Chapter 678 - Secret leg

Why this place so big… Where leg?

Silently flying in between the legs of a skeleton guard who couldn’t see her, Pestle was surprised by a sudden communication from Sofia.

‘Pestle. Big news! The lich is distracted. You no longer have to be as sneaky. I’ll try to make this last as long as possible, you have maybe a minute where you can go wild. Rob him blind!’

Not sneaky?

Pestle stopped in her tracks.

If Sofia with lich and Pesle not sneaky… Alarm lich make Sofia danger, no?

Not very smart, Sofia… You sure fae descendant not klepra?

Despite her lighthearted criticism, Pestle decided to be sneaky faster, which involved teleporting through walls and dispelling the weaker alarm enchantments instead of going around them.

The security seemed to go up every time she went down a floor, so she took every opportunity to descend to the lower levels, until she arrived to a floor that looked just like the one she had started from, a luxurious casino with game tables everywhere, except with much fewer people.

Is Pesle also klepra? Fly a loop?!

Pestle still felt through her link to Sofia that she was very far underground compared to her, so there was no doubt this was a different floor, even if it looked that same.

Keep go down for leg!

Before going, Pestle gave another look at the few people playing on this floor.

Ack!

Someone looked back, another fae.

Hello there, ravager one. What is one of your kind doing sneaking around in such a place? Is there a fight to be found here?

Hello diamond one. Pesle is doing robbery. Pestle answered telepathically.

Robbery? Is someone in this room your target? The other fairy asked, seemingly amused by the idea, That Dragon in the corner maybe? Do you want help?

No help, diamond one. Robbery lich because fun.

The chronomancer? I see. Have fun, then, ravager one! Try not to kill him too permanently if you can. I do enjoy this place.

This one understand. Very fun to you, diamond one.

The other fae discreetly nodded and turned back to her game of cards, cutting the telepathic link.

Very luck it a diamond one… 

The danger avoided, Pestle quickly fled the scene through a vent before anyone else noticed her presence. Trying to get away as fast as she could, she quickly made it to the casino’s very last floor.

Surprisingly, after getting past the two banshees guarding the last set of stairs, there was no one else guarding the last floor’s entrance. Pestle’ claws tore through several enchanted mithril doors, before she made it to the lich’s living quarters.

Oh. This why no guard. Pestle thought, standing in front of the last door, pushing her senses to look through it before breaking it.

The interior of the Lich’s quarters were fully enchanted by aura crystal alarms. The aura crystals were the origin of the concept of priming items, they could be filled with one’s mana, which would then be released if anyone else’s mana even entered the ‘aura’ of the crystal, hence the name. It was a very high-end alarm trigger, capable of detecting even someone who could forcibly suppress their mana, but it meant any kind of security guard would also trigger the alarm, so only one person could be allowed in the secured zone. 

But it no work on ravager one.

Lich think ravager one not exist? Why insulting?! Lich must be klepra also! Very robbery now!

Pestle moved the mana around her to create currents. Using a single finger, she pierced a tiny hole through the mithril door. The mana currents sucked some mana out of the lich’s quarters without letting any in, when she felt there was probably enough, pestle pinched the metal of the door to close the hole back.

She deactivated all of ever magic, expulsing it backwards to where she came from, almost dying in the process, and as her skeleton crumbled, she absorbed the mana she had drawn from the lich’s quarters, using it to sustain herself, and activate her magic again.

Using everyone else’s mana was always what the manaless fae did. To trick an aura crystal alarm was child’s play, she just needed to use the liche’s own mana.

Pestle did the process again and cycled her mana another time, to make sure none of the exterior mana remained with her. With that done, she pierced the hole a final time, teleported to the other side through it, and closed it up again. Just like that, she was inside, and the alarm wasn’t triggered.

Where leg?

Since Pestle had no storage item, she could only bring back something she could carry to Sofia, ideally something not too big. 

She began searching, opening drawers and chests.

Anything mildly valuable she found that wasn’t directly visible, she ate. Not only did it help her hunger, it would teach the lich a lesson, she thought. And it would take some time for him to find out, hopefully enough for Sofia to be safely far away.

Pestle stopped in front of a scepter in a display case.

Leg?

She wanted to eat it but that would be too obvious, so she left it and continued to search. That wasn’t a good enough prize for Sofia.

Pestle followed the alarm’s mana circuits, thinking that wherever there were the most alarms was probably where the most valuable thing was.

It did not take her long to find what she was looking for, a small round antechamber with three locked doors, with walls fully enchanted with even more protections, and a big aura crystal embedded in the floor at the center.

Pestle pressed her tiny skull against each locked door, feeling her way inside.

The left room had the scariest looking enchantments, and it oozed with the lich’s mana, which made its contents pretty obvious.

Phylalery here. Useless.

The center room had Pestle reel back when she felt what was inside.

Ack! Lich here?!

He no see Pesle, distracted?

Pestle felt the insides again.

MOVING!

Panicking, Pestle pierced and teleported through the last door without even checking what was inside.

The center door opened, a cursing skeleton walking out of it.

“WHAT WAS THAT?! SINCE WHEN IS A RANDOM NECROMANCER SUCH AN ADVANCED SPACE MAGE? HUH?! FUCK!”

Pestle silently waited for the Lich to go away.

“AAAAAAGH! I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE GOT ME WITH SUCH A STUPID TRICK! AND WITH THE EMPRESS WATCHING, TOO! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! WHY DID I EVEN ACCEPT THE TRIPLE?! I’M STUPID! SHIT!”

The lich slowly walked away, calling Sofia a flurry of distasteful names that would have made Pestle frown, had she had a proper face.

She turned around, looking at the item locked in a display case under more and more layers of alarms. It was an old book, which had to be very precious, considering how well secured it was.

Now robbery!

Pestle slowly observed the enchantments surrounding the display case. Though she understood little about the practice of enchanting itself, reading the flow of mana and deducing what it would do was as natural a breathing for a fairy. From what she could tell, breaking the protection and grabbing the book wouldn’t be too hard, but it would trigger several enchantments, some of which she could not predict the result of, as only the trigger itself was in this one room.

Hmm… If Pestle robbery now maybe Sofia danger…

What if… Hiding here until end?

Hope lich no see broken doors.

With here new strategy in mind Pestle peeled off one of the outer orichalcum layers of the room’s floor, sat in a corner with it in hand, and started slowly munching on it, waiting for news from Sofia. 

Finally, after Pestle chewed through two thirds of the room’s flooring, she heard from Sofia again.

‘Pestle. I can see the exit. Whatever you’re trying to do, now’s your last chance.’

Chance!

Time for rob him blind! She rejoiced, jumping up and landing on top of the display case.

With a punch, she broke through the enchanted glass and grabbed the old book.

Loud alarms rung, mana chains appeared out of nowhere, tightly wrapping around Pestle, and a vast quantity of mana came from the other side of the floor toward Pestle, the lich was coming.

Pestle had thought she could break through the magic chains, but it seemed she had slightly overestimated her capabilities, as she found herself completely unable to move. She simply was not as strong as her instincts told her, as such a low level fae was not even supposed to exist.

Ack! Pesle is klepra after all!

Just as Pestle was wondering if she should kill herself right then and there to at least free Sofia of suspicion, the world around her shifted to a white void.

[Fourth wave: Gambler’s end - COMPLETED]

As the alarms rung, Sofia and the others ran toward the exit.

The even should end as soon as we’re out! Hold on, Pestle!

The exit gate had closed as soon as the alarm had started to ring, several layers of enchantments sealing it shut. 

“Let me deal with the door!” Kuli called out, jumping to the front of the group, “[Crushing palm]!” She struck the closed gate with her open palm. For just a moment, it seemed to do nothing, after which, the gate suddenly burst open, its enchantments all breaking and failing to activate.

As soon as Kuli jumped through the broken gate, she disappeared; everyone jumped after her.

[Congratulations on completing the event! You have been transported to a waiting room while we review your performance and await for all participants to complete the event. In the meantime, you may say the name of your teammates out loud to spectate them if they are still ongoing.]

Sofia had been separated from the others, Kuli and Mornn were nowhere to be seen in the white void, but Pareth, Pestle and Crowie and the other scouts were all there.

The earring and the ingots are all gone, as expected… Huh?

“Sofia!” Pestle rejoiced, seeing that she got her attention, “Very robbery!” she exclaimed, holding up the book above her head with both hands.

“You… You managed to take something out of the event?! Did you do something special?”

Pestle tilted her skull to the side, “Special? No special. Leg robbery!”

“Let me see.”

Sofia grabbed the book from Pestle, its cover and spine were blank, so she opened it and read the first page.

‘Secrets of Chronomancy’