Rebellion: Prince of Dawn

Chapter 7.6: Earth, Wind, And Fire

---

THADDEUS MOBLEY

The first night we had a peggy in our possession, I took the first watch.

I made sure Ilias and Erina were sound asleep before sneaking out and covering up the entrance to the cave with a Rolling Stone to make sure they couldn't be found.

Now that we have a peggy, we don't have to worry about controlling our mana. I can finally return the favour to that bastard that stole my money.

I only had two hours to find Jay Geils and I didn't know where to start. By the time sunrise comes, there would only be one full day left for the phase. Tonight was the only night I could do this-and maybe sabotage his team if I felt like it.

Since the lake was this island's main water source (up until we blew it up), my most logical guess would be that Jay Geils and his team were somewhere nearby.

I ran into other parties during my outing. Since I was by myself, they assumed my team was dead and ignored me. When I came across other parties' bases, I studied to see if Jay Geils was among them. If he wasn't, I simply moved on. A few had peggies and it would've been nice to get rid of competition, but I was here for Jay Geils and him only.

Besides, who knows what they'll do to me if I get caught?

Around midnight, I came across an area with dozens of bodies of fellow participants. All of them were cold, motionless, and decapitated.

I conversed, laughed, or at least made eye contact with all of them. But it was explained that death was an inevitable part of the exam. That was one of the risks of becoming a State Jynxist.

I'm not some cold-hearted person that I'm thankful that these people got eliminated. I want to get rid of competition, but without ending a life. Whether their deaths were caused by monsters or fellow participants, they did not deserve this.

However, I'm on a labyrinth where I can be killed if I let my guard down for even one second. I'll mourn everyone who lost their lives, but not now. I've got to wait until the phase was over.

Suddenly the headless bodies rose, grabbing their heads and picking up weapons before charging at me.

The bodies of my fellow participants had turned into dullahans.

I heard that dead bodies inside labyrinths would sometimes be imbued with mana and turned into fiends that served as puppets to protect the labyrinth's heart. The most common of these reanimated corpses was the zombie. But a reanimated headless body was a bit more powerful and was called a dullahan.

Of course, the floating island was a labyrinth itself.

I turned the ground underneath them into quagmire, sinking and freezing them in place.

It wasn't right putting down the bodies of people I knew. But they were just that-bodies.

I swiped at the ground and held out an open hand. "Rock Bust!"

Just then, the earth I swiped from the ground shot as spikes into the dullahans' heads-which was the only way to kill them.

After making sure they were dead, I turned the ground beneath them into a quagmire and marked the area with a Rolling Stone.

When I heard a familiar voice accompanied by rushing footsteps, I dove into the bushes.

"The bodies were somewhere near here," Jay Geils said. "Let's kill them before they reanimate and camp near their equipment. We might get lucky and acquire a cursed artifact."

It's awful that they're not thinking about the people that lost their lives. To be fair, Jay Geils has taken this exam so many times that maybe he became desensitised to scenes like this. But it just doesn't sit right how easily he can shrug off something like this.

"We exhausted our gates to steal this bird from those guys at the cove," a party member said. "It'll be dangerous if we got attacked, so why don't we head back and wait until our gates heal?"

The moment they said they couldn't perform any spells, I broke into a sprint towards them.

"Who goes there?" Jay Geils asked. "Which coward is trying to attack us in the cover of darkness."

"I'm not using the cover of darkness!" I corrected.

His two teammates tried to interfere but I sunk them into the ground with only their heads exposed.

"What kind of cowardice is this?" Jay Geils questioned. "You heard us say we've exhausted our gates and decided to attack?"

"Then let's be men and settle this with our fists!"

Before he could even react, I clenched my hand and threw it at Jay Geils' cheek, causing him to tumble backwards and trip on his teammate's heads. He just so happened to be carrying a bag and a cage with a peggy inside. I grabbed both and took off, riding Stone Free to give myself some distance.

I rummaged through his bag and found a pouch of coins that were filled with both of our money. "This is mine! Ooh and some gratuity!"

Just then, another party ran into me.

"Don't move, kid," someone said, sounding like another kind of familiar.

I noticed the dual thunderbolt tattoos on his cheeks. "Asher!"

"Thaddeus?" he questioned as he stared at the birdcage. "If you have a peggy, where's your team?"

"Not here and this isn't our bird. Why are you guys out here in the middle of the night?"

"We heard a commotion and we came to see if we can steal a bird from another team. Why are you here?"

Asher's teammates had their sword and bow raised and drawn accordingly.

"Long story. Anyways, this bird isn't important."

"Isn't important? That thing is a ticket to phase two."

"Do you guys not have any?"

Asher shook his head. "Even if we did, do you think we'd be stupid enough to leave it behind?"

"Do you want this bird then? As I said, my party already has one in its possession. I just stole this from Jay Geils' group and its pretty useless to have two."

"What kind of pathetic attempt at a trap is this? Why would you give us a peggy?"

"Friend, I just said we already have one. Do you pay attention?" I sighed. "I'll explain once we're back at Base Zero so just take it. Think of it as thanks for giving us advice."

"That's it?" Asher asked as he accepted the birdcage. "You don't want anything in return?"

"Just don't attack us. And if you see us in danger, come help. We'll do that same for you."

"Alright then, thanks. I'll see you at the rendezvous point."

Asher and his team took the bird and stood where they were. They were still cautious of me-which I could see why. A peggy was so sought after that someone giving one away for nothing had to be a gimmick.

But this wasn't one. They would've attacked me for it either way, so I just chose the path of least resistance.

I wandered lost for a bit but managed to find my way back to base. I woke Ilias up to take over my watch. He splashed water on his face and set post by the cave entrance.

Hugging the pouch of money, I went to sleep satisfied. Come by morning, Ilias and Erina will be none the wiser.