Chapter 191 Volume IV - Chapter 36: Discussion in the Warehouse
I looked again at the map of the surface.
With the size of Caleuche, they could really see us in an instant. No matter how I look at it, it seems impossible to get out of here.
I twitched slightly, then took a deep breath and sighed.
No, no, no. I can't give up, this is not what I came here for. I will get out no matter what, even if I'm the only one to get out of here.
I will not die here.
"You were too positive for a situation like this Dorhud, do you have a plan?"
Ezareth and Hardil turned to Dorhud at the same time as I said this, though the darkness on their faces was still there.
"More like a hope than a plan, I'd say."
The map on the table disappeared, Dorhud sighed deeply and fixed his determined eyes on the three of us.
"There's a path inside the bunker. I don't know where it leads but it seems to go toward the other side of this mountain we're in right now. Maybe it's connected to another exit, I'm not sure, but that's the only chance. I'm betting all on it."
Dorhud narrowed his eyes, looking for once too serious. He always exuded a positive air around him, but now it was different. He was determined, in the best way I could describe it.
"Surviving that battle itself is a miracle, we're lucky we didn't die when Caleuche launched its final attack. Now, even managin' to gather in this hideout is a stroke of luck. So, you better put yourselves into this with everything you got."
He was basically saying that... We are already dead, we were lucky to be alive at all, so we had to try everything at our disposal. Waiting here was no different from being dead.
And he was right, with so little distance between us and Caleuche and with the city completely in the hands of the Southerners, escape was impossible.
I narrowed my eyes and looked briefly at each of the three. No one spoke during this brief moment, for what Dorhud had said was not a simple thing.
"How strong are you?"
These were the words that finally came out of my mouth.
The trio slowly turned to me, and I leaned back and crossed my arms.
"We need to know each other's abilities, even if it's cursory. There are only four of us and if we don't take advantage of it, it will only be a disadvantage for each of us. We don't know what's deep inside the bunker, anything can happen at the bottom of a place that has been in this state for probably eighty years or more. So, we have to be prepared."
I started with myself.
"According to the system my race uses, I am D- grade, but I can push myself to D+. I can use wind and flame elemental, with wind magic being stronger."
That's all I'm going to talk about, I'm not going to reveal anything more.
I'll keep my immunity to mental effects, my Ice Thorns ability, and Mana Barrier for now. We may be stuck here together but... I won't trust anyone too much. I won't make a mistake like that. Neither will they.
In the brief pause before the next person, Dorhud, spoke, my eyes shifted to the hannya, Ezareth. More specifically, her horn and her facial expression.
Hannyas are beings that can sense emotions, and even feed on them, thanks to their horns. So, she has to be in control of most of the things that happen in the environment. Who is tense, who is calm, who is guessing, who is hiding something, and much more…
I have to be careful, especially around her. I must not act recklessly myself. Even though the Absolute Mind will prevent her to a great extent, I must control my emotions.
"Lost my ring so I ain't got much with me, like I lost my sword but my armor's with me. Of course, it's a bit banged up. Can't fight at my full potential, but I'm still in good shape, near the third level."
The power system of the dwarves is based on this 'threat level'. It is slightly different from the classification system 'the system' offers to humans.
They started to use the threat level they used for enemies for themselves as they developed their technology and became stronger. So the 'level' of strength they are at is constantly changing according to the artifacts, runes, and weapons they have on them.
If I remember correctly... the third level is something between C and B grades. If he can fight 'close' to that, he can fight at the strength of a C grade.
His armor is really badly damaged but not too bad.
"I- I was just a doctor..."
My face fell a little at Hardil's words. Because if he didn't know how to fight, he would clearly get in the way.
Still, if he's a doctor, he might be useful to us, maybe, there's a small chance... I'm not sure.
With that, all eyes turned to Ezareth. Hannya looked thoughtful, her eyes narrowed and her arms folded across her chest.
"My stigmas are on stealth. I have two of them."
Two stigmas... well, that was exactly the answer I was expecting.
To cast spells, the hannyas channel the mana in their bodies into tattoo-like stigmas they create on their own bodies. The stigmas work like runes, except that they are a little different, even though they work in much the same way.
Marks work faster and more accurately than runes. They are also more limited in what they do than runes, which can be constantly modified. So a track cannot be changed again, but they are definitely more powerful and more functional than runes. They're also more efficient and more... weird.
Marks are more limited than runes, yes, but some of them can be much more complex and effective than runes. In fact, most of them are... That's why they are good tools for using magic.
And then there are the types of them... How complex, powerful, and functional the stigma is depends on which type it belongs to. It's like grades in our system, so they are also important.
Oh, also... no one can use these 'marks' except the hannyas. Because the stigmas work with a certain flow of mana, and this flow of mana is something that only the hannyas have, so this 'mark' technique is exclusive to their race.
"The first one hides my mana and allows me to be camouflaged, the darker the better."
She didn't say the type of stigma, and for a stigma to be so singular, it would have to belong to one of the very low-level types. She doesn't fully trust us, just like me.
"The second is a conditional one. It gives me a general increase in power as long as I'm hiding, shedding blood, that sort of thing."
Again, it's all very vague... but I understood the basics.
So basically we have an assassin who can turn invisible, a near B grade dwarf whose main thing is damaged armor, and another dwarf who is useless for anything other than being a doctor...
Great, exactly what I need to get out of here, really!
"Our food would last for two more days, wouldn't it?"
Ezareth nodded and I sighed deeply.
"Then I suggest we go deeper into the bunker right now."
Hardil suddenly trembled at this.
"B- but... you ain't fully h- healed... yet..."
"We can't let every second go by just because we haven't recovered fully. We must move fast."
Dorhud nodded at my suggestion, then continued to support me.
"I'm thinkin' the same. We… ain't have time to kill."
I turned to Ezareth, who squinted and made eye contact with me for a very short time without saying anything. Her horn seemed a little more prominent than before. There was no difference, but... it certainly stood out more.
She was reading, literally feeling emotions... the ones in the air, whose sources are us...
I transferred mana to the Absolute Mind, suppressed my emotions, and looked at her coldly.
Ezareth raised her eyebrows in surprise for a moment, then her eyes widened as if she was confronted with something she had never seen in her life.
This was short-lived, though, and soon after she nodded her head as if to indicate her approval.
So, it was decided, we would soon proceed to the unknown depths of the bunker.
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