Chapter 1722

Chapter 1722

Zack Krum kept his limbs as tightly wrapped around himself as possible. The interior of the barrel rubbed against his tailbone and elbows unpleasantly. He was almost constantly chewing on his lips. Part of the source of his tension was the cramped space inside of the barrel, but the other part of the problem was that if he moved too much and gave himself away...

There was a shudder beneath him and then the transport barge’s Engravings engaged. Although he could not see it, his Skills picked up the spread of energy across the vehicle. A sense of vertigo followed them upward as they took off and headed to the dock that housed long-range delivery vehicles.

Zack pressed his eyes closed, the inside of his eyelids as dark as the interior of the barrel. A gust of wind jostled the barge which jostled the barrel which rubbed his elbows against the wood. Yet even if this was unpleasant... this was his choice. He was leaving. He was going out to make a difference for Expira.

Not that Kharon necessarily restricted its students from leaving the city, but especially right now, the too friendly moss spirits would cling to them and reveal them to some of the patrolling members of Kharon’s defense force. Technically, they would not force you to remain in Kharon, but they would bring you back to complete a withdraw from Kharon Academy before you left.

For most of the orphan students who had staked everything to come to the Wandering City, that prospect was too painful to bear. Sitting in front of the piece of paper that required them to withdraw before leaving, most would break down and back down. Which was true for Zack as well; he blanched just to think about leaving Kharon Academy permanently. This way was better. As long as he snuck past the outer perimeter, he wouldn’t need to withdraw.

They might not let me back... but at the very least... Zack leaned his head forward and squeezed his temples between his knees. In my heart... Kharon Academy will always be my home. It’s given me everything.

After ten minutes of morose thoughts with the pain in his elbows steadily increasing, the floating barge landed again. Which meant... that he was halfway to freedom. Zack tried not to sweat as he heard the heavy tread of boots around him. The teenager thrust his thumbs into each of the small gaps between his fingers for good luck, pointer-middle, middle-ring, ring-pinky. The silent sensation of skin sliding across skin calmed him down.

“I hate biological transportation,” A low voice grumbled. The barge creaked as the man stepped up onto it. “What is this? Stinks like salt.”

“Tank raised Gutfish,” A woman’s voice responded. “Apparently a delicacy brought out of a Dungeon by someone from the Order Ducis. Very rare, which means very expensive. It’s a booming industry... but they need to be served fresh or else you can taste that stink when you bite into them.”

“So we are hauling barrels of seawater,” The grumbler continued to grumble and the explainer snorted. They both quickly moved around Zack Krum’s barrel and began to shift the various containers into new positions. Zack clenched his fists and said a silent prayer.

Mr. Ghosthound, if you can hear me... Let me escape here. I know I’ll make you proud...

Suddenly it was his turn. He pressed his lips together as the container was jerked upward and bobbed toward a new destination. With the transport workers' high Strength and Endurance, Zack was betting that the individual wouldn’t possess enough Wisdom, Focus, or Perception to notice the small difference in weights between his body and barrel full of seawater. Which was a bit of a gamble, but this was the best plan he could manage, even after weeks of planning.

Speed wouldn’t fool the guards of Kharon. So he needed to take advantage of the few areas governed by greedy enough individuals that they would overlook small problems.

But Zack could wait no longer. The Calamity had begun. Monsters started showing up everywhere, harassing and clashing against the various defense forces. The constant hordes weren’t so bad, but the Major Warp breaches...

Bzzzzzzzzz

Both students of Kharon Academy fell silent and twisted around to stare at the new noise. A small buzz saw poked out of the top of another barrel and began happily cutting the lid to pieces. Sawdust sprayed in every direction. As the wood fell away, a brass, featureless face slowly poked its way out of the container. After studying the two stunned individuals, the Brass Automaton clambered out and scuttled across the top of the barrels toward them.

“Hello!” The brass automaton’s voice was low, but it sounded a bit... different than the other BA’s that Zack had encountered. “My designation is BA-Zeta. I am the first experimental automaton brought to consciousness with the Ghosthound’s Engraving active. Like you humanoids, I am fleeing this city covertly. Perhaps we should journey together?”

“Interesting!” Todd said with excited eyes. “You are welcome to join us, Zeta! Why are you leaving Kharon? I didn’t know that BA’s wanted to leave the city.”

Us...? Zack Krum felt a bad feeling in his heart as he looked at these two weirdos.

Unfortunately, the other two didn’t seem to notice his qualms. BA-Zeta nodded. “I am special. And I leave the city to encounter other humanoids on Expira, to make a name for myself. Very literally; I wish to find my own name and not just possess a designation. A name... is my fondest wish!”

Beneath them, the transport continued to rumble.

*****

After discussing the history of the Nexus with Edraine for a while longer, Randidly calmed himself down. Then he focused his attention on addressing the horrible unease in his chest, both figuratively and literally: He began examining the situation on Expira.

He found both good news and bad news. The good news was that while a lot of people were displaced, the preparations the Zone governments made were currently sufficient. The number of deaths as a result of the monster attacks was still pretty low. Each loss of life was painful, but Randidly tried not to let himself be caught up too much in the number.

However, Randidly sensed the general situation and knew things would get much, much worse before they got better. His Pantheon didn’t bother to make it obvious that people would need to utilize one of the openings and charge through to the source to stop the attacks, so for now the various organizations were just focused on defending.

Perhaps more problematic, however, was the rising number of monsters wandering through the wilderness. The defensive preparations were currently sufficient, but soon a monster tide would come out of the mountains somewhere and overwhelm the exhausted defenders.

And then-

Randidly pressed his eyes shut and pulled his attention away. This was the Nexus. There were only so many dangers that he could handle on his own. The people of Expira needed to be ready as well.