Dormitory District

Elsewhere, Green ran for his life. Feeling the heat slowly closing in behind him, he pulled an amber potion from his coat without hesitation and smashed it on the ground. A vast membrane of white light burst from the shattered potion, forming a circular barrier across the passage.

Green stopped and looked back. A sea of fire filled his vision. The barrier held back the sun-bright flames and searing heat, though the blast had lost much of its force by the time it reached him. The membrane shuddered once, then steadied.

Watching the shifting red and white light, Green could not help marveling at the building's construction. It still had not collapsed under an impact like that.

He looked at the walls. Just as he expected, runes glowed across them, resisting the flames. The protection faltered now and then, though, allowing the fire through in places. Some bricks had begun to melt in the intense heat. Fortunately, the structure as a whole held firm, and the passage did not collapse.

Green did not waste the opportunity. He studied the runes on the walls and kept sending information back for the Chip in his main body to analyze.

The explosion raged on, red and white light surging back and forth. It took a full five minutes for everything to settle.

Once he was sure there was no further movement, Green cast Smoke Eye.

A white eye formed of smoke drifted slowly toward the garden. Green remained seated inside the barrier.

The eye reached the archway. It was charred black and battered, broken straight through the middle, with fragments strewn across the ground.

After a brief look at the archway, Green smiled inside the barrier.

He guided the eye farther into the garden. What he saw resembled the aftermath of a volcanic