Broken Tower Saga: The First Swordsman

Chapter 195: Before the Operation (1)

          "Ready?" Anton said with the omega cube on his arm, like a hologram of a stopwatch hovering above it. The time of the operation was almost neared and Wrik, who was with the most crucial test, still had not finished his training.

        Wrik nodded in his position. His legs were on the mark as the mana point in his body swirling and mostly on the lower body. His eyes were on the track, waiting for Anton to start.

        "Here we go then," Anton said and enabled the recording device for speed measurement. "3. .. 2 . .. 1"

        Just the moment he said it, Wrik released the maha mana momentum he was preparing at once. He dashed at his top speed the very moment and with that momentum in place, it helped him to move a little less than the 100-metre mark, but after that, it was all on his legs and mana manipulation.

        Mana was raging in his lower body as sweats were forming all over his body. In that short instant, the sweat drops evaporated with the wastage of mana that was released from his body.

        Dust drifted wherever his legs went in the underground training hall, and after about a few more seconds, he finally stopped. Now the sweat formed properly in his training vest and with the dishevelled hair sweat all over the face, he did not look any better than a homeless bam.

        He dropped to the ground on his knees without caring about anything. Heavy gasps of breath escaped from his mouth and nostrils like madness. In those few seconds, he had not breathed properly.

        "22.34 seconds," Anton announced, coming near him. He held out a bottle of energy drinks and continued, "With the average speed of 87.2 km/h, and the initial speed with the momentum was 127.22 km/h, though that was barely for a couple of seconds."

        Wrik said nothing, took the drink first and gulped down everything. The sprint that he made now was without the help of any artifact or medicines, and it was almost double the time he had started.

        "With the artifacts, you might possibly have made it," Anton added.

        "Let's try in the non-linear track now," Wrik said and got ready again.   

        It was all for the preparation of the theft. He needed a speed of 121km/h for a dozen or more seconds, yet after training for about a year, he still fell short on the straight track. Not to mention the main place he has to make the sprint will be a non-linear track where he could not keep his top speed all the time. Gaining that speed in the non-linear track was almost a dream, even with the artifact and drugs in place. At this rate, he really has to use the free attribute points on the agility. 

        With his calculation, he might fall short for about 15 to 20 km/h. he moved towards the bendy track made out of the earth. He did not know where Ryat got his data from, but the track before him was said to be almost identical to the place he had to move. It was prepared months ago even before this guy had met Wrikso he could only believe that bald guy was planning this for more than a while.

        There were five ninety-degree turn in the track, with a dozen more curly turns that moved from 30 degrees to 70 degrees, but the most dangerous one was the u-turn at the end. It might cut off his momentum by a lot if he could not capitalise on the jump at the right moment.

        Wrik took the position again, still with the ordinary equipment. He asked for Anton to make the call as he raged the mana inside his lower body. In the process, almost half of his mana was wasted, but fortunately, his mana had raised to the level he could make a few dashes like these without worrying about the wastage of mana.

        Anton called again, and he rushed again with the same momentum. He flew for the first second and then the 90-degree turn arrived. His heart was beating like 300 bits in a minute and he was sucking in a deep breath with his nostrils.

        With narrowed eyes, he leapt to the sides as his leg kicked right when he was at the turn. His speed rose again for a little while as he moved like that in the turn. The other smaller turns were not a problem, it only decreased his speed, but what he was worried about was the last turn.

        Any wrong step there will gutter the plan within those bits of seconds. He unconsciously decreased his app and leapt at the stone wall. Just like before, he kicked the wall, but it did not have the same elevation as his speed was much slower.

        "58.4 Km/h," Anton announced with a little frown. It was a little less than his best score and that showed how tricky the non-linear track was.

        This speed was not even half of the needed speed, though he was sure Wrik could raise it by 10 to 20% with the help from [Eye of Insights] and if the last leap was perfect, it would be a lot more bonus. 

        Wrik could not help but shake his head. He rose up and was about to try again when he saw the familiar bald head. Ryat entered the underground training hall and behind him was another short figure, Byul.

        "Four days left," the bald man said. "I think you just might have made it."

        Wrik refrained from making any comment. With his calculation, even with Anton's swift boot that would give a 20% overall increase and another 2 points in agility, it was not enough. With the help of that and another good artifact, he might really reach 90 km/h considering the fact that he had not used [Eye of Insights] till now.

        "Let's measure another one with the artifacts on," Ryat said and brought about a black bracelet from his pouch. "Here, try this on with the swift boots."

        Wrik took the bracelet and saw nothing surprising about it. It almost looked like an ordinary ornament other than the black colour and top of the world design. But he knew Ryat was not the person to joke around with these kinds of serious business. With a thought, he ran his inspection ability on it, yet another surprising thing happened. All weird omega codes appear in his vision that he could not make a sense of.

        [The xxx xxx xxx is encrypted. You can not see the details of the item.]

        A deep frown appeared on his brows. This was not the first time he saw this message. He had seen it a couple of days ago as well when he tried to inspect the stone doll Sophia gave him. Both items looked somewhat auspicious and ancient. He looked at Ryat for an answer, at least a hint of what this was.

        But the shady merchant was in no mood to elaborate anything other than how to use it. "Drip it with a couple drops of your blood to bind it," he said. "And don't ask about anything about the item, I'm bound to speak not a word about it."

        "Very well," Wrik said and cut his finger. Just the moment he dropped the blood into the dark bracelet, it started to vibrate and send some message to his head, but suddenly a piercing came along with him. He could not even put defence against it as he passed out on the ground.

        "Wrik," Anton and Byul shouted together and went to him for help.

        "Don't worry, he is good," Ryat said as if he was expecting everything. "The artifact was just to powerful for someone on his level to handle."

        "What?" Anton asked, though he got no answer. But as Wrik had told Wrik was well, he might wake up in a few more minutes.

        "What was that?" Wrik asked, waking up in a couple of minutes. For a moment, he thought he was overpowered and out of control. Yet here he was, now entirely fine.

        Ryat told what's the deal with the artifact that it was too powerful for him to handle.

        "So, how can this help me?" Wrik asked.

        "Just draw in mana and revolve it, and you will know," Ryat said with a smile.

        Wrik did, and his eyes widened the very moment. His inside raged out the very moment he tried and he could tell the speed at which his mana revolving was twice or more. Even the initial process was so short that he did not even notice. If it was without the bracelet, he might need just a couple of seconds for the initial start, yet now it is as if automatically.

        "This item could raise your mana revolution by at least 200%, with an addition of 4 points in mana," Ryat announced. "And there were many other usages as well, though the mana revolution is the only thing you could use and need in this situation."

        Wrik's, and the others' eyes almost popped out hearing that. They were even considering if the thing they were to steal was as precious as this bracelet.

        "I know what you are thinking, but don't worry, the item might as well be as precious as this item," Ryat said. "Just a reminder, don't get addicted to the bracelet. It is only a borrowed item. I have to return it to the original owner after the gig."

        _______________________

You guys could probably answer who the original owner of the item is.