Chương 134: Book 3 Chapter 12 - Two Talismans

Kiara stared at the World Engine's latest message as she walked. Congratulations! You have showcased the merits of your class by defeating a tier 5 mage in combat for the first time. You will be given the following rewards: A 5% increase to each of your stats. Your soul space can now serve as a coin denomination exchanger for a 0% fee. [Soul Space 2 (modified)] => [Soul Space 3].

Stats: Strength: 495 => 519/600 Mind: 164 => 172/200 Endurance: 76 => 79/400 Healing: 66 => 69/4000 Sleep Fatigue Resistance: 44 => 46/400 Food / nourishment requirement: 24 => 25/200 Durability: 142 => 149/10000 Life Expectancy: 73 => 76/3000 For defeating an opponent two tiers above your own, you have also been given the following rewards: [Talisman of Temporal Acceleration] Activate the talisman to deploy a bubble within which time speeds up by 60x. The bubble will have a diameter of twenty feet.

Nothing can enter or leave the bubble once it is deployed. The bubble lasts for one hour for those inside, one minute for those outside. Limited to a single use - the talisman will be destroyed after activation. This is a soul-bound item, which can only be activated by the owner of the item. [Talisman of Temporal Deceleration] Activate the talisman to deploy a bubble within which time slows down by 60x. The bubble will have a diameter of twenty feet. Nothing can enter or leave the bubble once it is deployed.

The bubble lasts for one minute for those inside, one hour for those outside. Limited to a single use - the talisman will be destroyed after activation. This is a soul-bound item, which can only be activated by the owner of the item. Kiara felt the two talismans drop into her soul space. She pulled them out to see what they looked like. Both items were perfect spheres that looked like they were made of glass.

They were perfectly smooth, and she couldn't feel any roughness, bumps, or grooves on the surface of either sphere. The [Talisman of Temporal Acceleration] was a bright yellowy-white color, while the [Talisman of Temporal Deceleration] was a dark, murky brownish color. Both had what looked like swirling mists inside. [Artifact Compass] highlighted both spheres as artifacts, but she couldn't see any runic inscriptions on them.

She wondered if the runes were invisible, or possible on the inside of the sphere somewhere that she couldn't see them. [Artifact Sage 3] gave her the impression of speed and slowness from the two talismans, but nothing beyond that. That ability was simply too low level for her to get great detail about the artifacts she analyzed. There was nothing outwardly apparent about the talismans that indicated how they could be activated, Ava bounced up beside her.

"What are those?" Kiara glanced at her sister. She seemed as perky and bubbly as ever, which made Kiara glad. The fighting a moment ago didn't seem to have impacted her negatively. Kiara handed her the [Talisman of Temporal Acceleration].

"Just some baubles I got."

"It's pretty!" Ava said, stroking the smooth glassy surface. They really were quite mesmerizing to look at, as the mist under the surface swirled in random, unique patterns. She put the other one back in her soul space while she thought about the confrontation she'd just had. Rekton's aura had dropped her stats by maybe 40%, but she'd still been faster than him. Her stats had improved after her fight with Kane, and with Rekton's aura being less powerful than Kane's, she'd still come out on top.

It had helped that she'd been able to start within striking distance and immediately got a firm grasp on his arm so she could start lopping off limbs. The element of surprise had definitely worked in her favor. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The sword hadn't cut through his flesh as easily as she had been expecting it to. She realized that a tier 5 must have an incredibly high Durability stat.

She was glad she had used the sword Victor had gifted her, since her other one might not have been able to make the cuts as cleanly or easily, which would have hindered her movements during the fight. After leaving the scene of the fight, she had been leading the group in the same direction that Esmerelda's guard had run off in, assuming the port was that direction. Now that she had put some distance between them and Rekton, she slowed a bit and dropped back to walk even with Dustin and Zoey.

Dustin looked a bit shaken up still, and had his eyes on the ground, walking in silence. Kiara would need to sit down with him later and see how he was doing. Maybe coming this far north with him had been a bad idea. Zoey seemed contemplative.

"You looked like you wanted a piece of that guy too," she commented, glancing side-eyed at Zoey. Zoey locked eyes with her and shook her head.

"Not really. I was just protecting everyone."

"Mmm. Do you think you could have taken him?" Zoey's face scrunched up in thought.

"I'm not too sure. He was stronger than Ugor in a number of ways, and even my fight with Ugor isn't one I'd want to repeat anytime soon. Rekton's aura was stronger, he was faster, and his spells were more potent. His casting speed was phenomenal too, I'm not sure I could have kept up."

"Ah, gotcha." The guard Kiara was carrying over her shoulder began to stir, mumbling incoherently. Almost at that same moment, Bruce returned with Esmerelda and a few other tier 3 guards in tow, all sprinting towards them. They slowed as they approached. Esmerelda had a look of focus and alarm on her face. She looked ready for a fight, but took in the scene before her as they arrived.

Her gaze moved from Kiara, to the guard over her shoulder, to the others, then glancing around for any threats, then finally settling on Bruce, who had gone to fetch her. Bruce looked mostly confused, also glancing around in search of Rekton.

"What happened? Did that tier 5 leave? Is everyone okay?" The guard slung over Kiara's shoulder was waking up now, and Kiara leaned over to set him gently on his feet. She kept a steadying hand on his shoulder while he regained his balance and his bearings. He assumed Bruce was asking him, because he looked around in confusion as he formulated a response.

"I-I dunno. He was here, then… I think he attacked me?" His hand gingerly touched his face, which was bruised and swollen, wincing as he made contact. Kiara wouldn't be surprised if some of his facial bones had cracked, that tier 5's punch had been brutal and unexpected. Esmerelda looked at Kiara, her face all business, as usual.

"Mind filling in some of the missing details, Lady Yountal?" Kiara locked eyes with her.

"There's not much more to tell. His name was Rekton. He attacked Bronson out of the blue after Bruce left to fetch you, he knocked him out cold. I stepped in to make sure he didn't hurt anyone else." Esmerelda narrowed her eyes at Kiara momentarily, before turning back to Bruce.

"You say he was a tier 5?" Bruce nodded.

"I'm certain of it, captain." Bronson nodded in agreement. Esmerelda ran her hand through her long, red hair, glancing around once again. She slowly relaxed when no threats presented themselves.

"And where is this Rekton now?" she asked, looking back at Kiara somewhat suspiciously. Kiara thumbed over her shoulder.

"Back there, somewhere. Didn't seem wise to stick around after everything that happened. Plus, we didn't want to miss the boat." Esmerelda looked torn between going after Rekton and escorting the group to the ferry port. Her sense of duty won out over her sense of curiosity, and she nodded, mumbling something to herself about the entire situation being above her pay grade.

"Alright, everyone back to the port. The ferry should be here shortly." She turned sharply and began walking back, expecting everyone to follow her. The group obliged, Bruce and Bronson falling into step right behind her as she walked. Kiara and the others followed in their wake. Esmerelda's bearing emanated a sense of authority that was almost palpable, and the crowds parted in front of her without any effort on her part. * The ferry they boarded was massive.

Comparing it to the buildings around the dock, Kiara could see that the boat was taller than the three-story buildings nearby, and over a hundred feet long and nearly as wide. A large drawbridge type door swung down onto the dock, allowing the passengers to disembark, after which the new passengers got on. Stepping off of the drawbridge plank, the main level of the ferry was open and spacious. There were stairs and ladders leading to a second and third level.

Hundreds of passengers boarded, making their way to the second and third levels, after which large teams of carts and wagons boarded as well, filling up the open space of the main level. Once the group was situated, seated on the third level near the edge, Esmerelda made her way to the fourth and highest deck of the ship, flashing her documents to the guards barring entry to that level. Someone who Kiara assumed was the captain of the ship was up there, along with the ship's crew.

Kiara watched as Esmerelda chatted with the ship captain for a moment, pointing back towards Kiara and her group a few times. The ship's captain nodded, and Esmerelda saluted him, then made her way back to where the others were seated.

"Is that the ship's captain?" Kiara asked as Esmerelda returned. Esmerelda shook her head.

"No, that's Admiral Rovinald, he's been overseeing this ferry passageway for over thirty years. He's a good man, he'll keep us safe." She pointed to a woman who was leaning casually against the ship's helm.

"That's the captain there." Kiara furrowed her eyebrows questioningly.

"He'll keep us safe from what?" Esmerelda turned to point to the open water.

"Any beasties that show up. It's rare to see any true monsters this far inland, they prefer the expanse of the open ocean, but a few of the smaller ones show up from time to time."