There was a mild triumphant hesitation in the [Mage]’s stance as Rometo died under the effect of his spike. But it was nothing consequential. It was not a show of triumph or anything, just a mild reprieve of having one less opponent to deal with. His head turned, attention focusing on Aiden.
Aiden was not bothered. He regained his footing, the impaled Rometo disappeared, and the one that remained slammed his dagger into the [Mage]’s arm. It disoriented the [Mage] while leaving him with a touch of confusion at the man’s existence.
A time remnant was one of Rometo’s many skills. The Rometo that had died was not merely an iteration of himself, it was him. It was, in a manner of speaking, a cheat skill. Rometo performed a single action, then performed another. He was both versions of himself at the same time. So, to kill him, you had to kill both iterations.
Rometo had died, complete with the experience of having his head ruined and stabbed in. the trick of the skills that supported the singular skill was that as long as one Rometo remained alive, Rometo remained alive.
“Their gone,” Aiden said, loud enough for Rometo to hear him as the impaled version disappeared as it had never existed, that timeline of his decision coming to an end.
Then Aiden shoulder checked the [Mage], slamming him once more into the wall.
“We need to hold him down,” he added, bouncing off the man as if he was a brick wall infused with the mana of a giant.
The man pointed his hand at Aiden as he rebounded, and a spell circle appeared.
Aiden frowned, hands already weaving, pulling an enchantment from memory and hoping it worked.
[You have used Weave of Lapse]
[Effect: All mana effects experience a delay before activation.]
[Duration: 00:00:02]
He felt his mind hesitate as the weaving took effect. With [Walking Canvas] active, it would affect anyone within the range not considered an ally. The only problem was that it would affect Aiden too. Usually, it was an enchantment used when a person was trying to escape. It cast an effect on the ambient mana that forced a delay on any mana effect, skill, spell, even enchantments.
When it took effect on Aiden, it was with great annoyance. He felt himself lag, his brain thinking half a second slow while his body responded half a second slower. It also took a chunk of his mana.
But it did its job.
The spell circle that appeared in the [Mage]’s outstretched hand stuttered before activating. It was enough time for Rometo to drive a fist into his face. The [Mage] staggered back, slamming into the wall as the effect of the weaving ended as abruptly as it had activated and Aiden’s feet hit the ground.
He wanted to find a way to hold the [Mage] down while his brain also did its best to reorient itself now that there was no longer any delay to itself. Then he saw a purple glow appear on the [Mage]’s face and tie itself to the wall.
“Run, Lacheart!” Rometo commanded, already turning for the exit. Right now, it was a little funny seeing Rometo run from his enemy.
Aiden obeyed, knowing exactly what the mark on the [Mage]’s face was. His feet carried him as he engraved one last enchantment onto his sword, knowing the weapon might not survive it.
He and Rometo crossed the distance in what seemed like the blink of an eye, making their way for the hole Ted had created.
[You have used Enchantment of Fire]
The sword ignited in a burst of flames as he run, making a straight line for the exit that Ted had made. It was an arch in the wall, large enough for three people to go in side by side without any discomfort.
He would need to find a way to close it, but he couldn’t think of anything. Why had Ted made it so large?
It was a stupid question. A question that Aiden did not even attempt to find an answer to.
With one last attempt, he turned, moving momentarily backwards. The [Mage] was coming towards them, levitating as if he had all the time in the world, even if he was still moving fast. It was in the way he moved, proud of himself that he had fought back the both of them with nary a scratch.
“Have this for fun then.” Aiden flung the weapon, aiming slightly to the left. If the man dodged to the left, he would still be impaled. If he went right, he would be free. If he did not have the time to evade, he would be impaled.
There was also the concept of a [Mage] shield, but it didn’t mean that Aiden couldn’t try. The sword went through the air. The [Mage]’s eye twitched a little in realization of what Aiden had done—nobody ever expected a swordsman to throw away a perfectly working enchanted sword—and hesitated, bringing his hand up to cast what Aiden assumed was a shield.
The sword was halfway through the air when it just simply crumbled to dust. The [Mage] hesitated, confused, as if expecting some kind of trick to happen. Aiden knew for a fact that there was no trick. He turned and hightailed it all the way to the exit, knowing that there was no way for him to close the entrance. So, what he needed to do was find a way to delay the [Mage]’s pursuit.
Aiden knew the moment Rometo went through.
“We have to find a way to stop him from going through,” Rometo said as he crossed the threshold and into the escape path.
Aiden already had an idea cooked up. In the next moment, he crossed the threshold as well, then came to an abrupt stop.
His hands came together, fingers moving and weaving.
[You have used Class skill Dual Weave]
…
[You have used Weave of Endurance]
He felt his body grow… not necessarily stronger, more along the lines of rejuvenated, as if he could last longer than he was supposed to be able to, as if he could handle more.
[You have used Weave of Strength]
His muscles grew stronger, yet more flexible.
Come one, he told himself as his fingers continued to weave. You’ve thought about this often enough.
In truth, he had not thought about it often enough, he had just thought about it a few times. But a few times was supposed to be enough. At least he hoped so.
The [Mage] was already moving once more.
Remember, Aiden, he can teleport.
Aiden’s fingers did not stop moving.
[You have used Class skill Enchanted Weave]
…
[You have used Weave of Gas]
The mana around him, through the entire reach of [Walking Canvas], was filled in transparent green gas. It was thick enough to be noticed, but not so thick that a person could not see through it. The [Mage]’s eyes sharpened and he held his hand out as he moved.
Don’t rush, Aiden warned himself. He wasn’t dealing with a [Mage] like Estabel, he was dealing with a [Mage] that knew what he was doing in combat, a [Mage] that could more than handle himself.
Just a little bit now.
“Lord Lacheart!” Rometo called out. Aiden gauged the distance of his voice. The man had taken a turn and was probably calling him to join. Aiden ignored it, the man was already far enough.
With everything in place, Aiden sucked in a deep breath through his mouth. With his heightened endurance and strength, his lung capacity was unreasonably high, the lungs themselves unreasonably strong. He sucked in all the gas he had birthed, tasting and smelling what could be methane.
The [Mage] stopped dead in his tracks as all the gas disappeared. Aiden saw it in the man’s eyes. He wondered what he was doing.
You’ll see soon enough. Aiden expelled the air, blasting a large chunk of the green gas forward. Careful now.
What he needed was to not use more than half of the gas.
It shot forward, doing its best to fill the room behind the crevice. He saw the [Mage] hesitate between charging forward or falling back. It was a good sign. Whatever choice the man made, it told Aiden that he could not dispel the gas. Now Aiden just had to work with speed.
The [Mage] lunged forward.
Aiden smirked.
For some reason or the other, the man did not have a teleportation spell or skill to use. No dispel. No teleportation. It was Aiden’s victory.
He expelled the last of the gas in his lungs, then weaved one more enchantment as the gas fled him. The [Mage]s held out hand tilted to the side, a spell circle appeared in the blink of an ice. He shot a shapeless blurb of ice like a blob of spittle from a very large mouth.
Aiden hesitated.
The blob enveloped the fire Fjord had made under Aiden’s command when they’d entered the crevice. Aiden’s confidence rose. The [Mage] had the right idea, just the wrong target.
Ice covered the flame, replace it with a simple ice crystal.
And Aiden finished his weaving.
[You have used Weave of Flames]
He leapt back as the air around him ignited in sparks. It caught on the gas coming out of his mouth. It ignited far more than Aiden would’ve liked as his breathed everything out, pushing the gas and fire as far forward and away from him as possible, emptying his lungs. The [Mage]s eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
Get burnt, Aiden grinned.
Then the world exploded around him. Igniting like a gas burner with its gas turned on for a little too long before being lit. He felt the air around him ignite, felt his lungs go coarse as if he had inhaled too much smoke. His lips and tongue burned.
And a wave of fire shot forward, engulfing the entire world in front of him in fire.
Aiden hit the ground, turned, and fled, leaving nothing but flames and heat behind him while nursing the pain of a burnt tongue and lips.
He turned the corner and ran into Rometo who looked at him with wide eyes.
“What did you do?” Rometo asked. He would’ve sensed it all in his perception but there were things worthy of disbelief that one had to see to believe it.
“A trick I picked up from dealing with Torat,” he answered as he caught up. “Now keep running.”
Rometo followed. “Tarot used [Dragon’s Breath] on you?” he asked in disbelief.
Aiden stretched his senses as they ran. The flames were still burning. That was good. The [Mage], however, was not within it. At least he could not sense him. The [Mage] was not within the flames, but he was not within Aiden’s senses, too.
So, he escaped.
“Tarot did not use it on me,” Aiden corrected as they came upon a T-junction.
Smart, Aiden thought. Whatever tunnel Ted had built, he had built in decoy paths.
Rometo stopped next to him, frowning slightly. “Which way?”
“You can’t sense them?” Aiden asked him, surprised.
Rometo shook his head.
“I see.” Aiden pointed left, following the enchantment he had on Ted and Valdan. “This way.”
Rometo said nothing to it, simply turning and following Aiden. The walls were cracked and scratched, carrying wave like ripples that could be seen on the beach when the waves came in and washed out, the ripple effects of water attempting a first phase erosion.
They had to hurry to catch up with the others. They were not showing up on Aiden’s senses, but he knew that they were not in trouble. His tracking had them moving forward not chaotically.
“How did he do this?” Rometo muttered to himself.
Aiden chuckled a little. It hurt his singed lungs and tongue. “He is not without his useful familiars.”
Interestingly, while Aiden was very much aware of different familiars that Ted had in his past life, he was not aware of any in his present life that was capable of this level of tunneling, or perhaps any level of tunneling at all.
“Dragon’s breath,” Rometo muttered under his breath.
Aiden rolled his eyes as they took another natural turn. “It’s not that deep.”
“Not that deep?” Rometo asked.
Aiden liked how Rometo always kept his confusion hidden when he used Earth slangs. “It’s not that important,” he explained, his senses still not picking up any followers. “It’s not a problem.”
“Not if a [Dragon Knight] finds you,” Rometo disagreed. “They are quite possessive of skills and things that are related to their class.”
This was not news to him. [Dragon Knight]s saw things as their heritage. They were not fans of others being mistaken for wielders of their class, especially when their classes were so very rare. Torat had no hang ups on it, though.
“Just keep running, Rometo,” Aiden said simply. “We won’t be running into any [Dragon Knight] any time soon.”
Rometo paused at another T-junction, and Aiden went left. Rometo followed immediately.
“How are you so sure?” Rometo asked, unable to help himself.
“Ted’s my brother,” Aiden answered, feeling his tongue, lips and lungs trying to heal their damages. “I know how he thinks.”
“Are you sure?”
“I knew he had a plan, didn’t I?”
Rometo hesitated. “How did you know that, by the way?”
“Well, it’s something he’s always done that I never appreciated growing up.” Aiden felt a little bad, disappointed in himself, as he admitted it. “For all his annoyance, Ted was actually a good big brother.”
“That’s not the answer I’m looking for,” Rometo said blandly.
Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes. “The point I’m trying to make is that whenever Ted was with me in a strange environment, he was always aware of two things: how to ensure that I escape if anything goes wrong and how to back my play regardless of whatever it is.”
As a child, he’d never cared. He’d been a brat—not spoiled, for that implied it was his parents’ fault—that didn’t care whatever Ted was doing. He simply didn’t like that people expected him to be extroverted and fun like his brother, even if it was an innocent expectation.
Then his girlfriend and, arguably, his only friend, had taken interest in Ted too.
Sometimes Aiden thought about the whole thing and felt like a shitty person because in hindsight, he realized that he had, in fact, been a shitty younger brother.
A sigh left his lips as they took another turn, their feet silent in their run. “I know my brother, that’s all.”
“Whatever you’re regretting,” Rometo said simply. “I’m sure your brother would not want you to—fuck.”
Aiden’s eyes moved over to him. “What do you mean fu—”
His eyes widened as he sensed it too.
The [Mage] had just stepped into the reach of his awareness. And the man was pissed.
“Fuck.”