Chapter Six Hundred And Forty Three - 643

Chapter Six Hundred And Forty Three - 643

Some time later, Archie sat himself a fair distance from the central glowstone; far enough away that he didnt have to listen to Beefs incessant questions, but close enough that he wasnt tempting some monster to sneak up and eat him. It was a delicate balance. Yet the longer Beef spoke to the Chanter, the more Archie was tempted to walk off into the dark and hope for the best.

Hed left the conversation when Beef got into talking about necromancy. The guy loved it, apparently. Everything Archie knew about it was from movies and old video games he barely remembered playing. Necromancers raised the dead, from skeletons to zombies. It made him uncomfortable, especially in the hands of what was clearly a teenager.

I was a piece of shit as a teen. Id sooner jump off a cliff than trust my teen self with so much power. Archie toyed with a dagger. The same one that had been pulled out of his shoulder. It was big enough to seem like a short sword to Archie, but then he was barely four feet tall in the first place. The dagger wasnt nearly enough to deal with Beefs Risen, if the Minotaur turned against him.

If any of them turned against me, Id be dead in seconds. Legless or not, even that old warrior would probably wipe the floor with the thief. What have you gotten yourself into, Arch?

The longer Beef had talked about magic and core spaces the more Archie found his Mind wandering. His feet followed soon after. The Ruin sounded scary as hell at first, especially the way those rock robots talked about it. Archie could admit their descriptions had driven a cold wedge of ice into his spine that had been hard to shake loose, so hed asked the questions he could about it. Yet the more the Elf talked the more he found the whole thing laughable.

The guy couldnt answer a single question with certainty, claiming most information on the Ruin to have been conveniently stolen by the Ruin itself. Instead, the Chanter just talked more about the Hierocracy, how they summoned Archie, Beef, and Felix to fight the Ruin on their behalf. The Elf also spoke of the Titan, explaining again how she was the only one the Hierocracy had gotten their hooks intothat caught Archies attention. He shifted stay away from the redcloaks a little higher on his priority list.

The last thing he wanted was to end up like her.

The TitanArchie breathed hard through his nose. The Titan was strong; there was no denying that. Hed missed a lot of the battle in the vault when blood loss and Pits explosive transformation knocked him out, but she had hunted him through cities and mountains and snow-clogged forest. He knew what the lady was capable of, knew before hed heard the whispers of what occurred, when the tide turned on their small party and Felix had to bring out the big guns to even knock the Titan down.

Shed still gotten back up. They didnt win.

Theyd just survived.

Blindsense is level 74!

END +2!

Archie swiped away the old notifications. Hed earned them while tunneling with Felix. Apparently his stats were shit compared to everyone else, because he was the only one whod stumbled into this cavern sweaty and trembling. Archie narrowed his eyes as he watched their leader reading from a small book. I havent even seen him sleep, once. Just how high is his Endurance?

Gains were gains, though, and that latest Skill level meant his entire Mind was on the cusp of Adept Tier. Just two more Body Skills and hed be fully Adept, which would hopefully make up a number of his deficiencies. Hell, hed even gained two levels! Archie hadnt gained a level in months. As bad as things were, shit was looking up.

Core space isfine, I guess. Archie considered his hands. Could be better. The way Beef had been talking about his weird bug-house made Archie feel like he was missing something. Maybe I could ask the spear lady to look at it. If she can help that kid, imagine what she could do with me.

A sharp shattering broke the silence, and Archie flinched.

Haha! You missed! Beef crowed, lowering the immense bulk of his ice hammer.

The Homunculus bowed slightly at the waist. You shielded yourself with the hammer head. Very good. Again.

Hey, you two. Busy flappin gums when we could be trainin? Evie walked from the deeper shadows, one hand gripping the chain around her waist. She jerked a thumb toward Beef and Hallow. Why not spar with me?

No.

Psh, too busy suckin on that oversized marble, eh?

Indeed.

Then that leaves me an you, thief. Fight me.

There was a dangerous glint in the girls eyes, and it set alarm bells ringing in his head. Ill have to pass. Fighting isnt my style.

Evie looked up over slowly, and that dangerous glint grew into something uglier. I shouldve known. Willing to risk everyone to steal somethin, but cant be bothered risk yourself.

Evie.

The spear lady showed up, though Archie didnt see where she had come from; shed simply appeared. Evie didnt look at her. What?

Walk with me. I think Ive found a small nest.

That got her attention. Monsters? Good. She unraveled her chain and twisted it, setting it coiling around her left forearm. I need somethin to hit.

The two vanished, off toward the far end of the cavern. Archie let out a small, relieved breath.

Yintarion shook his head. Watch yourself, child. That one is angry at everything right now.

Archie wasnt stupid; he knew she was pissed off, and he knew why. I didnt ask them to follow me onto the Undermount. And I didnt ask them to help me in the vault, either. All I needed was the array to go home.

How was it his fault that her dad got hurt? Uncle? Whatever. It didnt matter. Archie wasnt ever gonna fight herhe had no desire to be cut up into little pieces by that chain of hers.

Archie had spent months learning to survive in this stupid world. Hed crossed cutthroats in the gutter and in ballrooms. Time after time, he faced death by butchers and cops, but every time he got away. Hed taken every advantage he could, eking out a life in this hellhole they called the Continent. For a long time, survival had been enough.

That time was over.

Archie needed to escape for real. Back home. To Earth. He eyed Iiana, sitting in a circle with her fellow Eidolons. Inside of her was the array hed worked so hard to steal. His way out.

He just had to bide his time.