Free Tier - Accidental Champion (Book 7) - Chapter 31 - A Mind as Still as Stone

What in all hells!?

One moment, Palini had been inside Containment Room 238B, the next he was rolling on the grass under a grey sky that looked startlingly like the containment room’s ceiling, except several hundred times larger.

Back in the room, he’d seized the D Grade swordsman by the collar and slammed him into the wall. The man had been insolent, acting all cavalier, as though he wasn’t afraid of where he’d found himself. The physical threat should have been more than enough to make him acquiesce to the interrogation and start taking things seriously.

Now, that same man was flying above him, large black wings flapping at his back, a slight smirk on his face. “Now, perhaps I should explain the seriously of your situation,” the D Grade said.

Only, how could this man be D Grade?

The strength of the man when he grabbed my shoulders, I felt my armour dent where his fingers held!

The armour had already repaired itself, so the damage hadn’t been too severe. But it also shouldn’t have been possible.

Palini growled. So much for a straightforward portal-diversion followed by a truth-contract signing and an easy interrogation. This man, a suspected agent of The Collector, could have been a goldmine of information.

Now, he had no idea what he was.

Palini snapped up to standing and swiftly drew his sword, though he did not cast any spells or attack. The man above him had ample opportunity to strike out at him first while he was still on the ground, yet he hadn’t. His sword remained in its scabbard, and he was talking. Either he was prone to foolish monologues when he should be fighting, or this situation wasn’t what Palini thought it was.

Approach with caution. This man might be some sort of hidden master.

Palini took in his surroundings without taking his gaze from the man in front of him. “We’re in a spatial device? A portable base?”

“Roving Seed Base,” the man said casually as he alighted a few feet away, his wings curling behind him but not fully retracting.

“The runes aren’t affecting you in here.”

“No. They can’t pierce the barrier.”

“Awfully clever.” Palini tilted his head. “You get caught on purpose, then? That why you were so blatant when asking for a portal back to the Ventorin sector?”

Palini was, of course, reevaluating his theory about the man. More than meets the eye was putting it lightly. If he was an agent of The Collector, who in the hell was he? The Ventorin sector was considered only a minor threat to Orin. More of a nuisance.

Still, Ventorin was a nuisance under his purview, given kidnappings he’d been investigating, to Palini knew more than perhaps anyone else in Orin about The Collector. Yet the dossier Palini had on his “collection” didn’t include anyone like the man—the dragonkin—in front of him.

This man must be B Grade to have pulled me in here. Last I heard, The Collector didn’t have anyone serving him that had reached B Grade. He doesn’t like having people near his strength, or stronger than him, around.

That could have been a ruse, of course. An outward persona to hide the power he truly controlled.

The swordsman frowned. “Back to Ventorin? I’ve never been there before.”

That made Palini stumble over his thoughts. Lying in the containment room was one thing. Now, when the tables had clearly been turned, and this man thought he was in control—something Palini hadn’t decided whether was true or not—it seemed an odd choice.

Shouldn’t he be gloating?

Palini sighed. “So, you’re not an agent of The Collector?”

The man’s face turned suddenly serious. “No. I’m going there to kill him.”

Palini raised an eyebrow. “You were just going to step straight into his capital city, then go find him, and… kill him? That was your plan?”

The man shrugged. “I had a little more in mind than that, but essentially, yes.”

“Then why didn’t you just sign the contract and say that!” Palini shouted. The outburst had come on suddenly. Should have been something he controlled, but he’d always been prone to high emotions when things didn’t go to plan.

The man blinked. “I don’t sign forced contracts. Now, I think it’s time you grant me my request.”

“Your request?” Palini frowned, then remembered. “An audience with the Sovereign? I thought you were joking.”

“I wasn’t.”

“That’s not possible. First, I haven’t confirmed your story. Second, you’re still a detained suspect. Third, I don’t give into requests by suspects. Fourth, I would never dream of granting such a request to someone who has already confessed to the intention of assassinating one Sector Ruler.”

“I’m not here to kill Rewke Fouran, so you don’t have to worry about that.” The other man made a point of looking around. “But this doesn’t look like a prison cell.” He examined his wrists, wrapping his fingers around one, then the other. “I don’t see any chains.” He eyed Palini. “What, exactly, makes you think I’m detained?”

“The runes might not affect you in here, but you’re still inside Containment Room 238B in the Sovereign’s Satellite Fortress. This is the most secure military base in the entire Orin sector, and the containment rooms are far, far down in the basement. The entire facility—nay, the entire moon—is subject to a portal and teleportation lock that only highly placed officers have the ability to circumvent. Even if you were to make it through me, then make it out of this room, you have no chance of making it off this moon alive.”

The other man seemed to think on this. “Teleportation and portal locked…” He smiled. “Did you happen to notice how I appeared above you so swiftly when we rolled in here?” He gestured around. “We already established that the runes can’t pierce this spatial device—quite an oversight, I might add. What makes you think anything else can?”

Palini hesitated. Their entrance into this place was more than a blur. He drew on the memory and replayed every detail.

And saw the exact moment the man had teleported.

Holy hell that was fast.

“Am I to believe you can teleport to another planet, hmm?” Palini asked. “Even if you teleport out of here, you still won’t make it off the moon. There are no active portals that lead off this moon, and you won’t have a chance to coerce someone to make one for you.”

Teleportation spells, especially for those who were primarily melee combat fighters, were rarely long-range unless one was a highly specialised mage in that area. As far as Palini knew, a B Grade fighter could be powerful enough to teleport to another planet, but they would have to be a high-level B Grade to manage it. Else they would have to be a mage, with enough Intelligence to muster up such a spell.

Even then, the type of teleportation spell was important. The one this man had used had been so swift and instantaneous even to his B Grade senses that he sincerely doubted it had a long-range path. Of course, there was a chance he could have two teleportation spells—but that would be exceedingly rare for a melee combat fighter.

And regardless of all the reasons Palini could come up with, if the man could escape, why hadn’t he?

The dragonkin inclined his head. “You’re right. I can’t teleport that far.” He looked to the left beside him. His hand briefly glowed.

A spell! Palini backstepped, raised his sword, a defensive spell poised to cast.

Except he wasn’t under attack. A portal appeared beside the dragonkin.

He can teleport and create portals? A melee combat fighter?

Palini was baffled. He couldn’t think of a class that could do that. Choosing one path of spells often locked out a choice of another, similar type of spell.

Could he be a mage in disguise? He already pretended to be a D Grade human when he’s clearly a B Grade dragonkin…

“This portal will take me back to the main marketplace of your capital city,” the dragonkin said. “I can easily make it off this moon.” The portal disappeared. “But I’m not going to do that.” He sighed. “I won’t be able to bring my Roving Seed Base with me that way.”

Palini blinked. “That’s why you haven’t escaped? Because you can’t leave with your base? Isn’t it more important you leave with you life?”

The dragonkin raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m confident I could escape with it a different way, but… Well, something tells me leaving like that will create an enemy of your sovereign. You already think I’m a threat based on pure assumption. What is Sovereign Fouran going to think if I overpower you, break the containment room, and disappear, hmm? Hence why I’d like to clear this up. You don’t like The Collector; I intend to kill The Collector. We should be friends, not enemies. Grant my request.”

“Overpower me.” Palini ground his teeth. “You’re awfully confident. You may have gotten me in here, but that was when you were hiding your strength. A surprise like that won’t work twice. And as I said, I cannot grant your request.”

“Then allow me to leave peacefully, Palini Damascus.”

Palini hesitated. “Why should I believe that portal was interplanetary? That could have easily been a bluff. Sign the truth-contract. Clear this all up. Then perhaps we can talk about your demands.”

“I haven’t lied to you, and I don’t sign forced contracts. I will only sign a truth-contract with Sovereign Fouran. So, either grant that audience, or allow me to leave.”

“I can’t allow either option.”

The dragonkin’s eyes—one silver, one red—narrowed. His wings extended. “There are other ways this could go, Damascus. I’ve been trying to be gentle, giving you the benefit of the doubt despite my unjust capture, especially since you haven’t attacked me in here yet. However, I intend to leave with my Roving Seed Base, and I will not allow you to stop me.”

The man created another portal.

Swift cooldown for an interplanetary portal, if that’s what that is. Too swift.

“Step through that, and you will become an enemy of Sovereign Fouran,” Palini said.

“Oh, you mistake me, Damascus. This portal isn’t for me. I can’t take my base through it, remember? It’s for you.” The dragonkin gestured toward it. “Step through and you won’t be harmed.”

Palini threw his head back and laughed. “The gall! I’ve heard dragonkin think they’re above everyone else, but you must be like the perfect example that superiority complex. By now, the officers in the Sovereign’s Satellite Fortress will be aware of your little base appearing in the containment room. You may have protections on this base, but it won’t be long until they’re broken through.” He cracked his neck. “Doubt you’ll still be standing when that happens, though.”

“Your backup isn’t coming.” The dragonkin smiled. “Haven’t you noticed you’re in a time dilation field?”

Then, without warning, the dragonkin thundered forward, his wings propelling him toward Palini with unimaginable speed. Somehow the dragonkin was able to draw his sword faster than he closed the gap, and he closed the gap damned fast.

Despite his B Grade mind, Palini barely had a moment to think about what he’d said. His mind whirled with the new information.

Time dilation field… Cooldowns affected… How’d he cast two portals?

A protective spell burst into life about Palini as their swords clashed. The strength of the dragonkin’s strike surprised him. His feet slid back, digging deep troughs through the grass.

Holy hell he’s strong!

Still, Palini held his own, blocking, parrying, dodging every strike that flashed like lightning his way. The dragonkin was a master of the sword, but anyone who made it to B Grade was a master with their chosen weapon.

And Palini could already tell he was the better swordsman.

He grinned and slipped one of the man’s strike, thrusting his own sword toward the battered looking armour the man wore. No way he’d be able to bring his sword around fast enough to block the strike. No way he’d be able to dodge it.

Only, the dragonkin didn’t need to dodge—he wasn’t there anymore.

The air of this place was dead. The Roving Seed Base, a spatial device, sat inside Containment Room 238B, where no wind blew. The only thing that turned the air was the movements of the two fighters and their swords whispering promises of death in sharp lines and perfect arcs.

Palini’s senses were honed from centuries of hard training and even harder combat and had every advantage of his B Grade advancement on top of that, so he felt the shifting of the air behind him from the man’s instantaneous teleport and whirled about to face his enemy, for a swordsman never put their back to their foe.

His mind raced as the fight continued. The only spell Palini had cast since the dragonkin had thundered toward him was one of defence. As far as he could tell, the first spell his enemy had used was his teleport spell.

His protective spell—Sword Aegis—remained active as he’d yet to take a hit. It would remain active until enough damage was dealt to him that it overloaded. The spell would usually start cooling down the moment he cast it, making it prudent to cast the spell at the first hint of danger. Often, it would be ready to cast again should it be overloaded.

But, stuck inside a time dilation field as he was, he didn’t feel his cooldown move at all.

Palini could use this to his advantage, couldn’t he? His enemy would be suffering the same fate. He wouldn’t be able to teleport a second time.

Then how’d he cast two portals? How’d he teleport when he just entered? Unless he just put up the time dilation field…

CLANG!

Palini’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he only just managed to block a strike to his head. His mind was plagued with too many thoughts. Words his sword master told him four centuries ago boomed inside his skull:

A swordsman in battle requires a mind as still as stone for their body to flow like water. SO STOP THINKING YOU DAFT FOOL!

Palini’s thoughts stilled. His mind became solid; his body became liquid. His foe struck faster, hit harder, but wasn’t as skilled. Palini flowed around the dragonkin’s strikes, parrying a slash here, sidestepping a thrust there. Palini was a swift river stream, the dragonkin’s sword the harmless rocks he drifted by.

Palini struck for the heart.