Chapter 193: Shame Of The Brotherhood [Bonus Chapter 7/10]

Melody looked at Karrakas. "What do you mean? Is it good or bad? Which is it?"

Karrakas set his hands flat on the table. "Both, depending on what happens."

He tapped the migration data. "The Spiked Turtle moving through that corridor is actually useful for us in one specific way."

"Large beasts displace smaller ones. The migration pushes the surrounding beast population away from its path, which means the further out we go in that direction, the fewer beasts we’ll encounter." He paused. "In theory, that makes the walk easier for us. There’ll be less interruptions, which means less chances of something forcing Lukas off course."

"So it’s good," Akira said.

"Unless we run into the Turtle itself." Karrakas turned to look at her. "In which case, we stop immediately and we do not engage."

"Spiked Turtles aren’t aggressive by nature. They don’t exactly hunt. They simply move, feeding on anything within range, and ignoring anything that isn’t directly in their way."

He leaned forward. "But that’s the problem. If we’re in its way and we don’t know it’s coming until it’s already close, we don’t have time to adjust course without Lukas breaking his line."

"And if it decides we’re a threat, the attack range on a C-rank Spiked Turtle is larger than you’d expect from something that moves that slowly."

"How do we spot it early enough?" Lukas asked.

Karrakas exhaled. "That’s the other problem. The shell matches the sand almost exactly. It has the same color and texture at a distance. Most people don’t identify one until it’s already within its attack range."

He tapped the page again. "It’s not small either. The thing is enormous, but the camouflage works regardless of its size."

The table was quiet for a moment.

Then Karrakas picked up the document one more time, reading through the projected path. His eyes moved slowly across the data before he set it down.

"Even with this development, we’re still going," he said. "The desert is vast, and the probability of our exact path crossing the Turtle’s exact path in the same window is low. We’ll simply take this as the advantage it offers and we stay alert."

He looked around the table. "But I want everyone to understand what we’ll do if we see it. We’ll adjust our pace, create distance, and we do not engage under any circumstances."

They all nodded.

"Good. Then here’s how we move."

He pulled the hand-drawn map towards him and traced the route with his finger.

"Our main course of attack is fighting at range the entire time. Akira and I will stay slightly ahead of Lukas, making sure he’s walking in a straight line."

"But our most important job is clearing whatever appears in front of us before it gets close." He looked at Akira. "Your [Death Bolt] should be able to hit targets at a farther distance than I, but I’ll work with my bow alongside you."

Akira nodded.

"Lukas." Karrakas looked at him directly. "[Smite] is off the table for this. The vibrations it sends through the ground will draw more beasts than we can manage while keeping you on course. You walk. That’s your job."

Lukas said nothing, but nodded. He wasn’t planning on using the skill anyways.

"Melody, your job is to stay beside Lukas at all times. I want [Hex Shield] up when anything fires at range. If something slips past Akira and I, I want you to finish it with your sword before it reaches Lukas."

He looked at Melody. "Your priority is keeping him on his feet and on his line. Nothing else."

"Understood," Melody said.

They all pushed back their chairs and stood.

Karrakas gathered the information packet into a neat stack and slid it across to Lukas, who stored it in his spatial ring without a word.

"We’re taking the southeast."

They filed out of the room, back into the corridor, and through to the smaller hall beyond.

The plan was set.

Now they just had to walk.

***

Somewhere on the First Floor.

A young man moved through a long corridor with confident strides, a serious look on his face.

He looked around nineteen, with long red hair that was tied into a ponytail and small golden earrings dangling from his ears.

He had a lean build, his body trained for speed instead of strength.

He pushed open the door at the end of the corridor and stepped inside.

The room was plain. It had no furniture or decorations, just a large mirror mounted at the far end, its frame dark and unremarkable.

His Adept aura moved around him as he walked across the room, coiling slowly like smoke. He stopped in front of the mirror and dropped to one knee, his head bowing forward.

The surface of the mirror rippled.

The reflection disappeared, replaced by a deep, complete darkness.

"I wish mercy onto you, brother."

The voice that came from the darkness was low and deep, vibrating through the room.

"And I carry it," the young man answered, "as it should be."

"Rise, Sol."

Sol rose to his feet, but he kept his eyes down.

The darkness was quiet for a moment.

"The Fate Key meant for you has been taken," it said. "And most likely used."

Sol said nothing.

A long exhale came from the darkness, but it wasn’t one of frustration.

"You are tri-classed," the voice continued. "One of the few existing with us. Among the Brotherhood’s Climbers, you represent one of our strongest paths to the top of the Tower."

There was a pause. "And yet your third class sits there, useless to you. A slot filled with nothing of value."

Sol’s head dropped lower.

"I don’t say this to shame you further," the darkness said. "I say it so you understand what is at stake when I give you this task."

Sol waited.

"Go to Salaria. There is a man there named Lukas Valentine. He is the one who took your Fate Key and spent it." The darkness paused. "I have found a method to extract a new Key from a suitable vessel. All you need to do is bring me his corpse."

Sol went back to one knee immediately.

"I am grateful," he said, his voice low, "for the grace to wipe away my shame."

The darkness didn’t respond immediately. When it spoke again, it was quieter, almost gentle.

"Go forth, Sol."

The mirror’s surface rippled once more, and the darkness receded.

The reflection returned, showing Sol kneeling alone in an empty room, his red ponytail falling forward over his shoulder.

He stayed on his knee for a moment longer.

Then he stood, turned, and walked back through the door without looking at the mirror again.