Chapter 37 - An Expected Capture

Alex was exhausted. He’d been running for an hour straight, using his mana as he got it to increase his speed. He wasn’t sure if the Firstborn was even chasing him at this point. He just didn’t want to stop and find out.

The potion he’d drank had done its job, and the cut on his face had healed, though the blood had long since dried onto his face and neck.

He laughed with a touch of hysteria at a thought that jumped into his head.

I wonder what Mark or Sarah would think if they saw me right now. Crazy hair, haven’t bathed with soap in weeks, facial hair growing a bit wild, and my left eye looks like it’s been replaced with a solar system. I think my face is scarred despite the healing potion, and I’ve got dried blood all over my face, neck, and hands. Not to mention that I am running around in what anyone from Earth would think looks like ninja clothes.

While it was a funny thought, he knew that it was only their disbelief that would amuse him. The thoughts of a follow-up conversation were sobering.

You killed people?

He did his best to steer his thoughts away from this and back to the present.

I need a plan.

He blinked rapidly as he approached the cherry blossom forest. The vision in his left eye began to overwhelm him as he looked around. It was a stark contrast to the other side of the Rift. Everything in the forest ahead of him contained mana. From the green grass to the blooming cherry blossoms, colors and movement bombarded him.

He closed his eyes and thought about what came next.

Alright, so last time I was here, some people tried to kidnap me. I can assume that’s going to happen again. Last time, they thought I was a spy…

Alex looked down at his stolen clothing and sighed.

Well, this time, they’re definitely going to think I’m a spy.

Val flew back down as Alex stopped in the tall grass. He went to his knees and took a quick breather as his companion gave him a quick head butt.

“Hey, buddy. Thanks for keeping watch.”

"Watch!" Val said in response.

“Yes, watch. Good job.” Alex said as he patted the wyrm’s head. “Keep it up, and let me know when you see people. I’ll give you Mana if you do, okay?”

“Mana!”

Alex laughed tiredly. He reached into his spatial pouch and brought out a piece of wood from the other forest. He used the knife in his pouch to begin whittling off a piece of the small log. When the piece came loose, he returned the larger wood to the pouch and stared at the knife for several minutes.

He couldn’t help but remember the fact that he was going to try and stab a man in the chest only a short while ago.

Sighing, he continued with his small project. After ten more minutes of working with the small wooden puck, he had something resembling a small disk about the size and shape of an Oreo.

Damn, I want an Oreo.

“Mana?”

Ha! No, better than Mana.

“No.”

Oh yes. I swear, if you stop eating my Mana Stones, I’ll be rich when I can sell them all. I promise you’ll get an Oreo when we go home.

"Home, when?"

Those two words tore at Alex’s heart, and he didn’t respond. He wanted so desperately to get home and out of this nightmare. Yet, here he was, moving further and further away from the Rift exit once again.

He cut another piece of the spider’s silk to make a fresh mask, but this time, he placed the puck over his left eye. It worked as intended. Now, he had a way to temporarily block out the overwhelming amounts of mana in his vision while still having a normal appearance. Just to make sure, he removed the mirror from his spatial bag and looked at his face after using [Mirage] on the mask.

At least now I won’t get a headache from walking in the forest. I can’t tell if the eye would make these people freak out or hero-worship me if they recognize it.

Alex prepared himself for the worst, knowing that if he surrendered himself to the sect members that would inevitably find him, he could talk them into understanding what had happened. The best case scenario was if he could talk directly to Eura as the celestial man would know that he wasn’t a spy.

Would it just be best to strip down and run through the forest naked? Then they might just think I’m a crazy person. Crazy is better than enemy spy, right?

He felt too tired and hungry to worry about what the Celestial Lotus Sect might think of him. He had run out of food almost two full days ago and had been banking on the fact that he was close to exiting the Rift to get more food.

Alex ran on and was surprised it took as long as it did for a sect patrol to run into him. When Val spotted them, Alex called him back down and had the small mana wyrm hide in his shirt under the robes. As they approached and began yelling at him, Alex raised his hands to show that they were empty.

While there were no attacks, the group was clearly rougher than they needed to be. Several of them seemed to love the idea of free punches on an enemy who couldn’t defend themselves. Alex tried to explain himself more than once but was silenced with physical violence each time.

The first time he’d been hit, he’d tried to yell at the man to tell him to stop.

The second time he’d tried to reason with the group to understand why they wouldn’t listen to him.

After the third time, Alex did his best to turtle up and protect Val and vital parts of his body.

He stopped trying and decided that he’d take a different approach to the conversation when they got to wherever the sect stayed. They took his spatial bag and the larger pouch on his back. The idea that everything he’d accumulated and survived with being taken caused him almost to have a panic attack.

Of course, they’d take your stuff, dumbass. You have a small pocket dimension on your hip. There is no telling what you could be hiding in there.

I’m really committed to this now.

Alex berated himself. On instinct, he tried to use his Heavenly Eye more than once to inspect the sect members who tied him up. It annoyed him that his eye was still covered, and he couldn’t remove the dead-wood puck without removing the mask first.

There was no real way for him to tell, but for some reason, Alex had a feeling that these people were around his level, if not a bit lower. This thought surprised him, and he pushed the thought aside. The System had clearly said that the Rift Rank had increased.

His hands were tied, and a bag was placed over his head. The group walked with Alex for some time, and after an hour, Alex heard the sounds of civilization. They were not the sounds of his home, with traffic, yelling, and city birds. But the sound of a few horses, people talking, kids running, and guards calling out. For some reason, with his vision being inhibited, it really drove home the fact, in a different way, that he was in a fantasy world.

He listened to the group’s conversation as they walked through the city. Catching a few odd bits about the fact that they were annoyed to be reduced to such a low state of power. One of them mentioned something about Alex’s Qi and that the Serpent Sect must regard them lowly to send such a “beginner” to spy on them.

Alex was yanked along, and he could hear those who’d tied him up bragging to some others as they passed. He made the mistake of trying to clarify, once again, that he wasn’t a spy, but the men had gladly turned to beat on him some more. Alex had wondered if they might not use such violence when in the company of others, but he turned out to be quite wrong. They were more than happy to ‘teach him his place’ as a ‘night devil’s dog.’

Whatever the hell that means.

Alex coughed after a particularly solid kick had connected with his stomach and resolved to keep his mouth shut until they got him wherever they were taking him.

At first, the village had seemed large. They walked through the area for some time before Alex realized that the assholes were parading him in a large circle past the houses. The longer that they were out there, the more people came out to see the spectacle.

The chill settled into his bones as several hours passed, and night began to fall. The ordeal only ended as the men clearly became bored and were no longer getting the attention that they had when they first arrived in the village.

Alex was taken into a damp and cool area underground that he assumed was a prison. He felt cold metal manacles clamp around his wrist before the bag was removed. He looked around at the four men who still surrounded him and could see violence in their eyes.

Fuck.

“Hey, wait. I’m telling you, I’m not a spy! I know, Eura, please just g-”

“Who in the Night is Eura.”

“Brother, shut him up.”

There was not even a second's pause before a fist connected with Alex’s face. He was stunned but had the wherewithal to ball up in the turtle position to protect Val and his stomach while covering his head. Blows reigned down, and at some point, he lost consciousness.

Alex woke to someone splashing cold water on him.

“Strip him.” Came a cold voice.

The voice made him jerk awake, and rough hands began to pull at his clothes. Alex tried to push back, but he was struck hard before he could even gain his bearings.

His robe and shirt were removed, which revealed Valtherion, who flew around behind Alex, poking his head out only slightly.

"Scared."

The bond said the word and sent a feeling of fright so strong that it made Alex dry heave. He tried to send feelings of comfort or confidence to the wyrm but knew he was also sending too much of his own stress.

“There’s a beast. You, Junior Brother, go and fetch a Mana Cage.” Said the original cool voice.

Alex saw the other man for the first time. He was not one of those who had been in the patrol group. He looked at Alex with a calm face with no passion and seemed to look at every detail. Alex could tell that the man was a good bit higher level than the others, but he still didn’t present the confident and dangerous aura that Hong Xiu had.

He glanced around the cell that he was in to see if there was any hope of escape or fighting back. Every side of the room was covered with stone tiles, some with symbols etched into them. When Alex used his willpower to reach for his mana, he was terrified to notice that he could not draw it from his Core.

He felt the hackles on his neck stand up, and he glared at the man.

Play this smart. They’ll just beat me senseless again if I try to yell or make demands.

“Don’t hurt him. I’m not a spy. Please, just let me tell you what’s going on. I know Eura, he-” Alex was slapped on the head.

Internally, Alex screamed in frustration. Externally, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Well, at least he didn’t punch me. I’m going to start losing some teeth here soon.

“This one apologizes, Senior Brother. He keeps talking about this, Eura person. He must have some faulty information on the sect.” Said the man nearest to Alex. He looked at Val warily and took half a step away.

“Hmm, wait.” Said the Senior Brother. “Hit him again.”

Alex looked up in bewilderment. “Wait, what?”

A blow rocked his head to the side, and Alex hissed in pain.

My increase in Constitution has got to be doing something for me here. There’s no way I would have been able to take a beating like this before.

“His face doesn’t react when you strike him. Are you not angered, Night’s dog?” Said the Senior Brother. The man had black hair tied back into a ponytail, and he squinted his eyes as he leaned forward to look at Alex through the bars.

“Yes, Senior Brother. He’s been like that this entire time. We thought it was scary at the time that he wasn’t scared or angry or anything as we caught him. Even as we hit him and brought him into the cell, he didn’t show any fear. Their training must be frightening if even someone as weak as him isn’t worried about this situation. “

“Hmm…” There was a pause for several moments before the man snapped his fingers. “That’s not it. He has an illusion on his face. Feel around the skin by his ears and see if there is a mask there.”

It wasn’t long before they found the mask and pulled it off, causing the puck to fall to the ground. Several of the younger brothers within the cell gasped as his face, scar, and eye were revealed.

“Interesting.” Said the senior brother. “Why would you make a mask of yourself? Why not one of another person, like a member of our sect?”

Alex spit blood from his mouth before responding. “I’m telling you. I’m not a fucking spy! I made the mask of my own face to hide my eye because I didn’t want it to alarm anyone.” Alex looked at the man, attempting to convey sincerity and confidence through his gaze. It also allowed the man to take in the entirety of his Heavenly Eye.

Someone returned with a cage, and they forced Val into the small metal container. Alex had yelled and tried to rise as the companion called out loudly through the use of mana. Feeling the fear through their bond was heartbreaking, and Alex almost welcomed the blows that sent him back to the ground. The pain was more inviting than the terror from Val.

“We will not harm the beast. Calm yourself. How do you have that eye?”

“I keep trying to tell you. Eura gave it to me. The Heavenly Eye was a reward for releasing him.”

For the first time, the senior brother responded with emotion. He stepped forward quickly and grabbed the bars. “What did you just say?”

“Eura gave it to me? Look, I know it’s hard to believe, like how do you give someone an eye, but-”

“No, not that. What did you call it?”

“The Heavenly Eye? The actual name was longer; it just sounds ridiculous to say.” Alex tried to remember the name but gave up and pulled up the description.

***

Bound Items

E Rank Growth Item - Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage

Rarity: Unique

Type: Ocular Enhancement

This ocular enhancement replaces the left eye of the wielder, granting the passive ability to perceive mana and its movement within the environment. As the wielder's control over magic increases, the clarity and strength of this vision will enhance accordingly.

The Eye lets the user focus their Willpower to reveal detailed information about items, materials, or entities through the System. The accuracy and detail of the information obtained are contingent on the wielder’s Willpower being greater than the target's, with more details accessible as the gap in Willpower widens.

***

“Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage.” He read aloud.

“How…” the words trailed off as the other man stared at Alex with a look of shock.

“What do you mean how? I keep telling you how— asshole. You just keep punching me. Eura gave it to me when I let him out of those shadow chains in the tunnels.”

The senior brother recoiled as if Alex had struck him. There was a silence, and the two stared at each other before the man straightened. His calm composure returned, and he looked down his nose at Alex.

“I will verify this story. Junior Brothers, tell no one of this until I have confirmed it.” He said while holding eyes with Alex. He looked like he would turn and leave right then, but he stopped. He turned back and added, “Beat him again. Don’t break anything. Even if he is telling the truth, I don’t like the way he looks at me.”

Fuck.

Several minutes later, the three juniors left the cage, patting each other on the backs and laughing. They bragged about certain blows and seemed pleased with themselves.

I won’t forget a single one of your faces.

Too tired for even his rage to fuel him, Alex spat out some more blood and forced himself into a seated position. He leaned his head against the wall, frustrated that Val was in the smaller cage just outside of his own small cell.

He sent feelings of comfort to his bond before laying his head back and dozing off.

It’s alright, buddy. We’ll get out of here, and I’ll make sure they pay twofold for what they’ve done here. Bastards.

"Mana?"

A smile brushed across Alex’s face as he fell asleep.