Chapter 39: Swept under the Covers (Patreon)

“Ada, it’s over,” I murmured.

“You got him?” came the instantaneous response.

“Yes,” I replied tiredly. “You can retreat.”

“That’s no longer an option, I think,” she said with an uneasy laugh. “We’re about to be overwhelmed.”

I raised my head, concern spiking. “Can you unmanifest?”

“Already doing it.” A pause. “But wherever you are, you better take cover. Your summons won’t hold long without me.”

“On it.” I rushed to my feet, eyes darting from the bed to the closet. No, I decided, too obvious. If there was a window, I would have flown through it, but there wasn’t one.

That left only one other option.

Adalinda has cast unmanifest.

Dashing out of the room, I slammed the door behind me and scanned the corridor.

Five open doors stared back at me.

Picking one at random, I ran inside the room.  Its layout was near-identical to Cantos’ own chamber, which made things simpler. Dropping to all fours, I rolled under the bed.

Not a moment too soon, either.

A troop of heavy boots galloped past. “Now, that’s cutting it close,” Adalinda remarked wryly.

Chuckling helplessly, I laid my head on the floor. “It certainly was.”

✵ ✵ ✵

The Devils spent a long time in Cantos’ rooms. There were remonstrations aplenty and more than one fist raised in anger.

Blood was even drawn—thrice.

After the first occasion, when I realized the surviving Devils had no interest in finding Cantos’ killer—indeed, their primary interest appeared in deciding who was in charge—I asked Adalinda to manifest.

It turned out that not only had we killed Cantos, but also his two seniormost lieutenants—they’d been the two who’d first exited the rooms. Their deaths only added more fuel to the power struggle going on in the next room, which suited me just fine, even if it did keep me stuck in place.

Your companion has cast manifest, taking on the form of a level 27 battle komodo.

Warning! Adalinda’s health is dangerously low at 8%.

Alerted by the Game message as to my companion’s grave state, I broke off from my musings to study her.

Like me, Adalinda was pressed flat beneath her bed. Unlike me, she was bleeding profusely. “Ada!” I admonished, “why didn’t you say something?”

“You were busy,” she said wryly. But despite her attempt to make light of her wounds, she wasn’t able to hide the treble of pain in her voice.

Blindly reaching for a health potion, I unstoppered the vial and upended the contents in her mouth.

You have restored Adalinda to full health with a full healing potion.

“Ah,” Adalinda exclaimed, “that feels so much better. Thanks, El.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied with a smile. “Now, if the Devils discover us, at least one of us will be in a condition to fight.”

The celestial studied me quizzically. “What do you mean by that? You don’t bear any injuries.”

Oops. Cursing myself for a fool, I lowered my forehead to the floor.

“What’s wrong, El?”

Sighing, I told her. “I’ve depleted my mana.” Then went on to tell her the rest, describing the encounters with Cantos and Esmina.

To my surprise, Adalinda did not admonish my recklessness—as I half expected her to.

“You did what you had to,” the celestial said. Flickering out her tongue, she tasted the air. Angry shouts still emanated from the other room, and while the fracas hadn’t spilled out into the corridor yet, neither did it show any signs of abating. “You should restore your mana. I’ll stand guard.”

I glanced at her. “You’re sure?”

The komodo nodded. “Go ahead.”

Not needing to be asked again, I closed my eyes and drew in mana from the surroundings.

✵ ✵ ✵

You have replenished 100% of your mana.

Your channeling has increased to level 29.

A few minutes later, I opened my eyes, reinvigorated by the mana coursing through me.

“Welcome back,” Adalinda said.

I began to reply, then stopped, struck by the silence.

“They’re gone,” the celestial added, not missing my confusion. “They left together and in a mad rush. From what I managed to overhear, somewhere else in the quarter another Devil has begun consolidating power. These ones either went to stop him—or join him. I wasn’t able to tell which.”

“Oh.” Oddly enough, the news both pleased and upset me.

“Disappointed?” Adalinda asked, sounding amused.

I nodded reluctantly. On the one hand, it meant we were no longer stuck. On the other, now that Adalinda and I were fighting fit once more, I had been looking forward to killing more Devils.

Planting my elbows on the floor, I began to drag myself out from under the bed.

“One second, El,” Adalinda said.

I threw her a questioning look.

“Before we go, we should take care of our progression… just in case.”

“Good idea,” I said.

Adalinda’s suggestion reminded me that I hadn’t reviewed the battle results yet. Turning my attention inwards, I pulled up the relevant Game messages.

You and your companion have reached level 27!

Your summoning has increased to level 26, your light magic to level 27, and your air magic to level 13.

Adalinda’s fire magic has increased to 35, her tooth and claw to level 30, and her natural armor to level 31.

Celestial trait triggered! Core skills mirrored.

“Huh,” I remarked, amazed by my companion’s growth. It must have been a blood bath down on the ground floor for Adalinda to have improved all her skills—and so significantly too.

“Well done, Ada. Thanks to you, our levels have gone up nicely.” I paused, checking something else. “I have one attribute point left, you have… six. I take it, you want to reinvest in strength?”

“About that,” she began. “I think it’s time to tweak our strategy.”

“Oh?” I asked, arching one eyebrow.

“Yes. Your description of the fight with Cantos worries me.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she stopped me.

“Let me finish, please. Your magic is important and definitely a strength we should keep improving.” She shook her head. “But you can’t only depend on it—or me.”

Closing my mouth, I stared at her thoughtfully. “You’re saying I should branch out?”

“Exactly. I think it’s time you invested in your body attributes. Acquiring a physical skill won’t be a bad idea either. Let me invest in magic this time around.”

I nodded slowly. There was merit in what my companion suggested. I did need an alternative for when I ran out of magic or came across something resistant to magic.

And since I’d already advanced my Dexterity and Constitution, it made sense to continue improving those physical aspects of myself. “Alright, let’s do it.”

Closing my eyes, I willed my choices to the Adjudicator and felt Adalinda do the same.

Your Constitution has increased to rank 4.

Adalinda’s Magic has increased to rank 19.

Celestial trait triggered! Core attributes mirrored.

“There, all done,” I said and crawled out from under the bed. Rising to my feet, I tiptoed to the door and looked out.

The corridor was empty.

Well, except for the corpse, of course. My gaze dropping downward, I studied Esmina’s body.

It was untouched.

I pursed my lips. It was unlike the Devils to leave loot lying around. The thugs had either been in too much of a hurry—doubtful—or too afraid to rifle through the player’s things.

I smiled. Luckily, I was neither afraid nor in a hurry. “Ada, check the bodies downstairs,” I said as I looted the corpse.

There were a handful of potions and some coins in Esmina’s pockets. It was her cloak and wand, though, that were the most intriguing.

You have acquired 1 full mana potion, 2 gold coins, and 5 silver coins.

You have acquired a rank 1 flame cloak. This item has been enchanted to boost the wearer’s fire resistance by 10%. Additionally, it increases your fire magic skill by +5. This item requires a minimum Magic of 4 to equip.

You have acquired the rank 2 wand: firebreather. This item increases the damage you deal with fire spells by 20%. Additionally, it bears an enchantment, which allows you to store a single instance of the fireball spell.

The spell will be held indefinitely within the wand and, when required, can be cast instantly and without drawing from your mana pool.

This item requires a minimum Magic of 8 to wield. The item’s enchantment is presently depleted but can be replenished with mana.

The cloak was interesting, and well-tailored to boot, and ordinarily I would have worn it without any qualms—except that it was bright orange in color.

Too conspicuous, I decided. I would stick out like a sore thumb in the poor quarter wearing it. Still, perhaps, I can sell the damn thing.

The wand was just as fascinating. A slender piece of wood no longer than my forearm, it was inscribed with mysterious red glyphs that currently appeared dormant.

I wonder how you use it. Holding the wand by one end, I waved it around as I’d seen Esmina do.

Unexpectedly, my actions prompted another Game message.

You have equipped the wand, firebreather. Warning: you do not have 1 of 2 necessary skills, wands, to use this item. Benefits not received.

Huh, I thought, lowering the thin length of wood. So, wand usage is a skill all on its own.

“The Devil bodies down here have cleaned out,” Adalinda sent abruptly, interrupting my musings. “Not the players’ corpses though. They’re untouched.”

So. The Devils had deliberately left the players’ belongings untouched then. Maybe they’re afraid the players will return?

My eyes narrowed. Now, there was an interesting idea, and what would I do if they did?

“El, you’re coming?”

I shook myself. “On my way.” Rising to my feet, I jogged down the stairs.

✵ ✵ ✵

I’d been right. The ground floor was a bloodbath.

Gore, hack-off limbs, and blood—so much blood—lay everywhere. What made it worse was that most of the corpses were naked. It seemed that despite the gruesome nature of their companions’ deaths, the remaining Devils had not been deterred from stripping them of their belongings.

“Over here,” Adalinda called.

Holding my nose against the smell, I tried to weave my way cleanly through the gory remains—without much success. “I’ll need a bath after this,” I muttered. “Several, in fact.”

“It’s not so bad,” Adalinda replied with evident amusement.

Ignoring her comment—I doubted I’d ever grow comfortable with the more bestial side of my companion’s nature—I stared down at the bodies in front of her. “Is this them?”

“One of them,” Adalinda corrected. Jerking her head to the left, she gestured to another body. “The other is over there.”

Tracking her snout with my eyes, I sighed. The second player’s corpse was in a literal pool of blood. There’ll be no saving my boots after this, I thought gloomily.

But there was nothing for it but to get started. Sighing heavily again, I bent down and began picking through the first player’s pockets.

✵ ✵ ✵

Despite my unhappiness at the conditions, there was no denying the time spent looting the two players was well worth it.

I acquired a tidy pile of items, most of which were not usable by me. Still, I had no doubt I could find someone to sell them to.

You have acquired 3 gold and 2 copper coins. Total money carried: 6 gold, 0 silvers, and 7 coppers.

You have acquired a set of basic chainmail armor, a basic steel longsword, a +1 shield, and 1 full mana potion.

You have acquired a soldier’s ring. This is a rank 1 ring and increases your Constitution attribute by 2. This item has no requirements to equip.

You have acquired a tiny belt of holding. This item contains an enchantment to store medium-sized and smaller objects. Courtesy of the enchantment, the bag itself and all the items stored inside are weightless. Only inanimate materials may be kept in the bag. Currently stored items: 0 / 10.

The belt was undoubtedly the most useful find and made lugging around all the other loot infinitely easier.  The ring was also welcome, and I equipped both items without hesitation.

You have equipped a soldier’s ring. Your Constitution has increased to rank 6.

You have equipped a belt of holding. Currently stored items: 7 / 10.

“Now what?” Adalinda asked when I was done.

It was the very same question I was asking myself. Clearing out from the house before the Devils returned and reporting back to Eoman were both high on my list of priorities, but something else was bugging me.

The players’ presence.

It was one thing for the Devils to hire players to do their dirty work, it was another thing to find them living under Cantos’ own roof.

It implied a much stronger connection than I’d originally assumed. Nor had I forgotten about the task the Adjudicator had set me.

I wanted answers and I thought I knew where to find them. Raising my eyes upward, I stared thoughtfully at the spiraling staircase.

“Now,” I said slowly, “we search Cantos’ room.”