B2 Chapter 256: Confinement, pt. 3

Resting against the back wall of his cell, Kaius idly traced the shapes of clumped moss that had grown in the damp. He was thinking about their cell mate—Kenva. At first, they’d kept their distance, but the more time that passed, the more he was convinced that the woman could be a vital asset in their escape.

It was the little details. The way her eyes flicked to the far wall, as if she could see something through solid wood and stone. Her sudden reactions to unexpected noise—hand dropping to a non-existent knife.

After sharing a jail for nearly two weeks, Kaius was now certain that Kenva was a genuine prisoner. More than that, he grew more sure that she hadn’t been boasting about her feat of crossing the plains alone.

With everything he knew, it raised more questions. Either she was beyond skilled at avoiding trouble, or she was hiding secrets. What were the chances that someone with a fresh class would be able to walk so far without encountering a beast significantly higher level than them?

In his experience—very little.

A few days ago, when she’d been knocked out to be taken for questioning, he’d taken the opportunity to analyse her.

Level eighty-six. A level almost on par with Ianmus—something he’d only managed to attain in such a short time thanks to Kaius’s help.

And she’d been imprisoned for over a month when they arrived.

Thanks to her blood oath, Kenva was more than happy to boast about her legacy skills—if not the details, something he assumed she had learned after her boasting had landed her in this pit.

As much as that explained, it didn’t explain enough. Even if she likely had an Unusual class.

He had a suspicion—one he intended to confirm.

Regardless, the frequency of his and his team’s interrogations had begun to slow. Their captors were growing less confident that they could extract the information they coveted through traditional means—he doubted they had more than a month before they gave up entirely.

When that happened, they’d call for a mindmage. Kaius didn’t intend to wait around for one to arrive.

With every interrogation, Rapid Adaptation grew. Already, he’d started to remember blurry memories of being dragged through corridors of stone. All he needed was a few more weeks to learn what he could, and then they would act.

Now, though, it was time to loop Kenva into their little plan.

Drawing his finger back from the clump of detritus he had been scratching at, Kaius rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

He fell deeply into his bond—Porkchop welcoming him in.

There were no questions, his brother already knew what he needed. They’d had plenty of time to experiment with the connection between their souls, and they had discovered that if Porkchop made one of the lesser connections he used for beast speak it was possible for him to piggyback off that connection.

Unfortunately, it was a demanding task that required significant focus from both him and his brother, so it wouldn’t be helpful in battle. Especially since they could only maintain one conversation at a time. It was, however, an easy way for them to discuss sensitive subjects in privacy.

“Kenva,” Kaius said, opening his eyes in time to see the woman start.

“What is it?” she mouthed the words, still unused to purely mental communication.

“I think it’s time we had a talk, now that I’m confident you’re who you say you are.”

Through the bars in his cell, Kaius could see her glaring.

“And what makes you think that I would share my secrets so easily?” she asked, a deep frown on her face.

Kaius grinned, ignoring the discomfort of his damp smock.

“Because I have a way to get us out of these cells.”

A loud snort of derision filled the hall. “Now I know you’re lying. There’s no way out—they accounted for everything.” Kenva replied, her words bitter.

Pushing himself to his feet, Kaius walked to the metal door that sealed his cell shut. He leaned into it, resting his arms through the gaps as if he was simply bored of sitting down. The tight gaps pushed his sleeves up, revealing the looping black lines of incomprehensible runes that covered the backs of both of his hands and wrists.

“You can’t account for something you don’t know exists.” he said confidently.

“See these?” Kaius shook his hands. “Glyphic magic. I’ve got a number of spells already charged with mana—the lockout inscriptions don’t work on it. With them, I can kill the guard and escape my cell, using his keys to free my team—and you, if you’ll help us.”

That caught the woman’s attention. She leaned forward, eyes flicking between his eyes and the markings on his skin.

After satisfying her curiosity, she looked away—back at the featureless stone of her cell.

“Why include me? It’s a risk, isn’t it?” her words were uncertain, as if she was expecting a trick.

“You’re strong. I’d bet stronger than you should be—so much so that you were captured despite having an oath protecting your legacy. Level eighty-six, so quickly? On a solo journey across the Frontier? The only people I’ve known to grow like that are my team.” he said, his eyes boring into her with burning intensity.

Kenva froze, just barely for a moment, but Kaius caught it all the same.

Shoving down his urge to grin, he simply stayed silent, letting the woman respond on her own time—too much pressure might get her to shut down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kenva finally said, relying on the age old defense of denial.

He rolled his eyes. “Please. You’ve clearly got a good legacy, and I doubt you would have survived the plains even with a Rare class—so I’m guessing you probably have an Unusual.”

Kenva froze again, her chest rising and falling at a fluttering beat. She was panicking. He had to calm her.

“Kenva!” he called, slapping the gate to his cell. The sudden noise caused her eyes to dart to his. “I already told you I have unknown magic—you have more on me than I have on you, so calm yourself.”

She paused, mulling his words over, before she nodded—a streak of red-brown hair falling into her face.

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“Like I was saying, even with those things, it doesn’t explain how you shot up so quickly. I think I know what did, though. Levelling like that requires risks that most would never take—that are almost sure to kill you.” he said, watching her carefully.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she gave him a single nod.

He smiled.

“While you were travelling—hunting beasts—I’m guessing you got unlucky. Nearly died, fighting something that by all rights should have killed you.”

Kenva’s eyes went wide, staring at him in shock.

He was right. Readjusting, Kaius leaned against the stone frame of the doorway, a knowing smile on his face.

“I’d say whatever you ran into was something far stronger than you should have been able to kill, but you did it anyway. Something like, I don’t know, fifty levels above you?” Kaius asked, probing for her reaction.

Kenva only narrowed her eyes, a suspicious frown forming.