Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 62. Slumbering In The Realm Of The Gods

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Nox wanted to express his anger at Michelle and Ernest for hiding the truth from the party. However, he had no leg to stand on. Fortunately, none of them had seen Lillin's unusual durability during the fight. Gravity magic wasn't enough to explain why her clothes had so many tears and blood stains, but no scratches or scabs remained. Nox's healing pills were excellent for surface wounds but still needed a couple of hours to remove all traces of injury. Michelle offered to cast a regeneration spell, but Lillin rejected the offer.

Annabelle used her spells to find the party a place to rest for the night. The carvings and crumbling idols suggested it was the remains of an ancient temple. The trimmed foliage around the building and lack of moss on the exterior walls meant it saw regular use. The insides had no fungus, and it appeared like someone had taken a broom to it recently. Nox assumed it was a temple of some sort.

The Beaufort siblings enlarged their coffin until it occupied half the main hall. Ernest set up the equipment while Michelle got several cauldrons going. Nox had brought his portable alchemy set, but the siblings rejected his help. Before approaching Michelle, he waited until Ernest was out cold on a cot with several pipes growing out of him.

“You could’ve told us you were coming along,” Nox said. “There was no need to hide it from us.”

“I know.” Michelle fidgeted, looking guilty. Her eyes focused on the stone floor. “Ernest wanted to tell you the truth, but I convinced him otherwise. She glanced at Annabelle. “Not everyone liked the idea of me accompanying the party but not contributing to the fights.”

“I hear delvers often have support staff with them, and their mortality rates are high,” Annabelle said. “We were more concerned for your safety than ours. Why didn’t you tell us Ernest can shrink people, too?”

“It’s an expensive spell that drains most of his reserves to keep active,” Michelle answered. “Besides, it's a Beaufort family secret, and I’m the only person it will work on, and only while inside here.” She waved at her mobile laboratory. “It's how we escaped the Imperian Inquisition. I’m sorry. We don’t know you well enough. I didn’t want to leave Ernest’s safety in your hands.” Her cheeks reddened as she finally looked up at them. “I wasn’t wrong. That was a stupid, risky move. I don’t like the idea of you separating either.”

“Wilson and I were in more danger than Ernest.” Annabelle sounded defiant as she spoke. “Transparency regarding his capabilities or limitations could’ve gone a long way.” Michelle frowned, and her shoulders squared. It looked like she was on the verge of arguing. “But, I’ll admit, this was my fault.” Annabelle sighed. She slumped down on the floor. “I got careless while scouting. After dealing with the stalkers in the last rift, I should’ve prepared something to help deal with shadow essence.”

“Are you still splitting up tomorrow?” Michelle enquired. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“I know you don’t trust me right now, but believe me. We got most of the garrison’s defenders.” Annabelle approached the Beaufort woman and took her hands. “Shadow Essence excels at hiding small, weak creatures. You’d need an adept or stronger spell to hide a significant threat from me. It wasn’t just my Danger Sense and Farsight that took me in there. I sense something good. I mean really good in there. It could be a vault of some sort.”

“Lillin and I also found something worth checking out,” Nox said. “We don’t know what it is, but it could be a path to the boss. Since we only have today and half of tomorrow to clear the rift. It's for the best if we investigate it. Otherwise, we might miss out on the clearing bonus and lose more money on this expedition than we make.”

“Better alive than crippled and rich,” Wilson commented.

Everyone ignored Wilson. However, there was no denying that the man had made Annabelle’s life easier doing the battle. Without his support, the asuras would’ve pushed her into the ruins behind them. She would’ve probably fared better in the enclosed space but would end up trapped until Nox and Lillin came to their aid. Annabelle would have no choice but to block the entrance with Trap Foam and hunker down.

The party split responsibilities and started on their jobs for the evening. Before Nox went around setting up traps around all the temple’s entrances, he approached Wilson. He handed the older man a few vials of pills.

“I don’t need these,” Wilson said. “I can heal myself.”

“The green ones will stave off exhaustion. The blue will increase your body’s ability to absorb ambient mana.”

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“But—”

“You said you’d stay out of the fight, but we know that’s impossible.” Nox glanced over his shoulder, ensuring Annabelle was out of earshot. “Though confident in her magic and sigil, we both know your mistress’s martial skills aren’t quite where we’d want them to be. You did an excellent job ensuring nothing got close to harming her when her Danger Sense failed. I’d like you to continue doing so.”

The men stared at each other in silence for several long heartbeats. Nox knew Lord Oakheart had sent Wilson to keep an eye on him. Protecting Annabelle was only a fraction of his responsibilities. His master suspected Nox and Lillin played a role in Victor’s death—Lord Oakheart wasn’t wrong—and wanted to ensure the same didn’t happen to his oldest daughter. Wilson nodded after what felt like an eternity and accepted the vials. Nox piled more on him, explaining Trap Foam and the different smoke pellets.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I’d like to make one more request.”

“If the rift destabilizes for any reason, it looks like it's evolving, or something is about to go wrong, take Annabelle and retreat. Use whatever means necessary and get her out. Okay?”

“Lord Oakheart instructed me to do the same. Mistress Annabelle won’t be happy about it, though.”

“Too bad,” Nox said. “She’ll be sad if something happens to us, but she’ll get over it.”

“I can’t tell whether you genuinely care about her or are trying to convince me so,” Wilson replied. “But, okay. If it comes to it, I’ll hit her with a Stasis spell and carry her out of here.”

“Thank you,” Nox said. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” He studied the man for a second. Wilson excelled at maintaining a neutral expression. “Mind if I ask you a personal question?”

“I don’t.”

“How did someone with magic as rare and powerful as yours end up as an apprentice mage’s bodyguard?”

“I’m afraid that’s none of your business, Nox Ratra.”

“Fair enough. I was just curious.”

Nox couldn’t help but wonder how Wilson ended up with Stasis and time-based healing magic. Slow felt like the best starting point for the magic. There were known evolutions of it that walked the path of time. Stop was one such development of the cantrip. There wasn’t enough research on the matter, but Nox believed it linked directly to Stasis. He imagined a Manipulation planet would then develop the power into time reversal. Since Wilson had developed only control and healing spells for his mana system, his mana costs were likely exceptionally high for a Journeyman.

Nox would’ve liked to explore such paths if it weren't for his mana zone. He would’ve attempted a Shaping planet to create fields and barriers which froze approaching foes. A decent enchanted weapon then would’ve made short work of any enemy. It had incredible control and defensive abilities. Now, he knew it had recovery effects as well. It felt like a well-rounded spell set perfect for delving. However, since he worked as a household guard, Wilson only pursued development as a war mage. It wasn’t his place, but Nox considered it wasted potential.

Wilson and Lillin offered to take the first watch. Since Ernest didn’t need a lot of sleep, Michelle promised he’d take care of the rest once she finished reattaching her arm and adjusting his other bio-weaponry. Since Annabelle’s magic taxed her mind, everyone insisted she rest.

Nox offered to take a spot on watch duty, but the party suggested he rest, too. Since Nox had only just completed his Shaping planet, he instinctively gravitated towards old intent-driven habits. They fatigued him mentally. He played along but ended up spending hours Shaping. Lillin pulled him towards their tent so they could sleep together, but Nox needed to prepare.

The battle cost him several valuable arrows. Nox had six sonic, eight venom, two fire, two frost, and more gravity arrowheads than he cared to count. Fortunately, the fight proved fruitful, too. A pair of four-armed Asura spotted his crow’s nest and attempted to bring him down using projectiles made of fire and lightning. A simple three-layered frontal barrier had crystalized the essence. If the rift’s creatures had the power to wield such magic, Nox guessed they could resist them, too. However, he doubted it was the same for the ordinary grunts. So, he reserved his dearer arrows for the boss.

Eventually, tiredness got the better of Nox, and he went to bed. Annabelle had already fallen asleep. As he watched her chest rise and fall, a pang of guilt blossomed in his gut. She’d proven a valuable friend and companion. Lying to her felt wrong. However, after years of hiding Lillin’s identity from Mou, he had learned to deal with some guilt. He stretched out in his bedroll and put an arm around Annabelle before exhaustion took him.

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