The five people that had pursued him were gathered below. Four of the figures wore dark, loose-fitting clothing that covered their entire bodies, exposing only their heads and necks. Arcane symbols stitched into the fabric of their clothing glowed slightly to his Magic Detection skill. The protective runes would negate most magical attacks.
The four appeared to be male, but it was impossible to tell for sure given their loose-fitting garb. Not that gender, or even physical stature, mattered. They were all loaded up with card skills that made them many times more powerful than any normal human being.
The black-clad figures all had shaved heads that were covered in forbidden tattoos. Well, not technically forbidden, but none of the major guilds would accept anyone who had absorbed cards into their head. Khalor already knew that this particular group didn’t belong to any of the traditional guilds—or any publicly known group, for that matter.
The four in black undoubtedly wielded potent and deadly card powers, but the last member of their group was the most dangerous. That fifth person was clearly a woman . . . and practically naked. The clothing that she did wear was wispy and nearly transparent. He could see her entire body was covered in tattoos. One tattoo wrapped around her neck, extended up the back of her head, and disappeared under her shoulder-length blonde hair.
Below Khalor, one of the figures in black slowly walked around, peering into the shadows beyond the illuminated area in the center of the warehouse. The tattoo on the man’s head resembled the head of an eagle. The beak of the bird went down his forehead, terminating in a sharp point between his eyes. The tattoo eagle’s eyes glowed slightly, directly above the man’s eyes.
Khalor recognized the tattoo from the Eagle Eyes card, likely at Legendary Level, based on the fact that it took up the man’s entire head. It was a fairly common card used by trackers and sentries, though he had only known a few people in his very long life that had one at Legendary Level in their deck. None had been foolish enough to absorb the cards into their heads.
The skill granted by the card was incredibly powerful and allowed the card wielder to immediately spot any movement for great distances, even in low light. The increased power from absorbing the card into his skull would have given the man supernatural sight that would see through even Khalor’s skills.
A second man with a cranial bat tattoo stood near the edge of the illuminated area, also staring into the darkness. The tattoo bat’s head, complete with long fangs, stared out from the man’s forehead, and its wings wrapped around the man’s skull down behind his ears. This card was called Echolocation and would allow the man to map out the entire building, even the areas shrouded in shadow, like his current hiding place. The skill would also detect even the quietest of sounds.
It appeared that the Echolocation card was also Legendary rank and would be enough to find anything and anyone not completely hidden behind something solid. Even then, there would be some level of detection behind objects if the card had been used normally, absorbed into the back or chest. Khalor had no idea how powerful the skill would be when placed on someone’s head. A skill like that tied directly to the wielder’s brain would create vivid three-dimensional images of what they sensed around them. He knew that was the sort of overpowered enhancement that would drive someone insane rather quickly.
The third man had a bow and arrow tattooed across the top of his skull and casually held that same weapon in one hand. The illustrated bowstring was drawn toward the back of his head and an arrow extended forward, terminating in a point between the man’s eyes.
Khalor didn’t know which archery-related skill the card tattoo belonged too—every Archery skill looked similar—but he was sure it was also Legendary rank. He shook his head at the absurdity of placing a skill like that on your head. A Legendary Archery skill would allow someone to hit their target from a mile away with deadly accuracy. There was no logical reason to shorten your lifespan and risk your sanity to increase the effectiveness of a skill like that.
“We know you’re in here,” the fourth black-clad man said, his hands clasped behind his back as he turned slowly to look around the building. He had a series of musical notes tattooed along his jawline on both sides of his face. A squiggly line that Khalor knew represented sound waves was scrawled across the man’s forehead. Several more sets of sound waves were visible on the top of his skull running from his brow to the back of his head.
“You cannot escape us, Khalor, so why don’t you make things easy on yourself and surrender?”
The man’s voice tugged at his soul, and even at his high level, Khalor had to make a conscious effort to disobey the command imbued into the words.
The four black-clad figures spread out as they used their powers. Three of them actively searched for him. The fourth pulled back the string of his bow, ready to fire the instant Khalor revealed his location.
The near-naked woman walked among the men, her flowing, transparent clothing fluttering. She moved gracefully and unerringly, even though her eyes closed. Unlike the others, who only revealed their cranial card tattoos, this woman left nothing to the imagination—physically and magically. Khalor could see that her card tattoos were all focused on one of two areas: detecting magic and manipulating people, and she had multiple card tattoos of each kind. That included a Legendary level Seduction card on her chest that caressed and accentuated her body.
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Her exposed skin acted like an antenna, improving her magic detection abilities. It also greatly enhanced her skill of Seduction.
Khalor smiled, thinking the woman could have been a fun person to be around if the situation was different. Someone he could really enjoy spending time with. As it stood, she was the most dangerous person in the building. Besides himself, of course.
“This doesn’t have to be entirely unpleasant,” the woman said, and Khalor could feel the pull of her voice. It was different than the command in the other man’s words; this was a seductive urging for him to do what the woman asked, promising him a reward for pleasing her.
He was far too experienced and powerful to give into either of the subconscious commands, but it was clear that this was not an ordinary mercenary group. These people had not simply traded long-term sanity—and ultimately lifespan—for money and power by absorbing cards into their heads. This was a group that had been created to hunt someone like him. Probably him specifically.
And they had him trapped. Well, as much as you could trap a man like him.
Khalor knew that he could easily take out the woman before any of the others had a chance to respond. She was likely the leader of the group and had no obvious defenses from a ranged magical attack.
With her out of the equation, he could use his magical abilities without giving away his position. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a ranged fighter, and his magical attacks wouldn’t be overly effective, given the enchanted clothing the rest of the group wore. He would have to engage the group up close, knowing that his magical skills would be at least partially negated.
It is what it is, he thought with a slight shake of his head. Such a waste.
Khalor waited until the tattooed woman turned away then called on one of his most powerful cards.
Card Name: Transcendent Light
Class: Spell
Cooldown: 5 minutes
The light of transcendence can illuminate the darkest of nights and burn through almost any object. The Transcendent Light spell sends out a series of lights that will burn through any unprotected object.
A pulse of magical energy burst from his hand, and a cluster of tiny bolts shot straight toward the woman’s back.
Chaos erupted as time seemed to freeze for Khalor, though to any observer, events unfolded at a speed that would be nothing but a blur to a normal human. All five of his pursuers immediately turned toward him, an arrow already on the way toward Khalor’s hiding spot.
He had expected no less and was already moving, running with superhuman speed down the rafter he’d been hiding on. He moved with the sure-footedness and agility of a cat, leaping from rafter to rafter, chased by arrows that never hit their target. All the while, he kept his eyes on his target.
An instant before his bolt of Transcendent Light struck the woman, a tattoo on her lower back flared to life and the attack was deflected slightly. The attack missed her and seared a group of tiny holes in the far wall.
The woman cried out in pain, grasping at her lower back with one hand as she stumbled forward. She was otherwise uninjured.
Khalor cursed under his breath. He hadn’t noticed the ward tattoo hidden amongst all her others. It wasn’t a card tattoo, but it was a powerful, albeit temporary one. That type of defensive rune was typically used on fabric because it was very destructive when activated. The woman’s willingness to accept the pain and disfiguration once the spell was activated was a testament to her dedication.
No matter, he thought as he summoned his sword and leaped from the rafter.
Khalor reached out with his off hand as he passed under the next rafter, intending to use it to swing and launch himself toward the woman who was turning in his direction, her eyes literally glowing with anger.
Instincts honed by countless years of battle screamed at him as his fingers wrapped around the beam. He glanced up and for a very brief moment, he saw the face of a ghost flicker into existence then disappear. At the exact same moment, he felt cold metal clamp around his wrist.
Khalor’s hand went numb, losing all strength and his grip. He plummeted to the floor below and landed hard on his back. It was far from enough to kill him. He doubted that even the combined might of those that had trapped him could truly threaten his life.
He jumped to his feet, his sword still gripped in one hand. His other arm was almost completely numb, though, and he could no longer feel a connection to any of the card tattoos on that arm.
A suppression band. Khalor grimaced as he looked down and saw glowing runes on the metal band that now encircled his wrist.
The magical suppression from the band would slowly spread and smother most of his card tattoos, at least those on his upper body. At that point, he would be hard pressed to take down even one of his pursuers, let alone all of them.
Khalor held his sword out in front of himself, daring his captors to attack him head on. He was met by five hostile gazes, weapons that glowed with magical runes pointed in his direction.
No one made a move to attack, though. They knew that their best bet was to simply wait for the suppression band to negate the most powerful of his attacks—two of his most powerful cards were already suppressed.
He wasn’t surprised. Suppression bands were incredibly expensive, and that meant that whoever had sent these people after him—he had a few guesses as to who that was—wanted him captured very badly.
Khalor considered running, but his gut told him that his chances of escaping just then were pretty slim. It was incredibly unlikely that whoever his pursuers worked for was anywhere nearby. That meant they would either have to keep him confined for an extended period or they’d have to transport him a significant distance. It would be much easier to escape when they were lulled into complacency during a long captivity or long journey
He dropped his sword and raised his hands held over his head in the universal gesture of surrender.
The tattooed woman cocked her head to the side and studied Khalor for a moment then nodded and walked toward him. Khalor couldn’t help but notice the sway of her barely covered hips or her ample, tattooed curves. She continued her approach until she pressed up against him. She gently touched his face then leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “This will be so much more pleasurable than if you had decided to fight.”
Khalor could sense the attack coming from behind but found himself mesmerized by the tattooed beauty that gently caressed his face. He was unable to move to avoid the blow.
So, I can still be enchanted by a beautiful woman, he thought wryly—right before the world went black.