Chapter 155: Heist [1]
Chapter 154
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Episode 35 - Heist [1]
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Suddenly, the white lines in my vision disappeared, leaving nothing but a simple yet absolute darkness before my eyes.
"..."
I frowned behind my mask while, at the same time, feeling my body become extremely weak and sickly.
Then I thought of something and pinched my arm.
"...?"
’Pain... I can feel pain.’
To my surprise, I could feel pain, and on top of that, I now realized that my emotions were just as clear as they were in my memories.
’So... all of my Traits have been sealed.’
The other side effect was that my body shrank to that of an eight-year-old child.
It only sealed all my other Traits, with the exception of my senses, True Sight, Immunity to Pain, Mana Sense, and Without Emotions.
Only those five Traits had not been sealed on that occasion.
However, this time absolutely all of my Traits had been sealed.
Furthermore, the fact that my body had become extremely weak and frail made things even worse.
’Fuck, how the hell am I supposed to carry out the plan now?’
At the very least, I need True Sight to "see" the white lines in my vision.
Without it, I would be one hundred percent blind, just like anyone else.
And now even my senses had been sealed.
Although I could naturally hear, feel, smell, and so on.
They were simply ordinary senses, like those of a completely normal human being.
’This is bad. At the very least, if I still had my senses, I could do things normally without too many problems, but even that was sealed.’
This only strengthened my determination to unlock the other active effects of Eyes of the End as soon as possible.
Although for now, I only have a single clue.
Shortly afterward, I took a step, feeling the discomfort of not knowing whether I was placing my foot correctly.
I moved my hands around randomly; it was more of an instinctive reaction, like when someone suddenly covers your eyes and leaves you blind.
The Shitty witch was probably watching me, which was why she asked:
"What’s wrong? What happened to your mana, and why are you moving like that?"
Fortunately, I could still hear normally.
I followed the sound of her voice and said:
"My Traits were sealed, just like my mana; basically, I’m an ordinary human being right now."
"I’ve never heard of anything like that."
"It’s a side effect of my Unique Trait. Anyway, change of plans."
Now that all my Traits had been sealed and I could barely move properly,
I had to change my plans.
"I need you to be my eyes, so your job is going to be more important now."
It’s a shame I don’t have an extra communication plate to talk with the Shitty witch.
’If I had known this would happen, I might have asked Alessia for an extra plate.’
It was unfortunate, but it was already too late.
"Oh, alright. Do you have any Trait that can help with my current blindness?"
"Blindness? You’re blind?"
I nodded without saying anything. The Shitty witch probably started thinking because she remained silent.
While she was thinking, I did the same, and then a thought crossed my mind.
’If my Traits were sealed by a side effect of a Unique Trait... then, in theory, my other two Unique Traits shouldn’t have been sealed.’
A Unique Trait should, so to speak, be on a higher level than a regular Trait, so in theory, Unique Traits should still work.
I extended my hand and used my Will. The Unique Trait Gravity did not require the use of mana.
In fact, most Unique Traits do not necessarily require mana.
And Gravity requires the use of Will, which is, in my opinion, my greatest strength.
So, after extending my hand, I said:
"Tell me if I manage to make something float."
"Ah, yes, I understand."
After extending my hand and opening my palm, I directed my Will toward a spot in front of me.
Since my senses were sealed and I could barely hear, I wasn’t completely sure whether it was working or not.
But then...
Crack!
It was faint, but I think that should mean it worked.
"Yes, it’s working. You’ve lifted an enormous wall."
"That’s good. Then I can use my Unique Traits."
In that case, I moved toward where the Shitty witch was.
"Where are you?"
"Here, a little to the left. Keep going straight and..."
"Damn it, just come to me, idiot."
"Ah, right, sorry."
"..."
Shortly afterward, I touched something. I knew it was the Shitty witch’s shoulder, so I muttered:
"Annihilation."
"A-ah, what? This is..."
"Phew, fortunately it works."
I took a few steps back and finally confirmed that my two Unique Traits were still functioning normally.
The Shitty witch’s Power of Chaos had probably disappeared at that moment.
’Good, with this I can more or less come up with a plan, however...’
I asked the Shitty witch:
"What Traits do you have? Any that could be useful right now?"
"Ah, about that, I have a Trait called Mind Link and another called Confusion. Mind Link is, as its name suggests, telepathic communication, and Confusion is exactly what it sounds like."
I nodded while slowly coming up with a plan.
Mind Link was the most helpful one, and Confusion could also be useful to me.
"Are there any Class or Star limitations when using Confusion?"
The Shitty witch shook her head.
"There aren’t any, although its effect only lasts three seconds and requires the use of Will, which is something I’m not very good at."
"It doesn’t matter."
In that case, I already had a plan ready.
Shortly afterward, I explained the new plan to the Shitty witch.
Fortunately, if everything went well, it should be possible to steal the rings without much difficulty.
"Now lead the way and protect me. A single graze from any attack could get me killed."
I was in an extremely dangerous situation if I didn’t do everything exactly as planned.
In any case, the rings were valuable enough to risk everything right now.
’Those rings will be very important.’
I couldn’t afford to lose them so easily.
Of course, I could obtain them once I became strong enough later on.
But by then, the rings would be useless.
Unless something happened that I had never expected, of course.
***
Something I didn’t know about the Shitty witch was her name.
I asked her, and her name was Astella. She was born into a noble family that eventually fell into ruin because of its ties to villains.
At first, Astella was driven by revenge, but in the end, she gave up and joined the villains.
Since then, ten years have passed since she became a villain, and in a short time, she earned the title of Witch of Depravity because of her Sorcery.
Astella uses Sorcery of Deception, Charm, and Depravity.
A branch of Sorcery that relies on tricks and schemes, so to speak.
In any case, Astella faithfully carried out her role, leading me through safe areas, and before long, we returned to the Auction.
I didn’t know what the situation was, but I could clearly hear all kinds of noises: fighting, screams, moans, struggles, and so on.
Throughout the Auction, according to Astella, there was a defensive line protecting the rings.
The guards were Class 7, and there was one Class 8 guard commanding the others.
There were about fifteen guards in total; including their leader, that made sixteen.
According to Astella, we were hiding behind some pillars not far from the defensive line.
From my position to the rings, there was an approximate distance of thirty meters.
I had to get close enough to use my Inventory.
Using Gravity would be easier and would allow me to take the rings; however, Gravity is something anyone can sense with their senses.
Considering that the place was currently a complete battlefield.
All the villains were on maximum alert; making a wrong move with Gravity would ruin all my plans to obtain the rings.
’Astella, I need you to guide me, so explain even the smallest detail about where I should move.’
Using Mental Link, one of Astella’s Traits, I spoke through my mind, and shortly afterward Astella replied.
’Understood.’
Thanks to Mental Link, moving around was a little easier than being completely blind.
I crawled like a baby while Astella guided me with her words and explanations.
I moved my body as my knees began to hurt more and more.
My body was already exhausted, and now, in a sickly condition, my former 6-Star endurance had become completely useless.
"A-ah... fuck."
I muttered as I leaned my back against a half-collapsed pillar.
There were dozens of seats scattered everywhere; according to Astella, I was in the front rows. That meant the stage was about five meters away.
The distance between the rings and me was approximately fifteen meters.
’Walk southwest, about 18° to the left, then go straight and turn slightly...’
Honestly, this was like being guided by a GPS.
I followed Astella’s instructions and finally reached the blind spot of the defensive line.
Basically, I was behind them.
I leaned my back against the stage as I spoke.
’How far am I?’
’About seven meters. You need to get onto the stage to be close enough; however, there’s only one area where you can hide.’
’Alright, I understand.’
I crawled a little farther to the left side of the stage and then, with extreme care and without making a sound, climbed onto it.
According to Astella’s instructions, I needed to walk about seven steps and I would reach a large curtain.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
I walked in a crouch while extending my hand. Then, after a few seconds of walking, I felt a thick, soft fabric.
I had finally reached the perfect spot.
Now I just had to get the rings and escape from this place.
But fate had a way of screwing things up for me.
