Chương 39: Braxan Trouble (1)

"Dang it." Reaching over, I flip the parchment to try again. My hand moves from the beginning. Lines appear, crossing over themselves. Curls reach to the edge, while crosses dot several spots in the center. The gentle flicker of the candlelight is the only source of light. Many mini-cycles pass as the drawing becomes more and more cohesive. Why'd you increase the difficulty so much? The last one was so much easier. Shaking my head, I return to the drawing.

My hand lifts and reveals that the ink had bled into the page while I was thinking. Only a little, but more than enough to ruin the formation and make the progress pointless.

"Ughhhhh." I groan as my head hits the table. A little time is spent as I stare at the ground. The formation gathers in my body as I close my eyes. My headache grows stronger, like a spike driving through my head. Before getting halfway through, I give up and let it fade away. The remnants dissolve back into the current of mana circling my body. It's easy to let myself drift, following the flow through countless channels. Lessons resurface in my mind, pointing out which veins handle what.

They tell me why the mana flows in that particular direction and goes there. Can't even find peace here anymore. My eyes peek up, examining the rune near the edge of the desk. It's nothing more than a simple rock, but the formation carved within is something far above my caliber. It shines with a constant green glow. A current of mana flows inside, constantly looping as the rune powers itself. Master Straff carved it himself. It's been four cycles. Where are you? A yawn slowly escapes my mouth.

My arms go up as I stretch my aching muscles. In the corner of my eye, the green rune flickers. A pang of fear shoots down my spine as all traces of exhaustion vanish. I snatch the stone off the desk and hold it in my hands, right in front of my eyes. The glow of the formation stays stable and uninterrupted, as if nothing had happened. Just to be safe, I stare at it a little longer. When nothing happens, I place the stone back on the desk.

"And now my eyes are playing tricks on me," I say while rubbing my eyes. I roll the parchment into a tube and place it into the vase with all of the others. In my normal routine, I place the overcoat in the corner. I circle the basement, checking various runes for instability or leakage. Of course, all those of importance were engraved by master Straff. He would never make a mistake on something as simple as this. Regardless, I check every single one just as he taught me.

I carefully step around the massive array circle taking up the back half of the basement. Master Straff and I have been working on the thing for tens of cycles at this point. Even with my engraving skill in its infancy, I still know every mark and curve like the back of my hand. Master Straff made sure of it. After finishing all the checks, I walk up the stairs leading to the house proper. The hallway is needlessly long.

For some reason, Master Straff decided to have the basement several stories underground, instead of just below the ground floor. Just as my hand touches the handle of the door, a quiet sound makes my ear twitch. Crack Huh? Brows furrowing, I turn back and walk down the steps. What could have possibly made a sound down here? When I reach the bottom of the steps, my eyes narrow. Nothing looks any different from how it was before. Then, I catch it. The stone that should be glowing a constant green is in two halves.

The glow is gone, exposing the formation inside. Blood drains from my face. Shivers travel over my body. My lips quiver.

"No…" I slowly step towards the stone and pick it up. Mana no longer flows through it seamlessly. Both halves sit empty. The engraving was too complex for me to understand, but I remember what master Straff told me. The rune was tethered to his body, his vitality. Of course, any mana deprivation zone or blocking effect would make the formation useless. Straff told me he had configured the stone to reconnect to him any time it was severed.

He didn't want me panicking, so he said that as long as the stone held firm, he would eventually return. But… But if it broke… My hands start shaking. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Tears well up at the edge of my eyes. No. No. No no no no. The halves clack together meaninglessly. He must have made a mistake. Someone must have interrupted the signal strangely, activating the breaker formation. No, master Straff doesn't make mistakes.

No one on the continent is as skilled as he is when it comes to engraving. Legs buckle as I fall to my knees, holding the two stones to my chest. I hold the stones together and close my eyes. My mana circulates through cleanly. I want to repair the formation, but it's so above my level that I don't know where to begin. Sobs echo through the small room. Memories flash through my mind. Of my first rune. He was the first to congratulate me. Three cycles straight of failures. He was there to keep me going.

When I stood, staring without comprehension at the array. He was there to lead me through every curve, every inflection to direct mana. Whenever I- Beep beep beep My head flicks up. I wipe the tears from my eyes. Above the doorway to the staircase, a blue line of runes pulses in rhythm with the beeps. Intruders. I slip both halves of the rune into my pocket. Blitzing to my feet, I rush over to the wall and pull my travel coat on. Beebeebeeb My gaze flickers to the wall.

Over twenty different runes sit, each on a different brick in the wall. One blinks a few times before fizzling out. The auto-lock. Master Straff taught me what each rune was connected to. A variety of traps, protections, and deterrents. At the time, I had thought he was too paranoid. For the hundreds of cycles he's had me as an apprentice, not a single thing has happened. Not once were we intruded upon. During the thought, another rune three to the left fizzles out. The repellent field.

My heart rate picks up like a jackhammer. I rip master's satchel off the wall and sling it over my shoulder. Sprinting to the desk, I sweep all the portable runes I can find into the satchel. They're poorly made by me, but I won't let them go to waste. My head swivels around, finding master's cupboard. I stand nervously in front of the large wooden doors. Inside is a collection of tools and portable runes touched only by Straff. He warned me never to touch any of them, as they were his personal projects.

Hence, exceedingly dangerous. With a gulp, I pull the wooden door. It doesn't budge. Brows furrowed, I yank on the handle as hard as possible. Still nothing. My head scans the surroundings, looking for a solution. Leaning against the wall is Master Straff's old cane. I grab it and slot it in between the handles of the door. Straining my arms, I force as much leverage as possible. The wood groans, then snaps. The door flies open. As I turn my head to look inside, a contraption flings out.

Several metal poles bend as an arm, as what I can only assume is a weapon, points at my head. Eyes widen as my breath catches in my throat. A few short moments pass before half of the runes on the head of the mechanism turn green. The arm bends inwards, retreating into the wall where it erupted from. Thank you, master. Beeping from the wall quickens, causing me to flip around. Five more defenses are fizzled out, with another happening before my eyes. Cold sweat runs down my neck.

My arm comes out, sweeping everything from Straff's shelves into the satchel. If he were here, he would be appalled and probably pull me away from his cupboard. If he- If- My lips quiver as more tears build in my eyes. As I turn, a boom sounds from above, shaking the room and sending dust falling from the ceiling. I stumble and stop to keep myself balanced. Eight more defensive runes on the wall fizzle out, leaving six active. My fear doesn't grow, only urgency.

Running around the array, I follow the steps Straff told me. We had just completed it five cycles ago, after a large amount of time forming it. He left shortly after, saying he had something to figure out before we left. Left the planet. The teleportation array was carefully configured by Straff over countless sessions. He was there before I woke up. Still working even when I went to sleep. His endurance no doubt played a part, but the bags under his eyes told me he was pushing himself.

I dash around the edges of the platform, tidying the materials and making sure everything is right. To the right of the circle sits the catalyst. A small clump of hair. Straff said that it was from a friend. Said that he had to meet him at all costs. Another boom makes me stumble mid-run. Four more defensive runes fizzle out, leaving two left. I'm running out of time. There are still half of the things left to check, but I skip over them and place myself in the center of the array.

Eyes close as my mana seeps out of my body carefully. Through my hands, the mana moves into the grooves of the array. A blue glow travels through the gaps in the floor, filling up every symbol and extension of the massive formation. My eyes open, the movement of mana now unstoppable and the activation guaranteed. The mana in the air picks up, swirling as it is pulled into the formation. Several mana cores at the edge of the formation slowly dim as they are drained of energy.

Knock Knock Knock The sound echoes down from the staircase leading to the entrance. It sounds moderate from where I sit, but I know how many formations protect the entrance to the basement. For sounds to get through that loudly, they must be trying to break the door open. The last two runes on the wall fizzle out, signaling that nothing is stopping them anymore. The array glows brighter, transforming the dim surroundings into the sunlight of daytime.

With a deep breath, I pull out a single portable rune from the satchel. It's simple. Even though it was crafted by master Straff, it was simple. Enough for even me to understand. Inject any amount of mana, and a short timer would start. At the end of the timer, a formation would activate, making it explode violently with fire. Another smaller boom sounds from ahead, dust and debris shooting out of the stairwell. Near the side of the array, the small clump of hair burns, evaporating in an instant.

The entire array shifts colors to a deep blue, the color of spatial magic. I nod and push a tiny amount of mana into the rock. A short toss takes it to the edge of the array. Can't have them following me. As it hits the ground, three men rush into the room, covered head to toe in plate metal. They hold heavy tower shields in front of themselves. A woman in a robe steps from behind them with her eyes closed and her hand held out.

My eyes flicker to the edge of the formation, where mana starts dissolving, leaving the bland blue of unprocessed mana. My heart rate spikes. She's trying to dissolve the forma- Before anything else, my vision vanishes. My body is stretched thin, twisted, and then bent. The sense of balance in my chest goes haywire. As fast as it starts, it stops. My vision snaps back into place. I fall to my knees and vomit everything in my stomach. I'm in a small room made of stone bricks, heavily covered by moss.

Still feeling nauseated, I struggle to my feet and look around. Where's the light source? Eerily, all of the light in the room is even, without any sources or spots with darkness in them. The only things in the room are a white, crinkling bag and small containers. My first step pauses as I pull something from under my shoe. I hold the black leather strap in front of my eyes, five bloody spikes sticking out of one side. A collar?