The journey was arduous. For hours, the group pressed through the forest, guided by Dorian, who read the new topography as if it were a living map. Lena, silent, kept her eyes on Kael, as though trying to understand his every gesture.
By midday, the landscape changed. The ground was no longer soil and grass: beneath their feet, cracked asphalt lay covered in vines and greenish quartz crystals. Ahead stretched the Imperial Road, a former highway transformed into a stone path. Broken concrete columns rose like the ruins of an ancient temple, shrouded in gray mist.
"Here it is. The Imperial Road," Dorian murmured.
The silence was heavy, more threatening than that of the forest. Suddenly, Dorian raised his hand, halting the march. His eyes fixed on something ahead.
"A camp… not the Logistics Hub. It's small, looks like an outpost. And it's occupied."
With his enhanced vision, Kael saw: about two hundred meters away, an improvised fort built from wreckage and stone. Four Cyber Demons guarded the site. The leader, massive and clad in partial armor, whipped a prisoner tied to a post.
Demon Leader: "Information. Did you see the Arcanist? Where is the Code?"
The prisoner begged for mercy. The heavy axe was raised. "No data. Discard."
Kael clenched his teeth. The heroic impulse burned in his chest, but the programmer's mind prevailed. If captured, the Book of Code would fall into the Demon Lord's hands. The world would be undone.
"Wait," he whispered, gripping Lena's shoulder as she reached for her dagger. "Our priority is reconnaissance. If we attack now, four Demons will crush us. If we're captured, Alaric will be defenseless."
Lena and Dorian recoiled, horrified. The prisoner was executed before their eyes. The body fell, and robotic voices echoed:
Demons: "Discard complete. Resume sweep. Search for Mana anomaly."
Two Demons departed on patrol. The leader and another remained. The danger grew.
Lena trembled, rage and fear entwined. "They're monsters… We have to do something. Kael, we need to get past them. What are your orders?"
Kael felt the weight of the decision. His Mana was low — only 55 of 100. Hesitation had already cost dearly.
"Damn… they're coming our way. We'll have to fight. If I'd known, I would have struck before the execution."
He looked at Lena and Dorian, urgency burning in his eyes. "We must take them down silently. And we need more power. I can't be the only one with magic. Prepare yourselves."
The two Demons advanced, their steps almost silent, only the hum of their systems audible. One hundred meters. Time was running out.
Kael gestured. Dorian climbed a tree, bow in hand. Lena drew her dagger, fear hardened into determination.
Kael stepped to the forest's edge, eighty meters away. He channeled five Mana. "Initial Flame!"
The blue flame burst on the ground before the Demons, raising acidic smoke. They halted.
Demon 1: "Mana anomaly detected! Origin point confirmed!"
Both charged straight at Kael. He shouted: "Dorian, now!"
Arrows flew. One ricocheted off armor, the other missed. The distraction failed. The Demons closed to thirty meters.
Lena rushed forward, trying to intercept. Demon 1 veered from Kael and targeted her.
Demon 1: "Secondary priority. Proximity target!"
Its metallic arm shifted into a blade. The horizontal strike came fast, lethal. Lena saw death before her. Fear froze time.
But something changed.
Her mind flooded with data. Her experience as a project assistant — predicting failures, optimizing routes — converted into pure energy. A rudimentary mental interface appeared. The blade was not movement, but data flow.
"Flow Analysis!"
The strike passed within inches of her face. The Demon was exposed. Lena had Awakened.
The enemy faltered, confused. She was alive.
The strategy shifted in an instant. Demon 1, already weakened by Lena's Flow Analysis, staggered, its systems exposed and vulnerable.
You raise the staff, your voice firm, echoing across the smoke-covered road:
Focus on One!
The staff pulses in your hand. Five units of Mana surge like an electric current, condensing into an intense blue glow. The Initial Flame bursts toward the enemy's metallic trunk. The impact is sharp, followed by the crackle of overload.
"Core failure… Restart…" the mechanical voice of Demon 1 drags out before its body crashes heavily to the ground. The cybernetic hum fades. (Demon 1 Deactivated)
But there is no time to celebrate. Demon 2, only ten meters away, locks its eyes on you. The artificial hatred in its expression is almost palpable. It raises its battle axe, each step pounding like metallic thunder. In seconds, it will be upon you.
High in the tree, Dorian adjusts his aim, bowstring taut. Lena, still near the inert body of the first enemy, breathes deeply, trying to recover from the shock of her awakening. And you, Eryndor Malakar (Kael), feel the chill of fear crawl down your spine. The incoming strike is crushing. There is no room to dodge. The Initial Flame will not be enough.
You close your eyes for an instant. A gesture of panic… but also of absolute focus. "Damn! I programmed this world… there must be something! Think, think!"
The lines of code that shaped your reality merge with images of fantasy. The mental interface flares, demanding a desperate solution: Block. An invisible wall of data.
You force 10 Mana into the tip of the staff. [CODE COMPILATION INITIATED!]
Demon 2 is already two meters away. The axe rises, ready to shred your flesh. Energy surges in frenzy, the interface flashing like a system in overload. And then, at the very limit of time…
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED] Code Shield – A temporary spherical barrier, rewriting air density and code resistance. Blocks the first attack.
"Code Shield!" your voice tears through the air.
The shield materializes around you, translucent, glowing like living lines of code. The axe descends with fury. The impact is deafening, more like a system error than a physical sound. The barrier holds the strike… but the force hurls you backward, slamming you to the ground. The shield shatters into thousands of luminous particles, fulfilling its purpose.
Demon 2 hesitates. Where it expected flesh and blood, it found a wall of light. Its programming falters. At that instant, Lena acts.
"Now, Dorian!" she shouts, her tactical perception igniting once more.
From above, Dorian releases the arrow. The shot is perfect, surgical. The tip pierces a gap in the armor, driving through the cybernetic neck. Demon 2 staggers, blade trembling in its hand, before collapsing. The hum dies. (Demon 2 Deactivated)
End of the Battle
Silence returns to the Imperial Road. The heavy air carries the scent of scorched metal and acidic smoke. You lie fallen, exhausted, but alive.
Lena rushes to you, eyes wide. "Kael! Are you alright? What was that?! You… you turned into a wall of light!"
You rise slowly, leaning on the staff. "I'm fine. It was… protection. But it drained my resources."
Dorian descends from the tree, bow still in hand. He studies the fallen metallic bodies, tension and satisfaction mingling in his gaze. "Two Demons down… And Lena, you shone. But Kael… I saw it. You used magic."
You step closer to the defeated enemies. [Code Fragments Detected!]
Residual energy from the Elite Cyber Demons converges into your staff. You absorb the flow, feeling your inner system expand. [Code Stabilization Complete!] Eryndor Malakar – Rewriter Arcanist: Level 2!
Max Mana: 100 → 150
Current Mana: 35 → 85/150
Regeneration: +10 Mana/hour
New Ability Slot: Unlocked
A surge of energy courses through your body. The world feels sharper, as though every line of code around you is within reach.
Lena too is enveloped by the residual energy. Her body trembles, not from pain, but from overload. [Lena – Tactical Focus: Level 2!]
"Kael… I can see ten steps ahead…" she murmurs, awestruck.
Dorian watches, envy and fear mingling in his expression. "Arcanists…" he sighs. "Stay focused. Their leader may have heard the noise."