Zectas Book II: Heraldic City of Coatl (53 page)

 

 

'The manual said that the books needed to be stacked neatly into the shelves, any excess books should be placed on top of the tables, and the floor must be spotless. Only then could you proceed to clean the stockroom.'

 

 

"Espion, we need to put the books back into the shelves and pile the excess books on top of the desks."

 

 

The young Spy started putting the books into the shelves, while Smoke took the broom and dustpan placed inconspicuously beside one of the shelves and began sweeping the floor.

 

 

After Smoke gathered the broken glass and placed it into a huge beaker, he helped Espion stack up the books.

 

 

The DarkElf thought that it was very tricky to put such a menial condition as cleaning a laboratory in order to open a hidden chamber.

 

 

When they were done tidying up the laboratory, a loud clicking sound resounded inside the laboratory. Two of the shelves parted from each other and revealed the hidden stockroom.

 

 

Smoke, Espion, and Igniz scoured the dusty stockroom for the lacking ingredients. There were three rusty cabinets inside the chamber.

 

 

The DarkElf found ten Maneator Essences while Espion found twenty Maneator DNA samples. Now, they were only missing an attribute disc.

 

 

With his mouth, Igniz opened a drawer in the middle cabinet. He accidentally dropped multiple attribute discs on the floor and shattered them to pieces.

 

 

The dark ember sprite froze. He was afraid that he had broken all of the attribute discs.

 

 

"IGNIZ! What in the world is wrong with you today? First the flasks and now this? Why in the world did you open the drawer by yourself?!"

 

 

Espion tried to defend Igniz and said.

 

 

"I... I was the one who broke the equipment."

 

 

The young Spy quickly searched through the pile of broken discs and shot his hand up in the air.

 

 

"I've got one! It's okay, Smoke. There's still an intact attribute disc."

 

 

Smoke calmed down a little once he saw Espion holding the unbroken disc. A wave of guilt flashed over the DarkElf as he had just snapped at his symbiote.

 

 

"Igniz, come here."

 

 

The dark purple symbiote floated slowly towards Smoke.

 

 

"Listen, you have to be careful all the time. What if the disc was a consumable ingredient? Then we would only be able to make one Maneator."

 

 

Igniz flew three feet away from the broken pieces and radiated more light than usual. His illuminated light revealed one more attribute disc. The disc rolled unscathed from the fall.

 

 

Smoke walked towards his symbiote and picked up the attribute disc from the floor.

 

 

"I guess you're being a wise-ass and telling me that we can make two Maneators, huh?"

 

 

Igniz smiled brightly as the dark ember sprite reciprocated Smoke's smile.

 

 

Smoke examined the gathered ingredients. He started with the twenty Maneator DNA samples. There were many DNA samples but only three of them were distinct.

 

 

The three distinct Maneator DNA types were: Agility Class, Intelligence Class, and Strength Class.

 

 

Next, the DarkElf examined the two attribute discs.

 

 

 

 

 

After careful consideration Smoke decided on the components for his first Maneator.

 

 

Smoke prepared the ingredients. The Embryo, Hooves, Horns, Maneator Essence, Maneator DNA - Intelligence Class, Dominus Custos Attribute Disc, Flask of Cervisiarius Potion, and the Earth enhancing clay stone which he got from Mount Gliseloc.

 

 

First, the DarkElf placed all the ingredients into their respective pentagram and the embryo at the center of the wide casting circle.

 

 

Next, he traced the pentagram formations with the golden liquid from the Cervisiarius Potion.

 

 

Finally, he placed his palms on the front base of the casting circle and cried out 'comminuet autem, et ponet eam coniungere vivere'.

 

 

Smoke's 90,000 Mana was consumed.

 

 

Bright red lights shone from the blood crystals on the ceiling.  The blood lights changed the golden liquid inside the casting circle and turned it sangria red.

 

 

The three consumable ingredients disappeared with a blur, and a body started to take shape inside the center of the casting circle.

 

 

In less than two minutes the body of a gray Maneator stepped out of the casting circle. He was 2.8 meters tall and was of a smaller build than Konig Mitleid's.

 

 

Worried that something went wrong, Smoke eagerly stepped in front of the gray Maneator and spoke to it.

 

 

"Hi... Do you know what you are? Can you understand me? Can you talk at all?"

 

 

"Of course, Master. I am your loyal servant. Please feel free to give me a name."

 

 

Smoke smiled with relief. He was afraid that he had produced a faulty Maneator.

 

 

"Hmm, a name, huh? What about Weise Rind?"

 

 

The gray maneator bowed down before Smoke and declared his intentions.

 

 

"I, Weise Rind, would humbly like to serve under you as a member of your private army."

 

 

"I gladly accept."

 

 

 

Smoke noticed that Weise's level was the same as his, which led him to believe that it must have been based on the creator's level.

 

 

As Espion watched Weise become a member of Smoke's private army, he felt that he was missing out on something.

 

 

The young Spy had only known Smoke for a short time, but he knew that he could learn to become a better host for his father's Beggar Job if he followed the DarkElf.

 

 

"Smoke, I know that you don't have to say yes, but I'd also like to be a part of your private army."

 

 

The DarkElf was surprised at Espion's words.

 

 

"Are you sure? Being a part of my army means that you'll be leaving your home, and who knows when you'll get to see your family and friends again."

 

 

Espion touched his right eye patch, and remembered that if it wasn't for Smoke he could have died.

 

 

"I understand that, but my main goal is to be a worthy successor of my father. I think I could do that if I followed you."

 

 

"Alright, I'd gladly accept you to be a part of my private army as well."

 

 

 

After Smoke formally accepted Espion as part of his personal army. He gave Weise his flamdius sword and his gora shield.

 

 

Smoke could potentially create ten Maneators based from the ingredients in the stockroom, but he needed to look for more embryos.

 

 

The DarkElf thought about the three krampus monsters outside the laboratory who were after them.

 

 

At the moment, they still didn't stand a chance against them. This was based on their last battle with a krampus named Herzog Popanz.

 

 

Although Smoke had gained a Maneator, Weise was still clearly weaker than any of the krampus monsters. This was why he decided that it was time for them to gain some levels and battle experience.

 

 

Immediately, Smoke's party went towards the nearest great hall. There, they attacked the swarm of fire salamanders, crested newts, and wolf spiders head on.

 

 

Smoke estimated that there were a total of 600 monsters inside this particular great hall.

 

 

The DarkElf ordered Igniz to create two firewalls that would funnel the monsters into a narrower path. The firewall did not faze the monsters, but it did force them to follow Smoke's intended direction.

 

 

Weise stood at the front lines with his gora shield and flamdius sword in hand. With his green dual knives, Espion swiftly moved in and out behind the gray Maneator.

 

 

The DarkElf would occasionally dive in with his 'Swirling Iron of Death', the weapon dropped by the krampus they defeated earlier.

 

 

Smoke's aim was to raise their levels and team efficiency, but he also wanted to increase his Agility of the Horned Rabbit.

 

 

With Weise as a dependable Guardian, he was confident that he could risk lowering his life up to 30% and still be able to retreat safely behind Weise and Espion's formation.

 

 

Espion and Weise followed the DarkElf's orders without question. This made the new formation into a great success.

 

 

Weise took the damage from the monsters and stunned them, while Espion dealt the killing blows. Smoke's dodge rate against the fire salamanders and crested newts was slowly increasing.

 

 

The DarkElf was now able to dodge seven of these monsters simultaneously. This allowed him stay longer inside the throng of monsters.

 

 

Most monsters were also blown away by Smoke's iron chains and brought into Espion and Weise's direction, which made Espion's part easier. The young Spy focused on attacking the monsters with the lower HPs.

 

 

Six Hours passed, and they still were in the same great hall fighting some 230 monsters composed of fire salamanders and crested newts. The wolf spiders ran away after Smoke and Igniz decided to hunt them down.

 

 

It was supposed to be Smoke's scheduled break but decided to stay after he saw Espion, Weise, and Igniz giving it their all.

 

 

Smoke had skipped many planned breaks before. He prepared himself mentally for the bloody nose and painful migraines that were guaranteed to come.

 

 

Another three hours passed and they finally cleared the great hall. Smoke and Weise did not gain a level but Espion gained two.

 

 

Smoke didn't mind, since his Agility of the Horned Rabbit's experience bar grew significantly. His targeted ability would soon reach Advance Level 7 and give him +510 Agility.

 

 

As they didn't know the exact location of the krampus monsters, they always made sure to keep a look out for the three beasts.

 

 

Smoke and his personal army repeated their great hall hunting for the next three days. They were able to clear eight great halls in that span of time.

 

 

In the past few days, Smoke and his men stayed within the same 30% region of the labyrinth. They had mastered the respawn times of the great halls within this area.

 

 

Espion chose this region because he had not encountered the krampus monsters in this area before.

 

 

However, the DarkElf thought that it was time for them to face the three krampus. He wanted them to venture outside of their safe zone.

 

 

Smoke was now at Level 97, Weise was still at Level 96, and Espion at Level 92. The young Spy gained the most experience.

 

 

With their gained battle experience and levels, the DarkElf wanted to test their mettle against the three krampus but he needed to fight them on a one on one situation. Smoke gave Espion the order to start looking for the krampus.

 

 

The five to ten monsters that they met along the passageways no longer challenged Smoke and his men. Anyone of them could now solo that number of monsters.

 

 

They young Spy led the way in a straight line towards the great hall that the krampus monsters had frequented before.

 

 

They cleared all the monsters in their path, but they were extra vigilant whenever they were in a great hall. Smoke made sure that they always had two escape routes.

 

 

After twelve hours they finally caught a glimpse of the krampus in one of the passageways. but so did the humongous monsters.