The tip of Belida’s giant black sword rested exactly one inch from the old man’s wrinkled neck. The giant knight did not blink. His breathing was heavy, his muscles tensed and ready to completely sever the man’s head from his shoulders at the slightest sudden movement.
But Chitala simply sat there. The old man did not even flinch at the massive chunk of deadly steel pointed at him. He calmly reeled in his fishing line. The burnt string rolled up neatly. He placed the wooden rod beside him on the rusted iron pipe.
"Stand down, Belida," Kanos ordered. His voice was quiet but absolute.
Belida frowned deeply. He did not lower his sword. "He knows your title, Kanos. If he is an informant for the Sensor Bureau, we need to bury him right here right now."
"He is not a royal dog," Kanos stepped forward, ignoring the glowing green toxic river raging violently just a few feet below them. Kanos rubbed his throbbing temples. "The Sensor Bureau worships the world system. This old man does not even exist in the system catalog. My analysis skill completely broke when I tried to read him."
Sili peeked out from behind Belida’s massive back. The skinny broker adjusted his cracked glasses, staring at the old man with a mix of intense curiosity and pure terror. Sili had memorized thousands of secret files, bounty lists, and underground legends in Marrath. But he had absolutely no data on an old man fishing in a toxic wasteland.
Belida let out a rough snort. He finally lowered his greatsword, resting the heavy flat side on his shoulder. He took a step back, but his eyes never left Chitala.
Papuyu remained completely silent in the shadows. The hitman was currently busy tying a tighter knot on her bleeding shoulder. She watched the old man with dead, calculating eyes.
Kanos took a deep breath of the foul, chemical smelling air. He suddenly coughed violently. A sharp burning sensation crawled up his throat. The toxic fumes in this cavern were starting to eat away at his lungs. He needed to know exactly how much time his body had left before he literally dissolved from the inside out.
Kanos closed his eyes and mentally called up his full system panel.
A transparent blue screen with thick golden borders instantly materialized in his vision. The data scrolled down quickly.
[ NAME: KANOS ]
[ LEVEL: 31 ]
[ CLASS: ILLUSTRAMANCY (ANOMALY) ]
[ HP: 310 / 450 ]
[ STATUS: TOXIC EXPOSURE (DRAINING 2 HP PER MINUTE) ]
[ MANA: 15 / 800 ]
[ STRENGTH: 32 ]
[ AGILITY: 35 ]
[ ENDURANCE: 30 ]
[ INTELLECT: 78 ]
[ SKILLS: ]
[ ART TO REALITY (TIER 3) ]
[ STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS (PASSIVE) ]
[ MATERIAL OVERRIDE (UNREGISTERED) ]
[ SHADOW MANIPULATION (UNREGISTERED) ]
Kanos stared at the numbers in silence. He had jumped all the way to level twenty four. Surviving the deepest abyss, slaughtering mutant monsters, and successfully locking down three level sixty Executioners had forced the system to dump a massive amount of experience points into his body. His health pool was much larger now.
But the most interesting part was his Intellect stat and his new skills. The system finally recognized his ability to manipulate pure core smoke, completely tagging it as an unregistered anomaly. He was officially breaking the rules of Yomalvara just by existing.
However, that draining HP warning was a serious problem. Three hundred and ten health points left. Losing two points every single minute meant he would drop dead in roughly two and a half hours if they just stood here talking. Belida and Papuyu were probably in a much worse state due to their open wounds.
Kanos swiped the panel away. The blue light vanished. He stared straight at Chitala.
"You said you were waiting for me," Kanos said coldly. "Why?"
"Because the rain up there is getting too heavy," Chitala answered calmly. The old man reached into his tattered brown cloak.
Papuyu instantly rested her hand on her dagger hilt. But Chitala only pulled out a small, dried wooden pipe. He placed it between his lips. He did not light it. He just held it there comfortably.
"The Sensor Bureau is panicking," Chitala continued, his cloudy gray eyes looking up toward the cavern ceiling. "Three Executioners buried under a burning warehouse. The system commanders are currently turning the entire lower district upside down. They are running thermal scans, mana traces, and blood hound spells. In about twenty minutes, their magic will pierce through this thick toxic fog."
Sili cursed loudly. He gripped his hair in total frustration. "I told you guys! The Bureau does not joke around when a Number Caste dies! If they scan this tunnel, they will just collapse the entire sewer ceiling and bury us in glowing acid!"
"Then give us a way out," Kanos demanded. He kept his eyes locked firmly on Chitala. "You did not sit here inhaling poison gas just to give us a weather report."
Chitala offered another warm, gentle smile. He slowly pushed himself off the rusted iron pipe. The old man picked up a small, surprisingly clean wooden lantern from the ground. He did not use fire or a glowing crystal. Inside the lantern was a cluster of strange, pale white fireflies.
"The system only sees what it wants to see," Chitala said softly. He began walking toward the edge of the roaring green acid river. "They built their perfect, clean world by piling up all their dirty mistakes down here. But when you bury too many mistakes, you eventually create cracks in the foundation."
Chitala stopped right at the edge of the cliff. The glowing green river raged wildly just below his worn out sandals.
"Follow the light, Illustrator," Chitala said.
Without any warning, the old man simply stepped forward, dropping right off the cliff into the boiling toxic river.
"What the hell!" Sili screamed, dropping his heavy bag.
Belida rushed forward, looking down over the edge. The giant knight fully expected to see the old man’s body melting in the green acid. But there was absolutely nothing. No splash. No melting flesh. Chitala had completely vanished into thin air the moment his foot crossed the edge of the stone cliff.
Only a faint, pale white light hovered steadily right in the middle of the empty space above the river.
Kanos walked slowly to the edge. He stared at the hovering white light. He activated his Structural Analysis again. The blue grid shot forward and hit the empty space above the river. The grid instantly shattered into red error codes again.
It was a dead zone. A physical glitch in the world’s code.
"The space right there is completely broken," Kanos muttered quietly. He turned his head, looking at his three party members. "The river is just a visual illusion projected by the system. There is a hidden path right behind it."
Papuyu walked forward without a single word of complaint. The female hitman did not hesitate. She simply stepped off the cliff and vanished perfectly into the thin air, following the old man.
Sili swallowed hard. He picked up his heavy bag with shaking hands. "I hate magic. I really, really hate magic," Sili grumbled nervously before squeezing his eyes shut and jumping off the edge. He disappeared instantly.
Belida looked at Kanos. The giant knight gripped his greatsword tightly. "You trust that old ghost, Kanos?"
"I trust a broken system," Kanos answered flatly.
Kanos stepped off the stone cliff.
The sensation of falling only lasted for a fraction of a millisecond. The roaring sound of the toxic river completely vanished. The suffocating chemical smell was instantly replaced by the scent of dry dust and ancient paper.
Kanos opened his eyes. He stumbled slightly, his boots landing on a solid, perfectly dry stone floor.
He was standing in a massive, circular library. The walls were made of smooth gray stone, stretching up into a high dome ceiling. Thousands of old books, scrolls, and strange mechanical artifacts were piled neatly on towering wooden shelves. The air was incredibly clean and breathable.
Sili was already on his knees, staring at the endless rows of ancient books with his mouth wide open. Belida stood guard near the entrance, looking around the massive room in pure disbelief.
Kanos turned his head. He looked back at the place where he just entered. There was no door. There was only a blank, solid stone wall. The system interface in his vision suddenly flickered wildly, then disappeared entirely. Even his HP and Mana bars were completely gone.
Chitala was sitting comfortably in a wooden rocking chair in the middle of the room. The old man took the wooden pipe out of his mouth and smiled at Kanos.
"Welcome to the blind spot, Kanos," Chitala said gently. "The Sensor Bureau cannot see us here. Because to their perfect system, this room simply does not exist."