Kael took almost ten hours for ample preparations, just so he could infiltrate the tunnel successfully without being caught or seen by the guards.
He took his time to observe the place, calculate his entrance and exit.
He already knows which of the soldiers to eliminate, which position is the best hiding spot that not even eagle eyes would find him there.
Kael drew on the ground, he observed the security cameras, some had mechanical moving engines, while others were static — meaning that, most of the cameras observe in one particular position, while the rest scan from left to right.
Kael had drawn on the ground, thick sand building up in his fingers.
[Approximately, 1.5mm at angular projection]
[Distance between the neon-lit factory and the tunnel base, 56km]
[Repositioning drones]
Kael continued to draw and then, his eyes flashed.
Immediately, he rose to his feet. He had no time to waste so he moved — his hands tightening on the Phantom Edge, embracing the cold metallic handle…
[You have less than four hours left to complete the mission]
Kael realized — what is the point of being overly cautious? He could simply barge in there and overwhelm several soldiers all together, as long as he had the system…
[That's a foolish thought]
Kael's eyes widened.
'It is?'
Shaking his head, his body flickered in and out, finally vanishing out of view, only leaving behind an afterimage.
Kael was shocked. Is that how Shadow Blink works? It was seemingly impressive that he could move from one position and move to another, without having to stress over it. It felt euphoric — the feeling that only gods were permitted to exhibit.
Kael however had to blink like seven times, just so he could reach the slums. He immediately entered the unruly place.
[Shadow Blink is on cooldown]
[Cooldown duration: 30 minutes]
Kael understood the situation without Shadow Blink, so he was ready to wait thirty minutes for its cooldown to complete the cooling phase.
When Kael walked over 3 miles, he decided to stop.
Slum-rats and slum-survivors do not wear Sleek Lightweight armor. They almost do appear in rags, dull cloths or no clothes at all, so seeing someone wearing an armor would definitely arouse suspicion and the soldier up ahead would be overly cautious and probably send words to the others which would delay Kael's invasion for a while.
But, the more he waited around, the more of his time would he expend. He did not plan to eliminate the soldier above the tunnel, but now he had no choice.
Kael's eyes flashed and he moved at an astonishing speed — startling the soldier himself.
The man hadn't expected that Kael would appear out of nowhere so he was unable to use his tablet in time before it was kicked out of his grasp and smashed onto the wall.
"You…" the man growled in anger and lunged forward with a fist strike. Kael dodged the punch and retaliated with his own punch.
The man staggered two steps back.
"You're a kid? I did not expect you to be this powerful. Hehehe."
Kael's expression changed. The man was actually laughing.
'Not good…'
[Lightning fist activated]
Kael's body moved like lightning, blue electric arcs rotating around him and he struck…
Boom.
The slum trembled.
The tunnel underneath them trembled — a sign of alert.
'Crap.'
He stared at the soldier in front of him. Somehow, this man had materialized an electric shield — from a gadget-like-watch.
This shield had prevented Kael's punch from hurting the man and also alerted the other soldiers down.
Kael's Phantom Edge flashed, the steel in the sword glistening.
His footwork changed dramatically, as Kael swung the Phantom Edge at the shield…
The ghostly steel turned sleek and invisible, striking the electric shield only for it to solidify.
Kael angrily slashed out and the electric shield sparked and crumbled.
[Gravity on right leg increased]
Kael moved too fast, too sharp — the Phantom Edge glinting under the pale moonlight.
His right legs snapped at the man who constantly continued to set up systematic protection.
He had managed to set up a barrier from system forging, but he had underestimated Kael's strength.
[Gravity manipulated]
[Maximum gravity on right foot decreased.]
Kael's legs flew towards the barrier with so much precision… there wasn't even an ounce of hesitation.
[Weight manipulated…]
[Mass added to right leg]
[Total mass: 24%…37%…68%…98%...100%…]
Kael's legs grew heavy the instant it reached the barrier and because the speed at which he had swung his feet did not reduce, that kick caused so much damage, blasting the man backwards and shattering his barrier. Cloud of dust rose and spread from the impact.
Before the soldier could realize, Kael was before him in an instant, the Phantom Edge descending.
The man had not seen the steel when it pierced his heart but it had seemingly appeared when it touched his flesh — terror and defeat flashed in his eyes until they dimmed, making him a hollow husk.
[You have killed a soldier of your sworn enemy]
[You have received 100 CoreCoins]
[+5 permanent increase in speed and stealth]
[+5 permanent increase in agility and strength]
[Shadow Blink is now active]
Kael raised his head, the sound of soldiers approaching the entrance of the tunnel.
"Hey system, do you have spatial storage or something?"
[Yes, you can call upon your own personal space but seeing as the situation is urgent, I'll provide a temporary storage for you]
[Achievement unlocked:
1 temporary spatial storage.
Duration before storage disappears: 15 hours]
Kael did not care that the spatial storage would disappear in fifteen hours. He immediately hauled the dead body and tossed it there. If it disappears, the body can disappear with it.
Then, three soldiers burst out of the tunnel only to be greeted by an empty space.
"I thought I heard noise?"
"Me too. Boss was worried for no reason."
They stared at the slum-rats who in return stared back at them.
Angrily, they growled…
"What are you looking at???"
They shivered in fear… but then the soldiers realized an anomaly.
"Where's Yvonne?"
"That's strange, he's usually positioned here or did the boss call him?"
A split second later…
"Look, his tablet. The one boss gave to him for surveillance."
"Something is definitely wrong somewhere. There's an invasion."
The three soldiers turned but their bodies chilled to the bones.
They did not see anybody, instead they saw a coin in the air, being flipped over in slow motion.
They couldn't even grasp the reality of what they witnessed and something cold, sharp and insidious pierced their heart.
The next moment, they collapsed to the ground — dead.
*
*
*
[Duplicate, completed]
Kael whistles a melody as he pulls out three Phantom Edge from the three dead soldiers heart where it had pierced.
[Duplicate, expired]
The three Phantom Edge became one and Kael tsked.
"Just 5 seconds? What if I hadn't even struck them in five seconds? My effort would have been a waste?"
[Look on the bright side, no effort we're wasted]
Kael smiled and Blinked deeper into the dark tunnel, this time, purposefully leaving their bodies behind.