B3 - Chapter 53: Obelisks

Seth blinked several times, his eyes scanning the Seed's description as if to make sure what he was seeing was correct. The cooldown reduction and the boost to Rage-type spells were both absolutely absurd.

It made the additional ten points of Strength and eleven points of Agility it also provided feel almost trivial.

Seth returned to his attributes and spells and focused on Beastmaster Rage to pull up the spell's description.

Since the ability had reached Flawless over the past months, its boost had grown even stronger while its duration had extended further. The effect was tremendous, matching the expected output of a maxed-out Epic+ spell with a lengthy five-hour cooldown.

And now, with Seth's new Seed, the bonus soared to seventy-five points for both attributes—the equivalent to fifteen full ranks. And with the Seed's cooldown reduction, he would now be able to cast the spell every forty minutes or so.

A ten-minute-long, fifteen-rank boost for himself, Nightmare, and Colossus.

'We should find a way to thank that Kreytorus fellow if he happens to be still alive somewhere,' Nightmare said through Link.

Seth ignored the comment, eyes moving to the Toughness penalty listed in the middle of the Beastmaster Rage's description. Aside from wanting to avoid the five-hour-long cooldown, he had been holding back on the spell to avoid the dangerous debuff. But with all the Toughness Colossus gave him through Link, and Lumi's healing, the penalty no longer felt as jeopardizing. Even with the penalty amplified by an additional twenty percent from his Seed, the tradeoff was more than worth it.

The dramatically shorter cooldown far outweighed the harsher drawback.

I should use it as much as I can from now on, Seth thought.

'I hope we soon find another Seed for me,' Colossus chimed in. His thoughts carried an almost childlike excitement. 'A strong one. That allows me to protect even more people.'

Seth recalled the massive, hammer-wielding Guardian of the Empire who had also stepped into their current Rift. Jaz of Ryswell. He tightened his gauntleted fists. 'I am sure we will find one for you soon enough.'

'And right after that, we should find another one for me,' Nightmare said.

Seth frowned. 'You already have a Copper and two Iron ones. That's the maximum for now.'

'Your mate explicitly said that absorbed Seeds can be replaced,' Nightmare retorted. 'So we simply need to find me a better one.'

"Seriously?" Seth muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The direwolf already possessed two Epic Seeds along with a Legendary one. The odds of finding something better were astronomically low, even in a war against the greatest rising talents of an entire nation. His greed truly has no limits.

Nightmare let out a smug huff. 'Also... I noticed that you didn't deny she is your mate.'

Seth dragged a hand down his face. "Oh, don't start with—"

Before he could finish his retort, he noticed Elena walk out from behind a thick brush ahead at the edge of the camp.

She stopped in her tracks, and her emerald eyes locked onto him.

For a brief, irrational moment, Seth had the uncomfortable feeling that she had somehow heard his conversation with Nightmare, even though they had spoken through Link.

Elena strode closer, her boots squelching in the damp grass of the small clearing. "Hey."

"Hey," Seth replied.

"That was... fast," she said as her voice dropped into a quiet murmur so the nearby soldiers wouldn't overhear.

"I was lucky," Seth answered. "It proved to be a good fit for me."

"That's good to hear. I'm happy for you." She paused, then gestured toward the makeshift tents behind. "Do you want to rest a bit before we leave?"

Seth shook his head. "Actually, I'm good to go."

"Seeing you gave him so much energy he doesn't need to rest," Nightmare said aloud from within the teardrop necklace.

"Nightmare..." Seth muttered.

Elena's cheeks flushed, but she cleared her throat and almost immediately regained her composure. "The others are eating morning rations before we leave, if you want to join us."

Seth nodded. "Sure."

As they walked side by side, Seth turned his focus inward to Nightmare. 'You are absolutely insufferable, you know that?'

'I'm just trying to help,' the direwolf replied without the slightest hint of guilt. 'We will eventually leave that country of yours behind, yet you haven't made any progress on this front. At this rate, she will never follow us.'

'That's not what I want,' Seth shot back.

'Really?' Nightmare asked dryly. 'Weren't you the one lecturing me about not losing ourselves in our pursuit of power? And yet, ever since the deaths of our previous squad members, you have been the one creating distance between yourself and her... as well as everyone else.'

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Seth's gaze drifted down to the damp earth beneath his boots. 'I just don't want to drag her into my mess.'

'I can protect her,' Colossus chimed in. 'You don't need to worry about her safety!'

Seth couldn't help the faint smile that touched his lips. 'Thanks, Colossus. But it isn't that simple.'

After walking a short distance through the ferns, they found Devus, Brandon, Henry, Selena, Marine, and the two highborn nobles who had fought alongside them the previous day—Varn the Priest and Trevas the Warrior.

"Seth!" Devus called out, waving a half-eaten piece of bread in the air.

Marine looked up from her bow, a mocking smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "Oh look, our protector is finally back. I was starting to be afraid you would leave us behind."

Seth rolled his eyes, ignoring her and instead heading straight over to Henry. The bald young man was eating in silence. Seth clapped him on the shoulder and bent down to grab a sealed food package from the supply bag resting on the wet ground. "Morning."

Henry looked up. "Morning, Seth."

Selena leaned against a tree nearby, arms crossed. "So, where exactly were you all night?"

Seth took a bite of the dense ration of bread, giving himself a moment to chew before delivering the cover story he had prepared to avoid raising suspicion about the existence of Seeds.

"I spent some time mapping more of the surrounding area while thinking about a solution to those anti-distortion artifacts Jaxar mentioned," he said after swallowing. His expression remained perfectly neutral. "While I was out there, I came up with an idea to improve one of my spells. So, I decided to test it out."

Devus let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "Modifying a spell in the middle of a battlefield? That's a bold move, mate."

If only he knew… Seth thought. He shrugged and took another bite. "Yeah. But I figured the payoff could be huge for the fights ahead."

"What spell was it?" Devus asked.

"My Rage-type one."

Devus blinked. "Didn't that thing have a ridiculous cooldown?"

"Not anymore."

A grin spread across Devus's face. "Nightmare must be thrilled."

"I am," the direwolf answered aloud without hesitation.

A few feet away, Selena remained quiet for a moment, her eyes studying Seth. "And did you also come up with a solution for those anti-distortion artifacts?"

"Not really," Seth admitted. "I'm just hoping those devices are rare enough that they're only in a few specific groups. If we run into a detachment carrying one, I'll just have to break it."

Selena's expression remained unchanged as her fingers tapped the hilt of her dagger. "They'll keep those artifacts in the center of their formation. I doubt you'll have an easy time reaching them."

Once again, Nightmare's voice echoed from the teardrop necklace. "Don't underestimate us."

A silence followed, then Selena shook her head. "You're the one underestimating them. That could get you into trouble."

"Nah," the direwolf replied with complete confidence. "We'll be fine."

Before Selena could respond further, Elena stepped into the center of the group and hew gaze swept across them. "We should move. The other teams are already preparing to leave. The vanguard will likely begin advancing toward the northern ridge within minutes."

The small party rose in unison to gather their belongings. Seth discarded his empty ration wrapper into the supply bag before his gaze drifted toward the center of the camp.

Where he found Jaxar.

The King's grandson stood surrounded by a tight ring of both fresh and injured soldiers, his eyes locked on Seth. A cold, venomous hatred burned into that glare.

'Do you think he will try to hurt us?' Colossus asked through Link.

'I am certain he will,' Seth answered. 'We just need to be ready for when he does.'

"Seth?"

Elena's voice called from the edge of the brush as she noticed him lingering behind the others.

He tore his gaze away from the royal brat and pulled his dark hood over his head, causing the shadows to conceal his face.

"Yeah. I'm coming."

Seth moved through the dripping vegetation, his boots gliding over the rain-soaked ground while Nightmare scouted a short distance ahead. Colossus and Lumi remained hidden inside the teardrop necklace to avoid detection, and Elena and the rest of the party followed roughly ten to fifteen minutes behind at a steady pace.

The plan had been simple: find another isolated imperial detachment and ambush them.

Yet so far, Seth and Nightmare had found nothing.

Don't tell me they've started clustering together.

He couldn't really blame them if they had.

After the losses they had suffered, splitting their forces would only expose their top contributors to even greater danger. Even if Celess remained beside Jaz, and even if Kaelen somehow decided to stay close enough to protect the empress' daughter, he could kill her and disappear back into the rainforest before anyone could stop him.

The Empire had every reason to be cautious.

And it was making his job considerably harder.

'Seth, come look at this,' Nightmare called through Link.

Seth didn't waste time and adjusted his course to head toward the direwolf's position.

As soon as the distant voices reached his ears, he pulled the pocketwatch from his pouch and activated its invisibility effect. The active connection of Share still maintained his access to Shadow Step, which he felt would be more useful at the moment.

Moving cautiously, he crept toward Nightmare's location.

Three steps later, he felt his body pass through a faint dome of rippling aether.

Seth tensed.

To his surprise, the pocketwatch's invisibility remained active. A strong suspicion formed in his mind.

To confirm it, he slipped behind the trunk of a massive tree and activated his Distortion Rod. The suppressing field attempted to expand outward from the artifact—then faltered.

The energy sputtered against an invisible pressure and collapsed before it could fully form.

Seth grimaced beneath his hood. So this is one of those artifacts.

In this field, the enemy could use as many scrolls as they wanted, and he had no reliable way for him to stop them.

Keeping low, Seth moved toward Nightmare's hiding spot. Through gaps in the dense foliage, he tracked several imperial patrols moving in the area and carefully adjusted his path to avoid their lines of sight.

A few seconds later, he slipped into position beside the direwolf. Upon arrival, his attention snapped to the center of the enemy formation.

An intricate artifact that looked exactly like a small stone tower stood resting atop the mud, measuring roughly half the height of a man. Ancient runes pulsed across its surface, releasing waves of anti-distortion aether into the surrounding area.

Ten soldiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder around it in a defensive ring, weapons drawn and eyes scanning the rainforest.

So it isn't portable like a Distortion Rod, Seth realized as he studied the device. Nor is it something they can conceal.

Seth cast Intermediate Identify on the stone structure resting in the center of the mud.

'Wait here,' Nightmare through Link.

Seth frowned but remained where he was.

The direwolf slipped away from the roots under the cover of Illusory Emptiness, weaving silently through the dense undergrowth.

Seth expanded his awareness through their bond, sharing Nightmare's senses as the beast ventured deeper into enemy territory, which was far safer than following personally. With only his pocketwatch concealing him, pushing any farther into the heart of the imperial formation would be reckless.

Through Link, he could feel aether pressing against Nightmare's fur as the direwolf moved forward.

The suppression zone was far larger than Seth had initially assumed.

The entire area is covered. They probably—

His thoughts cut off.

Several dozen paces ahead, another detachment of imperial soldiers came into view. They were gathered around a second Stabilizer Obelisk.

Seth's attention returned to the artifact description still hovering in the corner of his vision.

'Can be linked to other Stabilizer Obelisks to expand the field.'

His eyes narrowed. The Empire wasn't relying on a single device.

They had deployed multiple Stabilizer Obelisks across this section of the battlefield and linked them together into a vast network. Their overlapping fields formed a continuous zone that neutralized Distortion Rods.

A smile tugged at the corner of Seth's lips. Not if I have anything to say about it.