Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Bat’la’hera nodded toward the metal framework of a chair they had created shortly before, and Zarin quickly and efficiently placed the unconscious Human on the structure, quickly using his surprisingly deft set of 6 hands to tie him down around his ankles, knees, waist, upper chest, elbows, wrists, and neck.  The steel cord he used was thin but virtually unbreakable to anyone with less than 2,000 Physicality, which their captive was extremely unlikely to possess given that he was a Support Class.  At most, she thought that he might have 100 in the stat, depending on his specific Class and equipment bonuses, but it couldn’t possibly be too much more than that.

Narden closed the door behind him as he gave her a look that informed her that no one had seen the sudden capture of the Human, or at least there didn’t seem to be any particular outcry at the apprehension.  He joined the others that had retreated along the benches of the stone-walled basement that they had commandeered from a local warehouse on the Teglir city docks.  The dimly lit room was well-enough hidden from casual inspection that she suspected that it was used to store less-than-legal goods, but they weren’t there to investigate such infractions; in return for keeping its presence quiet, the owner of the warehouse graciously let them use it for whatever purpose they wished.

Hopefully, this won’t take too long.  Once we get the information we need from him, we won’t have any reason to stay.

Everyone was silent as she stared at the covered head of the Human, who was quite different from what she remembered just a few days ago.  She could barely reconcile the Level 3 individual that had fled from them rather than stay in the town of Purbooth after he was asked to stick around in case they had more questions – and that was before they learned that he was a very high-Ranking member of the Adventurer’s Coalition.  She looked at the nametag and glanced at Narden a second time, to confirm that this was, indeed, their quarry, who only nodded in response.

Thaden {Densartis Faction}

Human

Level 34

First off, his previous non-Faction status had changed, and he now belonged to the Densartis Faction – which wasn’t really a surprise, as he wouldn’t be let into the city without that designation – but there was a strange feel to it when she looked at the label on his nametag.  She wasn’t sure what it meant, as she’d never felt before, but it was almost like it was a label in name only – as if it didn’t mean anything.

Secondly, and most importantly, Thaden had somehow gained 31 Levels since she’d seen him in Purbooth.  That was only a week ago, wasn’t it?  No, I’m getting my timelines all messed up from all the travel; it was only two days since Purbooth, and 3 days since Felith was destroyed.  How?

Gaining more than a single Level in a day wasn’t impossible, especially at lower Levels, but she’d never heard of anyone gaining more than 8 Levels in such a short period of time, and that was only because they had participated in a fight against an extremely high Level monster when they were still under Level 5.  But for someone to gain just over 30 Levels in a matter of 2 days?  Something just didn’t add up, and it made it even more imperative that she talk to this Human so that she could get to the bottom of it.  Not just to find out about Felith, but to discover how this person was both a high-Ranking member of the Coalition and could jump in Level so quickly that it had to be some sort of mistake. 

Walking toward the bound captive, she grabbed the top of the Mana Negation Hood that had covered his head, feeling the tingling of its effects through her fingertips.  She ignored the sensation even as she felt her Mana temporarily bottom out from simply touching it; while in contact with the Hood, her Mana was drained and any ambient Mana was prevented from entering her body, essentially cutting off her Mana regeneration.  The Hood was a special and important tool given to the members of the Local Legion as a way they could investigate and bring to justice those who flaunted the Aroxis Empire’s laws, as very few people could fight back while completely drained of Mana.  Fortunately, the recipe of its creation was a secret even to the members of the Local Legion, which made its widespread use very limited, as it could theoretically be used for nefarious purposes, and its use wasn’t subjective, meaning that even those that used it would experience the same effects as those on whom it was used.   

Expecting the drain, as she’d handled the Mana Negation Hood plenty of times as a member of the Local Legion, Bat was able to fight off the effects.  Unconsciousness was the hardest side-effect to fight off, as having her Mana drained instantly had a profound effect on the body, but through practice and focus she was fully capable of handling it.  That, and she dropped the Hood into the Human’s lap a second after handling it, so she immediately felt Mana rush back into her as her regeneration kicked back in, which firmed-up her unsteady legs almost instantly.

The removal of the Mana Negation Hood showed the drooping head of the Human, who certainly appeared almost identical as what she remembered in Purbooth, though he had recently acquired some equipment from the shop known as Vital Support, a largely black ensemble that had a much better aesthetic compared to his peasant-like outfit from before.  From Narden’s investigation, she knew that it had to have cost at least a few hundred Gold to suddenly acquire the new equipment, which was suspicious for someone who was only Level 3 a couple of days before, and he certainly hadn’t had anything like it when they observed him arriving the night before in the company of a Party – who had all been Level 21, while the Human had been Level 15.  She didn’t have any information on what Level the members of his Party were now, but for him to have gained an additional 19 Levels, it was possible that they had also gained quite a few. 

They weren’t important, though, or at least not yet; they would only be investigated as potential accomplices if it turned out that the Human had something to do with the destruction of Felith.

As she knew it would, removing the Hood from the head of the Human also removed the secondary effect that was keeping him unconscious, and he immediately began to stir.  For those with higher Levels and stats, keeping them under the Hood’s influence was a bit sketchy at best, as it tended to wear off after a short time, but even if their captive had been a higher Level, they had moved quickly enough that there would’ve been no chance for him to wake up.

She saw him stiffen as he came to, immediately straining at his restraints, but with no visible result – not that she expected him to be able to bust out.  Even Zarin, which his impressive musculature and high Physicality stat, could easily break those cords, though she was convinced that he could do it if given enough time.  The Human, on the other hand, had not even a sliver of chance.

“We meet again, Human.”  Bat began walking around their bound captive as she spoke, and she could only smile as his head whipped up and looked at her with more than a bit of fear clouding his eyes.  “You gave us a good chase, but you had to understand that we would eventually find you.”

“What—,” he began to ask, but he coughed a few times, the cord around his neck likely slightly too tight and was affecting his throat.  Fortunately, he appeared to have enough Physicality that it wasn’t actually harming him.  “What did you do?  Where am I?  Why am I here?”

“Unfortunately for you, you’re in no position to ask questions.  Instead, you’re here to answer them.”

He didn’t say anything in response and instead closed his mouth as if he wasn’t going to speak any further.  

“First question: Why did you run?  You knew we wanted you to stick around to answer any other questions, but it appears as though you fled as soon as you could.”

When he didn’t respond after a few seconds, she glanced at Darvo, and the Control Class member of their Local Legion Party wordlessly began casting his spell.  As she saw a glow surround the captive Human, there was a brief moment when the temporary mind-control didn’t appear to take, but then the spell finally took effect.  This wasn’t something Darvo cast very often on people, as it was technically illegal in the Empire, but there were specific times when it was approved: To save someone’s life or during a necessary interrogation important to an investigation.

“Let me ask you again.  Why did you run?”

There was no hesitation as the Human answered.  “Because there was a chance that you would interrupt my mission.”

Now, that was a surprise.  “What mission?”

“I’m sorry; please clarify your question.”

I forgot, he’s one of those types – even under mind-control, it seems.  “What mission were you on that we would supposedly ‘interrupt’?”

“To investigate the reports of sudden infusions of System energy leading to catastrophic consequences.  I can sense when and where these infusions may occur, and I was on a timetable that I couldn’t allow you to mess with.”

This was not anything like she expected, and she glanced at Narden to see if he was telling the truth.  She only got a nod in return, which wasn’t surprising given that he was under Darvo’s control.  “Catastrophic consequences?  Do you mean the attack by the Scorching Quizards who destroyed Felith?”

“Yes.”

“And you knew there would be a ‘infusion of System energy’ there?”

“Not entirely; like I said, I seem to have the ability to sense when and where they may occur, though it isn’t always accurate.”

She tapped her finger against her chin in thought.  “Was that why you were in Felith in the first place?”

“No.  That was simply where I was sent.”

“The Coalition sent you?”

“No.”

When there was no further explanation, she pushed down her frustration.  “Who sent you?”

“The Assimilation System.”

Again, that wasn’t the answer she was expecting.  Another glance at Narden confirmed that he was telling the truth, or at least so he believed.

“The System sent you?  I find that hard to believe.”

“Yes.”

Resolving to get back to that later, she returned to the reason they had needed to talk to the Human in the first place.  “What else can you tell us about what happened at Felith that you didn’t tell us before?”

“I told you everything I knew before, other than the presence of an infusion of System energy inside the town the day before it was destroyed.”

Not what I wanted to hear.  “And you have no idea where the Scorching Quizards came from?”

“Nothing definite; only suspicions.”

Needing clarification, she asked, “What suspicions regarding the origin of the Scorching Quizards do you have?”

“That they came from someone or something perverting the System energy that I detected, which formed them out of sight of the town and dispersed just as quickly once they were done.”

“Insanity.  Nothing, not even the Persistent Adversary, can take control of the System’s energy and do something like that.  Your suspicions are false,” she stated, unwavering in her conviction and belief in the System over all.  “Any other suspicions relating to this incident?”

“No.”

We’re no closer to an answer than we were before.  Annoyed, she asked, “Are you really a Platinum+ Ranked Adventurer’s Coalition member?”

“Yes.”

“How did you accomplish that?  You were only Level 3 when we saw you; that shouldn’t be possible for someone so low-Level.”

As had been the case since Darvo started mind-controlling him, there was no hesitation in his answer.  “I wasn’t always such a low Level.  The process in the which the System transferred me here had a steep price, which was to remove my Level progress and extra stats, all of my Achievements, and even some memories.  Unfortunately, it was necessary to complete my mission.”

For the first time in centuries, Bat’la’hera was so shocked that she couldn’t help her mouth from opening in surprise, and she was speechless for nearly 30 seconds – which felt like a lifetime.  Snapping her mouth shut, she didn’t even look at Narden to confirm the Human was telling the truth, as she was convinced that he would’ve said something if he detected any falsehood.

“Who were you and what Level were you before.”

Shaking his head, which was tough to do with how he was restrained, the Human delivered an unsatisfying answer.  “I don’t know.  Those are some of the memories that were removed.”

“Where were you before coming here?”

Again, he professed not to know as his memories were removed.  She hadn’t been aware that the Assimilation System could do something like that, but it was powerful enough that she didn’t doubt that it could if it felt as if it was necessary.

For the first time, Loc’ra’toda spoke up, having been quiet through the entire interrogation with the others.  “How… how strong are you, really?  You didn’t mention that your spells were removed along with your Levels and stats.”

Bat had missed that.  “Very strong,” the Human replied in a matter-of-fact voice. 

As much as I want to investigate that statement, this is getting us nowhere.  He might have a mission, but so do we.  “So, if you have no any other further information about what happened in Felith, what do you suggest we do to discover the culprit behind it?”

“You never asked me why I came to Teglir,” he answered, of course with no further explanation.

It was at that moment that she began to put some things together.  “You said that you couldn’t allow us to delay you in Purbooth, which was why you fled.  Was this where you needed to get to so quickly?”

“Yes.”

“And is it because you suspect that there will be a—wait, are you talking about the pulse of System energy we felt last night?”  She couldn’t believe she had forgotten about it.  They had dismissed it after sensing it, as it had seemed strange but not harmful, but if the Human was telling the truth….

“Exactly.”

“So, according to you, the acute presence of System energy will produce catastrophic consequences, such as what happened in Felith?”

For the first time, he hesitated before answering.  “No, not exactly.”

“No?  What do you mean by that?  Do you think you are mistaken?”

“I’m not mistaken.  It’s just that the infusion of System energy here was much greater than what occurred in Felith.  Therefore, the consequences will likely be substantially more intense.”

When the Human said that last word, she felt a jolt of alarm shoot through her entire body.  Pushing aside her concerns, she had to compose herself for a moment before she asked, “That is still to be seen.  Regardless of whether these ‘catstrophic consequences’ occur here, are you any closer to discovering who or what is behind what happened in Felith?”

“Not yet.  I need more information as well as to observe more instances of this phenomenon to come to a viable conclusion.”

Before she could ask anything else, Loc spoke up again.  “How long do you suspect it will be before these consequences could potentially appear?”

Turning his head toward Loc, the Human said, “I don’t know.  Could be in the next minute, or it could be a week from now.  As I said, I need more information, as these are the first instances that I have observed.”

“Are you saying that there are more attacks like this happening elsewhere?” Bat asked, taking the reins back in the interrogation.

He hesitated again, visibly searching for the answer in his mind.  “Perhaps?  I suspect there are others because of why I was sent here, but if I had once known that to be the case, I don’t have those memories any longer.”

“I see.  Do you have any other information that may be pertinent to our investigation?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“Very well.”  She made a signal with her hand toward Darvo, who immediately canceled his mind-control spell, showing a little exhaustion from keeping it active for that long.  Almost instantly, the glow around the Human disappeared.

Blinking more than a few times as he shook his head, their captive seemed to come back to himself.  “What did you do?  Were you controlling my mind somehow?” he asked, clearly angry by the furious expression on his face.

“I apologize for your treatment, but it was necessary to get the information we needed.”

He scoffed, which caused him to cough again.  “And now you’re going to let me go, right?  You can’t keep me here!”

While they had obtained some of the information they needed, this Human was a treasure trove of secrets.  She still wanted to ask him more in-depth questions about how he was able to Level-up so quickly, as well as some clearer definitions of just how strong he was, which meant keeping him safe and secure a little longer – or at least until they could confirm that he wasn’t directly involved in the attack at Felith, as there was still no absolute proof that he wasn’t the source of the System energy infusions. 

“We’ll let you go as soon as you prove to no longer be useful.  For now, you’re going to be held here in this safe and secure location.  Regardless of whether or not the System sent you here, we have a job to do, and to prevent you escaping from our clutches again, you’re under our absolute control.”

Rather than protest further, the Human’s facial features froze, before a slow smile spread across his mouth.  “Am I?  Are you sure of that?”

Bat’la’hera shivered for a split-second before the impossible happened.

Their captive, who should’ve been completely drained of Mana, somehow cast a spell.