The Insider System

Chapter 61: The Great Escape

Lake could see that Lucas knew it was a bad idea and it would be best to keep Lake in the guild for a few more years. Which had been his plan from the start but getting Amanda's journals back was one of his life's ambitions and his want for them was much higher than his worry for Lake's safety.

"How close is it?" Lake didn't think he would be able to tell if it wasn't for how high he was right now even the bottom floor of the spire was able to give him a birds eye of the surrounding area. "Does your room have a balcony?" Lake wanted to see if he could see the exact building if he was outside.

Lucas nodded and led Lake outside. Once they were outside Lake could tell he had been right that some of the journals were in the capital; the only thing was the closest was actually in the royal palace. "The closest is in the palace, but there is another in the city in that direction." Lake pointed at a nicer section of buildings that were pretty close to the guild.

"It's probably in the hands of one of the former guild members. My guess is they went their own way after the collapse, and just grabbed anything they could on the way out. It would explain why they only have one." Lake could see a few other ways someone might get one but Lucas seemed fired up, and Lake didn't want to interrupt that just so he could look smart.

With Lucas like this there was a good chance they would be heading out into the city. "I'll have one of the carts readied. We'll drive around until we get close and after we locate it I'll send someone from the Thieves guild to retrieve it." Lake was surprised to hear Lucas say he was going to have the Thieves guild do something for him.

"Why don't we just do it ourselves? The journal belongs to us anyway." Lake needed to actually get out of the cart to escape. "Because we don't specialize in stealth, if we go it will just lead to a fight. It isn't a good look for me to act like a thug, especially when I can send one." Lake thought this was a cool line, and he might steal it one day if he could.

Lake guessed he was just going to need to build more trust with Lucas. This was just going to be the first of many trips he and Lucas would be making to get all of the journals back, so eventually he would be able to get Lucas to get out of the cart. That was really all he needed one time and he would be gone.

Lake already had a plan for the fact that Lucas was much faster than him; he was going to use the core he had ripped out of that assassin to change his face. Lake had yet to test this skill because he hadn't felt he was actually alone since he had unlocked it, and he didn't think showing off the one skill that made him more stealthy was a good idea.

"How are you going to get the one in the palace?" Lake wanted to know if the thieves guild was about to make a killing or not. The amount of man hours it would take to blind search the royal palace for a book was crazy. Lucas seemed to catch on to what Lake was getting at because he said. "I'll take you with me the next time I see the king. With the feast it will happen in the next few days, so be ready."

"The more I can narrow down the location the less work the thief will have to do." Lake bet escaping the palace would be a lot easier considering it was much smaller. If Lucas took his eyes off Lake for even a second he would be gone. Seeing Lucas was about to put the amulet back on Lake had an idea and marked it.

Lucas wore it all the time so it was the same as marking him. Now Lake would be able to see where Lucas was at all the times, including when he was escaping. Lucas didn't seem to notice the mark because he didn't react and just finished putting the amulet under his shirt. After he was done Lake saw Lucas take out the mirror thing he had spoken into the first day he was here.

"I need a cart ready as soon as possible, also ready 10 guards and have them placed in the market district." Once Lucas got done giving orders Lake asked. "Can I have one of those as well?" He didn't understand it, but it seemed really useful. "Sorry, one of a kind. It's something one of the past guild leaders made, Mage guild I mean, and it's been passed down since. It lets me speak directly into peoples' heads. well as long as there's nothing protecting them from it."

"Can you speak to anyone, or are there conditions?" If Lucas could just speak to anyone he wanted this thing was definitely worth stealing. "As long as I've spoken to them in person before it works. The only problem is they can't speak back so I have no way to know if they've received my message or not. It makes you feel like you're screaming into the void."

"Can you use it on me? I want to see what it's like." Lucas shrugged and put it up to his mouth and said. "I've been told it's kind of loud." Lake held his head, Lucas was right it was thunderingly loud. "Maybe you don't need to hold it so close to your mouth." Lake felt bad for whatever servant Lucas had just been speaking to, Lucas had said two whole sentences to them.

Lucas put the mirror down and said. "I've tried, even whispering doesn't help. Let's get downstairs. I need to tell a few people I'm leaving, and they'll get mad if I use this on them." Lake guessed Lucas only used the mirror on people he didn't care about. If Lake had it he would wait till someone was going to bed, and scare the shit out of them.

He would do that to everyone he knew, and when they got mad he would know it was an awesome prank. Getting back in Lucas's office, Lake saw him pick up the journal and place it back on the shelf. After he was done they got on the elevator, and rode it down to the ground floor.

"Stand here for a second. I'll be right back." Lucas had Lake step off the elevator and rode it back up. Lake wondered where Lucas was going that he didn't want to bring him then remembered he didn't have to guess. Lake used the mark he had placed on the amulet to watch Lucas ride all the way up to what seemed to be Lucas's office.

Lake had no idea why Lucas would do this since they had just been in his office but then Lake saw the mark disappear from where it had been and reappear much higher up. Lake realized Lucas had just gone all the way up to the top spire in less than a second and wondered if he had teleported or if he was actually that fast all on his own.

If Lucas could actually move that fast, Lake needed more of a plan than just run away. Thinking about it, Lake realized the run away plan was fine, he just needed to be faster than Lucas. With his burst skill there was a good chance he could outrun Lucas when his Agility reached 101. When Lucas had said his stats were less impressive than Lake would expect that probably meant Lucas had the same cap Lake did 200.

Lucas was older so there was a good chance he had maxed a few stats, and from what Lake had just seen Agility could be one of them. 100 was the max for a normal human so hitting 200 in a stat must have some odd effects like the ability to move fast enough to make it seem like you teleported. Lake pulled up his stats to see what his Agility was.

Race: Human Lv.6 ( 2/10 )

Job: Thief Lv.10 ( 12/5120 )

Special: The Insider Lv.0 ( 3/5 )

Stats

Health 60

Stamina 60

Mana 60

Strength 15

Endurance 15

Agility 24

Dexterity 47

Perception 83

Intelligence 114

Charisma 11

Free stat points: 17

Lake considered using his free points to increase it but stopped himself because it still wasn't enough to matter. What he really needed to do was find a job that gave a lot of agility points naturally and max it out in the dungeon. Which should be easy enough to do in the library later they had plenty of books about job combinations, and synergies. While that wasn't what Lake needed it still would still have the info he wanted.

Lake saw Lucas reappear in his office and get back on the elevator a few minutes later the doors opened and Lucas said. "You ready?" Lake nodded, he wanted to get back before it was too late and he was tired, so he could spend some time in the library. Lake knew the guilds carts were fast so this should be quick.