Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

19695 The 2nd Winter

“Let’s go through this one more time.” I whisper as we observe the grandiose store across the street under the cover of the night. “What’s the first step?”

“We approach while the varlets create a commotion on the square nearby.” Val accurately describes phase one, calling the thugs something more ladylike compared to vermin or trash. It’s an improvement.

“Good,” A little praise always helps. “Since security is tight and everything was built carefully, twice reinforced with mana, I’ll need some time to cut through the window and get us in.”

“And while you do that I stand guard and tear the whole thing down once you give the signal.” She nods, clearly antsy as this gig is nothing compared to anything we’ve done until now.

Hector didn’t need to use any underhanded negotiation tactics this time to get us on board because that place has something we really need to borrow. For four months we pocketed a little here and there whenever the task we were sent on involved money.

Sure we sold the Hadron crystal, albeit for a ridiculously low price since it was too large for the local market, but our refusal to pass a certain moral threshold didn’t help either. Lately the fights have been getting more fierce, directing us to new territories as the local gang conflict is entering a new stage.

It’s a shame. We made new friends and realized just recently that most people here are good men born in the wrong place with a golden heart… Heh, as if. They’re willing to sell drugs to anyone be that young or old, and would tear the food out of a child’s hand if their parents owed them any money. I hope they burn this place to the ground as the two sides tear each other to pieces.

Bloodcrows vs. Duskrunners, the final showdown. Do miss it or you’ll regret it.

That leads us to the last item on our grocery list, the void glass. It’s a highly regulated material, but what’s more worrying is that Hector has probably realized our little plan already. This jewelry store, which has a black market storehouse in its basement, almost certainly has that rare piece of onyx crystal in stock but the fucker needs us just as much as we need them to pull this off.

This is a race to see who can betray the other first.

The pressure is immense and the odds are basically life and death because I’d rather fight till they have to put me down instead of choosing captivity. Once we have what we came for I plan on blowing the entire place up, luring all the guards here and slipping away into the night.

According to Squirrel Man the work itself only takes minutes but once it’s done there’ll be nothing standing between us and freedom outside this wretched place. It’s a shitty plan and I’m fully aware of it but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Four o’clock, two more minutes.” I whisper.

My breathing is all over the place and I can feel my hands shake slightly but there’s nothing I can do about it. If we mess this up…

“It hasn’t been that bad.” Valka hums out of nowhere. “I ate well, slept well, fought people who deserve it, and didn’t have to fear for my life every waking minute.”

I can’t believe this girl. “Now is not the time-”

“But it is.” She giggles. “You can’t imagine how much better these last months have been compared to my days before I met you.” She flashes me a brilliant smile. “Thanks Eli.”

BOOM

That’s our signal.

“Let’s move.” Val simply leaps off the rooftop before I can start an interrogation into her wiseass words.

It takes me a second to bottle up my sass and put it on a shelf temporarily before jumping after her, cushioning my descent with some wind magic. The dark alley we find ourselves in gives us a perfect view of the store, the guards repositioning themselves slightly, and our designated entry point right across the busy main road we somehow have to cross.

Our quirky solution? Act like normal people fleeing the commotion and walk straight to the other side. There’s really no need to overcomplicate things.

I’ve gotten way better at sneaking around, in part thanks to my second Class, Shadow Rat, which is focused on stealth. And yes I hate that name. My original goal was to earn an artisan Class that dabbled in inscriptions and maybe do the job myself but I clearly haven’t earned one yet. I had an abundance of choices all focused on even more fighting and killing but I felt like this environment required a different approach.

And I’ll just reset it later on anyway.

The sentries stationed on that side do keep their eyes on us as we approach but before entering their danger zone we steer clear and move to a side street. Or at least that’s what we make it seem like. Now that we closed the distance they’re generously inside my mana control zone meaning Valka can go ham without making a sound.

By the time I emerge, she already has one in her grip by the throat while holding the other’s sword in her grip presenting me with an easy target. With a simple flick of my wrist, a pebble strikes him in the head, a fist-sized pebble, taking care of the disturbance so I can get to work.

“Hide the sleepyheads, this might take a minute or two.” I whisper, already hard at work carving through the stone.

Compared to the underground dungeon we marched across with all its magical wonders and security measures this building is like a shack. Sure there’s mana in every material and the builders were quirky enough to install some sort of alarm inscription on the windows and the bars protecting them… but not around the frame.

Chaotic Touch would really come in handy now.

I picked a relatively quiet method but in exchange pretty time-consuming using a phenomenon quite common but rarely noticed. Water is the key.

Using tiny but powerful jets I cut deep into the stone, making as many holes as I can with the time on hand. Every surface deteriorates slowly under the merciless hand of time and all I’m doing is speeding up that process a little… before winter arrives.

Water is a curious thing, expanding both when it cools or gets boiled till nothing remains. Poured into the cracks and holes I made, then frozen in mere seconds water shows similar results, if only a bit more destructive.

The stone gives in, splintering in places and breaking here and there as the structure fails. But ice by itself is not enough.

“Val.” I whisper for her to deliver the finishing touch.

We agreed with Hector on silent operation, just a quick in and out. But let’s not kid ourselves, I’m sure he has goons stationed all around us, waiting for us to emerge and drown us with numbers. Or at least that’s what I’d do.

So why not give them friends to play with?

“HRAAGH!” Her fist rushes past my face, crashing into stone and shattering it even though it should be the other way around.

Even though we weren’t all that active these last months we did earn a few levels here and there.

[Warrior lvl 95]

I still think she hits much harder than a normal sub-one-hundred Warrior should be able to.

As expected an alarm similar to a warhorn begins to blare, making us both wince and likely waking half the city. All part of the plan, sort of, and now we just need to hope for things to turn chaotic enough when we emerge.

Now or never.

We slip through the gaping hole in the previously pristine stone wall and ignore all the gold, gems, and other valuables lying on the floor, heading straight for the door in the back. All it hides is a simple storage room with cleaning supplies and other necessities, or at least that’s what it’s supposed to be.

“You do it.” I’m definitely not opening the secret entrance.

“No way, my nose is much better. And just can just magic it away in the first place.” Valka hisses, just as reluctant as I am.

“But it’s only an illusion.” Or that’s what the information said.

“Rock paper scissors!”

Ah, so we leave it for the Gods to decide…

She’s gonna pick rock. We just bashed through a stone wall and I’d be willing to bet this brute was born with her fists clenched.

“Go!” She hisses and the Gods guide our hands.

My paper against her… scissors? Why?

“Yes yes yes.” Her happy tip-tap victory dance doesn’t make it any easier to swallow the outcome but I’m a woman of my word-

I already knew the lavatory bucket, a filled one mind you, is the work of a clever illusion with its revolting smell and everything but I wanted to see her face as she shoves her hand into what looks like a bucket of shit.

I reach into it with a flat face, finding a leaver at its bottom and opening the bath to the basement with a firm pull. The floor retracts using some clever mechanical machinations instead of magic revealing a thigh staircase and a dimly lit room at the bottom.

We revert back to serious now that we’re stepping into unknown territory. Goofing is fine and helps to cope with whatever hardships we face but now is not the time for that. Valka takes the lead, moving as a living shield while I step close in her wake to support her at a moment's notice.

With the tensions sky-high we descend step after step, arriving in the secret basement only to find… Two trembling clerks, one guard with his weapon dropped to the ground and a veritable warehouse down there.

With a thrust of my hand, I send a crackling trail of lightning to take care of the guard before addressing the local employees.

“Gems!” Nice and short.

“The Night Fiends.” One of them whispers.

Yeah, a sweet alias we’ve earned during our stay, much better than the Rainbow Mage the kids dubbed me back in the Fort.

“Yeah, yeah show me where you keep your crystal and gems or you’ll end up like him.” I point to the man, and I’ve been very gentle with him. “Chop-chop!”

Two kids threatening two full-grown adults… what a joke.

They don’t need to be told a third time. The two scurry past shelf after shelf, all stacked with exotic furs, shells, ingots, armor, poison, paintings, and anything you could imagine. Even living beasts.

We walk with well-masked awe in their wake until they point at an assortment of boxes, one more intricate than the other. Most of them are open so the small piles of rubies, Solaire’s tears, diamonds, verdant shards, and so on are on full display, along with a matte black piece of glass that seems to be eating whatever light falls on it.

That is what we came for.

I reach to grab the void glass but Valka grabs my arm. “Let me. It will prevent you from using mana.”

“But you won't be able to heal either.” Just showing it into my bag is not an option, this thing is so potent it has an aura of its own and will bend all magic nearby.

“I can still punch.” She winks and grabs the cursed material we came for. “Let’s-

“Wait!” Of course I’m not gonna let this opportunity go to waste.

A fistful of this, some of that, some sort of big pretty gem with mana swirling inside it like the waves of the Aure Shore, a few diamonds and of course… the biggest piece of Hardon crystal they have in stock.

We’ll need some funds for our travels on the way home.

“How is it?” I’ve never been in direct contact with anything void-related but I’ve heard it’s anything but pleasant.

“Cold, almost as if it’s trying to suck all the warmth out of my body.” I follow in Val’s wake as she quickens her steps. “But it’s much better than the collar.”

That I can imagine.

I expected to run into some sort of big boss down in the warehouse, a power gang leader or something like that, guarding the treasure but it seems like getting in wasn’t the most problematic part.

We don’t even need to reach the top of the stairs to hear the sounds of carnage coming from outside. Both gangs have been on the edge for weeks now, armed and lined up to contest this one building, likely the key to ruling the city’s underworld.

That battle is going to be decided tonight and we are firmly in the center of it.

I stop Val before she can get halfway up because the top of the stairs feels like the perfect spot for an ambush. To test that I conjure some water and send it out first, making it spin and spit out icicles as it emerges.

A few pained yelps confirm my suspicion and serve as signals to launch our own assault. I use the remaining liquid to slam a masked assailant into the wall, locking him there as the water freezes, before stepping past a knife flying at me and moving to my next target. Like flies I swat the knives away with gusts of wind, coming within arm’s reach of the woman at which point she charges at me and the moment our arms touch lightning finishes the job.

Despite her restriction, Valka also took care of her own share of thugs, after all, she’s better suited for this type of combat but that doesn’t mean we’re out. Far from it.

Without leaving a moment to catch our breath a new pair of fighters crashes through the door into the backroom, except these two are busy fighting each other. Not our problem, Valka still kicks them out of the doorway but other than that we wash our hands and slide through the entrance we made, back into the darkness of the night.

Fighting on the streets, the rooftops, the alleys, and even inside some buildings suffering the destruction brought by greed. This is a full-blown war and no longer the subtle operations aimed at hurting the other side. And unlike before beating the enemies unconscious isn’t where it ends.

No words are needed to make us act. We’ve gone through our plan before, came up with contingencies for most scenarios, and prepared everything. Even the route we’ll take to the eastern gate to get the hell out of here. We can do this.

Our formation is unusual in that I’m the spearhead and Valka has my back as she can no longer shrug off everything coming her way. Well… almost everything.

The first dude getting eyes on us is one of Hector’s special henchmen, recognizable by the black shawl around his neck. They’re powerful and ruthless and… squishy as it turns out.

Unlike the basic thug, he doesn’t rush at us carelessly, instead readying his blade to stand in our way and doing what any soldier would. Calling on reinforcements. One quickly turns into three, swelling into six by the time we leave the sidestreet but I’m not here to defeat them.

I lift with my arms, relying on heavy steps, stomping even to satisfy Action for Reaction, and tear the cobblestone road up under their feet. Disorgnaizing them is only the first them but the danger is still present now that we’re in melee range. Twirling between the men in a flurry of wind blades and flying stones I crush bones and leave some of them bleeding on the ground but not without retaliation.

Faint lines cloud my vision as Premonition tries to outline every incoming attack and dodging all of them is simply impossible. A dagger nicks my shoulder but I crush the arm with a brick. A sword comes stabbing toward my chest and bodychecking is the best I can do to sidestep it. Valka does smash the man’s face but now we’re stuck.

“Two gold for anyone who kills the Fiends!” Their leader roars.

And all eyes turn towards us.

I toss my back to Valka in this moment of lull before the storm. “You know what you have to do.”