Chapter 538 - Green, blue, and purple flame

Me and Leth stop near one of the lines of defense. The web in the sky becomes more dense, and detections become more accurate. There is even that super tall wooden wall with inscriptions, and I’m sure there are scouts or guards nearby, ready to rush in at speeds of racing cars.

“Can you make it from here?” I ask him.

After days of traveling, he seems tired but happy to stand on his feet. “I can. I know the protocols, and after quarantine, they should let me in. With all that happened, they will probably listen to me sooner, even if they suspect I might be a mimic. Then they will probably want to ask me about what happened. I will ask to meet Champion Owain and talk only to him.”

“Sounds good. Are you sure you aren’t a mimic? That would suck after all of this.”

“I… I don’t think so? Are you?”

“Me? The last thing I’m missing is another dickhead in my mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t sweat it. Then I will be going.”

Before I can leave, he calls to me, “Assistant Nathaniel.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you, truly. After meeting with Champion Owain, I will ask them to look for you regarding your reward and… I hope your friends are fine.”

“Sure. See you later, level 7 technician Leth.”

With that, I propel myself high into the air before arcing back toward my starting point. My senses expand as far as possible—I ignore detailed signals, prioritizing sheer range over precision.

Right away, I move faster than I did with Leth and enjoy the wind passing by me as I pierce the air. No matter how often I fly, I still continue to enjoy it.

***

POV Kim Min-Jae

I shoot another projectile into the body of the lesser mimic and then pull it back, together with a few hundred more I already shoot. All of them pierce through again and again until the monster finally stops moving and the notification about the kill rings.

Another one charges me, but with [Telekinesis] I pull my body away and expand the gravity field around me.

The monster slows down, and like a shotgun, my orbs pierce it before I pull them back. Hundreds of them float and spin around me.

(Help Izzy,) I get a message from Tess.

After quickly locating her, I fly for a short while through the snow and land near her. A bit further away, Noodle coils around one of the mimic spawns—green, blue, and purple flame burning on his skin as he starts eating the monster, as disgusting as it looks.

At first, we were worried about him, as mimics can possess you, but anything that enters Noodle’s stomach doesn’t seem to be a cause for concern.

Izzy stands on a patch of dry land, an area of the stadium around her cleared out, all snow melted, and her new green, blue, and purple flames combined into one, flickering everywhere.

When we fight, we almost always need to keep our distance from each other. That’s just how some of our abilities work and what they require to be used at a high level.

At first, I don’t realize what Izzy might need help with, but then I notice a Greater Mimic climbing out of the hole.

Fuck.

(Just hold it for a moment, Lily will be there soon! Biscuit is also somewhere nearby,) Tess sends as if reading my thoughts.

Given no other choice, I call to Izzy, (You tank and I snipe.)

(Sure!) she calls.

Her flames draw in tighter and intensify, taking the form of a massive snake that coils around her as if alive.

The Greater Mimic crashes against it, and I use my eyes to reach through the gravitational wavelengths I see, especially the ones closer to the monster. I grab them and pull on them, and part of the monster’s body implodes on itself, taking a good chunk of my mana with it. The flame snake attacks that part while I also redirect my field to slow the monster.

As burns start showing on its skin, the mimic continues to charge. Its incredibly tough body doesn’t slow even as I hurl car-sized chunks of debris at it with all the force I can muster.

But that brief moment of slowing the monster is enough and Lily soars through the air and lands on it. Her giant axe flashes with gray mana as she cuts into the monster with ease, again and again, before it throws her away. A few tentacles reach toward her, but a gray mantle forms around her, and the tentacles disappear on contact—disintegrating.

(Yoo, the mana maniac is on his way. He caught one of the high-range mana frequencies we kept sending for him,) Dennis sends out of nowhere through the general link.

(Food!)

(Wanna bet he just asked if Nat is bringing us some food?) Maya sends the message as well.

(All focus. Sophie and Maya, finish our Greater Mimic. Dennis and Aaron, help Lily, and Min-Jae and Izzy with theirs. Let’s clear it up before he comes here,) Tess orders, and we get back to fighting.

***

POV Nathaniel

When I land, the fight is over.

My grand entrance isn’t happening now, but at the same time, it’s quite nice to see some corpses of Greater Mimics around. I’m sure they weren’t as powerful as the ones I killed so easily, but group 4 is doing alright. To my satisfaction, Lily is also already looting some body parts.

In comparison to the others, who are wearing these thick protective clothes, I’m only thinly dressed—still in the same shirt and pants I wore while meeting Kyralon. I do not feel cold, and while the cost on my mana is big, it’s reasonable for this level of comfort.

For a moment, I examine these multicolored flames around Noodle and Izzy and head to Tess, deciding to ask about the flames later.

After Dennis adds me to the link, I say, (I think we will want to fuck off as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few Champion grade mimics show up out of nowhere if they have any left. And we need to find some place to fix up Fracture—that thing is annoying to keep at bay all the time. I swear, a bit longer and I will sell it.)

(It’s nice to see you too, Nat,) Tess sends back, and I can hear amusement in her voice. (You had us worried for a moment there.)

(Just for a moment? What if I’m a mimic?)

(You can still talk in the Community.)

(Would you really put it past the System to let a mimic imitate me so perfectly that it can use the Community on this floor? The System could then simply prevent the mimic from reaching the 8th floor. Or it could remove it once all the attendees are dead.)

(Fuck, you must have been really popular at parties, Nat.) Maya smirks nearby, reaching her wounded arm toward Lily, who starts healing it.

(I was never invited to any.)

(M-me neither!) Lily adds.

(With your healing abilities, people will invite you to many, many parties. Don’t worry, Lily.) Tess winks at her and then turns to me. (How much longer till we’re out of the second front?)

(Probably a day at your snail's pace? It will get warmer soon and there will be less snow.)

(That’s good. Our equipment and tents are held together by wires and duct tape and I don't want to waste that much mana on keeping us warm while we fight mimics. Sophie, can you take Izzy and come with me to check on the rest of the group? The others, please show Nathaniel around. Thirty minutes, and we’ll head out for the last push.)

After that, she leaves, and I’m brought to one of the smaller tents we stole. There are three of them, the remaining two likely for the other mercenaries, a few of whom are probably mimics.

(We aren’t killing other mercenaries just to be sure no mimic jumps on us?) I ask.

Min-Jae is the first to answer, (Sophie keeps track of them, and when one moves too far away from us, Tess usually just one-hit snipes him from a distance. Even in this storm, I saw her throw her javelin over a two-mile distance and still kill a Mimic Spawn with one hit!)

After sitting down on a manabloc chair, Dennis groans with satisfaction, (Tess wants the lumorans to clear them out or kill them when they start running away. Her goal is to keep the true mercenaries alive in hopes of some valuable information or further rewards.)

(She should have been Greed. It would fit her,) I note.

Lily giggles, (She got offered Greed, Chastity, and Temperance back then, so you aren’t that far off.)

(Now that you mention it, what other options did you get, Lily?) I ask.

(Lust!)

(Shut up, Dennis! I got Wrath, Charity, and Sloth.)

(Min-Jae?)

(Envy, Humility, and Greed.)

(Two dickheads?)

(Fuck you, Nat. Both Aaron and I got Diligence, Patience, and Humility.)

(That’s three Blights and no Radiances. Good boys. And you, Maya?)

(Patience, Temperance, and Sloth.)

(All interesting. I got Pride, Greed, and Patience. By the way, what are these purple, green, and blue flames Noodle and Izzy have?)

Maya shrugs, (Noodle ate a guy with a Fragment of Eternal Fire—whatever it is. Noodle is Izzy’s bond, so they share some of their abilities. Izzy’s blue flames evolved or something under the effect of that fragment, which is apparently also purple, green, and blue colored. Also, here.)

I grab the sword she is handing me, the damaged arcane item I got from Beyond—a claymore called Bloodthirst.

(You already got a new skill you wanted?)

Maya smiles proudly, (Yup, [Compounding]. The effects seem to be similar to Bloodthirst, but I can apply it to any of my weapons, and it works nicely with [Boost].)

(These skill names are getting weirder and weirder,) I shake my head. (We have to test it later. It sounds cool. And take Bloodthirst back—it’s nearly fixed and at arcane grade. After you get it to Arcane, I’ll sell it in Beyond and give you a cut.)

(Sounds good!) There is no hesitation as she grabs it back right away.

“So, where is Biscuit?” I ask, pretending not to see the short tail wagging under one of the blankets nearby.

When I say his name, the wagging speed of the tail increases.

“Biscuit? Where are youuu?” I ask, still pretending not to see, ignoring the others rolling their eyes.

I take a few steps and pass by the mentioned blanket, and then it’s thrown aside as a corgi pup rushes out from underneath, biting into the cloth of my pants with his short, sharp teeth and starting to pull and shake his head to cause more damage.

“Oh my god. You got me! I was scared for a moment!”

(Food!)

“Yes, it’s terrifying!”

He finally lets go and barks, and I reach down to pick him up. Ever since he turned into a pup, he sometimes acts like one. But it’s cute, so he can do whatever he wants.

While giving him the pets he deserves, I turn to the others, (We need to hold on for…) I check the timer, (around three weeks, and then we’ll get our personal walking hydrogen bomb. Plus, I can probably get us some nice rewards for one thing I helped with, so we can bail to a safer place and take normal missions for a while.)

(What do you plan?) Lily sits near me and reaches to pet Biscuit. (Aren’t you worried about what Lissandra might do?)

(A bit, but it’ll be fineee. I need to fix Fracture first. Then I want to see what Maya’s skill does. I want to see Noodle and Izzy’s Fragment of Eternal Fire, and more and more. After Lissandra arrives, there won’t be much time left until the second tournament. So, who here thinks we’ll set a new record for enduring the most waves?)

***

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