A week had passed since the test, but Mikaela could not easily forget the former slave that followed her when she just arrived in the abyss. A part of her wondered if his death was her karma for not saving the slaves at the entrance of the Tower. Since things already ended up this way, she knew that the only choice was to move on and stop dwelling on the matter of the past. However, the sight of the unrecognizable body of that boy would occasionally pop into her mind so she thought that she must do something.
'Maybe once that guy's Gift was found, the uncanny visions would stop.'
'Speaking of Al's Gift, it's a pity that the owner did not even manage to use his first spell before his death. Now the Gift is also as good as dead. I doubt there's anybody who would be able to rouse it again.'
Once a Gift user died, the gemstone that accompanied them would also lose its luster, signifying its loss of connection to the divine and the loss of its source of elemental power. This usually meant that the Gift of the deceased had turned into nothing more than a common precious stone used to decorate mortal accessories.
In Mikaela's recollection, there was only one instance in the past ten thousand years where a deceased's Gift managed to reawaken. The person who accomplished this feat was called Taisiya, the current leader of the plutocrats of the Yekary Nation. After her case, countless people tried to inquire how she did it and tried to imitate it, yet nobody else managed to rouse a dead Gift.
Now, this piece of information was common sense to the aristocrats of Mavria. A dead Gift user was equal to a dead Gift. But Mikaela was sure that the common folks and the residents of the Abyss knew nothing about it.
"If I may suggest something, the ones highly likely to steal the Gift are the locals who went through the Eight Towns outside, or the commoners summoned from the Middle Lands. I think you should start the search in them," she said.
"I'll keep your advice in mind."
Greg absentmindedly watched her back as she stepped on the monsters that just lost their lives.
He was startled at first when he learned what exactly she wanted to find.
A Gift?
Their information department was not that useless to not know that Mikaela entered the Tower with a slave-looking boy. But none of them took interest in him because he looked so weak and unassuming. Based on his manners and appearance, who would have thought that the boy was a Gift user. How the hell did he die then?
'Guild leader said that the poison mist from an obelisk would not be able to kill a Blessed or Fallen Blessed. This is really interesting. I wonder if Miss Blessed knows about it...'
The red knight briefly lowered his face to hide the lop-sided grin that slowly formed on his lips. The man did not know whether to feel amused or to feel worried. He could not wait to fly to his leader's side to report the matter.
Greg hastily promised to send people to work on her request. The woman said a few words of appreciation which were obviously just done out of courtesy. Then relieved that the other party no longer had any questions or demands, the knight left.
From a distance, several figures could be seen approaching, all dressed in armors or practical combat clothes. They were supposed to be Mikaela's teammates but she forcibly turned them into mere onlookers.
...
Greg did not waste any time and told the Guild Leader about his findings. The latter also did not hesitate to mobilize his people on the lower floors to search for the young man that used to accompany Mikaela.
"How many were around you two when she raised the request to you?" Greg's superior wore a frown on his face.
"None Sir. But I can't be sure that none of our competitors did some trick to overhear or watch us from some unknown corners."
Although Miss Mikaela chose Red Dawn, it did not mean the other Guilds gave up, at least, not the information regarding the passage. The two men were aware that this was no longer just a possibility. None of them was the type to deny the truth.
Red Dawn's guild master clicked his tongue in annoyance. Greg instinctively bowed his head and apologized. "Nothing can be done about it." In the guild master's mind, he could already picture a certain witch from Floor 12 laughing at them. Frowning he added, "We can only give our best to find him. Search every nook and cranny, and ask the fairies if needed, I don't believe we won't be able to find a clue. But... if we fail, at least, one of the Blessed is with us now."
"Sir. I hope you won't mind me asking. But should we tell Miss Mikaela? That there's no way for a mere obelisk to kill a Blessed?"
The Guild master shook his head and said, "No. Even we are not really sure if that slave boy called Al is still alive. Maybe the obelisk did not manage to kill him, but the other humans that it had driven mad did. We can't tell for sure."
'Regular humans can kill a Blessed? How? By scaring him to death and making him die of a heart attack?'
Doubt crossed the red knight's eyes as Greg was one of those who held a lofty view of a genuine Gift user, but in the end, he just bowed and replied, "I will do as you said, guild master. However, if I may remind you, sir, the raid should still stay as one of our main priorities."
"Greg, my most cherished knight." An amused look showed on the guild master's face. "Your leader is not that forgetful yet."
...
The black tsunami came and crashed everything on its way. Alexei who momentarily fell into deep despair clutched his Gift so hard and prayed that the method he thought of at the last minute would work.
"Please! You're a freaking water element Gift. Don't fail me!" He prayed as he willed the thing to produce clear water that he commanded to wrap around his body. He pushed himself to the limit to make the water harden into its current shape. The purpose was to make a solid huge enclosed sphere that would cage him inside and at the same time, shield him from the crashing waves and murderous currents.
Thankfully, his attempt was successful. He had always known that his Gift's ability was to form shapes through water and make them solid and durable. His playable counterpart took advantage of it to fashion various weapons and his playstyle was to change from weapon to weapon in mid fight as a way to surprise his opponents. Alexei had been training himself to do the same, and he was successful to some extent, in that he could form the shapes of weapons that he wanted to use. The problem lay in the durability of the solidified water weapon and the duration in which he could use it.
'1 min.' He mentally noted. That was the duration. Holding his breath inside the solidified sphere for a full minute was easy for the current him.
But would the tsunami subside within that period of time?
A minute passed and the answer to his question showed. No. The raging waters continued pressing onward. The hounds that fled ahead of him failed to find a safe zone. Several other species were devoured by the tsunami. Not a few vanished like a mist, hammered on all sides by the water or corroded by some unknown substance. Alexei tightly grabbed onto his necklace with closed eyes as he recast his ability. Within the next one minute, he was not merely trying his best to hold his breath. His mind was active too, and so were his reddish observant eyes.
'If I keep trapping myself inside the water sphere, I will not be threatened by the violent waters outside which seem to have some corrosive properties. But sooner or later I will run out of oxygen. I will also run out of mana. This can't go on.'
But what could he do? The young man battled himself in order to chase away his fears. He closed his eyes. In fact, he long thought of a cutscene that featured the playable 'Alexei'. Could he imitate that scene? Did he have the confidence and courage yet?
'Screw it!'
'It's better to try than to suffocate to death!'
A moment later, the youth opened his eyes with a ruthless glint in them. This time the ruthlessness was directed at himself. He resolutely canceled the ability that was cast through his necklace.
In no time, the sphere vanished and he was exposed to the elements outside. He felt pain all over his body. Overwhelming pain. He knew he was injured internally and it all happened in an instant. At that moment, he would lie if he said that he did not think of just dying. However, Alexei immediately got back to his senses after reminding himself that this pain was the usual daily dose when he was still a guinea pig in the Dark Palace.
The youth, at the brink of death, commanded all the mana in his body to pour into his Gift. The pendant on his neck immediately shone brighter than ever. No pure-looking water materialized in front of him. As Alexei concentrated, the black waters around him that wanted to squash him to death suddenly froze. He did not will it to become gentle towards him, but commanded it to remain solid and to bring him up.
His heart was beating hard so fast. His eyes were bulging as he gritted his bloody teeth. Then finally, he managed to emerge on the surface of the water in one piece.
Alexei could not contain his excitement as he balanced his body on top of the hardened surface which he shaped into a surfing board. With this part of the waters under his control, although he did not actually know how to surf, he managed to maneuver to the side. When he finally saw a piece of land that would remain above waters, he pushed every fiber of his battered body to go to that place. A few minutes later, upon reaching the land that turned out to be a mountaintop, Alexei lost consciousness, and underneath his clothes, the sapphire-like gem dimmed a lot.