It was not his logic or his instinct to stay safe. It was something deeper. His whole smart plan was gone. He had always been careful and patient. He was a smart gamer who used the System like a math puzzle. He had spent eight days getting hurt while blindfolded just to get bad luck points. Now, all those plans were gone.
[DING!]
[Emotional change detected.]
[Host vitals: Heart rate up 340%. Blood pressure dangerous.]
[Adrenaline spike: MAXIMUM.]
[Brain function: Weak.]
[Tactical planning: OFF.]
[Recommendation: Take a breath.]
Alvian did not breathe.
He looked at the spot where the hologram had been. Then he looked at Leo, who was staring at him with scared eyes. Then he looked at Martha, sleeping peacefully without knowing anything.
’Tobias,’ he thought. ’They ripped his arm off again. The same arm he lost fifteen years ago fighting Griff Maddox. They ripped off his new metal arm too.’
’Serah is wearing magic-dampening cuffs. She cannot use her SunFire Talent. She cannot defend herself. She is tied up in a dungeon, bleeding from her neck, waiting for me.’
His hands shook. Not from fear, but from a burning anger. His high INT 22, the smart mind that guided all his choices, was now full of rage.
The Fate’s Loaded Dice, the World Will warnings, and the smart plan for the Estate raid were all useless now. All his math and carefully saved resources did not matter anymore.
He was just a sixteen-year-old boy from the Undercity. His mother was sick, and his best friends were captured by a rich man who thought power meant he owned other people.
"Duke Magnus," Alvian said out loud. His voice was very quiet. "You made a big mistake."
He picked up his short-sword from the table. The blue lines in the blade glowed brighter, responding to his anger. He checked the Fate’s Loaded Dice in his inventory. It was still there.
He walked to the door, then stopped.
Leo was watching him. The charcoal lay on the floor. Leo looked too old for his age, carrying a sad weight no child should have.
Alvian knelt next to him.
"Leo, listen to me."
Leo looked at him.
"I need you to be brave. I am going out, and I might not come back tonight." He put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. "But I will come back. Do you understand?"
Leo did not cry or ask questions. He looked at Alvian and nodded once. Then he picked up his charcoal and started drawing a new picture on the wall. It was a person holding a glowing sword in front of a castle. The castle had a flag with a bulldog on it.
Alvian stood up. He checked Martha one last time. She was still sleeping. The medicine was working.
He walked out of the apartment and into the hallway of the Undercity’s thirteenth floor. The lights on the ceiling flickered.
He did not go down to the Warrens. He went up instead. He walked through the tunnel stairs that led to the surface. He passed the shops in the Middle Ward and moved toward the Upper Ward, where the rich nobles lived. Guards kept watch at checkpoints between the areas to keep poor people out.
Alvian walked right past the checkpoint without stopping. The guard saw his Academy patch and let him through. An Academy student in the rich area was uncommon, but not illegal. The guard thought he was just visiting a friend.
The Upper Ward was very bright compared to the dark Undercity. Clean white stone buildings sparkled. Pretty trees lined the roads. Flying magitech cars moved overhead.
People stopped and stared. Seeing a Tournament Champion walk through the rich neighborhood in torn clothes with a cheap sword was strange. Rich people stepped out of his way without knowing why. Something in his cold eyes made them afraid.
Alvian stopped thinking about plans. His mind became quiet. His anger was still deep inside him, but now it was sharp and focused. His legs just kept moving forward toward the Magnus Estate.
His Clearwater Coating Skill was active on his hands. The shiny acid hissed softly in the air. His short-sword hung at his hip, its blue lines pulsing with his heart.
He had twenty-three hours and forty minutes left before the Duke’s deadline.
The Duke expected him to come tomorrow, crawling and begging for mercy.
The Duke did not understand what he had done.
[DING!]
[Combat setup detected.]
[Clearwater Coating: ACTIVE (Essence cost: 5/minute)]
[Severing Sword Aura: READY]
[Abyssal Dissolution Domain: READY]
[Fate’s Loaded Dice: INVENTORY]
[Host emotional state: ANGER]
[Tactical plan: NONE]
[The System notes that the Host is walking into a guarded enemy base without a plan. This is either very brave or very foolish.]
Alvian closed the System screen without reading it.
He did not need a plan. He just needed to break through the gate.
The walls of the Magnus Estate appeared three blocks ahead. They were ten meters tall made of stone. Guard towers stood at every corner, and magic sensors scanned the street for threats.
The sensors did not mark him as a threat. His registered Talent was only E-Rank Clearwater. An E-Rank Level 32 player was not dangerous to a Duke’s fortress.
But he was really an S-Rank danger pretending to be an E-Rank weakling!
Twenty-three hours and thirty-eight minutes left.
He kept walking.
The Magnus Estate took up a whole block in the rich district.
Ten-meter tall stone walls surrounded the property. Magic sensors sat on top, scanning the road. Guard towers stood at each corner, filled with B-Rank guards holding magic rifles. Heavy iron gates blocked the main entrance, decorated with the family crest. The bars were as thick as Alvian’s wrist.
The house was a strong fortress hiding behind luxury. It was a sign of wealth that said no one could attack it. No one attacked a Duke.
Alvian walked up the road toward the front gate. Pretty trees and big stone statues of Magnus family ancestors lined the path. The statues looked down at him with cold eyes.
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