NOVGO.NET Chapter 110: Kill Yourselves You Fools!
They waited until most of the outpost was asleep to attack.
It was dawn, the Twelve Moons losing their visibility as the world welcomed the Two Suns.
The few soldiers on patrol moved more slowly now, their steps heavy and their eyes drooping.
Even the sentries at the gate had begun to slump against the walls.
Thanks to earlier intelligence, the rebels knew just when the soldiers changed shifts, so they arrived just before that time, wanting the soldiers on watch to be as tired as possible.
Malik sat in the shadow of a boulder, his back against the cold stone.
He was looking at his system.
—
╔════════╗
║Fear System║
╚════════╝
{Class: 9 (Veil of the World)}
{Unlocking Class (8): 0 / 1,544}
{Fear Points: 1140}
{Soul Glyphs: Shifting Ground (Single) x 1, Goliath’s Fall (Peak) x 1, Scorpion’s Sting (Peak) x 1, Devil’s Footsteps (Single) x 1}
{Invaders Fear}
{Items}
{Runes}
{Traits}
{Quests}
{Shop}
[Soul Glyphs]
{Wheel Of Fortune}
—
After the quests’ arrival, the system had spoken of its initialization being complete.
All the pieces were in place, namely the tracking, the rewards, and the direction forward.
But Malik had yet to do one thing.
—
{Runes}
[Ember’s Touch — Rank 5]
[Goliath’s Fall — Rank 5]
[Scorpion’s Sting — Rank 5]
—
He had yet to upgrade any of his Runes.
The thought had been sitting in the back of his mind since he first unlocked the system.
Runes were the foundation of his power, the core abilities that defined what he could do.
Soul Glyphs were temporary bursts, useful in a pinch, but the Runes themselves were the bedrock.
Malik needed to fight while undercover.
He didn’t want to use his Soul Glyphs; they were too flashy, mainly his transformation.
That would definitely get him found out.
...not that he could use them anyway.
But upgrading his Runes would make him stronger without the spectacle.
So in a way, he was forced to do this and did not mind at all.
It was due.
Currently, he had more than a thousand Fear Points, so he couldn’t help but wonder...
’Just how many will I need to rank them up?’
First, he tried going for Ember’s Touch.
Ding!
—
╔═══════════╗
║RUNE RANK UP!║
╚═══════════╝
[Ember’s Touch (Rank 5 → Rank 4): 100 / 100 FP]
—
’Hoh, one hundred? That’s not bad.’
Seeing that the price was reasonable, he quickly decided to invest more than half of his Fear Points into the rest.
Ding!
—
╔═══════════╗
║RUNE RANK UP!║
╚═══════════╝
[Goliath’s Fall (Rank 5 → Rank 3): 300 / 300 FP]
[Scorpion’s Sting (Rank 5 → Rank 3): 300 / 300 FP]
[Ember’s Touch (Rank 4 → Rank 3): 200 / 200 FP]
—
’Hm.’
Why did he think that?
He had to just jinx himself, didn’t he?
’Did I think that it was going to be easy?’
Malik let out a few deprecating chuckles.
’Of course not.’
Nothing he did was ever easy.
It was only natural that this was the same.
Much like the Soul Glyphs, the Fear Points’ price doubled after each Rune upgrade.
Thus, the total amount for fully upgrading a Rune would likely be one thousand six hundred Fear Points.
One and a half Angels to get his Rune back to its peak.
’How cheap.’
—
╔════════╗
║Fear System║
╚════════╝
{Class: 9 (Veil of the World)}
{Unlocking Class (8): 0 / 1,544}
{Fear Points: 1140 → 240}
{Runes}
[Ember’s Touch (Rank 3) — 0/400]
[Goliath’s Fall (Rank 3) — 0/400]
[Scorpion’s Sting (Rank 3) — 0/400]
—
’Still, this is not bad. Not bad at all.’
He slowly began to feel the change this upgrade had brought.
It not only strengthened his Runes—making them much, much more powerful than they had been without Soul Glyphs—but also changed the core of his Soul.
After all, Runes were etched into the Soul, and when they ranked up, the Soul ranked up with them.
Malik had more Rukh at his disposal now.
His weakened appearance was still far from leaving, but he was slowly getting closer to how he once looked.
And yes, even after all of this, he still showed no true similarities to his giant self.
With the exception of his eyes, of course.
That appearance could only be held by an Angel, a Class Three; he was currently six Classes below that.
If his appearance were to stabilize, he would need to be at least Class Five or above.
Anyhow, Malik was more than ready for the battle.
So were the rebels.
Zayna moved through the darkness, her hand raised in a series of signals.
Behind her, dozens of rebels followed, men and women in the same dark clothing.
They spread out across the hills, taking the positions Malik had marked on the map.
Two groups climbed the eastern slope, using the scattered boulders as cover.
They would provide overwatch. Archers and spellcasters who would rain death on the soldiers below.
Their positions were elevated and protected, with clear lines of sight to the south gate and the barracks beyond.
Three groups moved along the western ridge.
They would descend once the attack began, hitting the soldiers from behind while they were focused on Malik.
Rafa and other veterans remained hidden before the gate, waiting to join him once the way was clear.
The more silent rest already went in, now waiting in the narrow alleys between the buildings, ready to pincer the enemy.
Zayna looked at Malik.
She raised her hand.
He nodded.
"Ughhhhhh..."
With that, Malik stumbled towards the gate.
Yes, ’stumbled,’ each of his steps uneven.
His clothes were loosened.
His hair was ruffled.
What happened to—
"Ahhhh. Where—"
Hiccup!
"Where am I?"
Oh.
Malik was acting like a wandering drunkard.
The guards saw and heard him coming.
"Look at this fool."
One of them nudged the other, pointing.
"Probably one of those refugees, I tell you, they’re stupid."
"Bastard can’t hold his drink."
"Should we kill him?"
The two chatted away as if he wasn’t right in front of them.
"Yes, let’s—"
"Actually, let’s not."
"Why? Is your conscience finally getting to you?"
"No, you idiot. Remember, the Sultan’s here."
"Oh, right, good catch. What do we do?"
How funny would it be if they realized that the Sultan they aimed to please was standing right before their spears, being threatened by them?
Well, unfortunately for Malik’s amusement, that would never come to pass.
"Go kill yourselves, you fools!"
He was to kill them.