Chương 175: Chapter 174 [Experiments]

Leo lay on his back with Shai's head on his chest, one hand idly tracing the line of her tail where it curled along the edge of the bed. Morning light spilled through the gap in the curtains. Neither of them had moved in a while. Neither of them particularly wanted to.

"Anything you fancy doing today?" he asked softly.

"Not really." Shai shifted, her tail flicking once.

"You?"

"Been meaning to have a proper go at figuring out what else my sword does." He thought about the Sarren, sitting wherever the UI kept items in storage.

"Marcus thought the runes were tied to the Mythril and its anti-magic properties, though he wasn't sure how exactly. Thought I'd try and work it out myself."

"That sounds good to me."

"Heading over to the flat is probably the best idea. I'm sure the others will want to figure their own stuff out." He looked down at her.

"Fancy coming, or have you got other plans?"

"I'll come along." She didn't move yet.

"In five minutes." Leo grinned and laid his head back down.

By the time they made it to the flat, most of the house was already up. Sam sat on the couch talking to himself, likely streaming to someone back home. Parmo was stretched out on the other sofa, watching Dodgeball for some reason, and Luka was sat at the table with a pen and paper, scribbling furiously. From the heavy snores drifting down from the bedrooms, Phil was still fast asleep.

"Morning," Leo said.

"How's everyone feeling after yesterday?"

"Knackered," Parmo muttered, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I don't want to do anything today if I can help it."

"Yeah, that's fair. I'm going to have a proper go at working out the runes on my sword. You guys interested?"

"Good shout," Sam said, standing up after ending his stream.

"Be good to know what everyone's stuff actually does while we've got the time."

"Nice. That your mum you were streaming to?" Leo asked.

"Yeah. You hear about the idiot who streamed everything yesterday? People have been freaking out back home apparently. Fucking idiots, man."

"I heard about it yesterday," Leo said.

"I'm going to mention it to Mike and see what he thinks." Luka nodded without looking up.

"Yeah, I don't think it would've been an issue if they'd asked beforehand and explained what was going on. I bet they just went live without giving any context. It's a bad look."

"What are you writing, dude?" Leo asked, stepping over to the table.

"Just a list of things I need to get sorted before the little one hatches." Luka gestured with his pen toward the giant, golden egg resting on a pillow in the center of the table.

"Could hatch any day, and I want to be prepared. Thinking of popping into town later to grab anything it might need."

"Didn't Marcus say dragons might need gold or something? How are you going to sort that out?"

"Well, that might be something it likes, or it might not. If it is, I was thinking of asking Mike if I can check the jewelry shop for anything useful." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"That's a solid idea, man." A sharp knock sounded at the door, followed by Rika's voice carrying up the stairwell before anyone could answer.

"Hellooo! Anyone home?" Two sets of footsteps followed—one quick and light, the other slower and heavier on the stairs. Rika appeared first, ducking through the doorway with her wings tucked tight.

"Didn't expect to see you two up this early. Not after yesterday."

"We were bored next door," Torren said, following her in and having to duck properly to clear the frame.

"Didn't want to intrude if you two wanted the morning to yourselves, but the house gets quiet with just the two of us, and this one gets restless."

"I do not get restless!" Rika protested.

"You reorganized my herb shelf twice before breakfast."

"I was being helpful!"

"I guess I'll go grab Phil," Parmo said, pushing himself up off the couch.

"He'll get annoyed if we start this without him." Leo watched as Rika smirked and trotted after him. A few seconds later, a loud thud echoed from the hallway, followed by Phil's sleep-rough, irritated shout: "Woah—what the fuck, Rika? Get out of my room!" The laughing that followed was loud enough that Shai sighed and Torren shook his head with a slow smile. Parmo reappeared first, grinning broad.

"Five minutes."

Phil wandered in a little over five minutes later, his hair sticking up in all directions and his eyes half-closed. Leo was already standing in the middle of the room with the Sarren drawn, turning the blade over in his hands.

"Ready?" Sam asked. Leo nodded. Sam raised his palms and watched the fog roll out fast, thick and dark grey, swallowing Leo whole in about three seconds flat—same as it always did. He'd built the spell to be inescapable; that was the entire point. No sound got in or out, no line of sight, nothing to orient on. He'd tested it a hundred times, and the only time it had ever failed was against the giant, purely because the creature was big enough to push through before Sam could shift its position.

"Can't see a bloody thing," Phil muttered beside him.

"Obviously. We're waiting to see if Leo's sword can dispel it," Sam said. Nothing happened for a four-count. Long enough that Rika's wings gave an uncertain flutter and Torren unfolded his arms. Then the fog split right down the middle—clean as a blade through fabric. The edges glowed a faint, ethereal blue for half a second before the entire bank stopped existing. Not dispersed, not thinned out the way natural mist did—just gone, all at once, curling inward and vanishing within arm's reach of the blade.

The sword was glowing, too. Sam cataloged it fast: fog didn't glow when it broke. Fog didn't collapse inward like something had reached out and yanked all the substance out of the air at once. The sword was doing something to the mana itself.

"You alright?" Phil called out. Leo was standing there, blinking, his sword lowered.

"Cut straight through it," Leo said, looking down at the steel.

"Didn't expect it to work so well."

"Yeah," Sam said slowly, stepping closer to examine the faint light fading off the metal.

"I don't think it just cut through it, mate." Leo looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the fog didn't get pushed out of the way. It disappeared. All the mana holding it together—that went somewhere." Sam pointed a finger at the hilt.

"I reckon it went in there."

"Wait, it eats magic?" Rika's wings snapped open behind her.

"Seems like it. Do you feel like your mana just got topped up?" Sam asked. Leo paused, turning the thought over. There had been something—a sudden rush of warmth traveling up his arm that he'd barely registered until now.

"Yeah... yeah, I think you're right, man. That's a total game-changer if we ever have to fight anyone from the Empire." Sam nodded.

"Definitely. Let's hope it never comes to that, though. Still, keep that close to your chest as a trump card, just in case."

"Right, my turn," Phil said, already drawing both of his blades. He had no such luck. Whatever enchantments resided in his twin swords, they were entirely different from Leo's. The fog remained coiled tightly around him, completely unfazed.

"Useless," Phil announced as Sam dropped the spell. He came back into view and sheathed both weapons with far more force than necessary.

"I wouldn't say that," Torren offered gently.

"Given what Luka and Parmo received, along with what we now know Leo's sword can do, I'd wager yours are just as impressive." Phil looked down at the twin hilts properly for the first time in a while, tracing the gold and crimson lines running down the length of both steel faces.

"I think it's got something to do with fire. Has to be—look at the colors."

"Only one way to find out," Rika said, her grin returning full force.