OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 367: Smell Of Death

Chapter 367: Smell Of Death

?

***

"Shit for brains."

That was the only way anyone would describe the current Arthur.

If it weren't obvious by how the AIs' acted, this hidden treasure they wanted him to unearth was nothing but a cover.

Their true purpose was to send him closer to danger, nearly kill him.

But why would they do that?

Weren't they supposed to protect Arthur?

Yes, yes they were.

However, that didn't mean they couldn't hurt him in the process of doing so.

Emir.

Their host's main enemy.

They needed to hurt him in any way they could.

Problem was, they couldn't hurt him physically or mentally, their host was too weak.

So they had to improvise, and their improvisation resulted in the plan they enacted today. Luring Arthur away from safety and using his status as a student in the Academy against Emir. After all, if he was severely hurt under Emir's supervision, his position as a professor would be under serious threat, or at least he'd be questioned.

Some might wonder why they didn't manipulate Arthur into staying and fighting the Cannonjaw Crocodile, but that would've been difficult, borderline idiotic.

There was a high chance that he would've run away with the rest, but if he was dumb enough to stay, he would have died.

No injury, just death.

A lose-lose situation.

This resulted in only one option remaining...

They had to lure him away.

Emir, not one to risk anything, understood that, so he had it covered and was fully prepared for a situation like that to happen.

He knew that the systems were suspicious of him, and as AIS, their first instinct would've been to get rid of him, deeming him too much of a threat.

So his being prepared was only natural.

It might've been safer if he trapped them in the Academy for the entire time he worked there, but he was not about to have Arthur's existence dictate his plans.

Anyhow, all of that was the main reason why he had Jake and Emma join Elijah's cohort.

They started working in Second Life for a few days, laying the groundwork in preparation for today.

And those two had already realized that shit had gone awry. Noticing that Arthur was disconnected from his cohort's channel, as they had access to every student's status.

[How far from checkpoint three?]

Emma asked as she shot another ice bolt, killing two scorpions that sprang out from the left. [Not far, we're twenty seconds away!]

Jake answered as he glanced at the timer in his HUD while simultaneously updating their minimap, showing them a new path to their destination.

They had to get through the third drop-off point to get to Arthur, which meant that they had to kill the construct.

That was close to impossible if they were alone, so they had Elijah request reinforcements.

[Three, what's their status?}

Clicking his tongue, Elijah complained:

[Bastards still got me on hold! Fuck-wait. They just connected, I'll put you guys through.]

Static echoed in their minds for a moment, and they heard a clear voice in the next:

[Hunter 1036, apologies for the wait. We've got many requests coming through; com lines are pretty busy-]

Ticked off by the NetWeaver's slow words, Elijah interrupted:

[We need reinforcements right now!]

[...No can do. The groups we sent already died, so you'll have to adapt. The rest are busy getting the injured out. The Cannonjaw is distracted right now, but it won't stay still for long. Once it moves, you have to delay it as much as you can.]

With flinching brows, Elijah was about to lash out, as was Jake, but Emma beat them to it:

[A student is about to die, you fuck! Do you want to be complicit in that?]

Like her partner, she was deeply affected by their actions.

However, unlike him, she managed to hold it together-until now.

This was her breaking point.

Failing to follow through with her orders was not something she could handle.

Not Emir's.

So she continued to lash out at the man, losing rationality:

[You'll lose your life if that happens. No matter-]

But her words stopped as it was his turn to interrupt them this time, begrudgingly saying:

[Emir signed a contract that stated everything to be his responsibility. I've no time for your lectures; we bear nothing. Just do as you're told or get out.]

The Netweaver ended the call with those words, but Elijah didn't react to that as he, Sofia, and Aria stared at the two in silence, their feet still moving, asking the obvious.

Jake let out a sigh, then stopped, turning around to face them.

Emma did the same, and the students almost crashed into them, barely stopping in time.

The two then slowly raised their right hand and pulled off their masks, revealing their true

faces.

Elijah's face registered pure shock, not because of their true identities but because they revealed themselves in the first place.

He didn't notice at the beginning, but mid-way through their second target extraction, his growing suspicions were confirmed, as he saw more of their abilities, knowing their fighting

style pretty well.

Besides, it didn't help that most of their features weren't hidden.

Aria and Sofia's reactions weren't as expressive as his, however.

One tilted her head in confusion while the other stared blankly at them, still unsure if they

were a threat or not.

Sofia was one to act on her suspicions, but Two's piercing blue eyes held her back.

They were far too clear to be eyes belonging to someone malicious.

And she was correct, as Emma stepped closer to them and spoke, her voice completely

different than before:

"We're Emir's people. Elijah can vouch for that."

Elijah nodded at his classmates' questioning stares, and she continued:

"Emir assigned us to watch over you kiddos. And if things go wrong like they usually do, we

are to interfere."

Jake highlighted an area in their minimaps, causing it to blink red.

"Arthur's throwing his life away somewhere around there; we need to catch up before

something irreversible happens to him."

It took them a moment, and the three eventually nodded their heads, glancing at each other

to see if they all realized the absurdity of what they were about to do.

They were students, barely Celestials, stuffed with skills but not experience.

Elijah's recent diving streak wouldn't change that; his life before then was like the rest: easy.

Their 'protectors' weren't much better, a ninth-class Spell Weaver and an eleventh-class

Arcanist.

While they had the experience, they were of the same rank as those they had to protect.

Right, all of them were Ascendant Knights...

Certainly not the strongest group.

And they had to kill a construct one major-rank and one sub-rank above their strongest

hunter.

Indeed, that was tough to imagine, but it was something they had to do nonetheless.

There was no room for hesitation.

"Let's go!" Elijah brought his clutched fist to his second heart and hit his chest twice.

"You guys are weak, but you'll manage if I'm with you."

Aria flipped her hair, adding:

"Not that I care or anything."

"....."

Sofia remained silent like usual, but her face spoke instead.

'He'll see what I'm made of...'

Emma and Jake shared a chuckle and turned around, beginning their short march to a large

platform that reeked with the smell of death.