Weapons of Mass Destruction

Chapter 540: Matter of national security

A week later another notification pops up.

Warning! The 4th wave is now in progress.

The only person remaining in the white cube is me. The rest of group 4 has already been let out, likely confirmed not to be mimics.

Well, this is getting kinda ridiculous, isn’t it?

Entering my mental space, I join Whitey, who is now dressed in gray sweatpants and an oversized black hoodie. The kind of clothes you might wear to the gym.

And this time I recognize the area around us very well.

We’re in a grassy field encircled by trees. At its center, within a circular patch of grass, stands a group of 24 demons, all looking visibly shocked and glancing around in bewilderment at their surroundings.

There’s also the white-haired demon I couldn’t fail to recognize. He’s only a few years younger than the current Whitey. And just like before, he struggles to walk, and his heartbeat is irregular, broken, unlike the rest of the demons here.

But the younger Whitey calms down and fixes it as we watch. His heartbeat becomes more controlled and his movement smoother as he forces his body back under control.

Then, a wolf steps out from behind the patch of trees. The beast’s brown fur is matted with dried blood, it’s missing an ear, and carries a gruesome scar on its snout. It fixes its unnerving gaze on the shocked demons, eyes glowing with an eerie light.

This massive creature is tall enough that its eyes rest at the same height as mine.

It growls and takes a menacing step toward the group. A huge, car-sized wolf, with a strange line of text hovering above its head.

[Wolf - lvl 2]

I sit down to watch the memory, and Whitey sits next to me.

“How many of you survived the first floor?” I ask.

“Fifteen.”

“Damn, that’s more than us.”

“You wouldn’t expect a demon to be weaker than a human, would you?” He smirks as we watch a group of demons quickly organize and beat the shit out of the wolf, which then tries to escape after barely managing to kill one of them, and getting wounded by the others in the process.

They pile on top of it, using kinetic energy, thermal manipulation, even going so far as to use lightning, and gravitational manipulation to damage the poor beast.

As the wolf escapes into the forest, a few of the fastest demons follow it with wide grins on their faces.

Whitey laughs. “Oh, I almost forgot this part. Two out of the four following the wolf will die in the forest. For some reason, I can’t help but find that hilarious.”

“Very funny,” I confirm. “I just find it annoying that the difficulty of the floors seems to stay the same no matter how powerful the races are before the tutorial.”

Whitey shrugs. “So what. There are just a lot of weaker demons and members of the other races that survive this floor because they were stronger than humans before the tutorial. Humans just get culled more.”

“Oh,” I say, grasping his logic, “so the average level of a human in Beyond or Hell difficulty will generally be higher than the average demon because all the weaker humans died on the 1st floor, while a bunch of sub-par demons survived?”

“I never said that. Humans are pathetic. If a demon loses to one of them, he was weak to begin with.”

“Sure, sure,” I deflect, waving him off.

For a while, we watch as the group organizes, and a few demons even take to fighting, apparently over who gets to be the leader. The 1st floor Whitey doesn’t join any of these fights, which draws a lot of disgust from the usually power-hungry demons who look down on him. But I know how he fights, I know it very well. Out of all the demons there, Whitey is probably the most bloodthirsty, but his condition has also made him patient.

“I think they must have cleared me of being a mimic for the most part, and now they’re just keeping me in the cube because of you or something like that,” I say.

“It would be fucking funny if they weren’t able to clear you of being a mimic because of me and killed you over it.” His red eyes shine with deep amusement as he watches his younger self.

I think it over and end up agreeing. I also think it would be funny—in a twisted, deeply unfortunate way, but funny nonetheless.

The 20th day inside the fuckallthelumoransgetmeoutofhere cube finally passes.

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 62 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 63]

[Mana Domain - lvl 58 > Mana Domain - lvl 59]

[Focus - lvl 60 > Focus - lvl 61]

[Eclipse - lvl 18 > Eclipse - lvl 19]

[Perception - lvl 57 > Perception - lvl 58]

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[Bone Knitting - lvl 32 > Bone Knitting - lvl 33]

There were some level ups, all gained by using skills that can be used inside my body or otherwise directed inward. It is also the day I decide to use stay tokens to go to Beyond.

Fuck lumorans. Screw my handler’s warning. I’d rather deal with the system’s anger than wait this out any longer.

That also makes me wonder how the floor’s natives would react to me disappearing like that and then appearing again in a day or two. Part of me thinks they’d notice and burn me at the stake all the while screaming, “Witch!” or in this case, “Mimic!”

Another part of me thinks the system would probably take care of it somehow. Though, if it did decide to punish me, it’d just let them do whatever they wanted. Yeah, that sounds like the system I hate.

As I lie on my back in the exact center of the cube, staring at the white metal ceiling, I watch the timer tick down over the next few hours.

That’s when I finally hear a voice, an hour and forty-three minutes before I plan to leave for Beyond.

“Human mercenary Nathaniel. You will follow me now.” Just those simple words spoken by Jareth, Champion Owain’s disciple.

For a moment I think about ignoring him, but I stand up and head toward the place where the rest of group 4 exited. The door that had once made itself indistinguishable from the white wall now stands open, and the tall, slim lumoran stands in the opening.

“Hurry up. Because of you, we had to call in one of the Lord Absolute’s disciples to examine you and the Signature Isolation Cube. So don’t waste my time as well.”

“So I’m not a mimic?”

“Apparently not. Don’t ask me for the details; I don’t know any and didn’t ask for any. I only follow my master’s orders.”

Damn, that guy almost sounds like a reasonable person. Maybe I should be nicer to him. Anyone who avoids the responsibility of thinking as much as he does can’t be that bad.

“Good then.” Immediately after I step out, I create a [Mana Crown] over my head and start storing mana.

I also reactivate my Restriction Training Emblem, now free of the interference generated by the field, and form two evil pyramids to follow me.

I feel an immediate wave of relief.

He glances at my display and shakes his head. After a few more steps, he stops and turns to me, taking a more formal pose.

“Human mercenary Nathaniel Gwyn of the mercenary group Angry Kittens. Due to your achievements, you and your group will be placed deep within our territory for your safety. You are to be granted half a year’s furlough there. You shall receive a villa to live in comfortably. You will be given resources, within limits, which you may discuss with the lumoran technician to be assigned as your liaison with lumoran forces. You will also receive a monthly allowance at a level proportional to the services you have provided us.”

I let him talk. There is no one else around, just a few buildings and one tall tower in the distance. All of it is in a valley between two mountains.

Jareth continues, “For the time being you will not be permitted to leave our planet. Instead, we will reward you in whatever manner you find fair so long as we consider it appropriate, in light of your services. You are not allowed to discuss what happened. Any breach of secrecy will be dealt with severely, as befits matters of national security. You will not be given any more information about what happened, but know that you have rendered a great deal of aid to the entire lumoran race. Even though it won’t be publicly celebrated and must remain secret, you have our Lord Absolute’s thanks, Champion Owain’s thanks, and my own as well. Thank you.”

After that, he lowers his head in a formal bow. He does so without hesitation or shame but nevertheless maintains an air of dignity.

There is no fanfare, no one to thank me other than him, and honestly, I don’t feel like I truly did all that much. Sure, Leth would never have survived escaping that place on his own. The cold, the abundant mimic spawn, or even the lesser mimics would have killed him, never mind the two Greater Mimics.

But hey, I’m not going to mention that.

“Sounds good. How many resources will I get?”

He starts walking, and I follow him.

“I assure you, the amount of resources will be adequate, given your substantial contributions. I won’t say more because it’s classified.”

“I see, I see. And my sword?”

“That evil thing? We had a few of our technicians fix the sheath so the forces it contains wouldn’t leak out or breakthrough. We’ve respected your ownership and did not touch the blade itself. If you have any complaints about the level of interference, please mention it to the head technician, and we will compensate you.”

“It’s fine. Just give me some materials.”

“Please discuss that with the head technician or with the technician assigned as your liaison.”

“Sure,” I say, giving up and just following him through the seemingly empty base.

Part of me wonders if this half a year’s ‘holiday’ in their inner territory is just a way to keep us ‘locked down’ by giving us some luxuries. After everything that happened, I can’t believe they’re one hundred percent certain about their mimic-detection methods.

We reach a teleportation array inside one of the more highly defended buildings, passing through multiple insulative and protective layers. Even here, I don’t see any other lumorans, giving me the impression that they may have been sent away so that they wouldn’t see me. Only when we finally get to the array do we meet another lumoran, who activates it without a word. Connecting it to the Champion’s web with what I’m sure is an insanely intricate set of checks.

I grab Fracture and my belongings from the table nearby, then we step into the teleportation array.

This happens two more times, each array growing more and more fortified, as they send us deeper into lumoran territory. An entire castle is dedicated to this purpose alone. Part of me tries to gauge how far we’re traveling with each teleport, estimating mana requirements. Hundreds of miles? Thousands?

After the last teleport, we continue on foot, running at speeds rivaling race cars. Jareth even has to hold himself back a bit so I don’t lose sight of him, even with all the kinetic energy I’m using.

It’s not often I meet someone capable of that kind of speed. Hell, I’m sure he would still be faster if I flew while he remained on foot.

After a while, he stops and leaves me, but not before pointing out my destination and giving one final warning not to leave the area, which seems to be the size of a small country.

From what I can see, there’s no obvious spying infrastructure, so I’d guess they just have alarms set to alert them in the event that we cross a boundary. There’s also a high chance they put tracking marks on us, which would be more sensible and easier. But overall, I think we’ll have at least some privacy here. After our time in the cube, we definitely need it.

I pass between two towering mountains and step into the valley. Rising to the top of a hill, I take in the sights stretched out before me.

A massive waterfall thunders down into a wide, clear lake, with a river snaking its way out and carving a path through the valley below. The hills around me are covered in a dense mix of trees swaying gently in the breeze, colorful flowers blanket long stretches of ground, and the green grass shines with a vibrance that almost seems unreal.

One hill in particular catches my eye, at its peak lies a huge, polished stone circle, clearly reinforced for sparring.

Not far from the lake, a manor comes into view, tucked neatly between the hills. The buildings are simple and made of a sturdy sort of wood, yet the surrounding area only elevates their charm.

A number of gardens dot the landscape. The largest one, right at the center, is dominated by a towering tree. Its bark is smooth and white, and its leaves shimmer in shades of yellow and gold, as though the tree itself were bathed in perpetual sunlight.

It’s a view straight out of a fairy tale.

I move closer to the cliff’s edge, sit with my legs dangling, and wait.

Not long after a mana signature makes itself known to me and its owner appears before me, reaching me with a few nimble jumps, as her sharp canines stand out in her bright smile as she lands at the top of the cliff.

Her long white hair contrasts with her golden eyes, while her gray ears and tail add to the striking look. A deep but healed scar runs horizontally across her nose.

“Long time no see, feral one.”