Chapter 69: A Missed Opportunity

William Oh is The Tower’s greatest detective. He holds everything he has perceived in mind simultaneously, matching facts together unconsciously at an unbelievable speed to puzzle together the past, present and future.

No secret, no hidden motivation or buried desire can remain concealed from him.

The most famous examples are when he used this potent gift to unravel mysteries, topple dictators, or the uncover the nature of The Tower itself.

Usually it’s just used on tarts, though.

• Jason Salazar

***Stephan Akul***

“Its technology surpasses anything I’ve ever seen, My lord. At first glance it appears to be based on my own research, but I do not know how…half of it works. Asking me to fix it…I could take it apart and learn a thousand thousand things, but I could not fix it in this lifetime.”

Stephan Akul eyed the mummified corpse dressed in decayed silks and loose-fitting gold Relics, like an emperor buried with his wealth from days long forgotten.

His tinkerer was a man with powerful abilities specialized in repair and invention. He had made things that the Baron couldn’t even understand, that drew power from the omnipresent Miasma that flooded every Floor.

The new wave of the future, Allen called it. A power source that will revolutionize…everything.

And yet…a stone coffin gave him trouble.

Stephan reeled in his anger. An outburst solved nothing, and Allen was already plenty afraid of him. the man did not need more motivation. He simply…couldn’t do what Stephan needed him to do.

And giving Allen a glimpse into how badly this affected him would be unwise.

“Why is he still asleep?” Stephan asked. When he’d shoved Pi in there, the creature had been thrashing and screaming. Now he appeared deathly still. “Is he dead?”

“No, he’s still asleep. Due to the manner in which it was broken, parts of the coffin are still operating.” Allen responded, standing up and going over to the broken side of the coffin, where the lid was missing.

“You see these nodes here? They match spots on the broken portion of the lid that we removed. That implies there are other nodes under the lid that are still operational.”

“Does it still do what I need it to do?” Stephan asked.

“I…don’t know what you need it to do?” Allen said with a shrug.

Stephan pulled a knife out of its sheath and leaned down into the coffin, the hairs on his arm standing on end at the nearly imperceptible hum of power that filled the ancient device.

He grabbed Pi’s hand and gave him a tiny cut on his palm.

The wound stayed.

“It’s little more than a paperweight now,” Stephan said with a scowl before glancing at Allen.

“Take it apart. Learn a thousand thousand things, and maybe you can create something that can replicate the coffin’s primary function.

“What is its primary function?” Allen asked.

Stephan glanced over at his tinkerer.

“I wouldn’t want to blind you with expectations. It’s very possible that what I think the coffin’s primary function is, and what the coffin thinks its primary function is, are two different things.”

Allen gave a groan of frustration before he realized he was standing beside The Baron. The tinker froze, straightened up and bowed. “I will uncover it’s secrets, my lord.”

“I’m sure you will,” He said, clapping Allen on the shoulder and turning to leave.

“…My lord?” The tinker asked.

“Hmm?” Stephan asked, turning back.

“What do you want done with the occupant?”

“Have the Relics he wears delivered to the Vault, and the man himself delivered to his own cell. A high security one. We’ll need him at hand if you ever replicate the coffin’s functions.”

Allen bowed, and that was the end of it. Stephen turned away from his Tinker and rounded the corner.

I guess this is wasted space now, Stephan thought, removing the Obsessive Lover’s Ring on his right hand and placing it in his pocket before switching to a shield enhancer that synergized with his build.

Immediately, powerful living shielding appeared around him and began to fold in on itself, wrapping him in a layer of protection that would be the envy of any other Climber.

It wasn’t as good as perfect immortality, though. But what was?

***William Oh***

“Even if I lived forever, I don’t think anything would be as good as this,” Will said before unhinging his jaw and engulfing an entire meat pie at once.

“Are you even tasting it?” Ria asked, arms crossed.

“MURF,” Will said around the food as he began chewing.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“I’m glad you like them so much!” Anna said, clasping her hands together. “After…all that…I wanted to say ‘thank you’, and my mom always said nothing shows appreciation to a boy like meat pie.”

“I don’t think that’s what she was talking about.” Jean said, scarred arms crossed.

“What do you mean?” Anna asked, glancing over her shoulder at the old woman watching Will eat with a permanent scowl.

“Yeah, what do you mean?” Ria asked, looking at Jean.

“I don’t get it either, but the pies are awesome,” Bee said, joining Will in devouring the flaky self-contained pies.

“Those are for customers!” Ria said, pulling the small Tangled away from her meal. Bee struggled mightily for a minute before giving up like a waterlogged cat.

Shouldn’t Bee be stronger than Ria?

As far as Will knew, Tangled had something like 4-5 Strength growth, which made them extremely strong in melee combat, the ability to split into multiple bodies further enhanced this advantage.

Not to mention how hard it is to pin down the shapeshifter. Is she just play-acting?

While Ria’s back was turned, Anna snuck a pie and took a bite, giving Will a guilty shrug.