The effects of this criticism were as follows:
The targeted creatures will suffer from transfiguration into a baboon-like creature. Granted, due to the wide scope of the skill's effects and the limited Ingenuity William had on hand, he chose to conserve it for only a partial transfiguration.
Perhaps it was posture, or maybe body language, but all the shadow soldiers affected by the skill suddenly started acting more...monkeyish? I don't know if that's even a word, to be honest.
With this status effect in place, William could feel his Ingenuity levels drop about a third. He hurriedly ran towards his cohort and to the place they were headed, that being, the caravan of kidnapped people.
'Not good...If she realizes people are coming, she'll hold them hostage. I need to stop them from reaching it and warn them!' William realized while running.
He used his healing coat to act as a chariot once more, speeding towards the caravan area at the speed of a modern train.
The basic layout of the field was essentially a big circular open area of grass surrounded by a deep, dark forest with trees that seemed to reach the clouds. The caravan of people was parked right at the entrance to the woods, or at least, that's where it used to be. After the battle began, it seemed that it had mysteriously vanished from that point, meaning they likely saw the opportunity to run away.
Another thing, William surprisingly hadn't been targeted by any shadow soldiers along the way there, almost as if they had forgotten he was there!
'Strange, something like this never forbodes anything good...'
Although he felt that this was rather ominous, he kept moving forward, as he felt that the strings leading to his team were getting closer and closer to him.
However, once he got close to the strings, around a hundred meters of distance, he sensed that the strings had ceased movement.
Because of this, he sped forward and reached the area almost immediately after the string's stasis. And to his horror, he found that the members of his squadron were all...asleep?
'Wait...'
Suddenly, William felt an intense bout of drowsiness come over him, one so strong that if he were in bed, late at night, he might've fallen asleep immediately. Given that William would be completely defenseless if he fell asleep, he fought with everything he had to stay awake.
'I know I said those really bad*ss sounding phrases earlier...but I'll have to say that I clearly haven't conquered my desires yet...Maybe...Someone like the King would be of use here...'
Then, a lightbulb flashed above William's head...metaphorically, of course.
A sadistic female voice echoed throughout the woods.
"Oh my~ The woods don't seem to be a great place for you, do they?"
Given that she chose not reveal herself to William right away, he suspected something was up. He still had to deal with the drowsiness as well, putting him in a rather uncomfortable position.
In the distance, the sound of something giant tumbling over also resounded through the nearby area, a sign that Xiao Wei had fallen as well. Though this was within William's expectations. As with those two there, the chances of loss would be considerably smaller.
He walked deeper into the woods, choosing to leave his comrades behind and face the cause of the drowsiness head-on.
With each blink, he nearly fell into the land of dreams once more. He didn't know how he was resisting the effects of the sleep, nor what he was fighting for; he just fought to survive.
Of course, walking into enemy territory by himself was an unwise decision, but he had never been the wisest of people.
With his trident in hand, he kept walking in a straight line. Conveniently, the trail left behind by the caravan trying to escape was left behind, so he just followed it.
He didn't make it far before three shadowy figures emerged from the distance. They were clad in dark cloaks, black armor, and masks, and wielded blacksteel weaponry.
William sent several orbs of Bane towards them, initiating the battle.
The soldiers easily dodged the orbs as they went towards them. William couldn't see their faces, but he could tell they were experts, not overly confident or cocky, keeping a safe distance away in specific formations to ensure their victory in the long term. They moved in sync, as if a single person operated them.
Instantly afterwards, the soldiers started utilizing their core abilities, or should I say, ability?
William felt his power being...drained, and unbelievably fast at that, his Ingenuity, Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Magical Power felt like they were being siphoned in real time, at three times the speed nonetheless.
'Three duplicate abilities? Come on, this is cheating! I need to get the hell out of here!'
[Author's Note has been activated.]
[Reader of Absorption]
[Reader of Absorption]
[Reader of Absorption]
It seemed these three could absorb a target's power, and the absorption stacked, giving them a disgustingly effective strategy. Coupled with their strategic wit and combat skill, this was the power of the Trinity division under the Lord of Shadows' command. When all three of them worked together, it was possible to even defeat a Scholar-ranked verifier.
'Seriously? Then why the f*** did I do this to myself! F**********!'
And yes, William did all of this in the span of less than a second, such is the power of the human brain(with superpowers).
With his prospects looking dark, he had to focus up.
[Combined Skill: Descriptive Writing has been activated.]
[200 seconds, begin.]
As time slowed to a halt, William heaved a sigh of relief, before the illusory ink pen materialized in his hand, and he began to write. Because of the drowsiness, he had to take a few short pauses in between, trying to keep himself conscious while writing.
[The three Readers of Absorption will begin to experience visual and auditory hallucinations, seeing several versions of William scattered throughout the area, and they will even partially believe that one of their own is William. The designated target for the "mole" will be different from each Reader's perspective.]
[Writing has concluded.]
In an instant, William seemed to vanish in the eyes of the three soldiers, instead appearing as several mirages around them, and even replacing one of them from every one of their perspectives, they managed to deduce it was some type of illusionment ability, though, prompting them to start applying their ability to the surroundings, absorbing the energy of the surrounding area. However, William managed to scramble past the three in time, successfully evading them through the mirages.
Now, he had to get to the caravan as fast as possible, before the three broke out of the illusion and started chasing after him once more. It was a race against time.
In this world, playing fair brings ruin; you have to use the rules and regulations presented to you to solve the challenges life gives you.
Making it deeper into the forest, William caught a glimpse of the caravan in the distance, which spiked his alertness. The effects of the drowsiness were as heavy as ever, and he could hardly think things through. But one thing he was aware of was that the emerald-haired witch was still out there, and that was all he could concentrate on to keep him awake.
The ingenuity knife he had conjured earlier had long been dissipated, so he had to create a new one to continue the blood-letting process, his coat kept him alive despite the blood loss thankfully.
He conjured a layer of moonlight to hide himself from outside view under the bright, silvery, full moon. Getting extremely close to the caravan, he once more heard the voice of the emerald witch.
"Where are you~, come closer, I dare you to~"
Gritting his teeth, he continued running. Once he finally reached it, he stealthily observed it from outside.
It looked dead, or at least sounded like it. In fact, it sounded like everyone was sound asleep.....
'...'
William cautiously entered the caravan, limping his way through the constant exhaustion brought by the drowsiness. His body felt on the verge of shutting down, and for some reason, his coat wasn't healing this ailment.
Inside the caravan, he found the bodies of several people, mainly female, unconscious, but alive. He let out a silent sigh of relief; as long as he stayed with the people, she wouldn't be able to hold them hostage. Or at least, that's what he hoped.
The sound of a crow cawing emanated throughout the caravan, like a bad omen.
The drowsiness was really starting to seep in, and the sight of the many mattresses being occupied by the unconscious people didn't help at all. He could feel himself drifting away...
'So...tired...'
As he stumbled into the next room groggily, his eyelids were barely open, allowing him to catch a single image of the room before he drifted off to sleep.
In that single image, there was a very familiar-looking emerald-haired woman with jade-coloured eyes rolling a coin down her knuckles while chuckling at the appearance of the sleepy man. She was currently sitting on the bed, next to a young maiden with black hair and purple highlights. That maiden being Lian. The bed and room she was designated in were far more extravagant than the other people's. Like maybe someone higher up had asked for her to be taken care of...extra carefully.
William suddenly felt more lucid than ever.