Assassin: An Isekai LitRPG Adventure (Ends of Magic Book 3), page 19
High-tier Enhanced Memory 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight to develop it to the next level. As it is high-tier, the kind of Insight will greatly affect how it develops.
His Focus ran out entirely, but Nathan was pretty sure he’d figured everything out. Eyes still closed, he pointed to the different consoles around the wall in turn. “That’s the inner wall security grid. The next one is for the outer wall, and the one next to it can spend mana to reinforce or even rebuild different portions of the walls. This one regulates spatial spells inside the city. I think the inactive one over there can project a massively powerful force spell over the mansion, or a less powerful one over the inner city. The one by Egall is for controlling the detection grids. That one is some kind of announcement system, but it can also block [Messages] in and out of the city if we route it enough mana.”
He opened his eyes to see everybody in the room staring at him, even as his understanding of the room settled. He still couldn’t touch any of the consoles, but he was confident he could achieve any result that was needed from the room.
Congratulations, you have developed the [High-tier Identify] utility skill into [Magical Intuition].
Utility skill: [Magical Intuition]
You will easily understand complex magic, even from incomplete evidence. This skill extends to spells, enchantments and other magical effects, but not natural phenomena. Will enhance your understanding of mana types and spellwork.
And Eldred dismissed [Enhanced Memory] when I asked him if he wanted it – but it was key to figuring this thing out and letting me Develop [Identify]. [Magical Intuition] has lost some breadth – it doesn’t apply to nonmagical things anymore. That’s a bit of a loss, but magic is where I need the help. I’ve spent two decades understanding the physical world, but only half a year on the thaumaturgical one.
Stella had moved over to the spatial console. “How do I stop [Teleport] from working?”
Nathan coached her through the process, though it involved a certain amount of trial and error. Faline obeyed with amusement, refusing to give up Exea’s control couch.
In short order, they blocked teleport spells within the city. Then Stella and the other mages spent a moment sending and receiving last-minute [Messages] before they blocked those off as well. Finally, they reversed the detection enchantment so it would latch onto anybody bearing a mage mark.
Faline looked down at the map of Halsmet, marked with every surviving mage of Giantsrest still inside. They were scattered around the inner city. Cut off from each other and leaderless.
She looked up from the map, and her bared teeth were a promise of bloodshed.
“Time to hunt.”
They quickly organized into teams to chase down the remaining mages. The Adventurers and freed elites allowed themselves to be tagged by the detection enchantment so they would show up on the map. Vhala took charge of the control room, using some volunteers from the household staff as runners to keep everybody in touch.
Before Nathan left, she waved him over. The dark-skinned woman’s face was hard, and she didn’t speak for a second, as if hesitating.
Nathan spoke first. “I’m sorry about Artha – I couldn’t…” He trailed off, his throat growing tight.
“I would trade a grand Insight that he be the last of my comrades to fall.” Vhala’s words were careful, even though her tone was bitter as she studied the holographic map of the city. “Remember ‘till Endings – and hold what his death has gained. We are isolated, and if those mages group together they could challenge us. Kill more Adventurers. Kill those who could be freed.”
The middle-aged woman tossed her head, the beads in her dreadlocks clicking as she fixed Nathan with a steely gaze. “I have heard of Harthi. You have captured the mages of Giantsrest before.”
He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“Do not do so now. We are too few in number, and I would not invite a soul eater into our village. Kill them, and move on. We will attempt to free as many slaves as we can, but we will not try to save the mages. By our blood, Halsmet belongs to Giantsrest no longer, and I will follow that light above all others.”
Faline stepped out of the shadows to the side. “Every mage that escapes is one more voice that will argue to retake this city – their home.”
Nathan agreed. His Rage still boiled under the surface, and he smiled as he imagined killing those who had held power in this city.
These are the consequences coming home to roost for Giantsrest – consequences for how they ruled, how they treated their slaves. This was never going to be a clean fight. If we want to truly challenge Giantsrest, I can’t be squeamish about this.
Vhala gave him instructions on his first target, where two mages were huddled on the second floor of a building only a few streets from the main square. She was sending other groups after slavemasters or isolated mages, with instructions to avoid challenging slave soldiers until Nathan was present to break their collars.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 55! You have killed Heuld dho Wayt and Cifri dha Wayt by taking them by surprise!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 196! You have slain two Enslavement mages of Giantsrest.
The messenger system Vhala was using was much less convenient than the [Message] spell – but the inconvenience was far worse for their enemies.
Nathan’s next target was hiding in a closet, his panicked breathing making it easy to track him down even if Nathan hadn’t been able to feel his mana from two rooms away. He was trying to cast [Message] every thirty seconds, whimpering in fear each time the spell failed.
The slaves in that house bore the marks of a violent temper, and Nathan felt no guilt about the next set of levels.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 58! You have killed Arht dho Idham as he cowered in fear!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 198! You have slain an artisan mage of Giantsrest.
As Nathan left, he passed a few of the ex-slaves from Exea’s mansion. They bowed their heads and gave him Giantsrest-style salutes. Once he passed, they entered the house and spoke calming words to the newly-freed slaves within, who were in various states of emotional breakdown now that the magic binding them had been broken.
Good. I was a little bit worried about what would happen now. They’ve always had the mages as masters, and now that they’re gone I was concerned about anarchy. But there’s still organization, and it’s one that values kindness.
He joined back up with the Heirs and some freed elites for the next target – several mages were assembling in one of the squares in front of the mansion on the third hill. They’d assembled a force of slave soldiers and slavemasters, and were trying to decide if they should retake the control room or flee the city when the Heirs found them.
Nathan turned the corner and caught the first fireball, which guttered and died in his hand. That simple action spread fear among the half-dozen mages ahead of him.
The fear turned to outright panic after Sarah harvested the slavemasters with a rapid volley of pistol fire from a nearby rooftop. Then, Stella focused a viciously powerful light spell on the leading mage, rapidly cycling the color of the spell until his [Mage Armor] shattered. The man screamed as his flesh reddened and his clothes burst into flames.
The mages broke and ran.
“Did you have to make it so bright?” Sarah yelled down, trying to blink away the spots as she aimed. She still managed to clip one of the retreating mages with her rifle, the heavy bullet making the woman stagger and fall even through her [Mage Armor].
Stella yelled back, “If I never use my light spells in combat, I’ll never Develop them!”
Oh, I can probably Develop [Slow Fall] to [Airwalking] now – Kia gave me the Insight for that. But she also said that it was best done in combat. The bar is lower for Talents when you’re in a fight. What we’re doing now doesn’t count. I’ll wait until I get into an actual fight.
Aarl and Nathan chased down the remaining mages. Khachi didn’t join them, merely holding off the slave soldiers until Nathan could return and free them of their collars. Nathan could feel the cleric’s heavy gaze as he stomped on the fallen woman’s skull, but the wolfman didn’t say anything to interrupt.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 62! You have slain Benrir dho Moha and Jachi dha Moha, and exterminated a minor house of Giantsrest!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 202! You and your team have killed a group of mages and freed their slaves.
Nathan bid the Heirs goodbye, since they were needed in different places. His friends were being sent after any mages in the streets, since the combination of Stella’s spells and Sarah’s rifle allowed them to quickly and easily dispatch their foes without much danger.
As the only other complete Adventuring team left in the city, the Oath of Tulin was hunting down slavemasters and the occasional weak mage. Faline was semi-independently going after isolated mages, and small groups of freed elites were scouting and attacking opportunistically.
Meanwhile, Nathan was the answer to a dozen different problems. He was directed to any large concentrations of slaves or particularly powerful mages, alternating between delivering freedom or death.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 65! You have slain Acur dho Jolb!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 203! You have killed an enslavement mage of Giantsrest!
In the process, he sprinted back and forth over the city, often outrunning the messengers sent out with updates and further instructions. His knowledge of the city grew, and Nathan learned the shortcuts and streets of Halsmet as he hunted his enemies through it. But with [Perfected Body] he never ran out of breath, and he never had to slow down from strained muscles.
High-tier Sprinting 7 achieved!
He freed hundreds of slaves, perfecting his abilities to break the myriad slavery enchantments of Giantsrest without any danger, no matter how paranoid the enchanter.
Magical Intuition 2 achieved!
The reaction to freedom varied widely – but most of the slaves reacted with extreme emotion of one form or another. Sometimes it passed quickly, replaced by a grim determination or exhausted relief. Other times people seemed to slip into near-catatonia. Nathan spared a few quick words for each group, affirming their freedom and challenging them to be responsible for themselves.
Leadership 3 achieved!
But he always moved on. There were more places he needed to be.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 67! You have slain Reche dha Pelogi and Diverus dho Dodra!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 204! You have killed an enslavement mage of Giantsrest and their apprentice!
The freed slaves spread like a tide in the cleared areas, occupying the richest of homes and caring for the people Nathan left behind. Some served as messengers or scouts for Vhala, and her hold over the city grew firmer.
A few mages tried to use their slaves as hostages, proclaiming loudly that they’d kill all of them if anybody prevented them from leaving the city. Nathan snuck up on them, sometimes disguising himself as a slave, other times just avoiding their attention and dropping off a roof to snap their necks.
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 70! You have slain Timen dho Beltosk!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 206! You have killed an artisan mage of Giantsrest and saved their hostages.
Mid-tier Noticeability 5 achieved!
Low-tier Disguise 3 achieved!
Low-tier Quiet Movement 4 achieved!
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 72! You have slain Bril dho Memsk!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 208! You have killed an enforcement mage of Giantsrest and saved their hostages.
One mage disguised herself among the slaves. She was just one among many, headed towards the gates in a large crowd armed with tools of their trade. Nathan grabbed some clothing from a nearby house’s laundry. Then, he slipped into the crowd from an alley, ambling along like any one of the mind-controlled laborers around him.
He worked his way through the crowd until his magical senses picked up on a mana pool, then slowly angled himself in that direction. It took a little while to work his way over to where the mage trudged, carrying a gardening tool and blending into the surrounding slaves surprisingly well. She wasn’t actively using any magic and didn’t even have [Mage Armor] active. The blow to the back of her neck killed her instantly.
Mid-tier Noticeability 6 achieved!
Low-tier Disguise 4 achieved!
Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 76! You have slain Doha dha Nhir as she was disguised in a crowd!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 209! You have killed an entertainment mage of Giantsrest.
The next messenger waited for Nathan to break the collars of the group before telling him that no more mages remained on the map. Any graduates of the Ascendent Academy left in the city were few in number, and likely stuck in place by whatever was protecting them from the detection enchantment. Any attempt to reclaim the city would have to come from outside the walls because teleportation was disrupted, and they had posted watchers to give warning.
But Nathan’s job wasn’t done. Many more slaves still needed to be freed, and several groups of slave soldiers were being contained until Nathan could get to them.
He ran through the familiar streets, finding that the city had changed in fundamental ways. The first time he’d been to Halsmet, it had been bustling with an oddly silent industry, as slaves went about the task of hauling and working without a single unnecessary word. After he’d killed Taeol, the city had been in lockdown with the only traffic being soldiers and their masters.
Now the primary sound was human voices. Quiet and subdued, to be sure. But Nathan heard a laugh come from a building and stopped, listening to the chatter from inside for a moment before he continued.
That’s why I do this. So people can be people, not automatons. But I’m not done until all of them are free. Not like that’ll be the end of our problems – it’s only a matter of time before Giantrest tries to take the city back.
Chapter 17
A City Rises
Several of the remaining groups of slave soldiers were led by slavemasters, but they almost didn’t rank as a threat. The class specialized in coordinating slaves, and some of their skills let them influence people with commands. But with his Rage and [Battle Meditation] Nathan was immune to any mental effects and their weapons were ineffective against his toughened body.
He only needed to get within arms reach of a slave to strip away the magic controlling them. Nathan left confused and disoriented – but free – soldiers in his wake as he danced and rolled through enemy formations.
High-tier Tumbling 6 achieved!
Implacable Antimage has leveled to 210! You have freed many slave soldiers from mental magic!
The adventurers and freed elites accompanying Nathan took out the slavemasters with extreme prejudice, often killing them from range moments after the fight started and leaving Nathan free to break enchantments.
A bunch of volunteers from the previously freed were following the Adventurers around. After each fight, they descended to calm and comfort the newly freed slaves, even though they themselves had been controlled by Giantsrest spells and enchantments until just recently.
People definitely have different responses to trauma. I think it’s probably healthy that these people just want to help others.
The elites kept a close eye on the process, ensuring that none of the recently-freed slaves tried to attack their rescuers. It happened sometimes – but maybe once in a hundred compared to the one-in-five of the slave-elites. But then again, the slave-elites had undergone intensive training since childhood. While that training hadn’t been heavy on brainwashing since they’d be controlled by enchantments, some did come to believe in the tenets of the empire they served.
Yeah, the oh-so-wonderful philosophy of ‘power is a license to do whatever you want’. Because Giantsrest has powerful magic, they are the ‘correct’ civilization, and their model of slaves-and-masters should be spread everywhere.
Nathan shook his head as he headed to the next square, stifling a yawn. He hadn’t slept much recently. After all, they’d cut their rest short in order to catch the response force sleeping. He couldn’t complain – it had worked. That decision had directly led to where they were now, freeing hundreds of people from mental magic.
Maybe I need to do the brain chemistry thing again to keep myself going… No, let’s hold that in reserve. Hopefully I can sleep soon, and I need a trump card in case a bunch of mages teleport in outside the walls or something.
Over the next hour, the pockets of slave soldiers grew smaller and smaller, until Nathan was breaking into mid-size houses to free pairs of guards left behind by the lower class of mages when they fled Halsmet. They were still houses that belonged to mages of Giantsrest, so ‘lower-class’ was relative. Each of the two-story homes still held a dozen slaves.
Then it was time to industrialize the process. The freed slaves had gotten organized, though Nathan didn’t meet those responsible – but he heard that many of the orders were being given by somebody named ‘Myrla’ now, who was working with Vhala in Exea’s mansion.
Hope she’s not a tyrant. That sort of thing happens in uprisings. But right now I’ve got other priorities than ensuring the new leadership is good. It’s better than the old regardless, and I trust Vhala to keep things reasonable.
His orders directed Nathan to a series of squares where household and artisan slaves were being gathered to wait for him. They were arranged in long lines, so all Nathan had to do was walk down the line, breaking the mind-magic as he went. Then it was off to the next square.
Some of the ex-slaves running messages tried to keep up, shouting and cheering as Nathan ran through the streets. Most of them fell behind, but some managed run ahead of him, shouting that the mage-breaker had arrived. Cheers from the freed people in the squares greeted him as he arrived, and Nathan couldn’t help but smile.
