Evan and Klaus had little time before the slaves would get the keys and free each other, then chaos would break out all over the prison, rising from the lowest level to the top point.
A large part of the prison, namely three levels, was underground, all to get to the crystal cave and make a huge profit from it. Thus, the only way to get out of the prison was to get to level zero, every slave knew that.
So... If Evan and Klaus wanted to advantage of the ignited sparks of chaos, they had to act quickly. Only by being ahead of the tsunami of anger and rage would they, not risk being consumed by the slave rebellion started by themselves.
"This way!" Klaus said, leading Evan behind him and up a narrow spiral staircase leading directly to the second level, bypassing the wide paths the crystal minecarts traveled.
"Where are we going?" Evan asked. Unlike Klaus, he knew almost nothing about this prison, since Kellan had been sent straight to the third level to rot in a cell.
Klaus didn't bother to stop, he only glanced at Evan with a playful smile.
"Looks like someone's getting out of third level for the first time, doesn't it? Don't worry, I know this fucking place well enough to get us to the upper level quickly and safely. You want to meet the head warden, right?"
Evan frowned, "How do you know that? I didn't mention that."
Klaus shrugged, "Come on. In a matter of months, word got out to everyone in this prison that some guy was liked by the head warden, but he refused to become her doggie. No wonder you're in the worst situation even among the other slaves. You probably want to get back at her now."
A slight nod was all Klaus received from Evan. His words matched the memories in Evan's head, but this was a prison, he shouldn't completely trust even who was now his ally since that could change.
Going upstairs, they were immediately confronted with a simple wooden door that was locked.
"Only the wardens have keys to this door, their uniforms are kept here, or rather those who are supposed to be on duty on the second and third levels. However, we can open it too." Klaus approached the door, then without hesitation dropped his kick right into the lock.
There was no way the old door could withstand that, opening a passage for those who shouldn't be here.
In a minute, Evan and Klaus had changed into the warders' clothes, black, long, and stricter. There were also metal clubs that were much stronger than the guards' ones.
"Now it's time to get some attention isn't it?" Evan smirked, tilting his hat as a shadow fell across half of his face.
"Sure. Before I do, I want you to confess something to me." Klaus uttered at length.
Evan narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased with Klaus's tone.
"You have amnesia, right?" Klaus snapped his fingers like a detective solving a crime.
Evan left it unanswered, casting only a hard stare at him.
Klaus smirked, "Well, you don't have to answer. I can know the answer from one look you give me, just summon a Sight."
Evan's eyes went wide as several fragments of memories popped into his mind, running through his head. However, he couldn't make out exactly what it was, since everything was chaotic.
In his attempts to make out something, Evan was stopped by a burst of bright pain bringing blades through his mind and causing him to clutch his head with his hand.
"Shit... It's all a blur..." Evan muttered with a painful grimace.
Klaus nodded, "Rarely, but amnesia can occur after a brutal beating, I've personally seen it once. Given what I see, you'd better not become what you were before the amnesia, in any case, there's hardly anything but despair and misery in the memories of this prison."
"Fine!" Evan shouted, "Yeah, my memories are hazy, so what?!"
"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure of it." Klaus shrugged nonchalantly, "About what I said, you don't need to try to remember how to do it, since it's so simple you don't even need to learn. Just say 'Sight' to yourself, after a few tries you'll definitely be able to do it."
Evan nodded and did as he said.
Nothing happened, but Evan was sure that for a moment, a spark like a flame appeared in front of him.
'Sight! Show me the damn thing!' Evan inwardly exclaimed, full of desire to see what it was.
After all, there was nothing like this in his world.
Then, a series of runes appeared before him, visible only to him.
***
Name: *Kellan Wraight* - Evan (?????)
Race: Human
Lifespan Expectancy: 50 years (much lower than possible due to the terrible state of the body)
Status: Commoner
Warp: None (no known talent for magic)
Tantum: ???
Arcanum Path: Undetermined.
***
As soon as the Sight appeared in front of Evan, a storm of different emotions swept through his mind, also his head filled with all the information he needed. Many years ago, Kellan's grandfather had told his grandson all the details about the Sight.
Tantum was the basis of a mage's power. While Warp was the core that infused the mage's body with mana and allowed him to use magic, Tantum was the mage's arsenal to which spells were bound.
Each mage had to choose which spells to bind to their Tantum in order to use them properly and be able to improve them, increasing their skill.
'How curious...' Evan inwardly muttered, sinking deeper and deeper into Kellan's memories, so much so that he felt like he had traveled back in time and become Kellan himself.
"Kellan, can you hear me?" A gray-haired man, with obvious wrinkles but a kind smile said, sitting against the seven-year-old boy.
The boy nodded with wide-open eyes filled with curiosity.
"Agh... The only thing left to tell you about Arcanum Path... Kellan, as you know magic is as vast as our world. Clearly, all mages are different, each with their own specialties. But, in Arcanum, every mage gets to choose their path, there are three paths in total.
The first one - Amplifiers, these are mages who use spells to increase their physical stats, as well as to strengthen armor or to ignite their sword with violent flames. Weak or ordinary Amplifiers are often underestimated, but the strong ones are feared more than others.
The second One - Creators, most mages want to be Creators, since this is exactly how everyone imagines a mage to be. Creators cast spells, whether it be fireballs, lightning bolts, ice spikes, or anything else. Pure magic with destructive power.
The third and the last one - Summoners, they're pretty simple. They use mana to Summon other creatures to help them. An experienced Summoner can be a serious problem."
The man sighed, "Kellan, do you understand?"
The boy simply nodded. Then, Evan's consciousness returned to normal.
'Damn... That was intense...' Evan pondered as a smile spread across his face.
Just then Evan felt something he had long since forgotten - interest in something new, something unknown and unexplored.
Klaus smirked, watching the glint in Evan's eyes, since now he was completely sure that his theory was correct.
Well, unfortunately, or luckily for him, he didn't know how badly he was wrong about being right.
...
An unnatural purple vapor emanated from a huge cauldron, its walls a meter thick, made of pure hardened iron capable of withstanding the heat of the molten crystals like magma bubbling inside.
It was the most important part of the entire prison since the cauldron was a complex structure.
Beneath the cauldron was a massive furnace, into the pit of which the slaves were constantly shoveling coal, even at night. The slaves at the top were throwing crystals, while the slaves at the bottom were moving a special mechanism that through a chain of ropes and gears made a huge metal rod rotate, stirring the liquid.
At the very bottom, on the other side of the mechanism, was a narrow vent through which came the white liquid - crystals brought to the maximum temperature, fully purified and suitable for sale after cooling. The purified crystals were much heavier, so this liquid went down on its own.
"Damn... That's impressive." Evan uttered, rubbing the back of his head, then his gaze traveled to the dozens of guards surrounding the cauldron, "So is the number of guards. Is there any way we can drop this cauldron? We don't have much time."
Klaus nodded, "Yeah, it's easier than it looks. I won't lie, we can only do it because I'm your ally."
"Hmm?"
Evan raised an eyebrow, casting Klaus a puzzled look.
Klaus smirked as he opened his mouth wide, then through a few painful wrinkles he pulled out a single tooth inside of which was a green crystal.
"This is what I got in Arcanum. If you damage this crystal, it will cause a massive explosion, and given the heat in the furnace, the power will be unbelievable." Klaus explained with a slight smile.
'The crystal from Arcanum...?' Evan pondered, then his gaze became more serious, 'He's definitely lying. Even Kellan knew that the treasures in Arcanum were much better than this... Well, now is not the best time to look into it.'
"Death right in your mouth, convenient." Evan shrugged, immediately realizing the purpose of this unusual tooth.
"Not really." Klaus wiped the trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, "It was the only weapon that was possible to get in here. It's concentrated acid, not poison, I can use it to kill myself, but I can also throw this tooth somewhere to make the crystal crack and explode."
Evan immediately got a sly grin, and his gaze traveled to the furnace from which flames were endlessly coming out, trying to burn the slaves or escape from the cramped cell where a new batch of coal was constantly being added.
"Acid then... Well, let's not waste any time." Evan tilted his hat so that half of his face wasn't visible and stepped forward, straight toward the unsuspecting guards.