Not knowing how long wars were supposed to take, Chidi could only say it felt like it was taking forever. Years kept passing and he was almost an Essence Collection cultivator now. He just needed another year at most and to figure out what essence fit him. After that, he should be strong enough to step onto the battlefield. He just didnt think he would be allowed to.
And though Chidi knew people might consider him young and stupid for choosing to go into danger, he wasnt that stupid. First, just hanging around the Gardens with a guardian constantly watching him and Aconite wasnt exactly great for his growth. Hed long overco his inexperience in combat, and he wouldnt make rookie mistakes. But he felt his growth should be faster. All the expense taken to train him hardly seed worth it otherwise.
But his first real battle had made him understand that he could die, so he was going to pick out sowhere reasonable. Which ant knowing about the war. Nobody was going to just to tell a young man like Chidi important information about the war, regardless of who his parents were. Or maybe specifically because of it, because he wasnt supposed to get involved. At best, he heard which planets they were holding, but that didnt help. He didnt want to sneak onto a ship heading for sowhere that was going to get attacked by a saint. Or honestly, anywhere with Integration cultivators running about frequently.
Chidi knew where the spies t in the capital. His parents t with them rather frequently to get information about the war. It was all contained in an area that Chidi was allowed to walk around in, which saved him the difficulty of the initial approach. He couldnt go in the front, obviously- there were guards there. The building was small enough that in theory their senses covered the whole thing. In practice, however, there were holes. So people called them blind spots, which was so sort of reference to sight not seeing things sotis.
Entering a window was too obvious. Plus, there could be people on the other side. Chidi wouldnt know without hearing them, and this particular building did a good job of insulating energy. He might open a window and step right into soone. He didnt want to have to deal with the consequences of that.
An air vent on the roof would probably be best. It would be protected by formations, most likely, but he would deal with that when he got there. First he had to scale the wall. He felt it with his energy, being very careful to not intrude into the building with it. The roughness told him the shape of it and how he should climb. An easy task for anyone who had completed Body Tempering and had hands. Which was half the reason Aconite was not with him.
He easily lifted himself up to the roof, feeling the vent he wanted to enter through. It would be a tight fit- he wasnt a little kid anymore- but he was flexible enough. As expected, he felt the altered flow of energy due to a formation. Chidi had studied formations for over a decade technically. His mother had started teaching him about formations the ti normal kids would learn to read. He had to admit that he hadnt been particularly good at the topic, either because he was young or just not that interested, until the last year or two. Now, he took the occasional opportunities his mother was around to dive into those things.
Overall, his experience with formations put him sowhere around two centuries behind his mother. Give or take a couple decades. Not exactly the sort of thing that made him confident sneaking into a secure area, but the most important formations covered Xankeshan as a whole. Then there were so around the city, and this district. Dealing with the formations on one vent on a particular building, they were probably not put in place by his mother. Which was bad, because he would be less familiar with the style- but good, because familiarity didnt do him much good when he could only stare in awe.
His fingers road around the edge of the vent, not touching anything. He was just taking the passive sensory input. A little cold here, a little hot there. Intense energy, though that was most formations from Chidis perspective. They were all powered by upper energy, while Chidi himself still focused on training lower energy. Wrestling with the more powerful energy might have given him a boost, but he was still developing his foundation. He was constantly reminded that taking shortcuts would let him advance more quickly with consequences later.
But going into battle was not a shortcut. It was well known to be one of the best ways to accelerate training. He just had to also not die. Which ant getting so of this information.
Chidi couldnt think of a thod to get through this formation without soone knowing. Unless, perhaps, he destroyed it in just the right way. If he disrupted the part that would pass along the alarm, nobody should notice. Though it would have to be repaired later. He didnt want to leave a weak point. If he caused a bit more damage, he would actually be safer now and it would be more obvious sothing was wrong later. That would an he wouldnt have to figure out a way to tell soone about the damage. Yes, that was best.
He took out his sword, carefully cutting a pair of new runes before scratching through several others, ruining their potency. Then he sheathed it, slipping into the vent.
Chidi was aware that so people didnt like tight spaces, but he found it comforting to be fully aware of the limits of his surroundings. In an open room, things could be anywhere, lurking in front of his knees or his fragile nose. He hadnt actually bumped into much since hed developed proper extensions of his senses, but the threat was always there.
Scooting towards an opening, Chidi kept his energy restrained. There were slits for air to flow through, and Chidi was slightly concerned about disrupting the flow, but his presence would do that anyway. And he had to hear the conversation below.
... Rakiya Chikeres arm
He couldnt hear much, but that na had been what first sparked his attention. He was nad after Chikere, more or less. There had also been so connection between her not recovering from an injury and his birth, though he hadnt found out what.
... on Yaitis? the second voice asked.
Unclear.
Chidi had to agree. The whole conversation was very unclear. He wished he could augnt his ears or press up against the grate without making things more obvious sohow.
Eventually the conversation moved away, and Chidi was left with a choice. He could continue through the vents, or try to find more information in different ways. He was aware of an important and annoying thing, specifically that key information was probably written down, but if he had to he would struggle through the process. He just hoped it wasnt on any of those computer things, because they didnt have any ink that stood out. There werent a lot of computers in common use away from Engineer Uzun and the technological area, but there were still so.
He popped out of the vent, taking care to make sure it was closed as he dropped down. Almost directly into a huge net of sensory energy. Chidi held his breath, as if that would help sohow. He was lucky, to have just barely avoided it. It moved around like a pit of snakes, he had to avoid, and he found his way over to a wall. He darted back and forth in the hallway, doing his best to hide behind pillars and other bits sticking out. He kept his senses passive, so as to not alert anyone.
He managed to avoid the energy all the way to the end of the hall, where things opened up sowhat- a branch? Then a hand ca down on his shoulder. What are you doing here, young man?
Chidi froze up.A sense of terror and panic flowed through him. But then he recognized the voice. Uh spymaster. I didnt know you were back. He cald down, because while he was caught and his sneaking days were over, at least he knew what the consequences would be.
Nobody is ever supposed to know if I am back, Spymaster Velvets voice said. Thats the whole point.
... Can I just ask how you caught ? Chidi frowned. I thought I avoided all of the alarms and sensory sweeps.
Sense he was already caught, he had extended his senses. He could feel her face shifting into a smile, for so reason. You did a good job avoiding several things. We will have to review our security and training. But if you want to know how I spotted you well
-----
Velvet was walking down the hallway. Her steps were quiet more out of habit than active need. Then she saw Chidi drop down into the hallway from a vent. She watched him darting back and forth across the hall, and for a mont she wondered what he thought he was doing. Then she realized that was exactly the sort of behavior that made sense for soone who didnt actually know how vision worked. Hed only ever had it explained to him.
What are you doing here, young man?
-----
... That usually works, I swear! Chidi complained.
If soone is looking down a hallway, even casually, they will see you. Unless you take special steps to conceal yourself through ans you clearly have no training in.
Chidi grimaced. I guess youre telling my parents?
Probably, Velvet said. Youre lucky I know them, or youd be in very serious trouble. Or dead. Soone could have taken you out as an intruder before recognizing you.
I didnt think of that, Chidi admitted.
Velvet clicked her tongue. Youll never get anywhere as a spy like this.
I know, Chidi hung his head.
Thats why youre going to focus on training with , Velvet said.
I kn- what? Chidi twisted around, confused.
Youve got really good basics, but I can tell youre self-taught, Velvet explained. And new. Pretty good for your age, but there are so many things you need to know. I do have one question though. How did you erase your presence like that?
What do you an?
Well, I was looking at you but I didnt see you with my senses.
I just avoided where they were.
But they covered the whole hallway.
Chidi frowned, You think they cover the energy senses cover the whole area?
At this scale? Obviously.
Thats just not true, Chidi said. Here, look. He had to contort himself slightly to fit in the blind spot, but there he was.
Hmm. Hold still, would you? Velvet slightly shifted her senses, just touching Chidis ankle. And suddenly I can see all of you.
Is that how that works? Chidi asked. Because your senses are only really contacting my ankle.
How have I not noticed this before?
Chidi shrugged. I dont know. But people wont generally avoid senses by accident. Unless soone is just not paying attention to a room. Its like walking through a tangle of branches without touching any of them.
I knew that I was missing things at longer ranges, Velvet said slowly. I hadnt realized that sothing would apply like this close up. But you learn sothing new every day. Now I definitely have to train you. First step: not standing where people can see you.
I usually hear everyone, Chidi shook his head. How did you end up behind ?
Practice. And I was there the whole ti. Oh right, you never answered why you were here.
I just wanted to know about how the war was going Chidi lied.
Look, kid. I dont want to be the one to teach you how to lie proficiently. But you gotta be more convincing than that. Or never get into a position where people ask you questions. Which ans never getting caught. Velvet stepped closer. Or you can use the best technique. Dont hide at all and dont look important enough to pay attention to. Youd be surprised how often that works. And thats probably a good one for you since youre really obvious when trying to avoid being looked at.
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