Chapter 9: The Plan

After falling unconscious, Kaleb laid on the floor motionless. The room had an odd chill about it. Almost as if all the mana in the area was sucked dry. Light entered from the room, yet the room still felt dark.

"Zufra Despil" A voice resounded outside of Kaleb's room.

"Mr. Bravura, We have come to escort you to the King. He would like to speak with you in private" A Guardsman said as he entered the room after unlocking it. Looking around he didn't find anyone, till he looked down, finding a sweaty, unconscious, Kaleb. "This makes things... easier" the guard remarked to himself.

"Guys come in here he is unconscious for whatever reason." The guard called out to his fellow guardsmen.

2 other men came walking in and upon seeing the sight couldn't choose whether to laugh or sigh.

The 2 men hoisted Kaleb up. They dragged him out in his sweaty, disheveled, and unconscious state. If one were to look at it from the sidelines, it would look like the walk to an execution.

=Well, this is going to be interesting. Might as well make sure everything is remembered for Kaleb later, once he is up.= Cathy remarked as the men dragged Kaleb away.

The guardsmen took Kaleb to a much more secluded side of the castle. Mainly the dungeon. Kaleb was unceremoniously plopped into a chair. The chair creaked backward as Kaleb was forced into only adding to the creep-fest that was the dungeon.

"Make sure he is strapped down. The otherworlders are supposedly inhuman with extraordinary abilities." the guardsmen said to his buddy.

"Yea, yea. Whatever man. It's not like we've seen them in action before or will. Honestly, do you believe anything the King says?" One of the 2 guards said as he strapped Kaleb to the chair with leather straps.

"I'd rather be safe than dead" The guard shrugged as he started walking out of the dungeon.

"Pff. So gullible." The guard said after finishing up strapping Kaleb firmly to the chair.

After finishing strapping Kaleb to the chair the 2 guards left. Leaving Kaleb in the dungeon.

Several hours later Kaleb woke up from his unconscious state. Finding himself strapped to an old wooden chair. With his hands bound to the chair. Looking around Kaleb noticed many different cells around him. Most filled with skeletal remains. Seemingly bound to the walls by chains. Kaleb also noticed along the walls were many different types of cuffs. Most were made out of metal. Yet some looked like they were made of stone.

Kaleb stopped looking at the various cell,s, and things on the walls as he started to assess the very dungeon. The dungeon itself was very simple. Stone flooring, a couple of chairs here and there for what looked like guard posts. Only no guards were around. Some dimly lit torches illuminating the walls. Just enough for vision but nothing else.

Kaleb examined the weather straps binding his hands. They didn't look like deer or cow leather. Yet they were very sturdy, despite being unknown leather to Kaleb.

<Welp. This isn't the worst thing to wake up to. Now then, since I've expanded my mana a whole bunch. I might as well spend the time I have to learn to cut these straps> Kaleb lemented.

=I can help you with that= Cathy commented

<Id hoped so. why didn't you speak up early?> Kaleb asked Cathy

=You were very focused on what was around you. Didn't want to bother you= Cathy responded

<Thanks for the consideration but I'm currently strapped to a chair and can't move my arms. It's not like I have much time too. Good people don't go to dungeons just cause. So help me out here.> Kaleb pleaded

=Fine. So what do you want ? Fire, or wind.=

<Give me a wind spell>

=Okay. Here's what you gotta do. Imagine the type of blade you want the wind to form, say 'Zufra vindblade', the spell will auto-correct for any mistakes in your mind. Then make sure you try and aim it at the leather, and not at your skin.=

Kaleb focused. Making sure where he wanted the wind blade to cut on the leather straps. Then he imagined a medium-sized gust of wind, taking the form of a sharp blade. Kaleb then imaged the wind blade getting relative to the width of the leather straps.

"Zufra vindblade" Kaleb whispered.

After Kaleb said those words. His mana started to seep out of his hands. This time as Kaleb looked at the color. It had a white misty look to it, rather than the blue it once showed. The white mana swirled around. Gathing the air from around them the air obeyed, as a small wind blade was made. Although not visible to the eye, since Kaleb was the one who cast the spell, he could feel where his mana gathered.

After this brief thought, the wind blade struck at the leather on his right arm. Barely making an indent on the leather.

=You might need to add a little more mana next time= Cathy commented.

<...>

"Zufra vindblade" Kaleb whispered once again. This time with the intending of fully cutting the leather, he forced some of his mana out from his Mana ball with the white misty mana. By doing so, More white misty mana was forced out and created a bigger wind blade. This blade was about 3 times the size of the first one Kaleb made. Giving off a cool breeze in the somewhat stagnant air in the dungeon. The wind blade strikes at the leather. This time making a deep nash in the leather.

<That should be good enough> Kaleb thought

Kaleb then used all his strength in his right arm to force his way through the leather.

{Snap!}

A resounding snap was heard within the dungeon as Kaleb forced his hand through causing the leather to snap.

<Nice ok then>

Repeating the same spell. Kaleb cast his wind blade again, this time at his left arm where the leather was keeping him down. Using the advantage of having his right arm free, Kaleb helped his left arm. Making a much more quiet snap the leather on Kaleb's left arm broke free.

<Alright, Cathy, time for you to teach me that conceal spell. The one that makes my figure invisible. I don't know if my mana will last, but I think I might be able to get out of here. Just in case though I need to know the spell.>

=Mk, do you want me to use one of the skill points ?=

<Yea go ahead.>

=Ok, this is gonna hurt by the way=

[1 used spent point]

[Downloading Conceal spell...]

Upon the start of the download, a great amount of stress was on Kaleb's brain as the image of the spell, how its applications came into use with mana. The effects, of adding too little mana, or too much. Kale knew the Conceal spell like the back of his hand.

Although he learned the spell in the span of a minute, it was like every brain cell of his was on fire. learning something that quickly was too painful for any one man to bear. However since Kaleb had mental fortitude for a passive, he was able to endure the pain as he learns all the information.

Slowly coming out of his painful state of mind, Kaleb's resolve was thickened. Kaleb wanted out and was in no way, shape, or form interested in any further dialogue with the King or Queen of RavenStorm.

Kaleb looked around the dungeon now free from the chair. Looking behind him, he saw a door locked from the outside. Presumably, this was the entrance to the dungeon.

Looking back the way he was originally looking, Kaleb saw a hallway that looked to lead to more cells.

<Onward and over I guess...> Kaleb thought as he made his way further down the dungeon.

Making his way through the stone dungeon, Kaleb decided to grab 2 of the cuffs from the walls. One stone cuff, and one metal one. Not sure how they worked, he stuffed them into his pockets, hoping they may come in handy later.

<Cathy, show me my stats. I want to know how strong I am as I keep moving forward.>

=Okay!=

Kaleb Bravura: Level 6

Experience: 256 / 825

Race: Human

Class: None

Profession: None

Current HP: (20/20)

Mana: 90/120

Strength : 8 +

Agility : 6 +

Stamina: 7+

Vitality : 9 +

Wisdom: 6 +

Intelligence: 8+

Regeneration : 5 +

14 Unused Skill Points

Skills: Mana absorption(3), Mana Ball Creation (1), Mana Ball connection(1), WindBlade(1), Conceal (10)

Passive Skills: True Hero's constitution(1), True Sorcerers Understanding(1), True Adventurer's awareness(Max),Mana Balls (7,1), Mental fortitude(6), Pain resistance(8)

<Hmm. Question Cathy. Can I use the unused skill points for my True passive ability?>

=Unfotunatly, those can only be upgraded by certain requirements. However, the parameters of those are clouded, so I can't help you with that.=

<Well it's good to know I cant.>

Kaleb continued moving forward. As he was starting to understand the spell Conceal, Kaleb started using Mana Absorption to get him back to max mana. The mana swirled around Kaleb as it entered his body.

<Ha, that feels better. Hopefully, I can find a path out this way. Maybe a back door, or possibly a crack in the wall.> Kaleb thought as he continued down the poorly lit hallway.

The hallway curved left and right as Kaleb kept moving. Sometimes going past the hundreds of cells Kaleb thought he saw someone alive, only to look closer and just find a rotting corpse. More and more rotting corpses started to appear the further Kaleb went through the hall. The smell at first was only mildly annoying. Yet after each corpse, Kaleb passed it got worse by the second.

<This stench is awful... How many people did they just let rot away in here? How many people did they kill just by letting them starve...> Kaleb mentally thought with disdain.