Clive’s guards pulled me down a set of stairs without a word. Their hands were clamped on my shoulders like iron vices, not moving an inch as they marched me into the darkness. I could tell that their base strength was far higher than mine, so it was clear they had at least passed the second advancement.

If it was forced or not didn’t matter, it would still be a tricky matter for me to escape.

All natural light faded away as they pulled me into a dark corridor. Blue torches lit the way, though they still left deep patches of shadow at periodic intervals. My captors pulled me down another set of stairs past a squad of bandit guards. A large doorway lay ajar behind the group, which proved they had been forewarned of my arrival.

Well, that complicates things a bit…

The guards pulled open the doorway for the second cell along and tossed me inside before they slammed it closed again. A heavy clunk echoed through the chamber as they locked the door without a word. I had seen the lock at a glance as I passed, and knew it was too strong for me to break through even at full strength.

“These guys are seriously stupid. They didn’t even take my staff…”

As much as I complained about it, that was one thing I had worried about. It would be tricky to get the weapon back as we fled, and I still felt an innate link to it. After a year of constant practice, my body had grown used to its heft and feel.

Added to that was the fact I still couldn’t see through its effects. That alone piqued my curiosity. How strong would it be once I managed to pull out its true power? I tossed my musings aside and rattled the lump of metal on my wrists.

“These manacles have locked away your ability usage. They would have a limited effect if you had passed the level fifty advancement, but that is still in the distant future for you.” Rose tutted from inside my mind. “What are you going to do now, Rook?”

“You have a plan, right?” Cory muttered at me. He had stayed hidden in my inventory, as I had ordered long ago. A shiny crystal like him would attract the bandits like a flock of magpies.

“Claire, help me out of these.”

After a slight delay, Claire followed my request without a word as a wave of blue slime poured from her core. It wrapped around my hands like a thick pair of gooey gloves. The instant they were enveloped, my fists were assaulted by a pain far beyond any I had felt before.

The time my shoulder had been broken, when Ray had sneak attacked me back in town, even the time my chest had been burned by a magical fire. All of those paled in comparison with what I felt as the slime covered my arms. It was as though I had dipped my hands in a pool of acid which was also on fire.

I was about to scream out, but I managed to hold back with an inch to spare. If they heard such a noise, it was clear they would come to investigate. It would be impossible to explain how I had sneaked a slime into the cell with me, and they wouldn’t listen even if I tried.

The pain didn’t worsen, but it also didn’t improve. It remained steady for over a minute. The manacles on my wrist twitched and shook as the slime invaded their inner workings.

Goddammit, how long is this going to last…

As though she had listened to my request, Claire pulled herself away and dropped to the floor beside me. I could see her rock from side to side as she bombarded me with worried noises through our telepathic link. I avoided looking at my hands for a few seconds before I pulled my will together enough to take a glance.

I had fully expected to see a pair of charred stumps, but what I saw left me relieved. My skin had reddened as though I had burnt myself on a burst of steam, but other than that my hands were uninjured. One thing had changed, however.

The manacles had cracked apart and fell to the floor.

“Nice job, Claire. Thanks.” I smiled and lifted my hand to pat her, but I pulled myself short. The memory of the pain I had felt was still too strong for me to casually touch her.

‘It’s OK. I’m sorry, If I could control it more…’ Claire drooped down as she spoke. It was clear she blamed herself for the pain she had put me through, but I couldn’t let that slide.

“I asked for your help, so don’t worry about it.” I reached down and patted her. After a moment, she jumped back onto my shoulder before I pushed myself to my feet. Now that the manacles had been removed, I could once again feel the flow of my mana.

“Right, we need to get out of here. Now we just need to find her.” I moved towards the doorway, but Rose interrupted me before I reached it.

“Wait, Rook. Before you do that, let’s check the cell next to us. I can feel someone in there. They’re pretty strong, so they might be able to help us get out.”

Wait, that can’t be her? Did those idiots really put me in the cell next to hers?

This was the person I had wanted to meet, the one who would help me reach my ultimate goal. As fun as it had been to steal Clive’s treasure from under his nose, my main aim had always been the one above him.

The bandit king.

It took a full five minutes for my transmutation to break down the bolt enough to make my way through. Claire had used up most of her gathered strength to when she created the slime pit under Clive’s office, and now she had used the last bits to melt through the manacles, so the idea to use her to break through the door was tossed aside instantly.

After the bolt snapped, I pushed the cell door open gently. No one shouted out, which confirmed the guards were either asleep or weren’t watching this corridor. Though Rose could push her hand through me, it still wasn’t possible for her to phase through solid objects, so I had to rely on my own instincts.

I had heard the guards leave the area after they had tossed me into the cell, so I had been sure the corridor would be clear. It was a guess, but it had turned out to be accurate.

I pushed the door closed and reformed the bolt. It wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but it should stand up to a cursory examination. With my tracks hidden, I repeated the process on the cell next to me and opened the door carefully.

No one responded to the sudden entry, so I pulled it open fully and stepped inside. The cell matched the one I had been dumped into apart from one vital detail.

The woman who lay on the bed at the far side.

I pulled the cell door closed behind me. Whilst the bolt was pulled back, I hoped that no one would come to this room for the time being. The corridor was dark enough that they should miss it, at least until they moved closer to the door.

The woman didn’t react as I stepped next to her. I reached down to shake her awake, but a hiss from Rose pulled me short.

“Stop! If you touch her, it’ll get you too!”

“What will get me?” I asked as I took a step back. The woman’s face was pale, but there wasn’t any obvious danger no matter how hard I looked. “Is there a trap or something? What am I missing?”

“She’s been poisoned. It’s a bad one, far too dangerous for a place like this.” Rose spoke slowly, as though she found the existence of such a thing difficult to comprehend. “Clive must know some high-level people. That’s probably how he got his hands on the mana-canceling manacles as well. He’s got more reach than we gave him credit for.”

“What do we do? We need her help, can’t you tell me how to save her?”

“No.” Rose answered with an assured tone. “It’s impressive Clive had access to something like this, but the cure is much rarer. Even a king would struggle to get his hands on it, never mind the leader some bandits in a low density zone.”

“I’ve heard of this before.” Cory spoke up. “One of the marked ones mentioned that her friend had been hit by the same thing. It’s like a crystal which wraps itself around the heart, right?”

“A crystal?” I moved closer to the woman and stared at her face. “Is there no cure for it?”

“You need to find something to counter the crystal’s growth. If you can’t damage it consistently for a long time, it just grows back stronger.” Rose answered with a solemn voice. “She’s probably being fed the counter agent on a daily basis, or she wouldn’t have lasted this long.”

‘Please, save her. I know her, she’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve to die like this.’

I frowned as Claire shot a strange request into my brain. Rose and Cory didn’t react, so they obviously hadn’t heard it. I glanced at the orb on my shoulder for a moment before I looked back at the woman. I wanted to save her for my own ends, but the fact that Claire had moved to persuade me just added fuel to the fire.

I owed Claire a lot. She was one of the only people I trusted in this world. If she asked me for help, there had to be a good reason for it.

“She must be here as a bargaining chip, but why go this far?” The woman’s clothing didn’t seem to be special in any way. If I had seen her out in the camp, she wouldn’t have caught my attention at all. “All you said was that we need to counter the crystal constantly until its gone, right?”

“Wait, are you thinking of using…” Rose appeared in front of me. She glared at me as she folded her arms and blocked my path to the woman. “Do you realise how dangerous that is? You’d need to be in contact with her to have the necessary control. The infection dies instantly if it leaves the host body, but it can pass through skin contact in less than a second.”

“Is that all? I already have a plan, so don’t worry.” I copied Rose and folded my arms. “It would be far more dangerous to leave her here, right? She’s powerful enough to help us get out, and I don’t see anyone else we can go to.”

“Hold on, are you thinking of using your Transmutation to break down the crystal?” Cory popped out and hovered beside Rose. “That might work, but it’s dangerous. If you rush, she dies. If you stop mid-way through, she dies.”

“She’s dead either way, so it has to be worth a try. Do you want to help me or not?” I glanced past the pair at the unconscious woman. She was an inch from death, and there was no plausible way to pull her back without my help. “Clive has several people at or above Ron’s level of strength, and I doubt I can fight my way past all of them alone. If we get caught, I’ll have no chance of finding the bandit king.”

Rose was silent for a full minute before she floated aside. Cory hovered above me as I knelt beside the woman’s bed. My plan was off the cuff, but it should keep me safe from infection… probably. Either way, I should be able to fight it off with my Transmutation if worst came to worst.

“Claire, can you cover my hands again? Please make the layer thin.”

Claire didn’t hesitate as she coated my hands in blue slime. I winced as it prickled at my skin, but I had to bear with it. After my fists were covered, I focused my attention on the liquid which had started to drop to the floor and used my Transmutation.

‘Thank you. She helped me get out of the Holy Kingdom, so I have to do what I can to pay her back. I want you to promise me that you pull back if it gets too dangerous. She wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself to save her… and neither do I.’

I nodded in response to Claire’s request. Whilst I wanted to pay her back, losing my life would be a bad end for all of us.

Transmutation didn’t require voice activation like my combat abilities as it was classed under the utility section. Before it could drip to the floor, I used my skill to harden the slime around my hands.

I had turned the acidic material into a pair of tough, yet pliable gloves.

“Strengthen.”

My tactic worked. The gloves flexed as the buff came into effect. The slime was still counted as part of Claire’s body, so the increased strength gave them a new level of toughness.

As long as I can feel a connection through them, this should work. The infection dies instantly when it hits the air, I wonder how fast it would melt in acidic slime.

“That should slow it down, but be careful. If it goes for you at all, I want you to pull back and save yourself. Don’t be a martyr, Rook.” Rose gave me one final warning before she vanished from view. Cory didn’t say anything, but he hovered above the womans body nervously.

“It’s fine, I have a plan.” I slowly lowered my hands onto the woman's arm. I had confidence in my preparations, but there was still a chance of failure.

But Claire had asked for my help, so I had to at least try to save this woman.