Chapter 523 - Assistant Nathaniel

After the usual “keeptheevilswordsleeping” maintenance, I’m one of the many people out here shoveling the snowdrifts. The higher-ups have decided we should do it manually to prevent any unnecessary mana leakage, so for now, we can only use mana inside these incredible tents.

Naturally, I wonder if there’s some fantastic device to handle these drifts—is there a piece of equipment that can just blast them away or evaporate the snow with minimal mana? Maybe a blower that barely needs any magical power?

Nope. We have shovels.

As the Rulers intended.

On the bright side, we’re all superhuman, so we can clean up at remarkable speed, even in this shitty weather. Another plus is having that giant-race-or-something guy called Hed working alongside me. He’s got a massive shovel and, if I happen to be near him, I can slack off a bit. After all, I need to look out for my delicate body, don’t I? My Mana Physique is sensitive and I'm a weak, weak man.

Besides, I also have to adapt my [Bone Knitting] skill to all this physical effort. Sure, it’s a pain, but it’s already risen two levels, which is definitely a plus. It’s still not all that useful overall, but I’ve got a good feeling about it. I can evolve it into something powerful, or combine it with a more synergistic skill. At least it’s boosted my bone durability to a level beyond normal, which came in handy in that fight with Jean when my skeleton withstood a downright ridiculous amount of punishment. It’s my flesh that’s the weak link.

“Don’t slack off,” Hed mutters, shoving away a pile of snow the size of a small car.

“I’ll make you a low common item if you pick up my slack,” I offer.

He halts in front of me, looming like a mountain. The sheer amount of fabric that went into his clothing could probably be used to make a tent for a full party of humans.

“Mid common?” I ask.

“Just do your work, Nathaniel, like everyone else here does.”

“Why bother? It’s obvious things are gonna go to shit any minute, and you guys must also know it.”

My words make him pause. He lowers himself closer so I can hear him clearly despite the howling wind. “Do you actually know something more? Do you have a way out?”

“Nope. And also nope. Do you want to leave?”

A puzzled look crosses his face. He may be huge, but his expressions are similar to a human’s, just on a larger scale. “We’ve worked with lumorans before, and the pay was solid. Their level 9 technician liked us, so we figured we’d do it again. But now? This is nothing like what we signed up for.”

“Did you talk to Serabeth or Quent about it?”

“Of course. They just said this mission needs secrecy and that we shouldn’t worry. We knew we’d end up at the second front, but we assumed we’d be safe. I mean, Exalia Champion Feroy is rumored to be almost as strong as Champion Owain, and Owain is supposedly the strongest right after the lumoran Absolute.”

“Look, if you’re nudging things toward some alliance, go see Tess instead.”

“Aren’t you the strongest in your group?”

“Hell no. You ever seen Biscuit?”

“Who?”

"There should be a death penalty for such an insult. Anyway, I know we’ve had our clashes before…"

“…you nearly tore off my left arm,” he interrupts.

I keep going. “But I think you’re a decent guy. I might not be the greatest judge of character, but I’m not totally clueless either. Just remember: my group will always come first.”

He gives a rumbling laugh and pats my shoulder, surprisingly gentle for someone his size. “Human, we velnars are used to that. The strong lead, the weak follow. You protect your own before anyone else.”

“Sounds like a neat code. Any other interesting velnar tidbits?”

“We don’t like lazy people who slack off and force us to pick up the extra work.”

“That’s wild. More?”

“Even if someone can’t work as hard as others, at least show some effort. It goes a long way.”

“That’s even crazier. Seriously messed up. Anything else?”

I don’t get anything further because he’s already turning back to shovel more snow. For such a massive guy, he’s surprisingly chill. I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Our mercenary group includes an empath named Izzy, and she confirms Hed is probably the friendliest individual here. He’s also incredibly skilled in metals and inscriptions, better than the trio of thylarin, including the one with a fragment of Eternal Fire. He even outmatches the other two members of his crew, a vyssari man and a human woman.

I notice the camp guards watching me, so I quickly get back to shoveling. I stick close to one of the piles Hed already cleared, making it look like I’ve done more work than I actually have.

***

Within my personal mind space, I’m squaring off against Whitey once again, though “squaring off” might be too strong a phrase since I’m lying on the ground, both arms blown clean off and a hole through my stomach. Chunks of my flesh and bone hover in midair, pinned by Whitey’s Resonance Flow.

He’s sitting cross-legged next to me, looking utterly unperturbed by my near-death state and by the fact that my blood and shredded flesh are suspended inches away from him.

“I never realized it, but we’re technically the same level,” he comments. “You’re level 301 now, and that was my level when I died.”

“Fantastic,” I spit back, tasting blood. Even if it doesn’t hurt as badly as it does outside, it’s still unpleasantly close. Why does everything in here have to feel so damned real?

“You’re not going to finish me off?” I manage. “Don’t play with your food.”

“A little pain sears that sense of loss into your mind.”

“Fucking demon.”

“Thank you.”

I groan. “This is so fucked up, anyway…so, when are you taking control of my mind?”

“Honestly? I could try at any time and probably succeed. You haven’t done much to defend yourself.”

“That’s bullshit. You realize I can see just about all of your memories, same as you can see mine, right? I know exactly what you’re planning.”

He gets up, flashing a toothy grin that shows off an inhuman set of canines. "Knowing doesn't change anything. There's nothing you can do, and nothing else I can do either."

Still grinning, he presses his foot onto my forehead and applies kinetic force, making my skull crack from the pressure.

“Soon, we’ll fight unrestricted, and you’ll be using your mana. I know you’ve been thinking that you are now much stronger than I was,” he says. The force increases. “I’ll prove the opposite.”

Everything goes black, and then I’m back in my tent again.

***

“Quent, Quent, hey! Got a moment?” I catch up to the lumoran technician.

“No.”

“Perfect!”

I hasten after the lumoran before he enters Workshop number 2—the one I currently can’t access. He turns, exasperated, and faces me. “Assistant Nathaniel, I’m a level 8 technician. I have no time for silly questions. Ask level 7 technician Leth if you need anything.”

“I did. He said he can’t help.”

He sighs. “Ten seconds.”

“I want to work in Workshop number 2, or at least do something more interesting.”

“No.”

“Then how about this?” Expecting that answer, I unwrap a piece of fabric to show off a large section of golden chain—the one that once held the Champion down in the depths of the mines under Hollowhole. The Champion whom Biscuit chewed up.

“Are you trying to bribe me?”

“Yes.”

“At least you’re honest,” he replies, touching the chain. It’s not actually gold, just gold-colored, and I still don’t know what it’s made of. I can’t identify it—maybe because it’s too broken to identify, maybe because the system’s being a jerk, or maybe because I don’t officially ‘own’ it to identify it.

“That material…where’d you get it?”

“Well, time’s up. Sorry to bother you.” I start to wrap it again.

“Assistant Nathaniel,” he says, a disapproving edge to his voice, “do you realize how often Serabeth, the other level 8 technicians, and the Exoria deployment camp guards complain about you?”

“Not really. Hardly ever?”

“Every single day.”

“Must be a different Assistant Nathaniel.”

“A week,” he snaps. “Technician Leth will test you and your group to gauge your abilities. If you succeed, you’ll be granted access to Workshop number 2 under his supervision.”

“That’s perfect. Thanks, level 8 technician Quent. See you soon!”

“Assistant Nathaniel…aren’t you forgetting something?”

Enjoying the little game, I finally give him the piece of chain. He cradles it like a precious treasure and walks off with it. It seems the twins’ brand of mischievousness has rubbed off on me. Gotta admit, it’s fun, and now I kind of understand them better.

Bearing good news, I head to our tent, taking off my outer clothes before stepping into our living room. As usual, Izzy’s intense blue flame is set for heating, and most of our group is gathered around it.

“We’ll get tested, and then we can enter Workshop number 2,” I announce immediately.

“Me and Aaron managed to tap into the defensive arrays on a few smaller tents,” Dennis pipes up with enthusiasm. “With a bit more calculating power—maybe from you or Sophie—we might even break into the less secure ones. The storage area, possibly!”

“Me and Sophie just got our asses whooped by Lily in melee combat. Nat, what did you do to her?” Maya demands, shooting me a disgruntled look.

“Even you, Tess?” I ask, turning toward the blonde.

She doesn’t reply, which says enough. I grin and hold my arm up for a high-five with our petite terminator, Lily, who happily returns it.

“Anyway, I’m worried things might be worse than we suspect,” I say.

“They caved way too easily and let you into Workshop number 2?” Tess ventures.

I nod. “It’s also been several days since Ardenyx left, and from how Serabeth and the others are acting, it shouldn’t be taking this long.”

“What do you think, Izzy?” Sophie asks her sister.

“From what I can feel, most of the lumorans here are frightened because they’re in the dark, but they trust their Champion. They follow him of their own free will, and they absolutely adore him. A lot of them would die for the man.”

“So maybe it’s just some secret mission meant to help lumorans,” Sophie muses. “Somebody that popular probably isn’t evil.”

“I tried to get them to move us away from the front,” Tess says with a shrug. “But Serabeth refused. Instead, they just keep raising our pay.”

Sophie snorts. “They can promise entire cities, but if they expect not to come back, it’s meaningless. Maybe try asking for payment in materials or info, right now?”

“Great idea. I’ll do that—” Tess begins, only to stop abruptly. All of us sense a sudden pulse of mana as the camp’s defensive arrays glow for an instant.

We’re instantly on high alert, but no further commotion follows. Instead, I sense something else—an all-too-familiar presence returning. “Ardenyx,” I say, the name slipping from my lips.

Pulling on our warmer gear again, we hurry outside. Just about everyone—maybe a hundred people—has gathered, watching as Ardenyx comes flying in for a landing near the center of the camp. The war armor collapses onto its knees, its one remaining arm plunging into the snow to keep it from crashing face-first. The cockpit area is riddled with holes. A group of Lumorans rush forward to pry it open by hand, as though it’s incapable of opening on its own.

They pull the Champion’s disciple out, releasing a cloud of hot steam that floods the cold air, accompanied by bursts of mana. Moments later, Ardenyx blinks once before going completely inert, as though its batteries are drained. Without the pilot’s additional power, it can’t move.

Before the delirious pilot is carried away, I notice he’s clutching something in his hand, something I can’t identify, though it radiates an incredibly chaotic mana. Then he disappears from sight, and I lose all sense of him. Unable to investigate further, I turn my attention back to Ardenyx.

It’s in terrible condition: missing an arm, its flight mechanism wrecked, head gone, and riddled with gaping holes.

When I try to move closer, a lumoran guard blocks my path. All non-lumorans are then ordered back to our tents, which are locked behind us.

***

Next Chapter

***

Author note: 
Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful time, no matter how you’ve decided to spend these days! You’ve already received a gift from me, so, well, this feels a bit awkward now, lol. Originally, I had planned to upgrade Patreon membership by 10 chapters instead of 5, but I was too weak. Sad.

That said, I still intend to upgrade Patreon membership by 5 more chapters sometime next year, bringing Tier 3 to a nice round total of 50 chapters. That will most likely be the final upgrade—around 120-150 thousand words, nearly an entire Amazon book!

After finishing Book 6, I’m planning to take a week-long break. It’ll be my first real break after over 500 chapters and two years of writing. Damn.

Book 6 should wrap up in the next 1-2 months - if my calculations are correct. I’ll try to give you a more accurate warning before I go on break so you can pause your subscription if you want to.

Right now, I’m still managing to keep up with 5 chapters a week and don’t think I need to reduce them to 4. However, taking a week-long break occasionally—especially after finishing a book—should help me to keep up.

Once again, Merry Christmas and thank you for being here with me, reading as I write what I want to and what I enjoy writing.

It’s amazing to have so many of you reading, commenting, theorizing, and following along as I write the story I love.