Chapter -21474836325 (Break Stuff)

  A rectangular beam of light appeared on the wall across from where Ada was chained, dimmed briefly, then disappeared. There were some sounds that Ada guessed were from a bar being removed and a lock unlocking because shortly after, the door opened inward and a figure entered holding a lamp. From this new source of light, Ada finally got a good look at her surroundings.

  The room was roughly square, constructed from quarried stone, and around twelve meters to a side. Beyond the two women in the cages to either side of Ada, there were another two women chained to the wall on the left, and one on the right. There were anchor points for additional chains. With a careful eye, Ada could see barely healed injuries to the feet and ankles of the women who were not contained in cages. She couldn’t get a good look at them, but it didn’t seem like the injuries were being tended to by any healer.

  A pair of somewhat larger figures entered behind the first, and the one Ada decided was now named “Future Corpse number 1” pointed at the woman in the cage on Ada’s right, saying, “Start with that one,” then pointed at the woman chained to the wall further to the right, “afterward, that one is ready for another session. You can do a first session for the other two fresh girls after lunch.”

  Ada felt sick, which was an interesting sensation to have without any real organs. As the two larger men approached, Ada triggered [Identify] on all three, then assigned the pair of thugs the names “Future Corpse number 2” and “Future Corpse number 3”.

  [Laborer]

  [Leader]

  [Laborer]

  She decided that the chains had been hollowed out enough for the next step in her plan.

  “Hey, assholes, who the fuck do you think you are? Don’t you know who I am? My family is wealthy and well connected. You’re going to spend the rest of your lives in the arena for this,” said Ada. She wanted their attention focused on her and away from everyone else.

  “Shut up and do your jobs. I’ll take care of the talker,” said FC1.

  Ada rolled over to where she was on her knees with her shoulders and face on the floor. FC1 approached her as she rocked back, crouched flat on her feet, then rose up until her shoulders were against the roof of the cage.

  “And just where do you think you’re doing? Pathetic little mage with no mana; that collar takes care of that,” said FC1.

  Ada pushed up against the wood which began to splinter from the pressure. Then, once again using [Metal Manipulation], she crushed the remains of the bars from her cage and drew all the black iron sand she’d made to herself, creating a layer of dark metallic armor across her skin, and stood up, dropping the cage roof to the ground behind her.

  [*ding!* Good Job! [One Woman Wrecking Crew] has leveled up! 1 ->2!]

  She drew three tungsten [Darts] into her mouth, and launched one each into the heads of the three men. The [Darts] passed through and through, impacting the far wall with three distinct thunks.

  [*ding!* Congratulations, you have slain [Ex-Guardsman (Earth) - 177, Human Trafficker (Wind) - 203]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations, you have slain [Lowlife Middle Manager (Wood) - 223, Unruly Woman Trainer (Sound) - 196]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations, you have slain [Slave Handler (Metal) - 197, Mauler of Ankles (Earth) - 83]!]

  [*ding!* [Breaker] has Leveled up! Level 23 -> 26! +8 Free stats, +8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Speed, +2 Mana Regen, +8 Magic Power from your class, +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Vitality, +3 Speed, +2 Mana, +3 Mana Regen, +5 Magic Control for being a Forgeling (Living Construct), +1 Magic Power from your element per level!]

  All three men crumpled to the floor, lifeless. Several sets of eyes were now locked onto Ada, all wide with shock. Several questions came all at once: “Who are you?” “Are you a sentinel?” “How did you find us?” “Are you here to save us?” “Did my father send you?”

  “No one sent me. I’m not a sentinel, and I don’t work for the empire. I’m just a woman who was in the right place at the wrong time with the skills to make a difference,” said Ada. “Now, I’m going to go through the rest of this building and kill every single person involved, and I don’t want any of you to get caught in the crossfire. I’ll remove all of your bindings, but I don’t have a way to fix the injuries they gave you already. I suggest waiting here and barricading the door behind me. My girlfriend should be coming to find me at some point soon, and she is a healer. She will be able to heal you all right up.”

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  She walked around the room and drained the mana out of each of the women’s collars, destroying the enchantments. None of them contained as much mana as her own had, but it was still enough for a couple levels in the skill and another level in [Breaker].

  [*ding!* [Unravel Enchantment] has consumed [Inscription: Direct Target Mana Drain, Individual] x5. You gain 7,410 mana.]

  [*ding!* [Breaker] has Leveled up! Level 26 -> 27! +8 Free stats, +8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Speed, +2 Mana Regen, +8 Magic Power from your class, +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Vitality, +3 Speed, +2 Mana, +3 Mana Regen, +5 Magic Control for being a Forgeling (Living Construct), +1 Magic Power from your element per level!]

  [*ding!* Good job! [Unravel Enchantment] has leveled up! 14 -> 17!]

  In short order, Ada had all the women freed from their bindings, but two of them were unable to walk due to pain from badly healed injuries. A third woman still had recent damage to one ankle but was able to limp, slowly. The two who had been in cages alongside Ada were more or less healthy, but they were all only around level 100 in merchant classes that did little for their physical stats. Ada handed them the cudgels she’d liberated from the two thugs.

  The third man who had seemed to be in charge had a gladius in a scabbard at his left hip. This Ada took for herself, first breaking it down and reforming it into a gauntlet for her left hand and forearm. She broke down all of the remaining chains and collars as well, ending up with a decent layer of dark iron plate armor covering nearly her entire body, but she left her head completely uncovered. It wasn’t as if her head was actually any more or less vulnerable than anywhere else, as the armor was really an extension of her own body, all of which was enhanced by [Blademage Armor].

  Fully geared up now, Ada dragged the three corpses into a corner, advised the women to wait until either she came back, or one of the rangers came to get them. “I promise you that everyone in this building who is not a servant or slave will die tonight,” she told them. “You will be safe, and I will ensure it.” They indicated understanding, and the two who were the least injured said they would keep the door shut until then.

  Ada gave her stats a quick glance and allocated all her free stats, roughly one third going into her speed and two thirds into her dexterity. Her physical stats were languishing behind her magic stats, but she was still technically a mage. Hopefully, that would change when the first two of her classes merged, or at least that was the hope.

  The door into the little dungeon was still open, and Ada hoped that no one would be coming to find the three corpses anytime soon. That no one had shown up while she was working on the chains did suggest that they weren’t expected to make an appearance anytime soon. Ada checked over the door, which had some kind of locking mechanism on the outside, but she manipulated the internals to fuse together in the unlocked position, and then moved out into the next room, pulling the door closed behind her.

  The armored woman smiled to herself. It was time to right some very wrong wrongs.