Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 63: Chapter 59: Jail Break

Read chapter 63 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 59: Jail Break Chapter 59: Jail Break Alex crouched low at the lip of a rocky outcrop overlooking a wide chamber lit by flickering crystal sconces and glowing moss. A distant clatter of pickaxes echoed from below where he could see them, his unit. All of them were shackled and weary. They were forced to work in silence under the harsh stares of kobold guards. Most were lightly armored, wielding crude weapons, and they occasionally barked guttural commands. But one... Alex felt the pressure before he saw him. The kobold wore armor of bone and obsidian, and his very presence made Alex's spine tingle. Adept Tier. No chance in a fair fight, Alex thought. The particular kobold wasn’t the Chief, but another warrior. Sylvaris had told him that the Kobolds would have a few of them. This just confirmed that unsettling fact for him, a tough pill to swallow. This threw a fucked up wrench in the carefully built machine that was his rescue plan. He knew that trying to free them from the prison pit chamber would be too dangerous. It was far too deep into the heart of the tunnel system for so many humans to make it out without being spotted too early, no matter the distraction he came up with. Here in the outskirts, where the mining took place, was a far better point of extraction. He just didn’t think that the Kobolds would see the humans as valuable enough to have one of their Adept Tier warriors guarding them. They weren’t there when they kept everyone in the pit, after all. “ Perhaps that’s the point. Here it is easier to make an escape, thus the increased security.” He hated that Obby was right. He silently cursed his bad luck but ultimately he had to accept the situation and adapt. Adaptation was what Sylvaris had taught him, he’d have to put his training into proper practice. He dropped back into the shadows, his mind racing. "I can’t fight that one head-on," he whispered even as he worked on a change to his plan. Obby, strangely silent, mentally nodded once in agreement. "We need chaos. Something distracting enough to get them out, but not kill anyone. At the same time, it needs to be serious enough to have the Adept warrior to see the prisoners as a lower priority and leave with the rest." “ I have an idea, but I don’t know if you will like it.” “Fuck… okay fine what’s your idea?” He asked, but he knew he would regret it even as the words left his mouth. Obby told him. Sure enough, he regretted asking. *** He placed three crystal glyph-bombs in branching tunnels, rigged to explode in noise and light. They powerful enough that they would blind and confuse, but were nothing lethal. After learning so much about the Kobolds and the way they lived, he refused to kill if he didn’t have to. But the explosions would certainly sound lethal, and hopefully shake the tunnels enough to make the Kobolds feel in danger. Like a wraith, he moved from shadow to shadow, behind rocks and crates, placing the crystals as he moved about the complex. It was the last few crystals he was worried about, which made him hesitate, second guessing his plan. “ This is the only way to make sure the warrior leaves your friends long enough for us to free them.” Obby once again reiterated the harsh truth. Alex sighed and pulled out a few more aether crystals he had prepared and set them in place. Then, he stepped back into the shadows, and was gone. It wasn’t hard for him to return to the mining area, sitting again on a ledge of rock, hidden well away from the light of the luminescent moss on the walls, and the lanterns in the hands of the various lizards below. “How much longer until they activate?” “If you did it right? Only two minutes until we get our personal independence day celebration.” Obby sounded excited, like he was looking forward to this. Admittedly, Alex was as well. He was anxious to find out if all the work he had done would pay off. Crafting all those [Flare] crystals was the first part. He also spent hours creating timed activation glyphs an