begin to guess at their exact number. The entire area had been cleared of buildings and rubble, and defenses had been set up around the perimeter.
Guards patrolled in groups of five or six, moving efficiently and not leaving so much as a gap in their defense. For a normal person, getting in might have been difficult. Seeing as he most definitely wasn’t an average person, and that he could fly, Morgan was fairly confident he could get in. Especially so, seeing as it was so dark out and he was so high up in the air.
Looking around the camp, Morgan began searching the tents for something specific. While he couldn’t spot any one person, he figured that Sarah would be pretty well guarded. There would also likely be a few people who could suppress abilities, and since those particular abilities would cause pockets of clear space in an otherwise sea full of energy…
Morgan’s eyes locked onto one tent. It stood at the very center of the camp, and was surrounded by several barriers. He could see that the guard patrols around this area were a lot heavier as well. He didn’t immediately rush in, instead looking around the camp for other less likely areas. The first one he’d spotted was way too obvious, and screamed the word ambush. What he was looking for was a small area of disrupted energy. Just a tiny pocket in a relatively unimportant section of the camp. If he were Simon, that was exactly where he’d place Sarah.
There!
Morgan’s eyes fell on a small area near the far end of the camp. It was right near the wall, so it would be easily defensible from above, though the guard patrols in this area seemed almost lackluster. To his trained eyes, he could see that there wasn’t so much as a single moment when the tent was unguarded by at least one person, whether they were on the wall or on the ground.
Smiling grimly to himself, Morgan began to move. Flying swiftly, he took a path perpendicular to the camp, moving until he was well past the academy walls. Then he took a wide loop and headed for the wall on the far end. They might have been watching the area carefully, but they had made one crucial mistake, and it was one that he would be taking full advantage of.
The guards on the wall didn’t have so much as an opportunity to cry out. Morgan hit them like a bolt of lightning, shattering their skulls so fast that they didn’t even know what hit them. Catching the bodies of the four men, Morgan laid them down carefully so that their falling bodies wouldn’t alert any of their comrades.
Then, he waited. Crouched behind a battlement, Morgan watched the passing guards carefully, noting their timing and how their absence was filled by the patrol up on the wall. His eyes picked out three distinct figures that didn’t move. When he focused hard enough on each of them, he could sense the field of disruption their bodies were giving off. He waited for about fifteen minutes until he was sure that he’d memorized the guards’ patterns. Once he did, he waited for an opening and flew down, landing silently in the blind spot he’d picked.
Moving quickly up to the back of the tent wall, Morgan dropped to the ground, pulling up the bottom of the canvas and rolling in. It was dark inside the tent, and it took a Morgan a few moments for his eyes to adjust. Once they did, he looked around in confusion for a few moments. Instead of seeing Sarah, either tied up or sleeping, all he saw was an empty tent.
Was this some sort of decoy to throw him off?
Gritting his teeth in agitation, Morgan dropped to the ground and rolled back under the flap.
He would have to fly back up and look for another dead point in the camp’s aura.
“I knew you’d be coming, but I had no idea it would be so quickly.”
Morgan froze halfway out of the tent and looked up. Lord Simon stood before him, backed by no less than twenty guards. Even as he watched, he could see more guards moving to surround the area. He still couldn’t sense any auras, due to the suppressors still in the area. Morgan made this assessment in less than a second, and in just one more, he came up with his plan of escape.
Since the suppressors were stopping any skills from activating, everyone’s abilities would be useless. Everyone’s but his, of course. Morgan quickly rolled back into the tent and sprang to his feet, only to find that the tent was now occupied by no less than ten more guards.
Not a problem. Without their abilities, they were as weak as regular humans.
Morgan dashed forward, intending to bowl right through them. Instead of knocking them aside as he’d expected, he slammed into a wall of muscle and steel. He staggered back, looking at the men in confusion. There was still no activity from their cores, and they had no way to access their power, so how in the world…
The tent vanished, torn away in one quick motion and hauled into the air. And Morgan found himself surrounded by an army. Rank upon rank of grim-faced soldiers stood there, each clutching a weapon or showing signs of using an ability.
But how were they doing it?!
“Can’t figure it out, can you?”
Morgan whirled on the spot, seeing Simon grinning smugly at him. He then held up his hand, revealing a slim metal bracelet that shone with a reddish light.
“We figured that you had some sort of tracking skill after that challenge involving the beasts. After speaking with our resident tracker, he informed us that there were those who could track by seeing the mana or chi that we use to power our abilities. Naturally, we assumed that as a supermage, you would have this ability and set our trap accordingly.
“I received a gift from a benefactor of mine, the recipe for a special bracelet that would allow us to use our skills even in the presence of suppressors. I knew that you would be coming, so I set a trap. You would never go for the most obvious place. You know, the one with about a hundred guards and frequent patrols. The one set right in the center of camp, in the most fortified position possible.”
Simon’s grin grew even wider as Morgan realized he’d been tricked, and worse still, outmaneuvered. He still didn’t understand how. Didn’t Dabu say that he was on the path to Omniscience? Shouldn’t he be able to spot deception a mile away by now?
He knew there was no way Simon had figured out the nature of his tracking skill by himself. Someone must have told him something, and judging by how the last few weeks had been going, he could guess who. But it seemed that Samuel had failed to mention one crucial detail, and it was one that would cost them all their lives.
Morgan’s abilities could not be suppressed.
Simon spread his arms wide, motioning at all the soldiers around him.
“So Morgan, any last words before I kill you?”
“Yeah,” Morgan said, allowing his shield to flare up around him. “You probably shouldn’t have told me where Sarah was being kept. Thanks, asshole.”
Then he shot up into the air and angled towards the center of the camp.
52
Something smashed into Morgan as soon as he took off, slamming him back to the ground with enough force to crack his shield and leave an impact crater. He gasped, trying to understand what had just happened, when he heard Simon’s laughter.
“Idiot boy! Did you really think I didn’t know that your ability couldn’t be suppressed?”
Groaning, Morgan forced himself onto his side, before getting shakily back to his feet. Another man now stood beside Simon, his arms folded over his chest and his core blazing with red light. In fact, the entire area was once again filled with the red and blue that he was used to seeing. All of this was lost on him, as he stared at the man who had just casually knocked him from the air. The man with violet eyes, that were ringed with red light was standing before him.
An Evolved super!
“What was the point of the suppressors then?” Morgan asked, more to buy himself time than anything.
He already knew why. It was simple. The suppressors would have hidden the presence of all these soldiers from him, though he had no idea where they all been could have been hiding. Though if the man standing next to Simon was who he thought it was, it would explain that away with no problem.
“Come now. I was l
ed to believe that you were an intelligent boy,” Edmund said, folding his arms over his chest. “I’m sure you’ve already figured it out.”
Morgan nodded, breathing deeply to get his core to numb the pain of the bruises that had been caused when he’d hit the ground. The man was fast, much faster than he could hope to match. His core blazed with more power than anyone his rank should have, and if that alone wasn’t enough to convince him, the red rings around the man’s pupils most definitely were.
“Gold. What an interesting color,” Edmund said, stepping forward and scrutinizing him. “Is that what color a supermage’s eye gain when they evolve?”
Morgan didn’t answer, glaring back at the man.
“No matter, you’ll be dead within moments so I have no need to concern myself. I just thought you should know something, before we kill you. Otherwise, what would be the fun? As much as I enjoy conquest, I also enjoy crushing my enemies, both physically and mentally, before delivering the killing blow.”
Morgan could feel his anger at this man growing by the second, but did his best to rein it in. Anger would do him no good here. He was in an extremely precarious situation. Only cold, hard reason and critical thinking would get him out alive. The longer the man spoke, the more difficult it became.
He spoke of how Morgan was not worthy to even walk upon the same ground as nobility such as he and Simon. He criticized him for daring to abduct and brainwash a lady of nobility. How they were fortunate that she hadn’t yet been soiled by his filthy peasant hands.
“As much as I respect Simon, I would not have agreed to this match if his daughter had whored herself out to you. In that respect at least, I must thank you.”
Morgan’s fists clenched tighter and his teeth ground together as he felt himself losing control of his temper.
“Oh, does that upset you, boy? The fact that you never got to bed my daughter-in-law to be? Don’t worry, I’ll give her a test run tonight, after I’ve finished this damned war. I need to make sure she’s fit for my son, after all.”
