Night fell soon enough, and just like we planned, no one stood guard outside the outpost walls. Since there were only thirty cadets besides me and Tommy, it was easy to hide in the huts and pretend we were asleep.
"I never asked, but why were you wearing a blindfold? There are a lot of ways to train your senses, and this place isn't really good for that," I asked out of curiosity. It wasn't completely dark yet, which meant they wouldn't attack right away. With two people in each tent, we looked like weak prey.
"I was just curious what it's like to be blind. Our training is usually way more intense, so this feels easy in comparison," Tom said. "But why didn't you use any support spells in our fight? I thought you were a support-type wizard. But then you used weapons… and your body's strong, probably because of your ability."
"I do know a lot of spells. But since we were fighting up close, I didn't get the Time," I said with sarcasm.
"... That's the worst lie you could've told… or was that sarcasm?" Tom asked, confused.
"Who knows?" I replied with a smile as footsteps echoed in my ears.
"They're here," I said quietly, activating my ability.
The plan was simple—everyone else just had to hold off the orcs while I slipped behind them to capture the shamans.
Judging by their mana, I guessed there were three shamans.
I could've taken out the orcs by myself using speed, but the cadets were only helping for the points. If I took all the kills, I'd lose their trust.
All of a sudden, a shockwave hit the ground beneath us. I rushed outside and saw the orcs weren't in the cavern anymore—they had gathered outside in large numbers. Torches lit up the area as they swung heavy weapons at the mountain's base, trying to bring it down.
They weren't charging at us. They were trying to bring down the whole mountain to crush us all at once.
"Curses…" I sighed in my heart.
The orcs were smarter than I thought. I didn't want to jump into the fight, but now I had no choice.
Timeless have an aura that protects them—and anything they choose—from our abilities. But unlike our speed, which doesn't use up stamina, covering others with our aura drains it fast.
Saving all the cadets would wear me out. And whoever planned this knew I wouldn't leave anyone behind… I was wrong. This wasn't just one prophecy—it was a multi-layer prophecy.
That kind of prophecy happens when two or more Stellar Path wizards or witches team up to see a possible future together.
Should I call for backup? Or did they see that coming too?
My mind raced as I tried to find a way out of the situation.
"Anything you do now will lead to the same end. No matter what, you can't save them all," Ryuk said sharply, staring at me. "Save your strength and get out… or has your body frozen up too much to do even that?"
"No."
"Then get going—" Ryuk started, but I cut him off.
"You're wrong about this one. Maybe they saw every possible future… but they won't be able to change a thing," I said.
"And why not?" Ryuk asked with an amused tone.
"Because Time bends to my will. I'm the Guardian of Time. And I won't let some orc mess with the fate of others," I replied. My eyes glowed green as the answer came to me without thinking.
I broke down all the huts and gathered the wood in one spot, building a half-sphere out of the planks. I used animal bones like screws to hold it together, and wrapped it with tent leather to help protect it from fire and blood.
Then I placed all the cadets inside, and sealed the top.
"Vaboosh!" I shouted, proud of what I made.
"Va-what?" Ryuk blinked, trying to figure out what I meant.
Right then, Moriarty took over. He covered the sphere in our aura and began to push.
The wooden ball rolled forward, crushing every orc in the way. Blood flew everywhere as Moriarty steered it around the torches to stop it from catching fire.
When we got far enough, the cavern collapsed. A huge rockslide followed, crushing everyone nearby.
Screams filled the air, but we didn't stop to help. The shamans had survived by casting shield spells just before it happened.
Moriarty turned back to the sphere and punched it open, letting out the cadets who were close to passing out inside.
They were confused and scared. Some of them tried to attack me, thinking I had tried to kill them. It was a fair guess. I didn't blame them.
But Moriarty didn't care. He knocked them all out, holding back the urge to really hurt them after seeing how they acted.
"You're welcome," Moriarty said as he looked away.
"What happened?" Tom asked getting up from the ground while pushing aside the people who were on top of him.
"Stellar Path wizards, the plan failed because of them, we will have to rethreat for now. I was able to get us far enough but they might follow us by tracking down the trail of blood I left behind," Moriarty explained.
Tom looked behind me for a moment and understood what I meant.
"Those of you who are awake, carry the ones who are knocked out, you can take some of their points after they wake up. We will have to move now," I said in a commanding tone as the cadets woke up from their frightened state when they heard the word 'points'.
Greedy little idiots. Moriarty thought with a smile on his face.