Chapter 509 Worm Your Way In (1/2)

Booms and thuds shake my cell as the battles continue out in the arena. With my Meditation Skill blunting outside influences my magic practice continues smoothly as Torrina batters my mind with her expert magical handling. To make things even more rude, she suggests that I order Invidia to partic.i.p.ate in the training and somehow I'm talked into letting Invidia attack me with mental magic. After just ten minutes under their combined a.s.sault I'm ready to beg for mercy, which Torrina doesn't grant. After thirty minutes I want to collapse on the floor like a puddle, which Torrina refuses to allow. I could just order Invidia to cease his mind magic but somehow I feel like if I did that I'd lose.

[I was blinded by the sweet lure of levels! d.a.m.n you Torrina!]

The harridan in question frowns at me.

[If you still have the mental energy to whine at me then we aren't working hard enough.]

[I HAVE FOUR BRAINS DAMMIT. IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO THINK THINGS AT YOU.]

[Way too much energy. I'm going to increase the pressure.]

[Noooooooo!]

Me and my big…. Brain… The presence of the Colony within the range of my Vestibule is working against me now. Even as my brains strain to their breaking point, the cursed Vestibule is refres.h.i.+ng them with nouris.h.i.+ng energy from my siblings. The end result is that I last another two hours before the threads of magic twist out of my grasp and collapse into nothing.

[I'm out! No more!]

Torrina nods, seemingly satisfied with my efforts.

[You've done well this time. Much better than before.]

[Guess I'm finally getting the hang of it! Ha! Ha… ha.]

[Hmm,] she eyes me suspiciously before leaving the cell to get some rest.

Speaking of which, time for me to do the same. Invidia and I snack on some Bioma.s.s and I have to whop him with an antennae when he tries to take my food. He didn't even bother eating his own food first, he didn't want his own food, he wanted mine! Being an Envy Demon must be a ma.s.sive pain in the backside. He's almost totally incapable of being happy with what he has. That's rough.

Following the food it's time for torpor. I'm so out of it I could practically hibernate. I'm done. Time to snooze…

HAP! I'm up!

Wasn't out for too long either. The Vestibule continues to do its work, turning me into an inexhaustible dynamo. Along with all that energy has returned the persistent whispers that drove me to separate myself from the Colony in the first place. To be honest, I'm still glad to have them back. I'll take it over the complete silence that I endured before.

Awake once more there is precious little to do in my cell until Granin turns up some time later. When he sees me up and about a look of surprise flashes over his face before he climbs down to my level.

[I hate this stupid ladder. I'll bet the other monsters have cells with stairs…] he grumbles as he moves hand by hand down the offending contraption.

[Wait, there are better cells than this one?]

[Of course there are! This is the sort of holding area we use for dangerous, uncooperative samples. Why do you think you have those three chuckleheads up there?] He jerks a thumb at the triad of Shaper guards whose presence is so constant it almost doesn't register on my mind anymore.

[Typical. There has got to be some sort of phobia to explain this prejudiced treatment.]

[I didn't expect you'd be up this quick. Thought I'd have to wake you.] Granin sighs as he settles himself down onto his seat.

[Oh? Something that needs attention?]

He nods.

[Managed to setup that meeting, but it'll only be with James, I'm afraid. Sarah is off limits right now.]

[What?! Why?]

He holds his stone covered palms up toward me.

[I have no idea, officially. I haven't been told why she's been isolated, only that she has. I can make a few guesses as to why, as I'm sure you can too.]

A cold fear blooms inside me as the first thought to strike is that she betrayed the escape plan, but it quickly fades. No, I don't think she would betray us. Much more likely that the jerks who keep jerking it up all over the place have continued their jerking ways of jerkhood.

[They're forcing her into the tournament, aren't they?] I say.