’There’s no way this is a coincidence. It’s the same tunnel, same arch, same construction, same steps... I didn’t see a single other place like this on the entire run here.’
Grey realized then that this must be what Baron Giyoto was actually trying to hide.
A secret passage through a public sewer right into his own private steps to the Church.
Grey made his way to the top of the steps and then pressed a hand above his head, running his palms across the surface and looking for something, anything that would get him through.
But there was nothing at all. There wasn’t the same tingly sensation, and none of the same grooves. It was like it was just a perfectly flat ceiling, one that had been marinating in shit juice for who knew how many decades or centuries.
’Fuck.’
He pulled his hand back and wiped it on his side. He knew that there probably wasn’t any actual shit on the ceiling above him, but the moist heat wasn’t helping ease his mind at all.
The smell was only worse.
’Do I try to smash through?’
Grey held back on the thought for the time being. The last time he had done that, he had almost ruined the key to make it down here. Plus, if he made too much noise, then before he could even do anything in the Church he would end up hunted down and killed.
It probably wouldn’t take several minutes for the Holy Knights to catch up to him this time. The Church was practically flooded with them, and though Giyoto had probably put this entrance in a semi-secretive place, Grey had no idea what he was actually running into.
’It’s not opening.’
Grey’s frown deepened. After a while, he took a deep breath he immediately regretted. It felt like he could taste the shit.
’Fuck me.’ He coughed, hacking and wheezing before vomiting to the side. Only then did he feel a slight bit better.
Then he took a step back on the stairs and concentrated on his fist.
Blood poured out from his pores, turning an iron shade of black as Iron Veil took shape and solidified around him.
He found that the Body Resistance Ability was quite powerful not really because of its actual defenses, but because of its flexibility. His Metal Body was definitely far better in terms of pure defense for far more reasons than just the fact it was of a higher level. But, Iron Veil allowed him to almost layer his defenses.
One layer of Iron Veil wasn’t nearly as good, but what about two, three, more? What if he used them like sacrificial shells, or added fault lines they cracked along on purpose in order to disperse the impact?
That flexibility made it the overall far better defensive ability.
—
[Lv. 3 Heart Lance > Lv. 4 Heart Lance]
—
A blade of blood extended from the back of Grey’s hand. If Iron Veil allowed him to form a strong defensive shell from his blood, then Heart Lance allowed him to forge strong weapons from it.
This was actually separate from what his fang daggers were capable of, and Grey had a feeling that if he took the time to study them, he could accelerate the growth of Heart Lance by orders of magnitude.
Time.
Ironically enough, it was the one thing he didn’t have nearly enough of despite the loops. If he did, he would have already taken a look at the Blood Witch Tome to see what it had for him.
There was definitely a synergy he could form between Heart Lance and his fang daggers that would make them far stronger. He also felt like he wasn’t really using the fang necklace part of the Legendary Set properly at all—if he was using it at all.
But he was hoping that even so, this would be enough to blow a hole right through.
Grey released a low shout, not bothering to hide himself. If they could hear his shout, they would definitely hear him smash through.
BOOM.
His fist erupted upward as he took a step.
The ceiling shook and his arm blade fractured. Grey felt like his wrist would have snapped had Iron Veil not been keeping it perfectly straight. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the pain in the slightest.
"Fuck!"
The ceiling shook slightly, but he didn’t even leave a single dent in it.
His leverage was terrible. He was on a set of stairs, just to punch at something above his head.
But if he was close enough to punch it, he just might hit his head against it, and at the same time the most power he could generate probably stopped around chin height. The moment he got above his head he was already floundering without much left.
Shattering the bathroom mirrors and countertops had given him a distorted sense of what his abilities were right now. But he was definitely still lacking considerably.
’There’s no way I can break through that. And if there’s someone on the other side, they probably heard it already...’
Grey dismissed his arm of blood, shaking it out as he tried to ransack his brain for ideas, but nothing was coming.
’Wait...’
When Grey thought about it, though he hadn’t touched the ceiling that formed over his head after he left Giyoto’s office, it had looked the exact same. Maybe if he ran back over, he’d face the same issue and just be trapped down here.
But that also meant something else. There was a different method of getting in than there was getting out.
Grey started looking around, touching the sides of the trap door and even the stairs. But after a full 10 minutes, he found nothing.
There was only 20 minutes left and he was quickly running out of time.
’Maybe?’ Grey thought with a frown.
He had been able to replace the hole he punched through the desk with his own body, completing the circuit.
So what if he completed the entire circuit without the help?
Grey stood as close to the top of the stairs as he could without smashing his skull against the trap door, closing his eyes.
This was the last chance he had. It was either this, crawl through piss and shit, or just wait here and die.
Those latter two options weren’t the sort Grey wanted to put himself through.
Grey had felt the circuit very clearly before. Replicating it wasn’t difficult at all.
There was a hum through Grey’s Frame and then his hair suddenly stood at attention.
It felt like pulsing lines of electricity were rampaging through him and then golden light began to descend.
Even with his eyes closed, Grey could feel a connection forming with the trap door above him, lines of gold forming and etching themselves into the stone.
However, Grey didn’t reach for it. He should have, and maybe that would have made sense, but he seemed entranced by something completely different.
His breath became more peaceful, and the red in his gaze actually began to recede a bit as though it would return to its original brown.
This didn’t actually happen, but the feeling was so strong and overwhelming Grey could only describe it one way...
It was like he was returning to his center of peace, the part of him that was the truest and most real.
—
[You have awakened the Mind Resistance Ability {Center of Balance} to Level 1]
—