Chapter 439: Thylarin brothers

Chapter 439: Thylarin brothers

The guides don’t seem to tell me how to control Deathtrap or operate the control panel. Even getting access is difficult, and just looking into it, I have to go around, wasting time and mana.

It's clear that they have a vested interest in restricting access to the controls, and all our guides seem to bear some kind of mark that makes it easier for them to control the flying train/ship and while barring them from taking specific actions. Otherwise, they go kaboom.

At first, I think it must be the work of someone like Sophie, and yet the guide’s marks feel more limited in scope. Sophie, on the other hand, should be able to do more given some time.

Even so, while guides no. 1 and no. 2 take care of our defenses and mana usage while paying special attention to the engines, fields, navigation, stabilizers, and auxiliary functions, I try to learn as much as possible about the controls. I've done more difficult things, this shouldn’t be a problem and I’ve been studying the wide variety of blueprints recorded on the many mana stones I’ve taken from the previous floors every night before bed.

It won’t be long before the guides can screw off. I’m sure if I split my mind with [Focus] I should have no problem controlling this rusty thing on my own. I can just use [Infusion] to get myself in, I can [Resonance] at the right times and then use my eyes and [Mana Manipulation]. Easy as that.

Even so, I may as well let them handle it for a while and teleport back into our room, where the rest of group 4 is waiting, along with some of the leaders of the more powerful groups abroad.

Tess, Sophie, and Izzy seem to be busy talking to the blue guys so I head towards the corpse of the marauder. Lily stands there as well, poking and probing at it.

“Was it strong?” I ask, my voice taking on a hushed tone. I don't want to bring attention to myself.

“It cut me in half, here,” she gestures horizontally from one side of her waist to the other. A part of her shirt is missing, allowing a section of her belly to peek through.

Even as she talks about being cut in half, Lily continues to smile, “It didn’t even use mana so its stats must be great and its natural weapons must be very strong to deal that much damage to me. You know, I’ve already altered my bones a bit and it still cut through.” She states, shaking her head at the thought.

Yeah, more typical Group 4 behavior.

“What about the mental attacks?” I ask.

“We don't know. Twins think it might have been some sort of hypnosis that didn’t rely on mana, Sophie theorizes it was a gas we couldn't see or smell. Kim thinks it’s something like primordial energy given that they don't seem to affect the sand. Though there might be other stuff like that.”

“Do you think one of the guides was keeping it as a pet?” I ask, giving the body a prod as well. It feels like glass to the touch but it’s still slightly warm and very tough.

“Izzy thinks so,” Lily nods. “We also got some information from the groups that were colluding with them and each one has a different story. Some were promised positions of power in the central region, others were told stories of great items, while others were told we’d be looking for a way to leave the moon.”

“So they were just pawns to be thrown away as needed and our blue friends are the only ones left who might know something.”

“Yes.”

“They know something but they’ve been refusing to talk. They want to strike a deal,” Sophie says, joining us with a sigh. She seems tired. “I couldn't get much from them, they have good mental defenses and they set traps, if I push any harder they will die.”

“They shouldn’t have any mana,” I note.

“No. They shouldn’t. And yet they do. I'm almost certain they didn't have any when you brought them back so maybe they have a passive that’s let them in some way recover the little bit of mana they needed to set their mental traps. Maybe it's just a trait that makes them resistant to mental attacks, one that might not need mana to operate.”

“That sucks. We’re going to hit the storm In a few hours and the guides can't change the trajectory. Even if they could, it's too late.” I poke the marauder’s corpse one more time and stand up.

“Yes, they passed me the information. Did you see the new side quest?”

Huh?

I open my notifications in surprise and sure enough, there’s a new quest.

Side quest:Survive

Reward:

???

Beyond 3-day stay token

Objective: survive. Oh, how I missed this kind of quest.

After that, the room becomes too rowdy as some of the leaders start screaming at the two blue guys who simply laugh in their faces. The Dawnslayer however, is quiet, just going by his expression and behavior it wouldn’t take a genius to guess that he has some kind of concentration skill.

I watch as Tess kicks a few of the guys out and zaps a few more rendering the room more or less silent.

She doesn't even seem to be all that angry, it’s more like she’d gotten stuck dealing with a particularly annoying set of kids, issued spankings, and left them sobbing quietly in the corner.

[Manabreaker - lvl ??]

[Manashroud Shaper - lvl ??]

Not gonna lie, I liked their class names before and I still do. They certainly seem to be a bit more civilized than the rest of the heretics.

Now that all their limbs have been restored they stand there surrounded by others, and yet they don't seem worried, hell they’re even smiling.

On the other hand, Lily has much shorter hair now, and while I can't see it at the moment, I think she also sacrificed a body part for more mana. She probably used [Sacrifice] to keep her mana topped up, just in case she needs it.

“I'm Dravos and this is my brother Drekar, what's your name, crazy human?” One of the blue ones says, introducing himself; they look nearly identical to each other.

“Does it matter? Just tell me what you want.”

“I thought we’d show some respect to each other. As fellows who walk the path of mana.”

“Sure. So how did you mess with my anchor?”

Someone from the people around us mumbles, “We do not have time to...” but gets interrupted by Biscuit who woofs at him in a warning. That makes the man shut up immediately and his expression as he looks at Biscuit seems to be full of fear.

Dravos lifts one hand and flicks his fingers, bringing my attention back to him, “Your anchor functions on a fixed resonance within your mana spectrum, directly linked to your signature. A slight adjustment—modifying the mana field around it to disrupt that resonance—is all it takes.”

Another hand gestures to his brother, Drekar, who nods. “We calibrated the surrounding mana flow to dampen the anchor’s resonance. Not enough to shatter it—you’d detect that—but just enough to destabilize the connection. A minor phase alignment shift, and... well, we had a pleasant surprise waiting for you.”

Dravos grins, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Of course, it’s much harder when you're dealing with someone as skilled as you, crazy human. But we couldn’t resist the challenge.”

“So you just disrupted it slightly without breaking it.”

“Crazy human, it's not that simple.”

“But that's what you did, right?”

“Yes, but...”

“Got it. So what did you want to say?”

The two brothers look at each other, just as confident as before.

“We want to live, obviously,” Dravos says.

Drekar nods and says, “Dying in this shithole wasn’t part of the plan, and your group seems to be the one in charge.”

“So we have an offer for you.” Smoothly following his brother’s words, Dravos joins in.

“Just say it,” I demand, challenging them.

“So impatient.”

“We were like that once, brother.”

“Not as much as him.”

“No, not as much, but we can understand.”

“Yes, we can,” Dravos turns back to me with a big smile, “This place is called Mana Desert. Do you know what its purpose is?”

“No,” I answer honestly. I have ideas, but nothing I can be sure of.

His brother spreads all four of his arms wide and announces theatrically, “There are five unique Containment Arenas, also known as Containment Cells, within the Astral Prison. Each one is distinct, designed specifically to restrain a powerful being.”

Dravos continues, “The Mana Desert is also one of these places—a solitary confinement cell—and we’re currently approaching the Champion it holds.”