Chapter 308: Power source

Chapter 308: Power source

I think we might have a complicated situation on our hands, the Housekeeper moves a strand of hair off her face.

Does she have a body that tough? Is she strengthening it? Does she have healing? I dont think she will answer me if I ask, and what the heck is that weird skill of hers? It has some disruptive properties, but there is something else as well.

Should I get angry at my duplicate for ruining my learning opportunity?

There is nothing complicated about this, Clonthaniel answers, Me and my buddy over here kinda have you guys in the palms of our hands. I dont think you have anyone capable of facing us, and even your oh so amazing barrier proved useless. Us choosing not to nuke this city is proof enough of our good will, he says mirroring the Butlers words as we were leaving.

That only gets a laugh out of the woman. A loud, amused laugh. Like an adult dealing with a child. So, why dont we go out of the city and fight properly? It would be

I ignore her and turn to my duplicate, I have located it.

The duplicate lets go of the Butler, kicks him with the tip of his shoe, and puts his hand on my shoulder.

The Housekeeper charges us, but before she reaches us, we teleport toward the anchor I placed deep inside the Bastion.

What a clingy woman, the duplicate complains. Was her skill really that much fun?

Yup. She wasn't very versatile, she mostly strengthened her body, and she was really tough and quick, but she did it really really well. One of her skills seemed similar to [Disruption], but it worked against any attack I tried, mana-based or not. It also didnt seem to cost her that much mana, it was super efficient.

I take a step, and we start walking through a circular tunnel with a flat bottom, through which we sense a source of mana while leaving some nasty traps behind us.

Thats it? Duplicaniel asks.

She also used some skill that allowed her to cut anything apart. Flames, mana, stone. Yes, yes, I know she has a Voidsteel blade, but it wasn't just that. Every attack she cut apart seemed to lose its effect.

Maybe I should fight her too.

We have a bit of time, I agree.

Exiting the tunnel, we find ourselves surrounded by vegetation. The room is a half sphere and its big enough to take probably 20 percent of the Bastions base; it's just that big.

The walls are covered in terraces, filled with plants and trees bearing fruits and simple vegetables.

Even the floor is fully covered in grass and plants. Colorful, vibrant. The air smells nice, and there is even a soft wind blowing.

Did you know that if you grow a tree in a room, it tends to be weak and often falls under its weight? A short man with a shaved head and wearing simple clothes says making his presence known.

He continues, The reason is simple. There is no wind. The wind blowing against the tree forces it to struggle and grow its roots deeper and stronger. Trees grown inside don't have that. He smiles, it's almost a friendly smile. Almost.

You must be the Armorer guy, the duplicate says in an effort to poke fun at him.

Yes, Im the Armorer, he nods seriously.

I can see the confusion on Clonthaniels face.

Before he says anything, the man continues, Of course, Im not the Armorer, I am the Gardener, you dipshit. The man turns to me, Are you the more reasonable one here?

I really really want to throw in some lame joke, just to be included, but in the end, give up and nod.

Good, as I said, Im the Gardener, and I really have no interest in you kids fighting. So, will you please remove the traps you left in the tunnel before the Housekeeper triggers them all just to test them?

I do just that, and a moment later, the duplicate does as well.

Thank you, the Gardener bows his head slightly and gestures for us to follow.

I already feel another conversation coming on. Damn, I really miss Tess. She would be much better at this.

Reaching the small summer house, we sit there and wait. The feeling of the wind blowing is nice, and the crystal producing the light is amazing. It even seems to produce heat and without looking, I would find it hard to distinguish it from the sun.

While we wait, the small man starts sending his mana to a series of tiny low-quality mana stones. He uses them to trigger watering or to make them radiate heat for the plants. Some bigger stones even generate wind, as they sit on pillars riddled with dozens of holes for the generated wind to flow through.

And all of that is powered by something even deeper underneath us.

And he is dead, his body is missing beneath the ribs. Belly, hips, legs, everything is gone. The rest is tied to a crystal, with the spine which extends a bit further beneath the ribs, the white bone feeling unnatural.

Yet, still, the heart of the man beats slowly but powerfully, each beat sending a pulse of mana into the mana crystal which glows in sync.

What do you think, used to be level 300, maybe 350 at most? I ask.

Probably something like that, but there is no way chumps like them killed him.

Maybe there were more of them, and only they survived, or they killed him in his sleep?

Or he fell down the stairs.

Both of us move closer, and without even looking, I know that his eyes are active, our minds trying to collect that immense amount of information. To avoid aftereffects, we both turn them off right after.

Oi, I just thought of something, I start. I, we, have plenty of mana, right? Our hearts generate a lot of it, much more than someone at our level should. So

The duplicate understands where I'm going, Okay, let's hide it a bit better to not end up as some creepy mana battery.

Sneaky mode will help.

Sneaky mode is perfect for that.

True, I agree and look around. Did you find anything interesting?

Nothing we dont know about or arent working on already, but man, is the Butler angry. He keeps trying to teleport in.

It makes sense now, why they tried so hard to distract us from getting here, I step closer to examine what remains of the owner of this Skyhold Bastion when I feel a movement behind my back.

Armor forms around my body, and I throw a burst of kinetic energy behind me, only for it to be absorbed as the armor is disrupted.

For a short moment, something holds my movements, and in slow motion, I watch as my duplicate tries to put a silver collar around my neck.

Mana under my skin moves, tearing it from inside and forming into a spike that stabs into the duplicate's hand. Right after, I change the frequency of my kinetic energy, and a short concentrated burst sends him a few steps back as he is unable to absorb it quickly.

I send some thermal energy to the wound I created, and it starts healing.

Well, I had to try, he says shamelessly.

The null collar is still on me, I say.

Yup, I found this one here and hid it from you. Anyway, you can't really blame me.

Thats true, but I can fucking kill you for trying to do so.

You can try, he says, returning my gaze.

Later, I will deal with him later. There is too much to be gained from our cooperation, and it's not like I didnt expect this behavior.

So, what was the plan? I ask and start examining the Lord again, "Isn't it too soon for confrontation?

That's why I gave it a try right now, and it turned out successful. It really caught you by surprise. The plan was to stop you from using mana, getting you under my control, and come up with a way to either inscribe myself into your mind, kill you, and take over your body. I didn't think of it that far.

I pause, Thats a good idea, it is probably much easier to use my body and try to replace my mind, rather than creating an entire personality imprint from scratch.

Right? Anyway, that clingy woman, the Housekeeper, is digging a tunnel down there, and the Armorer seems to be trying something as well, so let's hurry. He passes by me and burrows his hand into the chest of the dead man in front of us and pulls out the still-beating heart which continues to do so even outside of the mans chest.

The amount of mana it generates seems equivalent to the entirety of mine with the Mana Reservoir included.

In my duplicates place, I disrupt the Butlers attempts to create a rift. They become much more aggressive, and I can feel the desperation coming from him, the Housekeeper as she digs, and even from the Armorer.

I will keep the heart going and our defenses up. I should be able to do it for ten or fifteen minutes before the heart needs to go back into the chest. So you will have to do the talking.

Sounds good, let's get ourselves some nice stuff and more information. Something tells me they will be more willing to cooperate now.