Escape the castle

A flicker of determination lights up in Tenkin's eyes as he surveys their surroundings. His gaze lands on the various components scattered around the cell—chunks of sulfur from the damp walls, scraps of charcoal from the meager rations they had been given, and the residue of oil lamps that flickered weakly in the darkness.

It had taken him quite a lot of time and energy to gather up the charcoal, he had to use the little nano points he had left to create just enough flames to burn up the wooden plates the guards had given them to use and eat.

The plan had already been formed in Tenkin's mind. All that was left was to make sure the others understood and as such he called them in to explain one more time;

"Listen," he whispers urgently, drawing his companions closer. "We have everything we need right here to create a distraction, a way out of this place."

Allison looks at him, her eyes widening with a mixture of hope and apprehension. Sedrick and Melina exchange skeptical glances but say nothing, willing to entertain any possibility of escape.

Working swiftly and quietly, Tenkin instructs them on how to combine the elements to fashion a makeshift explosive. With deft fingers and focused minds, they assemble the volatile mixture, their movements synchronized in a desperate dance of defiance against their captors.

As the guards approach to check on the prisoners, Tenkin nods to his companions. With a deep breath, he ignites the fuse, a spark of defiance in the midst of despair.

The cell erupts in a cacophony of noise and blinding light as the makeshift explosive detonates, sending shrapnel flying and rock dust swirling in the air. Amidst the chaos, Tenkin leads the charge, seizing the opportunity to overpower the stunned guards and make a break for freedom.

Through smoke and rubble, they emerge into the corridor, hearts pounding with adrenaline.

"Run!!" Tenkin's voice echoed, and instinctively, even though tht hadn't planned it they all began to run, following right behind Tenkin.

Just then, the system decided to bring in more bad news for the crew.

-You have escaped the dungeons, and now the part that lays ahead is one with powerful and treacherous enemies, would you be able to escape the castle unscathed?

Looking at the system notification, they all had stunned faces, this was the first time seeing the system speak in parables rather than heading off straight to the point.

Judging from what they'd read though, Tenkin was quick to understand, the system would never use words such as 'powerful' to describe just any normal being.

Drawing the lines it was clear that what it was trying to mention was about the official NPC'S and he knew they'd have to avoid those things at all cost.

"Stick close to me, I have an idea of how the castle structure is, I've been here before!" Tenkin made sure his voice was loud enough for the others to hear.

He had been to the castle before, although that was during the test program, and having seen quite much of the difference between the two, he could only pray that they were the same as he could remember.

Sequentially, lots of thoughts were running into his mind, 'I can leave the other two, and make a run for it, but if I decide to carry Grenia along she would definitely slow me down greatly' his thoughts were running wild.

He had to ensure his survival and ensure the survival of his teammate as well, although they hadn't stayed together for quite long, he felt it would be wrong of him to just let her off like that.

Tenkin ran his eyes across the slanted part of the passage, from there he could see two guards heading towards their direction.

"The explosion was little, but it was sure to bring up some attention, you guys should prepare to fight off any NPC that we cross paths with."

Tenkin's orders were heard loud and clear, and although Sedrick was a bit adamant to listen to his orders, he just knew he had to trust the brainy bastard.

'I'll just make him pay, after all this is over' he thought to himself, at least for the main time he had to make use of the latter's good brains.

With the guards heading their way, Tenkin quickly withdrew his pseudostaff from the second space. As usual the bright light enshrouded his hands and the others braced themselves as well.

"Hey! Where are you all heading off to? How did you get in here"

In an instant thy had crossed paths with the guards, and knowing they had no time to spare, they quickly laid waste to them, without even answering any questions.

"At least those one's were easy to get by" Allison said, apparently happy that they had managed to deal with the guards unscathed.

"Let's just hope we don't meet any more troubles on our way" Tenkin said, and almost as fast as he said the words, a figure suddenly arrived from the shadows.

"I doubt you'll be going any further than this" The voice was calm and collected, so much so that it became scary as well.

"And just when I decided to stay it" Tenkin cursed, annoyingly, his travel in the game had become quite the troubling one.

It was from one problem to the next, like a quick transition, was he cursed this time around, "maybe they don't just want me to get first this time? I'll just have to prove them wrong again" He said, a smug look on his face.

With an instant screech they all stopped on their tracks as the feminine figure stood before them, her imposing aura, quickly sending a feeling of anxiety and fear towards the group.

Suddenly the system pinged further with another yet, another notification.

-You have fallen into The memory of the escapades, will destiny take the same line or take a different turn

"Now, there's something definitely wrong with the system in the game" Allison was the first to comment and the others definitely shared the same thoughts.

But whatever the system had just decided to bring up, it wasn't something that would save them from their current predicament. The tension in the air rising, cold sweat dripping down their faces as they stared silently at the figure before their eyes, all readied for the next battle.