Chapter 390: The Workshop

Chapter 390: The Workshop

So far, I have seen multiple places survivors had holed up in. The first was the obsolete bunker where Nina and others lived AKA the Sanctuary. Another one was the Fallen Bastion, the Skyhold Bastion with its running defenses and city-like structure.

Then there were the bunkers in the Valley. One of them was abandoned, higher tier than the Sanctuary, but empty just the same. Lastly, The Veil Ignition Station. A Top-notch laboratory with a number of facilities and a core of such high quality that it still held an immense amount of mana even after 100 years.

The place we find ourselves now is hard to compare to any of them. It doesn't look like a bunker, it’s makeshift at best. I'm also fairly sure it's not a Veil Ignition Station, given the bare bones accommodations.

“It used to be a mine and a workshop,” Lissandra says.

“It's massive, what could they have been making... ah, Skyhold Bastions?”CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

“Yes. The people of this world seemed to be obsessed with them, this was probably one of the assembly lines for the larger portions..”

“I can’t find any monsters,” Myrra notes.

“Even though they seem to be wounded, this place is still being guarded by a Champion, little kitten.”

“So what are we doing here?” I ask.

“I want to speak to her.”

I don't even bother mentioning that that might be a bad idea. Not because everyone is trigger-happy. It has more to do with my fear that this cockroach-like ex-Absolute might just try to deal with that person the same way she does with Myrra and me. That does beg an interesting question though. Who would win?

Another thing comes to mind now that I'm thinking about it. It’s currently my one hour rest period. Did she time our arrival here on purpose?

What a demon, I’m sure Vega would like her.

We stop near the giant iron door that likely served as an entrance for the larger parts of the Skyhold Bastions and wait for a response.

Even I have noticed a web similar to Sophie's and to the Veil all over the place. Not moving covertly, Lissandra even triggered some parts on purpose. Something akin to sending a message. The reaction doesn't take long, two men exit a much smaller entrance nearby which opens with an eerie silence.

[Frost Reaper - lvl ??]

[Solar Ascendant - lvl ??]

Just a glance betrays that they come from the generation before the war. An additional piece of information for me. Somewhere between levels 200 and 300, your aging slows on the order of centuries.

It’s not like they could pass for twenty, but they could easily pass for someone in their forties. The most likely cause I can think of is a combination of stat investment and body upgrades, especially the one at level 250.

The more I learn, the more of a mess I expect to find when we return to Earth. The consequences of someone being able to live for hundreds of years won’t go over well with some people. It will create a clear division, separating us from normal humans.

One of the men, a slim individual with a friendly face, bows quickly. In exchange, Lissandra makes an elegant gesture, acknowledging the greeting.

“Lady Niall told us about you. Please allow me to offer you a greeting, lady...?”

“Lissandra.”

He nods, “I greet you, Lady Lissandra. I extend an invitation to the Workshop on behalf of Lady Niall. You will be safe as long as you show no aggression. This, we promise.”

“Thank you. Lead the way and please extend my greeting to Lady Niall along with my interest in having a conversation with her.”

I almost don’t recognize Lissandra right now. She is extremely graceful, authority seeping from her words, without seeming arrogant, There’s just enough command in her bearing to make her seem regal. She slips into her role as easily, as a comfortable pair of shoes.

When she introduces Myrra and I, I feel like a country bumpkin.

Well, it's not like it matters what two random guys think of me, so I don’t even bother trying to imitate Lissandra.

At that exact moment, the lights flicker and I could swear I feel the place shake. The tremors gradually stop, but in their place, I feel an immense wave of mana wash over us. The lights flicker again, and somewhere in the distance, I can hear alarms ringing.

Just in case, I keep my eyes on the door, and my mana at the ready. I have anchors placed all across the room, going so far as to place a few behind the window, near the waterfall. Myrra's activated her Aurora Glass as well, the tiny pieces of glass-like material sparking in the light as it hangs in the air.

One more burst of mana flows through our surroundings before rippling out into the distance, covering an area I find hard to imagine. Then the mana disappears and the lights stop flickering.

There are no guards rushing in and gradually the alarms stop.

A minute later, the doors open and Lissandra enters the apartment, closing them behind her.

“We will be staying here for three days, after that we will head north,” she says.

I try to examine her but there are no wounds to be seen, no damage to her clothes. She looks like she just came back from a short walk.

“How was Champion Niall?” I ask.

“Her mana heart is damaged and can’t be restored by her own body. She’s failed to find any healer capable of working on a mana heart belonging to someone at her level. She has three years at most before she loses control and kills everyone around her in one of these seizures. That, or the thing lodged inside it, will kill her.”

“You said you intend to make your own heart, are you thinking of helping her?”

“It could be possible with the arm of the Absolute in my possession, but I already have a different idea for that and there is no reason to waste it on a fake who allowed herself to end so pathetically.”

The contempt she displays now is genuine. She has no mercy for someone so powerful who’s allowed herself to fall into such a state.

Seeing how far this fake Absolute went, through all her mad schemes, it is evident she has nothing but contempt for Champion Niall’s apparent surrender.

“I will teach her a method of containing these outbursts that should buy her a few more years. In exchange, she will give me the information I want and give you a lesson, little pup. It’s for something I can’t do currently.”

“Lesson from a Champion? I guess I’ll be owing you quite a lot, that is if you don’t kill me at the end of these two weeks.”

“You might be having fun now, little pup, but I give you a ten percent chance of succeeding.”

Her words remind me of the situation I'm currently in. Without [Focus], the hint of fear that washes over me feels more real. Ever since I stopped using it to suppress my emotions it’s like everything changed. It’s not like I’m watching things happen from a distance, instead, it’s like all my emotions have come flooding back.

But that much is fine. There is no way I will let a small bump in the path stop me. Part of me even welcomes it.

“Sounds good, but why don’t we add a little extra to the rules?” I challenge her.

Lissandra turns to me and I can see Myrra gesturing wildly for me to stop. That silly lynthari knows me too well. But I let the emotions take over.

“Let’s raise the stakes and say I need to get 4 skills to level 50 for you to spare me.”

Just for a short moment, a hint of surprise flashes behind Lissandra's eyes. She observes me, and seeing I mean it, she gives me that small, almost imperceptible smile.

“Little pup, think very carefully about what you are saying right now.”

She underestimates me, and it irritates me.

“Five skills,” I declare.

My emotions are wildly swirling inside of me. To be honest, it's annoying how accustomed I've grown to dampening them.

Yeah, it won’t be that bad being unable to use [Focus] for my emotions, it will be much worse than I expected. But I think, in the end, I will like it more.

If I don't get killed before that.