Leveling up the World

Chapter 992: The Break In

“Have you been helping me?” Dallion asked from the realm of the plane seat.

Sadly, there was no answer. He had slept twice in the realm so far in the hope that he might see Euryale, and each time nothing had happened. He’d had dreams—the usual nonsensical chaos that one got after days of extreme tension. Some moments of it could even be described as amusing, yet there was no Euryale.

“Thanks for the carving skill,” he continued. “Could really use the zoology one as well. From what Jeremy dug out, there are guards with dogs at the facility.”

Still nothing.

“I really miss you, Eury. I’ve no idea how much time has passed there, but it won’t be long now. I know I’ve said this before, but this time there’s a real chance.” He paused. “I know Jeremy might try to stop me. Knowing him, I won’t be surprised if he sells me off to the watchers. If he helps me reach you, the danger’s worth it.”

After spending a few more minutes in the realm, Dallion returned to the real world.

“Drifting again?” Jeremy asked. Conveniently, he was the only other person on the jet.

In addition to the many qualities the magazines and gossip sites portrayed, he was also one of a select group of celebrities that had a pilot’s license. The difference was that he didn’t fly it from the cockpit. Instead, he had modified the inside of the jet to achieve the same with a multitude of magic threads. Having them required that the jet produce a bit more energy, making it inefficient, some would say, even wasteful, but it was a small price to pay for someone who was rich.

“You’ll need to get in better shape to get inside.”

“No, you just need to be in form. And you aren’t.”

One could argue whether that was the case. Then again, Dallion had spoken with the guardians of the plane and each of Jeremy’s shoes, convincing them to act up if the former emperor tried to do anything threatening.

The Star’s medical facility was in the middle of nowhere, relatively speaking—close enough to a few towns to be reached by car, yet far enough to not be noticed. No one wanted to be near such a facility and even less what took place there.

Jeremy landed the plane near Glasgow, after which he was instantly swept away by his usual group of gossip magazine journalists, local agents, and fashion brands in search of advertising. The degree to which the man was treated as a celebrity was outright astonishing, especially since he still remained a relative unknown outside the world of modeling. There could be no doubt that music skills had a huge benefit, making him famous or incognito, depending on what he wanted.

While all the attention was drawn to him, Dallion sneaked away, leaving on foot. The first part of his travel was walking, in order to leave the bounds of the city. Only then—after getting used to left side driving—did he proceed to hitchhike a ride. Thanks to his level of music, it was elementary to get people to pick him up. If anything, it was a lot more difficult to find a car that would be suitable. Dallon didn’t want to get families in trouble, he also rejected the help of a few senior citizens. On the seventh try, he found the perfect person.

“Hey there,” a pale thin man said in a thick accent. He looked like a stereotypical English professor, with short dirty blond hair, glasses, and a business suit that one would hardly see out of TV dramas. “Where to?”

“Roseta Medical Facility,” Dallion said. “Know where it is?”

“Aye,” the other nodded. “Can only take you part way. It—”

“Would be nice if you can take me up to it,” Dallion interrupted using his music skills. “I’d appreciate it a lot.”

“Sure, sure.” The man smiled as if that had been his intention all along. “Hop in.”

Feeling slightly weird that he had to go where the driver’s seat was supposed to be, Dallion did so.

“Tourist?” the man asked after a while.

“Visiting someone.”

“Ah.” The way the man reacted suggested that he knew enough about the facility to know it wasn’t a place anyone wanted to be. “Should be there in an hour,” he said. “Nasty place. There were protests to get it closed years ago, but nothing happened.”

Protests? It was unusual for the watchers to allow that. Unless the protests had been a show of force from the void network. That would explain how they suddenly stopped. For all intents and purposes, this whole thing felt like an awakened cold war.

The closer they got to the location, the more desolated the surroundings got. Nothing but the empty road, some occasional vegetation and wide-open spaces as far as the eye could see. Jeremy hadn’t been kidding when he said that approaching it would be tricky. Dallion had a plan, of course, and enough batteries to execute it. The main issue was time. Based on the region, he and Jeremy had calculated that it would take a chopper seventeen minutes to reach the facility once Dallion was discovered. That meant that Dallion had to be in and out in ten, or preferably five.

“Stop here,” he said once the building became visible in the distance.

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The man did so without hesitation.

“I won’t take long.” Dallion opened the car door. “Just hang here for a bit.”

The sky was gray, covered in thick clouds, as UK weather was supposed to be. Cracking his fingers, Dallion went on a sprint towards the building.

A ten-foot fence surrounded the facility with signs warning that entry is strictly prohibited. Dallion ignored them, using his athletics and acrobatic skills to leap over. Now there was no turning back.

According to the satellite images, the grounds were guarded at all times by cameras and men with dogs. The cameras were easily disabled with a bit of magic ingenuity. The physical guards were going to be a slight problem, though; more specifically, the dogs. If Dallion had regained his zoology skill, he’d be able to use music skills as on any person. Now, there was no guarantee.

There always was the option to fight his way in, but that ran the risk of the facility entering lockdown. Should that happen, it was going to take Dallion more than seventeen minutes to break through the walls and find the Star.

“Oi!” On cue, a pair of guards ran out of a small auxiliary building separated from the facility.

Initially, Dallion was relieved—none of them had dogs. Unfortunately, that quickly changed as a second pair emerged. Not only did that pair have dogs, but they had already unleashed them.

Crap, Dallion thought, and quickly drew electricity from the batteries in his pockets.

His fingers moved through the air, casting two spells simultaneously. The first one jammed any and all airborne communications. The second created an illusion, transforming Dallion’s appearance into that of the facility’s latest known patient.

Being isolated from the internet, probably due to awakened security concerns, the facility relied on local copies. Thanks to the marvel of bureaucracy, monthly reports were provided to the respective institutions, and those were a lot more accessible than one might think. Jeremy had managed to get a list of most patient files, and as everyone knew, the only way to get into a heavily guarded facility was to make people think you’re trying to get out.

As Dallion was completing his illusion, one of the dogs leaped forward with the attempt to bite his arm. Avoiding it would have been easy, yet being bitten was going to offer a much greater level of believability. After going through the options in his head, Dallion moved his free hand in front, having the canine sink its teeth in it instead.

The pain was surprisingly mild. In all honesty, Dallion hardly felt it at all. The taser that hit him, though, was an entirely different matter.

A wave of magic poured into Dallion, making him feel a lot closer to the power levels he had in the other world. His body, sadly, wasn’t used to dealing with the load. For a split second, Dallion felt as if all his nerves had been scraped, making him almost lose consciousness. The irony was that in that very moment; he had the ability to cast a spell that would easily deal with all the guards and their dogs. Sadly, that went against his plan.

Maybe I should change it? Dallion thought.

He’d never thought of using tasers as mini-Moonstones, but clearly it worked. If a guard had one, the others had as well, which meant that—

I’ll get him! Dallion heard a voice say. The interesting part was that the voice didn’t come from a human, but the second canine that was rushing at him.

Had he just got zoology? Acquiring the skill after being bitten and tased seemed a bit too convenient, though considering that no one would let themselves do that voluntarily, maybe there was something to that. After all, both basic elements of skill learning were present: pain and magic.

“I wasn’t trying to escape!” Dallion said, using his music skill to its full ability. “I just wanted to get some air.”

“Mike?” one of the guards asked. “How did you get out here?”

That was it. Phase one was all but complete. A member of the group had already been affected. His conviction made the others a lot more receptive to the notion. Even the dogs were convinced they had stopped a potential escape.

“Down!” another guard shouted, ordering the first dog to let go of Dallion’s arm. “You’re in trouble now.”

Two pairs of hands grabbed on to Dallion, dragging him right to the entrance. One of the guards kept on trying to get in touch with anyone on his walkie-talkie. Utterly unable to do so, he then rushed in front of the others and punched in a code on the keypad next to the main entrance. An audible click followed.

“We got him,” he shouted inside. “He might need sedating.”

“What? What?” An orderly rushed to the entrance, confused what’s going on. “You caught who?”

“I didn’t mean to escape, doc!” Dallion shouted. “I just wanted to see the sky.”

“Oh.” The orderly looked at him. “You again. I warned you what would happen. Hold him,” he told the guards.

Dallion did his best to create the impression he was struggling, but in effect, he was capable of breaking free at any moment. The next part of his plan required him to go through this process.

As the orderly approached, tapping a syringe, Dallion was about to use his music skills to leave everyone with the impression that he had already received the shot. Before he could manage, one of the guards pushed him firmly against the wall. The action wasn’t as strong as it was surprising. More importantly, his face being slammed against the hard surface made him lose the moment.

Fearing that Dallion might break free, the orderly took advantage of the situation, injecting the shot in his arm.

Lux! Dallion shouted mentally.

He’d always had this as a safeguard, but in all honesty preferred not to use it. Sedatives had the same effect as poison and there was no telling whether the firebird was capable of getting rid of all of it. If he fell asleep now, it was all over.

“Hold him for a bit,” the orderly said. “Calm down, Michael. It’ll only take a few seconds.”

I really want to kick your ass, Dallion thought. The fingers of his left hand moved about, forming a two circle heal spell on his palm.

One by one, the seconds dragged on. At every moment, Dallion feared he’d doze off, only to wake up hours later. Thankfully, the moment never came. The mild fatigue that swept through him was gone within seconds.

Thanks, Lux. I dodged a bullet there.

“I can take it from here,” the orderly said.

“Are you sure? He’s quite strong.”

“It’s fine,” Dallion whispered, using his music skill again. “I just want to go back to my room.”

“See? He can barely walk.”

The guards let go of Dallion, letting him lean onto the orderly. A few more words were exchanged, after which all guards were back outside. Meanwhile, the orderly assisted Dallion through the empty white corridors.

“Take me to Margaret’s room,” Dallion whispered. “Doctor’s orders.”