Chương 74: 74 Loop 2, Part 28

All at once, we fell. Axe actually landed on the platform he'd been hovering over, but the other three golems dropped like the rocks they were. They splashed into the water, and the ripples moved down in waves. Finn shouted something, and I saw the crank rolling away on a platform beneath him. And then, before I could see anything else, I hit the water. Cold. That was the immediate sensation. Then water flooded my mouth, and it soaked my clothes and hair. Every sound in the room became muffled.

I could feel myself starting to sink. I knew how this went, right? It was just like flying. Hadn't I said that to Finn? I could do this, but I was sinking fast, and it was hard to think. The logical part of my brain had been overwhelmed by the part that knew I was fucking drowning. I kicked my legs uselessly. I flailed my arms. I tried to surface to reach for a breath of fresh air. I dropped my marble and saw it floating lazily away down below. None of it got me any closer to the surface.

Instead, I started sinking even faster as if I were being weighed by an anchor. I went down another foot, and then another still. All the while, every part of my body screamed that I was going to die. So I did what I did best in moments like these. I thought about something else to take my mind off things. I tried to remember the last time I swam. There was a river back in Kratos with a rope swing over it. Half the kids my age swam in the river every summer. Actually, probably most of them did.

Sometimes I'd even be invited, but I only ever got to go a couple of times. It was always something. Usually, my parents were working, which meant somebody had to take care of things at home. And since I was an only child, I was the one who had to get the food, clean the clothes, and do whatever else needed doing. By the time they'd be off to work, I'd been up for hours already and was absolutely exhausted. So why would I go and waste even more energy?

Instead, I'd nap on my bed and wait for my parents to inevitably return. And even though I'd barely learned how to swim, I had been mostly fine with water until late last year. When the Manafount erupted. Everybody at MIRKS had their own version of what had happened. Mine probably went a little differently. Because everybody remembered the mana part of the Manafount and all the weird shit that came with it. But I remembered the fount. The entire school practically became a lake—and a deadly one at that.

Too many people died. And too many people that should have helped just… didn't. People blamed Corwen for what happened, but it wasn't his fault. If anything, Prime Minister Creed had been the one responsible for things going so wrong. Corwen had been forced away by some bullshit political move, so when he was needed most, there was nothing he could do. Anyway, despite all the horrors of that day, there was one single solitary bright spot. Somehow, I managed to save Popo's sister.

Somehow, my shitty doggie paddle had been enough to help her to safety. But in the time I saved her, I watched four other people drown. Four people I hadn't been able to save. Everybody always seemed to leave that part out when they sang my praises. Professors talked about my heroics casually as if it weren't the worst day of my life. Sara brought it up once a week at breakfast like she was trying to build me up. And Popo always told me I was someone who showed up for others. But everyone had it all wrong.

I wasn't a hero. I was a failure. I actually tried that day. I put in real, actual effort. More than I knew I was capable of. And I still came up short. Four people died, and no matter what I did, I couldn't save them. The harder you try, the faster you die, right? That was the lesson I took away from it, anyway. You could give everything you had and still end up four people short. If I could've gone back to that day, I would've… I don't know, [Propel] led everyone to safety.

With my luck, I would have burned my mana cha… Wait, that was it— [Propel]! I grabbed my wand, pointed it what I hoped was down, and cast " [Propel]." [Propel - Manifestation] Cost: 50 mana. Creates a blast of force that propels the caster in the opposite direction. Duration: Instant. I reached the surface with a gasp and inhaled as much air as I could get. I tried to calm my breathing and imagined that instead of water, I was [Float] ing in the air. I held out my arms and tried to tread the water.

And then I felt a hand close around the back of my collar. It pulled me straight up and onto a platform. Apparently, there'd been a platform next to me the entire damn time. I coughed up more water, fell onto my back, and closed my eyes. I needed a nap. I really needed a nap. Stolen novel; please report.

"Get a ward up quickly," I said. Or tried to. I'm sure it came out garbled. Finn came up onto the platform after me and rolled onto his side. His wand was already in one hand by the time he stopped. The other caught the crank before it could roll off the edge. A mauve ward covered both of us, and my prediction was right on the money. Half a second later, an orb hit the shield and broke apart in a spray of blue sparks. Still lying there, I traced the mana tethers down through the water.

All three of the golems were underneath me. One, for whatever reason, was walking at the bottom of the water. I made it stop. Great. Just fucking great. The same three golems once again. Wasting away uselessly at the bottom of a pool of water. Which left us with just me, Finn, and Axe against an angry horde of monsters. And it wasn't like I had infinite mana. My bar was already heading for yellow. The slime had eaten most of it.

I'd cast a few spells since then, and the cost of casting [Spin] over and over had eaten a big chunk. And then I heard Flag's voice. Oh, hello. You're getting closer. How are you? Not too good, Flag. The dungeon just tried to drown me. And it sank my three golems again. That's too bad. I like your golems. Is he up there with you? Because I'd like to speak to his manager. I don't think dungeons have managers. I don't even know what a manager is. That's exactly what a dungeon would say.

"That's seventeen," Finn said.

"Seventeen times I've saved your sorry ass."

"What? Did you not see my [Propel]? I would've been fine. My first time using the spell, and it went off without a hitch." Even though my eyes were closed, [Wideview] was active, so I saw Finn roll his eyes.

"Dude, you were drowning until I pulled you out of the water." He took a moment and cast [Dry] on both of us. The water dispersed in a cloud of mist all at once.

"Thanks."

"You know swimming is basically the same thing you do with [Float], right? I don't know how long you've been looping, but you've definitely been using [Float] long enough to not drown the second you fall in water.

"It's not the same."

"It's exactly the same."

"No. When I'm using [Float], I'm dry. And moving through the air takes less effort than running. I can see and hear. Most importantly, solid fucking ground is usually only a few feet away. Swimming has none of that." I ran a hand through my hair just to make sure the spell caught all the water.

"Don't even get me started on how cold that water was, man. I'm still shivering." I propped myself up on my elbows and took a look around me. There was almost no light except from the glow of the monsters—and Finn's ward. I was trying to see if it was worth it to convince him to drop it for a minute to cast a [Light] spell. But I just decided to cast a new [Marble], and enchanted it with [enlighten]. In all, there were about eighteen of the bell-looking things almost surrounding us.

Each one was balanced on the surface. A few platforms away, Axe stood alone, his enormous blade jutting out over the water.

"Commander," he said.

"I have secured this position. Come quickly."

"Great. Stay there." I cut myself off as I watched, almost in slow motion, as one of the orbs flew straight at him. I thought this was going to end badly. I mean, metal conducted electricity, after all. But instead, the ball hit him in the flat of his head and burst. The blue light exploded against the metal and disappeared into it. A second later, Axe was lit up like an enchanted brazier.

"That tickled," he said. It was like he was laughing.

"Well, that's convenient." He hadn't moved his feet since he'd pulled me out of the water. His wand was at an angle that looked like it was starting to hurt. Two more orbs hit the ward, but it held. His stance was a work of art, and nothing was going to stop it.

"How long do we have?" I asked.

"With this thing up? I'm not going anywhere. But I'm not gonna be able to help you do anything."

"Look, man, if you're gonna complain, you need to do it right. It's all in the voice, and you didn't even sound like you were upset."

"But I'm not complaining." Another orb just barely missed us and caught Axe in the shoulder. He lit up brighter, faster than the first time he'd been hit. The blue crawled up the length of his blade and pooled along the edge. Axe barely reacted. If anything, he seemed pleased about it.

"There," I said.

"Complain about that." Finn stared at me.

"About Axe getting shot?"

"Yeah. Give me some frustration. Maybe a little outrage. You've got plenty to work with."

"Laz, we're being attacked."

"Good. That was better. Keep that tone and we might get out of this mess. Be like Axe." Which was when I stopped thinking about Finn and started thinking about Axe. He'd taken two hits so far, and it had done nothing to him. He was fine. In fact, he was better than fine. It was like they weren't even phasing him, which gave me an idea.