Hector smiled faintly: "I'll win, after all."
Then he glanced at his gauntlet, which was linked with a comms tool.
"Hey, you two, we'll end this match soon. Those idiots dug their own grave."
Right after that, laughter echoed.
"Hahaha… what a coincidence. I actually thought things would turn out like this… I can't wait to see his face when you use the artifact… hahaha!"
Another voice cut in.
"So how much longer? I can't stand this girl anymore!"
"I guess you're toying with her too much. I wish I could switch places with you."
…
Hector glanced at his cane, which was occasionally filtering and absorbing mana from the purest streams around. Its absorption had grown much stronger after Aileen used his tubes, filling the place with pure mana.
He didn't know exactly what it was—maybe some imperial product or whatever—but it had helped him a lot.
A small change crept into his plan.
He looked at it for a moment, then reassessed.
"Three minutes. I think you can head back."
