Chương 31: 198. Walter's Sacrifice

Robert stared at Alex with wide eyes and a question written on his face. Rather than asking the obvious question of how he knew that specific information, he moved into action. He called Luis over and gave quick instructions.

"Grab Dustin, Eric, and Elyse. You and Droq'shan start guiding this group back to the hollow vein. We can't stay in one place, and being this close to the gallery is a problem." Luis's quiet demeanor turned serious, moving to obey the orders. Alex watched the small group gather, but a stream of blue motes appearing from the nearest wall and streaming into his chest distracted him. It was clear Warrior was fighting, but as he reached out again, there was no mental response to the link.

He glanced at Mage, who stood near where Luis gestured to the rest of the group, preparing them to leave. Go with them, but hang near the back. If there's a fight, I might need to pull your consciousness.

"Got it," Mage responded mentally, never taking his eyes away from the other conversation. A group of three approached Robert. They were physically fit and powerfully built, each greeting him warmly. They turned to leave, and Robert jerked his head to motion for Alex to join them. Together, the group of five ran down and back up the sloping section of the mines, taking a sharp turn once they reached the underground corridors. Alex was forced to use [Feather Step] several times to keep up with the pace that was set.

Robert, and the one Alex scanned to see as Eric, led the group heading for where the third depot of supplies had been stashed in preparation to receive more refugees. Two of the newcomers wore sandals, but the slapping of bare feet on flat stone drew Alex's attention. The woman named Elyse, whom he saw had a class as a Grappler, seemed unbothered by the change in terrain and kept up easier than he did. As they moved, he attempted more than once to reach out to Warrior with no success.

The only indication that his clone was still alive was that the mind hadn't returned to him as it would when the [Fractured Body] dissipated, and that twice more motes of experience flew to greet him. The volume of motes with each apparent kill was telling enough that Alex had to assume they were fighting Kinley's men rather than any native monster. Tense minutes passed as they traveled through the underbelly of the arena, passing the undisturbed second cache of supplies.

It wasn't until they got closer to the intended destination of the third that they could hear sounds of combat. Great, booming blasts of power could be heard, and the floor of the halls seemed to rumble underfoot. When they turned the final corner and saw Warrior and Aisha slowly moving backward in a destroyed hallway, he was finally able to take stock of the situation. His clone and Aisha had their backs to them, slowly backing down the hall, focused on the four men advancing on them.

Both walls and floor of the stone were dented and cracked in a trail leading in the direction they'd come, accompanied by several still bodies of men in Kinley's uniform. The man pressing Warrior at the front of the trio wielded an enormous hammer. The way it landed made it clear that the item was absurdly heavy and enchanted to boot. With each impact, Warrior and Aisha were forced to give ground and dodge as rocks and dirt splintered in all directions.

A second of Kinley's men was an archer and took opportunities in their lapse in attention to fire off shots at the two retreating figures. Aisha had a broken arrow in her shoulder along with a cut on her leg. She was faring better than Warrior, though. His clone's arm had been cut clean off just below the elbow, and he held it close to his body while weaving bolt spells with his left hand.

Blood spilled from him onto the floor, and when they turned the corner, Alex could see the looks of glee on Kinley's men's faces. They were enjoying the cat a mouse game, knowing that their prey was on their last legs. It was just as clear, by the way their faces changed, that they weren't anticipating five fresh fighters to turn the corner and join the fight on the opposing side.

"Shit," the hammer wielder spat, hammer scraping across the ground as he stepped back.

"No, keep pushing," the third man in the back said. Alex noticed him for the first time and, with a quick glance, saw that his class was called Suppressor.

"Quinten's team is almost here. Don't let them get away." Aisha saw them approaching and gripped Warrior's shoulder.

"Come on, let's get out of here." The hammer user swung again, renewed confidence sending him forward. Warrior stepped to the left against the wall to dodge the overhead swing, while Aisha jumped back and threw a knife at the same time. As he'd seen in their sparring, she wielded a dagger that was nearly the size of a short sword in her left hand, while using a smaller dagger in her right.

Either through skill or enchanted equipment, the dagger would return to her sheath after impact, allowing her to throw it repeatedly. The archer fired an arrow that knocked the dagger out of the air, clearly expecting the throw. Alex spun a lightning bolt spell over his hand and fired it off at the same time that Warrior cast a barrier spell to block an arrow. The three new fighters jumped forward while Robert checked on Aisha.

Alex moved forward slowly, using Barrier in his Spell Storage to cast it with the System's full aid in speed, capitalizing on his immense Willpower in a way that his body couldn't naturally do at this stage.

"You okay?" He asked Warrior as he reached his position against the wall.

"Yo. Yeah, I'm fine, starting to feel a little slow, though. I think the blood loss is getting to me." It was still strange to talk to something that looked so human, but didn't feel any pain. Literally missing most of a limb, his clone was talking to him like they were deciding to call it a night after a relaxing dinner.

"Robert, we've got to get out of here," Alex called. Just as he said, a group of ten turned down the far end of the corridor. The ebb and flow of the battle had shifted once again to the enemy's favor, and Alex knew they needed to already be moving to create distance and lose Kinley's men before entering the mines. Looking around the tunnel, he sought an answer to the situation. Robert and the others backed up in line with him in the hall, and he had an idea begin to form.

"Can you buy us some time?" Warrior looked at him for a moment before having a similar thought.

"Yep, should be able to. Make sure to remember my heroic deed, yeah?" He winked at Alex while pushing off the wall and turning to face the group. Unexpectedly, Aisha almost screamed at him.

"What the fuck?! What are you doing? No, he's not going to buy us time. We fight together and get out together. Have you lost your mind?" This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"No, it's—""We don't leave someone behind. He's your own teammate. How can you just ask him to sacrifice himself?" Robert and the other three glanced at them while pausing in their line. Meanwhile, their opponents took advantage of the distraction and mid-fight debate to launch an offensive. Alex gritted his teeth and created a large spell circle covering the majority of the hallway. The barrier rune blocked the few projectiles that flew their way before dissipating.

He had been hoping to solve the situation without revealing the use of his clones, but as he racked his brain, he didn't see another way. Even as Warrior advanced, Aisha moved forward with him, thinking she would make a stand with the wounded mage.

"Fucking Christ," he said. His mind rapidly ran through alternate scenarios, recognizing a few before quickly dismissing them due to the consequences or what would happen in the next few steps of their retreat. He looked at Robert, who was about to jump into the fight with Aisha.

"Stop," he said.

"Robert. Grab her. Just trust me, leave him here. Get her out of there, even if you have to drag her. I'll explain later." He looked at the four men opposite him, all looking at him with a mix of confusion and disgust. Robert hesitated for a moment, conflict clear in his posture. Alex raised his voice in frustration.

"Do it! Grab her, now!" He didn't wait for him to move before starting to weave his next spell. The timing of the trap would need to be precise, but it was confident it could work as long as Aisha wasn't stubbornly standing in the way.

"Go," Warrior was saying, waving his free hand at her, just as an arrow hit him in the knee. Kinley's men advanced, and Aisha used her blade to block a sword thrust from hitting Warrior. Robert arrived at the same time, kicking the man in the waist and sending him sprawling. To Aisha's surprise, the bruiser grabbed her waist and activated a movement skill back in the direction that Alex stood. Not a moment too soon, as a heavy hammer blow swept to the side and passed through the space she'd been standing.

Already on one knee, Warrior was just barely able to duck under the blow before hobbling back to a standing position and maneuvering into position. Warrior laughed and side-stepped another blow, his movement a blur with the enhancement of a Swift Spell. He used the dagger from his belt to stab the man in the chest while grabbing onto his spear shaft. Just as another opponent stepped forward, he laughed harder, waving his arm in an arc at the man's face, causing blood to fly in his face and miss the easy blow.

He looked maniacal to Alex, even a bit crazed, but it was clear that the clone was on its last leg. Kinley's men could see it as well. Sensing blood in the water, they all advanced at once. With the others clear, Alex waited until the time was right before pulling back the second consciousness and immediately applying it to the new Fracture runic concept again.

Just as before, he used one mind to hold the rest of the spell together with a supporting rune, while the secondary consciousness managed the larger intent before casting the spell. The two rune circle went off flawlessly, Alex's switch happening so fast that he was pulsing mana into the spell to activate it before Warrior's limp body hit the ground. A deafening crack silenced everyone in the hall.

People ducked and covered their heads as the terrible grating sound of several tons of rock shifting reverberated overhead. Before the rubble had settled, kill notifications began streaming into his vision, though he was distracted by phantom pain and the awareness that part of him had just been crushed under a mountain of rubble. He staggered and gripped his right arm, relieved that it was full. Aisha cursed his and Robert's name as she was pulled away from the area, dust and the smell of copper in the air.

You have slain Human - Level 38 You have slain Human - Level 52 You have slain Human - Level 44 You have slain Human - Level 46 Six more kill notifications came in as he turned to follow the retreating group. Though the coughing didn't bother him much, as it stood out amongst the rest. Congratulations, Awakened. You have leveled up! You have 3 Free Points to distribute. The level brought him to 59, only one away from his next rank advancement. He'd killed other humans from Earth, but he felt little remorse.

Kinley and his men were some of the worst he'd seen so far, and it made him worry that Eura had been right about much of the philosophy they'd talked through. They gained some space before Robert let Aisha down. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Alex coolly, much of the heat gone from her face.

"He didn't deserve that. We could have fought." Robert whispered something to her, causing her to look at him in shock and frustration.

"I know you wouldn't do the same, so why are you making excuses—" Robert laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stiffen. He shook his head and, with his back turned, continued to talk to her. After a long moment, Aisha shook her head. She's visibly calmed, but the fire in her eyes hadn't dimmed at all and she looked at Alex as he said, "I'm not some fucking soldier. There's no greater cause and nothing to sacrifice for, don't be an idiot. We have a way of working out problems."

She looked at Robert, still touching her shoulder.

"And you know better than to try and stop it. This is the way." Robert sighed and lowered his head. Tensing, Alex subtly spun a spell circle over one hand while raising the other.

"Look, there is an explanation for all of this. It's really not what you think. We just need to get—""I challenge you," she said simply. Her voice was clear through the empty hallway. Alex looked from left to right. Robert was avoiding eye contact, but the other three were nodding as if approving of Aisha's decision.

"What?" Alex said.

"Here? Are you stupid? There are people literally on the other side of that rubble wall waiting to kill us, and we just jail-broke nine other people who are on the way to a refugee camp as we speak… and you want to fight me?" The sheer idiocy of it all caused his brain to skip.

"No, idiot. Not now. But the challenge will stand. When we get through this, be ready for a fight." With that, she turned and walked down the tunnel, leading the other three toward the hollow vein. Robert walked up beside him, looking at her back as she walked away.

"Care to explain?" He asked calmly, though the tension in his jaw spoke volumes to Alex.

"Me care to explain? What the fu— Why don't you all explain? Do I need to be worried about her sticking a knife in my back when she thinks this is all said and done?" Robert shook his head.

"There are rules to the challenge. It has to be mutual combat, and there has to be a proctor. It won't be to the death either, but Aisha has a temper to her and a serious injury isn't out of the question." Alex sighed and tilted his head toward the group.

"Let's keep heading back. I'll tell you what happened as long as you can agree not to share the information. Even with Aisha. If she's able to calm down a bit, I'll approach her and tell her to, but the more people that know this, the less effective it will be."

"Okay," Robert said, falling into a jog next to Alex.

"It's a skill. Walter and Martin aren't real. They're clones of me wearing magical masks." Robert almost tripped, righted himself, and then looked at him closely.

"You're serious? Clones?" Alex nodded, unwilling to share more details than was needed.

"Damn… so he was just a skill? That's why you were willing to sacrifice him?" Alex bobbed his head again.

"That does change a lot. It just seems so unlikely. He— it seemed so real. I mean, I saw it bleed."

"It's an advanced skill, but it's important that it remains a secret. You can understand that, right?"

"Of course. Every one of us can understand how important it is to keep your power set a secret. Learning what you can through observation is part of the arena, but no one ever shares their set. Not unless you're willing to trust that person with your life, since that's the advantage you're giving them."

"Good. I'll see if I can smooth things over with Aisha when we're back at the camp, just… make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, okay?" Robert began to respond, but the sense of emergency that flooded his mind from Mage caused him to skid to a stop mid-run.

"We have a serious problem," Mage said. What is it? Alex asked, but was already checking the memories and sights that Mage was observing.

"The hollow vein camp is wrecked. There are a lot of dead Koru here…" Shit. Alex saw the camp, several signs of a recent fight, and strewn remnants of the refugees lay scattered about in the cavern. The scene was visible by the two burning tents on the far side. A scream caught his attention, heard through the immediate "memories" of his clone, that same sense of watching life through a set of goggles made it hard to tell exactly where it had come from.

"Sounds like there are some still fighting. We're going to go see if we can help," Mage said. Alex pulled his mind back to focus on his own surroundings and jogged to catch up with Robert.

"We need to move faster than this. The vein was attacked. Did they know we were leaving?"

"There's no way they could have," Robert said, his face stricken. They both picked up their pace, quickly catching up with the other four of their group.

"We need to get back. The camp is under attack," Robert said simply. He continued running, taking the lead and setting the pace. Several curses sounded, and within a few heartbeats, they were moving full speed through the hall and into the mines below.