DCD - B3 - Chapter 44 - Escape!

Half an hour passed by. Enya stared with hand-covered eyes, peering through her senses in the ceiling at the crowd below. Roughly nine black-robed figures—the Veiled Ones, stood around, eating and talking. She spotted that at least seven of them had taken a drink of the poisoned alcohol already. It was only a matter of time.

Skill: Insight has been activated.
Target: Tami Herenegir
Revealed Information: A woman in her thirties that has the class “Mistwalker.” She is highly agile and can blend in with her surroundings, causing misty illusions and hallucinatory effects. Currently poisoned by a Wistmere Slime. Time until poison takes effect: 2 minutes. Will fall incredibly ill.

Surprisingly, but not unsurprisingly—mainly that she forgot—there was something else she could focus on while waiting for the poison to take effect. One of her class quests had finally finished.

Quest Complete: Use Insight on 100 unique targets.
Please choose one skill from the three offered below:

Skill: Spoken Truth [Active][D+]
Target a living creature and force it to answer truthfully to one question you have.
[Mana Cost: 0]
[Cooldown: 30 minutes]

Skill: Memory Purge [Active][D+]
Target a living creature and seal away a memory. The more broad the memory, the more mana is consumed.
[Mana Cost: 0]
[Cooldown: 1 hour]

Skill: Threaded Fate [Passive][D+]
By focusing on a target, you can see the threads of fate that are connected to them.

The options she received were tailored to her Visionary class. As she read them, she was unsure whether or not these were extremely strong skills or not. Being able to force people to tell the truth or even seal away their memories sounded like something a super powerful mage would have access to inside a novel. And yet, here it was, being offered to her at only a D+ rank. Enya knew Necrosmith was rare, but was her Visionary innate class also strong?

Threaded fate seemed the most peculiar. It was intriguing, but she also had no idea what it was supposed to do. She’d rather not get stuck with a skill she wouldn’t use again. Bone Shift was fine, but after being able to manipulate bones directly with her Soul-Energy and transfiguration of soul, it lost its purpose. Of course, she could still rank it up. She had spare skill points to spend.

In the end, Enya went with the skill, Spoken Truth.

Spoken Truth [Active][D+] has been obtained.

For now, it seemed the most useful. She wasn’t sure when she’d ever need to erase someone’s memory—but making sure no one could lie to her? That seemed too good of an ability to pass up.

“Man… I gotta go use the latrine,” a voice groaned from below.

Enya refocused, peering through the ethereal mist of her apparition tucked in the ceiling. Below, the Veiled Ones were starting to wobble. It looked like all of them except one had ingested the poisoned drinks.

“I don’t feel so good…” a woman muttered.

“Agh… my stomach feels like it’s on fire…” another man groaned.

One by one, they collapsed, clutching their stomachs, writhing across the floor. Only a single man remained upright—the one who hadn’t drunk anything.

“Hey! Bart! Liam! What the hell’s going on?” he shouted, shaking one of the fallen Veiled Ones.

“Oh… it hurts so much. Shit!” another croaked. “Why… why’re you fine, Yhven?”

Yhven, the only one still standing, paused, thinking. “Drinks. I didn’t drink today. Damn it… did you all get poisoned?”

Quickly, Enya retracted her senses and returned fully to her body. Her eyes blinked open. Talon, Ren, and Mirra were still sitting cross-legged across from her. On the far side of the room, Billy was staring at her too—until she noticed. Then he jolted and immediately looked away.

“So? What happened?” Mirra asked.

“Did it work?” Talon added.

Enya nodded, expression tightening. “Yeah. All of them are down except one. The last guy didn’t drink anything.”

Everyone’s shoulders loosened at once.

Talon stood. “That’s fine. If it’s just one, we can handle him together. He probably thinks someone else poisoned the food—like a rescue party. I doubt he’ll imagine it was us.”

The rest of the room noticed Talon standing and began to rise as well. Billy hopped off his child-pyramid with a dramatic flourish.

“So?! What’s going on? Are we leaving this stupid dungeon already?” Billy demanded.

Talon looked at him. “Yeah. All the Veiled Ones are down. All but one.”

Murmurs rippled across the children.

“Just… one? That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Are you kidding? My guards got killed by one, and I never even saw the attack!”

“How are we supposed to escape then?”

“Alright, shut up, all of you peasants!” Billy barked. “I’m taking charge now!” He pointed at Talon and Enya. “You two! It’s time to break out of here. I can deal with the last idiot myself—once you break my cuffs.”

Talon shrugged and gestured lazily toward Enya. “She’s the one who broke hers. Ask her, your highness.” His tone held unmistakable mockery.

Billy froze at that. His expression shifted instantly once he realized Enya would need to free him. He cleared his throat and stood taller.

“Ah. I see. Well then… I will allow you the honor of breaking my cuffs. Not many get to interact with me so directly.”

Talon’s eyes slid toward Mirra. “You’re right. He is easy to read.”

“Told you,” Mirra whispered back.

“Hey! I heard that!” Billy snapped, pointing accusingly at them.

Enya raised her hand and formed her summon spell circuit. With a flash of mana, two skull necklaces appeared in front of her, landing neatly in her palm.

“Ah! Took you long enough!” Pell complained immediately. “I was about to suffocate! The guy fell over onto his stomach and I was getting squashed. Just endless darkness for minutes.”

Mr. Bones simply rattled in agreement.

“Eh? Did that necklace just talk?” Mirra asked, staring. Even Billy and Talon looked startled. Ren, however, only nodded nervously.

“S-she said she was a necromancer, remember? That… seems reasonable enough…”

Enya reformed their bodies. Pell unfolded into his nimble skeleton form, metal bones reforging into his assassin re-role. Mr. Bones took shape as the Noble Skeletal Knight—towering, broad-shouldered, and so massive he had to hunch to avoid scraping the ceiling.

The other kids gasped, some stumbling back, but Billy threw his hands up.

“All of you relax! Like you’ve never seen a giant skeleton before! Quit gasping and get in line! We’re taking these stupid cuffs off!”

“Who’s the brat?” Pell asked, glancing down at Enya.

“I dunno. I think his name was Belly?”

“I-it’s Billy!” he snapped, cheeks reddening. “Remember it correctly! My name is Billy!”

He didn’t maintain eye contact for more than a second.

“Wow, is that kid easy to read,” Pell muttered.

“Huh?” Enya tilted her head.

“Nothing.” Pell summoned his harvester with a swipe of his arm. “I wasn’t expecting to save everyone in here, but I guess I can’t leave all of you to rot either.” He pointed the scythe toward the children. “Alright, brats! Line up!”

A collective shiver ran through the room. A skeleton—armed with a scythe, glowing purple soul-flames burning in his skull—did not exactly inspire comfort.

A soft buzzing drifted through a crack in the doorway.

Enya perked up.

Elria.

“Wow. He looks like he’s about to off all the kids in here,” Elria said as she zipped in, wings fluttering.

Pell twisted around slightly. “Don’t give the girl any ideas. She might actually make me do it so she can get some skeleton bones.”

“Haha… ha… that skeleton is pretty funny,” Ren said, voice trembling. “O-of course you wouldn’t do that, right?”

Enya tilted her head the other way. “I can’t? Not even a few?”

Every child whipped toward her in horror.

“No!”

Enya’s shoulders drooped. “Aw…”

⬥⬥⬥

Yhven sprinted through the hallways. He had checked the other Veiled Ones—every single one was down. Poison. That much was obvious.

But why?

Only one conclusion made sense.

Someone was trying to rescue the children.

He passed several rooms and rushed down the stairs. There had to be an intruder. If he made it in time, he could deal with them.

What he wasn’t expecting was a giant, armored skeleton knight waiting for him at the bottom.

“What the—?” he muttered, mildly shocked. But he didn’t stop. In one clean motion, he drew his black steel dagger and lunged.

Mr. Bones met him head-on, raising his bone buckler to intercept the strike. Yhven was fast—far faster than a normal assassin. He dipped low, shifted his attack, and slashed at the monster’s neck joint.

The blade struck true.

The armored skeleton collapsed instantly, bones shattering into a clattering heap.

He didn’t pause. Yhven turned to continue down the stairs—

Something caught his ankle.

A thin shadow wrapped around him, rising from the steps. He stumbled, dropping to a knee. He sliced without hesitation, cutting the shadow cleanly before it could tighten.

The moment he stood, the scattered bones of the fallen knight began to twitch—then surge toward him, as if trying to smother him. Yhven slashed again and again, breaking the animated bones apart with practiced efficiency.

He pushed forward, reached the chamber doors, and threw them open.

Inside, all the children were pressed against the far wall, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes.

His brows narrowed. “Talk. Who came down here—”

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t finish. A flicker of motion sparked behind him.

Pell blinked into existence mid-swing, harvester scythe tearing through the air.

Yhven barely blocked in time. The force sent him skidding backward across the stone floor, stopping just a few feet from the children.

He countered immediately. His form blurred, and a shadowy mirage peeled away from him—an apparition that sprinted forward with lethal speed. It clashed with Pell, dagger meeting the curved blade of the harvester. His strength easily overpowered the skeleton, knocking Pell backward.

Yhven lunged, aiming a finishing strike at Pell’s neck—intent on decapitating him.

Pell vanished.

The mirage version of Yhven snarled, then collapsed as the skill ended, snapping him back into his original position.

“Now!” Enya shouted.

Chaos erupted.

Every child with an offensive spell lit up the room. Fireballs, icicles, a shimmering arcane arrow, Enya’s bone spear. Billy even fired off an impressive beam of condensed mana. But underneath all of that, was the centerpiece of the ambush:

Talon’s trapping skill.

It detonated beneath Yhven’s feet just as the volley converged.

*****

“So… how are we going to deal with that last Veiled guy?” Mirra asked. “He might still be able to defeat all of us, or even kill us instantly.”

“I used Insight on him before coming back,” Enya said. “Maybe we can come up with a plan?”

Skill: Insight has been activated.
Target: Yhven Green
Revealed Information: A man in his late twenties with less than one year in the Veiled Ones. Class: Shadow Assassin. His most frequently used ability is Shadow Assault, which allows his body to temporarily transform into a spectral figure and strike a target. Once the skill ends, he must return to his original position.

“If we can take advantage of that skill, we might be able to beat him,” Ren said.

“How about the merchant and that other bonehead distract him?” Elria suggested, wings flicking irritably. “Make him fight for a bit and bait out his ability. Once he activates it, we hit him the moment he snaps back. The skeleton won’t die, so it’s better than using the children as bait.” She paused, thoughtful, glancing down at Enya. “Though, if you want to use the children as bait, I don’t really mind.”

“I mind!” Ren hissed, looking between the fly and Enya in horror.

Talon stepped forward. “My class is Trophy Hunter. My family collects beasts—lots of rare ones. One of my skills lets me break a creature’s will to fight, as long as it realizes it’s trapped. If we get him cornered, even for just a second, I can activate the ability.”

“Only monsters?” Enya asked.

“Well… I’ve never tested it on a human. I don’t hunt humans like… necromancers…” Talon coughed lightly, then continued. “But the skill description doesn’t say monster. It says anything. So in theory, it should work on the Veiled One.”

“That’ll help deal with his Shadow Assault,” Pell said.

“Hmph. So even a baron’s noble can be useful,” Billy added, arms crossed as he tried to sound important.

*****

Yhven reappeared at his original spot, mind rattled by the sudden barrage of spells hurled at him.

How?! The children still have their cuffs on!

What he failed to realize was that it was all a façade.

Pell had already sliced each cuff perfectly down the center. The kids were simply pretending they were still bound, holding the pieces together just enough to make them look intact.

Panic surged through Yhven’s thoughts, but he forced it down.

Stupid brats! he cursed.

They were children. Their spells were weak. He could blink behind one, slit a throat or two, and the rest would fall in line. They had overdone their quota anyway—

But just as he activated his blinking skill, his body seized.

“Go!” Talon shouted as the volley descended. His skill—Cornered Prey—triggered.

In that single instant of realization, Yhven’s instincts registered what Talon intended.

That was all the skill needed.

Yhven froze mid-step, completely locked out of his own body.

He was the cornered prey, an assassin part of a prestigious hunting organization—cornered by a bunch of ten year olds.

His scream tore through the chamber as every spell struck him.

He was maimed, stabbed, burned, frozen, split—every type of damage imaginable delivered in under a second.

Fire clashed with ice, arcane blasts collided with bone—filling the room with a choking cloud of smoke and dust.

A soft chime echoed in Enya’s mind.

System Notification: You have landed a killing blow on Human (Level 41).
You have received 586 EXP (-33%)(12% contribution).
Experience Remaining Until Next Level: 7402/9814

Before the smoke even cleared, she could already tell he was dead. But the experience gain… that was strange.

Twelve percent contribution made sense—she had attacked alongside several other kids.

But -33%?

She remembered only one other time she had been penalized like that.

The first bandit she killed. In Talo’s forest.

Did… did killing humans reward less experience?

“That’s so dumb,” Enya muttered.

As the smoke faded, the children erupted into cheers. Cuffs hit the floor one after another as the kids broke themselves free. Enya thought for a moment—then raised her hand.

“Can I have your guys’ cuffs?”

Talon, Mirra, and Ren exchanged looks. They clearly had questions, but none of them bothered asking. They handed their cuffs over without protest.

“Pell, can you store these? I might make something good with them later,” she said.

Pell looked skeptical but shrugged. “Sure, sure. Whatever.” He tossed the cuffs into his inventory, then turned toward the entrance. “It’s time to get out of this hellhole. With all the Veiled Ones dead, Amberdean’s a sitting duck. I can’t wait to rip his face off.”

His voice held pure spite.

Enya nodded—then gasped. “Oh! Can’t forget!”

She hurried over to Yhven’s charred corpse. Summoning her bonecarver’s quill, she stabbed it into his chest. The body was blackened and half-scorched from the earlier spells. There wasn’t much left to see.

“Can’t forget my soul-energy,” she murmured.

Ren leaned toward Mirra, whispering behind cupped hands. “What is she doing?”

Mirra leaned back with her own cupped hands. “I… don’t think we want to know.”