Prison Break (5)

Season 1

005

Well enough of the story, the point is, I imagined its superior respiratory system and ability to make the most of each breath.

I cast a spell that marginally improved my lung capacity and efficiency. This allowed for a better regulation of my oxygen levels.

Gathering another supply of aura, I coated my body with a thin layer again. Just in case something or someone attacks me underwater.

"One deep breath."

Inhaling as much oxygen as I could, I held my breath and lowered myself into the dark embrace of the chilling waters.

--

As I swam, I was guided by a faint sliver of moonlight that seeped through the waters ahead. Each stroke propelled me forward, an endless chase after the light.

Aside from the occasional broken metal objects that floated around, nothing posed a threat to me.

Maybe fate was being generous to me this time.

Emerging from the waters, dripping and shivering, I found myself outside the vicinity of the prison. I looked around and it seemed to me that this was a small pond that just happened to connect with the ancient building's pipes. 

I wouldn't even call this a pond. It feels more like a slightly oversized and deeper puddle.

The guards would never suspect such means to escape nor would they notice that a prisoner like myself is missing. At least not this early in time.

We are low-class and the fact of that remains the same.

We are so insignificant, that they probably wouldn't even bother to count the number of bodies after the fight calms down.

In my previous life, only a select few managed to run and escape while the others, primarily the intelligence agents utilizing the necklaces, held the guards and knights back.

The spell cast on me ended just now. My mana reserves were nearly empty. I made my way to the side of this "pond" and stood up. My rags were completely soaked. 

"Oh yeah, can't wait to get started."

I took off all my clothes.

And by that, I mean drying my clothes.

What else could I have meant?

I envisioned a warm fireplace and the more firewood you add, the more fiercely it burns.

I used a low-circle spell to turn my drenched clothes, into something drier and more comfortable.

Although slave rags aren't exactly the most comfortable article of clothing. 

With that final spell, my mana reserves are thoroughly depleted for a while. I most likely would not be able to utilize magic in any fight, if I were to get into one.

If I didn't dry my rags, then the water trails could allow the guards to pinpoint my escape.

Looking back, I see the large metallic prison that once confined me. 

From the outside, it exudes an air of ominous power and unforgiving confinement. In my previous life, that would have been proven true as I suffered much more in there than in this life.

While I spent my entire time focused on building up a bare minimum amount of power to escape, there was no need for any other thoughts.

But...in my previous life, I had lost count of how many mental breakdowns I'd had in that prison. 

No matter how hard I screamed or banged on the walls, no one could have helped me.

I gave the prison one final look.

The building exterior mirrors the brutal and unyielding nature of the Northern Empire. Strength and dominance reign supreme. Towering walls, wrought from reinforced steel, pierced the sky with grim defiance. The structure loomed in a desolate and dry landscape.

The metal glistened and was polished to a near-reflective sheen. Massive gates, adorned with imposing symbols of authority and dominance of the Empire, stood as the gateway to the prison. The gates, studded with spikes with some covered in dried blood, stood as a warning to those who sought to challenge the facility.

The architecture was simple but combined with several high-circle spells restricting the usage of aura and mana, it was an amalgamation of sorts. 

On specific strategic points, magic artillery protruded with weapons capable of repelling any attacks or silencing any who dared run away far enough.

As of the time of my successful escape, the sunset and the prison seemed to come alive with a haunting luminescence. 

This prison is a landmark in my life. An obstacle that I have overcome. I will remember this as one of the first walls I needed to climb over, but I will be happy to forget this scenery.

The first of many other challenges I need to face.

I know for a fact that the others are still fighting as there are fewer guards on watch.

Suddenly, from about 100 meters away, I see a yellow flare go up. 

A small group of guards and knights mixed together saw me in the distance.

"There's one over here!"

"Chase him down!"

"Get him!"

"Take him out immediately!"

"On a date?!"

"No, you dumbass! Kill him!"

Fuck. I began to run.

I'm not really into a date with a big, bulky, and hairy man.

I guess the prison riot settled down faster than I thought...

No, there's no way that could have happened. Even in my past life, the riot continued on until the night. There were still several hours until then. 

However, there is one scenario I can imagine that happened.

The knight captain I killed in this life, stayed alive in my previous. If perchance, some guards ended up finding his dead body, they would have slowly deduced and traced my steps.

A low-class prisoner like me and the rest of the inmates couldn't have possibly escaped through brute force. In that case, they needed to think about that in a more meticulous sort of way.

Ultimately, that brought their attention to the crack in the wall that led to the ancient building below the prison.

Then, they either proceeded to call more reinforcements to replace the death of the knight captain or they split their forces to track down whoever escaped. Unfortunately for them, they split apart their manpower just to find one person who used this route.

Perhaps the guards found out about the death of the knight captain and quickly helped settle the fight. The intelligence agents were not going to survive going against the onslaught of guards and knights from the Northern Empire.

I made haste to the forest. Traveling strictly east.

"Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back," I say to myself several times.

I knew for a fact that many guards or knights chased after me. I'm thankful that I have enough energy to run. I have to lose them fast, otherwise, I'm scared that they'll slowly close the distance.

It's a miracle that there were no mages deployed. Otherwise, they would have sniffed me out with a few spells.

As I mentioned before, this is not the only prison in the Northern Empire. There are many more, this was just one of many low-class ones.

I must have lucked out seeing as I don't hear or see any hounds chasing me. Was it due to the fact that this was one of the lowest of the low-class prisons that they didn't bother dispatching any hounds to this place?

No, there's no way that would make sense. The Northern Empire isn't so relaxed to save on resources. They're a major superpower in the current world because of how tenacious and uncompromising their nation is.

"Either they were in too much of a rush to let their hounds loose or the intelligence agents already killed off most of them."

As the sun began to set, I found myself weaving through the forest, my pace quickened by the desire to avoid unwanted attention.

My feet felt like they would rip off at any moment. My breath starts to shake and become uneven.

In a faraway distance behind me, I'm still able to hear the sound of a dozen people giving chase to me.

"They're persistent."

But as persistent as they were, the stakes were about evasion. If I manage to lose them, then I win.

I had no interest in a confrontation; my aim was simply to disappear into the shadows.

The forest was alive with the gentle rustle of leaves and distant calls of birds. It was a tranquil haven that concealed the tension of my situation. 

I was exhausted and depleted of energy. The internal wounds incurred from my fight with the knight captain decided to come into my life at just the worst moments.

"Crap."

I know exactly what to do. Just like any responsible and mature adult who can take responsibility for their actions and be accountable.

"I'll just ignore it."

Well, I'm technically still fourteen. At least, physically. Mentally, I'm much older.

I remained attuned to my surroundings.

From years of prior experience in my past life, I navigated the terrain with heightened instincts. 

My memories returned to me. Even back then, I was always running away from battles that I could not win or found too difficult to fight.

"I'm a coward."

I came back into this life just to run away again. How pathetic could that be? But with the situation I was given, I had no choice BUT to run away. After all, I was a prisoner who was a soon-to-be slave if the prison break didn't occur.

Heading eastward was my goal, to reach the mountains. There, I'll take all the time I need to get stronger.

No more running.

"Well, after THIS, and then it's no more running."

It must have been around ten minutes since they gave chase. Their stamina is not to be looked down upon. Not many would have been able to keep up with my determination to keep going.

I steered through the forest with ease. I couldn't say the same for the ones behind me though.

Their numbers seemed to have dwindled to about...half of what they started with.

Looks like they can't keep up.

I was in what many would call a runner's high. A state where my brain releases endorphins to relieve the pain and stress I feel.

The cold started to settle in my body, making my movements a little staggered. 

The Northern Empire was a frigid place. Even if it was not always covered in a blanket of snow, it would most definitely be cold. Regardless of the time and season, the Empire is always colder than normal grounds.

Especially in the capital, it is even more frigid. According to some legends that people passed down. There is speculation that once upon a time, a fierce fight enveloped the entirety of the northern lands and the side-effect of that tremendous battle caused the current strange and peculiar phenomenon for the Empire to always stay cold.

The only pursuers keeping up with me began to lose their pace. That's good news. Now that there were fewer eyes concentrated on me, I just needed an opportunity to slip away from their grasp.

I invoked my aura and made haste, this caused the ones on my trail to also use their aura to catch up to me.

Luckily, no one chasing me had an aura level of anything more than 3 stars. These guys are nothing but fodder.

After a while, as the sky dimmed into twilight, I chanced upon a concealed cave. I barely even noticed it from the corner of my eyes.

Thank goodness for peripheral vision.

This is what I needed.

"What a welcoming sight," I say with a wide smile. 

A haven that nature graciously hidden behind a curtain of ivy and ferns.

But to simply enter it and suddenly change the direction I was running would be suspicious. As such, I needed a distraction.

I need to flash them.

Not in that obscene way. I meant with a spell. My mana is always low and it takes a long time to regenerate as someone with only one circle. 

I yelled at my pursuers, "I had enough! Time to fly out of here!"

I envisioned a fierce blast of wind that formed into a cyclone, sucking up everything in its way.

Cyclone Wall.

With a sudden gust of air that blew loudly and quickly picked up speed, in that split-second during my spell, I made sure it gathered up the dust and leaves in the forest to obstruct my enemy's view.

The spell originated from the ground and I aimed the spell towards the sky, shooting it up. This created a temporary wall of dust, leaves, sticks, stones, and various other small bits and pieces of the forest.

Having walled off a section behind me, the guards and knights had no choice but to wait a few seconds for the cyclone wall spell to die off.

By then, it would have been too late. I had already made my escape into the interior of the cave. I made sure to cover the entrance and my tracks with dirt and leaves.

"We lost him," I hear them talk.

"That sly piece of shit."

"Did he actually fly away? I can't see him in the sky. If only we had a mage with us!"

"We're going to be in deep trouble if we report that we lost one. Keep this a secret between all of us."

"There's no way he could have flown. Flight magic is a high-circle spell!"

"Are you some genius wizard then? Why are you acting as a guard, huh?!"

"N-no I was just-"

"Do you see him anywhere in this forest?! He's gone! If he was hiding somewhere, we would have seen his body sticking out."

"Let's just go back."

Their footsteps became softer and softer until they were inaudible. Now that they were 100% gone, I let out a sigh of relief.

The cave wasn't that big but it was enough for me to pass the night and rest peacefully. 

I rearranged the curtain of ivy and ferns to fully block any view from the outside.

I sat against the cave wall and focused on circulating my aura, tending to my internal wounds.

With the comforting embrace of the cave, I started to warm up after some time. Since there is no way for any cold air to make its way in, it got a bit more cozy in here.

I made myself a bit more comfortable and I allowed my exhaustion to wash over me.

"I can't be too careless. This is only temporary."

This cave is bound to be discovered sooner or later. It was simply a convenient place where I would regain my strength and sleep peacefully for the night.

Before I drifted off into my sleep, I went into a lotus position to cultivate my mana and aura.

Every martial arts master trains their aura. Every magician and wizard trains their mana.

Only with consistency can you build satisfactory results.

As I meditated, I also spent some time thinking about my future goals.

I know without a doubt, it would be no hard task for me to get away without being caught.

The problem is what comes after that?

Getting stronger than my previous life? To do what? Simply to protect myself? 

Trouble will find its way over to every part of the world if history repeats itself like my previous life. The Northern Empire will engulf the entire planet in war.

What can I do? What should I do? What will I do?

...

To get things straight. I'm not a hero, nor do I have any plans to become one. I don't think that role is suited for me.

I don't see myself fighting for the sake of justice and all of that.

I am just myself. Jun from the fallen eastern Yujora Kingdom. That's who I am and who I always will be, regardless of any regression.

During the final battle in my past life, we fought against the Northern Emperor after he had already absorbed an excess amount of power.

It was unknown how many stars or circles he had, but he very well became the most powerful being in the world during the peak of the war. 

With unparalleled might and unquestioned dominion, he unified other nations' powers and forged a nearly indomitable force, subjugating all under his iron fist. Regardless of whether it was strategic coercion or unrelenting brute strength, he always prevailed.

In this lifetime, I want to ensure that the Northern Empire doesn't echo the sinful actions of its past. Numerous nations and realms across the planet bowed down the North's strength.

The Emperor is cunning. Making use of his mastery over stratagems and clever scheming, he was able to persuade and bend the actions of other factions and alliances to get what he wanted.

Small wars that occurred between allies in the UAN were actually ignited by the Northern Empire first. It's just that no one realized it until the end. They strategically drained the Alliance's forces before the war even began.

The premature removal of crucial influences and formidable figures who could have threatened the Northern Empire during the war allowed them to execute their plans smoothly.

The Emperor's methods were successful. Many were eliminated and completely annihilated with no trace of them being left for history, long before the drums of war resounded.

The North meticulously dismantled any potential dangers before setting the spark of war and initiating the conquest, throwing the entire world into the flames of conflict to wage on for many years.

I don't wanna give a damn about all that war nonsense between the Alliance and the Empire. My goal is to get as strong as possible to protect myself. I'll also stop the smaller schemes of the North.

If the people who were meant to die in my previous life survive in this one, then perhaps the future can change.

Frankly speaking, I'm tired of both my lives being filled with constant fighting.

I want to travel to world. I want to see and experience new things. I want to eat good food. I want to try the liquor of different nations.

After I finish my goals, I'm leaving this accursed place.

With that said, I finished my mana and aura cultivation and drifted off to sleep.

Once I'm awake tomorrow, I'll need to get moving. Fast. 

As of right now, the Northern Empire is still building its forces. The Emperor would not be stupid enough to recklessly send his troops into other territories and incur the wrath of other factions that he doesn't have control of yet. The spies and schemes he has going on...I'm sure they're all still in progress.

Time is on my side. I need to get stronger to dismantle his plans.

The reason I'm heading east towards the mountains is simple. In my past life, one of the elders of the Alliance told me classified information when he was drunk.

He was a martial master of 8 stars and he let me in on the details of an operation that happened long before the war began. 

If time matches up correctly, that operation should still be going.

The place where I'm heading is the mountains which is home to the founding group that pioneered Aura. The Celestial Heavens.

That is my next destination, a branch sect in the mountainside.