Chapter 35: The Inferno

I continued spending mana to return to the shadows as I passed by the numerous squads that were out and about. I didn’t really spot any of these rebels, and I eventually ducked into an alley between two buildings. The buildings in this city were much taller and developed than the ones I had crossed before, now having windows and many being two to three stories high. Even when I ran across cities on Easy, none seemed to touch this city’s development. 

I made sure to take peeks out of the alley, but there was hardly any civilian activity. Only soldiers were patrolling, mainly heading to the sector that some of the explosions seemed to effect. I was finally free and had time to gather my thoughts.

So, let’s focus on some priorities.

First, I continue focusing on survival. That is easy enough. I just need to not get myself killed and act covertly. Especially since my system is down and I can’t rely on it for anything. At least my abilities work.

Second, find the princess to work out the quest and proceed to the next floor. I can’t be bogged down. I can’t do anything if I stay on a floor too long unless there is some kind of progression available to me. I need to ascend so I can leave which ties into priority one.

Third, figure out everything else that was going on. That would help ensure priority one, too. If I can get to the next hub after the Floor 20 boss, then I think I’ll be set. 

Frankly, I hadn’t cared much for this game’s lore. I hardly cared about lore in the few other games I played. I wanted to be strong and not have to feel the day-to-day struggle that life was. Even if I had never been the strongest, the escapism was there.

But things were different now. I hadn’t even heard about shades until my encounter with them at the throne room in the Goblin Kingdom. Before then, on Normal and Easy, there wasn’t even a word of them. 

I wondered if something had happened and the developers decided to add something crazy to make matters worse than they already were. There was something that pulled at me but I couldn’t figure it out. Their focus should be on handling the issue of players entering a vegetative state.

Ugh. I smacked my face with both hands to try and refocus on what was going on now. Enough rest for now.

It seemed to be nearing evening and the productivity of the soldiers hadn’t died down. It would be quite helpful if I was able to see an overhead visual of the area but I didn’t have any abilities that could assist there. The buildings were numerous and varied in height, but the majority of them were capable of blocking my view of the area. 

I moved to the corner of the alley I was in and peeked out into the street. A group of Nysel Kingdom soldiers were moving out with their swords and spears. One in the back had a crossbow and one of the men leading their movement held a similar weapon to the one that had shot a torrent of water at me, which I deemed as a ‘Water Blaster’ for simplicity sake. 

If they had those weapons, they should have sent them over to the port city so the guards there could use them to protect from the chimera attack, or the Mermen; though I couldn’t be sure at their power against Mermen. 

“Hey, you there!” I turned my head down the alleyway. Two soldiers started marching over my way and it seemed I had been spotted. I immediately cut the corner and activated {Shrouded Shadow} when the soldier then said, “Stop!”

Many of the buildings, be it if they were homes or shops of various sorts, were damaged. I wasn’t sure where the civilians were, either. I needed to move away from this heavily soldier-centralized sector, so I moved inward to where they had come from, resting my mana as needed at alleys.

I went along the way which I expected was towards the inner part of the city. It seemed I was at the outer section as there was a gate with a wall encircling another area. Though the walls were towering so I incapable of seeing beyond them.

The gate had two openings and there was a weird pole in between them with four guards, two on each side, protecting the entrances. I backtracked a bit so I could make sure my mana was full before approaching the gate. Afterwards, I entered the darkness and ran towards the opening on the right. 

The weird pole that had been in between the two openings immediately pulsed out a barrier that prevented me from moving forward. The crystal that sat on top of the pole turned red and the guards immediately looked towards it but luckily couldn’t see me.

Or so I thought.

The pole pulsated once again and a wave of energy encompassed my body, preventing me from moving and deactivating {Shrouded Shadow}. 

“Rebel captured at Gate Two. Be on the lookout for the other rebels.” I couldn’t see which guard was speaking or to whom. But a yellow light shot out from nearby, disappeared and a different voice rang out, slightly distorted, “Understood. For the King!”

“For the King!”

I wanted to struggle but I couldn’t even try to struggle. I was completely restricted and two of the guards grabbed hold of me, taking me to who knew where. I should have expected the unexpected, been more careful or something. I thought I was doing well but it was quite obvious I was trapped. One of the guards opened a door after moving me through the gate. We entered one of the guard walls just past the city’s inner entrance.

Then, I was harshly thrown to the ground. 

“Return and continue your shift. I’ll interrogate this one.”

“Yes sir!”

“Get up and sit in the chair.”

Is he talking to me? I couldn’t move my body or my head, so I had no idea where he was looking or who he was trying to speak with as I was currently strewn across the rough floor.

“Get up and sit in the chair!” That was met with a swift kick to my side, though it didn’t hurt. My armor was quite resilient. However, not receiving notifications was quite discouraging. I was blind—in the dark, one may say. I tried to speak but was unable as the power binding me prevented much. 

So I was kicked again. He vocalized his astonishment at my lack of struggle while I was equally astonished at his lack of leg day. 

I heard him fumbling with something and then I felt relief sweep through my body as I could move again. The binding ability was gone, so I immediately activated {Shrouded Shadow} and was met with disappointment. My abilities were still being prevented. I was pretty sure I could still take him out if necessary, though that would provoke the rest of the guards when they discovered the incident, so I instead decided to comply and sit in the chair. 

I heard the soldier’s boots clang on the floor as he stepped past me towards the other side of the table I was sitting at and he hurriedly turned around, looking at me as he slammed his hands on to the table.

“Give them up!” He commanded, putting up an intimidating facade. I had an idea of what he wanted, but I couldn’t be entirely sure. 

I ended up tilting my head to one side, “The rebels?”

He slammed a hand on the table again, “So you are with the rebels! Oh man, the bonus I’m going to—” he paused, pulling out some weird gem. Then, he squeezed it as a faint gray aura surrounded it, “Captain, I’ve confirmed the capture of a rebel. He identified as such.” Then, he let go and the aura evaporated. 

He turned to me, a huge grin on his face, “Well done, dog. Well done. Ahah—”

“But I’m not… a rebel?” It came out as a question, mainly as I was questioning his joy.

 I saw the gem he was stroking between his fingers emit a yellow glow, and he pressed it, “Good job, Hildor. I’ll send a squad over to escort the rebel to the Inferno. That’ll make three—so we’ll be having a round of drinks on you, right? Haha. For the King!”

The gem dimmed and the soldier immediately pressed into it, a gray once again shone through, “For the King!” And he let go. “Listen here, punk,” I stared him back in the eye, “You’re a rebel. Through and through, no doubt.”

He started walking around the table, looking me up and down as he circled. “Even worse, you match the description of the bomber. So you bombed a sewer line and destroyed a sector of the kingdom. Didn’t think you rebels would step to bombing your own kingdom. It’s no wonder His Majesty wanted to get rid of all yous.” He then made it back around, sitting down and kicking back in his chair. “Luckily for us, we got ways of controlling the fire. But you know that already, rebel scum.”

Though, I don’t know that. I didn’t think there was getting through to this guy, but I had to think of something. How do I get rid of this silence-type restraint and not get swept into some bind that pretty much incapacitates me?

A knock came from the door behind me, and I just kept my watch on the soldier, “Is it safe to come in, Hildor?”

Hildor jumped up from the chair, “Why wouldn’t it be safe? Hell. Come in, come in.”

I could hear the door open, and the clanging of boots sounded in the stone room. “Well, we know your fetishes, Hildor. We couldn’t be so—” I got up from the chair, tossing it directly at the group behind me and kicked the table towards Hildor. The soldiers seemed surprised, shouting out at Hildor why the prisoner, me, wasn’t restrained properly. 

I rolled over the table, landing beside Hildor as I then kicked the table over at the group that came in. They had weapons drawn, and I grabbed Hildor, placing my ‘Vanquisher’ at his head. But I couldn’t produce {Mana Bolt}. Then, I couldn’t morph it into ‘Ashen Gladius’. So an empty crossbow was all I had as well as my shield, which, undeniably, was enough. Except if those abilities wouldn’t work, then neither would my hellfire. 

The group of soldiers hadn’t cared as they watched with amusement. Another one came through the door, holding a weapon similar to the ‘Water Blaster’ but this one had a yellowish gem embedded in it. “Good on you, Hildor, taking one for the team!” And they shot Hildor who I thought I had used as a hostage. He went numb and I followed him to the ground as whatever they used transfered to my body—feeling just like I had when the pole pulsated.

They laughed and walked over to us, hoisting me over one of their shoulders. After that, they just started walking towards the door, and I saw Hildor laying back at the wall, unable to do anything. 

“Hey, we’re taking this rebel to the Inferno, get Hildor’s ass up and give him the rest of his shift off for today.” 

The Inferno. It couldn’t be too bad, right? I did have high resistance. The only problem are these dumb ass restraints. I needed an ability that helped with that, for sure.